Posts Tagged ‘Scotland’

VisitScotland – are they worth it?

Client News | Posted by Katie
May 17 2010

Garden Park Guest HouseAs owners, David & Angela Wood at Garden Park Guest House in Grantown on Spey will tell you, the answer to the question ‘Visit Scotland – are they worth it?’ is a resounding no!

Friends and new customers David & Angela took the stand to pull out of Visit Scotland, the RAC and any other accommodation association and they havent looked back.  Less stress, less money but definitely not less visitors.

We all know why it is good to be in these associations i.e. recognised standards for the general public with the grading system.  However, what many of the public are not aware of are the constant discrepancies in the star system and the additional finances required to get to a standard only to be told you miss it by 1 point.  That’s why, after tears and angry discussions with Visit Scotland amoungst others, David & Angela made the brave move to leave VisitScotland.  So, have they regreted it?  Most certainly not – and with the money they have saved they have gone and got themselves a brand new website.

Why not have a look for yourselves – my particular favourite pages on the new website are the facilities page which shows the quirky life size bears – something every guest comments on apparently – and the contact page which shows Arnie & Archie, the resident ‘boys’ who will welcome any weary traveller into the warm and cosy, friendly bed and breakfast.  So if you are up in this area and need somewhere to stay that gives you something just a little bit special then the Garden Park Guest House is the place for you.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Hotels & Accommodation Providers | tracking the return on marketing spend

Business News, Client News, SEO Scotland | Posted by Gavin
Apr 14 2010

Part 1

The Early Years – offline marketing

Tracking the return on marketing spend

Tracking the return on marketing spend

Before I started my own SEO & Internet marketing company I worked in the hotel business for over 20 years and latterly up until 2003 in the marketing of hotels.  One of my tasks was to source associations, organisations and companies such as Visit Scotland, the AA, Best Loved Hotels – that would work to raise the profile of the hotel whilst generating enquiries that would create bookings.

In order to merit the annual fees these sources had to generate business and it was a difficult task ensuring that each enquiry/booking could be attributed to a referring source. The correct processes and procedures had to be in place in order to ensure that all enquiries were sourced correctly – and human error played it’s part to muddy the waters!

In the early years most of the associative marketing activities were done offline but as time has gone on this has changed and online marketing has become the key business driver of any hotel or accommodation provider – gone too are the days of large budgets available to hotels in an ever more competitive market.

Online Marketing – taking control

online marketing - hotels and accommodation providers

online marketing - hotels and accommodation providers

Most (if not all!) hotels and accommodation providers have websites and many have taken control of their own online marketing.  Arguably cheaper and more effective than offline (traditional marketing) many have sought the help of companies like ours who understand their industry and can provide effective SEO (search engine optimisation) in order to achieve good search engine rankings and stay competitive within their market sector.

Whatever the activity, whoever provides the service and whoever your business is listed with online – all must be able to be measured in terms of what business through enquiries and bookings is being generated.

Many of the services purchased in the pursuit of effective online marketing are ‘untried’, you will have only heard about their ability and effectiveness to generate business – whether through recommendation or word of mouth.

Measuring Online Success – ROI (return on investment)

You must be in a position whereby you can make an informed decision as to the ongoing validity of continuing to use a particular online marketing service and for this you must be able to measure its success – each must pay its way!

If I pay company £X /year to be listed on company Y’s website and it generates £Z in business, my ROI is ABC%

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In part 2 | How to – measure your online marketing efforts

If you would like more information relating to this post please contact me or join me online: Twitter | Facebook

Popularity: 6% [?]

Client News – Crianlarich Hotel nominated for industry awards

Business News, Client News | Posted by Gavin
Apr 12 2010
Clients Crianlarich Hotel nominated for industry awards

Clients Crianlarich Hotel nominated for industry awards

Hot on the heels of some great reviews and the award of 3 stars from the AA, The Crianlarich Hotel has been nominated for Turnaround Hotel of the Year, Best Value Hotel and Good Food Hotel at the Scottish Hotel Awards 2010.

Our clients are surprised but absolutely thrilled by the news. The awards are on Sunday 25th April and we wish them all the best!

If you would like to lend your support please vote using the below link.

The Scottish Hotel Awards – nominate, vote & support

Join them online on: Twitter | Facebook

Popularity: 4% [?]

Crianlarich Hotel – AA 3 star Scottish Hotel

Business News, Client News | Posted by Gavin
Apr 10 2010
3 star Scottish Hotel at Crianlarich

3 star Scottish Hotel at Crianlarich

One of our new clients, The Crianlarich Hotel have recently been awarded 3-stars by the AA.  Situated in Crialarich, ideally located near to Loch Lomond, The River Tay, Glencoe, Oban and the Western Isles, the hotel has also just  installed a new kitchen, totally transformed the reception and opened their new restaurant.  It is also rumored that the AA may return to inspect their food with a view to awarding them their first Rosette – our fingers are firmly crossed for them.

This great 36 room Scottish hotel, in a perfect situation is well worth a visit and we wish them all the best in gaining true recognition for all their hard work.

Join them online on: Twitter | Facebook
Read Guest Reviews on: Trip Advisor (97% of travellers recommend)

Popularity: 5% [?]

Competition launched for businesses in the Cairngorms National Park

Business News, SEO Scotland | Posted by Katie
Mar 15 2010

competitionWe have just emailed a huge list of businesses within the Cairngorm National Park asking them to follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.  Have we missed you out?  Let us know… sorry if you are outside the Park but we had to start somewhere.

So our competition is as follows, actually you dont have to do anything onerous, just follow us or become a fan in March or April and you go into a draw.  The winner – totally and utterly picked at random – will get one of our SEO First packages  to the value of £360.

To all our fans and followers that are already signed up, dont worry we will enter you too, as long as your business is within the Park boundaries all you have to do is message or DM us and into the pot you go.  Winner will be notified by email and also blogged about here in the first week of May….. good luck!

Popularity: 6% [?]