8 Things Every Australian Tourism Businesses Should Do to Boost their Online Sales in 2010

1. Address each one of the 4 steps of the web traveller's journey 

It has been established that the majority of any Australian tourism business' clients are coming from the web so spending more time and resources on your online marketing strategy totally makes sense. To give you a headstart make sure that you address these 4 crucial components of your web strategy:

• The search process: ensure that your potential customers find you in search engines when entering the keywords they think describes what they are after (e.g. 4 star family-friendly serviced apartments near Caloundra)
• The conversion process: ensure your website's copy is written in a friendly yet attention-grabbing manner that will lead your potential customer further down the sales funnel. You need to replicate on your website the excellent sales job that you have been doing on the phone with your customers ever since you have been in business
• The purchase process: ensure it is dead easy for your customer to buy there an then. Have you got your phone number on every page (not in the smallest font possible but in nice big bold letters at the top). Have you got an online booking system or at least a contact form that you check 3 times a day? If you don't have any of these it would correspond to you not picking up the phone when it rings.
• The social media factor: when the customer leaves your premises this is when you need to direct them to engage with you, your past and future clients and your allies using your online platform. Tell them where and how they can leave a review or post their photos!

2. Setup your local search listing (the little map that appears on top of the search results in Google)

It will take you 10 minutes and drive at least 25% more traffic to your website, each day. Do it, do it now! 

3.  Become a member of ATDW by contacting your state/territory's tourism organisations

I am not saying this because of my involvement with the Ekit (ATDW produced the tourism Ekit) but simply because I see the stats: tourism operators with an ATDW listing have far more visits to their websites than the ones who don't have an ATDW membership. More visits means more conversions. What are you waiting for?

4. Claim and take control of your TripAdvisor listing

5. Spend the $300 to have your phone number and web address added to your TripAdvisor listing

5.  Subscribe to Google alert for "your business name" and "yourwebaddress.com" and address every negative review

6. Request each member of your front line staff to read and implement this 101 guide on how to grow your online reviews

Download it here, right now. Word of mouth has become word of mouth. TripAdvisor is a tourism business' golden nugget. Enough said.

7. Never (and I say never) sign a contract to have a website entirely developed using the Flash technology

Flash is invisible to search engines and you will have huge challenges to appear on search results. Search engine optimisation is crucial to any web strategy. 90% of your customers start their holiday research online. Don't buy a car with no wheels. You won't get very far. Check what search engines see when they read your website.

8.  Check that your website loads properly in an iPhone or other mobile phone

That's it - your 8 tips to successfully grow your tourism business' online marketing profits in Australia in 2010. Much easier to implement than losing the extra kilos gained at xmas.

Now, where was that mango ice-cream?