The Importance of SEO and AdWords for The African Travel and Safari Industry

Back in the day when you decided to go on holiday, you went to the closest travel agent and asked them advice about destinations and accommodation options. Travel agents still exist in 2018, but by the time someone arrives in their physical offices, they’ve most likely already done extensive online research. This is why Travel and Toursim SEO is so important.

The power of the internet has created the opportunity for people to even sidestep formal travel agents all together. Arm chair travelling is becoming more and more popular. With information at your fingertips, 24/7, you can educate yourself on practically anything under the sun.

The Tourism Ball Game Has Changed

With big websites such as booking.com and Trip Advisor offering people a new way of approaching travelling, if you want to stay in the game, you need to figure out how to create a strong online presence for your company.

Two of the biggest aspects of good online marketing, is SEO enhanced content and AdWords campaigns. The two go hand in hand. If you are competing for a highly popular keyword phrase, for instance “Cape Town accommodation”, you need to start thinking outside the box.

With this example in mind, you could compare the popularity of “Cape Town accommodation” vs. “accommodation in and around Cape Town” to refine your campaign. It’s very important to make sure your content is SEO-friendly, but most of the time you can’t only rely on this tactic.

A Smart AdWords Campaign

The more specific you can be with your AdWords campaign, the better. Continuing with the example, the first word combination is highly competitive. Firstly, it’s only three words and it’s very generic.

The second word combination can be worked into your content more naturally than the first. It’s an example of a long tail keyword phrase. Although long tail keywords sometimes generate less search traffic, the conversion value is higher, because the search is more specific.

The following are a few pointers to help you create a successful AdWords campaign.

Do Extensive Keyword Research

Put yourself in your ideal customer’s shoes and imagine what they will type into Google when searching for what your company offers. You want to attract people that are specifically interested in your services.

It’s not just about spending more money on a campaign, it’s about spending your ad budget wisely. Try to do a general survey to create a profile of your ideal customer and their search habits. Also, determine the desirability of your package or service before creating your first campaign.

Use the Google AdWords Keyword Suggestion Tool to research search volume and competition level of your selected keywords.

Tip: set the “Advanced Options”
Select a location, language and decide whether you want to target laptops/desktops or only mobile devices. Select the “Phrase” match in the keyword “Match Type” setting.

Focus on the following:

• Keywords with high search volumes
• Select keywords focused on intent to buy, not simply information searches.
• Weigh up the affordability of each keyword or keyword phrase

Determine Your Budget

It can be tempting to become trigger happy and select as many keywords as possible. But this will not necessarily guarantee more success. Rather use the information gathered from your research to strategically select specific keywords and keyword phrases.

Determine your maximum cost per click (CPC) budget and compare the estimated CPC against this target at all times. Factors that will influence your budget include your website conversion rate, profit per customer and your general profit margin. Not to worry if you are unsure of these figures, you will be monitoring the progress of the campaign and will be able to make more accurate calculations in the future.

Use this formula:

Maximum CPC = [(profit per customer) x (1 – profit margin) x (website conversion rate)]/100

Example:

Profit per customer at $200, profit margin of 50%, conversion rate of 10%
Max CPC = [$200 x (1 – 0.5) x 10]/100 = $10

Keep an Eye on Your Competitors

You can learn from your competitors what to do, and what not to do. With special software called KeyWordSpy you can analyse other websites to see which keywords have been selected. Don’t see this as cheating, it’s simply competitor intelligence.

Create A Strong and Unique Selling Proposition

A unique selling proposition (USP) will make you stand out from the crowd. The competition is especially fierce in the tourism industry. You need to answer the question customers have in the back of their minds while browsing your website – “why should I pick your company?”

A strong USP is the backbone of a successful marketing strategy. And your AdWords campaign needs to contribute to the holistic marketing approach you are implementing for your company. You will be able to generate more effective traffic to your website, eliminating useless leads. It will also boost the conversion rates.

Your USP can be a game changer to avoid price comparison shopping. You need to figure out how to offer something that nobody else in the industry has thought of. This will transform you from a mere commodity into a sought-after opportunity.

How do you create an effective USP? Listen to what your customers want and analyse shopping patterns. Together with this research, analyse competitor strategies. This includes their website, ads and keywords selection.

Create an Irresistible Offer

There are a few components that make up an offer that a potential buyer simply can’t resist. Firstly, the value offered, your potential customer wants to feel that they are getting good worth for their money. Next, the offer must be believable, don’t make the price too low or people will assume there’s something fishy going on. Try to reduce risk, people want to feel reassured that they won’t be conned into buying a special deal and then losing their money. Work in a money-back guarantee to appease the worriers. Lastly, create a specific and simplistic call to action (CTA).

Create Engaging Landing Pages

Be specific with where the potential customer lands on your website. Don’t use your homepage as the go-to landing page. People get annoyed when they must search for information. If your ad mentioned a special deal, let the customer land on the page that offers more information on the deal. Take the potential customer to the page with a clear call to action.

Track and Customize Your Campaign

You want to only invest in keywords that offer you a high return on investment (ROI). By tracking the conversions, you can manage your ads and tweak the keywords selection. If a keyword is not performing well, optimise the next campaign with an alternative.

The wonder of Google AdWords is that it’s not a one-size-fits-all system. You can tweak many elements to make sure you get the best value for money. There are a few specific settings to pay attention to.

Search vs. Display

These are two different types of advertising networks. You shouldn’t use the same set of landing pages, keywords and ads for these.

Device Bids

This is specifically for mobile-friendly websites. More and more people are using their phones to search for information, you can’t afford not to have a mobile responsive website. Mobile-specific ads can generate a lot of revenue for your company.

Keyword Match Types

Keyword types can be categorised as broad, phrase, and exact. The default type will revert to “Broad”. This means your ad will appear when a matching keyword or phrase is typed in. It offers a higher chance of generating irrelevant traffic, which will affect your bounce rate.

The “Phrase” type means your ad will appear when a potential customer’s search matches the selected phrase. It gives you more control over who can view your ad.

The “Exact” type is the strictest out of the three. The potential customer’s search query must exactly match the keywords you selected. It does offer you utter control, but chances of your exposure being less is also quite big.

Out of the three types, the “Phrase” type is most recommended.

Negative Keywords

This is a good way to narrow down the moments Google shows your ad. You can block certain phrases that’s not appropriate to your company. For instance, with the keywords “holiday packages”, you can distinguish between “exclusive holiday packages” or “cheap holiday packages”. These specifications will decrease unwanted traffic and increase ROI.

Remember It’s A Trial and Error Process

Even with extensive research, you can still be surprised with your AdWords campaign not performing the way you expected it to. By carefully monitoring your campaign and constantly making changes as you see issues arise, you will be able to reap the benefits. Things to keep an eye on include the keyword bids, the click through rate (CTR) and landing page conversion rate.

These three factors will influence your website’s ranking as well as its profitability. A good AdWords campaign will help your website to constantly hit the first page of Google search results, as well as convert users into loyal customers.

Let Storyteller Design Run Your AdWords Campaign

If you feel overwhelmed by all the elements involved in an AdWords campaign, you can rather make use of our services to help you successfully promote your company. We have extensive experience in digital marketing and know all the tricks of the trade.

Let us create a customised AdWords campaign for your company, so that you can also successfully target armchair travellers. Your website can become a brand ambassador for your company, enticing potential customers to do business with you.

Learn more about SEO