Strategic Linking in hospitality and its important by-product, Link Popularity, are part of the hotelier's toolkit for building a robust Web presence and taking advantage of the Direct Online Channel. Strategic Linking achieves two important goals: a) exposes your website to incremental traffic and highly qualified potential bookers, and b) builds your website's Link Popularity, a crucial criteria used by the search engines to determine how to rank the website in the search engine results.

Please read more in our article: Strategic Linking in Hospitality: Build a Robust Link Popularity

Strategic Linking is the business strategy to establish links from highly relevant and authoritative websites to your website, i.e. to build the "Link Popularity" of your hotel website. Link popularity is an important criteria used by the search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo, etc) when ranking a website. The higher the link popularity and the quality of the links, the better the chances for a top position in the search engine results.

Link popularity refers to the number and quality of incoming links that are pointing to your website. Outside websites consider your own website important and wish to link. In the search engines' view, incoming links to your website are considered important since each incoming link is a “vote of confidence”. Otherwise, why would any site link to your hotel website if it hasn't found something of value? Search engines recognize the number of incoming links in its algorithm that determines placement rankings, which may explain why you may appear on page 10 while your competitor appears on page 1.

Benefits:

• Improve search engine rankings
• Reach customer segments that are of interest to your property (e.g. family travelers, wedding planners, meeting planners, etc)
• Increases direct online distribution channels - driving traffic back to your hotel website.
• Increased opportunities for a consumer to find and book your hotel which means increased sales (more “tentacles” across the Web)

Strategic Linking is an ongoing process. In this sense a hotel should never stop building its link popularity and should aim to grow its link popularity on an ongoing basis. Consider seeking advice from an experienced Internet marketing hospitality consultancy to help you build a robust Strategic Linking and Link Popularity, and utilize the Direct Online Channel to its fullest potential.

Name of HeBS Service Package:

Strategic Linking and Link Popularity Strategy for the Property

Consulting Service Type:

Audit existing strategic linking and link popularity, conceptualize, budget and launch strategic linking marketing campaigns + ongoing reporting and consultation

This HeBS service is ideal for:

Franchised and independent hotels, luxury and boutique hotels, condos and residential resorts, luxury and boutique hotels, beach and mountain resorts, spa and golf resorts, casinos, inns and other lodging establishments

Features of the Service Package:

• Develop the Strategic Linking and Link Popularity Strategy for the property
• Identify key market segments and feeder markets
• Develop the Budget Proposal
• Creative and Design Services
• Manage the ongoing Strategic Linking campaigns
• Monthly reporting of Link Popularity, Visits and ROI
• Sample Strategic Linking Categories for the property:
  • Luxury travel directories
  • Online event and Meeting planner services
  • Online group travel services
  • Online wedding planning sites
  • Online honeymoon planning sites
  • Online hotel and Travel directories
  • Local travel and hospitality services
  • Destination and city directories
  • Travel guides
  • Online golf directories and portals
  • Online spa directories and portals
  • Gay & lesbian services
  • African American travel sites
  • Latino travel sites
  • Asian-American travel sites
  • Family travel sites
  • Romantic getaways
  • Many more relevant sites