Content Marketing Optimization Session with Lee Odden – PubCon 2010

If content can be searched, it can be optimized.

What are your customers’ content preferences? How do they discover? Consume? Share? Create a profile of your audience(s).

Use tools to create personas of data

Demographic info from Quantcast, CompeteKeyword info from SEMRush, GoogleEngagement info from PostRankSocial network info from Flowtown, Rapleaf

Create an editorial spreadsheet to plan all content that includes:

TopicKeywordsMedia TypePlaces Repost/Repurpose Content (Newsletter, Slideshare)Places to Promote (Facebook, Twitter, etc)

The SEO Content Cycle

Create & promote optimized contentContent is noticed, shared, & visibility growsExposure attracts more subscribers, fans, friends, linksIncrease links and exposure grows search & referral trafficTraffic & community provides data that you can research, develop to further grow social networks for content & SEO

Repurposing Content Example

Upload video to YouTubeEmbed in a blog post with show notesPost screen shots from video to FlickrUpload images and text as a story in a PowerPoint or PDF, upload to .docstoc, Scribd, etc.

Takeaways

Develop & optimize content with customers personas in mindThink like a publisher and create an editorial planDevelop channels of distribution & social linksLeverage both web & social media analytics

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Why Companies Made Major Marketing Shift in 2010 (free whitepaper)

SEO.com releases whitepaper outlining a radical change in marketing spending across the country, and identifies the return on investment for search marketing.

SALT LAKE CITY – In this ever-changing digital age, marketing has made a momentous change. Companies of all sizes are shifting advertising and marketing budgets from traditional strategies to search engine optimization and other forms of online marketing.

“When we look at the numbers out there, it’s very revolutionary,” said Nelson James, president of SEO.com. “What used to be the main strategy for marketers has taken a back seat.”

Forrester Research said marketers spent $26 billion in 2010 in Internet marketing, which rivals all spending on cable/satellite TV and radio. Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) said nearly half all companies have decreased spending on traditional areas and are investing more in online marketing.

“We started investing in SEO for the first time this year, and the payoff has been tremendous,” said Sarah Huizingh, marketing manager for Spillman Technologies, a company that specializes in public safety software. Huizingh said Spillman took money out of the print advertising budget to invest in SEO.

Traditional strategies that are taking the biggest hit include print and direct mail. A recent SEMPO survey reported that 49 percent of companies are shifting money from their print advertising budget and putting it toward search engine optimization services, pay per click management and social media marketing. In 2010, 36 percent moved money away from their direct mail budget and 17 to 24 percent of companies made a similar shift away from conferences and exhibits, yellow page ads, and TV and radio ads.

So, what are the reasons for this change in behavior?

“It really comes down to three things,” James said. “Especially in a poor economy, people are looking for marketing solutions that target their demographic better, are highly measurable and show how each spent marketing dollar makes money.”

Strategies like SEO and PPC target customers at the moment they want to buy. Social media has the potential to engage millions of customers. Through analytics, marketers can accurately track where customers come from, how long they stay on a site, what campaigns bring in the most sales and more.

On average, SEO.com clients that have been doing search marketing for six months or more, receive an average return on investment of nearly 2,500 percent – or the equivalent of receiving $25 for every $1 spent.

“Online marketing enables companies to track each spent penny and is proven to deliver a really big ROI,” James said. “It’s probably the biggest reason why more are shifting their marketing budgets. As a result, traditional advertising is getting the leftovers of the marketing budget.”

For more detailed information, images, graphs and statistics about this shift in the marketing world, and the average ROI of 2,500 percent, read the whitepaper “Shift: From Traditional to Online Search Marketing” here: http://www.seo.com/Shift_Whitepaper.pdf

About SEO.com
SEO.com is a SEO firm that delivers a big ROI for its clients by driving traffic to their websites through aggressive search engine optimization, pay per click advertising, and social media marketing. SEO.com then turns those visitors into sales through user-friendly design and conversion optimization. Clients range from small startups to Fortune 100 companies.

Tags: internet marketing, marketing spending, Marketing trends, online marketing, Pay Per Click, Search marketing roi, seo, Social Media, traditional marketing

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Arno Nicolussi Moretto joins Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara as AGM

Arno Nicolussi Moretto has been appointed as Area General Manager of Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara.

With extensive knowledge of the Middle East, Arno joins Anantara?s flagship property in the region as General Manager and is tasked with driving strategic growth and the continued success of the property in its second year. He takes over from Didier Tourneboeuf who recently announced his retirement.

Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara is located in the renowned Empty Quarter ? a vast expanse of towering sand dunes stretching from the southern reaches of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia across into Oman and the UAE ? the hotel?s design reflects the simple grandeur of an old desert fortress.

Arno?s role will also include Area Manager responsibilities for Anantara?s sister property in the UAE, the Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara, located on Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

As a graduate of the Hotel College Schloss Klessheim, Arno, an Austrian, spent a number of years working with InterContinental Hotels Group across the globe, including Dubai, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and finally Malaysia where he held the position of Regional Director of Food and Beverage.

Arno came to Dubai as Executive Assistant Manager of the opening team for the Jumeirah Beach Hotel before his career path saw him move on to manage properties for the luxury Swissotel group in Egypt and China and The Ritz in Taiwan.

Having firmly established himself as an expert in luxury hotel and resort openings, Arno returned to InterContinental Hotels Group as General Manager for the Olympic City InterContinental and then the Shanghai InterContinental.

?I am delighted to welcome Arno to the Anantara team. Given his breadth of experience, successful track record spanning almost 25 years, combined with his solid understanding of the region?s hospitality business, Arno is the ideal General Manager to drive Anantara?s continued growth in the UAE,? said Peter Carmichael, Senior VP of Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas.

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Visitor Arrivals to Asia Pacific in July 2010

According to preliminary data from PATA, international visitor arrivals to Asia Pacific in July 2010 grew 15% year-on-year. For the first seven months of 2010, international visitor arrivals to the region grew by 12% year-on-year.

Arrivals to the Northeast Asia sub-region (excluding Mongolia) expanded by 15% for the month, slightly slower than the robust growth of 19% seen in May and June. Japan led the way for the sub-region, with arrivals growth of 39% for the month.

The revival of inbound tourism to Japan has been impressive, following a year-to-date expansion of 36% for the first seven months of the year. This robust growth has helped the destination to inch closer to the pre-recession level of 2008, and Japan could come very close to equalling the year-to-date peak in either August or September of this year.

Strong demand growth was also seen for Hong Kong SAR (+32%), Korea ROK (+24%), Chinese Taipei (+23%), and Macau SAR (+23%). China saw its overall arrivals, including traffic from Hong Kong and Macau , grow by 7% in July, with foreign arrivals growing much more strongly at 19%. Overall, international visitor arrivals to Northeast Asia recorded a growth of 12% for the first seven months of 2010.

Growth in international arrivals to Southeast Asia (excluding Laos and the Philippines) also remained strong at 15% in July, boosted by double-digit growth in arrivals to Vietnam (+51%), Singapore (+24%), Thailand (+14%) and Indonesia (+11%). Significantly for Thailand , this was the first month of positive growth in arrivals for three consecutive months and heralds a positive scenario as it heads into the traditionally ?high? season. The smaller destinations of Myanmar (+40%) and Cambodia (+22%) also recorded significant growth in July. For the first seven months of the year, arrivals to the Southeast Asia bloc increased by 13% year-on-year.

Arrivals to the destinations that make up South Asia (excluding Bhutan and Pakistan) grew by 11% for the month of July, comparatively slower than the average 15% growth seen in the first six months of the year but strong nevertheless. International arrivals to India grew only slowly at four per cent, however, arrivals to Sri Lanka , the Maldives and Nepal continued to record impressive growth rates of 50%, 29% and 26% respectively. During the January-to-July 2010 period, international visitor arrivals to the sub-region rose by 14%.

In the Pacific (excluding Fiji, Niue, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu), international arrivals continued to gain momentum after suffering through the ash cloud related slumps of April. Following a strong 10% expansion in June, arrivals to the sub-region posted double-digit growth of 10% in July. Australia , with 11% growth for the month, led the sub-region?s strong performance. While weak economic sentiment continues to negatively impact travel from Europe and the Americas to Australia , arrivals from Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia picked up strongly. Growth in arrivals to New Zealand was moderate at 4% while most of the smaller destinations showed positive growth in July. Overall, the sub-region recorded an average growth rate of 5% for the first seven months of the year.

Regions Include (unless noted otherwise)

Northeast Asia = China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Korea (ROK), Macau SAR and Mongolia
Southeast Asia = Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam
South Asia = Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
The Pacific = Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Northern Marianas, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu

Some areas are excluded from the statistics as no data was available at time of reporting.

See also: Singapore Visitor Arrivals in July 2010 and Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals in July 2010

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Pegasus Solutions Signs Advertising Deal with Amadeus

Pegasus Solutions has extended its marketing capabilities to include travel agency advertising through a new agreement with Amadeus.

As a result, Pegasus reservations services customers and those using the company?s representation services, including Utell Hotels & Resorts and Utell Connect, will gain access to advertising on the Amadeus Media Platform.

Advertising through global distribution systems allows hotels to generate incremental revenue and increase market share by raising brand and promotion awareness at the point of travel agent purchase. Through the Amadeus system, Pegasus and Utell customers will have the opportunity to reach 90,000 travel agency points of sale in more than 190 countries worldwide.

?Our primary objective for hotel customers is to help them generate bookings ? whether by ensuring they are visible on the distribution systems as reservation services customers, or by promoting them to travel agents and consortia as Utell customers,? said Ric Leutwyler, chief operating officer of Pegasus Solutions and president of Utell Hotels & Resorts. ?Our new agreement with Amadeus represents yet another opportunity for these hotels to effectively reach agents as part of their comprehensive distribution and marketing campaigns through established and proven Pegasus and Utell relationships.?

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ONYX Hospitality Acquires Shama

ONYX Hospitality, a Thailand-based hotel management company, has acquired Shama, one of Asia?s leading, luxury, boutique serviced apartment providers.

The acquisition illustrates the commitment from ONYX to stretch its operations beyond the Thai domestic market and swell its capabilities into the serviced apartment sector - a sector experiencing rapid growth in Asia.

Shama is a strong brand concentrated solely in the serviced apartment market. Founded in 1996 the company now operates 13 properties across prime commercial and residential districts in gateway cities in Greater China and Thailand.

Shama will continue to trade under its brand name following the acquisition, and will become a brand offering within the ONYX portfolio which includes; hotels and resorts brand, Amari; its new select service, Ozo; and the luxury property portfolio, Saffron.

Peter Henley, Chief Executive Officer, ONYX, commented on the acquisition, ?This marks the further development and expansion of the ONYX brand following ONYX?s growth in India which was our first step in expansion. This acquisition also marks the strengthening of our ability to operate across markets, across sectors and across the quality spectrum from value-orientated products through mid-scale and luxury hospitality offerings. ONYX will also add to its serviced apartment capabilities with this acquisition.?

Elaine Young, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Shama, added, ?Shama is a lifestyle provider that epitomises lifestyle, comfort and luxurious design. It is a high performing brand that we believe will fit perfectly into and compliment the ONYX brand portfolio. Shama?s current operations will continue unchanged post acquisition and our commitment to expanding in the Greater China Region remains, along with tailoring our offering to meet market needs. I will continue to be heavily involved in developing Shama but will also be responsible for developing and operating all ONYX brands in North Asia, including Amari, Ozo and Saffron, as well as becoming a member of the ONYX senior management committee.?

?The requirement for quality serviced apartments has never been greater, especially in second tier Chinese cities such as Chengdu, Dalian, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Tianjin which are showing the most growth potential. As a brand we will continue to lead the luxury boutique serviced apartment market in Greater China and we look forward to only strengthening our position under ONYX,? Young concluded.

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Hertz New Zealand Adds Hybrid Toyota Camry Sedans to Fleet

Hertz New Zealand is to introduce hybrid-powered Toyota Camry sedans from 25 October 2010 at key corporate rental locations in Auckland and Wellington.

The new Camrys continue a commitment by Hertz to maximise environment-friendly practices in New Zealand. They also address increasing demand from Hertz corporate customers, who are seeking ways to reduce both the cost of travel and the impact on the environment.

?The new hybrid Toyota Camry meets both of these requirements, consuming substantially less fuel and creating much lower emissions than comparable conventionally-powered vehicles,? said Greg King, Hertz Regional Manager Operations New Zealand. ?We have very strong green credentials in New Zealand and last year achieved an Enviro Bronze rating from Qualmark New Zealand in recognition of our commitment to green practices... Many of our corporate customers also give preference to green products or business partners who act to minimise their impact on the environment, and our addition of the hybrid Camry addresses this increasing trend in business.?

The hybrid Camry is alternately powered by a 2.4 litre, four cylinder petrol engine and a powerful electric motor, which is activated when the vehicle decelerates or is stationary, minimising fuel burn and exhaust emissions.

Typical fuel consumption is estimated in the low 6 litre range for every 100 kilometres driven in the hybrid Camry ? approximately 30% less than similar-size vehicles powered by conventional petrol engines.

The hybrid Camry also complies with the strict Euro 4 emission standard, while Land Transport New Zealand has rated the car 5 out of 6 for fuel economy. Typical CO2 emissions are just 142 grams per kilometre driven. Even the air conditioner in the hybrid Camry has an ?ECO? mode.

But green attributes are not the only favourable features of the new Camry. Its spacious cabin seats five passengers comfortably, while offering a 6-disc in-dash CD and MP3 player, enabling the driver or passengers to enjoy their own music while renting from Hertz.

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