Earth Day has grown from a single day into an almost sickening obsession of spending money by living green, and morphed into the natural extension of sustainable travel and eco-tourism. Built as a Google custom search engine, this very 2.0 driven...
Although that's not necessarily financially feasible for every travel search marketer, at some point you have to ask if you can afford not to invest in better analytics. That was one of the overarching themes of last week's annual Omniture Summit...
The economy is forcing travel search marketers to change the way they approach online marketing. The travel vertical is already one of the most advanced groups of search marketers, but the industry has been under more pressure in recent months to...
In today's vertical search marketing column, "2009 is a Year of Change for Travel Search Marketing," travel search expert Elisabeth Osmeloski outlines a few ways travel search marketers, and marketers in other verticals, can get back to basics in...
See Elisabeth Osmeloski speak at Search Engine Strategies Chicago December 8-12, where she'll be leading the conversations for Igniting Viral Campaigns, Getting Vertical Search Right, and Brand and Reputation Management.
For travel companies who value customer service as a major point of their brand proposition, it's critical to filter key messages down to the "average Joe" and build a real brand identity around their customers.
In today's vertical search marketing column, "Travel Brands Walking a Social Media Tight Rope," vertical search expert Elisabeth Osmeloski notes that we're still seeing effects of internal PR groups attempting to control the conversations, and put...
Several weeks ago, a couple of longtime readers came to me with some intriguing questions covering all aspects of affiliate marketing in the travel industry. While my personal experience with the affiliate world is admittedly limited, the quickly...
In today's vertical search marketing column, "The New Era of Travel Affiliate Marketing," travel search expert Elisabeth Osmeloski looks at just how important affiliates are to the online travel industry.
This session was appealing because it was an opportunity to step out of the travel box and see what's going on in other vertical spaces. That said, the travel space has recently seen its fair share of upstarts introducing creative search...
No stranger to the world of search conferences, I still consider myself somewhat of a newbie when it comes to the more established travel industry trade events. However, attending events like these are always beneficial because it bridges the gap...
In this column, I tend to focus my thoughts on content generation for the online travel industry, and usually bridge that with social media and community. As you dig deeper into the themes, you'll find lodging and attractions sorted with the...
In today's Vertical Search Marketing column, "Travel Search 2.0 -- Know Your Audience," travel search expert Elisabeth Osmeloski explains that because of that, any new entrant has to seriously consider their value proposition and how they fit into...
But what I'm left wondering about and pondering daily -- among all the excellent examples of the most basic tools we use for travel SEO/SEM -- are we getting left in the stone age, or are we moving forward with making real business decisions...
Part 2," travel search expert Elisabeth Osmeloski urges a return to basics: creating a product that fulfills a specific need, is well positioned against its competition, is priced appropriately, and is promoted within the right context.
A few weeks ago, Vertical Search columnist Elisabeth Osmeloski asked a question on LinkedIn. She wanted to know what types of sites and tools travel search marketers used. She used my answer in her column, "What's in Your Travel Tool Bag?
Last year at SES Travel, we had a well-rated session on what most travel search marketers use for SEO/SEM tools. Because community and social media is not a push medium, it's far more successful if you look closely before you leap, investigating...
Of course, if your travel company is already following the trend of creating multimedia content, such as making videos to post on YouTube or encouraging user-generated reviews, then you're already well on your way to getting some additional play...
travel search expert Elisabeth Osmeloski takes a look at how they're beginning to play out in the travel space. In today's Vertical Search column, "What Matters Most to Travel Search Marketers in 2008?
The most sophisticated organizations in online travel -- major hotel chains, airlines and those behemoth aggregator sites -- market "low season" prices and discounted rates for unsold inventory. Suddenly, attracting those consumers looking for...
