Forum Moderators: martinibuster
We have had a really tough time getting links. The best sources are Yahoo and ODP and a few travel portals. So we've been thinking about what we could add to our site which other sites would link to. We don't mind spending the money, so long as people will appreciate what we provide.
We came up with a couple ideas, like a webcam of each city to see the weather or a free decent map. Anyone got some ideas about what we could add?
I've noticed some of the most popular sites on the net are currency converters and web counter sites, but this sort of content is too general for a local site.
<rant> yep, poor travel industry...personally, i'd never link to any travel related site, there are already enough of 'em. e.g. some mediocre hotel in a historic building in a well known city showing up with a dozen spammy "portal" sites if you search for the building name, each one telling me n rooms, min x$ max y$ and how wonderful unique and great the place is...but obviously no one linking directly to the hotel's site itself. </rant, sorry>
So, valuable content, ah, well, a webcam? don't think people really will look at your content, but consume rather bandwidth and check how the weather is at that place (personal experience ;) ) you can't really provide good content, look at the target groups of travel industry, no one really wants to read, they wanna watch, see nice pix, beach, facades, cheap rooms, "well presented". so "good content" is relative. the only way seems to get links links links.
-bull
That would be valuable content, also for someone who are not going to that particular hotel, but you never know. Maybe that would get some links, not to the main hotel-pages, but to the site.
René.
We'd like to add something original. It doesn't have to be 100% targeted at our market, but it needs to raise an eyebrow. You know, where people say "cool, it's free". Hopefully then we can get back to building our site instead of begging for links all the time.
yep, poor travel industry...personally, i'd never link to any travel related site, there are already enough of 'em. e.g. some mediocre hotel in a historic building in a well known city showing up with a dozen spammy "portal" sites if you search for the building name, each one telling me n rooms, min x$ max y$ and how wonderful unique and great the place is...but obviously no one linking directly to the hotel's site itself.
Wanna bet? :-) My European travel site links to hotels' own Web sites even when I have affiliate links to the hotels (assuming, of course, that the hotels have their own Web sites) Why? Credibility. I publish an editorial site (or "content site," if you prefer that term), and my readers are likely to recognize the difference between editorial and advertorial.
As for the original poster's question, he's right: Not many people want to link to hotel-booking sites (or e-commerce sites, period) without a compelling reason. There are simply too many of them--with most of them practically identical--and I now have a blanket policy of refusing links to hotel directories, booking sites, etc. unless they're too important or intriguing to ignore (e.g., Pousadas of Portugal or maybe a noncommercial directory of lighthouse hotels or B&Bs in haunted castles).
The best way to get links is to have a content site where the hotel links are secondary. That isn't a realistic option for most hotel sites, though. Just adding a skimpy destination guide to a collection of hotel pages won't fool anybody into thinking that an e-commerce site is a "content site," despite the current popularity of that approach. The question that I ask when I look at a site is: "Does it live to sell, or does it sell to live?" It's usually pretty easy to tell whether commerce takes precedence over editorial, or vice versa.
I've heard of one hotel affiliate who buys ads on content sites with the understanding that they'll also give him five ordinary text links that will boost his PR in Google. I don't endorse that approach (and I wouldn't accept such an offer if it came my way), but I doubt if it's a new idea.
Wanna bet? :-)
Sure. ;)
apart from this I did not mean your site (which is great), I did not say "all" but meant "in general".
-bull
buys ads on content sites with the understanding that they'll also give him five ordinary text links that will boost his PR in Google.- europeforvisitors
I would endorse that idea europeforvisitors, because I think it makes good sense. No matter what industry I am linking in I keep my eye open to maximize on every opportunity. Linking campaigns for commerce sites require a different approach than what we often talk about in the forums. It’s not impossible. I have probably personally linked up many commerce sites for the entire common ‘themes’ I hear concerns about, travel being one. I can offer up a few general ideas that I follow which perhaps help on that end.
First and again no matter what the industry is the research. All too often when working with clients, especially those who have been working their site for a while and have what they believe a pretty good idea of their industry, are stuck. I just had this experience and it’s fresh. Take another look at your industry for what it has to offer. Look then to your audience. If you are a travel site you are appealing for links to other travel sites, travel directories, and then probably follow lodging streams, eating streams, and such and so on. Anyone in travel knows that.
What I do, what helps me is to think about the audience and who I can appeal to that will provide me with at least 25 good exchanges. I add 5 give aways (not link back) and have 30 links out, fine enough for a two-page addition to my directory. That I believe is a good enough stream, worth following. So, who do I get to link to me then? What new audience haven’t I appealed to?
This my friends is where I believe it gets fun but I’d really like to know what your ideas are on this so please fee free to comment.
Well, who travels would like to travel or even dreams of traveling? How about pen pals? I bet I could find 25 great links to pen pal sites that don’t have a travel link on them. How would I appeal to this group, enticing them to link to me and not someone else in the travel industry without offering them money (always a possibility though). Well, if I thought I could get 25 good link exchanges link on what I term a ‘virgin stream’ it might be worth contacting one directly and asking their opinion. Get them involved. Tell them what you would like to do and ask for their help. Offer to customize a part of your site to fit a need they have like maybe an article on traveling to meet your pen pal, how to prepare etc, whatever. Or even lists, which are very popular but with the content that stream finds interesting. Once you get one you fish it out to the end, get your 25 add 5 out for charity and the goodwill of the googlegods, ha and move on to the next. Perhaps student exchange groups or single seniors?
When I break it down in terms of just trying for 25 great links from a stream that helps me organize and put things into perspective. It’s about industry yes, but it’s also about audience and if that means pushing the envelope so be it, that makes good business. But if you are locked in a box of what you believe true for your industry then as my mother would have said, “you cut off your nose despite your face”.
