One of the most important goals of an Internet marketing strategy is maximizing conversion rate, or the percentage of website visitors who book a reservation. Increasing this rate has an enormous impact on the overall success of a hotel's website. Regardless of what kind of website your hotel has, an effective "online specials" page increases its conversion rate.

The posting of specials is important because potential guests want to see online specials. The proof is in the pudding: 25 % of visitors will typically visit a hotel's online specials page if it is correctly integrated into the website. An effective specials page on your website can easily increase the conversion rate of your website visitors with only a minimum output of resources.

Many hoteliers experimenting with online specials are surprised by how many people shop online but call to make the reservation. One unique advantage of online specials is that they can help you determine which phone callers were influenced by your website -- they will ask for a specific special on the phone.

We recommend the following types of specials that appeal to a wide variety of travelers:

• Last Minute Specials (last minute travelers are growing in numbers, and are looking for last minute specials)

• Up sell Specials (adding food, drink or entertainment to rooms to create a package is a profitable and popular option)

• Bargain Special (for the bargain hunter)

• Encouraged Stay Special (for those hard to fill times... stay three nights, get a fourth free)

• Local Event Specials (wrapping specials around local events)

• Business Traveler Special (business amenity perks, like free internet, are always nice)

How do you successfully integrate specials on your website? Remember customers WANT to see them, and they are an extremely important component of your website.

• Make the specials link a prominent part of homepage

• Make the specials link a prominent part of the navigation

• Include room descriptions and pricing in descriptions of specials

• Confirm that your booking engine supports the specials

• Consider showing a special on your homepage (this is a good place for last minute specials.)

Occasionally, clients hit upon a wildly successful special -- one that generates a shocking number of bookings. These "Grand Slams" seem to have a few things in common:

• They are creative and unique... and even ahead of their time.

• They are created and promoted with care and sometimes passion.

• They receive free PR and enjoy word of mouth, due to the first two items.

Promoting your special outside of your website is often productive. We have seen the following employed successfully:

• Using Pay-per-click advertising to purchase specific keyword phrases related to the special (Atkins diet, Atkins vacation, etc.)

• Using a press release service to push specials to media.

• Releasing specials using fee-based travel newsletters like www.travelzoo.com or www.OntheSnow.com .

• E - mailing (or mailing) specials to marketing lists.

Truly successful internet marketing hinges on a high conversion rate of website visitors. One of the easiest, low cost ways of increasing this rate is through posting specials on your website. Online specials truly do entice prospective guests to make a reservation, and can help them choose one property over another.

Contact: Christine Burke
Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc.
888-840-5893 ext. 142
christine@blizzardinternet.com
http://www.blizzardinternet.com