More than likely, if you have a website(opens in a new tab), you’re trying as hard as possible to get as many people on the your website as you can. So you blog(opens in a new tab) and make your website SEO-friendly to get noticed on search engines. You’re posting on social media, and you’re having a crack at advertising.
And if you’re doing this – if you’re doing ANY of this – go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back because you’re doing a lot more than the majority of tour and activities out there.
But here’s the kicker: if your focus is on quantity over quality, you could be going down a slippery path of no return. Why’s that? Well, the overall number of website visitors viewing your website is meaningless if the visitors aren’t converting into paid leads(opens in a new tab).
What you should really focus on is developing highly targeted traffic channels that convert.
So how do you find out which channels work best for you? Start by listing your tours everywhere.
Sign up for all of the online tour agencies (OTAs) and marketplaces that you can find. Get listed on review sites. Test the waters with social media. And don’t forget to list yourself on the business pages of search engines, too. (Sure, Google might be the kingpin when it comes to search engines, but Bing and Yahoo are still making some moves.)
And make sure that you have a plan.
Write compelling copy and use captivating, relevant imagery for all those OTAs and marketplaces. Come up with a way of getting more reviews on TripAdvisor and personally respond to reviews daily. Give your social media followers an actual incentive to follow you.
But don’t dive too deeply into one channel just yet because not every channel will end up being a great source of leads. And too many resources invested into a single channel could produce very little value.
So how do you know which channels should take up the lion’s share of your focus? The answer: track everything.
This time, instead of solely focusing on the number of viewers trawling around your website every month, focus on metrics that really matter like:
- Tour sales
- Email sign-ups
- Relevant downloads
Track these actionable metrics by following the five steps below:
- Set up a Google Analytics account. If you don’t already have one, please get one. It’s really not that hard to set up.
- Specify your date range (choose the same amount of days or weeks every time for consistency), and click on the goal that you are tracking.
- Track all of this information in a spreadsheet that you update (preferably the same time every week). Be sure to include analytics from other OTAs and marketplaces that sell tickets directly on their platforms.
Voila! Now you’ll know exactly which traffic source is generating you not merely leads but leads that actually buy your tours.
A quick of caution: Remember, don’t JUST track sales. 95% of the time, people won’t actually purchase your tour upon first visit to your website. So if you want to snag ‘em up before your competition does, make sure that you create a strategic plan to get them coming back to your site again and again.
Hint: You’ll want to get ahold of their email address and lure them with emails.
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