Whether you are marketing a hotel, resort, tour or even a whole region as a destination, your website is probably the first contact most people have with you. Fortunately, those people have landed on your website because they’re interested in visiting you, but the reality is that you have about 30 seconds to convince them to stay on your website long enough to make a decision to book. Here’s how you can maximize your chances of turning lookers into bookers.
Make your website clear.
An extreme example of a clear website design.
The screenshot at right of apple.com is obviously about as clear as it gets. When in doubt, emulate highly successful companies! Apple is not a travel website, but you get the general idea.
While you are keeping your website design and layout clear, you also need to make your navigation extremely easy and clear. Use at least two navigation structures, with one at the top or left-hand side, and one at the bottom in the footer area. All of the information that “sells” your destination should be on the home page or one click away. Information that is useful for people who have already decided to visit you can be deeper within the site, or consider building a micro site just for those people.
Keep your most important information above the fold.
The area that can be seen without scrolling is considered to be “above the fold.” According to Tim Warren, the information that goes here must accomplish four goals:
1. You must create desire to visit your hotel, resort, destination, tour operation, etc.
2. You must clearly explain the nature and benefits of your destination. Make sure in just an instant, it is extremely obvious that you provide safe, affordable rooftop tours in the jungles of Belize. There. In just nine words I clearly stated the nature and benefits of a tour operation in Belize.
3. You must answer questions and address concerns. In the example above, I addressed two concerns: safety and price. Make a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page and place an obvious link to it in a highly visible spot on every page of your site. Gather the questions you get asked the most, and answer them clearly. This is not the place to soft-sell by glossing over negatives. Do focus on the positives, but answer questions forthrightly. This will help you build trust with your visitors, which far outweighs the cost of the few people who left your website because your answer wasn’t what they wanted to hear.
4. You must provide motivation to book now. Always provide a toll-free number, available 24 hours a day if possible, and make it the largest text on your site in a highly visible spot. Use price points and deadlines. For example, offer a 50% off rate valid only until midnight. Experiment with what price point and what deadline gets the phones ringing. Testimonials are also highly effective at providing motivation to book now; we will discuss those more in Part 2.
In summary, the two most important concepts to make your website effectively sell your destination are to keep your website clear and keep your most important information above the fold. Your most important information is what sells: Create desire; clearly explain what you have to offer; answer questions; and provide motivation to book now. Click here to continue reading the next part in this article series.