Battle Between Facebook & Google for Likes

For anyone who is anyone, you may have jumped on to Facebook and gathered a community of friends. When you post something, your friends may press the like button on Facebook. Sometimes it's good to see how many of your friends support your cause or simply that your friends are paying attention to your life and they do care. Now what has this got to do with Hotels in Kuala Lumpur you ask ?

Well, Google just introduced the +1 function on the web. (this is currently only available in the US) The function is similar to the like button and lets you add the +1 to a website you like. Great, you think? Well there is more. Through this you will be able to see how many other uses have added the +1 and it will give you a tally of your community and other people as well thou you won't know who they are.

We as Hotel Marketers are already fighting for the Social Media space knowing full well the signals provided by Facebook do provide a boasting hand to your SERPS. Now, we all expected the Panda changes or farmer update but this, I have to admit, I was not ready for. Now I am at the drawing board already getting ready to fire up plans on how this will effect Search Engine Traffic.

Clearly moving forward this +1 function will have an effect on our Search Results. The fact that users are now directly influencing our results may not be a bad thing. Our daily battles with content optimization, searching for Back Links like the Holy Grail has now given us something else to mull over. The mix of internet Marketing into the Social space has been the trend for a while however with Google jumping in as it has tried a few times already will make this a lot more interesting. I for one will be following this one as I also feel they will be a lot of abuse of this product.,

I ask Google to prove me wrong here =)

The good the bad and the ugly in SEO

Most companies now have taken the foresight to dive into the SEO market. Some will do it head first will others will dip a toe to find the best way forward. SEO in the near future is here to stay. Combine that with Social Media and your armed to the teeth in a never ending war against your competitors.

The Good

The good part is that most SEO services will stay within the safe guidelines that Google has provided. That means natural link building by providing quality content. Not copying and pasting into your CMS. Most will do a through analysis of your site, starting onsite, working with relevant keywords, by that I mean converting keywords. A good example of that is in the Hotel industry. a phrase like "Hotel Kuala Lumpur" might not be the best converting phrase. In terms search volume, it is pure mass. Around 130,000 searches locally per month. Now getting a percentage of this market would make anyone happy. I would consider this a branding phrase. Great to get your name up there however the conversion would not be high in terms of sales. If you were a budget Hotel. The better converting phrase would be "Budget Hotel in Kuala Lumpur". The search volume is lower hence not so Generic.

This would give you a better chance at converting the phrase. You could funnel it down a bit more to "Budget Hotel Jalan Alor" Now Jalan Alor is a street. This is a lot closer to home. The chances have increased dramatically. The search volume is not high and the competition value is low. A great phrase to target to get to the first page.

Now being on the first page is great. But let's face it! the bottom of Page one is not good. You might as well shoot yourself on the foot instead of celebrating. The position your after is top 3. The click ratio increases to 33% of the total search volume. A friend of mine recently started looking after Apple Hotel in Jalan Alor. The company has some great social media strategies as you can see on their Facebook Page. However, all the pages on the site have an error in the root directory. This is considered a major problem in terms of having a clean indexable site for the keywords.

Tomorrow will dive a bit more into the bad of SEO. In the mean time feel free to go onthe Apple Hotel site and be sure to fire back some suggestions on how to improve it.

Facebook Questions Feature for Apple Hotels in Kuala Lumpur

Yesterday was a day of trail and error. Facebook recently launched it's new question's feature and being a willing participant I decided to give it a bash to see the engagement level. So we decided to post it up on Facebook, the question being "Where should Apple Hotel Build a New Hotel".

Apple Hotel usually gets engagement level of around 0.98% of it's 1690 or so fans. When we started this campaign, the  level was 1680 fans so maybe it's lead to a slight growth. However, what is really great is the raise in engagement and also from countries unexpected. When I went to sleep last night, our level was around 1.3% so already a bit of a success. I woke up today to find that we had people voting from Ireland and that was winning the poll. The total engagement level is now at increasing the ratio to around 1.6%.

Now, this is great. However, not only can we use the poll for this but we can also use it for many other things, including research in making the Hotel better. Companies can use this for consumer research and the numbers don't lie. I have already become a fast fan of this product. Already preparing a list of questions to ask per week to engage our fans at Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

So many uses for such a great tool leaves me wondering which other clients of mine could use it. Apple Hotel is making a big point in doing something new. No other company in Malaysia has so far used this feature and Apple Hotel's is clearly a step ahead than the rest.

Budget Hotel in Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur

We all know they are plenty of hotels in Kuala Lumpur. With the current trend towards budget hotels, we seem to be seeing a lot more spring up everywhere there is land or building. In my recent venture to Kuala Lumpur, I was in Bukit Bintang, more specifically Jalan Alor. 

For those who haven't been there, Jalan Alor is a food lovers paradise. Walking down the street at night (dead in the day time) the street is vibrant and full of life. Food stalls pop into existence from little side streets. The whole street is full of color and life. The hawker's stand at every restaurant trying to pull you in. The table cloths are out for the more expensive restaurant. 

A few icons stand out while walking down Jalan Alor, you got old town coffee, and of course the other beacon of light in Jalan Alor is Apple Hotel. The big green hotel is like a beacon of hope for weary travelers passing by. I walked in to a very nice lobby, by far one of the nicest for a budget hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The Lobby had the chairs all designed like an apple which i thought was way cool. 

I moved to my room after checking, prices range from RM88 to around RM148 depending on what your after. Their is a loft service provided and it works. The room was a bit small however, the way i figure it, I'm here to see the city and not spend time in my room. Now travelling around Asia, I have to say "this was the best nights sleep, so far in Asia". The beds are super comfy, the toilets are a bit weird with the shower and toilet very close, but hell, this is Asia. 

Later the manager told me, the beds are "dreamland". The high end beds here in Malaysia. Making it a super comfortable sleep. I asked to have my room cleaned as i extended for a second night. I came back after a hard day of wondering about, the room was spotless. Now, once again I have to say the thing that got me was cleanliness.  Upon check out, i thanked the lovely staff and went on my merry way. A great hotel and would easily recommend. Apparently they have iPad check in now as well. Dam, how i wish i was there for that. Sounds like a traffic idea. I wish Apple Hotel in Jalan Alor all the best for the future. They Facebook page is pretty cool as well. 

The Week in Review

So just to be different I decided to stay away from the Hotel Topic and talk about the week in Review. Let's start with some Fantastic results in Football, Man Utd lost two big games and now the door is open for Arsenal to climb the table. Utd lost the rails against Chelsea than were totally outplayed by Liverpool. It was a real pity Arsenal couldn't take advantage and were held to a draw by the gallant Sunderland.

In other news of worth, England lost a thriller to Irelan, joyous news I say, however they did bounce back with a nice win against South Africa (this is cricket btw). I  had a delicious helping of Hokkien Mee, it was lovely.  Looking forward to the New Zealand game now and hoping to get a nice win against the Pakis today.

There is a Franchise show or exhibition this week and Apple Hotel in Jalan Alor has entered in hoping to grow the Hotel. The first budget to Hotel in Malaysia to think outside the box, great Facebook Page as well. Stabucks has been a great place for me as life without internet is not great. All Black Caps time to secure that place in the quarters.

Hotel Magic

A little magic can go a long way into making your Hotel more than just another Hotel. What do I mean by magic? By Magic, I mean do something a little different, be creative with branding or simply use your marketing skills to think outside the square. 

The hotel market in Kuala Lumpur is very competitive. Most Hotels struggle to survive and the one's with the big budget usually win. How can a small Hotel compete in such a big market? The first step I would suggest is going Niche. 

Why Niche? When Niche, it makes it easier to compete for the keyword or the phrase you are after. A hotel should aim to dominate at least one key search phrase in any given market. The Phrase may actually be there own brand eg Apple Hotel. It is a well searched phrase, and if you type in Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, they have done a great job of dominating the first page results. 

Other things to consider are the Facebook Page. Apple Hotels has once again set a standard here in Kuala Lumpur. They have a landing page and are one of only a few to do that in Malaysia. Only the 5 Star Hotels seem to be taking this step seriously. Facebook as far as we are concerned is a goldmine for engaging fans and pulling in new customers. 

Twitter and why twitter? Most people don't relize the SERPs benefit on Twitter but even better is the fact that you can plug into what people are saying. This can lead to a key generation of business. 

SMB's need to start looking into these little ideas to stay ahead in the very competitive business world. 

Rising cost of PPC for Hotels

In terms of Marketing, Hotels are always looking for more effective forms. Pay Per Click (Adwords) is generally  just one of the methods utilised by high end companies. Even some budget hotels are getting into the act of doing Adwords.

However with the marketing budget of a big 5 Star Hotel like Sunway or Hilton, it is very hard to compete on that platform. You are not only competing with the big gun hotels but also with major OTA players like Agoda, Booking.com. The cost of PPC is anyhere depending on the words your after from 1USD to 6USD and even more in some cases.

Take into account the clicks are not sales but a click through to a landing page. Now I have just opened another can of worms here with landing pages. We won't discuss that today, and stick with PPC costs. A efficient method is looking for longer tail keywords.

Know the enemy as I like to say and do your homework and research, Plan, Plan and Plan. The keywords like Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, is simply not a converting keyword for most Hotels. It is A; too generic, and it doesn't fit the bill of the end user. This is where the research is comes in. Are people searching via narrow locations eg using suburbs.

I have recently been engaged by Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur who have a modest budget for this however our performance outranks the big players due to research and finding the right converting keywords. Keyword tools from google is great for research however other tools are available and don't forget the Ad copy. Write a few and monitor to find the best.

In Malaysia, Adwords is still under utilised in most markets however in the Hotel market, you need do a lot of research to get this right. 

Boutique Hotels in Kuala Lumpur

The trend is boutique and Budget. The two big B's of the hotel world. Why Boutique and why budget you ask? Let's start answering that with a Budget first, price point is always the key point for any traveller. Be it a family or a solo person. Hotel's are either offering promotions to entice customer or slashing down the rack rate to make sure the room is occupied.

The hotel would rather have someone in that room even at just over break even point than not at all. Budget Hotel trend can be credited to the likes of Tune however another Hotel making big waves is Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Which brings me to the point of Boutique. Apple Hotel is a boutique hotel with all the bells and whistles offered in great branding.

The Hotel has rattan chairs designed in the apple shape, basins, light all shaped by the brand. The place is clean and comfortable. The rooms are a bit small but is reality,  it's no frills accommodation for the busy tourist. I appreciate the qualities as all we are after are the two Cs, clean and comfortable. The price point is in between a guest house and a Hotel which it self may be seen as bridging a market.

Instead of extra add ons, it offers convenient location with a food trail to boot. A great place to stay and the staff all speak english.

I will give this place a thumbs up any day.

Boutique Hotels in Kuala Lumpur

The trend is boutique and Budget. The two big B's of the hotel world. Why Boutique and why budget you ask? Let's start answering that with a Budget first, price point is always the key point for any traveller. Be it a family or a solo person. Hotel's are either offering promotions to entice customer or slashing down the rack rate to make sure the room is occupied.

The hotel would rather have someone in that room even at just over break even point than not at all. Budget Hotel trend can be credited to the likes of Tune however another Hotel making big waves is Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Which brings me to the point of Boutique. Apple Hotel is a boutique hotel with all the bells and whistles offered in great branding.

The Hotel has rattan chairs designed in the apple shape, basins, light all shaped by the brand. The place is clean and comfortable. The rooms are a bit small but is reality,  it's no frills accommodation for the busy tourist. I appreciate the qualities as all we are after are the two Cs, clean and comfortable. The price point is in between a guest house and a Hotel which it self may be seen as bridging a market.

Instead of extra add ons, it offers convenient location with a food trail to boot. A great place to stay and the staff all speak english.

I will give this place a thumbs up any day.