 Broken links on your website are annoying and bad for your website visitors' experience. Trying to check them yourself would be a huge job if you have a lot of links on your website. But don't despair! There are free tools that can do this for you. Go to the website below and enter your website address. It checks all your links it gives you a list with the broken links. Go to: www.brokenlinkcheck.com Now just fix the links and you're done! Till next week, Marijke COMING UP: Tourism Marketing Bootcamp-Grow your Tourism Business Join us for this accelerated 1-day course on the 26th of July 2017 in Queenstown. Approved by NZTE and 50% funding available for qualifying business. Go to www.smartraining.co.nz for more info.
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 Ha, the title sounds a bit confusing, doesn't it. You'll understand what I mean after reading the following.
Two of the current marketing trends in tourism are:
I found this great (free!) little tool: Clipchamp. Clipchamp lets users convert, compress, edit and record videos in the browser. It's a free service that doesn't require installing software or uploading files to an online video converter or compressor. I have just used it for a client's website, and it is fantastic! I reduced a 300MB file to 30MB and it's still super sharp! And SO much faster! There are no input file size restrictions (it has been successfully tested with videos of up to 20GB). Our output format options are MP4, WebM, WMV, FLV and GIF. Clipchamp is also very easy to use! I have also verified that it's a safe site to use. So, give it a go and upload some great videos to your site! Go to: www.clipchamp.com Till next week, Marijke  As mentioned in previous posts, images (with keywords in the file name, small file size and alt-tags and captions added) are a great way to get a better ranking on Google.
Reducing image sizes can be a bit of a hassle, so I'd like to share this simple little tool with you: Pix Resizer. It's a very simple to use tool to reduce either one image at a time or a whole folder of images. They can be converter to a number of file formats (such as jpg, gif, png etc). The default is set on jpg (or jpeg) as this format condenses the file the most. Here's the link to download this great little tool: Pix Resizer: http://bluefive.pairsite.com/pixresizer.htm So, have a look at the size of your files and start replacing your images with smaller sized images (around 100kb). Tourism Marketing Courses coming up: (click on links below) Starting in Tourism: 3 May 2017 Invercargill REGISTRATIONS CLOSING SOON! Growing your Tourism Business - Marketing Bootcamp: 15 June 2017 in Queenstown Till next week, Marijke In the last tip, I wrote about "How to get more great photos for your website and social media". There are also certain types of photos you should avoid having on your website. Here are nine examples (including my PET HATE one!). Till next week, Marijke A picture is worth 1,000 words: How to get more great photos for your website & social media!22/3/2017 Photos are the easiest and best way to promote your business whether you’re in tourism or sell a physical product. People are ‘visual’; if it looks good, they more likely to buy or book it! In fact, 92% of communication is visual.. I see many businesses struggling to update photos (and video) on their website and social media. It’s easy if you like taking photos yourself (I do!), but can be a hassle if you don’t. Here are 6 ways and ideas to obtain good photos:
 So, plan how you're going to have fresh photo content on your website on a regular basis.
Till next week, Marijke
  Here we go:
Have a look at your own website and what you can improve to make it more user-friendly. Till next week, Marijke  First of all, what is bounce rate?
When you look at the google analytics (statistics) of your website, on the main dashboard you’ll see your bounce rate. This rate indicates the number of visitors that only look at one page of your website and then leave. Unless you have a lot of people looking at one page (such as I have with the weekly marketing tip), you can assume that your website visitors haven’t found what they were looking for. If you pay for google adwords, which can be quite expensive, you want to make sure that the people that click on your ad are not one page visitors and a bounce rate statistic. If they are, you are wasting your money and need to review your ad. But even if you don’t pay for ads, you want to ensure you get quality traffic and keep them on your site. The aim is to keep your bounce rate under 40%. If you can get it under 30%, you’re doing extremely well! If you can keep people on your website longer, you have a higher chance to convert them to a sale or a booking. Here are a few reasons people leave your website:
So, set a goal to improve your bounce rate by improving your website. Till next week, Marijke While I was eating a cookie (haha) and saw a cookie notification on a website I was visiting, I though to myself let's find out a bit more about cookies for this tip. Most websites (over 92%) use web or tracking cookies. There are first and third party cookies. Some are useful and necessary, others are very annoying! In Europe it's required by law to have a cookie notification on your website (not here in NZ). Below is a short video that explains how cookies work. Till next week, Marijke A favicon is an icon associated with a particular website, typically displayed in the address bar of a browser accessing the site or next to the site name in a user's list of bookmarks. See example below:  Here are a few reasons why you should have a favicon on your website: 1. It looks professional and adds credibility 2. It reinforces your branding 3. It improves the user experience as it's easy to recognise your site in tabbed browsers and when the page is bookmarked How to create a favicon: A favicon is tiny, only 16x16 pixels. Have a look at some of the favicons that are used for different brands. They are simple but reflect the brand they represent:  You can either use an element of your brand that can be reduced to a small enough size (16x16 pixels) or get your designer to design a favicon for you.
Most content management systems allow you to upload a favicon yourself. Or ask your web designer to do it. Have a great rest of your week! Marijke
Another example is this ad for a US$300,000 Bentley. It was filmed last year with an Iphone S5 and Ipad Air. Wow! Of course they were professional camera people, but it does show you that the image quality of a smart phone is great for a simple video!
So, my challenge to you is to put together a short video for your website by the end of next week. I will do so too and post it on this website. It only needs to be short (no more than 2 minutes). If you email me your video, I am happy to give you feedback and post it on this website (if that's ok with you!) If you don't have a Youtube Channel for your business, the video below will show you how to do it!  The other day I googled one of my favourite restaurants to find out their address to pass on to a friend. On the side of the page, the google listing showed up. This is the listing most people will go to as it stands out. On the listing, it had opening hours and it said that the restaurant was now closed. That seemed strange, so I called them. They were actually open!
So I thought, that would be a good tip. Ensure your business information on Google is correct so you don’t miss out on customers! You may change your business hours during the year with seasonal changes, relocate your business, have changed the look and have new photos etc. To update your listing, go to: https://www.google.com/business/ and login to google. Then, simply update your information! Have a great rest of your week! Kind regards, Marijke A number of years ago, many businesses put QR codes on their brochures or used it in other ways. The issue with QR codes back then, is that they were used the wrong way. With this I mean that in the majority of cases, they redirected to a non-mobile friendly homepage of a website. As non-mobile optimised websites are basically unreadable on mobile phones, most people were put off using them.
In other countries such as the US however, QR codes are used for retail coupons (Americans loooooove coupons!) Last week, I attended a workshop by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) about research conducted on the Chinese FIT traveller. I learned to my surprise that Chinese are big users of QR codes and this offers some great opportunities to provide them with relevant information. How cool is that! Chinese don’t like to see big signs in their own language while they’re visiting other countries on holiday. They want an authentic experience. I don’t blame them; I am the same. If I go on holiday to a country with a different language (which is most countries as I am Dutch), I do not want to see Dutch signs or brochures! I want to immerse myself in the local culture. Of course there is often a language barrier, but there are subtler ways to provide Chinese with information in Mandarin. Through QR codes! For example, instead of giving them a menu in a restaurant in Chinese, just have a QR code at the bottom indicating that the menu can be seen in Mandarin by scanning the QR code. Oh, and free Wifi is a must too to enable your customers to use QR codes easily. So, the QR code is back! Below are a few links to previous tips I’ve written about QR Codes in the last few years! How to create a QR code: http://www.marketingwhizz.com/weekly-marketing-tip/how-to-create-a-qr-code Are QR codes dead? http://www.marketingwhizz.com/weekly-marketing-tip/are-qr-codes-dead Have a great rest of your week! Marijke
 SEO tips Do you want to rank higher in search engines and increase website traffic? Then it’s time for a website spring clean (or should I call it autumn clean?)
Over the next few weeks, I’ll give you some tips on what to do. Not too much at once, just an hour or less each week to help you improve your website. Here we go: Tip 1: check all the links on your website. Are they working or do they go to error pages. If they don't work, fix them! Tip 2: Ensure your photos have ‘alt tags’ or captions. Alt tags are pop up descriptions of the photos (usually in yellow boxes). Captions are descriptions below an image. They are important for two reasons. Firstly, your website audience wants to know what they’re looking at, and secondly, you can add relevant keywords to each photo that will help people find your website. The photos will also pop up in Google Image searches. That’s all for now! Plan a time in the next few days or early next week to do these two little jobs. Have a great weekend! From sunny Queenstown, Marijke  Are you active on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram?
One easy way to make your website more interactive, interesting and up to date is by embedding social media widgets. With this I mean for example a live Facebook, Instagram or Tripadvisor feed. So instead of just displaying the Facebook or Instagram logo, your website visitors will see your latest posts. It also encourages them to LIKE you, which is what you want! Do you want to know how to add this to your website? If you have a good content management system, you should be able to do this yourself. Otherwise, get your webmaster to do this for you! Here are the links with instructions on how to do this: For Facebook: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/page-plugin For Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/developer/embedding/ For Tripadvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Widgets Till next week, Marijke 20 April 2016: Tourism Marketing Bootcamp Queenstown: learn all about the latest tourism marketing trends. Don't miss it! A few places left! Click here for more info!
 Do you write a regular newsletter or blog to your customers? If not, you may think of doing so as it’s a great way to keep in touch with past, current and potential customers.
As you may be aware, I have written a Weekly Marketing Tip for the last seven years. Over the last six months or so, I have done something that is increasing my mailing list steadily. It’s very simple and doesn’t require any extra effort on my part. Do you want to know what it is? It's a pop-up box! And it works. They say a 600% increase in subscription rate, but this is probably different for everyone. I have one on this website and it appears 5 seconds after someone opens the site for the first time. As a result, I get new subscribers every week! It's that simple! Have a great weekend! Marijke  Over the last few weeks I’ve been doing research into buying a particular type of specialised software. I narrowed the choice down to two options. I’ve tested both programmes and have been in touch with the two companies who develop this software, both large corporates.
I’ve asked both why I should buy their product and not their main competition’s, as they are both very similar. Both of these companies gave me unsatisfactory answers and I am still in limbo about which programme to buy. What I am trying to say with this example is: customers will compare your product or service with other ones (you do the same when you make a buying decision). It is very important you know your own unique selling points and why people should choose you. But from a customer’s perspective, it’s also important to know what your competition offers and what their strengths & weaknesses are. If you know this, it’s much easier to sell your own product! This doesn’t mean you need to put down your competition, just highlight what makes you unique and why the customer should buy from you. Ways to research your competition are: - Google them and see where they pop up! - their website & promotional material - talk to customers - review sites such as Tripadvisor - social media pages - keep an eye on how they are perceived in the media (you can set up a Google alert for this: www.google.com/alerts ) NOTE: registrations are now open for the 2016 Marketing for Success Programme. Click here for more info! Limited spaces! Till next week, Marijke  When you’re looking to buy a new car, decide on the next holiday destination, get ideas for your business, what do you do? You probably do research online. How often do you use Google in a day? So when you end up on a website that has the information you need, you tend to stay on that website and buy or book that product or service. Here are 6 tips to ensure your website provides the information your potential customers are looking for: Tip 1: What information do your customers need to know when they buy or book your product? Make it clear on the homepage of your website what you’re actually selling and what your unique selling points are (i.e. why they should come to you and not your competitor). Provide links to other parts of the site for more information. Tip 2: Assume your customers know nothing about you, your product, your region etc. Certainly don’t use jargon or place names that mean nothing to them. Include maps, photos and descriptions of what you’re selling. Provide in-depth information about everything that is relevant about your product, region etc. So, think about how you could make their buying decision easier by providing all the additional information they need. Oh, and don't forget to include info about yourself and your staff (including photos!) It adds credibility to your business! Tip 3: It’s not about how wonderful you say you are, it’s about what your customers say about you. Word of mouth has always been one of the most important marketing tools and sites such as Tripadvisor, Booking.com and your own testimonials will give more of an unbiased review of what you offer. E.g: http://www.smartourism.co.nz/about-us-testimonials/ Tip 4: Use great headlines and sub-headings. Almost 80% of website visitors jump from headline to headline or sub-head. Only 20% read word for word and the rest of us look for what we want in bold or highlighted text. Good headlines pull a reader into the copy. Use sub-heads every few paragraphs to appeal to readers who scan. Make them short and informative to point to key information a visitor may be after. Ensure your important keywords are included in the headlines and sub headings. Tip 5: Ensure your website is mobile friendly. More and more people are accessing your website through mobile devices. If your website is not responsive (this means that it adjusts itself to the mobile devices it's viewed on), they are less likely to look at your website as it is not easy to read and navigate it. Tip 6: Tell readers what you want them to do. Every web page should have a call-to-action. It might be ‘Subscribe to our newsletter or blog’, ‘Check availability’’, ‘Send me information’ or ‘Buy now! . Without telling visitors what you want them to do, they’ll do nothing at all. So, have a look at your website and make a list of what additional content you could add to provide all the information your customers need to buy your product or service.  A little plug for 3 workshops/programmes coming up:
20 November 2015: Developing an international tourism distribution plan / how to work with trade Location: Te Anau For more info, go to: www.smartraining.co.nz 26 November 2015: Business Building Blocks - 5 Effective Marketing Techniques That Will Help you Grow Your Business Location: Queenstown (through Queenstown Chamber of Commerce) http://www.queenstownchamber.org.nz/business-building-blocks-5-effective-marketing-techniques-that-will-help-yo January 2016 start: Marketing for Success Programme: 12 months programme And the new Advanced Marketing for Success Programme For more info, go to: www.smartraining.co.nz 
You may have seen them around: Infographics. They are a visual representation of information or data, so that it can clearly explained and understood. People are getting more and more used to getting information presented in the form of videos, images or these infographics. Is it that we are getting lazier? Probably, but I believe our love for visual presentation is also due to the information overload we are dealing with. So, the easier you can represent information, the more likely your customers or audience will look at and remember your message. Last month, Tourism New Zealand published these great Market Snapshots on their corporate website. If you are operating a tourism business, you will find these very interesting reading! Here they are (click to enlarge): For a complete list of market infographics, visit: http://www.tourismnewzealand.com/markets-stats/research/infographics/
Have a great weekend! Till next week, Marijke  This is a great time of year to have a critical look at your most important marketing tool: your website!
Set aside half a day to do this, and keep the following trends in mind: Simple design: rather than having a site with a lot of elements on a page, keep the design simple and responsive (this means it can be easily viewed on mobile devices too). Simple design is more user-friendly and pleasant to look at! Tip: review your website design, and simplify where possible. More visuals, less text: I don’t know about you, but when I look at a website, an image says more than 1,000 words! Rather than explaining something in a lot of words, why not shoot a little video and show your customers? They help with your conversion too! Large images, videos and slideshows are ‘in’. Tip: is it time to update your visuals? Add a few videos? Go through your site and see what needs to be updated. Also check what text you can cut out. In other words, 'declutter your site'! Stick to 1 topic per page (if you can): if you can stick to one topic per page, it’s easier for people to find the information they want, rather than have too much information on one page. Search engines like this too!! Tip: split your content into individual topic pages and group similar pages under one drop-down header/ Fresh and clear content: rather than have pages and pages of text, try to say it in fewer words, but keep it fresh! Update your content regularly. And yes, once again: Google loves fresh and original content! Sure, if you want to go more in-depth, have a link to a page on your site with more detailed information about a certain topic! Tip: over time, you have probably added a lot of info on your site. Review your content and rewrite where necessary. Give people an opportunity to subscribe to news updates and send your customers some information that is of value to them regularly (this can be weekly, monthly or quarterly – depending on the type of business. Tip: do make this part of your marketing habit (like I do with this weekly marketing tip! Add share buttons so people can share the content you display (like on the right of this message) on your website either through social media or email. Scrolling sites: I must admit I’m not a huge fan myself, but you see more and more scrolling sites nowadays. By clicking on links, the site scrolls down to the applicable section lower on the page. Till next week! Marijke - See more at: http://www.marketingwhizz.com/weekly-marketing-tip/7-website-design-trends-you-wont-want-to-miss#sthash.dH32N9oH.dpuf As you know, Google is by far the biggest search engine. To rank higher on organic searches (these are non-paid searches) and make it easier for your customers to find you by having your business showing up on Google Maps, ensure your Google listing is up to date. Simply go to: www.google.com/business Ensure you use the login & password you used to set up your Google maps listing. If you don't have a Google maps listing yet, just set it up following the instructions on the www.google.com/business page. Till next week, Marijke
In a week's time, I am off to TRENZ, New Zealand's largest tourism tradeshow. Even though it's the 15th time I am attending it, I always try to improve what I do. At TRENZ, I will be meeting with 50 tourism from all over the world. They are meeting with 50 different tourism businesses. So, it's important to stand out - to provide them with information that they will remember. Here are three elements of getting people to remember what you say. (Of course this applies to all presentations!)
Till next week! Have a great weekend, Marijke
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