You have recently become a travel agent at a big agency, and have been assigned Nuevo Leon, Mexico as your specialty. Your agency doesn’t support your efforts very well, so it’s up to you to spread the word about Nuevo Leon. You don’t have much of a budget, so you want the most bang for your buck. What to do? Easy! Start a Nuevo Leon website, trumpeting the many attractions of Mexico’s most progressive state. You say you’ve never put up a website before? It’s not hard – here are a few tips to get you started:
- Design: You’ll want to start with a WordPress website, since these are the easiest to use and the most flexible. Decide on a free or commercial theme (there are hundreds to choose from), and then an overall design for the site. What should you include? Pictures, lots of pictures. Videos are good too. You want to tell the story of one of the most naturally beautiful places on Earth, so let the pictures do the talking. You can organize the website by activity, amenity, and/or location, but try to have an easy-to-navigate structure that will make it easy for visitors to find the information they seek.
- Content: Since you are a travel agent, let’s assume you can speak knowledgably about the topic. But can you write? Remember, its got to be flawless, no mistakes in grammar, punctuation, or spelling. If you need help, reach out to a freelance writer to help punch up your prose. Don’t forget to include keywords on each page that will guide search engines on how to index your site. Content is king – take the time to prepare compelling content that is easy and interesting to read.
- Backlinks: You’ve got a site, now you need visitors. You ultimately want to convert these visitors into clients, so you need to place highly in search engine results. Only 15 percent of searchers get beyond Page One of search results, so that’s where you want to be. To get there, you will need backlinks from authoritative sites – sites with high Page Ranks that cover some topic related to tourism. The more of these you get, the better your search results will be. You can check backlinks with a web tool that reports who is linked to you and the Page Rank of each linker. The same web site can sell backlink packages to you that will boost your traffic for a very modest fee.
Your fellow agents will wonder how you are getting so much business – perhaps you can share your experience as a tourism blogger. Or keep it your little secret – either way, you are bound to make a big impression with the agency’s management, and really, isn’t that what it’s all about?