Laffitte Conseil

Web 2.0 vs. Search Engines: Are Search Engines Becoming Obsolete in the Web 2.0 Frenzy?

Web 2.0 continues to generate much attention in the online travel industry. Inquiring hoteliers want to understand the status and future of search engine marketing and other Internet marketing formats in this new Web 2.0 environment. Are search engines becoming obsolete? Are Web 2.0 sites going to replace the search engines as an advertising media? Will online travel consumers abandon Google as a travel planning and research tool and shift their attention to Web 2.0 sites such as TripAdvisor.com and social networks like YouTube.com? Must a hotel engage in such strategies?

Web 2.0 is the second-generation of web-based communities and hosted services (Wikipedia). Web 2.0 reflects a utilization of the Web in a new way, by both developers and Internet users. Especially of interest to hoteliers is the Internet user aspect of Web 2.0—also known as Consumer-Generated Media (CGM) or User-Generated Media or Social Media. CGM is online content created by Internet users and made available to other Internet users via Web 2.0 interactive technology applications. 

This new dynamic has caused a degree of confusion and many hoteliers are unsure about the implications of Web 2.0 on more "traditional" Internet marketing formats such as search marketing, email marketing, and display advertising. This article details the roles of Web 2.0 and search engines and their significance, as well as supporting data and case studies on how search engines remain of strategic importance long-term in online marketing and distribution.

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Médias 2.0 : incontournables pour les marques

Les Européens sont de gros consommateurs de contenus en ligne, notamment de presse, contenus qu'ils préfèrent largement consommer gratuitement. Parmi les différents contenus disponibles, la vidéo, mise à disposition de tous, gratuitement, sur les sites de partage vidéo, suscite un réel engouement. Surtout de la part des moins de 35 ans.

Cette population est aussi celle qui produit le plus de contenu et utilise le plus Internet comme un réseau d'influence. La 15ème vague de l'observatoire européen NetObserver, réalisé par Harris Interactive, s'est attachée à analyser le comportement de cette cible et des internautes en général en termes de consommation des médias en ligne et de contenu généré par les utilisateurs.

Production de contenus, prise de parole en ligne, rôle de prescription... Le JDN a extrait les résultats de l'étude NetObserver, sur trois pays : la France, l'Allemagne et le Royaume-Uni. Découvrez ses principales conclusions.

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60 modèles de navigation pour satisfaire vos internautes

Un site Web, c’est comme un bâtiment. Il y a des règles à respecter. Mais cela ne doit pas conduire les fondateurs du site à dupliquer sempiternellement un seul et même plan, car il existe des nombreux modèles de navigation. Seule contrainte : que ces derniers soient adaptés à la nature et au positionnement du site et qu’ils aident les internautes à trouver ce qu’ils recherchent.

Telle est l’ambition de ce livre. Présenter 60 modèles de navigation, avec pour chacun, les bonnes pratiques à appliquer sur une double page. Un livre écrit non pas pour les techniciens mais pour des acheteurs et des constructeurs de site afin de leur donner, dès le début, les bonnes pratiques d’ergonomie, d’accessibilité et de référencement.

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Are Internet Television Ratings Low?

Only 9% of US adults have watched a full-length television program on the Internet, according to an August 2007 Ipsos Insight study conducted with Associated Press and AOL.

The estimate is not quite as bleak as it may appear, since Ipsos surveyed all US adults, not just Internet users or online video viewers. The US Census Bureau's mid-2006 estimate of the adult population was roughly 225 million. If 9% of the adult population has watched a full-length TV show online, that is over 20 million viewers.

"Rather than a wholesale shift in viewership from TV to the new-media channels, both media will actually grow in the next several years," said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst. "Internet video will entrench itself in the content mainstream, right alongside TV, albeit not in such pervasive numbers."

By 2011, eMarketer estimates that 86.6% of the US Internet population will view online video, up from 62.8% in 2006. This translates to 183 million viewers in 2011, up from 114 million in 2006.

A March 2007 Ipsos Insight study found that 26% of online video viewers age 12 and older had watched full-length TV shows online. Using the eMarketer 2006 online video population figure as a reference, that means that nearly 30 million people tuned in. That figure includes teenagers, which likely accounts for much of the difference.

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Selling TV to Teens

Online is an also-ran for promoting new shows.

A majority of teens learn about new television shows from TV ads and promos, according to an OTX-eCRUSH study.

Word of mouth, video sharing Web sites and blogs were far less influential, the study said.

"For all of the hype surrounding blogs and video sharing sites, it's important for networks and marketers to understand that a majority of teenagers still get information about new programming from TV ads and promos," said Bruce Friend, OTX president of media and entertainment insights, in a statement.

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More online consumers are consistently more receptive to behaviourally targeted ads than to contextual advertising, according to a new study

Sharing the results of a study on consumer receptivity to online advertising, Revenue Science, Inc. stated that the behaviourally-receptive audience is a higher-value than contextually-receptive consumers.

The study, conducted by JupiterResearch, found that more online consumers are consistently more receptive to behaviourally targeted ads, outperforming contextual by as much as 22 percent in some categories.

“We’re glad to see that the voice of the online consumer echoes our position that behavioural targeting is more effective—for advertisers, publishers, and for consumers—than contextual advertising,” said Marla R. Schimke, Vice President – Marketing, Revenue Science. “This study also reaffirms our belief that Internet users favour advertising relevant to them personally and that advertisers should employ behavioural targeting campaigns to maximise their return on investment.”

In April 2007, more than 2,000 people were surveyed on what types of advertising drive interest and action, as well as their receptiveness to different advertising. The responses revealed that, across all advertising, 14 percent more online consumers are more receptive to behaviourally targeted ads than to contextual ads, representing 63 percent of the total audience.

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Social Media & Travel

At last week’s Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International Hotel Sales Strategy Conference, a panel focusing on this emerging trend delved into the radical changes ahead. These industry insiders are already seeing the effects social media is having on current business models and are warning others to follow their lead.

“Customer engagement is a more effective way of getting business, but it s not a next day thing,” said Cindy Estis Green, Managing Partner of the Estis Group. “If you do it well you’ll reap benefits for years, but there is a ramp up period that will be a challenge.”

Tim Peter, Managing Director of Leading Interactive Reservations said that this paradigm shift is altering the current state of the web as a monologue provided by a specific company. Communication, it seems, is becoming a two way street and those that are doing the chatter want attention.

“If your customers are talking about your brand, it’s better to engage in a dialogue with them,” said Peter, who added that it’s important to speak directly to potential clientele. “Social sites are about authentic dialogue. Corporate speak and sales spiel will get you mocked brutally. Speak plainly or don’t talk to them.”

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Online Travel Firms Map Strategies To Capture The Weekenders

Vacations these days often mean long weekends — and online travel sites are providing more services for such customers.

A study by online travel tracker PhoCusWright found that 84% of leisure travelers this year took or plan to take at least one long weekend trip.

"People are working harder than ever and are crunched for time," said Lorraine Sileo, PhoCusWright analyst. "The idea is to take a break without spending too much time away from the office."

She says the other factor is cost. High gasoline prices, credit worries and other pressures on consumers are fueling a move toward more weekend trips rather than more costly week-plus getaways, Sileo says.

The rise of long weekend vacations can be good news for online travel providers. According to the annual study by PhoCusWright, weekend travelers spend $6 of every $10 on travel Web sites, vs. just $3 of every $10 for those taking vacations of a week or longer. PhoCusWright did phone interviews with 500 online travel shoppers.

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Offline Influence on Online Search Yields 39% Conversion

According to a the "iProspect Offline Channel Influence on Online Search Behavior Study," conducted by JupiterResearch, 67% of the online search population is driven to search by offline channels. It also revealed that 39% of online searchers who are influenced by offline channels ultimately make a purchase. This 39% conversion rate suggests a synergistic relationship exists between search and offline channels, concludes the study.

iProspect president, Robert Murray, said "Search is no longer an add-on consideration for marketers... it's clear that its efficacy is multiplied when combined with offline channels... The bottom line is that integration is no longer optional... but at the end of the day, it's pretty much meaningless if a purchase isn't made."

 

Beginning with the hypothesis that the use of search engines to perform searches is growing more important to the majority of online users, the study set out to identify the importance and frequency of searches, then the offline influences driving the prospect to the Internet, concluding with behavior of searchers in converting to a purchase.

 

The vast majority of the younger age group reported a growth of importance in performing queries on search engines, and a significant percentage of online users 25 and older reported the same. Almost three quarters of online users who have been using the Internet for less than a year report that search has grown in importance to them, while more than half of online users with more than one year of Internet experience concur with their less experienced counterparts.

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5 Tips for Optimizing Images for Search Engines

Next to contextual search (i.e. just a plain 'regular' search on a search engine) Image Search is the fastest growing vertical search in the space. Compared to shopping, news, blogging, etc., image search has them beat by a mile. However, what's even more important about image search, is how Google's Universal Search, Ask's 3d Search and Yahoo's Blended Search are utilizing and incorporating images from each of their image search verticals into the 'regular' search results.

No longer are images appearing as just 3 images at the top of a results page, you'll see images incorporated in a lot of different ways. You'll see images coming up with the news one boxes, with descriptions of videos that aren't on Google Video or YouTube, a group of images could appear at the bottom of a page, as opposed to the top of the page. All of the search engines are striving to make the results more relevant and incorporating images into the results is definitely part of that strategy. Just take a look at how Ask is incorporating images for a search on "Jodie Foster".

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