What do your visitors really want? In this session, Britt will take you through the travel planning cycle to analyze what visitors and planners want, how they search and interact with your digital content, and how to better engage your audience. Take away actionable SEO and content best practices for maximizing visibility and reach.

1. IS YOUR CONTENT & SEO STRATEGY
INTENT-IONAL?
TOURISM ACADEMY 2019

2. BRITT BROUSE
DIGITAL STRATEGY DIRECTOR @ TEMPEST

3. WE KNOW CONTENT IS KING
“Ugh... we know
already…”
“You’re the King!
Okay, okay,
we get it.”

4. BUT WE CAN’T JUST
CREATE ANY OLD
CONTENT.

6. BE “INTENT-IONAL”
CREATE CONTENT THAT HELPS USERS GET
WHAT THEY WANT, WHEN THEY WANT IT

7. BUT, HOW DO I KNOW
WHAT MY VISITORS
WANT?

11. THE FRONT-END OF A
MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR
CONSUMER RESEARCH
PROJECT.

12. GEEK OUT ON GOOGLE
$$$
Billions of
Dollars of
Research
90%
Marketshare
In Search
TRILLIONS
of Searches Annually

13. PUT YOURSELF IN THE
VISITOR’S SHOES.

14. GROUP KEYWORDS BY INTENT

16. QUICK SEARCH TIP
Search in
Incognito Mode

18. Where do
I rank?
CONTENT GAP ANALYSIS
Am I visible?
What does my
competition have
(that I don’t)?

19. EMPATHY & CONTEXT
● Does this speak to travelers' needs and answer
questions in key decision moments?
● Are there unmet needs that I can develop
helpful content for?
● What situation is the traveler in and how can I
help?

20. + SHARE OF INTENT:
INCREASE YOUR BRAND’S VISIBILITY
AROUND TRAVEL MICRO-MOMENTS.
1. “I want to get away”
2. “Time to make a plan”
3. “Let’s book it”
4. “Can’t wait to explore”

21. HOW DO TRAVELERS
SEARCH?

22. MICRO-MOMENTS
DREAMING
PLANNING
BOOKING
EXPERIENCING
SHARING
1. “I want to get away”
2. “Time to make a plan”
3. “Let’s book it”
4. “Can’t wait to explore”

23. MYTH
WRONG

25. REALITY
REALITY

26. BOUNCING ACROSS
DEVICES & CHANNELS

27. 1 in 3 TRAVELERS ARE
UNDECIDED
When first thinking about trip, 1 in 3 travelers
have not decided on a specific destination.
Source: Google/Ipsos Connect, Travel Playbook
DREAMING

28. 40% OF TRAVELERS
Travelers say they zoom in on the
details for one destination and then
zoom out to reconsider all the
options again.
Bounce between “dreaming” and “planning”
and even switch destinations.
Source: Google/Ipsos Connect, Travel Playbook
DREAMING
PLANNING

29. California Coast &
National Parks
Smoky Mountains &
Asheville, NC

30. #PACIFICCOASTHIGHWAY #ASHEVILLENC
#VISITCALIFORNIA
#CALIFORNIA DREAMING
#HIGHWAY1

31. “I WANT TO GET AWAY”
Source: Google/Ipsos Connect, Travel Playbook
7,000
Digital
Touchpoints
534
Google
Searches
1,400
Images
4 mos.
Research
Time

32. 53% OF TRAVELERS
Are looking to visit
NEW destinations they
have never been to
before.
Source: Google/Ipsos Connect, Travel Playbook
DREAMING
PLANNING

34. DO YOU HAVE FIRST TIMER’S CONTENT?

36. MICRO-MOMENT # 2
Traveler has chosen a destination, and is looking for flights,
lodging and activities.
“Time to make a plan”
PLANNING
BOOKING

37. Best time to drive PCH
“Where to stop on pacific coast highway”
“Driving north or south on PCH”
“Best campgrounds off of PCH”
“Best sunsets PCH”
“Wineries near PCH”

38. CLICK TO EXPAND
CLICK & VIEW

39. THIS IS GOOGLE’S
SECRET SAUCE!

44. MICRO-MOMENT #3
The research is done and people are ready to book
transportation and lodging.
“Let’s Book It”
BOOKING
PLANNING

46. GOOGLE TRIPS - GOOGLE.COM/TRAVEL

47. CAPTURE INTENT
AROUND BIG EVENTS
Create guide-style content to
engage visitors who are already
planning around a big event.

50. MICRO-MOMENT #4
The trip is under way and the visitor is ready to live the trip
and share their experience with others.
“I can’t wait to explore”
BOOKING
EXPERIENCING

51. 85% OF LEISURE
TRAVELERS
Smartphones allow travelers to be
more spontaneous. Most visitors will
wait to plan activities until after they
arrive in-market.
Decide on activities after arriving.
Source: Google/Ipsos Connect, The 2015 Traveler’s Road to Decision
EXPERIENCING
SHARING

52. GO BEYOND BASIC LISTINGS
85% of visitors decide on activities
after arriving.
Create FAQ, guide-style content
for your biggest Destination
Drivers.

55. OH CONTENT
● Emergency Information
● Accessibility
● Local Holidays
● Pet-Friendly Tips
● Closures / Special Hours
● Safety Tips
● Parking & Shuttles
● Electric Vehicle Charging
● Outdoor Permits
● Road Conditions
● Reservations or Advanced
Tickets Needed

59. “NOW” AND “NEAR ME”
IN THE PAST 2 YEARS ON MOBILE
● +390% increase “Kids/Family Near Me”
● +500% increase “Events/Attractions Near Me”
● +600% “Things to Do/Activities Near Me”
Source: Google Data APril 2015 - March 2016 vs April 2017 - March 2018
EXPERIENCING

60. QUICK SEARCH TIP
No Incognito Needed
for “Near Me” Searches

63. “THIS WEEKEND IN . . . ”
Real Queries

64. HOW TO USE ALL OF THIS?
● Identify New Content Opportunities
● Enhance & Optimize Existing Content
● Update Information Architecture

65. ARE YOUR METRICS
INTENT-IONAL?

66. ARE THESE YOUR GOALS?
● Download Visitor Guide
● Subscribe to Email Newsletter
● Submit RFP Request
● Book / Referral to a Hotel or Activity
(Look familiar?)

67. What you
want the
user to do.
What the
user actually
wants to do.
RETHINK YOUR GOALS

68. MORE INTENT-IONAL METRICS
● Share of Voice / Share of Intent in SERPs
● Scroll Depth on Key Pages
● Time on Site, Page Depth, CTA Conversions
● Post-Click Engagement for Social & Email
Referrals

69. 4 BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS
1. Keywords don’t exist in a vacuum
2. Put yourself in the visitors shoes
3. Use Empathy + Context + Google
4. Aim to increase your Share of Intent

70. THANK YOU!
Britt Brouse
Digital Strategy Director @ Tempest
@brittbrouse

77. DMO
Knowledge
Graph Card
Events
Carousel

78. DMO L’AUTHORITY
A DMO IS THE #1 LOCAL AUTHORITY FOR A
DESTINATION
DON’T LET ANYONE ELSE TELL YOUR STORY

79. WHAT TO SEARCH FOR?
● Destination Drivers
● Neighborhoods
● Big Events & Festivals
● Seasons & Holidays
● Occasion Phrases i.e.
“Bachelorette”
● Persona-Based Phrases
● Dining & Nightlife
● Hotels & Lodging
● Things to Do
● Transportation . . .

80. SPREAD SOME LOCAL
● “Locals-Only” Email Newsletter
● Insider Guide Content
● Leveraging Local Influencers
● Curate Great Local Content
● Exercise your L’Authority

81. WHAT WE’LL COVER
1. How do travelers use the web?
2. What do your visitors want?
3. Examples of helpful content.
4. Rethinking success metrics.

83. TRAVEL PLANNING
DREAMING
PLANNING
BOOKING
EXPERIENCING
SHARING

84. “I WANT TO GET
AWAY”
DREAMING
❏ Roadtrip
❏ Somewhere totally NEW
❏ Mix of cities and outdoors
❏ Try local beer / wine

85. LOOK UNDER THE HOOD

86. PUT YOURSELF IN THE
VISITOR’S SHOES.

87. BE “INTENT-IONAL”
CREATE CONTENT THAT HELPS USERS GET
WHAT THEY WANT, WHEN THEY WANT IT

88. SPOT CONTENT TRENDS
Device
Mobile vs.
Desktop
Channel
Organic Email,
Social, Paid
Geo
Locations,
Cities
Days
Weekend,
Weekday,
Big Spikes
IN YOUR OWN WEBSITE DATA:

89. 54% OF TRAVEL DECISIONS
IMPACTED BY IMAGES
● On DMO websites, big slideshow
images are often most-clicked
content on a page.
● Google Travel Guide data shows
same behavioral patterns.
Source: Google/Ipsos Connect, Travel Playbook

90. 3 in 5 TRAVELERS
65% of travelers search for
videos by destination name
i.e. “barcelona” “new york,”
etc.
Watch videos to narrow down their choice
of brand, destination, or activities.
Source: Google/Ipsos Connect, Travel Playbook