Search Marketing for Small Hotels is Dead
Search has been sabotaged by Google (G) and does not exist as we know it anymore. It's now a G product offering entry to G services and soon will be exclusively a G media. It has been changing for 10 years and has gone through at least 6 steps in evolution so far, as outlined by Danny Sullivan on Moz (discussed below).
Big trouble for small hotels
see YouTube video how penguin is hurting hotel and tourism marketing
The evolution is insidious and worrying and is not ending with the knowledge graph. Unfortunately this is just the beginning of the new order where search is not an opportunity for local players, hotels and tourism operators, but a closed loop service of the largest conglomerate in the world.See the video below for details of exactly how this is a disaster for small and independent hotels, travel and tourism marketing..
The Trouble With Search
Right now we can see the implications of consolidation at international brand and OTA level. We once saw independent hotels showing up on the first page of search results; those days have gone. For the short term future it's the OTAs and big brands that are the winners. But as the knowledge graph takes effect, search will more and more be geared to Google products, which will include bookings; Bookings via Google is the ultimate destination of this conglomeration.
We talked about this in 2009 with our blog on the new order of everything and followed it with our blog "the future of media," citing Clay Shirley then with several discussions on hotel finder, search as media (see below) and the knowledge graph .
Big Brother Bid Data and the Age of Surveillance
The next step in the evolution is what Danny calls the Prism. "It's a spy program or an eavesdropping program or a data mining program, depending on who you want to talk to, that the US government is running." In my view, the new search is about this Big Data thing, where we gather intelligence and inferences from all of the searches, browsing, profiles, choices and intelligence gather from people's actions, habits, searches and footprints. It's pervasive as more and more information is now put on the Internet and much more of this than anyone would care for can be accessed and used for intelligence in marketing and providing products and services.
The next step in the evolution is what Danny calls the Prism. "It's a spy program or an eavesdropping program or a data mining program, depending on who you want to talk to, that the US government is running." In my view, the new search is about this Big Data thing, where we gather intelligence and inferences from all of the searches, browsing, profiles, choices and intelligence gather from people's actions, habits, searches and footprints. It's pervasive as more and more information is now put on the Internet and much more of this than anyone would care for can be accessed and used for intelligence in marketing and providing products and services.
Worst Case Scenario
Market dominance centered in a few big data corporations like Amazon and Google-Commoditization of brands.
This seems to be the way we are heading. It does not bode well for the smaller independent brand.
Best Case Scenario
Ubiquitous access - Democratic distribution - Level Marketplace. This can happen, but it is not likely to be the preference of the Big Brothers who are determining the future of travel search, technology and media. We do have the opportunity to influence - this is still the age of influence, but do we have the passion?
More on Why search is failing small hotels and tourism
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links
Danny Sullivan On Moz- The evolution of Search
Trouble in search - SEO Google pulls the rug away
hotel and tourism marketing takes hit from penguin
What is the knowledge graph - First Iterationhttp://axses-ianclayton.blogspot.ca/2012/08/the-future-of-search-knowledge-graph.html.
The Future of Media
Clay Shirley http://irclay.hubpages.com/hub/The-Future-of-Social-Media-for-Hotel-Marketing-Travel-and-Tourism
Search as Media
http://axses-ianclayton.blogspot.ca/2011/09/is-search-new-media.htmlhttp://axses-ianclayton.blogspot.ca/2011/10/search-as-media-4-googles-hotel-finder.html
http://axses-ianclayton.blogspot.ca/2011/10/how-small-hotels-tourism-cos-can.html
http://axses-ianclayton.blogspot.ca/2011/10/is-search-pushing-out-small-hotel-and.html
