Android marketplace - for smartphone travel apps

Google launches Android apps Marketplace - http://market.android.com/

This is a great online resources  that is easily search-able and available without download from any web browser. A big advanced on the Apple Apps Shop.

Travel Shopping has its own section http://market.android.com/search?q=travel+shopping 

AXSES Travel Shopping App is featured at http://market.android.com/details?id=com.genwi.gtravelshopping. It is part of SmartPhoneTraveller.com marketing which includes both iPhone and Android applications for Direct Travel Shopping - Where travelers can get the best rates for booking directly with hotels. All hotels are eligible to subscribe to the Direct Travel shopping applications at http://smartphone.arcRes.biz

SmartphoneTraveller marketing also induces a traditional internet marketing campaign via our TravelOnTheGo.mobi websites and directory marketing. For details see http://smartphonetraveller.com

Useful Links:

http://TravelOntheGo.mobi (mobile website)

The  .mobi platform http://hubpages.com/hub/travel-on-the-go
Android Apps Travel  Marketplace

Persuasion in the Age of Engagement

There is a debate going on about the future of internet marketing which relies heavily on Search Engine Optimising (SEO) and article blogging. 

SEO has changed again. It changes all the time because marketers figure out how to get the to the top of search engine results and bending, stretching and managing the rules. So when everyone found short cuts to getting links to their sites, a big issue for getting on top of search), Google and other engines changed the rules about back-links and a lot of first pagers fell of the page.

Marketers then discover that writing articles was a great way to get first rate links, and the articles themselves were loved by Google as original content. Google even commented that it had created a whole industry of writers. Trouble was that a lot of the articles were dribble and pretty soon there were so many of them that the web was full of dribble and search results were useless.

So Google has just started to change the rules on articles, now ranking articles based on who wrote them, how original it is, if it is relevant and of value. It is a daunting task to write a program do rate articles, and we suspect that all articles may diminish as a SEO tactic. In fact it seems that too many articles and poor articles can get flagged and hurt your SEO campaign.

Not very long ago we had a simple set of  rules and tactics that worked. We used webpages with  strategic keywords, tags, headings, images  and content. We added articles, blogs, videos,  bookmarkes, and we interacted with other sites to comment on realted issue. We distributed hotel rates and specials via RSS feeds that were and still are picked up by 100's of other sites to republished for their members (RSS aggregation).  It has ALL changed and the frieghtening thing is that we dont know how it will work till we see it. Not even Google knows!

Google is struggeling, as we all are, trying to make search relevant. It must succeed to survive,  because searches are to moving to subscription and social sites to get better results.


See the full story at our hub page >> Click Here

TravelOnTheGo Mobi Marketing

We have completed our research and launched our travel on the go mobile website for travel brands. The website, which is best viewed with a Smartphone, is http://travelonthego.mobi

The first question we asked was should we build mobile apps or mobile websites. That was really a no-brainer, because apps have no place replacing websites.

The Second Question was should we go with the crunch approach, rendering regular websites into tiny version of the same for mobile devices.

Thirdly we wondered should we use .mobi or .com. The .com  is most popular, but the Dotmobi has some special appeal. 

This last question is extensively documents in our hub page http://hubpages.com/hub/travel-on-the-go

We chose DotMobi and it has been the right decision on  a number of counts. Most notably is that .Mobi is a special directory within ICANN and thousands of Search Engines and Mobile Directories use the ICANN information on new dotmobi sites. 

We spent months planning our entry into the Smartphone market and our steps along the way are documents with Hub articles and our own http://SmartphoneTraveller.com website. 

SmartphoneTraveller is a great name but our research and trials indicated it was not the best name for our particular objectives in publishing travel brands to mobile phones. In effect, building SmartPhone enabled websites for travel brands. 

We needed a name that would be: Easy to recall, easy to type on a mobile keypad, would convey the intent and be a good name to represent travel suppliers, a good  name for Travel Brands and their mobile websites.

The aim of the campaign is to generate direct bookings for hotels and tourism operators from Smartphone travelers on the go and on their mobile phone anywhere and at anytime.

TravelOntheGo.mobi measured up to the criteria very well. It is the brand we will share with our clients in building their websites and thier mobile marketing platform. SmartPhoneTraveller.com forms an important part of this marketing.

SmartPhoneTraveller.com is the real website that describes the initiatives. It expands beyond the concept of the marketing and covers details of the entire platform and technology integration. It will also be a consumer focus for our travel publishing. Look to SmartPhone Traveller marketing for travel stories, guides and travel advice in the future. We will have insightful travel stories of destinations and our own travel experiences with the SmartphoneTraveller in our pocket.

TravelOnTheGo.Mobi is the brand now registered in the ICANN directory which is so widely used by the industry. It is the directory and search engine that will promote the hotels and tourism operators that subscribe to our  SmartphoneTraveller marketing platform.

Signing up to the marketing service and the smartphone website is easy with arcRes publisher. Details and features are on our real website at
http://marketing.travel-on-the-go.com. 

 

We help hotel and tourism clients enter details into arcRes. arcRes publishes this info out to the TravelOnTheGo Mobile marketing directories, mobile advertising sites and mobile travel portals and applications.

arcRes also creates a personal TravelOnTheGo.mobi Branded website for each member hotel and tourism partner. It is a personal mobile website with 12 pages of information and a booking engine for the brand. It may be linked from existing websites. The regular website may also be coded to know when a Smartphone is viewing it and to automatically redirect to the appropriate display.

Travel On The Go Brand website are also promoted by the directory listing and arcRes powered marketing to on multiple channels, to Smartphone travelers and regular Internet users. 

A search on Google desktop or mobile will display the TravelOnTheGo  Mobi directory along with hotels that are linked to it.

The first phase of our marketing was target for hotel and accommodation. Restaurants, car rentals and tourism will follow. The search features are being expanding to include search filters and category listing. In other words, a SmartPhone Traveler will be able to filter the display by a number of parameters, such as family hotels, romance etc as well as features, rates and special promotions.

Get Listed now at http://smartphone.arcres.biz

Mobile Directory http://travelonthego.mobi

Need more information http://smartohonetraveller.com

New View of Social Engagement Turns Tradition Upside-Down

In researching for our Hubpage on Facebook as a Travel Platform, I came across Simon Sinek. Simon talks about the Golden Circle on YouTube and his blog dealing with this topic. He has studied great people and great successes, from the Wright Brothers who beat all odds to fly, to modern-day Apple Computers who dared to be different.

His conclusion turns tradition on its head. Rather than talk about what they do, successful people are motivated by a passion for why they do it.

Talk about WHY you do what you do, and you are talking about the passion you have for what you do. Passion engages, and people engage with people who believe what they believe. Share a passion with a like mind, and you engage without pretext.

See our hub and Simons Sinek Video on the Golden Circle at Facebook Travel Platform & Business model

Cultural Tourism Adventure Travel Destinations

To me adventure is about discovery, exploration and learning. Discovering an old culture, a belief and away of life or discovering nature and the world is my adventure. As a teenager I roamed the Caribbean with 100 US $ and made it to the island, traveling on trading schooners, the mail boat and occasionally on a luxury sailing yacht, needing an extra hand on deck.Today I rather like my comforts and a little luxury now and again is very welcome.

Luxury is  indeed a growing travel market  and one that is becoming more accessible as airfares have declined and even 5 star hotels offer deep discounts and best rates for booking direct and online with their own booking engines, websites, smartphone applications and social media pages.  Very accessible indeed in the new age of communications and an emphases on openness and fair pricing.

So one can take of for a Safari or a Jungle holiday and explore new tucked away cultures and people of all walks of life and all beliefs.  Grass roots culture is the core of the new desire to reach out and connect. Many cultural tourist travel with a responsible attitude and a deep emotion to understand, connect and to help. These grass root cultural holidays are often not done by the major tour companies and on line travel agents. The best holidays are often made by personal contact and recommendations. Dealing directly with hotels and tourism operators who are recommended can save quite a few dollars and also make the trip much more personal and real.


We created http://adventure-travel-destinations.com to help hotels, tourism operators and destinations make these personal contacts and market adventure packages of all types, from nature explorations to cultural exchange. Hotel from all over the world can easily and quickly add package (click on the affiliates link in Adventure travel Destinations) and have it displayed on the site along with many others. There are pages to add special deals and best rate guarantees for travelers who book direct. Travelers using these direct links get a fair rate and the direct contacts with the destination host who can make the difference. Adventure travel destinations also offers leading adventure holiday packages from independent agents with knowledge of the culture and the destination.

In promoting our adventure holiday travel site we stumbled upon several adventure travel writers, including Andrew Prinze, who describes himself as a cultural Navigator. His story is in our first article of a series we are planning. You can see this on our slideshare site linked in the title of this blog. Scott Cummingham is another independent adventure writer that we will feature. Scott is a geologist who explores natural phenomena of the earths crust to tucked away cultures in remove coves off of the coast of Nova Scotia. 

Over the next several months we will share insights and discoveries with from around the globe with authors such as these. The articles will lead you to new cultures and adventure destinations with packages and deals that make world adventures to far away places affordable.

Check back here and on adventure-travel-destinations.com for the next update on our adventure travel & cultural tourism series.

6 Tips in Choosing your Facebook Hotel and Travel Marketing Platform

Source: facebook hotel reservations application

Facebook is a force in travel marketing. It has moved from being a social setting and a chat room into something much more. Destyination Marketing Organisation and hotels are making it part of their marketing strategy.

Australia now have a fan base of I million, New Zealand has 280,000 fans, Spain clicks in just under that.


As a Tourism Platform Facebook  has to provide an expert  knowledge system to organize data, make it meaningful, relevant and actionable.This is happening, not so much by Facebooks own initiatives but by applications made for facebook by trade marketing companies and hotel chains. Many of the leaders are Online Travel Agents co's like Expedia. This is unfortunate as Facebook is a Brand friendly channel that can and should be used by hotels, tourism operators and destinations to build their own brand integrity, fan loyalty and direct bookings.

We have built our own facebook travel marketing application for  hotel bookings and tourism marketing and management. In putting it together we had 6 main goals which we think are a good yard stick for all other application to emulate. These are

1. It is direct – ie no commission, no transaction fees and an affordable subscription.
2. It is a Travel Content Management system that will easily load and manage all units, rates, seasons, images, description and hotel/Tourism brand.
3. It supports special rates and packages for Facebook fans and special interest groups with in the fan base
4. It can publish content to mobile marketing channels and provide a full mobi. Travel website with booking engine.
5. It integrates with tourism website offer booking widgets and content management of Specials and rates on the traditional website.
6. It is  open and extensive and can it publish content, specials and packages to other channels at reasonable cost

For more on our Facebook travel platform application see  arcResBookings.coma

You may try this leading Facebook hotel Marketing and Management system for free and evaluate how it can help your marketing. http://arcres.com/facebook-offer-bookings.cfm

The full story and demo video may be read on our ezine article 

10 Tips on Article Marketing for Holiday Travel Destinations & Tourism

Travel articles area good way to promote your hotel, holiday, travel activity and destination. See this example Article Marketing Romantic Holidays

10  Tip to Article Ranking

1. Do not write advertorials or what are seen as self-service promotions. 

Advertorials are not generally effective, neither are infomercials. Self-serving articles do not impress those who are looking for good independent information.

2. Publish content related to your promotion. It must be a good information article. Your links provide direct contact and create important back-links to your website- This help improve your Page Rank and Search Engine listing

3. Choose Authors who are know and respected

4. Choose channels that are considered authoritative. EzineArticles, Hubpages, Qondio, Bukisa, Tunblr and our own TravelersInsights.com

5. Don't pepper articles with links and don't duplicate links to the same URL

6. Create a Video for the article and post it to YouTube and all video channels.

7. Create printed documents  of the article and submit these to Document services like Slideshare. 

8.Use Web 2.0 properties to Chat about your article, link to it and create a linked network.

9. Bookmark your articles on Digg, MIXX, StumbleUpon, Mister Wong and the top social bookmarking sites

10. Do several press releases on benefits and features. Use WebPR advanced package and add a video. 

If you have not done it before, get a professional to help you. Theer is quite a bit to do and a lot of tools to use. At the end you must ping all the sites and create your links.

We can help you - consult@axses.com

Advertise your special on these articles with AXSES arcRes Publishing systems - http://arcres.com/hotel-marketing-tourism-specials.cfm