Newsletter : January 2005
brought to you by New Zealand Tourism Online www.tourism.net.nz
In this January Newsletter:
NZTO Comment
by Garry Bond, General Manager, New Zealand Tourism Online
The 2005 year has started and although the weather hasn't been too good around the country, just think how lucky we are to only have this to worry about. The tourism industry in Asia has been devastated and regardless of the "travel to Asia specials" that are likely to appear soon, it will be some time before normality returns. Natural disasters like this can come out of the blue and I think it's a timely reminder that although New Zealand is very fortunate because of it's location and profile (SARS, terrorism etc), we need to be mindful for the future. Give it some thought - what would you do if something like that were to happen here in our great country?
On a more cheery note, I was in Hanmer Springs at the weekend and it was packed with people. Everything looked fully booked and the sunshine was very welcome. Predictions are for more increases in visitor numbers through 2005, so I hope you're ready. Remember though that increased tourism numbers will also bring increased tourism competition for you so regularly review your business and the strategies you need to keep yourself ahead.
2005 is also another exciting year for our company with traffic to our Web site already up 25% in the last three weeks compared to the same period in December 2004. We have picked up our first award (see below) and we're planning for another great year.
Technology Fast 500 Award
New Zealand Tourism Online is in the winner's circle after being recognised as one of Asia's most successful technology companies in the Deloitte Asia Pacific Technology Fast 500 program. This is the 2nd year (2003 and 2004) that New Zealand Tourism Online has successfully competed amongst some of the largest and most progressive technology companies from the Asian region.
New Zealand Tourism Online was placed 85th in the Asia Pacific region and ranked 7th top New Zealand technology company. Read more about our award.
The Lions Are Coming
The British Lions Tour kicks off in June and New Zealand Tourism Online has a Lions Web page profile on the games, playing schedule, listings, history and facts. This page is doing exceptionally well in search engines and is a really "hot Web page" for us:
- 2nd in google for "british lions tour new zealand"
- 4th in google for "lions tour new zealand"
- 1st in google for "lions tour accommodation new zealand"
- 1st in google for "lions tour transport new zealand"
- 2nd in google for "lions tours new zealand"
- 1st in google for "lions tour attractions new zealand"
Take Advantage Now
For those interested we now give you the opportunity to feature in one of the following categories (click the link to view):
- Lions Tour Accommodation (general accommodation - hotels, boutique etc)
- Lions Tour Attractions and Activities (attractions and activities for Lions fans)
- Lions Tours (organised nationwide and local tours)
- Lions Tour Transport (rental cars, campervans, bus and coach etc)
These pages are linked directly from our Lions Web page so there will be plenty of exposure. The Lions Web pages will stay up until the end of September as the Lions fans will still be traveling through the country.
Special Deal: We've got a special deal for those who list on one of the above pages so make an enquiry now and we'll provide more information. Contact your tourism consultant directly, email us or call toll free on 0800 14 65 48.
Banished to the Google Sandbox
by Simon Leslie, Avatar Web Promotions
You may or may not be aware of a current phenomenon that has been plaguing new Web sites. The 'Sandbox' effect is holding back new sites from gaining the high rankings in Google that their owners believe they deserve. Google is, at least temporarily, separating the boys from the men and keeping the boys in the Sandbox.
Read on if you think your site is grown up enough to play with the big boys, has proved it's worth, is ready to show it's got staying power, and is simply waiting for the big boys to give it the credibility it needs to get into the 'in crowd'.
The Problem
Despite a new site gaining a decent PageRank, with a good number of appropriately themed powerful links and great content, it is consigned to the Google Sandbox. Even though your site may be gaining high rankings in other search engines such as Yahoo! or MSN Search, newly launched sites have been held back in Google's Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), causing confusion and frustration to site owners, promoters and online marketers alike.
Many search engine experts speculate that the 'Sandbox' effect is a set of filters used to dampen a new site's placement in the SERPs, usually for two to six months.
Why?
The consensus among search experts seems to be that the Sandbox is there to maintain Google's credibility, and in particular the credibility of their PageRank algorithm. It seems the Sandbox filters are designed to stop 'black hat' techniques such as creating throw-away spam sites used to bolster early rankings, or the purchase of expired domains to utilise existing but non-relevant links. We can only assume Google's reasoning to be that after two to six months the old links and spam sites will have been discredited and the offending site's PageRank and position in the SERPs will have been adjusted accordingly. While this is frustrating for the owners of new sites, it may pay dividends for Google's users in relevant search results.
The Solution
What can you do? Nothing and everything. Nothing in that there is simply nothing you can do to accelerate the period your site spends in the virtual desert. You're just going to have to accept it. On the other hand there is everything you can do. Plan for it: if you are going to launch a site, get a placeholder with some well-worded text up four or so months before the launch date. The sooner Google knows about your new domain, the better. Then use this time to build your site. If you already have a site sitting in the Sandbox, use this time to add lots of fresh content and build powerful links from relevant high-ranking sites.
Keep busy adding links and content, and it hopefully won't be too long before you've got enough credibility to crawl out of the Sandbox and play with the big boys in the real world.
We welcome any feedback or contributions for our next newsletter - just email our team web@tourism.net.nz
Regards,
The Team
Ph. 0800 14 65 47
https://www.tourism.net.nz
New Zealand Tourism Online Limited
Head Office: 208 Cashel Street, Christchurch
