Glaciers in New Zealand
Maori children
Northland, New Zealand
Queen Charlotte Sound
Routeburn Track
Boating in Taupo
Tongariro, New Zealand
Wellington, New Zealand

Newsletter : February 2004

brought to you by New Zealand Tourism Online www.tourism.net.nz

NZTO Comment

by Garry Bond, General Manager, New Zealand Tourism Online

New Zealand Tourism Online has just gained another award. This time we were placed 65th in the Asia Pacific Technology Fast 500 for the fastest growing companies in the region. We are particularly proud of this award as we were competing against countries from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Australia.

The Internet is very much a technology area and one that New Zealand Tourism Online specialises in. Our livelihood is based on not only getting all of the fundamentals right but doing it better than anyone else. We actively look to improve our Web site for the benefit of our clients as well as providing visitors with all they need in a "one stop shop" tourism and travel Web site.

How much a part of your business is your Web site? I'd say in many cases, it was put up some time ago and hasn't changed much since its launch. Unfortunately technology moves pretty quickly and so does your competition. With tourism numbers continuing to rise, more businesses will open up to help service those visitors. These new businesses are likely to have new Web sites so maybe now is a good time to review your own site. Look around at what your competitors are doing. Try and look at your own site from a critical point of view. Does it appeal to the eye, is it easy to get around, does it rank in search engines, is there compelling and dynamic content? Your Web site is the universal front door to your business. Do it poorly and I'd suggest it would be better not having one. With a bit of thought and perhaps a few marketing dollars I'm sure New Zealand could consistently have the best tourism Web sites in the world!

Footnote: This site profiles some of the best New Zealand tourism Web sites. Well worth a look to get some idea's.

Site Feature

The recent redesign of our Web site means we can now profile tourism businesses on our home page at a cost effective rate. Our "Hot Spot" section allows a maximum of ten companies direct exposure to our home page traffic. This is great for branding and this type of positioning is often hard to come by.

Maybe you have specials you wish to advertise or just want more exposure. Have a look at the Hot Spot (top left hand position on our home page). You not only get profiled on the home page but also separately on the Hot Spot page. Here you'll also get rotated to "Today's Feature Site" at the top of the page.

Interested? We have a simple system for you to book a spot - first in first served! You can book a minimum of one month and pre-book several months in advance. Drop us an email and we'll be able to provide you with more information.

Ten Tips on Picking a Domain Name

by Nick Butler, Avatar Web Promotions

A good domain name is designed for people and for search engines. It can help your rankings to include your most important keywords in your domain name (although many search engines are now giving relatively less weight to keywords in URLs than they used to). Word of mouth is also an important site marketing tool, and if your domain is too much of a mouthful, word won't get around. There are no set rules, but here are ten things to think about...

  1. Make it memorable. If it's hard to say it will be hard to remember
  2. Make it short. You've got up to 67 characters but the longer it is the more chance that people will get it wrong
  3. Make it the name of your Web site
  4. Try to choose a name that tells people what you offer
  5. Pick the right top level domain (TLD). If you have an international focus then it's worth thinking about a .com (or a .net, .org, .biz, or .info if you can't find an appropriate .com)
  6. If you are going .nz, then pick the right 2nd level domain (2LD) - .co for businesses, .org for non-profit organisations, .net for Internet based activities, and the self-explanatory .maori and .geek
  7. Domain names are not case sensitive so newzealand.co.nz and NewZealand.co.nz are treated the same. It's worth considering how your domain name will look all in lower case without spaces, something neither the representative search site www.whorepresents.com nor this Italian power generation company www.powergenitalia.com seem to have considered
  8. Dashes are more likely to be mistyped and are hard to convey over the phone
  9. If you are an existing business with good name recognition then take advantage of that by sticking with your business name. Remember, though, that your business name does not automatically entitle you to the same domain name.
  10. Once you found the one you like, register it. With domain names it's often a case of here today, gone tomorrow. To find if your chosen domain name is available you can go to the Domain Name Commissioner for .nz sites or Network Solutions for .com and other international TLDs.

The New Google (More...)

by Nick Butler, Avatar Web Promotions

The shockwaves from Google's November Florida update are still being felt. The end of January saw another update in the way Google ranks sites in their search results. Nicknamed Update Austin, this resulted in a spread of the changes first seen in the Florida Update to a wider range of searches.

These changes are most noticeable on general keyword phrases, where directories and portals now dominate the first page of results.

There are various explanations for the new algorithm (Latent Semantic Indexing, Local Page Rank, Topic Sensitive Page Rank) but you probably don't care about the technical stuff. The upshot of it all is that these changes reinforce three things we've harped on about before.

  • Links into your site are good, but relevant links are better. Make sure your site is listed in relevant directories and contact sites that are complementary to yours (local tours and attractions for a motel for example) and ask if they would link to your site (you win) or exchange links (win win). You can also contact the people linking to that annoying competitor who currently ranks higher than you and ask them for a link. Type "link:www.nameofyourcompetitor.co.nz" into Google for a list of sites linking to that site.
  • Content is good, but relevant content is better.
  • It's vital to target the right keyword phrases. Avoid the general search terms. Target specific, relevant keyword phrases. This has always been a good idea because it generates traffic looking for your specific product or service. Some of the directory style results that the New Google is favouring are not especially useful so searchers may start searching on even more specific terms. The solution to ranking well in Google on the major, generic searches is simple in principle, though hard in practice. If your site is the authority on the topic, other sites will link to it, and Google will boost your site's ranking. Becoming an authority is a lot of work but a quick fix that may bear fruit is "directory-ising" your site. You could, for example, categorise and link to all the sites in your particular field.

Many search engine pundits argue that the moral of the story is not to totally rely on guaranteed business from free search engine traffic. It's fantastic when you get it, but it's also a wise move to spread your marketing risk.

In summary, if your site is not doing as well as it used to, then have cold comfort in knowing that Google's continued dominance is not assured. Just as the likes of previous top dogs Alta Vista and Infoseek fell from the #1 slot, so too Google may one day find itself eclipsed by superior search engine technology.

We welcome any feedback — send your comments to: news@tourism.net.nz

Regards,

The Team
Ph 0800 14 65 49
www.tourism.net.nz
New Zealand Tourism Online Limited
Head Office: 179 Tuam Street, Christchurch

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The largest range of escorted & small group tours

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