The one thing everyone can agree upon is that its important to appear right on top of the search results in the major search engines. The next think everyone agrees upon is that getting that spot is notoriously difficult. Is there any other way? Yes, there is.

Local Search Marketing is an extremely powerful way of getting your property in front of potential visitors that are looking for hotels in your area. Here's an example... Type "Hotels in Chicago" in Google and here is the result. Notice that hotels that are "mapped" show first... even before the search results? Isn't that worth a fortune?

Unfortunately, it is also an area that most marketers will ignore. We don't recommend you do. People get very creative when trying to find information and generalizations about their search behaviour can only take you so far. To drill down and get more accurate information, people are moving towards unconventional methods of searching. Sites such as CommunityWalk are increasingly becoming popular and ther are a host of similar sites that offer great benefits to hotels. In addition to the exposure, hotels should use these tools to better serve their guests.

Similarly, there are websites that serve a certain area exclusively. It makes sense to ensure that your property is listed on those sites. And yes, advertising on these sites is significantly cheaper too.

We know this because it helps us get our clients a lot of exposure without tearing their budgets apart. Isn't that what good marketing should be about?