In this post we briefly explain the recently announced changes to Facebook and make some recommendations on how you can minimise the impact.
Summary of the proposed changes
Facebook is proposing to make changes that will impact your ability to reach clients on their platform organically. This could reduce your reach to around 1% of page likes, whilst the impact is yet to be determined we recommend you take action now. If you’re interested in learning more about Facebook changes we suggest you read this recent Tourism Tribe post or watch the webinar here
What are your options?
We consider there are a few options to minimise the impact;
- increase paid advertising on Facebook
- invest more time and effort on Instagram
- make sure your Google my Business account is up to date
- finally and most importantly is plan B, ensuring that your Website (the only piece of online real estate you own) is performing as best as it can.
So what is plan B?
Having the best website you can, below are our top tips of things we think are important for your website and why. It is by no means everything but it’s a good start.
Our top tips for a great website
Does your website clearly have your contact details on every page? (a physical address, contact details and email)
Some people just want to know where you are and easily make contact with you. Don’t make it difficult for them to contact you.
Is your website mobile friendly?
Mobile continues to grow and we recommend you take this free report. Not only will it let you know if your site is mobile responsive but it also provides you with error messages which if fixed can improve the consumer experience.
Does your website have a SSL certificate?
How can you tell if your website has an SSL certificate installed? Follow these simple instructions;
Open your website in Chrome and look for the elements below;
- You should see a padlock to the left of your website address
- You should see the word “Secure”
- You should see Https:// (instead of HTTP) like this
We recommend that you have a website with HTTPS as Google penalises sites without it.
Are all important pages are accessible from the navigation menu?
Make sure the most important content is easy to find. Does your website provide the answers to these questions who, what, how, why and when?
The copy of the website reads well, is structured into paragraphs and uses headings when appropriate
Now is the time to reread your copy, especially is there has been multiple authors. Make sure the font size and style is consistent, the are no spelling errors and the grammar is correct. That the tense is consistent and overall it reads well.
Quality images are used appropriately throughout the site
Images are vitally important, revisit your gallery and if necessary update your images, recency is important.
At least one great video is used on the site, showcasing key products and or services
It doesn’t have to be a professional video it just needs to be authentic
The website has a blog news section
Blogging is great for your SEO, if you don’t already blog we recommend you start writing blogs to improve your Google ranking, more information on blogging can be found here.
Your website offers real time availability checking and booking (using an online booking system) and a book now button is available on every page (usually in the menu)
Consumers are now very comfortable with booking online and if you don’t offer this option you could be loosing bookings. Check out our 12 steps to selecting and online booking system here
Recent customer reviews / testimonials are present
Customer reviews are very important to conversion and they are often read just before the purchasing decision, so ensure you’re doing it right, see here
Links so social media platforms are present on every page
Make it very obvious your active on social media, your customer is likely to visit their preferred platform for reassurance and then return to your website to book.
This by no means is the complete list but if you have these in place you’re heading in the right direction.
