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delivering clear e-knowledge to the tourism industry this tutorial has been produced by the australian tourism data warehouse is an initiative of the national online strategy committee and is funded by all australian state territory tourism offices disclaimer all content on this website and publication [both audio and visual is protected worldwide by copyright and all other relevant laws as each business situation is different no responsibility or representation is accepted or given for the use of content in this document and each user should take their own professional advice accordingly last update august 2008

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introduction this e-kit has been produced by the australian tourism data warehouse is an initiative of the national online strategy committee and has been funded by all of australian state territory tourism offices it incorporates a series of easy to consume tutorials that equips tourism operators with effective knowledge about online marketing the tutorials in this kit provide an extensive education of online marketing starting with an initial assessment of your current online marketing status to more complex issues such as online booking systems each tutorial includes a helpful header with information about how much time the tutorial will take you to complete and the level of difficulty this tourism e-kit resides on the atdw corporate web site www.atdw.com.au you can download the entire e-kit or one tutorial at a time depending on your bandwidth and time constraints if you have received this tutorial via another channel such as your state tourism office make sure you check the atdw website for latest updates and other useful information benefits of the tool are summarised as follows · · · · smarter e-marketing knowledge insight into what online marketing strategies will suit your business greater understanding of atdw and its products and services hundreds of references to resources we trust this tool will expand your online marketing knowledge and equip you to maximise your e-marketing opportunities the australian tourism data warehouse introduction v.4 last updated march 2010

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tutorial 1 internet planning my success this tutorial has been produced by the australian tourism data warehouse as part of the complete online education program tourism e-kit disclaimer all content on this website and publication [both audio and visual is protected worldwide by copyright and all other relevant laws as each business situation is different no responsibility or representation is accepted or given for the use of content in this document and each user should take their own professional advice accordingly the tourism e-kit is an initiative of the national online strategy committee and is funded by the australian state territory tourism offices

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internet planning my success reading time 15 minutes prerequisite n/a this tutorial will give you an overview of why you should use the internet to promote your business this tutorial also references all the tutorials you might want to read 1 why the internet the internet is a network of computer networks which anyone can access and participate in using a webenabled computer users turn to the internet to search for information and interact with other users such as friends peers and communities it comes as no surprise that travellers use the net extensively to plan and organise their trip latest international research shows that more than 80 of travellers do so this signifies that as a tourism business you need to move your internet strategy to the centre of your business model having a website that sits on the side will not be sufficient to compete in the online world 2 who is this document designed to assist these tutorials have been put together to help small and medium australian tourism operators successfully market their business online if you don t have a website for your business or have one that is not performing to your or your customer s expectations these tutorials are for you 3 roadmap to success what do i need to do and in what order each tutorial can be read independently and no technological background is required to understand their content you are also welcome to print all the tutorials and read them chronologically each tutorial should not take longer than 45 minutes to read you will find a list of all the tutorials organised in different sections on the following page tutorial 1-2 v.4 last updated march 2010

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tutorial 1-3 v.4 last updated march 2010

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tutorial 1-4 v.4 last updated march 2010

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tutorial 2 initial assessment of my website this tutorial has been produced by the australian tourism data warehouse as part of the complete online education program tourism e-kit disclaimer all content on this website and publication [both audio and visual is protected worldwide by copyright and all other relevant laws as each business situation is different no responsibility or representation is accepted or given for the use of content in this document and each user should take their own professional advice accordingly the tourism e-kit is an initiative of the national online strategy committee and is funded by the australian state territory tourism offices

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initial assessment of my website reading time 15 minutes prerequisite n/a think about your business website how well does it match the requirements your ideal customer might have 1 visibility and findability score 10 what group of keywords would people use to find your product service e.g backpacker accommodation brisbane winery barossa valley give two examples e.g backpacker accommodation brisbane cheap hostel in brisbane this question has no points but your answers will be used in the next question first example second example can you find your website on the first 3 pages of a search engine for the keyword groups you wrote above google the above two examples and see if your website comes up yes no value 5 points per each keyword group if you cannot find your website it means that it is not optimised for search engines you are going to miss out on a lot of potential business 2 visual design and content score 10 now have a closer look at your website tick if it meets the below criteria a professional elegant design 2 points varied and up to date quality photos that are relevant to your business 1 point recent video footage of the property or tour 1 point audio e.g guest interview sound of native animals which can be switched off 1 point maps and itineraries in a compressed and user-friendly format that the customer can download print and take in the car 1 point customer reviews and testimonials from tripadvisor or other sites 2 point newsletter subscription and newsletter 1 point fresh interesting content that is regularly updated and easy to read 1 point 3 functionality and accessibility score 10 tick if your website meets the below criteria an evident navigation menu 3 points tutorial 2-2 v.4 last updated march 2010

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every main category can be accessed from the home page 3 points images load very quickly and are not missing 2 point the look of your site doesn t change when the site is opened on a different computer or browser 2 points 4 technology score 10 tick if your website meets the below criteria you are able to change the content of the site and add new pages using a system called a content management system 2 points you check your emails at least 3 times a days and respond promptly 3 points a client can book the product on your site and pay with a credit card 2 points you have a reliable web host and your website has never been the victim of technical problems or viruses 1 point you have access to and can monitor the visitation statistics of your website 2 points 5 customer engagement tick if your web strategy includes the following you have claimed your tripadvisor listing ask the majority of your guests to leave you a review and respond to at least every negative review 3 points your tripadvisor reviews are accessible from your website 1 point you have a facebook group or fan page ask the majority of your guests to join it and interact with your fans via facebook 2 points your facebook group or fan page is accessible from your website 1 point you have a youtube account take short video reviews of your guest and post them on youtube 2 points your youtube videos are visible embedded on your website 1 point 6 my total score 10 10 10 10 10 tutorial 2-3 v.4 last updated march 2010 visibility and findability visual design and content functionality and accessibility technology customer engagement:

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your score 50 the chart on the next page will highlight where your next focus should be based on your results assessment results 0-25 points 25 40 points 40 50 points your website is not up to standards you are missing out on business work on your website as a priority you will greatly benefit from printing the whole tourism ekit and reading each tutorial in ascending order some components of a performing website seem to be in place you are on the path to success you have to work on your website to improve it and start to put together an action plan for your online strategy read the first tutorial and select the topics you need to address your website meets the requirements of today s internet savvy traveller focus on your online strategy read the first tutorial and select the topics you need to address 7 · · · · · related material a related tutorials web strategy assessment and components web strategy cost and timings the internet web 2.0 and the tourism industry target market 101 search engines 101 tutorial 2-4 v.4 last updated march 2010

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· · · · · · critical components of optimising a website understanding inbound links to my site sourcing inbound links customer reviews and tripadvisor google analytics google tools tutorial 2-5 v.4 last updated march 2010

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tutorial 3 web strategy assessment and components this tutorial has been produced by the australian tourism data warehouse as part of the complete online education program tourism e-kit disclaimer all content on this website and publication [both audio and visual is protected worldwide by copyright and all other relevant laws as each business situation is different no responsibility or representation is accepted or given for the use of content in this document and each user should take their own professional advice accordingly the tourism e-kit is an initiative of the national online strategy committee and is funded by the australian state territory tourism offices

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web strategy assessment components reading time 25 minutes prerequisite initial assessment of my website this tutorial will help you assess your e-readiness level it will also review the different components of a successful online strategy it is recommended you first read the previous tutorial which conducts an analysis of your existing website 1 where am i now the below chart will assist you defining the level of your business online-readiness four levels from having a very simple webpage to a manageable online strategy have been identified assess which level you best fit in by reviewing the dot points tutorial 3-2 v.4 last updated march2010

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2 what is the next stage i can reach tick your current level in the first line of check boxes and aim to increase it by one within the next 12 months when you read the other tutorials the abundance of information could be a little overwhelming come back to this tutorial and re-focus you are only going to aim for the next level level my web strategy is currently at level i am planning to reach in the next 12 months 3 components of an online strategy now that you have assessed your current level let s look further into the elements of a successful online strategy a web or online strategy is achieved by balancing three components which will be further analysed in the paragraphs below tutorial 3-3 v.4 last updated march2010

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4 component 1 website and content management system the cost of fully customised and professionally designed websites for small tourism businesses can vary between $3,000 to $20,000 dollars this generally includes a custom design the programming into an opensource user and search engine friendly content management system and the population plus basic search engine optimisation of your content if your website has a lot of pages for example more than 25-30 you may want to work with your web developer to populate the content yourself to lower the cost of the site a design options the graphic design component can increase the cost of the website as it involves a long consultation process with a specialised web designer depending on your requirements and the number of revisions required this cost could easily reach up to a third of the cost of your new site to minimise the cost of the design process many web development firms offer the opportunity to modify existing website templates some firms might simply get one of their in-house templates and customise it for your site without mentioning to you that it is based on a template more customer-focused companies might give you broader options and ask you to choose amongst a series of templates they own they could also refer you to a template-dedicated website such as www.templatemonster.com and let you decide which template you like best template monster offers templates that suit small tourism and hospitality businesses below are two screenshots note many templates exist that are already formatted for the major content management systems hotel template from template monster tour template from template monster talk to your web development company to assess the options they offer they generally offer both choosing a template-based design could not only save money but also a lot of your time b summary website technology and content management system below are the key points to consider in terms of web programming and content management system · your website should be developed in xhtml and table-less css you do not need to understand what xhtml and table-less css are but need to ensure your web developer is programming using these tutorial 3-4 v.4 last updated march2010

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