We are more than halfway through the summer season for a lot of the marine industry. Have you noticed a drop in customers or bookings? That is likely directly related to how much (or little) online marketing of your business you did in the off-season or slower times.
As summer comes to an end and we approach the lull of school starting back up, most marine businesses are entering the best time of year to get a strong online marketing strategy in place. Empty nesters and snowbirds are planning their migration to warmer weather locales looking for good fishing, lodging, and excursions where they can make memories. However, how are they going to find you in the search engines if you didn’t start SEO 6+ months ago?
We’ve discussed on our blog a few times the importance of tackling SEO (search engine optimization) in the slower season so when your money-making season comes around, you get the traffic, rankings, and bookings organically. SEO takes time to build since it is organic in nature. But you didn’t start in the winter. So now what? What can you do today that will get you those bookings now? Well, here are your top options:
- PPC or Pay-Per-Click marketing! This is a no-brainer if you are not as booked as you should be – or as fully booked as the boat in the slip next to you. PPC marketing is buying ad space at the very top of Google search results for your most important keywords. With PPC management, we have the ability to target and re-target people who have searched and visited your website, track conversions (bookings or form submittals), get better results out of daily ad spend, and so much more. This is for sure the quickest way to increase your business.
- Social Media Marketing! If you don’t have a Facebook or Instagram, you are really putting yourself at a disadvantage. We live in a very visual society and you can sell yourself the best by showcasing exactly the experience you give your customers. Photos and videos are worth a million words when it comes to advertising your business. People want to see what they are going to pay for. Having previous customers leave you reviews on Facebook is an easy way to establish you are an expert in your field and show that you provide a quality experience! With proper social media management, you can advertise your business fully and effectively.
- Start SEO now! While you might be behind in this, starting now with optimization will set you up for next season. As I said above (and many times on this blog), SEO takes time to build up. It takes time to optimize. It takes time to see results. However, once there is effective management in place and continual optimization, your organic traffic will steadily increase and an increase in bookings from that traffic is not far away!
If you feel you missed the boat in starting your online marketing strategy and are losing business because of it, please contact us so we can help! We can give you a free online marketing analysis and a 20-minute consultation with our marketing manager. She has almost 2 decades of experience in the marine industry and can provide excellent feedback and data for you to review. Fill out the form below!
Charternet Web Solutions
Dedicated to Keeping You on the Water
support@charternet.com
www.charternetwebsolutions.com
844.866.9283
