Friday, February 29, 2008

Yahoo - take the money . . . . and a nifty open listing posibility

While I'm excited about Yahoo's new open source pet project that will allow Web sites to create their own listing on the search giant (but still David to Google as Goliath), I wonder if investors wouldn't be more interested in a sell out to Microsoft which has bid billions for the company and in the process lifting the shares of Yahoo significantly.
Me? I tore up Jerry Yang's letter which touts a brave future for the company (I really only have a handful of shares) .... Still, come on, the $$ from Microsoft is a premium on this languishing company that can't seem to find its direction.

posted by Toddles @ 5:35 PM   0 comments

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Find Keywords in the Cloud

Wondering where to find new keywords? Try looking at the associated search terms shown in the Quintura Cloud. Give it a try below. I found this to be a really interesting free tool for identifying keywords associated with one or two word phrases, helping me expand to three and four word search phrases.finding keywords.

http://www.quintura.com/



It reminds me of a lazy summer day watching the clouds float by and trying to make sense of the shapes I see. Since most searches are now up to four words long, a tool like this can help you better target your web page design for keyword phrases you might not have thought of.

Todd Lucier - TourismClicks.com

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posted by Toddles @ 4:49 PM   0 comments

Keep your Subscribers - 1/3 may change their address annually

Internet marketing is greatly enhanced with email newsletter marketing.  However, up to 1/3 of the people on your list may actually abandon the address they signed up with.  How can they update you with their new info?

Think about your own email practice.  How often have you gone and signed up for e-newsletters again after changing your email address?  If you are like me, its not often.

Get more of your list to stay engaged by providing a link for subscribers to update their preferences on each email newsletter you send, that way, your list will stay clean and tight with subscribers staying connected.

posted by Toddles @ 3:09 PM   0 comments

Image Libraries - Little Linking Value, High Social Marketing Value

Flickr is a great site for posting images, sharing those images in groups that are interested in the type of tourism experiences you offer and expanding your Web presence beyond your Web site. While using your profile description to link back to your site may get you more business leads, Flickr and image sharing sites are more about social networking and using free services to share your images online. Recently, Flickr turned off the benefits of linking your image libraries back to your site, but turning on the rel= attribute on links from image libraries, Flickr is telling search engines to not include the value of these links in determining Web site relevance. The links will still go through from the images to your Web site, but the image libraries will not help your ranking for relevant search terms - hence, no SEO value from linking these image libraries. Still, I heartily recommend using image libraries as a significant and important way to build your online tourism business.

Learn more about how to use Flickr to grow your business at this fine blog post.

Learn more about the .

posted by Toddles @ 2:37 PM   0 comments

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Share your Photos: Its just Creative Commons Sense

I just came across an interesting article highlighting the value of posting your tourism business images to sites like Flickr and Picasa and using Creative Commons licensing. The issue is that although I don't want anyone stealing my photos, I would indeed like them to use my photos - with permission and with recognition of the source. This sort of distribution of your photos can lead to more web site visits or image library visits by people who come across your photo on other web sites! Read the article on sharing your tourism photos with Creative Commons attributes.

posted by Toddles @ 8:41 AM   0 comments

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

10 Billion Videos watched in December - Were any of them yours?

ComScore reports that in December 10 Billion videos were watched.... just this past July it was 9 Billion/mo.
With so many people watching video, I have to ask, "How many of those 10 Billion videos were yours?"

If you think about it, we all are media companies no matter what business we're in. Get out there and create content that uses photography, video and audio and post it at online video sharing sites.

posted by Toddles @ 8:54 AM   2 comments

Digital Assets - are they optimized?

Did you see the new Samsung TV that connects to the internet and delivers relevant search results to whatever is happening on the screen? Now that just might be a disruptive technology to Google Search results depending on where the links on the TV are coming from and who controls those resources.
Imagine you are viewing a program with travel related to the kind of travel you provide, wouldn't it be nice to ensure your content is accessible from the TV? Sure we're 5 years away from this becoming main stream, but email came didn't it?
Be sure to optimize your content across all of your digital resources, video, audio, photo and text by using keywords within titles and tags as relevant.

posted by Toddles @ 7:52 AM   0 comments

Monday, February 25, 2008

Insiders are Buyers

I just read a great blog post about being an insider at Disneyland.... since this week, I spent a day in the crowd introducing my dad to Disneyword's Magic Kingdom, I found the essence of the post quite simple, but also quite valuable. 

It also echoed quite true for one of my web sites that is generating significant traffic for information we are giving away, because people are searching for it.  My advice to grow visits to your Web site:
  • Understand your Ideal Guest
  • Think about what they need in making plans for their trip
  • Draft web pages or blog posts or pdf documents that answer questions your ideal guest may need the answer to
  • Make visitors to this page feel like insiders.
  • Check in with them to see how well your information met their needs (without the hard sell approach, just find out if they liked your information, or what would have made it better)

posted by Toddles @ 7:08 PM   0 comments

Know how to Dial a Phone? You can create an audio podcast

There are a couple of basic skills required to take advantage of the content creation opportunities on the Web. I often ask my audiences if they can dial a phone or send email.... these are the skills necessary to use these new tools. The newest, easiest way to create a podcast just uses a phone call that is recorded for up to 10 minutes.

Learn more and start your podcasting career at BlogTalkRadio.com

You'll get a free feed and your podcast will be easy to subscribe to.... heck, you can even make your audio available at iTunes!

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posted by Toddles @ 5:04 PM   0 comments

Online Reviews: 4 or More are used by most online buyers

In thinking about reviews of your tourism business, consider this. About 68% of online shoppers read at least four reviews before making a purchase, according to data from joint research by PowerReviews and the e-tailing group. What are you doing to ensure that your ideal guests post favourable reviews? Direct them to at least start with reviews on

posted by Toddles @ 5:03 PM   0 comments

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Ride the Waves . . . surfs up

The goal of new media online is to bring your ideal guest as close as possible to the actual experience . . . so close, they can imagine themselves being there. Sometimes I come across immersive online experiences that are beyond the reasonable expectations of most web marketers, but nevertheless, they show what is possible ... Consider surfing.... use your mouse to look all around during this unusual 3D experience.
Todd Lucier - TourismClicks.com

posted by Toddles @ 9:27 AM   0 comments

Monday, February 18, 2008

Quiet time

The blog will be quiet this week as I take a week to enjoy some time with family. If you are looking for some inspiration, you might enjoy looking back through the archives, there have been quite a few interesting posts over the past 6 months. You might also consider taking time to view some video and make use of the online lessons or .

See you next week.

Todd Lucier - TourismClicks.com

posted by Toddles @ 9:24 AM   0 comments

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Family Day


Host Todd Lucier talks about Family Day in Ontario and the differences between Google and Yahoo Search.... a quick note about Facebook advertising too!

PLEASE NOTE: I fixed the iTunes Subscription link ... should be easy peazy to subscribe in iTunes - see the icon and link at right.

posted by Toddles @ 12:49 PM   0 comments

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Find the Right Email Service Provider for your Newsletter

At a recent Tourism Keys Internet Marketing workshop in Thunder Bay, Ray Bakker discovered this site that helps explain the differences between email newsletter solutions by providing reviews of online email marketing tools.

posted by Toddles @ 5:35 PM   0 comments

I just read an interesting post at that describes demographic differences between users of --> it seems as if those with higher economic/social demographic status tend toward Google, while lower status demographics skew towards Yahoo.  Could it be that recreational Web users are more likely to use the Yahoo interface that is more distracting?  How will Google's inclusion of Video ads (currently being tested in limited areas) in search results impact the distraction quotient of searches?

I find this really interesting and have shared at workshops how some have reported that those who tend to click on ads have less education than those who prefer organic search results.... I just think that smarter people conduct better searches and are more likely to see the results they are hoping for by conducting more detailed searches.

Are we naturally finding our way into our social and economic community when we use search?  Extend that thinking and perhaps - where users connect with people just like themselves becomes the most useful place to include a web search engine application.

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Friday, February 15, 2008

Online Classifieds - Kijiji Growing Quickly

kijiji-logo.png
Kijiji is quickly becoming the darling of online classified advertising. I only just heard about this site a week ago when a Tourism Keys workshop attendee mentioned it in Thunder Bay. Apparently, the EBay owned site is one of the most quickly growing Web sites attracting new users at an astounding rate. Place a free classified advertisement promoting your Tourism Experience? Learn more by visiting Kijiji... Hey, while you are at it, reproduce the content and post it at Craigslist as well. Then stop by and drop a link there too!

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/14/watch-out-craigslist-sister-site-kijiji-is-taking-off/trackback/

all the best,
todd

http://www.tourismclicks.com
Toll Free: 800 953-EDGE


See the online lessons at /onlinetraining.html

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posted by Toddles @ 5:25 PM   0 comments

More fun with PDF's - Edit PDF's online for free

edit pdf's online for free

Looking to edit a pdf? I'm often out of luck with finding my own original documents on my computer... but I can usually track down the misplaced document in my gmail account or online. Unfortunately, the online version is often a pdf.

Editing with Adobe Acrobat is enjoyable, but expensive for most people looking for an inexpensive way to edit pdf's.

Try pdf escape for a free online pdf editing solution.

Todd Lucier - TourismClicks.com

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posted by Toddles @ 7:39 AM   0 comments

I was checking out my news subscriptions online today and noticed an article featuring Earth Rhythms - nice hit there Celes. Did you happen to see it? If you subscribe to Google News Alerts, you'll know when news featuring your organization hits the press. It's like having your own free clipping service.

Picture 1

You might have, if you use or IGoogle.com

Just fill in the short form and any news featuring your business will be emailed to you on demand.
Picture 2

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posted by Toddles @   0 comments

Friday, February 08, 2008


Host Todd Lucier shares Internet Marketing News from the Week of Feb 1-8, 2008.

posted by Toddles @   2 comments

Email Marketing Tools - Four More ways to boost Online ROI with Email Newsletters

I'm always looking for new Email Marketing Newsletter tools to share with folks who are interested in what is the most cost-effective online marketing medium.  With ROI of over $45 for every $1 spent, isn't it time you invested in an Email Marketing Newsletter Tool?  Here are four more to consider:

MailChimpHTML Email Marketing from MailChimp

http://bronto.com/

VerticalResponse | Email Marketing and Direct Mail Postcards

Emma Email MarketingEmma Email Marketing | Email Marketing Solutions | Email Newsletters

Before you choose, take a few email newsletter marketing tools for a test run, most offer a free trial.  Then consider:
  • can you track your campaigns - measuring opens and click throughs?
  • can you build your list and manage unsubscribes easily?
  • what is the long term cost to send email?
  • is it easy to import and export your data?
In all likelihood, once you start with an email newsletter marketing tool, you'll stick with them for quite a while, so take your time choosing . . . but don't wait to get started.  With the return on investment so high, get started today.

posted by Toddles @ 10:49 AM   2 comments

Thursday, February 07, 2008



is great for collaboration, with the addition of a free online form tool that makes data collection easy this may be the free online form for data collection you've been looking for.
Conduct online surveys and have the data populate your spreadsheet seemlessly. Form users don't even need to be Google Docs users to take use your new form... simply send them the form by email or hyperlink to the form and you get the data back from the online form in your google docs spreadsheet. I can think of more than a few possible uses for this free online form tool for tourism businesses.

Todd Lucier - TourismClicks.com

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posted by Toddles @   0 comments

How to Track Statistics for your Social Marketing presence

This post is just a concise list of how to track statistics for your presence on social marketing opportunities and how to track your performance over time. For more on the new media and how it compares to old media, listen in to my recent podcast episode featuring social marketing. Otherwise, consider monitoring these statistics for social media success:


: page views, fans and demographics of fans of your business
or other embedded video: views, subscribers
Podcast (audio): downloads, subscribers
: articles, diggs
: number of bookmarks
Your Blog: monitor subscribers, page views

Image libraries like and Picasa: monitor feed subscribers


Be sure to track all your feeds using a service like: which provides free statistics on any of your social marketing presence with an RSS feed.

Have a peak at Mark's Hubspot post on tracking social media for more detail on a few of these topics.

What do you track?

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posted by Toddles @ 11:16 AM   0 comments

How to Improve Your Web site in just 7 Days!

Cathy Bohemier writes:

Hi Todd,
I just want to let you know that I really enjoyed the seminar that you gave in Brantford at the Brantford Golf & Country Club.
You made things sound so simple! and had great ideas.
Signs of a very good speaker.
Thank you for the suggestions for my website.
Since then i have revamped my site and would like you to take a look at it and ask if I may, for your input.
I appreciate anything you have to offer.
It is not complete yet, as you will see, but am working on it.
thank you
sincerely
the chocolate pajama lady
cathy bohemier
P.S. this is what i sent out to my customers
Valentines Day is only 7 days away!.
Time to start thinking about what you are going to get your special someone!
I have attached some gift ideas for your sweethearts.
Give the Gift of Healthy Dark Belgian Chocolate
and
Silky but Cozy Cuddle Satin Pajamas to snuggle in!
Chocolate you can have 3-5 times a day Guilt Free!
Caffeine-Free
Diabetic Friendly
Increases Energy
Full of Antioxidants
Tastes Great!
For Further Pampering Visit My Sew Special Sleepwear website at
Click on Valentines Day and enjoy the Cuddly Soft Satin Pajama Sets Available.
Call Cathy,
Delivery FREE in Brantford
5% discount on PICK UP ORDERS
MasterCard, Visa, Cash.
_____________________

Wow Cathy, what a difference this new web site organization will make! And you did all this in one week! I'm sure you were working hard.

You have moved the menu to the left side and now you are not selling just pajamas, but you are selling the reasons why pajamas are a great gift! And each reason is a potential keyword search, so, each gets it's own page. Well done.

I also like the comet trail that brings the visitors eye right to your headline!

When you think about each of these pages, think about how the images of your product can be delivered in a way that is consistent with the themes of each page.
Also, consider your calls to action.

For instance, you've got a call to action - Click here for Chocolate, but it would be better to have something as prominent for your email list. In particular, you might want to have a large button that says something like: Remind me of seasonal specials.... Think about your offer, then put a fairly large button where folks can click through to sign up.

My guess is that your business can quickly expand across the country and you might want to eventually reconsider the - by Cathy in your brand name. Your page looks impressive and with time, Search Engine Optimization will bring you lots of new web site visitors. To get started, make sure the keywords, description and title tags are optimized for each page.

You've also got a lot of text near the top of your page that is an image.... better to have this text as text on the page, and be sure to be liberal with your keywords there too as well as in the alt tags of the images.... ie: valentines day gift pj's

Cathy, I'm so proud of what you've done. Keep up the good work.

todd.

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posted by Toddles @ 8:23 AM   0 comments

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Did you do a no-no and get banned from Google's Index?
Request forgiveness at:

Google just wants you to confirm that you understand and agree to follow their quality guidelines.  Tell Google how you updated your site and removed the items which caused your site to be dropped and wait for your reinclusion.

There are a number of other valuable resources here.  If you are not yet using these tools, stop by and check them out.

posted by Toddles @   0 comments

Make your PDF's Come to Life on your Blog or Web page

Issuu.com is a new site that makes you look like an amazing techno geek, and all you need to do is upload your pdf, then cut and paste a bit of embed code to create this cool effect.  PDF Documents are printable, sharable, embeddable and a whole lot more.

posted by Toddles @ 8:15 AM   1 comments

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Website Traffic Readiness Test

Are you getting the Website Traffic you deserve?
Yes you are. Find out why your website isn't getting the traffic you think it deserves by using the Website Traffic test at Website Grader.
The Tourism Keys SEO page can help. This Website scores 85%, but as with most web sites looking to increase traffic, there are things we can do better. This tool, helped us learn the few Search Engine Optimization strategies we overlooked in our quest to get more Website traffic.

Todd Lucier - TourismClicks.com

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posted by Toddles @ 2:41 PM   0 comments

Monday, February 04, 2008

Here is an interesting note regarding the and click on the link to edit or enhance your listing.

posted by Toddles @   0 comments

A Feed Mixer and Mind your five W's

Todd Lucier talks about the week that was, including how to mix your rss feeds and why your keyword list might be bigger than you think it is for your travel experience.

posted by Toddles @ 8:23 AM   0 comments

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Me as a Simpson's Character

me as a simpson's character
I thought I'd insert a fun post just to test out blog editing software for my Mac - OK, I know I have less hair than this character, but it's as close as I'd dare to come to reality. I'm often travelling and without internet access which can make it difficult to blog. But by posting content into desktop software (I'm trying out MarsEdit) I can blog to my hearts delight and then upload the content when I have a chance. We'll see how well this works. I already like this a lot.

posted by Toddles @ 12:47 PM   0 comments

Friday, February 01, 2008

Generate a List of Possible Blogging Topics

I love this post on efficient blogging at Hubspot.  It's really easy to blog if you can post by email (see the tutorials on blogging and Advanced Blogging) but be prepared to do it efficiently.

I use gmail to send myself notes to generate a list on possible blog topics.  By using a filter, I just email myself with a subject line like - blog this, and when I've got time to blog I can go to it with a ready to go list of possible topics.  I really like the idea of using a tool like mailmelater.com too, that way I can post a handful of content pieces (when I have time) and have them go out to the blog at a predetermined shedule.

There is a lot to do to make the most of online marketing, keeping a list of possible blog topics is just one.  To make the most of it, we need processes to keep us efficient.  I heartily recommend for those who need to establish and maintain efficiencies in their day to day activities.

posted by Toddles @ 7:50 AM   0 comments