If you think you are having trouble wrapping your mind around Internet Marketing, don't be hard on yourself. The people claiming to be in the business are losing their minds too. Unfortunately, one must deal with web marketing because to not have a good online presence is as bad as to not have a working toll free number. But what is becoming clearer is that the how of web marketing is not clear.

In the old days (the early 90s) the Marketing & Sales department in any company was steeped in mystery. Non-marketing people thought it was magic because all the golf shirts, pens, mugs, etc. came from "marketing". They were all well dressed, the women desirable and the men somehow not goofy-looking. (Perhaps it was because they sent their shirts out to be ironed.)

But what the heck did they do all day? Marketing terminology is so wonderfully vague that it makes computer and medical jargon look coherent. It's important to realize that deep down their jobs aren't glamorous. The core work of marketing and sales is:

• Email marketing (spam)
• Direct Mail marketing (junk mail)
• Telephone sales (telemarketing) and
• Search engine positioning (the black arts)

Those four methods of marketing and sales are gruesome. So marketing and sales people make up even more bizarre terms. One beauty is "brand equity". Brand is clear enough; examples abound such as Pepsi, Nike, Hooters. But, equity? Equity in your home is the difference between the bank's assessed value of your house and your mortgage balance. So, what's brand equity? What's the value of the Coca-Cola brand? If they distributed their pop in bland unlabelled cans and called it cola, sales would plummet. But by how much? And you can't sell off a brand without selling the product. To remove a brand from a market, you have to buy the company that owns the brand and close it down.

When you add the Internet to this mix of jargon, some challenges appear for accommodation businesses, particularly independent ones without the backing of a marketing division. The term "web marketing" really has no meaning on the surface.. If you have a chance to go to a web development company's open house, try finding those responsible for web marketing. Ask them this: when they have a client looking to have a site more visible on the web, what they do to achieve this objective. You will be met with a vague response. Try asking them, "when you come into the office, after your first cup of coffee, what do you do? What buttons do you push on your computer to make improvements in a web site's presence?" If you get an answer, please write it down and send it to me.

Ultimately, I can provide you with some plain English suggestions that will help your site be found on the Internet. This is not an exhaustive list, but it's a decent start.

What are the most important words on your site?

1. Your business name
2. Amenities you have
3. Your location
4. Activities in and around your business

These become your keywords that people might use to find you. The trick is to repeat your name, location and relevant facts as often as possible on your site without looking like you're repeating things all the time. Make sure all the info you want a prospective guest to know is on your first page.

If other web sites have links to your site, your web site is easier to find. Search engine companies keep their tricks a secret, but it's generally considered a good idea to have your web site address appear elsewhere as this helps direct traffic to your site. Of course there are a zillion places in which you can appear. The best ones are those that are relevant to either where your property is, or what kind of property you have. For example, if you have a B&B in Parksville, British Columbia, Canada, you could join the Oceanside Tourism association and they have a site that they promote. Your web site would be listed there. In addition, there are a number of B&B associations in British Columbia that you could join. To make the link even better, have a link to your association on your site. The fancy word for this is reciprocal linking which is a "you scratch my back; I'll scratch yours" arrangement. The search engines improve your rating when they see this kind of thing going on.

Is your web site on all of your paper documents ranging from business cards, to brochures, to invoices, to letterhead? If not, make it so (as Capt Picard would say.)

Once someone has beaten the odds and found your site, how are you closing the deal? Online booking, which means a system that shows the guest your availability and can then confirm a booking, is best. The delays that a form or email or telephone (toll free numbers don't work overseas) can add may be a barrier to sales. If someone comes to your site, book 'em!

Robert Ford is the president of Quokka Systems Consulting Ltd. and is a regular contributor to ComputerWorld Canada. (www.itworldcanada.com)

Robert can be reached at Robert@quokkasystems.com

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