* How Strong Is Your Website? *

Posted on May 17, 2017 by traveljunkies

This is Website Grader’s analysis of traveljunkies.com

How strong is your website?

Your website is the window to your business and like everything, first impressions count. Without a website, you don’t exist, and it’s the same if nobody can find your site.

But it’s more than that.

We help by sending traffic to your website using your free advert, but it’s your website that actually does your selling, and your success is down to three main factors.

1. Performance.

An optimized website’s is crucial to its performance, increasing traffic, improving conversion rates, generating more leads, and increasing revenue.

Page Size. The heavier the site page, the slower it loads. For optimal performance, page sizes should be below 3MB
Page Requests. The more HTTP requests your website makes, the slower it becomes.
Page Speed. Webpages should load within 3 seconds. Any slower and visitors will abandon your site, reducing conversions and sales.

2. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Your website must be easy for users to discover—and easy for search bots to understand—with better page titles, headings, and descriptions.

This might sound technical but can be broken down into four simple parts.

Page Titles. Page titles should be no longer than 70 characters in length and not repeat keywords.
Heading tags distinguish headings from core page content.
Meta Descriptions. Meta descriptions should be no longer than 155 characters in length and should be relevant to the page.
Site Map. Site maps help users navigate your site quickly and easily.

3. Mobile

In today’s world this is the most important factor.

Various reports give varying percentages of searches made by mobile devices but the simple fact is more than half of all searches are made on mobile devices and growing fast.

For some time now Google penalises websites that aren’t optimised for mobile.

What Does Website Grader Do?

Hubspots Website Grader analyses your website and gives you an overall score out of 100, plus individual scores for each of the above factors plus a score for Security.

It makes recommendations on what to do next to increase your sites ratings and improve your website’s performance.

It’s completely free, takes just a few minutes and doesn’t require you to enter your email address or any personal information.

Go to http://websitegrader.com and enter your website URL and in a few minutes your results will be displayed on the screen.

What you decide to do next is entirely up to you and will obviously depend on the rating your site gets and the recommendations the report makes.

A side bonus is that you can enter any website URL even to see how your competitor’s sites are performing.

Please contact us and drop us a quick reply if you have found this useful.

Thank you

Cliff & Alison
Traveljunkies

PS. Get your website graded here

Please pass this on to any colleagues, friends or even competitors.

* Too Much Information *

Posted on April 16, 2017 by traveljunkies

TOO MUCH INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET

So much information

We know the Internet is full of information that could help small businesses if only we had the time to look for it.
But many of us we have our business to run.

Over the next few weeks we’ll post tips we’ve used which could help you.
They’re quick and easy to use and they are free.

So please keep watching

Cliff & Alison
www.traveljunkies.com
If nobody knows about you, how do you get new customers?
If you want a quiet life – don’t advertise.

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* How To Get Found On The Internet *

Posted on January 30, 2017 by traveljunkies

Getting found on the Internet is often a matter of luck that someone happens to search for a word you have on your site that few others use.

It’s a fact that the more popular relevant words are used by most sites and those with the deepest pockets dominate.

And the same applies to advertising.

So how do small business owners compete? How do you get found on the Internet?

We have owned the domain traveljunkies.com since 2002 which is why a Google search for traveljunkies or travel junkies produces a quarter of a million results and we are at the top of page 1. And the same applies for searches on Bing, Yahoo and even the top Chinese site Baidu.com.

When we advertise we use this tactic to get more people interested.

Imagine Being Found Even When People Aren’t Looking For You

For Example: If you run a hostel, B&B or Hotel and there are activities in your area, your advert could look something like this.

Friendly quality hostel accommodation, 10 mins beach, 20 mins city centre, dorm, single and double rooms, pool, transport, full facilities, great value hostel. Prices from $20 per night. Water Sports and many other Outdoor Activities can be arranged nearby Tel: xxxxxxxxxx

ooo

It’s all about using the keywords people search for.

Adding a short sentence in your advert (see Italics) that has some connection to your business, greatly increases the range of your advert at no extra cost.

Just make sure it’s relevant for the people making the search.

You don’t want to be a spammer.

And finally – don’t advertise where you are just listed with everybody else.
Advertise where a search will find all your key words in your advert.

Please note – Premium Adverts in Traveljunkies are suspended due to Coronavirus

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What Do Your Customers Want?

Posted on January 6, 2017 by traveljunkies

Hey – we’ve done it.

After asking our clients and visitors what they would like, we launched our new website on 4 January 2017.

Take a look here and tell us what you think.

Thank you

Why Are We Changing?

To help small adventure and travel businesses in an industry dominated by big business.

Focus on what customers want in this fast growing mobile world.
Assure our visitors they are dealing with a reputable business that is a recognised authority in promoting adventure travel.
Promote ourselves for our customer’s benefit. We didn’t get to the top of page 1 in Google by hiding ourselves away.

Too often we hear about big businesses squeezing smaller businesses with their financial and advertising power.
No matter how much you spend on advertising, attending events, SEO etc. small businesses can’t compete with big businesses to get to the top of Google. So why try?

But there is a market where big businesses are missing out and it’s where you have an advantage.

A website is not the best place for someone using a mobile phone.
People on the move want things fast, and these are your target customers.
Big businesses can’t react like you can.

A question. What does someone want to do when they find you?

They want to contact you and because they have a phone in their hand they most likely want to call you
This is your opportunity.

Make contact, build trust
Tell them you’ve got what they want
Tell them the deal you can offer
Make the sale.

If they trust you and like you, they aren’t likely to go through the process again unneccessarily.
Big businesses can rarely do this.

Target your customers with a carefully worded advert
Include keywords to help search engines find you.
Give customers what they want and the easy way to get it.

If you need help to do that we have the skills and resources to help you. I’ll tell you more about how we can help you increase your business when we launch our new site in a few months.

One more question. Are big businesses putting the squeeze on your business?

This may be familiar because we’ve asked this question before.

We had an excellent reply from Nick Marshall who owns holiday homes in Cairns, Australia in which he explained the problems he has competing with bigger businesses with deeper pockets.

You can see Nick’s report here together with comments from other small business owners suffering the same problems.

We have taken notice of what Nick and others have said which convinced us to concentrate on promoting small businessess.
In fact, we will restrict adverts to small and medium size businesses although we won’t eliminate Booking Agencies because many small businesses rely on them.

So please take a few minutes to see what other small business owners have told us here. We think you will recognise similar problems and we’d very much like to hear your story.

Keep watching for more details when we launch our new website

Best wishes

Cliff Chapman
http://www.traveljunkies.com

I recently received this email from one of our clients with some very sad news.

Hello Cliff

The information is correct although we have sad news. Tyll’s Dive will close down begin may this year.

Our small business could just not survive and compete against new dive businesses with a good money back up.

As of now we have no one interested in buying the name and the permit owner of building is not interested in new tenents, which makes it difficult to sell the business as a whole package.

After we close down we will take a couple of weeks to relax and enjoy the island again, then most likely going back to Denmark for a while and find out what will happen from there and what options we have.

Thank you for your support over the years.

Dorte
Tyll’s Dive
Roatan

* HOW TO CREATE A PODCAST *

Posted on September 14, 2016 by traveljunkies

Why Create a Podcast?

For some very compelling reasons including:

The proliferation of smartphones
All-pervading bluetooth technology in cars and homes
And the powerful ability to start a conversation with an audience that’s keen to hear what you have to say or are interested in buying what you are selling.

Listeners can hear you on their morning jog or daily commute, time often spent listening to music, and you have your audience tuned in to what you have to say or promote or sell, even if they only have a few minutes to listen.

Here’s a simple road map for creating a podcast

It can be a bit daunting to get started for the first time which is why the team at Copyblogger have produced this road map for creating a podcast.

Creating great audio content involves many steps and these are the simplest and most effective ways when starting from scratch.

Even if you’re just writing and recording a script and letting someone else do all the production work, this road map will help you appreciate everything that comes together to create a podcast

Read more about why Copyblogger is betting big on podcasting … http://rainmaker.fm/audio/rainmaker/copyblogger-podcast-network/

Do you have a blog? If not, why not?

Posted on August 26, 2016 by traveljunkies

27 Awesome Blogs about Blogging

Written by: Eric Brantner on May 24, 2010 – 7:52 am

Rating: 9.3/10 (3 votes cast)

So, you want to be a better blogger, eh? Well, you can either try to go out there and learn everything on your own, or you can pick up some helpful tips from these 27 awesome blogs about blogging.

I’ve included a short quote from each blog’s about page so you can learn a little more about them.

1. Problogger—”This site is dedicated to helping other bloggers learn the skills of blogging, share their own experiences and promote the blogging medium.”

2. Copyblogger—“Copyblogger is all about helping you get traffic, attract links, gain subscribers, and sell stuff!”

3. How to Make My Blog–”I am Marko Saric and I write articles on all things blogging. I am a blogging consultant and I help bloggers with their WordPress blogs, with Thesis Theme, with branding, blog promotion, search engine optimization, and affiliate marketing.”

4. Daily Blog Tips–”Daniel Scocco started developing blogs and websites in 2005, and Daily Blog Tips is the place where he shares what he learned along the way. The blog was nominated under the “Best Web Development Blog” category in the 2007 Weblog Award.”

5. Dosh Dosh—”Dosh Dosh is a blog offering internet marketing and blogging tips, alongside social media strategies. Best consumed by bloggers, entrepreneurs, web publishers, marketers, freelancers and small business owners.”

6. John Paul’s Blog—”I am a Blogger and Internet Entrepreneur and a Kidney Transplant Recipient. I have been making money online for 6 years. This blog is a keep it simple, no BS, how-to on how I can help you become a Blogging Entrepreneur too.”

7. Blog Herald—”The Blog Herald is a premier source of news, information, tips, and commentary on blogs, the blogging industry and bloggers worldwide. It has often been cited by both the mainstream media and bloggers as a reliable source of facts, figures, opinion and trends about blogging.”

8. Successful Blog—”Strategy, ideas, social media, and the business of a successful blog and online presence. Successful Blog is where bloggers meet…”

9. Blogging Pro—”We regularly discuss a wide array of blogging-related topics, from personal blogging, to blog monetization, to the technical aspects of blogging and even other emerging forms of new media.”

10. Blogtrepreneur—”Popular entrepreneur blog for young entrepreneurs and small business owners who demand excellence in business.”

11. Blogsessive—”Blogsessive.com is the place where you can find blogging tips, WordPress tools and plugins, themes and answers to your blogging related questions.”

12. Lorelle on WordPress—”Helping you learn more about blogging and WordPress every day with help, tips, advice, and techniques for blogging and using WordPress and WordPress.com. ”

13. Fuel Your Blogging—”Fuel Your Blogging is here to make you even better. We know, we know, you’re already a kick-butt blogger who knows your stuff. We’re here to make any new blogging stuff even easier to come by.”

14. Thou Shall Blog—”Blogging is all about sharing and learning. This blog serves as a personal journal documenting my journey into blogosphere to discover the unknown and sharing what I learn along the way in the hope that somehow someone will benefit from it.”

15. Blogussion—”Blogging tips and tricks including making money blogging, designing a WordPress blog, search engine optimization and more blogging tips.”

16. Kikolani—”Kikolani is about the art of blogging – blogging tips, social networking strategies, and other useful information to help bloggers become more successful in blogging.”

17. The Blogging Academy—”The Blogging Academy is resource for bloggers and webmasters. We offer unbiased blogging advice and blogging tips on how to get the most from your blog.”

18. Performancing—”Helping bloggers succeed by creating a home for professional bloggers and a place where those new to blogging have a one-stop resource with tutorials, analysis, tips, metrics, plugins, themes, jobs, monetization tools and a community base to share ideas & build strategic relationships.”

19. Build a Better Blog—”Creating A Business Blog: Tips and Tricks from The Blog Squad Denise Wakeman, Business Blog Consulting and Online Marketing Advisor.”

20. Tycoon Blogger—”This blog is a hybrid between a personal blog and blogging tips blog.”

21. Blog About Your Blog—”This blog is a hybrid between a personal blog and blogging tips blog.”

22. Mextena—”Blog Dealing with Blogging Tips, Make Money Online, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media News, Tech Updates and more.”

23. Top Ten Blog Tips—”Top Ten Blog Tips – a simple concept that provides exactly what it says – lists of blogging tips.”

24. Smart Bloggerz—”SmartBloggerz helps people to be a successful blogger and teaches how they can make money online. On this blog, My aim is to provide quality articles in simple to understand way which won’t make you confused while exploring how to be a better blogger.”

25. Bloggers Passion—”I started this blog to share the blogging news and tips, my personal experiences and what you can do and what you should do to become a successful blogger. Blogging is an art and the more you do it, the more you perfect you become.”

26. MyBlog2Day—”How to blog and make money from blogging is not a myth anymore. Here is step by step tutorial teaches you how to blog with success.”

27. BizChickBlogs—”Here, new bloggers and those who seek to improve their blogs can find content to help them start from nothing, and create a blog with readership and community. I enjoy helping women in business launch successful blogs, so if that’s you, please feel right at home!”

Visit traveljunkies – the adventure travel directory & search engine, like google only smaller

How To Make Your Adverts Work Better

Posted on July 1, 2016 by traveljunkies

“When things are good you should advertise, when things aren’t good you MUST advertise.”

Advertise your website, not your services or products.

Traffic is the lifeblood of your website, without traffic your site is dead.
If no-one sees it, it might just as well not exist.

To attract visitors to your website, advertise your website not your services or products.
Your website does your selling so don’t make the mistake of making your adverts a mini version of your website.

[more …]

Include a wide range of keywords and key phrases in your adverts.

As well as the keywords for your own business, think wider. Include key words and phrases people might use when they aren’t specifically looking for you.
For example, if you provide accommodation, include words for nearby attractions and activities. People searching for tours, scuba diving, sightseeing etc. will often need somewhere to stay so use these kind of keywords in your adverts,

Be friendly, helpful and contactable.

Make it easy for people to get in touch with you. Many adverts fail because they’re not user friendly or don’t tell visitors what to do next.

Don’t forget your Call To Action. Tell people what to do.
Include your name and contact details and encourage people to contact you.
Keep adverts short and to the point as many are read on mobile devices.

Use Social Media to promote your business – it’s free.

Always include links to your social media sites in your advertising and emails.
Link to Facebook, Twitter, Pinit and Linkedin. These four cover the widest range of prospects.
Limit it to four. More than four can look like spamming.
Promote your Blog in the same way you advertise your website. Then use your Blog to promote your website.

Make sure they’re mobile friendly

See more – http://www.traveljunkiesblog.com/mobile-friendly/

One more thing …

If your advertising isn’t working, stop doing it. Do something else.
You run your business to make money so find out how, where and when to advertise to get the best value for your money.

Cliff Chapman
traveljunkies

Why People Buy From You

Posted on May 12, 2016 by traveljunkies

Or rather – Why they don’t

Why

It’s mainly because most of the time we’ve got it wrong.

Why are Apple so successful
Why did the Wright brothers beat the competition for man-powered flight?
Why did a quarter of a million people turn up to Martin Luther King’s speech?
Why do some things succeed and others fail, and it’s nothing to do with function, features, benefits or price.

There’s one simple explanation. See it here

16 million people have viewed this.

Cliff Chapman
www.traveljunkies.com

China To Take Over Hotels Worldwide?

Posted on February 16, 2016 by traveljunkies

The world has to be prepared for more guests from China: last year 109 million travelled abroad, mostly to Hong Kong, South Korea and Thailand – and to Europe. In the past four years the number of Chinese guests increased by almost one hundred percent on the Old Continent..

Read more … http://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/will-the-chinese-conquer-the-hotel-industry-worldwide/

traveljunkiesblog

The Easy Way To Get More Visitors

Category Archives: Marketing