MarketingMinute I
Let the Search Party Begin
Simple web marketing strategies camps can implement to increase online traffic and, hopefully, enrolment
s your camp missing (or confused) online? As soon as you finish reading this magazine, Google your camp or summer program and take note of what you find. Then think of some of the obvious search terms a parent might use to find a program like yours (e.g., baseball camps, sleepaway camps for girls in Alberta, teen programs community service, etc.). Viewing the world of camping through the eyes (and fingers and keyboards) of your target market is never a bad idea. If you do not love what you are finding, then let the “search party” begin!
Before getting started, it is important to understand some of the terminology used in web marketing. First, there is Search Engine Marketing (SEM), which refers to any proactive activity that helps increase the likelihood of your program being found by the major search engines like Google, Bing
and Yahoo. Next, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), a subset of SEM that refers to coding on your web site and PR/marketing activities that help ensure your web site comes up more prominently in search results. Third is Pay-per-Click (PPC) or what is sometimes referred to as paid search. PPC are programs that you pay for directly to drive visitors to your site. You can adjust your strategy and spending as you go and learn.
Confusion and competition abounds in the categories of SEM, SEO and PPC. Here are four basic steps every camp can take when it comes to marketing its camp for the Summer of 2011: 1. Google your program and related terms. To assist you in this exercise, visit a web site like Wordtracker. Be sure to also set up a Google Alert*, a system that sends you e-mails when Google finds new
By Nancy Shenker
results – web sites (including yours), arti- cles, and blogs – that match your search terms.
2. Make sure you have some type of tracking system to monitor the number and type of visits you get to your site and what key- words people are using to find you.
3. Create a baseline. Look at your web traf- fic for the 2010 camp season and chart it against enrollments.
4. Total your marketing spending for the 2010 camp season and categorize it by type of investment.
When all this is done, you may want to seek a professional to help you with your SEM (and overall marketing) efforts. Some marketing companies offer tech- niques for improving “organic” search – simple, powerful and cost-efficient steps you can take within your current marketing pro- gram to improve online visibility. Public
10 Canada Camps Fall 2010
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