Up until the beginning of December 2009, individuals in the same geographical region, typing the same search term into Google, would have identical results displayed in their web browser. You might be surprised to learn that your Google search results now vary, depending on your web browsing history. That means search results on your office computer, will be different from those on your PC at home or to those of one of your colleagues.

So how will Google’s personalised search impact on SEO campaigns?

Personalised Google search for everyone was announced on the company’s blog on 2nd December 2009. Since then the Web has been buzzing with commentary from SEO professionals. It is not yet clear just how much this new move will affect traffic to your site, Google has yet to announce just how results will be impacted, but the consensus is that it will be much harder for SEO specialists to push a brand’s site higher up the rankings using a specific keyword. And assessing how SEO work has positively impacted on a sites’ Google ranking has just got a whole lot more complicated.

Customised search is nothing new, so what’s the problem?

Sure, it has been available to a minority of users who log into the iGoogle browser and have ‘Web History’ enabled for some time. The roll-out to all users as a default setting – you have to actively opt out by clicking on ‘Web History’ and disabling customisations to disable personalisation – means that there will no longer be just one set of results.

How does Google’s personalised search actually work?

Google uses an anonymous tracking cookie to monitor individuals’ search history and click-throughs during the past 180 days, even while not logged into Google. This cookie helps Google to artificially inflate sites that users favour higher up individual’s search rankings. This means that, for example, if a person searches for ‘France accommodation’, a site they have visited before will rank higher than its competitors, regardless of its organic SEO performance. An operator in position four on the list could whizz up to position two ahead of bigger players based purely on search history.

The change is unlikely to really register with the average user. It is the latest development by Google to improve relevancy of results to individuals and this means that it is highly unlikely that people will see any reason to opt out.

What about individuals’ rights to privacy?

Yet again there are serious concerns regarding an individual’s right to privacy in relation to Google. Especially as this change is not immediately obvious to everyday users. And switching off personalised browsing, is not as straight forward as an ‘opt in’ or ‘opt out’ prompt or a check-box.

Advice on how to adapt SEO campaigns to address Google’s personalised search for all

When it comes to SEO best practice, the key principles are still valid. The need to ensure that your brand’s website continues to perform well in its ‘real’ or natural ranking is paramount.

Google is constantly upgrading its complex search algorithm to ensure relevance of search results to users. The introduction of personalised search for all has added an additional human filter, which will effectively demote sites which may currently perform well in search, but which do not provide users with a high quality user experience.

The creation of compelling content has never been more important. Attracting users by giving them content they can engage with and actively directing users to it could provide the means to push a site higher up a Google user’s personalised search view.

So how will Google benefit from personalised search for everyone?

The same tracking cookie which is used to build up personalised search results, can also be used amass personal data on individual users interests and browsing habits. This means that brands’ ability to target ads to the right customers will improve significantly. Ultimately the relevance of PPC and display advertising campaigns should improve. And more effective advertising campaigns for brands equals more revenue for Google.

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Billed as a forum where delegates could pick up valuable tips from successful activities representing different marketing disciplines, this was a first for the convention. Organisers of this year’s Travel Marketing Awards, the Chartered Institute of Marketing Travel Industry Group, is to be applauded for gaining the slot and I hope they are successful in securing it as a regular convention feature. Surf PR will certainly be going all out to retain our award for Best Use of Social Media!

I outlined the campaign we initiated for our client The Adventure Company from the autumn of 2008, with the clearly-defined aim of bringing together as one big online family all its existing and potential customers. As adventurous, gregarious and largely young travellers, it was a given that they were already frequent users of social media sites.

But previously, The Adventure Company’s presence on social networks had been somewhat piecemeal. By developing clear, branded sites for the company on Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, MySpace, YouTube and other sites, and encouraging blogs, travel diaries, pictures and video content, we were able to further harness the power and influence of this medium. All with the aim of driving traffic to the company’s website and encourage bookings.

One of the key messages within my presentation was that companies have to be very careful not to be tempted to use social networks to disseminate overt sales messages or promotions. The key is to engage with customers, listen to what they are saying and, where appropriate, join in the discussion with key facts and tips.

Hopefully, my brief presentation gave delegates some further food for thought – certainly a number of them approached me afterwards to thank me for the tips and to indicate they would like to talk further.

Now to work on our submission for next year’s award!

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I will be one of three speakers at a Travel Marketing Masterclass on Thursday October 8, sharing with delegates the work which scooped a top prize at this year’s Travel Marketing Awards organised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Travel Industry Group.

Our campaign created for our client The Adventure Company a line-up of vibrant community forums on a range of popular social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

The presentation will demonstrate how powerful such communities can be – providing a forum for like-minded travellers to share their experiences, tips, photographs and video, all helping to create a buzz – and drive online bookings – for The Adventure Company brand.

Crucially, the forums allowed the company to interact with clients and potential clients by answering their questions and joining in their discussions, while carefully avoiding the temptation to try to openly sell to them.

This is just one of the key points for social networking activity – creating a home, a community, for target audiences to share their own views and recommendations rather than trying to use it for overt marketing.

So, this presentation will be a valuable session for anyone who may be feeling a bit left behind as the already-massive social networking scene gathers even greater pace and continues to evolve.

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Designed to make choosing a trip easier and enhance their holiday experience, My Adventures allows travellers and prospective travellers to share information, bringing them together and enabling them to make more informed decisions.

As many Adventure Company trips attract solo travellers, single or not, the tour operator has responded to the growing customer want to ‘meet’ other members of the tour group before they go.

James Ingham, marketing manager said:
“Our customers love meeting the other people on their trip before they go. The holiday does not start and finish at the airport, there is so much anticipation and excitement pre trip and we want our customers to enjoy this and to stay in contact with their new friends on their return.
These days they also trust other travellers’ opinions more than anything else. We’ve provided the platform which meets both these wants.”

The Adventure Company’s expert tour guides and staff are also on hand to answer queries and provide recommendations for tours best suited to their holiday ambitions.

Top Features

Forum
Have your say! Here you can chat about the ideal holiday with other members, post tips, and ask others for recommendations and advice. You can also find travel buddies by meeting the others who have booked the same trip or people just interested in going somewhere.

Photos
Showcase your talent! Upload and share travel photos, and see if the artistic landscape or wildlife shot will impress the others enough to win the ‘best travel photographer’ spot!

Blogs
Your opinion matters! Write your own blog and share the fantastic memories, comment on other members’ blogs and rate your favourite article to see who gets the number one blog spot!

Reviews
Tough critics welcome! Read what others said about the holiday before booking. Customer reviews feature a 5- star rating system. This is entirely unbiased and customers are encouraged to be honest. This enables people to get real life travel stories and opinions which you rarely get from a brochure. The feedback also helps the company manage their tours.

Live chat
Real time interaction! Find out who is online at any moment so that you can share advice and meet fellow travellers instantly.

Favourites
Dream trips! Customers can also create a “wish list” from their personalised homepage.

And the best thing is all these features, including the reviews, photos and blogs are built into the website so anyone looking for a trip can read them, helping them make a more informed decision.

Claire Wilson, Managing Director, said:

“We have developed our My Adventures Community for two main reasons. Firstly, to enhance our customers’ holiday experience by enabling them to interact and get to know each other before their tours and keep in contact and share their photos when they return home.

Secondly, this user-generated content, comment and reviews provide a great real life showcase to introduce our tours to prospective travellers and people who may not know much about adventure travel. The genuine reviews and blogs will build trust with potential clients.”

The new community has clearly tapped into what customers want and is already buzzing – in the first week of launch, more than 400 customers signed up.

Sign up for the new community here: http://www.adventurecompany.co.uk/personalisation/PN_register.aspx or visit The Adventure Company website to find out more: http://www.adventurecompany.co.uk

About:
The Adventure Company (www.adventurecompany.co.uk) offers more than 230 trips worldwide for adult travellers and families. Trips include walking and trekking adventures; cultural journeys; wildlife encounters; multi-activity holidays and expedition cruises.

For further press information, please contact: Laura Crickmore
Tel: 020 7928 2999 Fax: 020 7928 1700
E-mail: laura.crickmore@surfpr.co.uk
Surf Public Relations Limited, PO Box 61070, London SE1 5BU.

For media information or images for The Adventure Company, please contact Kate Popham or Kylie Jenkins at The Saltmarsh Partnership on 020 7928 1600 or email kate@saltmarshpr.co.uk or kylie@saltmarshpr.co.uk

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On 15th January 2010, the next solar eclipse will be visible from within a 300km wide track that traverses half the Earth. The eclipse will be visible first in Africa, where travellers on The Adventure Company’s new Elephants and the Eclipse trip will view it in Kenya. Safari holidays will be accompanied by acclaimed astronomer Dr John Mason, MBE.

Kenya safaris with a sky show

This nine-day trip caters for those looking for exciting ideas for family holidays or solo holidays in Kenya, offering  a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the beauty of the wildlife, whilst observing one of nature’s most spectacular shows.

The trip will begin with four days and three nights in the Masai Mara, staying in a luxury tented camp and enjoying game drives during the day in search of the ‘Big Five’ – lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino – and other species such as cheetah and wildebeest. During the evenings, the group enjoy live ‘planetarium shows’ of the clear African skies.

The solar eclipse with an expert view

The group then transfer to Lake Nakuru National Park in the Rift Valley, home to thousands of different bird species, including over a million stunning pink flamingos. This breathtaking destination is on the Central Line of Eclipse, and is where the group will witness the memorable event for around eight and a half minutes.

Astronomy expert Dr John Mason MBE will accompany the trip to share his unparalleled knowledge of eclipses with the group. Dr Mason has written or edited over 70 books; made appearances on television programmes, including the BBC’s The Sky at Night and Tomorrow’s World; given lectures on astronomy across the globe; and led numerous astronomy and eclipse-chasing expeditions.

The Adventure Company’s Elephants and the Eclipse trip runs from 9th – 17th January 2010. The trip costs £1,995 including flights, all meals, transfers, park fees and local guides (dinner in the hotel on the first night and all alcoholic drinks are not included).

Book online at www.adventurecompany.co.uk or call 0845 609 0889.

For media information or images, please contact Laura Crickmore at Surf PR on 020 7928 2999 or email laura.crickmore@surfpr.co.uk.

Visit The Adventure Company’s online press office for archived press releases and images: http://www.adventurecompany.co.uk/press-office.aspx

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