Main Article Content
Abstract
Search engine marketing is currently the most popular form of online marketing. This paper highlights the importance of search engine marketing for hotels and the scope of Long tail keywords for search engine optimization of hotel websites. Search engine result pages (SERP) on Google for Top 11 keywords were analyzed to identify the top 10 search results (that is, accommodationproviders) for Google search engine. It was found out that the webpages of providers of ‘niche’ products (such as specialized accommodation) are optimized to rank high in SERP for Long tail keywords. While popular keywords showed that webpages were optimized to appear with similar rankings on both search engines, the Long tail keywords indicated that webpages were optimized for either and not both of them. This reflects a lacuna on part of the niche marketers. This paper draws from three different streams of knowledge – Long tail theory, search engine optimization and marketing of accommodation products. Niche accommodation products can draw valuable lessons in optimizing their webpages for relevant Long tail keywords on search engine.