Renewal BBonline vs Bedandbreakfast

[Hangfive]

A couple of months ago my wife was belly aching that we should drop B&B.com. Instead I bump up to the platinum level and added the link to our reservations program. I wasn't going to drop them, but since then they have gone from #5 to #1 for me. BBline brings in far less traffic for me as well as a few others in my area that I know of. I seems like certain directories do better regionally then others.

 

[JBloggs]

A couple of months ago my wife was belly aching that we should drop B&B.com. Instead I bump up to the platinum level and added the link to our reservations program. I wasn't going to drop them, but since then they have gone from #5 to #1 for me. BBline brings in far less traffic for me as well as a few others in my area that I know of. I seems like certain directories do better regionally then others..

Time for a tums.

 

[aieechihuahua]

For us, Bedandbreakfast.com far outperforms bbonline.com,,but they are numbers 1 and 2 in both web traffic and reservations where paid directories are concerned. Bnbfinder.com was number 3.
As a result, I dropped iloveinns.com, theinnkeeper.com and lanierbb.com and went to the highest levels of membership for my top three, and it has proven to be the right way to go. Occupany, revenue and web hits are way up, marketing expenses went down overall.
I'm a firm believer in going to the very top of your top referrer. I think you would also notice a difference if you went to the top of bb.com...not knowing how many city pages you appear on, or how many Inns in your area, I can only speak from my own experience (of course)!.

For us, Bedandbreakfast.com far outperforms bbonline.com,,but they are numbers 1 and 2 in both web traffic and reservations where paid directories are concerned. Bnbfinder.com was number 3.
As a result, I dropped iloveinns.com, theinnkeeper.com and lanierbb.com and went to the highest levels of membership for my top three, and it has proven to be the right way to go.

After installing Google Analytics this was the same trend we found, and this is the same step we took with all of these directories. And Swirt, thank you so much for your page that tells you how to READ your Google Analytics, that is SO helpful!!!
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What page where? Can you give me direction to it. That must have bben active when I wasn't. I am very interested to read this.

 

[aieechihuahua]

One thing I don't like about BBonline is that you cannot make you're own changes. I like that with bedandbreakfast I can post new pictures anytime and change copy. I know that we get referrals from both but don't have the breakdown readily at hand. They are the only two pay directories that we are listed with..

One thing I don't like about BBonline is that you cannot make you're own changes. I like that with bedandbreakfast I can post new pictures anytime and change copy. I know that we get referrals from both but don't have the breakdown readily at hand. They are the only two pay directories that we are listed with.

I am so tired of filling out those internet directory forms it's not funny. What a PITA. I am glad I can just pick up the phone and they'll do it for me. FREE.

 

[aieechihuahua]

A couple of months ago my wife was belly aching that we should drop B&B.com. Instead I bump up to the platinum level and added the link to our reservations program. I wasn't going to drop them, but since then they have gone from #5 to #1 for me. BBline brings in far less traffic for me as well as a few others in my area that I know of. I seems like certain directories do better regionally then others..

I went from bronze to gold and the traffic has increased significantly. So have the booking requests.. When doing a search for mytown bed and breatfast, bandb.com is Alway #1 in organic listings. Burns me up, but I can't fight that. Or ignore it.
Hangfive - what level were you at before bump up?

 

[Don Draper]

For us, Bedandbreakfast.com far outperforms bbonline.com,,but they are numbers 1 and 2 in both web traffic and reservations where paid directories are concerned. Bnbfinder.com was number 3.
As a result, I dropped iloveinns.com, theinnkeeper.com and lanierbb.com and went to the highest levels of membership for my top three, and it has proven to be the right way to go. Occupany, revenue and web hits are way up, marketing expenses went down overall.
I'm a firm believer in going to the very top of your top referrer. I think you would also notice a difference if you went to the top of bb.com...not knowing how many city pages you appear on, or how many Inns in your area, I can only speak from my own experience (of course)!.

For us, Bedandbreakfast.com far outperforms bbonline.com,,but they are numbers 1 and 2 in both web traffic and reservations where paid directories are concerned. Bnbfinder.com was number 3.
As a result, I dropped iloveinns.com, theinnkeeper.com and lanierbb.com and went to the highest levels of membership for my top three, and it has proven to be the right way to go.

After installing Google Analytics this was the same trend we found, and this is the same step we took with all of these directories. And Swirt, thank you so much for your page that tells you how to READ your Google Analytics, that is SO helpful!!!
.

What page where? Can you give me direction to it. That must have bben active when I wasn't. I am very interested to read this.
.

http://www.inngenious.com/marketing-advice/trackers.htm

 

[Hangfive]

I was at a Silver level before. B&B_com has very high rankings for our best keywords here too. That and since Google added the business directory there are fewer spots for the 1st page or organic search listings, bumping us to the top of the 2nd page most of the time.
...what burns me up is the hotels that show up in the Google business directory ahead of our local B&B's.

 

[Hangfive]

I was at a Silver level before. B&B_com has very high rankings for our best keywords here too. That and since Google added the business directory there are fewer spots for the 1st page or organic search listings, bumping us to the top of the 2nd page most of the time.
...what burns me up is the hotels that show up in the Google business directory ahead of our local B&B's..

.....what also burns me up are all the B&B's that show up from here to Timbuktu for our city's page on B&B_com. For a potential visitor without a whole lot of knowledge of our area it is really overload.

 

[JBloggs]

I was at a Silver level before. B&B_com has very high rankings for our best keywords here too. That and since Google added the business directory there are fewer spots for the 1st page or organic search listings, bumping us to the top of the 2nd page most of the time.
...what burns me up is the hotels that show up in the Google business directory ahead of our local B&B's..

.....what also burns me up are all the B&B's that show up from here to Timbuktu for our city's page on B&B_com. For a potential visitor without a whole lot of knowledge of our area it is really overload.
.

.....what also burns me up are all the B&B's that show up from here to Timbuktu for our city's page on B&B_com. For a potential visitor without a whole lot of knowledge of our area it is really overload.

Are they on the city page or shown as NEARBY (ie AREA B&B's)? Do they have a postal address in that city but are out?
This is a major gripe for many BnB's with certain directories.

 

[gillumhouse]

I was at a Silver level before. B&B_com has very high rankings for our best keywords here too. That and since Google added the business directory there are fewer spots for the 1st page or organic search listings, bumping us to the top of the 2nd page most of the time.
...what burns me up is the hotels that show up in the Google business directory ahead of our local B&B's..

.....what also burns me up are all the B&B's that show up from here to Timbuktu for our city's page on B&B_com. For a potential visitor without a whole lot of knowledge of our area it is really overload.
.

It is a distinct improvement! There used to be ads all over our paid for pages. THAT has changed - they are gone now. At one time the page was divided with our info in the center with a 1/4 page column on each side. Inns in other States and nearby were to the left and ads for things such as Monster.com and Tahiti on the right. THAT was bad! I know it sucks having all those other inns but at least they are not trying to lure people to Tahiti.

 

[egoodell]

I think the link was for Bronze if you also use Webervations. Not sure about the "5" If you drop the link for where you saw "5" someone might be able to make sense of it.
Okay I did a resport and I have had 122 bookings for the B&B overall from BBonline vs 28 for Bedandbreakfast.
How were these numbers gathered? In other words, were they self-reported (person selected from a list of options) or tracked electronically?.

I think the link was for Bronze if you also use Webervations. Not sure about the "5" If you drop the link for where you saw "5" someone might be able to make sense of it.
Okay I did a resport and I have had 122 bookings for the B&B overall from BBonline vs 28 for Bedandbreakfast.
How were these numbers gathered? In other words, were they self-reported (person selected from a list of options) or tracked electronically?

I have all my guests fill out the webervations form to have proof they have read my cancellation policy. So I can run a guest report and the form they fill out has a drop down selection as to how they found me and the choices are internet engine, BBonline, Bedand Breakfast, and "other" and they all but three gave me answers. Not the most scientific, but good enough to give me an idea.
RIki
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Yikes! Don't depend on what your guests tell you. After I started doing some sophisticated tracking of my webervation reservations, I found out that 90% of what the guests clicked was wrong! All of the directories sound alike to them.
I use SuperStatz, but many on here use google analytics to accurately determine how guests find you. Please don't make a decision on the effectiveness of directories without first using sophisticated tracking on your website.
I'm sure Swirt will also chime in about this, because that's where his question to you was leading.
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Yikes! Don't depend on what your guests tell you. After I started doing some sophisticated tracking of my webervation reservations, I found out that 90% of what the guests clicked was wrong! All of the directories sound alike to them.

I'm not depending on what my guests tell me. I had bbonline for a long time before I started with BandB. And for what I pay for silver on BandB I can get the premium on bbonline which gives me more business by far. There is a reason that the inns not in Charlottesville but 20 minutes away are on that highest receommended inn listing as well as those in town. I'm just going to flip to the lowest BandB and take the highest BBonline.
bbonline almost always comes up first on seaches for my town.
I am pretty sure the reason I don't do well on bedandbreakfast is that they list all the inns up to 45 mintues away under Charlottesville. I just looked at it now and their "inn of the month" which shows up first is in Orange which is 45 minutes north. Look down the list and there are 7 inns from other towns 20 - 45 minutes away before you get to the first Charlottesville inn. I am listed 12th after several more thast are in Crozet, Waynesboro and Scottsville. All towns 20 - 30 minutes away. And I'm paying silver level for this?
Riki
RIki