Snow Marketing 

Search Engine Optimisation

Search engine optimisation (SEO) prepares a website to rank in search results for targeted and relevant keywords, and this takes time and effort.

For a number of ski resorts, these keyword phrases change depending on the time of the year. I’ve found that a handful of resorts feature two homepages on their websites, one for their winter sports and one for summer. Depending on the time of the year, the relevant homepage will display and the keywords communicating content to the search engines change accordingly. A few resorts feature a splash page, offering little or no content except the option to choose which season to visit. These are not good tactics for long term SEO.

Benefits of SEO can take months, it is ineffective to communicate little or conflicting information to the search engines. Optimising a resort website for both summer and winter activities should require developing separate pages or websites to cater to the contrasting seasons, as Whistler has done.

Keywords play a fundamental role in any search optimisation effort, therefore seasonal keyword research is vital. Season specific pages should feature permanent body copy which does not change its keyword focus. Title tags, header tags and meta tags should all contain targeted and relevant keywords to effectively communicate the theme to the search engines.

It is surprising to see a number of the big name ski resorts not implementing fundamental SEO best practice – Vail, Aspen, Copper Mountain and Breckenridge Resorts in Colorado lack the use of keyword rich title tags and h1 tags, and have little or no body copy on their homepages. All rank very poorly for key search phrases ‘colorado ski resorts’ and ‘skiing colorado’, despite being the big players in this region.

Link building is a vital component of any SEO effort, as search engines view a link from one page to another as a kind of endorsement. Keyword rich anchor text helps to theme a page in the eyes of a search engine. Ski Resorts should ensure winter and summer specific inbound links point to the appropriate pages, and not to a page with little or conflicting content.

Snow Business Videos

Snow Promotions Headlines

More evolution than Eureka!

BaselWorld and the SIHH in Geneva are magnificent showcases of the world’s watch manufacturers. Although we journalists tend to think that they attend for our benefit, the watch companies participate with one objective: to sell ... and 2006 appears to have been a fabulous year.

Read more...

---

Win Share of $100k with PartyCasino Promotion

Named "The Big Catch," customers must play by collecting points on one of PartyCasino's many jackpot slots . Every point you earn brings you closer to being one of the 500 customers to win a cash bonus.

Read more...

---

Do AquaSox have enough left?

The Everett AquaSox just completed a dominating Northwest League season. They finished with easily the best record in the league, and they set a new record for wins since the team affiliated with the Seattle Mariners 16 years ago.

Read more...

---

Class bell ready to ring

Families in South Sound’s three largest school districts – Olympia, Tumwater and North Thurston – will be greeted with a host of changes Wednesday as students head back to the classroom. • South Sound: Details about area school districts

Read more...

---

Amenities help Wisconsin Timber Rattlers close season on record-high note

GRAND CHUTE Thanks, but no thanks, Mother Nature.

Read more...

---

related stories

With the opening of Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Greenvillians now can get a taste of the burgers that earlier this month were rated No. 1 in the country by Zagat.

Read more...

---

Boxing blooms at Baltimore Arena

Du Burns Arena in Baltimore, MD will be the site for a unique doubleheader of boxing. There will be two cards by two different promotional companies on two consecutive Fridays.

Read more...

---

Promo Preview: Ending with a bang

Minor League teams are known for their gameday promotions. On Tuesdays, we'll preview 10 of the best for the week ahead. If you'd like a particular promotion to be considered for this feature in the future, please send it to benjamin.hill@mlb.com with the subject line: "Promo Preview."

Read more...

---

Charles Campbell, longtime Playa del Rey resident and aerospace industry employee, dies at 85

Longtime Playa del Rey resident Charles Campbell has died. He was 85. Campbell, who was born in Highland Park on Sept. 30, 1924 lived in Playa del Rey for 36 years.

Read more...

---

China Dongxiang Sales Growth May Exceed 20% on Stores

China Dongxiang Group Co., owner of rights to the Kappa sportswear brand in China, forecast second- half sales growth of more than 20 percent as its store network expands outside major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing.

Read more...

---