travel site?

Lawrence Hudson · #1 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008, 06:30 PM

Hi again guys,
I have the money to get my site going and plan to buy Site Build It tomorrow. I have scads of ideas for a site but a new one just hit me. I was raised in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. There are a dozen beautiful towns in the area (I grew up in the most beautiful of all) and there are literally hundreds of historical, cultural and fun attractions in the area. I know the place like the back of my hand so developing about 60 pages would be hardly more than entering the data. So here's my question. Is Aquilla-Beaches.com a fluke? Do travel sites generally do well? Let me know what you think.
Yours,
Lawrence

alpha7 · #2 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008, 08:16 PM

Hi LH. I can't remember if they said it is an actual site or not, but any topic can be successful. If you like it, other people may also like it. Look at the juggling web site they also used as an example. Who knew people were still interested in juggling. But it is a successful site. When you start researching your keywords, you'll find out how popular your topic is.

Someone else may remember if the beach site is an actual site or not.

Bingo · #3 (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 10:52 AM

Travel sites can do really well especially if you can beat any competitors out there. The more you know the location the more chance you have at being really successful.

I've a few of these sites that perform really well. So if your location is a popular tourist destination then I'd say go for it.

lisa · #4 (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 01:31 PM

One of the reasons I think anguilla-beaches has done so well is it's not your typical travel affiliate site. A lot of SBIers have tried to model their travel-related sites after Nori's but in my opinion they fall short of providing personal appeal and fresh details not typically found by using Google.

If you really take some time and comb through anguilla beaches, she updates it quite regularly and every time her family goes to Anguilla, she adds new pictures of restaurants they went to, hotels they stayed in, and it has such a personal appeal. Her conversational tone is very inviting and it's not just a site that has google maps, basic restaurant information and a few details about the city like a lot of travel affiliate sites.

So that's why it's so important you pick a city that you know well and go into a lot of detail on what there is to do and see. Post pictures of yourself at these places and provided lesser known facts that only a "regular visitor" would know. Personal touch and your own experiences in the city are so key. Also ask yourself if you'll still be as excited about updating information on this city 3 years or 5 years from now. If you see yourself running out of things to write about, then that may be a sign it's time to pick a new location.

Lawrence Hudson · #5 (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 05:51 PM

Thanks for the input. I have looked for other sites that deal with the area I am refering to and the best site I have found is the official city site. Very nice, but not personal at all. I can give the shop owners names, the museum prices, the host of the Wedding facility, the cost of a really good hot dog, the name of the guy that will clean your fish. Everything. And as to excitement - If I could spend every vacation of my life there I would. Not only that, until I can make enough money to go there once a year, I have relatives and friends in the area that would do anything to help me and my church (which is where most of the proceeds of the site will go). So, Hey - I'm excited! I'll see where the key word tools lead me, but I know I can make this a really attractive and fun site. It's time to buy the program!
Yours,
LH

lisa · #6 (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 06:06 PM

Well if you are excited that is always a great sign!

Lawrence Hudson · #7 (**permalink**) 08-07-2008, 12:58 AM

OK so I'm in. I'm working the steps of SBI as best I can but simply do not know how to interpret the Brainstorm It! info. Here's a snippit:

WORD DEMAND SUPPLY PROFIT

main city name = 26091 145651 179
city & state = 5613 2661 2109
major attraction = 5265 943 5580
hotels = 4399 2214 1987
major yearly event = 1811 1268 1428
broader area name = 1577 6104 258
restaurants = 1278 263 4859
wineries = 886 38 23316

Are these numbers good for starting a travel website that is personal, detailed and fun? I saw one other site out there and it was very informative and professionally done, but not personal and most of the buttons were links to local established businesses. I'll keep reading and working and learning. Thanks for your help.
Yours,
Lawrence

lisa · #8 (**permalink**) 08-07-2008, 10:05 AM

I don't know what SBI! recommends now because I started my site 3 years ago and I'm sure the recommendations have changed so make sure you read the Guide. However, I like my main keyword phrase I'm targeting to have at least 3,000 demand. The sub pages, of course, can be lower because you are going to create a bunch of other Tier 2 and Tier 3 pages that you can get traffic from too.

Looks like you've got a good opportunity to capitalize on some traffic talking about the "major attraction". I doubt you want to focus your entire site around that but creating a Tier 2 (sub page) on it should do pretty well. That supply and demand for that is awesome!

Remember, that number for profitability is relative to the rest of the terms there so keep that in mind.

Don't be too put off by the fact the demand is low for the main city name. That is going to happen for almost any city because that phrase is so broad. I would continue to research more specific things in the city like you've done below that. And even if the demand is not very high, if you can find a bunch of topics within that city with a decent demand, then you're OK.

Again, make sure you read the Action Guide's suggestions. I am not comfortable giving people a definite "yes" or "no" on their topic because I think that is something you should decide based on your own research and the advice from SBI!. But it looks like you're on the right track. Just keep researching more specific topics related to that city and compare the profitability of those terms WITHOUT "main city name" because the main city name is always going to skew your data because it's such a broad term.

And finally, don't let those numbers make you go crazy. I didn't spend a lot of time on BI. I'm not saying that's a good thing because you should definitely use it. I used the numbers as a general guide (of course you don't want to pick something with too little demand) but once I got an idea demand was decent, I went out and looked at my potential competition. At the time I started my SBI! site, my main keyword demand was fairly low to be honest. But I knew that I could capitalize on "sub topics" on my Tier 2 pages because the profitability was higher for those. Your result for "major attraction" is a good example. One of my Tier 2 pags gets almost as much traffic as my homepage. So remember you will also get traffic from your secondary pages.

So the BI tools is immensely helpful, but it's important not to get too caught up in those numbers. Some people go crazy or worry that their numbers aren't exactly "right". I think even SBI! tells you to also do your own research in addition to the numbers and scout out other sites.

You're off to a good start and I think you'll be fine. Any other SBIers have advice? I'm always curious to learn others experience with BI when they started their site.

Lawrence Hudson · #9 (**permalink**) 08-08-2008, 07:08 PM

So I have typed in a number of searches regarding the city/region I am thinking of as a site concept. After going about 10 pages deep in Google, it appears to me that there are only about three out there - the official city site (.org), a travel oriented site that is almost all advertisements except for small blurbs about very general stuff that you can get anywhere, and maybe a couple of other sites that deal with specific events or attractions. Does this mean that the market for a personal, detailed, fun site is wide open? It looks like it to me, but I am way too green to really know.
Yours,
Lawrence

lisa · #10 (**permalink**) 08-08-2008, 09:00 PM

Those are all good signs as long as the demand is there. And from your earlier post it looks like it is.

ssmorgan · #11 (**permalink**) 08-09-2008, 02:58 AM

Hi Lawrence,

First I wanted to say that I think you have a fantastic idea, and sounds like it has the potential to do really well!

The demand numbers sound great with one caveat. I would make sure that the demand for the keywords is representative of people who want to travel there, not just to look up info or for curiosity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lawrence Hudson

I have looked for other sites that deal with the area I am refering to and the best site I have found is the official city site. Very nice, but not personal at all. I can give the shop owners names, the museum prices, the host of the Wedding facility, the cost of a really good hot dog, the name of the guy that will clean your fish. Everything.

I honestly believe that this is exactly why you will succeed in this! If you fill the gap of the lack of personal touch, you will do great... you never know, the city's website may want to eventually link to your website (it's promoting tourism, after all).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lawrence Hudson

And as to excitement - If I could spend every vacation of my life there I would.

I think your excitement and passion for this place will show throughout your web pages and will get people excited about vacationing there, and coming back to your website for info!

I am excited for you! Keep up the great work and keep us updated!

Sherif

Happycat · #12 (**permalink**) 08-09-2008, 12:20 PM

Another tip is to check out my friend Pauline's travel website which she ended up selling for lots of $$$$. She still maintains it today. She's a proffesional webdesigner so that helps but never the less she found a niche market and had great success! slowtrav.com

Lawrence Hudson · #13 (**permalink**) 08-11-2008, 04:47 PM

I think I might have it. I've been trying to utilize the hot attraction but keep my sight very broad so that I can have loads of info. How does this sound for a niche: Major-Attraction-And-More.com. The name of the town, county and area are included in the name of the attraction. the numbers on this are
full name: value:15525 Supply:3590 Profit: 4325 or
partial name: Value:5262 Supply:943 Profit:5580.
Besides all this my wife used to work at the place. How's it sound?
Yours,
Lawrence

lisa · #14 (**permalink**) 08-11-2008, 06:38 PM

Lawrence, from what I can tell, looks like you have the numbers, passion and excitement to make this work. You've been making good use of the SBI! tools and did not rush into this. Sounds good to me!

Lawrence Hudson · #15 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 03:14 PM

I'm wondering if I can get in legal trouble for using the name of the Major Attraction as part of my domain name. Anyone know how to find out?
Yours,
Lawrence

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