Driving Results Through Website Design An HSMAI Partnership Presentation with TIG Global August 26, 2010

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1 Driving Results Through Website Design An HSMAI Partnership Presentation with TIG Global August 26, Panel Moderator: Robert Gilbert, CHME, CHA, President & CEO, HSMAI 2

2 POLL QUESTION #1 How many people are participating in this webinar at your location today? or more 3 Today s s Presenters: Panel Moderator: Robert Gilbert, CHME, CHA, President & CEO, HSMAI Panelists: Matthew White Director, User Experience TIG Global James Zito, VP, Interactive Marketing Morgans Hotel Group Christine Beuchert, Corporate Director of Marketing, Marcus Hotels & Resorts 4

Elements of Website Design Color Typography and Copy

first impression of a website is formed quickly, within

Studies have shown how color can: grab and retain

3 Elements of Website Design Color Typography and Copy Navigation Photography Videos Maps 5 Color A traveler s first impression of a website is formed quickly, within just a few seconds. Studies have shown how color can: grab and retain attention, stimulate emotional responses, affect perception, form attitudes, and improve learning and persuasiveness 6

Typography and Copy A website s typography or font is a key ingredient in converting visitors for a variety of reasons: Fonts are a visual website

more legible and improve the viewer experience 7 Navigation Acts as an informational medium to inform viewers of information and resources Serves to

4 Typography and Copy A website s typography or font is a key ingredient in converting visitors for a variety of reasons: Fonts are a visual website element and part of the visual branding process Fonts differentiate website content and create a sense of organization and hierarchy Fonts make text more legible and improve the viewer experience 7 Navigation Acts as an informational medium to inform viewers of information and resources Serves to guide viewers quickly and easily to information in intuitive manner A clear hierarchy of navigational elements and topics should be immediately apparent 8

Photography High quality professional photography is an essential element of

Captures attention Showcases hotels, attractions and destinations Creates

frequently mentioned factor in assessments of websites 9 Videos Adds

immersive environment that builds strong emotions According to Google/OTX

5 Photography High quality professional photography is an essential element of successful hospitality, travel and tourism websites. Captures attention Showcases hotels, attractions and destinations Creates positive first impression Studies show the photos on a site is the most frequently mentioned factor in assessments of websites 9 Videos Adds entirely different dimension to website Creates more compelling and immersive environment that builds strong emotions According to Google/OTX study from June 2009, 57% of personal travelers and 66% of business travelers use online video when deciding on accommodations 10

looking to booking process Transforms website into powerful

6 Maps Essential part of search and booking process Showcases location and proximity to attractions First link in the looking to booking process Transforms website into powerful tool for sales & marketing 11 User Experience and Usability 12

Top 5 Usability Tips By Matthew White Director of User Experience TIG Global a division of MICROS 13 1.

7 Top 5 Usability Tips By Matthew White Director of User Experience TIG Global a division of MICROS Quality Of Design Is An Indicator Of Credibility Users really do judge a book by its cover or rather, a website by its design. Elements such as layout, consistency, typography, color and style all affect how users perceive your website and what kind of image you project. Your website should project not only a good image but also the right one for your audience. Other factors that influence credibility are: the quality of the website s content, amount of errors, rate of updates, ease of use and trustworthiness of authors. Also see Stanford University s Guidelines for Web Credibility. 14

Recent studies prove that users are quite comfortable with scrolling and in some situations they are willing to scroll to the bottom of the page.

8 Recent studies prove that users are quite comfortable with scrolling and in some situations they are willing to scroll to the bottom of the page. Place your key content on a prominent position, especially on landing pages. This means you should not cram everything in the upper area of the page. You should make the best use of that area. Crowding it with content will just make the content inaccessible; when the user sees too much information, they don t know where to begin looking. 15 This is most important for the home page, where most new visitors will land. So provide the core essentials above the fold : Name of the website, Value proposition of the website (i.e., what benefit users will get from using it), Navigation for the main sections of the website that are relevant to the user. For further information please take a look at the articles Unfolding the fold (Clicktale), Paging VS Scrolling (Wichita University SURL), Blasting the Myth of the Fold (Boxes and Arrows). (thanks, Fred Leuck). 16

9 3. White Space Improves Comprehension White space de-clutters a page by giving items room to breathe. Group items together by decreasing the space between them and increasing the space between them and other items on the page. This is important for showing relationships between items (e.g. showing that this button applies to this set of items) and building a hierarchy of elements on the page. White space also makes content more readable. A study (Lin, 2004) found that good use of white space between paragraphs and in the left and right margins increases comprehension by almost 20%. Readers find it easier to focus on and process generously spaced content. In fact, the layout on a Web page (including white space, headers, indentation and figures) may not measurably influence performance but does influence user satisfaction and experience. 17 Notice the big content margin, padding and paragraph spacing on The Netsetter. All that space makes the content easy and comfortable to read. 18

10 4. Most Users Are Blind To Advertising Most users are essentially blind to ad banners. If they re looking for information on a page or are engrossed in content, they won t be distracted by the ads on the side. The implication of this is not only that users will avoid ads but that they ll avoid anything that looks like an ad, even if it s not an ad. Some heavily styled navigation items may look like banners, so be careful with these elements. Click here to enter order 19 That said, ads that look like content will get people looking and clicking. 20

11 5. Provide clear labels and prominent navigation options People tend to spend very little time reading most Web pages. Instead, users scan (or skim) them, looking for words or phrases that catch their eye. Navigation labels should be short and easy to understand. The words used for the labels (links) should also be sufficiently descriptive to provide a clear indication of the page they link to. Don t use jargon, market-ese or clever terms. 21 Don t Make Me Think! JOBS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNIES JOB-O-RAMA!.01 milliseconds 2 seconds or more thought power required Thanks to Steve Krug! 22

*Identify and target customer segments *Incorporate Usability Principles

12 User Experience and Usability Christine Beuchert, Corporate Director of Marketing, Marcus Hotels & Resorts 23 Website Design Principles: *Visual Impact *Identify and target customer segments *Incorporate Usability Principles *Measurement and Conversion Goals *Initial development focus on key pages *Ongoing Improvement 24

13 25 Measurement 26

14 Key Pages: Accommodations page: What does the guest room look like? Opportunity > Upsell room type 27 Accommodations Page 28

15 Key Pages: Accommodations page: What does the guest room look like? Opportunity > Upsell room type Photo Gallery: Give an overall feel for the property Opportunity> Tell the story of your property using great pictures; incorporate virtual tour/video 29 Key Pages: Accommodations page: What does the guest room look like? Opportunity > Upsell room type Photo Gallery: Give an overall feel for the property Opportunity> Tell the story of your property using great pictures; incorporate virtual tour/video Specials and/or Packages Opportunity> Steer price sensitive customers to need dates. Offer packages by segment 30

James Zito, VP, Interactive Marketing MORGANS

LOS ANGELES - MONDRIAN MIAMI DELAN, SHORE

HUDSON SAN FRANCISCO CLIFT BOSTON - AMES LAS

WAS DESIGNED TO CREATE AN IMMERSIVE VISUAL

16 James Zito, VP, Interactive Marketing MORGANS HOTEL GROUP LONDON SANDERSON, ST MARTINS LANE LOS ANGELES - MONDRIAN MIAMI DELAN, SHORE CLUB, MONDRIAN NEW YORK - MORGANS, ROYALTON, HUDSON SAN FRANCISCO CLIFT BOSTON - AMES LAS VEGAS- HARD ROCK HOTEL AND CASINO 31 OUR SITE WAS DESIGNED TO CREATE AN IMMERSIVE VISUAL EXPERIENCE THAT BRINGS OUR PROPERTIES TO LIFE 32

17 KEY FUNDAMENTALS TO OUR SITE EXPERIENCE: FIRST TO UTILIZE FULL SCREEN IMAGERY CHANGED HOW A TRADITIONAL CALENDAR WORKS 33 34

18 35 BALANCE BETWEEN THE VISUAL AND THE FUNCTIONAL TO ACCOMMODATE THIS WE CONDUCT EXTENSIVE USABILITY TESTING WITH POTENTIAL AND EXISTING CUSTOMERS 36

19 Designing for SEO BALANCE BETWEEN THE VISUAL AND THE FUNCTIONAL FUNCTIONAL FOR SEARCH TO ACCOMMODATE THE SITE WAS BUILT PROGRESSIVELY ENHANCED ADDITIONAL CONTENT 37 38

20 39 40

21 41 Designing for SEO Matthew White Director, User Experience TIG Global 42

SEO Tips for Design/Usability Use of keywords and descriptive language in URLs is good for users and search engines Seeing the words/phrases

another signal that search engines use to help determine what the most relevant results are Do this 43 Don t do this SEO Tips for

used can have a major impact on search engines Often technologies like Flash and AJAX are chosen because of the great user experience they

22 SEO Tips for Design/Usability Use of keywords and descriptive language in URLs is good for users and search engines Seeing the words/phrases that were searched gives users more confidence that a particular result is what they are looking for Providing descriptive language is another signal that search engines use to help determine what the most relevant results are Do this 43 Don t do this SEO Tips for Design/Usability Search engines don t see what users see The technical decisions made about how to build a site and what technologies are used can have a major impact on search engines Often technologies like Flash and AJAX are chosen because of the great user experience they can create However, these technologies can be crippling to your search engine optimization, if implemented incorrectly What Users See What Search Engines See 44

23 Designing for SEO Christine Beuchert Corporate Director of Marketing, Marcus Hotels & Resorts 45 Top referring search keywords 46

Google Keyword Tool http://adwords.google.com/select/keywordtoolexternal 47 Questions?

24 Google Keyword Tool 47 Questions? Panel Moderator: Robert Gilbert, CHME, CHA, President & CEO, HSMAI Panelists: Matthew White Director, User Experience TIG Global James Zito, VP, Interactive Marketing Morgans Hotel Group Christine Beuchert, Corporate Director of Marketing, Marcus Hotels & Resorts 48

Upcoming HSMAI University Programs If you haven t registered for the entire 10- part Revenue Management series going through December 14, 2010, you can do so now.

25 Upcoming HSMAI University Programs If you haven t registered for the entire 10- part Revenue Management series going through December 14, 2010, you can do so now. Details on this series and other upcoming webinars at Next session: August 31, 2010 Close the Divide Between Revenue Management and Customer Loyalty 49 The Evolving Dynamics of Revenue Management: A Comprehensive Revenue Optimization Road Map for Hotel Owners, Operators and Practitioners By Kathleen Cullen & Caryl Helsel Published by HSMAI Foundation in partnership with the HSMAI Revenue Management SIG Advisory Board and TravelCLICK Revenue Management has continued to grow as a science and an art over the past several years in many industries, and especially in the hospitality industry. On the most fundamental level, the basis for success is to have the right revenue management organization in place to support the revenue strategy. A solid understanding of revenue management is critical throughout an organization, from top to bottom. This HSMAI Foundation publication brings you and your property the very latest information on understanding the market, market segmentation, forecasting, revenue strategy, pricing, inventory control strategies, and performance analysis. Included are a plethora of case studies to help you optimize revenue at all levels. Order today at 50

26 Evaluation Please take a moment now to click on the Evaluation link in the LINKS box and complete the evaluation. Be sure to click on Submit when you have completed the evaluation to send us your responses. Your comments & suggestions are very important to us, and they help us to provide you with quality programming. Today s s webinar is copyright 2010 by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International with All Rights Reserved. 51

Best Practices in Website Design. Making the most of every Website visitor

Best Practices in Website Design Making the most of every Website visitor Making the most of every visitor: Website Design Considerations What is the primary objective of a Website? Felix Laboy & Paolo