Looking at yesterday's digital marketing trends are a great way to keep to keep your focus on tomorrow. Let's look at the 2015 trends so far and compare them to 2014's and make sure you're going in the right direction.

Comparing current with past trends can provide some added fuel to continue driving your digital marketing efforts for the rest of the year. 1Q15 metrics continue to support the direction of 2014 trends in the areas of traffic, traffic by device category as well as property traffic and revenue trends. It's a good sign to support the continuing recommendation to invest in your digital marketing program.

The 2014 stats and recommendations on the attached infographic might not be terribly surprising, however, they should certainly help when you pause and think about what's important for improving your key performance indicators. It's always good to keep yourself pointed in the right direction to keep those heads in beds.

• Where are your visitors coming from?
  While the ways a website visitor may find you are many, the bottom line is this: It's critical that you have a focused and ongoing SEO effort, as the percentage of organically influenced visitors outnumber all others by a large margin. That doesn't mean abandon your paid campaigns or direct traffic as a good mix of both organic and paid should be part of your integrated digital efforts.
• Desktop vs. Mobile vs. Tablet:
  It's no surprise desktop continues to lead the pack for hotel website searches. Studies show consumers currently still prefer desktop to other platforms, but watch out for mobile! The latest study from Criteo shows that 27% of U.S. digital travel transactions came from mobile in 1Q15. The conversion rate might be lower from those using mobile devices, but the sheer volume of mobile traffic is the hard to ignore.
• Website average visitor Time on Site and Pages per Visit:
  Time on Site is largely influenced by the relevant information a potential customer is searching for and the ease of use in finding it. It's critical your site has the content a booker needs and are able to easily navigate to it. From there, it's all about the booking path. Be sure to make it easy and quick for them to book!
• Search Engines:
  Surprised? Probably not. Google dominates the search world. Are you taking advantage of all the ways you can use Google and other search engines to your advantage? (Creating a robust Search Engine Marketing program is a way Sabre Hospitality Solutions can help you drive revenue via Search Engines!) You should also be aware of Google's update to their mobile search algorithm to give mobile sites a higher ranking in search results. (a little something for your back pocket)

What's your call to action? Review your digital marketing program and be aware of where your customers are coming from and what you need to do to optimize. Sabre Hospitality Solutions has the experience and expertise to provide the tools and solutions to get you there.

For additional information, contact your Sabre Hosptiality Solutions Account Manger - shssalesrequest@sabre.com