Want to advertise your fishing charter on the internet but don’t know where to start? You’re in luck! In this article, we at FishingBooker have put together a comprehensive guide to get you started.
FishingBooker: An Example
There was a time when a business just needed to be listed in the Yellow Pages to be found by customers. Those times are over.
In recent years, there’s been an exponential growth in people who search for and compare services on the internet. People all over the world are getting more and more used to finding everything online. From accommodation to clothing, from books to rental cars – you’ll find it on the internet, at the best rates available.
And it’s true for the charter fishing industry, too. That’s why FishingBooker was set up!
We noticed that fishing charters were lacking online marketing services that were both successful and offered fair prices. So we created an online marketplace where fishing charters could promote their business and anglers could find their perfect charter.
Not only does FishingBooker help fishing charters attract more business and build their online reputation, but we do so at no cost to them! If you’re interested in joining the FishingBooker family, get in touch with one of our specialists at [email protected]
Anwyay, how does all this work, and how can you apply it to your business? Read on to find out.
Online Marketing: Tips and Tricks for Beginners
You know those search results that show up first on Google with a little “Ad” icon under the title? That’s called paid, or pay-per-click (PPC), marketing. Let’s look at an example.
If you type “Destin fishing charters” in Google, the first four results are paid ads. There are plenty of charters in Destin, and if you’re in one of those first four spots, customers are instantly going to notice you. The vast majority of people click on one of those first four links, so you want to be up there.
And you can be! If you pay for it, that is. That’s why it’s called paid marketing. For Google, you can manage your paid advertising through their Ads interface.
Now, nobody wants to spend money needlessly. And you won’t! Remember that the official term for this type of advertisement is pay-per-click marketing. You don’t pay anything if nobody clicks on the link. Once they do click, they’re already on your website and the chances they’ll book with you are pretty good.
Conversion: A Tale of Keyword Relevance
Conversion means that someone who was interested in buying a certain service actually purchased it. In our case, a customer interested in going fishing has booked a suitable fishing charter.
The most important factor in deciding whether your ad will convert or not is relevance. We can break this down into two parts: targeting the right keywords, and having the right content in your ad.
You want your ad to show up when people are searching for very relevant keywords. In other words, when it’s clear that they want to go fishing. And, when designing your advertising for Google, you can bid (pay) for one or multiple keyword phrases.
You’re running a fishing charter business, so bidding for “what to do in Destin” is too broad. There are a million things to do in Destin! The chances are relatively slim that someone searching for what to do in Destin wants to go fishing. That’s why your ad needs to rank well for more specific keywords.
Make Your Content Convert to Customers
Here, we get to the second part: content relevance. The content of the ad as well as the content of your website need to match the expectations the keywords generate.
If you advertise for deep sea fishing, but you only do inshore fishing, people will be disappointed when they come to your website. They wanted deep sea fishing, and what they were offered was inshore fishing. They will not book a fishing trip with you, and you paid for their click on your ad. Double loss!
However, if you do offer deep sea fishing charters, the chances that the same customer will book a trip with you is actually pretty high. And Google takes this all into consideration when ranking you.
So, when doing pay-per-click advertising on Google, make sure that you’re advertising for keywords that match your offer as closely as possible. That is the fundamental rule of paid online advertising, not just for fishing, but for any business.
Plan Your Keywords with Google’s Keyword Planner
The best tool for helping you decide which keywords to bid for is Google’s Keyword Planner. This tool is free for every Google Ads user and gives you valuable information on how often people search for specific keyword combinations. If your keyword has a lot of searches, you’ll be able to reach a broad audience if your ad ranks well for it.
Unfortunately, highly popular keywords also usually require higher bids if you want your ad to rank well. This is logical: the competition is higher. For instance, “Los Angeles fishing trips” is a very popular search term. This means you pay more for a click than you do for “Los Angeles deep sea fishing trips” – a less popular keyword.
In addition, as “Los Angeles deep sea fishing trips” is more specific than “Los Angeles fishing trips,” people who search for the first keyword combination are even more likely to find their expectations matched when they land on your website! Therefore, they’re more likely to book a trip.
In the End, You Gotta Spend Money to Make Money
It can be difficult to decide which keywords to bid for. The best way to go about it is to test out what works best for you. You can easily do this by using the same ad for different keywords in Google Ads.
You may spend a few hundred dollars to figure out which keywords bring you results (conversions). But once you do figure it out, this way of advertising will bring you many, many customers. The rest is down to your personal attention on the boat!
Those are our top tips on fishing charter advertising. For a great idea on how to ensure your new customers turn into returning customers, check out our Captain’s Corner, which is full of insightful tips!
