If you wanted an Alpine holiday, how would you search?

[Mountain Goat]

We use several listing sites, some more successful than others, like most of us, I guess.

These listing sites often have eccentric grouping categories.

If you were looking for a holiday in the mountains, either summer or winter, and wanted to try Switzerland, and were given the following section choices, which would you choose (especially if, like me, your geography wasn't perfect)?

Bern/Obwalden
Graubunden
Lucerne Region
Valais/Swiss Alps
Vaud/Lake Geneva

The point I wanted to make with one of the sites is that (a) we are in the Swiss Alps and (b) we are in the canton of Vaud and (c) anyone searching for a mountain holiday wouldn't immediately go for Vaud / Lake Geneva (where we are listed).

This particular listing site has really exceptional SEO, but punters don't find us through them, and I'm trying to find out why; being listed in an ambiguous section might be the answer.

Thanks.

MG

[Hells Bells]

Goat, tell me about it, we are sometimes excluded from the French Alps, as a search only reveals Rhone-Alpes locations, but it seems strange to be in Provence, although that is our location. I would probably choose Valais/Swiss Alps, but my knowledge of Swiss geography is rather limited to flying in and out of Geneva.

[Mountain Goat]

That all makes sense, or rather it doesn't from your/our point of view.

I have to admit that I don't actually know how to define the Swiss Alps. Is it anywhere in Switzerland with a bit of mountain?

If I was looking for skiing in France, I wouldn't go for Provence as a starter, but again, that maybe shows my lack of a geographic gene.

MG

[Hells Bells]

As it's full title is Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, I suppose the French know to look there.

[Hells Bells]

Strangely enough HOliday Lettings is by far my most successful site, and when I search using the map, and choose Rhone/French Alps, Serre Chevalier is visible on the map, and can be chosen as a destination, despite being out of the area, however, when you choose Provence, it is not shown on the map.

[cromercrabholiday]

I thought about your question and Googled "swiss self-catering". Got the following on the first page (in order):

Highlighted (ignoring the sponsored links on the right)
- crystallakes.co.uk
- thomsonlakesandmountains.co.uk
- eurorelais.co.uk

- holiday-rentals.co.uk
- travel-quest.co.uk
- swiss-chalets.com
- swisschaletdirect.co.uk
- drive-alive.co.uk
- know-britain.com
- holidaylets.net
- ownersdirect.co.uk
- villarenters.com

I think that one of the problems we face is the sheer number of websites out there. I've got the same problem with the intermediaries through which I find my assignments - ten years ago there were around 20, now there are probably 100.

Such is the world we live in - lots of data, but very difficult to work your way through it.

John

[Big Sis..]

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/lif ... 394420.ece