Hi - The work on my place has finished, just a few things to buy and I'm ready for my parents to give it a test run at the end of this month.
My target guests are couples and singles:
Romantic weekends - 20s/30s Spanish couples still living with their parents
Parents of students studying in the city
People looking for a combined beach/culture/shopping/"real spain" type holiday
Gay couples - as I'm close to the small gay area in Alicante
Film industry people - new film studios in the city
Theatre people - very close to the main theatre
Visiting university professors and business people (EU office in the city)
I have had a web site made for me (before reading any of the advice on here) and I'd welcome your comments.
http://www.covasantacruz.com/en/default.aspx
I'm beginning to realise that this business is not as easy as I thought it would be - I'm still positive about it and think it will be a success in time.
Thanks in advance for any help
New to this business
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cova santacruz
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:33 pm
- Location: Alicante, Spain
- Contact:
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cova santacruz
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:33 pm
- Location: Alicante, Spain
- Contact:
Thanks -- my web designer suggested not putting the prices on the site in the hope of getting more enquires which would help me get personal contact with potential guests - also I'm still not sure what to charge.
He also suggested I could put a link to a pdf file with prices and conditions.
I really need to improve the cave picture though - some lamps on the beside tables and make the bed look better. My new Spanish girlfriend is refusing to send anyone a link to my site until I take better pictures - she's had a lot of experience as a guest in self catering and I suspect she's right on this.
He also suggested I could put a link to a pdf file with prices and conditions.
I really need to improve the cave picture though - some lamps on the beside tables and make the bed look better. My new Spanish girlfriend is refusing to send anyone a link to my site until I take better pictures - she's had a lot of experience as a guest in self catering and I suspect she's right on this.
Cushions look good on beds as they make them look comfy 
I don't agree that you don't show prices because guests want to know how much before they enquire. Maybe outside the front door you could put a small table with chairs and a bottle of Rioja. Couple more photos of the inside of the house with the table set and some flowers so it looks welcoming. I am no expert in this sector. 2008 first year for me so these are my opinions hope they help.
I don't agree that you don't show prices because guests want to know how much before they enquire. Maybe outside the front door you could put a small table with chairs and a bottle of Rioja. Couple more photos of the inside of the house with the table set and some flowers so it looks welcoming. I am no expert in this sector. 2008 first year for me so these are my opinions hope they help.
hi Cova...and welcome!
I love Alicante city...and I think you have filled a niche because trying to find anywhere there to rent is a nightmare...so you end up in a hotel! Santa Cruz is a fab area..I didn't realise tho' that some of the houses were cave-houses...that's interesting.
I agree with Guiliana - you need to have the prices on there and also a list of what people are getting; how many bedrooms, what equipment, are towels supplied etc. I also think it would be a good idea to show the outside space off a bit with a table and chair...plus, as I recall, there are small squares dotted about in Santa Cruz so you could show through photos that outside space is available. In my mind the more photos the better - could you do a gallery?
As for pricing; do some research and find out the price of hostels and hotels and any other tourist accommodation to give you an idea.
I know for a fact that the better hostels in the city are full to bursting and don't need to advertise (I know I tried to persuade them!) so if you pitch it right and market to the americans through the colleges and languages schools you should have a hit on your hands.
Mousie
x
I love Alicante city...and I think you have filled a niche because trying to find anywhere there to rent is a nightmare...so you end up in a hotel! Santa Cruz is a fab area..I didn't realise tho' that some of the houses were cave-houses...that's interesting.
I agree with Guiliana - you need to have the prices on there and also a list of what people are getting; how many bedrooms, what equipment, are towels supplied etc. I also think it would be a good idea to show the outside space off a bit with a table and chair...plus, as I recall, there are small squares dotted about in Santa Cruz so you could show through photos that outside space is available. In my mind the more photos the better - could you do a gallery?
As for pricing; do some research and find out the price of hostels and hotels and any other tourist accommodation to give you an idea.
I know for a fact that the better hostels in the city are full to bursting and don't need to advertise (I know I tried to persuade them!) so if you pitch it right and market to the americans through the colleges and languages schools you should have a hit on your hands.
Mousie
x
One martini, two martini, three martini floor!
Hi Cova and welcome to the forum.
The general web site is switch and what one would expect of a professionally written site. But here are some things that may need addressing.
All of the meta tag information on the Spanish language section is in English you need to have this changed.
On the first page; using Firefox seems to make the words “Cova Santa Cruz” clashes with the description below. Using an I.E. toggle in Firefox eliminates the problem.
What is beach stuff?
On the reservation page there is no clear button and when you click the send but do not fill in the form you do not get the normal error messages, just some java information at the bottom of the web explorer. Do you really need all of the counties listed? Maybe choose just some common ones and add them to the top of the list. I personally hate going though a list like this. I also tested out the form and sent crap gibberish and it was sent… sorry, but it had to be tested. Normally you can make the form send an error message to say it was not filled in with the correct information like email and numbers in the phone section etc.
I also agree with the comments about pricing. In the end you will need to find a booking site for the cave/house and then you will have to add prices. (I am also saying that you should not rely solely on this website to bring you in business.
The general web site is switch and what one would expect of a professionally written site. But here are some things that may need addressing.
All of the meta tag information on the Spanish language section is in English you need to have this changed.
On the first page; using Firefox seems to make the words “Cova Santa Cruz” clashes with the description below. Using an I.E. toggle in Firefox eliminates the problem.
What is beach stuff?
On the reservation page there is no clear button and when you click the send but do not fill in the form you do not get the normal error messages, just some java information at the bottom of the web explorer. Do you really need all of the counties listed? Maybe choose just some common ones and add them to the top of the list. I personally hate going though a list like this. I also tested out the form and sent crap gibberish and it was sent… sorry, but it had to be tested. Normally you can make the form send an error message to say it was not filled in with the correct information like email and numbers in the phone section etc.
I also agree with the comments about pricing. In the end you will need to find a booking site for the cave/house and then you will have to add prices. (I am also saying that you should not rely solely on this website to bring you in business.
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
SEO once over
Hi Cova,
looking at the site purely from a search engine optimisation perspective, here's a few pointers you might want to consider:
1. your english version of your site could be better optimised for english search by ensuring that the page names (bit at the end of the URL) are in english.
2. looking at your description meta tags, your description currently is just 3 sets of keywords (Cova Santa Cruz. Costa Blanca Self Catering. Alicante rent apartment.), whereas it should be a much more flowing description of your property. This is important, as this is what shows up in search results (see yours here: http://www.google.co.uk/search?rlz=1C1C ... asantacruz)
3. In your site design, the page headers are images rather than text (eg
. Search engines place a lot of importance on the <h1> or header in each page, and cannot read images so ask your designer to switch that for text (can still use a nice font though!)
4. Your page title (bit in blue bar at top of browser) repeats the phrase 'self catering'. this could be punished by search engines as 'keyword stuffing' so avoid duplication within each page. Additionally, try to use a different keyword for each page, and try to tie the keyword in the page title into the meta description, header and the body text on the page. Whilst this might seem initially tricky, it's worth it overall in terms of the organic search results you could see.
One very small copy suggestion, I'd use the phrase 'Our Region' or 'our area' rather than 'Our Environment' which in today's english language has heavy green connotations.
hope this helps, and good luck with it!
looking at the site purely from a search engine optimisation perspective, here's a few pointers you might want to consider:
1. your english version of your site could be better optimised for english search by ensuring that the page names (bit at the end of the URL) are in english.
2. looking at your description meta tags, your description currently is just 3 sets of keywords (Cova Santa Cruz. Costa Blanca Self Catering. Alicante rent apartment.), whereas it should be a much more flowing description of your property. This is important, as this is what shows up in search results (see yours here: http://www.google.co.uk/search?rlz=1C1C ... asantacruz)
3. In your site design, the page headers are images rather than text (eg
. Search engines place a lot of importance on the <h1> or header in each page, and cannot read images so ask your designer to switch that for text (can still use a nice font though!)4. Your page title (bit in blue bar at top of browser) repeats the phrase 'self catering'. this could be punished by search engines as 'keyword stuffing' so avoid duplication within each page. Additionally, try to use a different keyword for each page, and try to tie the keyword in the page title into the meta description, header and the body text on the page. Whilst this might seem initially tricky, it's worth it overall in terms of the organic search results you could see.
One very small copy suggestion, I'd use the phrase 'Our Region' or 'our area' rather than 'Our Environment' which in today's english language has heavy green connotations.
hope this helps, and good luck with it!
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cova santacruz
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:33 pm
- Location: Alicante, Spain
- Contact:
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Giddy Goat
- Posts: 9054
- Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 7:38 am
- Location: UK
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Lovely apartment - but as people have said, prices are vital otherwise it's business suicide! Just think about shops which don't price their goods in the window - the assumption is usually that it will be too expensive, and I for one trot on by. The same goes for this business. You'll get some enquiries of course but with a lot of choice out there, you won't be maximising your chances of filling available weeks.
Yes, you have something special Cova, but don't rely on that too heavily when looking for bookings. You need to make it as easy as possible for the visitor to the website to gain the information - any information - that he needs. What does your website designer know about holiday rentals incidentally?
Yes, you have something special Cova, but don't rely on that too heavily when looking for bookings. You need to make it as easy as possible for the visitor to the website to gain the information - any information - that he needs. What does your website designer know about holiday rentals incidentally?
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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thisfrenchlife
- Posts: 106
- Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2005 3:28 pm
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Not too sure how much server space you have for new pages, but you list the people you are keen to target yet your site doesn't mention them in any way.
I'd have a think about how these people might find your property, what might interest them, what is particular to them that the area provides and write up some pages targeted at them.
Depending on the competition your site could do very well on natural search with some well written and optimised pages.
All the best
Craig
I'd have a think about how these people might find your property, what might interest them, what is particular to them that the area provides and write up some pages targeted at them.
Depending on the competition your site could do very well on natural search with some well written and optimised pages.
All the best
Craig
This French Life
http://www.thisfrenchlife.com/
http://www.thisfrenchlife.com/