Find Where your Travel Website is Leaking Sales and Revenue Let’s move past marketing theory to focus on where your travel website might be losing customers and sales. This is a weak spot for most small businesses including real estate sites, travel sites, and residential services companies. It might be the mysteriousness that’s affecting your…
Finding the Right Freelance Marketer For most small businesses, competent and versatile freelance marketers are a good fix in times of great upheaval. And when they also possess specialist skills, and a true affinity with your target audience, whether full time or part time, their contribution can be profound. In fact, they might be your…
Stock Market Plunge to Begin February Today’s additional plunge in the major indexes is a sure sign that negative signals that were there before are starting to hit home with business owners and investors. Beginning on Tuesday, a riskoff sentiment began but didn’t really take hold until Wednesday, while the plunge came today. It looks…
Travel GEO Strategy: Establishing Your Priorities First Travelers reliance on AI search engines for travel planning is growing. For them, this new channel is exciting and perhaps becoming indispensable. Being visible in AI search engines is more important than you might realize. Yet optimizing your travel content (the material they want) for the way they…
Make the Travel AI Threat a Benefit There’s a lot of fear about AI these days. It’s disrupting the travel sector at a faster pace and most small travel companies likely don’t have a plan to deal with it. The rising competition is a data center full of high speed, advanced servers collecting data on…
How To Optimize your Content for ChatGPT, Gemini, and other LLMs AI search engines are giving consumers an exciting new source of information. They provide not just links and info, but also act as an expert source engaging with the user. And use of AI chatbots and apps is increasing quickly. As you’ve read in…
High-Intent Shoppers are Slipping Away — How Smart Travel Companies are Keeping Them You might be doing the right things to attract visitors to your travel site via SEO, social, and PPC. Yet when they arrived, you’ve seen bookings stall, pages skimmed, and their confidence quietly faded. That means they weren’t impacted nor engaged. It’s…
The Quest for Persuasive Travel Content You have to agree that your content must persuade. Travel content can be fantastic — yet still fail because it couldn’t convince the visitor to become a customer. It’s this frustration in converting visitors to customers that’s keeping travel business owners up at night. In this post, we focus…
Use the AI Search Threat to Your Advantage If you’ve found your free organic Google traffic, repeat visits, and online sales dropping at an alarming rate, you’re not alone. Both SMBs and large corporations, news media and even government sites are seeing their free organic search traffic disappear. Google and other tech monopolies are creating…
Website Persuasion Architecture Framework For decades, free traffic from search engines (and social media) was substantial. Unfortunately, most websites provided a poor user experience and they weren’t proficient generating conversions. The result? Lots of bounces – a sure sign the content has not captured its audience. Conversion rate optimization sprang up as the hottest trend…
Top 10 Drivers of the Housing Crisis in Canada (ranked) Canada’s Liberal media mills don’t use the phrase “housing crisis” and instead refer to it as affordability issues. They assume a growing homeless population still has a job, and min wage paycheck, personal health, and the willingness to stay alive. Truth is, adequate housing is…
Grow Sales and Loyalty with Persuasive Content Experiences There’s little doubt you’ve seen your website and social media performance stats, and now you don’t want to think about that anymore. If you’ve done Google/Facebook PPC campaigns with poor results, then it likely wasn’t very persuasive. Visitors don’t seem moved to click through or become a…
Gold Price Forecast: $5,000 an Ounce and Climbing! Should you be investing in gold stocks or Gold ETFs? Are these the best stocks to buy right now? Last year, I wrote about the Gold’s explosive growth to $3000 an ounce, and alerts that it could go higher. Well, it did to $5,000 today. You don’t…
GenZ and Millennial Best Homes to Buy Right now in 2026, winds are howling in the housing market leaving some buyers out in the cold. The conversation around the dinner table for Gen Z and Millennial couples along with single women who are most interested in buying a home, has gone from “where do we…
Canadians in a Sour Mood about 2026 It’s truly sad that an amazing country with so much potential is suffering in the throes of yet another recession, with a majority of its citizens expressing fear about the future. Surveys from Abacus Data and MNP show Canadians are feeling gloomy. MNP with its just released survey…
Mortgage Rates Falling: Freddie Mac’s Outlook With 2025 out of the way, homeowners, economists, Realtors and home buyers are developing or revising their their view of this year’s housing and mortgage markets. Of course, it’s more than lower rates on their minds. It’s down payments, home prices, inflation, employment trends, loan terms, length of mortgage…
Compare Lowest Home Mortgage Rates Housing markets from Boston to Tampa to Los Angeles and Denver all crippled by the mortgage rate locked-in effect. Sellers can’t afford to sell their homes and adopt a new mortgage at a higher rate. For mortgage agents, it’s a frustrating situation as they wait for mortgage holders forced to…
Mortgage Rates Must Fall in 2026 With resale home transactions falling, mortgage rates steady at 6%, and inflation easing there isn’t a lot to fuel big home price increases. And that’s fortunate, given how difficult and expensive it is to buy a home, or find refinancing. Sure there are a lot of buyers waiting and…
Fresh Look at the US Housing Market In his most recent announcement in December, NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said he believed the US resale housing market would see prices surge 3% and sales grow by in 2026. All told, they see a housing market showing signs of a rebalance—and a notable rebound—in 2026. This…
Lower Immigration is the Solution to Canada’s Housing Crisis According to some political sources, Canada needs more immigrants. Yet that unvalidated claim and contentious issue for Canadians themselves, doesn’t include housing, social services, and jobs for the waves of migrants. For the immigrants themselves, their arrival is painful. There is nowhere to go, their language…
Your Content Performance – A Problem with Psychology Is this your content problem? — “Most travel agency content isn’t bad — it’s just unhelpful at the exact moment travelers need help most.” Travel business owners problem is their content fails because it does not line up with how people actually think, feel, and decide in…
🏆 What is Advanced SEO? Advanced Search Engine Optimization is the use of sophisticated techniques, frameworks, tactics and practices in designing content, choosing topics and copywriting strategy, to create strong ranking signals for search engines. It’s done under a cohesive strategy that focuses ranking power and channels that through linking structures. Advanced SEO identifies critical…
Mexico Vacation Packages Every fall and winter, millions of vacationers from Europe, US and Canada dream of a vacation to warm sunny Mexico. Some travel agencies who are able to capture this demand, are rewarded with new bookings and revenue. The diversity of this spectacular destination added to the wonderful accommodations in Mexico, restaurants, venues,…
😎 How Does Travel Boost Health? In the rush to book and sell trips, the travel industry may not be fully selling travelers the full benefit package they could. And health is no insignificant benefit. In fact, health is one of the top benefits sought by travelers and it colors their initial interest to trip…
Real Estate Market in Aurora and Newmarket Sales and home prices in the Greater Toronto Area were both down in November, a trend that might steepen as the effects of the US tariffs sinks in on the GTA economy, including the York Region, Newmarket, Aurora and Bradford areas. GTA REALTORS® reported 5,010 home sales through…
Finding the Right Travel Agency for You in Toronto (GTA region) Your Traveler Guide to Find the Right Travel Expert for Your Kind of Trip The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is one of Canada’s most diverse consumer or corporate travel markets. With millions of residents who love to travel, with their deep cultural ties around…
Your 2026 Dream Trip: Where Will You Find Yourself This Year? Not every dream trip begins with wanderlust or an impulse to get away this week. For many travelers looking ahead to 2026, it could begin a little quieter, spawning from a feeling that this winter will linger just a little too long, slowly building…
Travel for Health, Enjoyment and Healing It’s that time of the year, when most Americans, Canadians and Europeans dream of traveling. Amidst the cold of North Hemisphere winters, visions of southern beaches of Spain, Mexico, Caribbean, Florida, Costa Rica and Australia become vivid, maybe even haunting. But in the vision of destinations and activities, we…
How to Buy a House During a Recession Tens of thousands of prospective homeowners are asking a common question right now, “is this economic and real estate market lull the best time to buy a house or condo?” It depends, of course, on where you hope to buy. Some states and cities are suffering economically…
Informing Content Strategy with Attribution Insight How do we achieve better performance via content marketing, SEO, ads, email, and promotions so we know what moves the needle? Answer: We improve our workflow and craft a strategy that’s measurable using advanced attribution metrics software. There’s a lot of magical talk online about “campaigns” and performance marketing,…
Launch and Scale a Luxury Travel Agency Looking for a high-potential business idea? Have you considered building a travel agency? It’s a hot business idea. If you’re a travel advisor or an entrepreneur, the luxury travel market is just one niche you could build a lucrative, lasting income in. Today, that might only mean hiring…
Your Website Is Your Business — Make it Great For most online firms, and for a good number of brick and mortar businesses, the company website still is their business. It’s a market visibility generator, product/service educator, cool digital storefront, captivating branding statement, helpful customer service center, traffic volume builder, hospitable welcome center, lead generator,…
Why Banff Alberta Has to be on Your Trip List Having lived in Calgary, Alberta for 10 years, and continuing to visit when I can, I can recommend nearby Banff in the Rocky Mountains as a must-do epic vacation adventure. Banff is more than just mountain tops although that’s often enough for sightseeing visitors here….
Dow Forecast DJIA 2026 Institutional and retail investors across the globe were waiting for US industrial companies and their stocks to rocket forth as the US economy emerges from the oppressive weight of high interest rates, regulations, and high taxes. At the confluence of all of those being rectified under the Trump administration, the Dow…
Your REALTOR® Brand Identity Workbook Let’s transition you from “just another agent” to the recognizable, trusted market authority and the only agent for them. As the 2026 housing market boom nears, it’s likely that most Realtors aren’t ready to capitalize on opportunities coming. That means fewer leads and commissions, and perhaps erosion of your customer…
Real Estate Marketing for 2026 and the Next 5 Years While sales in the US and Canada are frustrating most Realtors, some Realtors appear to be enjoying a good sales year. They’ve found paths to success. They took their time and drew up a marketing plan — one that helped them reach new prospects and…
San Diego County Driving Tour: Your Love Story Plan for an exquisitely personal and romantic journey through San Diego County in California. Couples dream of escaping to places where comfort and rejuvenation happen simultaneously. It’s a tall order for your travel advisor, but there is one place that has everything you want in a couple’s…
What Are We Learning About Employment Today? A new report from consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas revealed US employers announced more than 1.1 million layoffs so far in 2025. That’s the most since during COVID pandemic in 2020. And perhaps surprisingly, it’s the tech sector that’s seeing the greatest carnage. CGC reports that technology companies…
Is Short Form Video the Right Opportunity for Small Travel Agencies in 2026? As an experienced travel agency owner, hotel owner or DMO manager, you’re hoping for some sure hits, or maybe even a magic bullet for your inbound traffic strategy. You’re reading a lot about how some channels are great while others not so….
The Power of New Ideas How would you win a best design competition at the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival? Would you show up with the usual round balloon with a different color scheme? Or would you brainstorm a brilliant unique design that evokes judge’s imagination and resonates with the balloon festival spirit? Would you go…
Mastering Keyword Strategy for Better Results In the decades I’ve been practicing advanced SEO techniques, one technique that made a difference in rankings and especially traffic from a broader array of related keyword searches was to optimize for multiple variations of a keyword phrase. This involves using the related words, stemmed variations, and synonyms of…
Inbound Travel is Receding – Here’s how US DMOs can Rebuild for 2026 If you manage a US-based travel agency, destination management organization, or perhaps a hotel, or tour company, you’re likely finding 2025 is a little tougher. Foreign demand for US travel destinations dropped, particularly from alienated Canadians. The European outbound market is still…
Blogs Drive Engagement, Leads & Revenue With the glut of AI slop, automation, and the noise of global competition, you’re faced with a big challenge to create content that will be seen and heard. The apparent downgrade of organic content and SEO has led to many marketers withdrawing from creating organic content. The demand for…
Why Norwegians Are Rich and Canadians Aren’t — and how the Liberal Era Has Stolen Our Future Building a renewed Pro-Canadian Strategy for National Wealth, National Identity, and a Positive, New Economic Direction (Political commentary) Canada should be one of the richest countries in the world and each citizen should be enjoying the vast national/provincial…
A Refreshing, Warm Winter Sunshine Vacation in Spain You’re dreaming of a beach holiday with warm sunshine to beat your winter blues. This year, some travelers are avoiding US sunshine destinations, but they’re still looking for sunshine, water fun, slow walks on palm-strewn, golden sand beaches, and relaxing restaurant dining. US inbound travel has been…
Why It’s Time for Travel Agencies to Let Go of “Good Enough” and Step Into the Reach They Deserve If you’ve been running a travel agency for years—or even decades—it’s easy to look at the digital landscape and feel a little overwhelmed. Everything moves so fast and competition is growing. Big OTAs seem to scoop…
How to Surmount the Major, Current Travel Business Challenges Small travel company owners and managers today face a marketing landscape that’s more fragmented and demanding than ever. Your travel audience isn’t a single audience anymore — they’re seniors, empty nesters, Gen X planners, multigenerational families, solo travelers, luxury buyers, affinity groups, and experience-hungry Millennials and…
Loss of Canadian Travelers Hurting the US Travel Sector US inbound international travel is predicted to fall by about 6.3% in 2025, falling to an estimated 67.9 million visitors, which marks the first decline since 2020. A sizable portion of that loss is attributed to missing Canadians, who look to be cutting out US travel even…
TMR’s Travel Market Reports 2025 A couple of travel market research reports by TMR show geopolitical tensions, overtourism, AI, and economic uncertainty are hampering the travel market. And travel company owners have to decide on how to respond to reduced bookings. Change and challenges like this generate opportunities, or gaps in the marketplace, which in…
Toronto Travel Spending a Market Worth Fighting For Canadian travel to the US has plummeted and now your Toronto region travelers are searching on Google for other destinations in big numbers. That’s great news for all Toronto travel agencies. Not only are new customers in the GTA up for grabs, they’re shopping with an open…
Market Stumbles on Poor Jobs Data The week of November 3rd to 7th looks like it will be one of the worst since April. Not enough for alarms, but this sag since Oct 30th is beginning to weigh on investors, who yesterday were rattled by the latest jobs report. Yesterday, the Dow Jones fell 0.84%,…
Show Your Audience You Care For humans, caring is the glue of society and personal relationships. If your marketing is all about value, price, customization, and services offered, your marketing could miss the mark and make your brand irrelevant. Because how your brand feels to visitors/customers tells much about whether they like your products/services/staff. It…
Your New Theme of Efficiency, Service and Performance Most travel agency owners and travel advisors find themselves with diminished visibility online and a dependence on OTAs for leads. It’s a painful place to remain given how Travel AI is progressing and how OTAs are better positioned to score big time in the new AI-mediated marketplace….
How to Market Small Beach Towns Beach town communities are special destinations. From open sky vistas over a lake or ocean setting, to golden sands with kids playing, to surfing and boating, to gorgeous sunsets, and amazing waterside dining experiences, they are a compelling experience for almost any visitor. And these places deserve a special…
Stock Markets Faltering Ahead of the Holiday Season As we near the end of October 2025, the mood of the stock market is one of lingering optimism and renewed uncertainty. This week’s market pullback has created more volatility, challenging the latest record-setting rally, and putting some fear in the minds of investors, who might be…
Should You Sell Your Stocks Right Now? There is significant concern about the stock market right now. It comes from being too hot for too long with excessive valuations and some negatives around trade, inflation, and government debt. The fact that gold, silver and other commodities are so hot at the same time as the…
Lean Marketing: Save Money & Increase Performance The theme of how to do more with less is always in vogue. Especially now, with the economy slowing, particularly for small businesses, and given helpful, assistant AI tools have entered the scene, (i.e., ChatGPT) managers/entrepreneurs are looking at their workforce differently. The fact is, the small business…
Rare Earth Stocks As technology products advance in performance and durability, the demand for special metals with special properties used in those products is growing too. We know these unique valuable metals as rare earths – a group of 17 metals used in the production of many high-demand products today such as x-ray machines, smartphones,…
What do Small Business Owners Want from Marketing? With all the uncertainty in the the economy and business sector, it’s difficult for small business owners and entrepreneurs to know what they need. A slowing economy, changing consumer base, lower margins, AI disruption and opportunity, talent shortages, and the trend to deglobalization is changing every aspect…
Stock Market Forecast for the Next 5 Years In this report, we focus on the longer-term outlook with some predictions. It’s all post tariff adjustments where deregulation is successful. Deregulation is underappreciated in how it can free up America’s productive power. It’s about much more than “drill baby drill” for energy security. It’s more about…