The official Hilton Hotels Corporation website offers visitors an array of services and a wealth of information. The one central online location for bookings and information about Hilton Hotels around the world is highly functional and scores well in a website analysis.

Hilton Hotels Corporation is an acclaimed hospitality group catering to the upper-end market regarding accommodation, leisure, and business facilities such as conference venues. With a well-established brand that has been well supported for over 80 years, the Hilton Hotels Corporation has a solid stand in the hospitality industry. When it comes to Internet Marketing they successfully compete with other hotel groups in the four and five star range. According to research it is one of the best known hotel brands on the international frontier.

The Hilton Hotels Corporation is also making inroads online through its Internet Marketing. In today’s business environment it is essential that an international hotel and leisure company also shows a strong web presence and offers a website that caters to the needs of its audience while keeping search engine placement in mind. The website analysis will show how successful the Hilton Hotels Group is in terms of its online presentation.

The Hilton Hotels Corporation website caters to the needs of its clientele on the Internet from the homepage right through to the sitemap and contact options. This is evident in its web design which makes use of a neutral white background. The main menu consists of the following categories:

• Locate a hotel
• Plan an event
• Current deals
• Destination guides
• Hilton HHonors^®
• E-Brochures

The above categories display at the top in a grey-blue. Additional navigation methods are given at the left pane of the homepage through the book a hotel search form, a map search facility, and the HHonors® where a login is required. The rest of the page consists of short introductions under specific headings with text links to the relevant pages. The right side includes a newsletter subscription option and the opportunity to join the HHonors® for points and extra benefits. Although not an exciting web design, it is functional.

The copyright notice is displayed and the Hilton logo is prominent. There is a legal page and a text only version available. The links to several of the hotels and resorts are also displayed at the bottom of the page. First regarding the text version, not only is it an indication of commitment to accessibility and the needs of the user, but is also sound SEO strategy to include a text version, especially if the use of JavaScript is prominent. Regarding the links to careers and other resorts relevant as part of the Hilton Hotels Corporation, by including the links at the bottom, search engine optimisation is done perfectly. The keywords thus also form links and are placed in the last part of the page. Both are factors considered by the search engines.

All the links work and lead the user to valuable information. A sitemap is included which promotes quick access to information and is also an essential part of search engine optimisation. The balance between images and text is obtained through strategic placement of images to compliment the text. Although most of the images are static, some of them lead to videos. All the images contain ALT tags which once again is good SEO policy.

The use of multimedia through Flash animation and videos has been kept to a minimum. Specials are introduced through a banner on the homepage and then virtual tours are presented in the form of videos. The e-brochures are downloadable in PDF format, but users who don’t have Acrobat installed can get to the free download site right from the Hilton Hotels Corporation website.

No side scrolling is required and where required site help is provided. The Customer Service option is also available on top of the web pages for quick access to assistance. The section contains answers to FAQ and the relevant contact details. The Global Sites option provides users with access to local websites for easier booking if in Germany, Japan or the UK.

The website analysis shows that the website performs well in search engine rankings with a Google Page Rank of 6 and a current Alexa Rank of 37,893. It shows a total of 5 640 incoming links and 40 outgoing links at the time of website analysis (4 May 2008). Rankings can be improved if the domain name is used optimally by ensuring one domain and not a split stating http://www.hilton.co.uk/SiteHomePage. The balance of incoming and outgoing links is good, keywords used optimally and the Metatags used to the full with relevant keywords. If you are looking for five star business venues, corporate accommodation, excellent leisure opportunities and stylish hotel accommodation as business executive, family looking for fun destinations, or a discerning traveller, you will appreciate the service offered by the Hilton Hotels Corporation.