Thomson Holidays have set themselves apart from the crowd as the UK’s leading holiday market website. Laying claim to a large chunk of market share this industry giant has been known to lead the way with innovative new products and marketing strategies. Their pioneering approach warrants a closer look at their online marketing efforts.

Internationally, the travel industry was one of the first to harness the power of Internet marketing. Not surprisingly, the travel industry is able to take full advantage of the benefits of e-commerce technology. This is an industry in which the Internet offers superb marketing value, and Thomson Holidays sets a good example for the creative employment of Internet marketing technology and technique.

Their website is comprehensive. It includes all the expected functionality, content and visual stimulation plus more. The overall layout and navigation are sensible with easy access leading a user strategically from one section to the next. The home page is exciting and makes for easy reading. The overall website colour scheme consists of white and shades of blue which are pleasing to the eye and evoke a feeling of relaxation, very appropriate to the travel industry. The home page also contains pleasing images which add to the overall look and feel but could be compromising the download time.

Thomson Holidays website structure follows their marketing strategy. Flexibility is clearly one of their unique selling propositions and their website reflects this. At the Thomson Holidays webpage, users are able to research and book either an entire holiday or a single component thereof with ease. Options for “just a flight” and “just a hotel” are provided.

Thomson’s experience in the travel industry is reflected in their ability to predict client requirements. Promotions are structured to appeal strongly to client needs and desires. Promotional messages are placed at the top each time in order to grab the reader’s attention.

Functionality is simple and abundantly available. The Thomson UK logo is positioned at the top left of the page, it provides a link back to the home page, is present on every page and allows the user to navigate to the home page from anywhere.

A holiday search is available in which the user is required to enter some data with regards to their preferences, a number of options are returned complete with pricing and availability. In that sense, the website is highly interactive. Almost every page has a tool which works out either a travel package or flight plan and information with regards to availability of flights and/or accommodation. It’s remarkable that each time one of these widgets is used, results are provided within seconds.

Each page also includes “top tip’s”. These are handy pop-ups which provide the user with useful information regarding usage of the tools provided on that particular page. In this way the user is directed to make maximum use of the websites functionality. Other functionality includes a sitemap, which is always useful for optimum navigation, as well as a search function, shop finder and FAQ.

The use of video allows a potential client to view gorgeous holiday destinations from the comfort of their homes. With over 2000 video tours available Thomson has not neglected to use the persuasive power of video to their advantage.

A few warnings with regards to loading time and keywords are due. Thomsons load time is slow. Users with a dial-up line may not be able to access the site quickly and may lose interest. Perhaps a reduction in images as well as html will address this problem. The site includes many high density keywords with little value, content could also be adjusted slightly to improve the targeting and selection of keywords.

There are 101 000 inbound links to Thompson.co.uk working wonders for the sites link popularity. Thomspson.co.uk’s Alexa traffic ranking is 10 237, this is a good ranking and indicates that the site is currently receiving a large number of visitors. Thomson ranks highly on regional search engines and is amongst the top ten for many travel and holiday related keywords.

As far as Internet marketing is concerned, Thomson Holidays’ website does a competent job by including an affiliate marketing strategy, while the ability to email information as well as video to a friend taps in to the website’s viral marketing capabilities. Ultimately however, their high rank and search engine popularity are due mainly to the spectacular functionality the site offers to users thereof. Each industry calls for the employment of a unique combination of Internet marketing techniques, whilst content does well for some, video does wonders for others. The key to success is in finding the right technique and applying it to your industry.