ChristopheUK Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 Hi there,I have recently been tasked with marketing my Father's Gite in Bordeaux. I'm, computer savvy and capable of making my own website and getting it hosted, however I'm not sure which way to go about marketing. Should I pay a company to do it for me? or are there some websites which I can list my website on for free and generate traffic.Any advice or suggestions will be greatly apprectiated.Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 Chris,Most of the free websites are a bit of a waste of time, normally you get very few enquiries.One good free site is via www.frenchentree.com but I am aware they are going to charge soon.I have used them and had quite a few enquiries.Bottom line is if you want lots of enquiries then you need to pay, there is a lot of choice, chez nous, french connections, brittany ferries, they are all different.Most gite owners have a website that enquirers can be directed to via the pay sites.It is a huge subject and worth doing your research first, the archive section on this forum is also very useful.Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineS2 Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 Hello Chris, welcome to the forum.You will find a lot of information on the following website, which also has a very active forum:www.LayMyHat.comGood Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 Have you looked at http://www.francepropertyshop.com/advertise.aspx ? [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristopheUK Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Thank you all for your responses I shall check out your reccomendations thouroughly and post back my findings which may help someone else in the future.Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChezShells Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 As the gite is near a major airport i'd go for homelidays.com, set up your ad (in english) and its automatically translated for German, French (amongst others) viewers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loz Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 First of all design and publishing web site is just the start, the hard bit is finding your audience. Search Engine Optimisation is difficult.If you choose to advertise with someone else instead check their position in search results, for your specific need.Do they come on the first page. Its amazing how many companies for example advertise SEO and they cant even get their own website in the first 5 pages of a google search.If you go down the home web design route keep in touch and there are many people on this forum will vet, criticise and encourage you.There is no substitute for taking a look at the first and second page results , find the websites of people who have made it to this exalted position using the search terms you think your clients will use and copy their technique.Just don't copy their code !!Breezybreak.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristopheUK Posted September 14, 2007 Author Share Posted September 14, 2007 Thanks to Chez and Loz for your suggestions.Will keep you posted.Regards,Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Chris, I agree with JJ's comments. We also have 4 gites and market 50 or so others in Brittany and we have found the free websites to be a waste of time. To get decent enquiries you do need to pay to advertise your Gite, Chez Nous and French Connections are both good. Basically these adverts will promote your website so the better the website the more lettings you will gain.We have found that the websites with the best photos and with lots of details about the surrounding area are much more successful.Good Luck !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimportequoi Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Bear in mind that a listing site that works for one gite owner won't necessarily work for another. Frenchconnections was useless for me after they changed their site a few years ago, there are others around now which work better for me, but I still have to review all of them on an annual basis. Do a search on Google using the keywords that you think people will use to find your gite and see which sites come at the top of the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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