Recently, one of our customers shared their recent successes with online marketing. They're reaping great results with huge increases in sales conversions. 

What are you doing differently? We asked. The answer - Videos.

Our customer is posting videos - sightseeing and destination videos. They placed videos beside "Book this Tour" buttons. The result? A significant 300% increase in online sales conversions. 

Digging into this further, we found a variety of sources that support this result. If you're considering videos for your tourism website - here is what you need to know:
  • In May, 2010, 183 million U.S. Internet users watched online video. YouTube.com achieved record levels of viewing activity in May with an all-time high of 14.6 billion videos viewed and surpassing the threshold of 100 videos per viewer for the first time. (comScore)
  • Internet Retailer reports that visitors who view product videos are 85% more likely to buy than visitors who do not, based on OnlineGolf.com results. (Internet Retailer, April 2010)
  • 33% of online retailers plan to add video to their sites in 2010, making it a higher priority than any other advanced feature. (eMarketer, March 2010)
  • With proper optimization, video increases the chance of a front-page Google result by 53x. (Forrester, January 2010)
  • According to Internet Retailer, Shoeline.com saw a 44% increase in online sales conversions by using videos to showcase their products. “With such positive results on our existing videos, the goal right now is to add video to as many of our products as possible,” says Frank Malsbenden, VP and GM of Vision Retailing Inc., the parent company of Shoeline.com. (Internet Retailer, January 2009)
  • Ice.com found that viewers who chose to view video converted at a 400% increase over those who did not. Ice.com also credits video with decreasing returns by 25%. (Internet Retailer, December 2009)
  • A minute of video is worth 1.8 million words according to Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research. (Forrester, January 2009)
  • Leading online retailers added video to their sites in 2009 to increase online sales. PetsUnited, the owner of 10 eCommerce sites, saw a 50% jump in average sales when shoppers made a purchase after viewing a video. (eMarketer, January 2009)
As Sergio Zyman said, “the goal of advertising is to sell more stuff to more people more often for more money.” It’s not about how great your website looks, or how creative your online campaign may be, it’s about getting results – it’s about selling more stuff.