Lakestar Media Toting SEO for Journeys of Distinction

Journeys of Distinction, the provider of worldwide luxury escorted tours, just announced that it has selected Lakestar Media has been given the task to improving its digital marketing and search engine optimization.

Journeys of Distinction has been creating well planned, premium quality escorted tours, cruises, city yours and rail holidays for over 30 years.  It covers destinations as far as the eye can see, from Italy to Patagonia.  Acquired by Kuoni Travel Ltd in 2006, Journeys of Distinction still operates independently of any other service.

According to the Lakestar Media press release, Journeys of Distinction’s strategy for 2011 is to grow the online side of its business by increasing lead generation and ultimately increasing revenue.  Karen Gee, Journeys of Distinction’s Managing Director said:

“After an extremely competitive pitch process, we awarded the business to Lakestar Media based on their expertise and experience.  We identified that online is a massive opportunity for growth and the team at Lakestar Media have provided a strategy for us to achieve this, and they are doing a fantastic job.  As more and more people begin their initial holiday research online, it is essential that we fully utilize search engine optimization and pay-per-click to establish a strong web presence.”

Neil McKay, Lakestar Media’s CEO added; “Journeys of Distinction has a great proposition and we are delighted that they have chosen to work with us.  We have considerable experience in the very competitive holiday search market and our team is committed to helping them grab a larger share of their market sector.”

The travel industry is going to see a steady influx of new competitors over the next five to six years, so the current players further strengthening their foothold is a smart move.  The shift from a static Internet to a mobile Internet is going to change the overall experience too, as well as the ways in which the experience is consumed and spread. For Journeys of Distinction, this news comes at an opportune time. With an Alexa dropping like water flowed into the Titanic, it is about time someone marketed this nice offering.

The graph below shows the equivalent of (by my guess) 300 people visiting the site in the last month? Taking a look at the Google mentions for Journeys of Distinction, the only activity worth mentioning has taken place since Lakestar Media took the assignment it appears. Much of that is in the form of links via SEO blogs, blurbs, and releases – link building on its way with a touch of brand enhancement at least. As for the social outreach, so far the “real time waves” are only reverberations from the press release, and few and far between (image above).