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    Author: Bernadette Galang

    AI vs. Human Creativity in Content & Art

    Posted on by Bernadette Galang

    Over thousands of years, human creativity has arisen as an expression of our environmental influences and imagination. Storytelling is the basis of much of human creativity. It centres around making sense of what we experience. We shape these experiences (real and imagined) in unique ways to share them with others. That desire to create inspires all of us, and our modern age of technology gives us new tools to do so. Some of the tools speed our creation (reducing busy work and allowing for more meaningful development). Others guide us to learn about different perspectives. And still others augment our intelligence, and point us in new directions that humans alone may not be able to perceive.

    Understanding AI Creativity

    Artificial intelligence (AI) excels at all of the above that we mentioned, and more. Where it can be particularly helpful (and how AI is actually taught) is in recognition of details and patterns. Knowing how to do this allows AI to perform well, embedded into many applications. From assisting in making medical diagnoses (looking for healthy vs. diseased tissues, for example, from thousands of X-rays) to analyzing many types of large databases, AI is now a part of our daily lives. 

    AI is taught to analyze and can also create. It creates through interpretations and correlations of what it analyzes.

    What does all of this mean for AI generated content?

    specialist maintaining AI systems

    The Strengths of AI in Content & Art 

    In only the last 3–4 years, AI has gotten exponentially better at writing paragraphs and whole articles that follow a cohesive argument from beginning to end. It began by producing simple sentences and descriptions. Human editors had to spend considerable time removing repetitive or unrelated wording. Today, AI in digital marketing involves user-friendly tools like Claude, ChatGPT and Grok to create well-researched content, complete with website citations. Another good marketing example is AI analysis of key phrases we want to be found for in our online campaigns. 

    In art, Midjourney, Runway, Kling, Stable Diffusion and others have advanced far beyond their early versions of a few years ago. Today’s art creation tools are used in sophisticated ways, such as in a human creativity experiment like a design challenge (creating 3D objects), video marketing and even filmmaking. 

    The ‘secret’ to AI evolution is improving the quality of the data sets that the tools have been fed to train on, plus increasing the tools’ abilities to learn and incorporate what they learn into their outputs.

    What are the Limitations of AI?

    Some people think they must understand AI through the lens of AI creativity vs. human creativity. When AI tools hit the mainstream (several years ago, when ChatGPT and Midjourney became widely available to the public), people often expected the outputs (a beautiful image, a complete article) to be perfect. Soon, people learned the limitations of AI. Perfection is not a human trait, and it is not a trait of AI. As people’s expectations adjusted, and as AI learned from better quality data, its value increased. It is now often viewed as an adjunct to human intelligence and creativity. 

    AI’s limitations are essentially parameters for use that we can benefit from. By using AI as a collaborative tool in our work, we can ask it to not only speed up processes, but give us new insights.

    handsome businessman shaking hands with robot near multicultural colleagues sitting in conference

    AI & Human Collaboration: The Best of Both Worlds 

    Many articles and videos discuss how AI is redefining human occupations. AI is already of great help in online marketing. We can create websites complete with images and content, coded by AI. Humans can adjust the code to customize the websites. We can use AI to research key phrases based on what people are currently searching for online. Then, we can use that data (along with human refinements) to help us align content with consumer queries. The argument of “is human or AI intelligence better?” fades away. All of these AI outputs boost our productivity; when we use AI as a tool, it becomes our collaborative partner. Instead of human vs. machine, collaborating with AI frees people to discover new frontiers of creativity.

    business owner is using a laptop

    How AI & Human Creativity Accelerate Marketing Success

    Trek Marketing, long before the advent of AI, used tools to accelerate our clients’ marketing success. AI tools give us powerful ways to enhance digital marketing campaigns, from tapping into consumer behaviour and desires, to aligning content to these habits and patterns. Our goal is the same as tools evolve: Trek Marketing provides you with online campaigns that drive visitors to your website and convert them into paying customers.

    Contact us now to take advantage of our free consultation (855.686.4649 ext.707). Learn more about how Trek Marketing can leverage human knowledge and modern technology to build and expand your revenue streams.

    SEO for Vacation Rentals: Tips for Airbnb, Hostels and Rental Apartment Owners

    Posted on by Bernadette Galang

    If you own a rental property, you know how challenging it can be to advertise your apartment, Airbnb or vacation rental. Perhaps you already have an online marketing strategy in place, or maybe you have tried a few tactics that need some refinement. The pillar of every rental and Airbnb SEO strategy is a targeted approach. Our emphasis here is on the word ‘targeted.’ We’re going to discuss the importance of local SEO to help your property be found more easily in search results.

    cozy apartment with brick walls

    What Vacation Rental SEO Challenges Do Property Owners Face?

    If you’ve ever searched for a local area + a property type, such as “Vancouver apartments for rent,” or “Lake Ontario cabin rentals,” you know how hard it is to compete against aggregator websites that take up the majority of search results. But if you have an Airbnb listing and their site shows up for a relevant search, isn’t that good? Yes, but you also want your own website to be visible for your main searches. You want people to visit your site to learn about you and so you can build relationships with them.

    man using a google map before his ride

    Local SEO Tips for Vacation Rental Listings​ 

    The first step to being competitive, is to have your Google Business Profile fully optimized, complete with a current property description, clear, attractive photographs, and contact information. 

    How to Effectively Target Consumers

    The deeper you go with what is called “long-tail key phrases,” meaning phrases containing several words, the closer you can target your ideal rental audience. For example, if you build off that “Lake Ontario cabin rentals” phrase, and create pages, blogs, FAQs and more resources on phrases such as “Lake Ontario cabin rentals pet friendly,” or “Lake Ontario cabin rentals long-term,” you can zero in on exactly who you’re trying to reach.

    How to Stay Competitive Online

    Local SEO, including specialized long-tail key phrase strategies and mobile-local focused SEO, is an ongoing process. Your competitors are constantly building their online visibility. Aggregator websites push all the time for more organic (free listings) and paid listings in search engines. You can build authority in a variety of ways. One is through focused and consistent content production and publishing. 

    getting some blog inspiration

    How Content Builds Your Authority

    We have established that local SEO is essential to build online visibility for rental owners. Content marketing features SEO and more online elements. It is an ongoing effort that builds on itself to develop trust. It demonstrates to your target audience why they should choose your property versus another property. 

    As you continually post content that provides solutions to people’s questions (examples: ‘why rent a vacation home in Vancouver’; ‘three steps to renting the ultimate British Columbia Airbnb’), renters will learn to look to you as the authority. 

    People buy from those they trust. Content that aligns with local search keywords and answers user questions best, drives traffic to your website, helping you attract your ideal rental audience.

    Seasonality is a big driver of rental revenue for many property owners. Local SEO, including long-tail targeted seasonal key phrases, can help you break through the grip large websites have in search results. You can become the authority on answering specific questions, and rise above sites that feature fluff blogs and other thin content.

    Example: You own an Airbnb in Whistler, or a hotel or vacation rental in Gatlinburg. There are thousands of competitor listings for these types of rentals. How do you break through the noise? 

    Ensure your Google Profile is built out, detailing all the features you offer. Build resource pages and articles for your website aligned to top searches, such as: “Whistler house rentals long term,” “Gatlinburg vacation rentals with pool.” Don’t stop there–create your content to really delve into those topics–you want to be the authority people trust.

    How to focus your content: Okay, so your vacation rental has a pool; so do lots of other rentals. If your pool is specially made, or is open at unusual hours, or you offer several pools that meet a variety of needs, create content around these features. Show people why your rental is the one they should book. 

    Example: In the case of Whistler, answer questions new vacationers to the area have. Also go deep with content for frequent visitors, such as “Off the Beaten Path Places to Visit Just Outside Whistler.” Work to be the authority with all the content you create. Include first-hand travel diaries, user generated content, audio, video and photos to turn your content from average to must-see.

    Your superior content shows you care about your target audience. You want people to have a great time in your rental, so you learn about what they want and create content around those desires. Then tell them how great your property is and why it’s the perfect rental for that area, to encourage them to book with you. People can easily spot disingenuous salesmanship. You need to create genuinely helpful content to instill trust. Trust helps build goodwill and revenue.

    analyzing marketing tools

    Trek Marketing Provides the Visibility You Need to Connect with Rental Customers

    Airbnb SEO tips, and overall SEO tips for vacation rental listings,​ can help you stand out from the crowd online and drive bookings. The challenge is consistently applying these techniques over time. So, whether you need SEO for apartment listings, hotel SEO, or a local SEO campaign for any rental property, you need Trek Marketing. 

    We’ll not only provide the latest digital strategy to help you increase visibility, we’ll audit your website to ensure no barriers to search engine indexing exist. Plus, we’ll find relevant locally-themed sites and directories where your site needs to be listed, and get you included, to further build your authority in searchers’ and search engines’ estimation.

    You’re busy running your rental business. You need a knowledgeable and experienced digital marketing agency to build your online visibility. Get your phone ringing and your reservation forms pouring in. Contact Trek Marketing now!

    Top 15 Industries That Highly Need Local SEO

    Posted on by Bernadette Galang

    Just a few years ago, people were still looking up local businesses in the phone book. Pretty soon, everyone had a smartphone and local search went from something we did only on a desktop computer or laptop to second nature. Now we quickly grab our phone or other mobile device and check for “plumber in Vancouver,” or “Vancouver bank,” or whichever local business type we need. We don’t even think about it, and we expect to see a list of search results that answer our query. If you are a business that’s trying to get found and your company name doesn’t come up in local search, that’s definitely costing you business. That’s especially true for certain industries. They face stiff competition and could really benefit from a local SEO company Vancouver competitors likely use to get their businesses visible online.

    Team of professionals discussing customer retention strategies

    Top Industries That Need Local SEO

    Which industries are facing tough competition in local search? Is your industry one of these 15 on the list? Not to worry, because we’ll tell you how to ace local search in a few steps!

    First, we’ll list 15 industries that have a tough time rising to the top in local search:

    • Physicians
    • Dentists
    • Locksmiths
    • Emergency HVAC repair
    • Roofers
    • Restaurants
    • Insurance agents
    • Financial advisors
    • Attorneys
    • Home improvement companies
    • Plumbers
    • Boutique shops
    • Local small retailers
    • Landscape services
    • Veterinary clinics

    These aren’t the only ones who have problems getting found in local search engine search results. There are others, and often they face the same predicaments that plague the listed industries: they’re in competitive markets, and their potential clients frequent review sites (that their local business might not be rated on). Plus, these local companies fight for visibility against national brands and aggregator sites.

    So what’s a Vancouver local business to do? There’s a key method that gets the job done in local search, and that is: consistency.

    Person using tablet to review user-generated content for brand building

    Why Local Search in Vancouver is Important

    Let’s say you own a local pizza restaurant. Maybe you’ve even set up a Google Business Profile and submitted your website to a few local directories. It can be tough keeping all your information consistent. You want to have the same business name, address, phone number and other identifying data identically input in all of your local business profiles. If you misspell a word, or write the address a bit differently, or present your business in a slightly different way on each local site you promote yourself on, you won’t be able to take advantage of a unified business presence online. That’s super important, because search engines like Google won’t be able to connect the dots and push you up in search results. If your hours of operation are outdated or other data is incorrect, people will get confused, and that can keep you from getting business. 

    The answer: A local SEO company, Vancouver situated and aware of how competitive this area can be, will stay on top of every detail. They will diligently and consistently keep your business information accurate and attractive to searchers, and easily digestible to search engines.

    Professional optimizing ecommerce site strategy on MacBook for global reach

    What Can a Local SEO Campaign Do for Your Business?

    What’s fascinating is right now there are people in Vancouver searching for what you do. People are querying for “Vancouver restaurant,” “plumber in Vancouver,” and many other services. You don’t want to miss out on these potential customers. Here are a few strategies a Vancouver local SEO firm can implement for you, so you can keep making pizza, installing roofs, fixing broken pipes, practicing dentistry or whatever it is you do, without concerning yourself with day-to-day SEO tasks. The goal is to get you found online so your phone rings and your contact forms come in with the leads you want.

    How do local SEO services work?

    1. Your SEO company will set up and maintain your Google Business Profile. Even if you already have one, it’s important to keep it up to date and check that it’s accurate.
    2. Your SEO provider will ensure you’re in the local directories and local review sites that relate to your business. So, if you’re a roofer, and there’s a local building association website that offers a resource page, they’ll work to get your website linked there. Plus, there are many local directories and organizations, such as the boards of trade, where your SEO agency can list your business.
    3. Onsite work: This means content that is built for, or updated on, your website. It includes checking and updating your current website copy and creating blogs, articles, and other content assets that reinforce your local business’s expertise.
    4. Your SEO company will also check technical aspects of your website that may be blocking you from being indexed on search engines. Slow site speed is another area that can keep you from reaching clients. All technologically-based barriers to visibility will be reviewed.

    Those are but a few strategies; your campaign will be customized to your needs. Results depend on a consistent local SEO for local industries campaign. It must signal that you are the one to call; you are the local expert people need. 

    The result: All parts of your campaign will work together to send consistent trust signals to humans and search engines. Trust is a great motivator to get people to buy.

    MacBook screen showing brand strategy tools for digital equity

    Consistent Campaigns = Measurable Success

    Finally, your SEO provider will keep an eye on how everything’s performing. Using tools like Google Analytics and GBP insights, they’ll track how many people see your profile, click to call, or ask for directions. They’ll note what is working (for example, if reviews increase your calls) and what needs tweaking (such as if a nearby town starts searching more) from this data. You’ll get regular updates so you can see how your campaign is bringing in new leads. Built for results, this strategy increases your local visibility and builds your authority.

    Group discussing social media engagement strategy in a meeting

    Next Steps: Get Your Own Local SEO Campaign

    Local SEO can be a tough nut to crack when you do it on your own. Often, that’s because you’re paying attention to running your business and the consistency that needs to happen with a local SEO campaign (onsite, offsite, directory submissions, content creation, link building and much more) can easily fall through the cracks when you’re busy. 

    Trek Marketing offers extensive local SEO experience. In fact, we’re experts at optimizing a website for specific local geographic searches. Plus, we have the client testimonials that prove we get results.
    Done looking for “local SEO services near me” or “local search engine optimization Vancouver” without success? Call Trek Marketing today (855.686.4649 ext.707) or contact us online and see how we can drive more revenue to your business.