Lake of the Ozarks Vacation Rentals: Advertising on the Web

Oh how things have changed in just the last ten years. When I first started out as the marketing director for Al Elam Property Management, we were running classified ads in the Kansas City Star and St. Louis Post travel sections. We had a website and we advertised on two vacation rental websites. Today is a completely different story.

Our industry was one of the first to utilize the power of the internet. Instead of potential guests calling and asking for a brochure to be mailed to them, they can now go online and see pictures of all our rental homes and condos at the Lake of the Ozarks instantly! Can you imagine waiting a "week" to get a brochure with just a few pictures, no videos and no virtual tours? This revolutionized the way people shop for vacation rentals and by virtue changed the way our industry advertises.

We haven't advertised in the Star or Post since 2007 or any trade magazines for that matter. Yet our business is still thriving! In fact, we have had our two best years in the history of our company in 2013 and 2014. How you might ask? By utilizing the power of the internet.

In 2008, if you searched for "vacation rental homes Lake of the Ozarks," our website was coming up around page nine or ten. Today, I performed the same search and our website came up on the first page in the number 10 slot. I would like take the credit for that, but my thanks must go to the great staff at MSW Interactive Designs. When they say that they "Put the Web to Work for You" they really mean it! We even ranked higher than the Lake Ozark CVB website and most of our competitors!

Looking at the other top 10 results for that search you will find seven vacation rental advertising sites (we advertise on all seven of them), as well as two of our friendly competitors. My goal has always been to advertise on most of the top 10 websites according to search results, so 8 out of 10 isn't bad. (If only I could talk my competitors into giving me space on their sites, I could make that 10 out of 10).

So if you want to increase your Lake of the Ozarks vacation rentals, look at which websites are ranking the highest and then place your ad. You budget is going to dictate which and how many sites you can afford to advertise on. As a large company, we typically spend $20K to $30K annually on internet based advertising, but even a small budget of $300 to $1K can net you a good number of rentals if you just have one or a few properties.

Russell Burdette is the owner of Your Lake Vacation, a professional vacation rental management company at the Lake of the Ozarks since 1986. If you would like more information on renting your home or condo as a vacation rental, please call 573-365-3367 or email russell@yourlakevacation.com.

For more information please call us toll free at 1-877-284-0267!!