Christanilus Mosiun (2017) Search engine optimization for small and medium size accommodation websites in Sabah. Doctoral thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
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Abstract
This study researched into how small and medium sized accommodation (SMSA) firms in the tourism and hospitality industry in Sabah, can attain and sustain a competitive advantage in search engine marketing (SEM). A competitive advantage is achieved, if, in a specific market, the web page is ranked on the first page of the search engine (SE) results list – with the product or service customers look for. This study sought the key factors that increase the potential for a page one ranking for the SMSA's website, employing niche marketing concepts and the systems approach. The results of the study were then incorporated into a model depicting a systematic procedure for analysis and design. The SMSA should compete in carefully selected niche markets with diminished competition, so as to delimit the largely unknown set of variables associated with ranking a website through search engine optimization (SEO), to a known few, and focus on content that converges with the customer's expectation. Gaining insights into what would influence first page ranking involved determining what, and how, information is portrayed to the customer (the SE mimics the customer) already advanced along the buying funnel, as he traverses a site. The study extends traditional SEO thinking, from one of reductionism to systems thinking. In the latter, what emerges from the interaction of system elements decides how sites competing to be on page one of search results are ranked. The methodology incorporates mixed methods in a multiple case study design. Findings suggest that non-conventional factors play the major role in web page ranking in small, less competitive niche markets. During an impasse, however, when such factors nullify each other, the study points out that conventional variables become crucial at deciding which competing site surpasses the other. Low values of certain conventional variables, coveted in traditional SEO, will not present barriers to a first page ranking. The systems approach points out areas of leverage, and rendering SEO applications more tangible, in an uncertain and dynamic marketplace environment.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Keyword: | Niche markets, Niche marketing, Search engine marketing, Systems thinking, SEO, Competitive advantage |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28-9999 Industries. Land use. Labor > HD2321-4730.9 Industry > HD2340.8-2346.5 Small and medium-sized businesses, artisans, handicrafts, trades |
| Department: | FACULTY > Faculty of Business, Economics and Accounting |
| Depositing User: | DG MASNIAH AHMAD - |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Jan 2025 10:49 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Jan 2025 10:49 |
| URI: | https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42516 |
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