Authentic content and original photographs produced by bloggers will reap better rewards than artificial intelligence (AI) material, according to speakers at World Travel Market (WTM) London this week.
Blogger Filipe Gomes, who set up Alma de Viajante 20 years ago, conducted an experiment to compare AI-generated content with his own material. He told the WTM London marketing summit: “If it works, it’s easy money. If it doesn’t work, perfect. That means I can keep doing my normal travel blogging.
“I generated 30-40 posts and, in the first few days, the articles ranked but they disappeared completely and I was happy about it. I want to believe that good content will always perform better than bad content or AI-generated content. I will keep going to places and write about my experiences.”
Malcolm Archer, Head of Sales at Stay22, commented: “It is extremely validating that good content and good contextual content will still continue to drive results.”
One of his top tips for bloggers is to be authentic. “Be yourself, if that’s your brand; stand up for what your brand stands for.”
Cora Harrison, who has blogged at Inside Our Suitcase since 2017, advised delegates to use original images. “Make sure you’re taking your own photos. They don’t have to be the best photos in the world – they can be taken on your iPhone but original photos really, really matter in a world of AI content.”
When AI was emerging, she decided to diversify so she developed her social media channels, which helped her to build brand partnerships.
“Now I am able to use those social platforms – Instagram, TikTok and Facebook – to push audiences to my website,” said Harrison. “I now benefit from a much more diverse traffic source. I’m no longer solely relying on Google, which means that I have much more stable revenue from my website. I am also getting revenue directly from Facebook.”
The bloggers also offered tips about how to deal with problems caused by Google Core updates, which direct traffic to many websites and push them down search rankings.
Julie Falconer, who set up A Lady In London in 2007, said she is lucky that her site is not too badly hit by Google updates. “One of the bonuses of starting way back in 2007 is that I always focused on social media,” she said, pointing out that her blog receives a lot of traffic from Instagram, Pinterest and other platforms.
“I always prioritised affiliate marketing and brand partnerships and, more recently, monetise directly on platforms like Instagram and Facebook with earnings through advertising when they invite you into the programme. My Instagram account is my biggest marketing channel for my blog. Captions have clear calls to action.”
She urged bloggers to experiment: “There is no one-size-fits-all solution. What works for me might not work for somebody else.”
‘AI does have a role’
The panellists agreed that AI does have a role in helping content creators to monetise their blogs. Stay22 has an AI-powered travel affiliate platform, Let Me Allez, which ensures that visitors’ clicks on links are rewarded with personalised options, which they are more likely to book. It also fixes broken links in affiliate marketing.
Archer said: “This year, we’ve reached one billion users through our platform. We’ve also generated US$500 million in bookings. It’s been an absolutely phenomenal journey.”
The marketing summit was introduced by Michael Ball, Co-Founder of Traverse, a content creator community.
He said Traverse is set to launch a new event in London in July next year. Called Waypoint, the two-day event will have 150 to 200 handpicked content creators, 40 to 50 brands and destinations, different types of networking, a conference programme and social events.
