Tagible didn’t write a line of code for its content aggregator until halfway through the Travelport accelerator program that the startup completed in 2016.
Today, Tagible (startup pitch here) amasses travel content including photos, 360-degree images, reviews and video from across the internet that hotels, destinations, tour operators and activity companies can include on their own websites with the goal of driving engagement and increasing conversion by reducing bounce rates and additional tabs opened as consumers search for more information. The startup integrates the content so that it appears native to the client’s site, also making key words interactive.
CEO Judah Musick says:
“Anything you can find on a Google map, we have content for."
He adds that Tagible’s built-in analytics can also test page performance for changes in the percentage of users engaging with content, time spent on each page, changing in sharing patterns and click-thru rates.
Additionally, the content is all culled from different repositories such as Google’s content API, which Tagible has a commercial license to use as well as Flickr, which has a Creative Commons license and even the public domain.
“Our systems will not pull any content that doesn’t have public licensing."
Tagible’s clients can leverage the content in a variety of ways, with interactive keywords being the startup’s core product. Interactive keywords are distinguished from the other content on a client’s website; when users hover over those keywords, they are immediately presented with relevant visual content, including photos, video and 360-degree views of selected points of interest.
Determining how the content tied to these keywords affects clients’ SEO strategy is challenging since Google won’t index content hidden behind keywords. So the Denver-based startup solved that by launching additional products, including responsive media galleries embedded directly into clients’ websites. Google will index a percentage of this content –specifically that to which Tagible has the rights to modify—and the startup will also provide the setup for the service.
Tagible’s new interactive maps are another new option, which can be fully stylized to fit a client’s brand, with an unlimited number of points of interest added within a certain proximity of a given location, be it a hotel or a tour operator’s itinerary route. So rather than multiple keywords, an array of content is built into a single element embedded on the client’s site.
In fact, the interactive maps were largely developed for the hotel industry, as one of the main factors in guests’ booking decisions is property location whether they’re traveling for business or leisure.
Musick explains:
“Historically, hotels do a very minimal job of giving travelers valuable information about property location. –Typically, they have a page dedicated to it, with a paragraph of text and maybe hyperlinks to local attractions.”
Tagible’s interactive map allows hotels to enhance the quality of locale information and better promote themselves to their website visitors.
With its own API that allows clients to avoid using the startup’s front end UI, Tagible works with an OTA client that buys into its interactive maps as well as its newest offering for Facebook’s Dynamic Ads for Travel (DAT).
Launched by the social media network in 2017, DAT’s algorithm targets travelers who are searching travel products for a specific destination. Tagible is using its content to build out product catalogs for select tour operator clients as well as its OTA client, who also use Tagible’s Javascript to install Facebook’s tracking pixel on all required pages such as browse, search, product detail and check-out.
“Our clients are telling us that they want new bookings and one of the best ways to do that is by targeting Facebook’s audiences. Our OTA client saw close to 700% in return on ad spend, retargeting hotel products and we do all the heavy lifting.”
But if there’s a single obstacle that Tagible is still working to overcome, it’s that the company has a total staff of 15 and still needs to ramp up its sales and marketing team.
Yet, the startup’s approach toward building its human capital –while in the cards for 2018—also reflects its perspective on outside investment. Musick describes the company’s fundraising strategy as “purposeful,” having privately raised $300,000 last year. But he also said that he isn’t seeking any outside funding at this point and doesn’t plan to go for “the next round.”
“I think it’s healthy to work within the constraints of customers’ cash flow and that’s a personal decision. If we can make it with client revenues, we’re obviously doing the right thing. Raising VC isn’t the only way.”