Once you have put together the information needed, it should be forwarded to ABTAnet on diskette (send to ABTAnet, 4 Eastgate Mews, Castle Lane, Warwick, CV34 4BT). You may find it more convenient to fill in the data entry areas which appear below the explanations of the various items which follow and then press the SUBMIT TO ABTAnet button at the foot of the page.
Text files can be created using a simple text editor such as Notepad, which is provided as standard with Windows. Word processing packages such as Word for Windows and Wordperfect have Save As options for creating Text files.
All of the text fields described below can be provided in one .txt file, taking care to clearly identify the fields.
The following paragraphs give guidance on each of these in turn, together with advice on how to get the best out of your WWW listing. Please take some time to read and absorb the advice, preferably away from the hurly-burly of the office. If you still have questions about how to proceed contact the ABTECH Helpline on 0345-581339.
ABTAnet Ticket Number
Please enter the ticket number which was given you to you either with your documentation or by ABTA Membership Services department.
Company Name or Trading Name
This should be the name or brand under which you trade with the public, and which you want to see featured.
If you want to advertise more than one brand or business name, you will need to complete multiple Standard Option applications.
ABTA Number
This should be the ABTA number you quoted on the original application form, so that ABTA can tie up the application and payment with the information you are now providing. If you use a different number here it will slow down the processing of your page.
Trading Address
This should be the main trading address of the business. Note that this does not have to be the same address as you specified on the application form. The original application form address will be used for communicating with you about ABTAnet. This address will only be used on your Internet page, as information for consumers. and please do not enter your postcode before reading the next section.
Postcode
Provide information here only if you wish your business to be listed in the separate Postcode area indexes being created by ABTAnet, to enable consumers to contact travel companies within a geographic area. Otherwise, include your postcode in the full trading address (see above), but leave this area blank. (If, for example, your business is largely based on telesales, you may wish not to list in the geographic indexes.)
Contact Telephone Number
Give your main office telephone number for sales enquiries. If you wish to target only UK consumers, use the conventional (e.g. 01234-56789) format. ABTAnet will, however, reach a worldwide audience. If you have services of interest to this international audience, you may wish to quote the number in international format (e.g. +44-(0)1234-56789) where +44 signifies the international dialling code for the UK.
Keywords/ phrases for listing on indexes
ABTAnet intends to build indexes of member company specialisations to make it easier for consumers to find ABTA members with appropriate expertise. The exact structure of these indexes has not yet been established, though it is likely that there will be indexes based on destination specialisation, and on holiday types (e.g. ski, adventure holidays).
Note that in the short term there are no plans for a full keyword search for consumers on all ABTAnet entries, although this will be considered at a later date.
Member requests for keyword/ phrase entries will dictate the structure of the indexes created. ABTAnet reserves the right to list companies under best match indexes where the exact keyword or phrase requested is not featured.
Key words or phrases requested must accurately reflect real specialisations of your business. ABTAnet aims to build indexes that instil confidence in consumers that the companies listed can indeed offer specialist advice.
Up to five keywords/ phrases may be requested. If you specify more, ABTA will use its judgement on the five indexes best suited to your needs. Please only enter one keyword or phrase in each box.
(Keyword 1)
Strap Line
The strap line is a short text field of 40 characters which will be displayed wherever your company name features in an index. You should choose the wording carefully to complement the information the consumer already has about your company from the index(es) where you are listed. This particular field is very important. Why should a consumer go to your pages rather than another company listed on the same index? If it simply repeats information already apparent to the consumer from the index he is looking at, you are probably missing a trick.
Description of Services Offered
We expect most accesses to your information to come via the ABTAnet keyword indexes. In this section you have the opportunity to provide information to the consumer about why he/she should use your company's services rather than someone elses.
If you have listed a number of keywords or phrases, you will wish to expand on your specialist capabilities here. You may wish to make claims on price or service quality, but be aware that many other companies will do the same. You may wish to accentuate a local reputation. You may wish to make a promotional offer.
The 150 words available can say a lot about your business, or they can make it sound like just another travel company. Think carefully about what you have got to offer, and why customers like dealing with you. Don't make grandiose claims you cannot substantiate. Don't use information that dates quickly - if you wish to change information regularly you should probably look at Advanced Option Publishing.
ABTAnet Password
The password you specify here will be used to check that later requests for amendments are actually from you, and to allow you to download the Bookmarks file (see below). The password will also enable access to the ABTAnet members only area in the future. On-line amendment forms will reside in this area.
The password should be a single lower case alphanumeric string of up to 8 characters.
If you do not specify a password, online amendments and Bookmark downloads will not be possible.
Pipex Password
If you are taking up the ABTAnet Pipex Dial offer, you will need to tell us your Pipex password to enable us to upload your information to the Pipex server. This password is on the printed slip inside your Pipex Dial package, listed after your allocated email address.
You can change this password after the page has been created if you wish, but ABTAnet will need to know the password whenever any changes are to be made.
Email Address
You need to provide us with your email address in order for us to let you know when your pages are uploaded, and the Web address of your Home Page.
ABTAnet will also use this email address to inform you of matters relating to your ABTAnet agreement, such as renewal dates. There are unlikely to be more than four emails per month from ABTAnet/ ABTA to your mailbox. In the event that ABTA wish to use your email address for other forms of communication, your permission will be sought in advance.
