In today’s digital era, it’s crucial to have your own hotel website if you want to maintain credibility and attract business. However, just having a well-designed website is not enough to draw in guests. It’s a well-known fact that visitors usually find your website through search engines.
This means your hotel website should rank higher on search engines to drive leads and eventually turn them into your guests. This is where Hotel SEO comes into the frame.
What is SEO for hotels?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing and improving the ranking of a hotel website on search engines (like Google, Yahoo, and Bing) result pages (SERP).
It enables you to strengthen your online presence, drive traffic to your website, and enhance your hotel’s bookings.
To mention, SEO is an inseparable part of hotel digital marketing and is one of the assured strategies to win over your competitors.
Why is Hotel SEO Important?
When people search for something on the internet, search engines show them a list of results. Usually, they tend to click on the first result because they assume that it will provide them with the most accurate and helpful information. In contrast, they are less likely to click on the lower-ranked results.
As per the survey, the #1 result in Google gets 31.7% of all clicks. This percentage decreases to 2.2% for the last result on the first page. So you can gauge there are barely any chances to go to the second page.
(Even you won’t!) If you are not visible to your audience on the first page, then odds are, they won’t discover you. And you will lose potential direct bookings through your website.
How to Do SEO for Hotel Websites the Right Way
There are various hotel SEO tips available; however, it’s important to know which ones are more effective. This is why, to help you learn the most imperative ones and do SEO for hotels on the right foot, I have 15 actionable steps.
Define your target audience:
This is step zero to performing SEO on your hotel website. You need to define your target audience – who they are, what they like, and their booking patterns.
Keyword Research:
Keyword research is the foundation of SEO. It helps you to identify the keywords that your target audience is searching for. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and MOZ to find the right keywords for your hotel website.
Meta Details:
The page title, meta description, and URL are the first things that your audience sees on the search engine result page. So, it’s important to make them attractive and informative. Use your target keywords in the page title, meta description, and URL to make them more relevant to your audience.
Optimize your website content:
Your website content should be informative, engaging, and relevant to your target audience. Use your target keywords in the content, but don’t stuff them. Make sure your content is easy to read and understand.
Add ALT text to images:
Images are an important part of your website. They make your website more attractive and engaging. But search engines can’t read images. So, you need to add ALT text to images to make them more visible to search engines.
Arrange headings and subheadings:
Headings and subheadings make your content more organized and easy to read. Use your target keywords in the headings and subheadings to make them more relevant to your audience.
Optimize your website’s loading speed:
Your website’s loading speed is an important factor in SEO. A slow-loading website can affect your website’s ranking on search engines. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and Pingdom to check your website’s loading speed.
Make your website mobile-friendly:
Most of your audience uses mobile devices to search for hotels. So, it’s important to make your website mobile-friendly. Use responsive design to make your website more accessible to mobile users.
Build and submit the sitemap:
A sitemap is a file that contains a list of all the pages on your website. It helps search engines crawl and index your website more efficiently. Use tools like XML Sitemap Generator to create a sitemap for your website.
Structure your content:
Your content should be structured in a way that makes it easy to read and understand. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and numbered lists to make your content more organized.
Google My Business:
Google My Business is a free tool that helps you to manage your online presence across Google, including search and maps. It enables you to update your business information, respond to customer reviews, and post photos and offers.
Use schema markup:
Schema markup is a code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand your content better. It enables you to provide more information about your hotel, such as your business name, address, phone number, and reviews. Use tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to add schema markup to your website.
Backlinks:
Build links Link building is an important part of SEO. It helps you to get more traffic to your website and improve your website’s ranking on search engines. You can build links by guest blogging, creating infographics, and participating in online forums.
Local SEO:
Work on local SEO is the process of optimizing your website for local search. It enables you to target your local audience and drive more traffic to your website. To do local SEO, you need to create a Google My Business account, optimize your website for local keywords, and build local links.
Conclusion
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a crucial aspect of digital marketing for hotels. It helps you establish a strong online presence, attract more visitors to your website, and increase your hotel bookings. By following the steps outlined above, you can perform SEO for your hotel website properly and stay ahead of your competitors.
With our expert team and results-driven approach, we provide top-notch SEO services that can help boost your website’s visibility and reach your target audience. From keyword research to on-page optimization and link building, we have got you covered. Let us help you stay ahead of the competition and achieve your business goals.
