Good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the best way to drive organic traffic, i.e. non-paid traffic, to your direct booking website. Statistically, users are more likely to click on search results that appear on the first page, and even in the top five results. The reason why is fairly simple: if the first search results address the reason they are searching, there is no need to continue scrolling.
As you probably already know, search engines are complex creatures. Ranking on the first page is not an easy feat and requires constant attention. But do not let that put you off, the rewards will speak for themselves; the more traffic that arrives at your site organically, the less traffic you need to pay for.
Pro-tip: Be aware that SEO is a long-term investment as it takes time for your website to essentially “earn respect” from Google and other search engines.
Keyword research
Keywords are the search terms you want to rank for, and they are what SEO is all about. You may already have your keywords, in which case this will be helpful if you want to reconsider or update them. And if you don’t already have your keywords, read on.
The goal of your keyword research is to understand how people are searching for accommodation. You then use this knowledge to identify the keywords you want to be ranking for, so that when people search for those words or terms, they find your site. Keyword rankings are constantly changing over time and this is why it’s important to continuously monitor and optimize your site’s SEO – but don’t worry, this is an easily learned and implemented skill. There are two important factors in keyword research:
- Search volumes
Search volume gives you context on how many times a particular keyword or phrase is being typed into search engines on a monthly basis. Both the current number of searches as well as the trend in whether this number is increasing or decreasing are important to consider.
For example, if you see the top keyword by search volume is decreasing each month, you probably don’t want to be investing time in ranking for that keyword, rather you want to identify the keywords with increasing searches, even if the current search volume is not particularly high.
When processing search volume results it is also important to consider regions, as your business is probably specific to a certain country or even region within the country. While a lot of your business may be coming regionally, you may also want to be targeting international travelers, and it is likely that these two audiences will be using different terms when searching.
In order to perform keyword research, you need to use a keyword research tool. Many tools exist but we recommend you try one (or many) of these free tools:
- Competitor research
Another way to go about keyword research is to search for different terms related to your business on search engines and see what results come up. Use different words and phrases related to vacation rentals, vacation accommodation, and so forth, and see if your competitors are ranking for them.
You can also experiment with being more or less specific to your region and business. For example “luxury rentals in Paris” or “family-friendly rentals in Portugal.” This kind of research can also give you insight into the way travelers are searching for accommodation, as well as providing you with inspiration for your site from the top rankers – because if they are ranking high, they are clearly doing something right.
Titles
Once you have chosen your keywords you need to work them into the content of your website. The most important places to incorporate your keywords are titles. This includes any H1s (titles) and H2s (subtitles) within your site, as well as the URL or web address (this should be short but descriptive) for the site itself, and the alt text (description) for any images you are using.
Indexing
It is not only important, rather it is essential, to make sure that your website is indexed. If not, no matter how much time you spend on keyword research and optimizing for keywords, it will not rank.
Indexing is the term used for the process of storing web pages in a search engine’s database, known as its index. So essentially, if your page is not indexed, it will not show up on search results.
Pro-tip: To make sure your site is indexing, you can use either Google’s Search Console or Small SEO Tools index checker
Take your SEO to the next level
Above are the basics for SEO however, if you have the time and desire to really invest in SEO, adding more content, such as a blog section or videos can be really helpful. Of course, this content must be strategic and be targeting the right keywords in order to be effective.
To summarize
Good SEO will help drive interest in your accommodation and bring non-paid traffic to your direct booking website. However SEO is not something you can check off your list once done, you need to stay on top of it and make sure your website is always targeting the correct keywords.
Guesty’s talented marketing team is comprised of passionate professionals who share insightful industry knowledge and shape brand narratives. By bringing a diverse blend of expertise to the table, we are the visionary architects behind the Guesty brand and innovative campaigns that help people understand our product.
