SEO for hotels

In the hotel industry, online visibility is critical. Most travelers begin their lodging search online, and it is essential that your hotel appears high in search results. A strong SEO strategy can get your hotel noticed, generate more direct bookings and ultimately increase your revenue. With extensive experience within this industry, I’m happy to talk about what you can do yourself to Optimize your hotel’s SEO.

Why SEO is essential for hotels

The world of hotel business is all about attracting guests and filling rooms. SEO plays a crucial role in this. It ensures that your hotel is found by potential guests searching for accommodation online. Moreover, SEO helps you reduce your dependence on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) by generating more direct bookings through your own website.

Every day that a room is not filled you lose sales. The market is very competitive. All things to consider in your strategy.

What is important here is that OTAs are often prioritized in Google because they offer rooms from multiple hotels. This means that they do have an appropriate offer for all intentions, this is something we have to deal with. A nice solution I came up with a client for this is to create a page with “top 10 hotels in {stad}”. This way we were still able to find the right intention (of course we highlighted our own hotel just a bit more).

Local SEO for hotels

Local SEO is one of the most powerful tools for hotels. Travelers often search specifically for hotels in a particular city or neighborhood, and you want to make sure your hotel appears at the top of those search results.

• Google My Business: Make sure your Google My Business profile is fully populated with accurate information, such as your address, phone number, hours of operation, and a description of your facilities. Add photos of the rooms, restaurant, and other amenities to give an attractive picture of your hotel.
• Local keywords: Optimize your website with keywords focused on your location, such as “hotel in [jouw stad]” or “luxury accommodation in [jouw buurt]”. This will help you rank better in local searches and respond directly to travelers’ needs.
• Local directories and review sites: Make sure your hotel is listed in local business directories and on review sites such as TripAdvisor and Yelp. This increases your visibility and strengthens your local SEO strategy.

Actually, the most important thing within local SEO is getting (positive) reviews. This is both important for the final position in Google (normal results and Google My Business results) and convincing visitors to become customers. You can assume that anyone planning to book at your hotel will also go through the reviews.

Content for hotels

Content is a powerful tool to attract travelers and convince them to choose your hotel. Here are some strategies to optimize content on your website:

• Landing pages for rooms and facilities: Create separate landing pages for different room types, amenities and unique aspects of your hotel. Make sure these pages are optimized with relevant keywords and compelling descriptions.
• Blog about travel and local attractions: Start a blog in which you write about local events, attractions and travel tips. This not only attracts potential guests, but also helps keep your website current and relevant to search engines.
• Visual content: Use high-quality photos and videos to showcase your hotel and its surroundings. Visual content is not only attractive to visitors, but is also well regarded by search engines and on social media.

There are always many topics to think of to write for hotels. I would also say with this, really go the full breadth and write mainly about the city, attractions and of course the main search terms such as “hotel + city.”

Technical SEO for hotels

A well-functioning website is essential to providing a positive user experience and maintaining high rankings. In particular, providing a good user experience is important to get visitors to book faster on your own website (rather than an OTA).

• SSL certificate: Make sure your website is secured with an SSL certificate (HTTPS). This protects your visitors’ data and ensures that Google considers your website trustworthy, which benefits your rankings.
• Internal Link Structure: Provide a clear and logical internal link structure that helps visitors navigate your site easily and helps search engines index your content.
• Core Web Vitals: Optimize your website according to Google’s Core Web Vitals, which focus on loading speed, interactivity and visual stability. These factors are essential for a good user experience and ranking.

Optimize your website for mobile users

More and more travelers are booking their hotel rooms via smartphone or tablet. Therefore, it is essential that your website is fully optimized for mobile devices.

• Responsive design: Make sure your website has a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes. This improves the user experience and prevents potential guests from dropping out because the site is difficult to navigate on their device.
• Website speed: A fast load time is crucial, especially for mobile users. Optimize images, minimize the use of heavy scripts, and make use of browser caching to make your site faster.

Manage online reviews and reputation

Online reviews play a crucial role in travelers’ choice of hotel. They can make the difference between a booking or a missed opportunity.

• Encourage positive reviews: Ask satisfied guests to leave a review on platforms such as Google, TripAdvisor, and Booking.com. This will help you build a positive online reputation.
• Respond to reviews: Take the time to respond to reviews, both positive and negative. Thank guests for their feedback and offer solutions to complaints. This demonstrates your commitment and gives potential guests confidence in your service.

SEO and OTAs for hotels

Many hotels rely on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) such as Booking and Expedia. While these platforms are useful for generating bookings, they often charge high commissions. Therefore, it is important to invest in SEO for your own website to encourage more direct bookings.

• Exclusive offers: Offer exclusive discounts or special offers available only for direct bookings through your website. Actively promote these offers on your website and in your marketing campaigns.
• Better content and user experience: Make sure the content on your own website is more detailed and attractive than on OTA pages. This can encourage guests to book directly with you.

However, it is necessary to still be on these. Google also sees that you and your hotel are on these websites. Are you not doing it and the competitor is? Then you’re at a disadvantage.

Conclusion

SEO is essential for hotels looking to increase their online visibility and achieve more direct bookings. By focusing on local SEO, creating high-quality content, making technical optimizations and actively managing your online reputation, you can ensure that your hotel appears at the top of search results.

Continue to regularly evaluate and adjust your strategy to stay in tune with the latest trends and developments so that your hotel is the first choice for travelers looking for a place to stay.