{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.cultbooking.com\/en\/how-to-use-seo-for-hotel-websites\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.cultbooking.com\/en\/how-to-use-seo-for-hotel-websites\/","headline":"How To Use SEO For Hotel Websites","name":"How To Use SEO For Hotel Websites","description":"How To Use SEO For Hotel Websites Statistics show that 70% of all global desktop traffic is done through Google. By 2021, Google already had almost 360 billion searches inputted to its search engine, and it\u2019s still counting.\u00a0 The bare minimum for being active on the Internet in today\u2019s time is to simply create a […]","datePublished":"2021-10-14","dateModified":"2021-10-14","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.cultbooking.com\/en\/author\/#Person","name":"","url":"https:\/\/www.cultbooking.com\/en\/author\/","identifier":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"CultBooking","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.cultbooking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Social-Media_Logo_CultBooking.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.cultbooking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Social-Media_Logo_CultBooking.jpg","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.cultbooking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/unnamed-copy.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.cultbooking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/unnamed-copy.jpg","height":366,"width":512},"url":"https:\/\/www.cultbooking.com\/en\/how-to-use-seo-for-hotel-websites\/","about":["Uncategorized"],"wordCount":2894,"articleBody":"How To Use SEO For Hotel WebsitesStatistics show that 70% of all global desktop traffic is done through Google. By 2021, Google already had almost 360 billion searches inputted to its search engine, and it\u2019s still counting.\u00a0The bare minimum for being active on the Internet in today\u2019s time is to simply create a website or make an account in any social media platform or even perhaps create an email. However, that\u2019s not going to get you anywhere close to being discovered by millions of people every day.\u00a0Undoubtedly, the digital world cannot be discounted when it comes to creating a successful business, so much more if said business revolves around the travel industry such as hotels chains. For any successful hotel to get a spotlight in the digital world, it is vital to execute different strategies and adopt new technologies in order to stay relevant.\u00a0One of these technologies is Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short.\u00a0What is SEO?\u00a0SEO refers to anything involving websites trying to squeeze out each improvement they can make to rank better in relevant searches for keywords that they are trying to go for. Websites try to up one another in getting the highest ranking on Google\u2019s search engine. There are plenty of ways to do this, and you can often hear overlapping technical terms with how different companies and websites use SEO to their advantage.\u00a0Some companies and websites integrate different blogs to their websites to maximize their capacity to rank higher through the keywords they are also using in their blog. Others try to incorporate great backlinks from other reputable sites so that they can have a higher edge on their market; some just create quality content that their readers will be interested in, and others simply just find keywords and phrases that people haven\u2019t yet ranked for and hope for the best that people start searching for them.\u00a0These are some of the strategies that you might encounter when it comes to the world of SEO. After all, everyone is trying to \u201coptimize\u201d everything to get that sweet top rank.\u00a0SEO, in a nutshell, is basically just you puffing your chest out for all to see. However, you don\u2019t really have any muscles nor even a chest to puff out. Instead, you showcase everything by the value of content that you have and the optimizations and improvements that you apply.\u00a0The importance of SEO for hotels\u00a0Hotels have been particularly hit hard by the recent pandemic as lockdowns, quarantines, and travel bans have put the entire travel industry at a standstill. Hotels have been feeling the brunt of the impact that the pandemic has brought.However, as these restrictions start to subside all across the globe and travel recovery is ramping up due to vaccination efforts, it\u2019s time for most hotel chains and businesses to start getting back into the fight and utilize strategies to effectively recover and gain the upper hand in the post-pandemic world and having a great SEO strategy is definitely one of those tactics that businesses can use.\u00a0\u00a0Even before, research has stated that almost 92% of people click at one link on the first page of any Google search result. That\u2019s a lot of traffic potential that you are exposed to and being in the hospitality industry can mean getting a lot of clients at your doorstep.\u00a0Competition is tough in this field as other hotels are also competing for the top spot, and one single client might get multiple search results for any travel-related keyword or phrase that they try to come up with.This is why it is crucial to have an effective SEO strategy; when you mix the different statistics together, they all come up with one single proof – Google gives you unlimited exposure.\u00a0It\u2019s not only that, but SEO is also one of the cheaper alternatives in marketing. It\u2019s also one of the areas that remain least affected by the pandemic as websites don\u2019t generally tend to lose exposure as compared to billboards, flyers, and tv advertisements that most people won\u2019t see during lockdowns.\u00a0So, with that said, how can you utilize SEO effectively for your hotel business?Step 1 – Get started with your target market\u00a0The first step before going forward with anything SEO-related is to focus on what your target market is. That\u2019s it; there\u2019s nothing you can do without knowing the market that you are searching for. This goes both ways as you also want to filter traffic that doesn\u2019t have to do with the services that you offer, and while traffic can be significant for your website, sometimes it can be more of a nuisance than a benefit.\u00a0Try to make your website as specific as possible to the services that you offer. If your hotel is only located at a particular location, then it\u2019s best to market yourself to the audience for that specific location only. Don\u2019t waste time finding clients that aren\u2019t interested in your services in the first place.Let\u2019s take this paddleboard selling business as an example.\u00a0Their website is solely focusing on selling paddleboards and all accessories that are related to their main product. That is a good target marketing strategy.\u00a0It is best that you also implement the same with how your website works. In the hospitality industry, hotels tend to focus on location, and that is where most likely your target will be.\u00a0Suppose you have multiple hotel chains covering the same brand. In that case, it can even be better to create different websites that solely focus on these separate locations to specify each hotel\u2019s target markets further.\u00a0These tactics help you close in on specific target audiences that you can turn into clients while diverting those that don\u2019t apply to your services to neighboring hotels or even similar sister branch hotels. That way, you don\u2019t get to have inquiries from clients from different areas, and you also don\u2019t leech off the target audience of other hotels simultaneously.\u00a0Step 2 – Learn which keywords matterKeywords and keyphrases are the bread and butter of SEO. It\u2019s what people use to search for what they need; in this case, they use these words and phrases to try and find you or your competitors. This is why keyword competition can often be challenging.\u00a0Here are some keyword and keyphrase examples for you to see:Best hotels in (Location)Affordable hotels in (Location)Hotels in (Location)Hotels near (Location)Cheap hotels near me\u00a0Booking hotels in (Location)\u00a0Overnight hotel in (Location)You can see how many of these keywords require a specific area to be completed. So with that in mind, locations can also double as an essential specifier for your keyword strategy.\u00a0Take this site that talks about cart abandonment emails. It\u2019s a lengthy keyphrase, but most people use it to search for that target niche. Not only focus on words but also the specific phrases that people might use to search for you.\u00a0Mixing both of these to your strategies will help you cover both competing for keywords and being the first to rank for specific keyphrases that others haven\u2019t yet tried.\u00a0You can first try finding keywords on different sites such as Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, Moz, or even just from Google.\u00a0Step 3 – Craft actionable quality content\u00a0\u00a0Now that you have managed to get the keywords and phrases that matter, it\u2019s time to implement these on your site. This is probably the most crucial part of the entire step journey, as there is still one truth that holds on even after all the tricks and optimizations that websites can do.\u00a0Content is still and always be King.\u00a0That is the one truth that will continue to hold on with how SEO works, and it\u2019s probably the easiest to start but most challenging to get right.Sure, it\u2019s one piece of the puzzle, but it\u2019s probably the most prominent piece that will establish the foundations of what your entire SEO strategy depends on. Quality written content will not only give you natural traffic but also engage readers to get something new from what you\u2019ve written.They will be able to learn something new, and just that in itself is a big win in terms of making a reputation for your site. Putting out actionable quality content will also give you an easier time with link building as numerous different sites would always want to link back to websites that they believe will be helpful for the readers that they have.Some easy-to-see actionable content out there is research papers, surveys, polls, listicles, and even \u201cTop 10\u201d blogs. The reason for this is that either you start creating and researching new content to publish or summarize this new content from other sites to suit your needs.\u00a0Step 4 – Streamline content structureStreamlining content structure is essential. It\u2019s good to have a basic layout of your entire website; this rings especially true for blogs.Consistency and accuracy are two important factors that are crucial when writing content. The layout needs to be the same and familiar for readers to have an easier time navigating through each set of blogs that you will be putting out.\u00a0Take, for example, this supplement shop and its blog.\u00a0They have a streamlined content structure, as you may note that their blogs have all the same format, layout, topics, etc. That is one great way to engage readers and keep people reading your blogs, as familiarity and consistency are all great perks to have when it comes to keeping your own blogs.\u00a0Step 5 – Maximize your use of images.Images can be a big help to your SEO strategies. It provides a generally better experience for overall user experience, especially for hotel websites where visualization is almost used at each part of a page.\u00a0Statistics show that almost 94% of blogs that have images receive more views than blogs that are text-only. That is an overwhelming number of views that you can achieve just by simply adding in great related pictures.\u00a0It doesn\u2019t have to be yours, there are plenty of stock photos, vectors, and other materials to go through for you to have an appealing visual image of what your topic talks about. If you don\u2019t think the picture looks fine, consider adding in some aesthetic lightroom presets.\u00a0Visualization is an essential aspect of any successful website, and it\u2019s best to integrate visuals into your blogs. Not only that, but you can even maximize the use of images to help with your SEO strategies.Maximize the effectiveness of images by placing in an \u201calt-text\u201d to them. Now, you might ask, \u201cwhat\u2019s an alt-text\u201d? It\u2019s basically a replacement text in case the image fails to load. It describes the image and what it means to the reader if it somehow fails to load due to a crash or because of a poor internet connection.\u00a0You can even integrate keywords in your alt-text, but don\u2019t cram it all in one spot.\u00a0Step 6 – Formulate link-building strategies.\u00a0Link building is another fundamental step in SEO. It is how search engines such as Google can easily find and discover new web pages that are being created out there daily. It is also one of the indicators as to how high a page ranks in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page).\u00a0This step rings well with crafting actionable quality content. If you are making great content, then you will easily notice that you are earning links from other sites. This is most probably because other sites have seen the value that your content provides, and they have decided that it would also benefit them to link you to theirs.\u00a0This type of link building is a natural way, and it is both an advantage and a sign that you are doing well with the content that you provide.\u00a0You might notice in some websites that they somehow have links to other sites that they might not be entirely related to. Let\u2019s say these two sites: Inflow, an inventory management tool, and Orizaba Original, an online Baja hoodie shop.You might wonder how these two sites can manage to link to each other; well, it\u2019s relatively easy. In a situation like this, most likely, the hoodie shop is using Inflow as their product management system for their business, and they both will try to link to each other as a means of simply getting excellent links!\u00a0This is one strategy that businesses use; they tend to partner up with one another in order to help each other get to the top spots of their individual target markets. Another great thing here is that they both aren\u2019t even competing against each other, so it\u2019s just a natural big win for both parties involved.When it comes to link building, there are plenty of strategies involved in how companies try to scale up their sites. For hotel websites, you can try to reach out to your local partners such as shops, malls, tourist sites, and even some souvenir shops to help get quality backlinks for your site.\u00a0Step 7 – Improve website speedWebsite speed is as important as anything else. Without it, your site doesn\u2019t load; the visitor gets frustrated with the long loading times and just goes for another link they have opened. Nobody wants that.\u00a0You might already be familiar with the importance of website speed. For hotel websites, it\u2019s clear that website speed is essential as user experience is paramount to get them for a booking. The same goes for SEO.\u00a0It was way back in 2010 that Google announced that page speed would be a factor in how pages rank for SERP\u2019s and it wasn\u2019t long ago in 2017 that Google also doubled down on that and gave page speed even more consideration, introducing mobile site speed as a critical factor in page speed.\u00a0This gives more importance for the user experience to be improved. SEO isn\u2019t all about keywords, content, and links. It\u2019s also about a better experience for the readers and the visitors.\u00a0There are plenty of ways to improve site speed; the first thing that comes to mind is sites that have plenty of images and videos. While visualization is essential, it\u2019s also equally significant to make these visuals as optimized as possible. Introducing lightweight formats and distributing them quickly through a content delivery network.\u00a0Javascript can also be a critical factor in site speed as having too many scripts, or unoptimized scripts can heavily affect page speed. Double-check other scripts that might have been rendered useless due to changes and updates on how your pages work.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s best to always check thoroughly on the heavy-hitting factors. Images and scripts are two great ways to start off in improving page speed both for desktop and mobile-based sites.\u00a0Step 8 – Analyze SEO performance.\u00a0Now that you have managed to do all these steps, it\u2019s vital to ensure that you are going in the right direction with the efforts you\u2019ve pooled. Analyzing your SEO performance is as crucial as making improvements. If you don\u2019t know where you are now, you might as well be shooting blind with the changes you make.Analyzing your SEO performance gives you more information as to what works and what doesn\u2019t. If you need better backlinks, compete for other keywords, or improve page speed.There are plenty of SEO performance metrics out there, and they also double as tools for page optimization, so it\u2019s also a no-brainer to try and get these tools for yourself. You might be familiar with some of them already, such as Ahrefs, Moz, Google Analytics, and many more.You can even go so far as to pair your SEO performance with other content research tools to know your audience better and how they interact with you.SEO is also about numbers, metrics, and analytics. There is quite a lot of math involved, but it\u2019s the only way to know that you are going in the direction you want. If you want to top the competition in search engine results, then you\u2019re going to need to get all mathematical.\u00a0Conclusion\u00a0SEO is undoubtedly an essential aspect in many industries, and that includes the hospitality industry. Integrating SEO into hotel websites as a marketing strategy is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to get more web exposure. However, while it is indeed hard because of the competition, analytics, and content involved, it is all worth the effort spent at the end of the day.\u00a0CultBooking – Best Booking Engine is here to help you with SEO and better ranking on Google. Moreover, now is possible for you to use the google free links and also the Adwords. Feel free to book a meeting and learn more how CultBooking will bring you more direct bookings: Author BioBurkhard Berger is the founder of Novum\u2122. You can follow him on his journey from 0 to 100,000 monthly visitors on novumhq.com. His articles include some of the best growth hacking strategies and digital scaling tactics that he has learned from his own successes and failures.  "}