By using the right Search Engine Optimization techniques, you will easily be able to increase your property’s visibility, and thus significantly increase the traffic to your website.
1. Make your website fast
A website that loads quickly guarantees, logically, that an impatient customer will not leave the page before it’s even opened. Add to this the fact that one of the major factors involved in Google’s ranking algorithm is the speed at which a site loads, and you will understand why it is crucial to work on this point in order to be well listed.
So, how would you do this? Simply put, all you need is to optimize the formats and sizes of the media (images, videos, etc.) available on your website and to remove superfluous data, and dead links that unnecessarily slow down your website. These actions, if put into place, should already significantly improve the site’s loading time.
2. Use long-tail keywords
A keyword is in some ways a description that benefits the booking engine of the product or service you want to list. The more it matches the content of your website, the more it will be considered relevant to Google’s algorithm, and the higher your chances will be of appearing at the top of searches. Therefore, select as many long-tail keywords as possible (keywords made up of several words) as they are more specific.
e.g. You are the owner of a boutique hotel in Le Marais in Paris, and you want to list your website. You will be much better listed with the keywords “boutique hotel le Marais Paris”, which corresponds more to the description of your property, than with the keywords “hotel in Paris”, which is far too generic.
In addition to being too vague, short tail keywords are more in-demand, so you would have to face fiercer competition to come out at the top of search engines.
e.g. The keyword “hotel Paris” corresponds to all the hotels in Paris, which is more than a thousand potential competitors for a spot on the first page. Conversely, the keyword “boutique hotel le Marais Paris” describes only about forty hotels in all. Fewer competitors mean better chances of getting a good ranking on Google.
3. Create quality content
Your website is fast, and you have selected long-tail keywords that perfectly describe your product. It’s time to work on the content you are providing to your customers. Offer them unique, and relevant information, and thus create high-quality content. You will be rewarded by seeing your website rise, slowly but surely, in the ranking of search pages.
4. Link building: relevance, relevance, relevance
To increase organic traffic to your website, it is imperative to build quality links.
What is a quality link, you might ask? It’s a link that comes from a website that is closely linked to your business and whose content is of high quality. Everything is, therefore, a matter of relevance between the original content and the backlink content, and once again, of good quality.
e.g. Imagine that you are the proud owner of a Riad in Marrakech and you want to use link building to improve your SEO. Placing a backlink on a website about the breeding of English bulldogs would be a waste of time. However, placing a backlink on a site listing the most interesting housing in the medina of Marrakech would do the trick.
5. Secure your connection
Online customers are wary of the internet, especially when it comes to securing their personal data. This lack of confidence is further exacerbated when making a transaction or completing an online form.
Reassure them by switching from an HTTP to an https by securing the connection, and protecting their personal information. This recommendation is even more important for hotel websites because the end goal of visiting your portal is to make an online reservation.
6. Google, yes, but not only
Google is certainly the most used booking engine in the world and deserves a place in your SEO strategy, but do not put aside other search engines that also have their loyal users. Otherwise, you risk missing out on potentially interesting traffic for your website and products! So integrate Bing, Yahoo, Baidu (if you have a Chinese clientele) into your SEO action plan, and you will not regret it.
These best SEO Practices are simple to put into place and could have a significant impact on the visibility, and traffic of your website. Don’t miss out!
