All through the ages, companies’ symbolism has always been a determining factor for the expansion of their commercial activities. In the web and digital era, the domain name is part of this lineage. A string of characters associated with an extension, it constitutes a familiar name associated with an IP address that allows visualizing certain content. In the hotel industry, like all others, the hotel’s domain name is a great marketing and provides commercial leverage to attract visits to its official website, and thus generate direct bookings for the hotel manager.
Simplicity above all
The domain name must invariably be associated with a company’s marketing image, so it should be named after the company as much as possible. This way, a simple and direct association is made by the client. Regarding extensions, the choice of a classic extension (.com, .org or .net) or the hotel’s country of operation (.fr, .es, .ma …) is strongly recommended for the client to feel confident, especially if the website related to the domain name has a commercial purpose.
A domain name that is short but that speaks volumes
The domain name must be one that a client can easily remember, hence the recommendation is that it be short but also meaningful. This way, the domain name acts as a symbol for the hotel it represents.
Avoid special characters
To avoid any risk of clients making mistakes, the use of special characters (especially dashes) should be avoided as much as possible. This way, you will prevent any risk of falling on third-party or non-existent Internet pages.
A domain name with keywords
A hotel’s domain name needs to not be the same as the property it represents. The use of keywords that are popular on search engines may be a strategy adopted by hotel managers, especially by linking the hotel to a characteristic of its environment or during specific events associated with the property. Thus, the domain name with keywords could draw more traffic to the property’s official website.
Hunting for expired domain names, a great opportunity
From a perspective of SEO optimization, choosing an expired domain name can help improve the performance of a hotel’s official website. The legacy of the previous site’s history with using the domain name, as well as the already existing backlinks, will help with the property’s listings on search engines. However, ensure that the expired domain name is coherent with the hotel’s name in order to avoid any mix-up, which could turn out to be negative.
In conclusion, the domain name is definitely a key element in the process of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of a hotel. When it’s well chosen, it can have major leverage in drawing traffic to the hotel’s official website, thus increasing online direct bookings.
