It’s something we all know by now: if you want to get found by your guests, you’ve got to make it to page one of Google search results.
But getting there isn’t easy. If you want to secure a spot on the first page of the SERPs, simply publishing great content to your blog on a regular basis is not enough. Taking time to optimise your posts so that they pull in not only a high volume of traffic but a high volume of the right traffic is crucial.
So how do you get started? These 3 easy to implement tips will help you climb the rankings, without compromising on user experience.
1) Pick the right keywords
If you want to cut through the deluge of travel content out there and outrank your hotel’s competitors, focusing on the specific keywords your guests are using to search for you is essential.
There are multiple ways to identify these keywords, including conducting research on social media, using Google Trends to get a feel for the most popular current keywords within your niche, and even taking a peek at the keywords your competitors are ranking for using a tool like SEMRush.
Don’t forget to focus especially on long tail keywords – those ultra specific, three or four word phrases your guests are typing into Google to find exactly what you’re offering. Not only is there less competition for these kind of search phrases than there is for more generic keywords, the travellers searching for them are likely to be more ready to book.
Keep in mind that your primary keywords will change over time as search and travel trends shift and evolve. For this reason, it’s important to revisit your target words on a regular basis to ensure you’re still focusing on the right words for your audience.
2) Integrate keywords into your posts, without overstuffing
Once you’ve made the final decision on the keywords you want to target, it’s time to integrate them into the content you write.
The best way to do this is to intersperse your chosen words and natural variations of them regularly throughout the post, while taking care to avoid keyword “stuffing”. Overuse of keywords not only creates the kind of poor user experience which will have your guests hitting the back button in droves, it’s also frowned upon by Google and could lead to your pages being banned from the SERPs.
For each blog you post, your focus keyword should appear in these places:
- Title
- Subheadings
- URL if possible
- Image alt text (search engines can’t read images)
- Meta description
3) Include internal links
Linking to other pages on your website not only helps guide your audience along the booking journey by directing them to other enticing content, it boosts your search ranking in the process. Of course, including internal links to other important content also helps keep guests on your website longer, minimising bounce rate and giving you the best chance possible of driving a booking.
As with keywords, just be careful not to go overboard on your internal linking. As tempting as it is to link to all your web pages, only link to those that tie in with your call to action or relate directly to the subject matter you’re talking about in your blog.
Getting your hotel’s blog posts to rank on page one of the search results pages means creating posts that both Google and your guests will love. What are you doing to optimise your property’s blogs for SEO? Let us know in the comments below!
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