As a hotelier in today’s online world, one of the most important things is your online presence. With billions of people scouring the web for their next hotel, having a visible presence is integral to achieving success in today’s digital age. However, fighting for visibility among the sea of competitors can be quite arduous.

As you work towards becoming one of the best hotels to come up in online searches, we have gathered innovative strategies aimed at optimising and upgrading your website for maximum success.

Key benefits of optimising your website for search engines

Firstly, let’s understand why optimising your website is imperative for marketing and growth in today’s hotel environment.

Increase visibility on search engine results pages (SERP)

According to recent figures, more than 50% of hotel bookings are completed online. With such a large audience booking via the internet, how exactly can you get people to visit your website?

Well, with the help of website optimisation, one of the most direct benefits is a higher ranking on search engine results pages (SERP).  As the majority of people online utilise search engines to find what they need, increasing your website ranking on SERPs will increase your visibility to prospective customers. Plus, ranking higher also makes your website seem more trustworthy online.

Reach more potential customers

It’s safe to say that no one likes a website which takes ages to load, isn’t visible on search engines, or is hard to traverse. By failing to invest in digital solutions, many hotels are losing out on countless potential customers. After all, the way your business presents itself online is often a customer’s first impression of it.

On the contrary, optimising your website to be more user-friendly, efficient and accessible will also make it attractive to new customers. As your audience grows, so too does the popularity of your site organically— meaning you can reach even more potential clients.

Generate more bookings and revenue

Above all, your hotel website should be geared toward its main objective: driving bookings and increasing revenue. Sure, it’s great for building brand image and providing convenience to customers – but these are just added benefits.

Fortunately, creating a website that is optimised for search engines offers one of the most straightforward methods to attract more online visitors who are likely to convert into customers.

Your website is your chance to make a lasting impression on potential customers. It’s the first thing people see when looking at your business and it shapes their opinion of you from the start. A well-designed, user-friendly website with plenty of trustworthy information will help convince viewers that they should book rooms in your establishment – leading to increased profits.

Steps To Optimise a Hotel Website for Search Engines

Let’s look at some of the best steps you can follow to optimise your website for search engines.

Use target keywords throughout the website

For any business, from a hotel to a restaurant and beyond, optimising your website begins with the use of keywords. Keywords are words or phrases that your audience is likely to search for. By adding the right keywords to your website, you can make sure that search engines connect people who are searching for those terms with your site – essentially bringing in more of your target audience.

However, if you use incorrect words it could cause a lot of confusion and possibly have adverse effects on performance. So how do you figure out which specific target phrases to include?

When it comes to finding keywords for your website, try looking for words that your audience is likely to search for. For example, if you own a hotel in London, target keywords like “Hotels in London” or “London Rooms” are possible.

Click here to learn more about how to find the right target keywords for your website. Once you have a list of keywords specified, add them throughout your headings, image alt text, webpage content, and your website is sure to increase in ranking.

Utilise SEO-friendly URLs

Similar to scanning your content for keywords, search engines will also go through the URLs of your web pages. If they have relevant keywords, your website will be shown to the right audience, while irrelevant keywords can lower your SERP ranking.

So, the next step for website optimisation is to utilise SEO-friendly URLs. This involves adding short and popular keywords to the URL so that they can be linked to your target audience. This will help you rank higher on SERPs and also entice people to click on the webpage and draw them into your website.

Create compelling and informative content

Although search engine optimisation (SEO) is crucial for introducing people to your site, improving the content of your hotel’s webpages can cause them to book with you. Your content and pages must be captivating, motivating readers and ensuring that they receive valuable information when staying at your property. This includes properly linking graphics as well as strategically arranging other components within the page.

For example, adding photos of your hotel, details about the property, room discounts and amenities are all lucrative pieces of content which will allow a person to learn all about your hotel and promote them to book a room.

Additionally, you can also create blog posts with informative content such as tips on how to make the most of a stay in your particular city. This helps build trust with your potential customers and shows that you are an expert in the field. It also allows you to create backlinks from other blogs or websites, which search engines will recognise.

Update website regularly

Hoteliers often fall into the trap of neglecting to update their website content regularly, which can result in visitors not sticking around. This is a huge missed opportunity!

Keeping your online presence fresh and up-to-date with engaging posts is essential for attracting new guests and retaining existing ones. Keep your website ahead of the curve by regularly updating URLs, keywords, and content to ensure maximum visibility on SERPs.

Additionally, refreshing things like images or themes can create a dynamic user experience that will draw people in and keep them engaged with your brand for longer periods of time. As a best practice, it is wise to revisit your content every 1-2 years and delete any information that may be out of date.

Monitor your website performance

The last step to ensure your hotel’s website is optimised for maximum performance is to continuously monitor it. By using web analytics tools such as Google Analytics and Search Console, you can measure traffic trends and analyse the areas that need improvement in order to increase your ranking. This will also enable you to track the effectiveness of different SEO strategies so that you can adjust your tactics accordingly.

By monitoring your website performance you will be able to get a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t, ensuring that the changes you make are effective and beneficial for your hotel’s website in the long run.

Build a library of backlinks

Finally, to further boost your website’s ranking on SERPs you should build a library of backlinks. This involves creating links from other websites or blogs that point back to yours, showing search engines that your content is relevant and reliable.

This helps to improve your website’s authority and shows that it is trusted by others in the industry. You can do this by guest blogging on other websites, engaging in forums and social media channels and submitting your website to online directories or review sites.

For example, having a link to your website on Tripadvisor or Yelp can help improve its overall visibility and rankings. Additionally, having comments and reviews on these sites can also be useful for potential customers in deciding whether they should book with you.

By following these tips, your hotel’s website can become a powerful tool for driving direct bookings and ultimately result in increased revenue. Remember that SEO optimisation is an ongoing process, so make sure to be consistent with your updates in order to keep up-to-date with the latest search engine algorithms. With the right planning and execution, you can achieve great success with your hotel’s website.