You can leverage SEO strategies and attracts as many leads as you want to boost sales. But the million dollar question is that- how you would achieve that?
Starting a tourist business may be easy, but operating the same can be tedious. The competition in this niche is much higher than what we see in any other sector. The ever-changing people’s lifestyles, subtle choices of travelers, and increasing awareness among the end-users have made it difficult for new businesses to survive in the market. If you are witnessing the same issues, there is an upfront solution for that.
This write-up will take a brief look into tourism SEO and provides you with the best practices. But first, let’s dive into the basic information about the tourism sector.
An Anatomy of the tourism sector
The existence of the tourism sector is bolstered by the different types of businesses, starting from hotels to restaurants, traveling agencies to car rentals, and transport to catering. In a nutshell, restaurants, accommodations, travel agencies, and transportation are the major pillar of the tourism sector.
Whilst restaurants and accommodations operate at a local level, travel agencies and transportation have an extended footprint. Online apps and websites that help travelers help with price comparison, hotel booking, and so on are slowly becoming an imperative part of this sector Most tourism businesses often have issues in reaping consistent profit throughout the years because of their seasonal nature.
The whole industry stays pretty much unaggressive during the slack period. However, there are some marketing tactics such as discounts or time-based offers that companies used more often to stay afloat during testing times. Likewise, during peak periods, tourism businesses witness a stable influx of income.
Tourism Trends That Every SEO Should Consider
Increasing awareness of the clients and demand for unique services will set the tone for the modern tourism market. Today’s customers have become more choosy about the standards of services offered by the service providers.
The modern tourism market is likely to revolve following trends that businesses need to take into account:
Preference for Quality
Whether it comes to hotel accommodations or choosing a travel agency, customers are less likely to settle for sub-par services. Quality is most likely to remain of utmost priority for travelers in the coming year.
Ease for tour planning
The personalized trip is something that will become common in the future. With high-speed internet at their disposal, people will look out to make the most of their vacation by using apps or website that helps with tour plan and booking services.
Role of technology
The use of apps and websites will become more prominent in the future, be it a matter of finding the best hotel or a camping location for an unforgettable outing.
The apps like TripAdvisor and road tripper have given a dramatic rise to personalized trips.
Safety
Safety is another vital element that will become an utmost priority for travelers in the coming years. Regardless of how good the service provider is, travelers are less likely to compromise the safety aspect during their outings.
Preference for unorthodox destination
In coming years, people will not prefer exploring popular venues, but also surf destinations that are uncommon. The motivation for such destinations may come from a variety of sources including family referrals, movies, books, or social media.
Top SEO Practices that are boon for Tourism Businesses
All these trends will set a new bar and businesses can capitalize on the same by employing the right SEO strategy.
What is an ideal SEO strategy?
Crafting an ideal SEO strategy for the tourism business can be a tricky affair. However, you can consider the following points to devise a profit-churning SEO strategy.
Find untapped keywords
Keywords like “Hotels near me”, “travel agency near me”, and “Paris hotels” are considered to be super-competitive in the tourism niche. Ranking for these keywords can be daunting, but with consistent efforts and smart content strategy, you can outperform some of the players in SERP. But since the topmost ranking should be your priority, start focussing on keywords that are long tails or yet to be targeted.
To find untapped keywords, you may have to put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Knowing what your customers want is an ideal way to get started with keyword identification.
Craft content to help users
It is a well-known fact that content creation in SEO should go beyond general practices. If you are publishing content just to rank for a given keyword, the chances are you will miss out on the value that turns prospects into customers. Creating help guides or how-to articles can lend the much-needed value and traffic you are looking for. Create content that matters to your audience. For instance, let’s say you own a hotel in X city but lack customers due to any reason.
You can create content around topics like -Best hotels for travelers in X city or places to visit in X city. while crafting the content you can some competitive search terms along with long tail keywords. With proper structuring and definitive content, you can expect your write-up to be rewarded with a better SERP ranking. A better ranking will ensure better traffic and exposure for your brand.
Distribute content on Social media
Social media has limitless potential when it comes to content viewing and sharing. The degree of engagement or exposure you can get from here can be remarkably provided you stick to the right strategy.
List your business on Google My Business
Listing your business in Google My Business (GMB) will make your appearance stand out in the local search. If you have recently switched to the online platform, you will be surprised by the leads generated from the local search.
But again, this won’t be possible without apt SEO optimization. If you are a newbie, feel free to team up with a professional SEO firm.
Conclusion
SEO for the tourism business is tricky if not complicated. Whether it comes to generating leads or accessing a new customer base, SEO can help you achieve different marketing objectives that boost growth like never before.
