How to rank in Google if you run a hotel
Article topics
- Do extensive keyword research
- Provide a fantastic user experience
- Make your page titles and meta descriptions unique
- Claim your Google Business Profile
- Use schema markup
- Gather reviews
- Start a blog
- Get mentioned on travel websites
- Keep an eye on your page speed
- Check your metrics and make changes
The hospitality sector can be incredibly competitive. Odds are that you’re up against hundreds, if not thousands, of similar hotels nearby.
More often than not, potential customers decide where to stay by which hotel has clinched the top spot in the search engine results.
In fact, the number one result in Google gets nearly 40% of the clicks.
The good news? There are things you can do to climb up the search results and get prospective customers’ attention.
Whether you run a luxury five-star holiday resort or a boutique glamping site, here’s how to increase the odds of ranking in Google through search engine optimisation (SEO).
(While this article is specifically about Google, it can help you rank on other search engines like Bing too!)
1. Do extensive keyword research
Optimising your site for the keywords your prospective guests use means you’re more likely to rank high in Google.
The tricky part? Knowing which keywords to target.
Here’s what to bear in mind when determining which keywords to rank for:
- Brand. By brand, we mean the name of your hotel. Chances are that unless you have a very generic name, you’ll automatically rank well for this keyword
- Location. People are likely to search for location, for example, ‘hotels in Milton Keynes’ or ‘hotels in South London.’ They may also search by a point of interest, like ‘hotels near Wembley Stadium’
- Amenities. People may search for hotels with specific features, for example ‘hotels with hot tubs’ or ‘hotels with restaurants’
- Budget. People may search for hotels that match their budget. For example, ‘budget hotels,’ ‘luxury hotels,’ or ‘mid-price hotels’
People may also use a combination of these factors, for example ‘mid-price, dog-friendly hotels in Leeds.’
We recommend optimising each page on your website for three to four relevant keywords. Don’t be afraid to mix things up a little – Google is smart enough to understand synonyms like ‘room service’ and ‘in-room dining.’
You can then use these keywords in your page copy, as well as in headings, image file names, meta descriptions and page titles – we’ll talk more about these later.
2. Provide a fantastic user experience
It’s essential that your website is easy to navigate and that prospective guests experience no errors when trying to make a reservation.
A good user experience (UX) doesn’t just mean more bookings; it tells Google that your site is reliable and consistent – meaning you rank higher.
Here’s what to bear in mind when reviewing your site’s UX:
- Make it as easy as possible to access all relevant pages from your homepage – either from your menu, footer, or a search bar
- Ensure the checkout process is simple and quick – consider a guest checkout to save time
- Make it easy for visitors to see availability at a glance – they don’t want to get to the checkout process to discover their room choice is fully booked
- Don’t ask for more information than you need on online forms. For example, if someone is booking a room for personal reasons, don’t ask them for their business name
- Clearly communicate your policies – especially for cancelling or modifying bookings
- Provide an easy way for visitors to speak to a member of your team – either by email, phone, or live chat
- Optimise your site for mobile devices – it should use responsive design and have buttons and elements that are easy to tap with a finger
3. Make your page titles and meta descriptions unique
Your page titles and meta descriptions appear in Google – telling prospective customers a little more about you and encouraging them to click.
If you don’t add a meta description or a page title to your page (or Google doesn’t think it’s appropriate), Google will use its own.
However, we always recommend creating your own page titles and meta descriptions as when done right, they’re a great way to tell people about you – like the on-brand example below.
Here are some of our top tips for creating page titles and meta descriptions that drive clicks:
- Create unique copy for each page on your site
- Keep your page title to under 60 characters and your meta description to under 160 characters – otherwise they might get cut off
- Be honest – a misleading page title or meta description can frustrate people
- Use your page keywords if you can – but don’t shoehorn them in
4. Claim your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile appears on the right-hand side of the search results when someone searches for your hotel by name.
This profile provides prospective customers with more information about your business, including prices, amenities, and reviews. Customers can even book a room by clicking the blue button.
A complete profile also provides Google with more information about your business, meaning it’s more likely to recommend your hotel across relevant search queries.
For example, as the hotel above has an indoor pool, Google is more likely to recommend it as an option for people searching for ‘hotels with indoor pools in Durham.’
Having a Google Business Profile also increases the chances of your hotel appearing in the ‘Snack Pack’ – the map which appears at the very top of the Google search results.
You can claim your Google Business Profile by entering your information and completing the verification process – this usually involves receiving a code over the phone or by postcard.
If your hotel is already verified, you will need to request ownership from the current owner.
5. Use schema markup
Schema markup (also known as structured markup) is code you can add to a web page to provide Google with extra information about your hotel.
This provides additional context to improve your search engine ranking and also gives prospective customers more information in the search engine results. This is known as a rich result.
For example, this rich result from Kayak includes a hotel rating, price range, and image – making it more prominent and enticing to click.
There is a specific type of schema markup especially for hotels called Lodging Business markup. With this you can:
- Promote your amenities
- State your check-in and check-out times
- Say how many rooms you have
- Indicate whether pets are allowed
- Showcase your price range and the currencies you accept
The easiest way to add schema markup to your pages is through Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper. This will provide you with HTML code to add to your pages.
6. Gather reviews
When you work in the hospitality sector, it’s vital to get as many reviews and ratings as possible.
Good reviews help people make informed decisions – over half of guests see them as more important than a hotel’s star classification.
Reviews don’t just help customers, but they help the search engines too. Lots of positive reviews show Google that you’re a trustworthy choice, meaning a higher rank.
Here’s what to bear in mind when capturing customer reviews, whether through your Google Business Profile or a third-party site like Trip Advisor.
- Don’t be afraid to ask customers for a review – the best time is just after their stay
- Offering an incentive like a discount on a guest’s next visit can be an excellent way to drive more reviews
- Try to get reviews regularly. 50% of people want to see fresh reviews for a business
- If you get a negative review, respond to it. 45% of customers say they’re more likely to visit a business if it responds to negative reviews
7. Start a blog
A blog might feel like a lot of extra work when you’re responsible for marketing a hotel, but it’s a great way to boost your SEO.
Not only does it let you rank for additional keywords, but it establishes you as a thought leader in the hospitality industry, giving you a boost in the rankings.
Quality is better than quantity when it comes to writing content. Google’s helpful content update prioritises articles that showcase expertise and provide value to users.
What should you write about? Think about your target audience and how you can help them.
For example, if your hotel is in the Lake District, list the top ten destinations your hotel guests must visit. If you have meeting rooms on site, provide attendees with expert tips about staying productive in meetings.
8. Get mentioned on travel websites
Backlinks from high-quality, relevant sites act as a vote of confidence in your hotel website. These show Google that your site is a credible source of information and that prospective customers can trust it.
However, getting backlinks is a long and tricky process. Over half of marketers say it’s the most challenging part of SEO!
There are ways to get those all-important backlinks though. Here are some of our top tips:
- Contribute to editorials in travel and hospitality magazines – look for ‘forward features’ documents on their websites to see what they want content about
- Create guest articles for websites in a related niche to yours
- Become a source on websites like Connectively and Help a B2B Writer
- Send press releases to local papers with news they might find interesting
- Partner with influencers and ask them to create content for their websites
Here’s a helpful tip if you need backlink ideas in a hurry – use a backlink tool like SEO Review Tools to identify backlinks on your competitors’ websites. You can then reach out to these sites to see if they’ll link to you too.
9. Keep an eye on your page speed
While you might be tempted to upload lots of hi-res photos and videos to show off your hotel to its full potential – this might cause more harm than good.
Unoptimised images, videos, and other page elements can cause your site to slow down, meaning visitors have to wait longer to access key information. This can lead to them getting frustrated and leaving your site.
If a page load time goes from one second to three seconds, visitors are 32% more likely to leave.
Even worse, slow pages can affect your Google rank, meaning you’re less likely to appear in the top spot.
Google PageSpeed Insights is a great starting point if you want to see how fast your pages are. If they’re slower than you expected, some easy ways to speed them up include:
- Optimising large images and videos (if you use WordPress there are extensions that compress these for you)
- Removing extensions and plugins you no longer use
- Using lazy loading – this is when elements only load when visitors scroll down your page
- Getting rid of unnecessary page redirects
A content delivery network can also be useful if you get a lot of international traffic. These store content closer to your users in other countries, meaning they can access your site faster.
10. Check your metrics and make changes
Finally, the vital thing to remember when it comes to hotel SEO is that things can frequently change. If your nearest competitor updates their SEO strategy or Google updates its search algorithm, you can quickly drop in the rankings.
There are keyword tracking tools that will show you where you rank for specific keywords. While it’s normal to fluctuate a couple of positions up or down, going from page one to page six in the rankings could be a sign that something has gone wrong.
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is free, although you can pay for additional functionality. Connect it with your Google Search Console account, and it will show you which organic keywords you rank for.
Hotel SEO? Sorted!
Search engine optimisation can sound daunting, especially if you’re new to it. However, it’s all about offering a great experience to prospective customers.
Provide content they love and optimise your site so it’s as easy to reserve a room as possible, and you’ll be fully booked in no time!
If you need a little extra help getting your SEO in order, consider us your online concierge. We’ll show you which keywords to rank for, fine-tune your site so it runs smoothly, and create stunning content that brings in the backlinks.
Interested? Check in with us today to find out more.
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