![Hotel: use SEO so everyone can find you on internet [SEO checklist]](http://onlineyougrow.com/cdn/shop/articles/cov-seo-checklist-1_728c0cdc-c92e-44b3-b34c-aca2c317f5b1.png?v=1715867243&width=1100)
SEO isn't just for tech giants and online stores—it's a powerful tool that the best hotels in the world use strategically to attract guests.
We understand that you're busy managing your hotel, and the thought of optimizing your website might feel like an additional burden.
But here's the deal: you don't need to be an SEO expert or spend a fortune to make it work. Just a few simple steps can significantly improve your online visibility and bring more guests through your doors.
To help you out, we have built a free SEO checklist - also, for a full action plan, please check our pack of marketing tactics and strategies for hotel owners.
Get the SEO checklist made for hotel owners
The best hotels rank first on Google. Here is a free tool to to get you started.
What is SEO for hotels exactly?
Simply put, SEO is all about making your hotel’s website more attractive to search engines like Google.
When someone searches for "best luxury hotel in [Your City]" or "family-friendly hotels near me," SEO helps your hotel show up in the results. The goal is to get your website higher up on the search results page so more people can find and book your hotel.
Why is SEO Important for Hotels?
SEO is incredibly important for hotels, and here’s why:
- Increased Online Visibility:
The higher your website ranks on search engines, the more people will see it. This means more potential guests discovering your hotel online, especially when they're looking for accommodation options.
- Higher Rankings on Search Engines:
Most people don’t look past the first page of search results. By optimizing your site, you can climb those rankings and beat out the competition. Imagine someone searching for "best beachfront hotel" and finding your hotel right at the top!
- Attracting More Local and International Guests:
SEO isn't just about getting anyone to your site—it's about getting the right people. Local SEO helps ensure that when someone nearby searches for a place to stay, your hotel pops up. This means more bookings and more guests filling your rooms.
Key Components of SEO
Now, let’s break down the main parts of SEO specifically for your hotel:
On-Page SEO
This involves making sure the content on your website is optimized. It includes things like:
- Keywords:
Using the words and phrases people are searching for in your titles, descriptions, and content. For example, if you offer spa services, make sure you use phrases like "best hotel spa" or "luxury spa hotel" on your site.
- Content Quality:
Providing useful, engaging, and fresh content about your hotel. Share your room types, special offers, upcoming events, and stories about your amenities and staff.
- Meta Tags:
Using meta titles and descriptions that are relevant and appealing to searchers. For instance, a meta description for your homepage could be "Experience luxury and comfort at [Your Hotel Name], the top-rated hotel in [Your City]."
Off-Page SEO
This focuses on actions taken outside your website to impact your rankings:
- Backlinks:
Getting other reputable websites to link to your site, which signals to search engines that your site is trustworthy and relevant. This could be from travel bloggers, local news sites, or tourism boards.
- Social Media:
Being active on social media with your hotel’s page can drive traffic to your site and improve your online presence. Share your latest room upgrades, guest reviews, and special events to engage with your audience.
Technical SEO
This ensures your website meets the technical requirements of search engines:
- Site Speed:
Making sure your website loads quickly. No one likes to wait, especially travelers looking to book a room!
- Mobile-Friendliness:
Ensuring your site looks and works well on mobile devices. Many people search for hotels on their phones while on the go.
- Secure Website (HTTPS):
Having a secure website that users (and search engines) can trust. This is especially important if you have an online booking system.
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Which keywords should you target for your hotel?
Hotel owners, like you, must target specific keywords in SEO because it helps your website appear in search results when potential guests look for the type of accommodation or experience you offer. This increases the chances that people will find and book a stay at your hotel.
For example, if you specialize in luxury accommodations, targeting keywords like "best luxury hotel" or "luxury hotel near me" helps attract guests searching for those terms. This makes it easier for people interested in high-end stays to find your hotel online.
Here are some keyword ideas for you. If you want a more developed strategy with actionable steps, go check out our strategy pack for hotel owners.
| Keyword | Competitiveness Level | Tips and Initiatives |
|---|---|---|
| Best [Hotel Type] in [Your City] | High | Optimize your website with high-quality images of rooms and amenities, gather guest reviews, list on local directories, and use local SEO strategies. |
| Where to stay in [Your City] | Medium | Create blog posts or pages on your website highlighting your best features, use keywords naturally in content, and engage with local travel bloggers. |
| Hotel with good amenities near me | Medium | Use beautiful imagery of your hotel's amenities, gather positive guest reviews, and ensure your Google My Business profile is complete. |
| Best place for [Type of Stay] in [Your City] | Medium | Feature specific types of stays prominently on your website (e.g., romantic getaway, business trip), use local SEO tactics, and promote specials on social media. |
| [Your Hotel Type] hotel in [Your City] | High | Highlight unique aspects of your hotel, create SEO-friendly content about your amenities, and engage with the local community online. |
| Top-rated [Hotel Type] near me | High | Encourage satisfied guests to leave positive reviews, optimize your website for mobile, and ensure accurate information on local listings. |
| Affordable [Hotel Type] in [Your City] | Low | Highlight affordable options and specials on your website, use keywords related to value, and promote deals on social media. |
| Where to find [Type of Accommodation] near me | Medium | Use local SEO strategies, create content around popular amenities, and ensure your website is optimized for mobile users searching nearby. |
| Popular [Hotel Type] in [Your City] | Medium | Use social media to share popular amenities, engage with local influencers, and gather guest testimonials to build credibility. |
| Best [Hotel Type] for families in [Your City] | Low | Create family-friendly content, highlight amenities for families on your website, and host family-themed events to generate buzz. |
What really matters when you do SEO for a hotel
Actually, we think that SEO often follows the 80/20 rule, meaning that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. For hotel owners, like you, this means it's crucial to focus on the right strategies to maximise impact without feeling overwhelmed.
| Action / Initiative | Why It Matters / How It Helps Bring New Guests |
|---|---|
| Optimize Google My Business profile | Ensures your hotel appears in local search results, provides essential information (hours, location, amenities), and collects reviews to build trust. |
| Gather and respond to online reviews | Positive reviews build credibility and trust. Responding to reviews shows you value guest feedback, encouraging more people to book a stay. |
| Create high-quality content with targeted keywords | Helps your website rank higher in search results for relevant queries, attracting guests looking for specific types of accommodations or experiences. |
| Optimize for local SEO | Ensures your hotel shows up in local searches (e.g., "hotels near me"), driving bookings from nearby potential guests. |
| Ensure website is mobile-friendly | Most users search for hotels on their phones. A mobile-friendly site provides a better user experience, leading to higher engagement and bookings. |
| Use high-quality images of rooms and amenities | Attractive photos entice potential guests, showcasing your accommodations and facilities, which can significantly influence their decision to book. |
| Include an online booking system with keywords | Allows search engines to index your booking options, helping you appear in searches for specific types of stays, and makes it easy for guests to book directly. |
| List your hotel on local directories | Increases your online presence and backlinks, improving your search engine ranking and making it easier for guests to find you. |
| Engage with travel bloggers and influencers | Generates buzz and word-of-mouth, reaching a wider audience and attracting guests who trust these travel voices. |
| Promote special packages and offers | Creates a sense of urgency and excitement, encouraging potential guests to book your hotel for unique experiences. |
| Utilize social media to share updates and engage with guests | Builds a community around your hotel, keeps guests informed about new offerings, and drives traffic to your website. |
| Ensure accurate and consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) information across all platforms | Prevents confusion, helps search engines trust your business information, and improves your local SEO ranking. |
| Offer online reservations and booking | Makes it convenient for guests to plan their stay, leading to increased bookings and satisfaction. |
| Create blog posts about your hotel and local attractions | Attracts visitors to your site through informative and engaging content, improving SEO and showcasing what makes your hotel unique. |
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What is always useless when you do SEO for a hotel
We have studied a lot of hotels when we built our strategy pack and we saw a lot of SEO-related initiatives that don't help attract new guests. We explain here why they might be a waste of time or even counterproductive.
| Action / Initiative | Why It Doesn't Matter / How It Doesn't Help Bring New Guests |
|---|---|
| Using meta keyword tags | Search engines no longer use meta keyword tags to rank pages, so focusing on them doesn't improve SEO for your hotel. |
| Keyword stuffing in room descriptions | Overusing keywords in room descriptions makes them hard to read and can be penalized by search engines, turning away potential guests. |
| Paying for backlinks from unrelated websites | Backlinks from non-travel related or low-quality websites don't improve your SEO and can even hurt your ranking if considered spammy by search engines. |
| Using exact match domains like besthotelintown.com | Having an exact match domain has minimal impact on SEO and can appear spammy, especially if it doesn't reflect your brand well. |
| Creating multiple pages for the same room types | Duplicate content confuses search engines and can dilute your SEO efforts. Focus on one high-quality page for each unique room type or topic. |
| Using Flash for booking or gallery pages | Flash is outdated, not supported by many devices, and negatively impacts SEO. Modern alternatives like HTML5 should be used instead. |
| Focusing only on desktop optimization | Many guests search for hotels on mobile devices. Ignoring mobile optimization leads to poor user experience and lower search rankings. |
| Using automated link-building tools | These tools often create low-quality or spammy links that can be penalized by search engines, hurting your hotel's SEO efforts. |
| Ignoring structured data for room details | Structured data helps search engines understand your room details better. Ignoring it means missing out on potential SEO benefits like rich snippets. |
| Not updating your online room availability regularly | Outdated room availability information can frustrate guests and harm your SEO. Regular updates keep content relevant and maintain search rankings. |
| Using irrelevant stock photos on your site | Low-quality or irrelevant images can negatively impact user experience and SEO. Use high-quality photos of your actual rooms and amenities. |
| Over-optimizing anchor text in links | Using exact match keywords for every link appears unnatural and can be penalized by search engines. Use varied, natural anchor text instead. |
| Ignoring page load speed for your website | Slow-loading pages frustrate users and can lead to higher bounce rates, negatively impacting your hotel's SEO. Ensure your site loads quickly. |
| Using too many ads above the fold on your homepage | Too many ads at the top of the page can be off-putting for users and may be penalized by search engines, impacting your SEO negatively. |
Should you pay someone for the SEO of your hotel?
Well, let's be transparent. Here’s the thing: SEO can get pretty complex, and having some support can really make a difference. Imagine trying to juggle running your hotel, managing staff, ensuring guests have a memorable stay, and then on top of that, diving into the world of search engine optimization. It’s a lot, right?
Having someone handle your SEO means you can focus on what you do best—running your hotel. SEO experts know the ins and outs of getting your website to rank higher on search engines. They stay updated on the latest trends and algorithms, which means your site will be optimized correctly and consistently. This can lead to more people finding your hotel online, and ultimately, more guests booking their stays with you.
- But here’s the kicker: there are a lot of low-hanging fruits in SEO that you can tackle on your own, even if you don’t know much about it.
You will find a lot of low-hanging fruits that cost nothing, are quick to implement, and will make your hotel’s website much more visible in strategy pack for hotel owners.
Simple actions like optimizing your Google My Business profile, ensuring your website is mobile-friendly, and using relevant keywords can significantly improve your online presence. These tasks don't require deep technical knowledge but can make a big impact.
So, should you increase the marketing budget of your hotel and pay someone to manage your SEO? If you can do it, it’s a worthwhile investment. But don't underestimate what you can achieve on your own. Start with the basics, see the results, and then decide if you need more specialized help.
Make your hotel more profitable
We have studied the strategies of the best hotels in the world. All their tactics are explained in our pack!
Useful tools hotel owners can use for their SEO
Here are some essential tools that our team has collected and listed, to help you improve your hotel's online presence and SEO.
| Tool | How It's Useful |
|---|---|
| Google My Business | Ensures your hotel appears in local search results and Google Maps, provides essential information (hours, location, amenities), and collects customer reviews. |
| SEMrush | Helps identify the best keywords for your hotel, analyze competitors, and track your search rankings. Provides insights to improve your content and visibility. |
| Yext | Manages your hotel's listings across multiple directories, ensuring consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) information to boost local SEO. |
| Google Search Console | Monitors your hotel website's performance, identifies issues, and provides data on search traffic and keywords to optimize your SEO strategy. |
| TripAdvisor | Collects customer reviews and ratings, which improve your hotel's online reputation and visibility in local search results. |
| BrightLocal | Offers tools for local SEO audits, citation building, and review management, helping your hotel improve its local search presence. |
| Moz | Provides keyword research, link building, and site audit tools to enhance your hotel's SEO efforts and improve search engine rankings. |
| Ahrefs | Analyzes your hotel's backlink profile, identifies top-performing content, and tracks keyword rankings to boost your SEO strategy. |
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Crawls your hotel's website to identify technical SEO issues, such as broken links and duplicate content, helping improve site health and rankings. |
| AnswerThePublic | Generates content ideas by showing what people are searching for related to your hotel, helping you create relevant and engaging blog posts and pages. |
| Canva | Helps create visually appealing social media posts and graphics for your website, which can improve user engagement and indirectly boost SEO. |
| Hotjar | Provides insights into user behavior on your hotel's website through heatmaps and session recordings, helping you optimize user experience and reduce bounce rates. |
Copy the SEO tactics of the best hotel owners
We understand why many hotel owners might shy away from SEO and marketing.
Managing a hotel is already a full-time job, and the concept of SEO can seem vague and foreign. The terminology can be confusing, and it often feels like marketing is a luxury only big corporations can afford.
Plus, there's the constant worry about costs and whether any marketing efforts will actually pay off. We get that you prefer to focus on immediate, tangible improvements to your hotel rather than dive into something that seems complicated and uncertain. No need to deteriorate your hotel’s budget here.
That's why we've created a "marketing pack" specifically for hotel owners like you.
Our pack is designed to address all these concerns head-on. It includes easy-to-follow guides that break down SEO and marketing into simple steps, so you don't need to be a tech expert to understand. We offer cost-effective strategies that fit within tight budgets, and our step-by-step plans ensure that you can implement a good marketing strategy for your hotel without feeling overwhelmed.
Plus, we've included real-life examples and tips that have worked for other small hotels, so you can see the tangible benefits before you even start.
Our goal is to make marketing accessible and practical, helping your hotel thrive without adding extra stress to your already busy life.
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