Everything You Need to Know About Local SEO for Hotels

Hotels, just like many other businesses, face steep competition. For this reason, trying to get new customers can be challenging, especially for smaller local hotels. Because they are small in size compared to other hotels, they are the ones that face many difficulties, especially when it comes to letting potential customers know that they actually exist. Although a good percentage of prospective guests use booking sites like Expedia, most of them use Google search to locate hotels in the cities they intend to visit.

After running a Google search, most potential customers pick the hotels that appear at the top of the list. If you really want to attract more customers, you need to come up with ways to take you at the top of the rankings. In this article, we will discuss the five steps that can help you get at the top of the list. But before we do that, we shall discuss the local SEO for hotels.

3 Main Reasons Why Hotels Need to Invest in Local SEO  

1. Google is in and the Yellow Pages are out

Some few years ago, people did not know the importance of local SEO for hotels. Back then, businesses used funny techniques to attract customers. They used to place an ad within the Yellow pages in order to attract potential customers to their special events. These days, we don’t this as often anymore. According to statistics, about 97% of individuals search local business online. Most people use Google search when looking for local hotels.

2. Free Traffic

It is true that many things have changed and are still changing, especially when it comes to business and technology. However, many businesses are spending a great deal of money to advertise their goods and services. So, why do you need to boost your Google rankings? Well, doing this will definitely bring free traffic that can convert to paying guests.

3. Rapid Results

International and national businesses might wait for a period of about six to twelve months to notice positive changes in their Google rankings. If you have a hotel, you might not wait for such a long period of time. This is simply because you are actually competing with the hotels within your area and most of them have not yet known the importance of hotel local SEO. With the help of local SEO, you can move to the top within a period of 30 days.

1st Step: Picking Keywords

Come up with a list of keywords that indicate the type of services you offer. For instance, you can choose “fine dining”, “luxury hotel”, and “day spa” as your keywords. After picking some keywords, you can now create a Google AdWords account.

You do not need to finance an ad campaign. AdWords account is all that you need. It will be helpful especially when it comes to accessing Google’s Keyword Planner tool. It will help you know whether there is the need of having additional related keywords. Basically, there are two types of keywords commonly used when it comes to hotel local SEO.  

• Buying Intent: In most cases, customers look for buying intent keywords when they are about to buy a product. As a business person, you should always focus on the buying intent keywords, especially if you want to attract more customers. Make sure that they are actually on your homepage. Come up with service pages based on these keywords.

• Research Intent: A person will look for intent keywords if he or she is just looking. For instance, an individual will search for “what happens in Washington DC” if he or she has started thinking about visiting the city but has not made a decision whether to visit it. These keywords rarely drive fast conversations. Consider making them a lower priority. You may also use them in either FAQs or blogs.

2nd Step: Optimizing Keywords

If you have already chosen your final keywords, consider optimizing them. You can do this on your website as well as your Google My Business page. Information provided below can help you do this.

Google My Business

Do you know the meaning and the importance of Your Google My Business page? Well, this is a kind of miniature website, which provides brief information about your hotel. It can increase your presence online since it appears on Google local business results. It can boost your Google rankings within a short period of time. It is important to ensure that information available is accurate and the page is completely filled out.

• Verification: You start by claiming your page and then presenting it for Google’s verification process. When the process is complete, you will see the word verified near your hotel name.
   
•  NAP: The name, phone number, and the address of your business should not only be accurate but also identical to the web references. Select a local phone number in order to show that your hotel is local.
   
• Categories: Google categories should list services and not features. For instance, you can try not only Airport Hotel but also Hotel as well as Extended Stay Hotel, especially if these descriptions are about your hotel. It is important to list 3-5 categories.
   
• Description: The descriptions should have a length of 100-200 words. Ensure you provide a quick summary of the hotel. Your conclusion should have a call to action.
   
• Hours: In most cases, hotels can be said to be open to customers 24 hours every day, but the number of the front desk hours can be less. Consider listing the time for your front desk. It is also important to provide accurate information.
   
• Images: Add photos of your lobby as well as of your restaurant. Images tend to enhance customer’s engagement. They should not only have a sharp focus, but they should also have a size of 10KB to 5MB. They should also have a resolution of more than 720px × 720px.

Website Optimization

Start with your homepage and your service pages. These are actually your “core” pages. Optimizing these pages for buying intent keywords can have a positive impact on your business. Afterward, you can optimize content pages for the research intent keyword. To optimize the “core” pages, follow the information provided below.

• Homepage: The most important section of a homepage is actually the title tag. It is similar to the chapter title. It should have about 50-56 characters. The meta description should be your next element. It should provide accurate information regarding the services offered and a call to action. It should have 100-150 characters.

The visible headline should be descriptive and concise. It should have your primary category. Finally, come up with your page copy. It should be a clearly written and a tightly edited summary of your hotel. It should comprise 500-1000 words. Here, you should provide some background information and also talk more about the services you offer. Conclude with a call to action.

• Service Pages: Come up with a different service page for each core service, like your spa and restaurant. Optimize the page using the procedure provided above.

3rd Step: Gathering Citations and Links

Having fulfilled the aforementioned requirements, you should be ready to collect citations as well as links. This will help you increase your Google rankings and also enhance your customer reach.

• Citations: A listing of your hotel NAP (name, address, and phone) in a place like online directory is called a citation. Your choices can involve general national directories like yellowpages.com and Facebook, industry-specific hotel directories and general local directories.

Most directories are free. However, some offer paid citations. If you are planning to pay, consider looking at the Google Analytics of the particular site. This will help you know whether it drives traffic and conversations.

• Links: Do you want to get at the top of Google rankings? If yes, ensure you have inbound links that are of high quality. They must be from credible websites. Consider building strong relationships with offline and online companies that offer complimentary services like tourist attractions and event organizers.

4th Step: Solicit Reviews

It is important to solicit reviews. You should do this in order to convince customers to stay at the hotels. They also promise Google that your hotel is genuine. Your Google rankings can be boosted within a short period of time by Google My Business reviews. So, how do you get reviews? To get them, send a link to the Google My Business profile to your satisfied guests via an email and then ask for a review.

5th step: Track Your Results

How do you know that the campaign has been successful? How do you identify areas that are not working as expected? Well, to know your progress, you should track your results. Emphasize on the 3 core metrics listed below.

• Rankings: Google tends to consider people’s previous browsing behaviors before customizing its search results. A tool like Free Google Search Console can help you know how your page is ranked. If you do not have this tool, your webmaster can help you install it.

• Traffic: Google Analytics is actually one of the most appropriate tools for tracking your traffic. With this tool, it is possible to see your traffic overall, hence knowing the page that attracts more traffic. This can also help you understand the percentage of traffic derived from Google search. Reading the reports every month and trying to develop long-term friends can be helpful to you.

• Conversations: Conversations refer to actions you wish people visiting your website to take. For instance, you may want customers to actually book a stay for 12% off their 1st night. You need to know that Google Analytics can help you track phone and web conversations. This can also help you know which pages have the lowest as well as highest conversation rates.

You Are Now Ready, Aren’t You?

If you were keen, you definitely understand why local SEO campaign is important when it comes to bringing new customers to your hotel. If you follow these steps well, you’ll definitely see progress in your business in no time:

• Tracking
• Keyword research
• Citations and links
• Reviews
• Keyword optimization

Looking for Help with SEO?

Are you a hotelier? If yes, TravelSolutions can be helpful to you. We help businesses such as hotels attract local customers through Google. If you need help with issues regarding your Local SEO, get in touch with us to discuss your requirements.