The day-to-day life of a hotelier can be stressful. Every night that a guest room sits empty is lost revenue that can never be recaptured. To increase occupancy and optimize revenue, you need an SEO strategy that can drive traffic to your website and, ultimately, convert them into direct bookings.
In our recent webinar, Darlene Rondeau, our VP Best Practices, Online Merchandising at Leonardo, was joined by Jennifer Wesley, Industry Director, Travel at Google to discuss smart SEO strategies for hoteliers.
At the heart of any good SEO strategy is an understanding of the modern traveler’s path to purchase. With this in mind, Jennifer discussed how the rise of mobile is reshaping how travel shoppers research and book hotels online. 60% of travel related searches are now being made on smartphones, and 20% are being made through voice search. And with Google soon switching to a mobile-first index, hoteliers need to embrace mobile with full conviction.
Jennifer discussed how mobile is changing travel shoppers’ expectations of hotels. Companies like Uber and Amazon have mastered the mobile experience, and travel shoppers now expect the same kind of experiences from hotels. If your mobile website isn’t optimized to provide this, they will turn to your competitors.
The good news is that advancements in machine learning and data collection by Google can now help hotels better identify and reach travel shoppers; specifically, those who are more likely to complete a booking.
Here Are Some Highlights from Our Webinar
Check out the entire discussion by watching the full webinar on-demand.