The travel and hospitality industry is heavily reliant on online search, particularly organic search, to drive revenue.
In fact, according to a recent study, over 40% of revenue generated by travel and hospitality businesses comes from organic searches.Â
This highlights just how important it is for travel and hospitality businesses to optimize their online presence and ensure they rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs).
In this blog post, we’ll explore the impact of organic search on the travel and hospitality industry and why it’s so critical for businesses in this space.
The study that found organic search drives over 40% of travel and hospitality revenue was conducted by Reliqus.
The study surveyed 70% of businesses across various industries within the travel and hospitality sector, including hotels, airlines, vacation rentals, and tour operators.
The methodology of the study involved analyzing website traffic data, revenue data, and search engine performance metrics.
This study measured the amount of revenue generated from organic search, which is traffic from search engine results that are not paid advertisements.
The study also analyzed other digital marketing channels such as social media, paid search, and email marketing, to determine their impact on revenue.
The study found that organic search was the most significant contributor to revenue for travel and hospitality businesses.
In fact, organic search drove over 40% of total revenue for the businesses surveyed.
This highlights the importance of optimizing for organic search in the travel and hospitality industry, as it can have a significant impact on a business’s bottom line.
The Importance of Organic Search
Organic search is one of the most important aspects of any successful marketing strategy.
It refers to the process of optimizing your website so that it ranks higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) without paying for ads.
Organic search engine optimisation is crucial because it drives traffic to your site from people who are actively searching for what you offer.
One key takeaway is that travel and hospitality businesses earn over 40% of their revenue from organic search, making it a vital channel for driving sales and leads.
Whether you’re a hotel, restaurant, or tour company, ensuring your website appears at the top of Google’s SERPs can have a huge impact on your bottom line.
Another benefit of organic search is that it helps build trust with potential customers.
When people find your website through an organic search, they perceive your brand as more credible and trustworthy than if they came across an ad.
Furthermore, organic search provides long-term benefits compared to paid advertising campaigns which stop generating traffic once funds run out.
A well-optimized website will continue receiving organic search traffic even after optimization efforts stop.
Investing time into optimizing your site for organic search has many benefits ranging from increased visibility to building trust with potential customers – all leading towards higher revenue generation opportunities within the travel and hospitality industry.
Why Organic Search Is Important for the Travel and Hospitality Industry
Organic search is critical to the success of the travel and hospitality industry for several reasons. Here are a few benefits:
- Cost-effectiveness: It’s a cost-effective way to generate organic search traffic and leads for travel and hospitality businesses.Unlike paid search or social media advertising, which can be expensive, organic search doesn’t require a direct monetary investment.
- Targeted audience: Organic search allows travel and hospitality businesses to target specific audiences based on their search queries.This means businesses can create content and optimize their websites to attract customers who are already interested in their products or services.
- Increased visibility: Ranking well in organic search results can significantly increase a business’s visibility and brand awareness.When a business appears at the top of the search engine results pages, it can establish trust and credibility with potential customers.
How Can Travel and Hospitality Businesses Optimize Their Organic Search Presence?
Here Are a Few Strategies:
1. Keyword research
Conducting keyword research is essential to understanding the search queries that potential customers are using to find businesses like yours.
Targeting these keywords, businesses can optimize their website content and improve their rankings in organic search results.
2. Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial aspect of any travel and hospitality business’s organic search marketing strategy.
This process involves implementing various tactics to improve your website’s ranking on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
One of the first steps in SEO is conducting thorough keyword research. By identifying relevant keywords related to your industry and incorporating them into your website content, you can increase the likelihood that potential customers will find you when searching for travel-related products or services.
In addition to keyword research, optimizing your website’s structure and content is also a vital component of SEO.
This includes creating high-quality blog posts, generating backlinks from other reputable websites, optimizing images to reduce load times, and improving overall site speed.
It’s worth noting that successful SEO for travel website requires both technical expertise and creativity.
From understanding coding languages like HTML and CSS to crafting engaging content that resonates with readers – there are many elements involved in driving organic traffic through search engines.
Recommended Article: How To Do Travel SEO For Tourism Business?
3. Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing has become an essential aspect of any business, including the travel and hospitality industry.
With billions of active users on various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, businesses must have a robust social media presence to stay relevant.
The travel industry can leverage social media by sharing eye-catching visuals and engaging content that inspires people to explore new destinations.
Through strategic planning and execution of campaigns on these platforms, brands can increase their reach and engagement with potential customers.
Another benefit of social media marketing is that it allows hotels and resorts to connect with customers directly.
Customers can leave feedback about their experience at your property; you can respond promptly by addressing concerns or thanking them for positive reviews.
Moreover, influencer marketing has gained significant popularity in recent years for promoting travel-related products or services through influential figures in the online community.
By partnering with influencers who align with your brand’s values and mission statement, you can exponentially increase the visibility of your brand online.
4. Content Optimization
Content optimization is a crucial part of any successful travel SEO strategy. It involves optimizing your website’s content to increase its visibility and relevance in search engine results pages (SERPs).
The goal of content optimization is to ensure that your website’s content aligns with the user intent behind specific keywords.
To optimize your content for travel SEO, you need to identify relevant, high-traffic keywords related to your industry.
Once you have identified these keywords, you can begin incorporating them into your website’s content strategically.
However, it’s important not to overdo it – keyword stuffing can actually hurt rather than help your site’s rankings.
In addition to targeting specific keywords, creating high-quality and engaging content is essential for effective content optimization.
This may include blog posts, destination guides, reviews, or visual media such as photos and videos related to travel experiences.
5. Local search engine optimization
In today’s digital age, having an online presence is crucial for any business in the travel and hospitality industry.
With organic search driving over 40% of revenue, it’s clear that investing in SEO strategies should be a top priority.
By implementing effective search engine optimization techniques, social media marketing tactics, content optimization strategies, and local SEO practices, businesses can drive more traffic to their website and increase bookings.
Local SEO is especially important for businesses operating within specific geographical areas.
By optimizing your website with location-specific keywords and creating Google My Business listings, you can improve your visibility on local searches.
This will help attract more potential customers who are searching for services or products offered by your business.
6. Website optimization
Optimizing a website’s technical aspects, such as page load speed and mobile-friendliness, can significantly improve its organic search rankings.
Additionally, businesses can optimize their meta descriptions, title tags, and other on-page elements to improve their click-through rates from search engine results pages.
Organic search engine optimisation is important for the travel and hospitality industry because it is cost-effective, allows businesses to target specific audiences, and can increase visibility and brand awareness.
By optimizing their organic search presence through keyword research, content creation, and website optimization, travel, and hospitality businesses can drive more organic search traffic and revenue.
The Impact of Covid-19 on Organic Search in the Travel and Hospitality Industry
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the travel and hospitality industry, with many businesses experiencing significant declines in revenue and bookings.
However, organic search can play a crucial role in helping these businesses recover.
With travel restrictions and lockdowns in place, more people are turning to online searches to research future travel plans.
This presents an opportunity for travel and hospitality businesses to optimize their organic search presence and reach potential customers who are planning trips for the future.
Many travel and hospitality businesses have adapted their SEO organic search strategies in response to the pandemic.
For example, some have shifted their focus from promoting international travel to promoting domestic travel. Others have updated their website content to address concerns related to COVID-19, such as safety protocols and cancellation policies.
Additionally, some businesses have leveraged new search trends that have emerged during the pandemic.
For example, there has been an increase in searches for outdoor activities and destinations, as well as for travel that is more focused on local experiences and cultural immersion.
The pandemic has had a significant impact on the travel and hospitality industry, but organic search can help businesses recover by reaching potential customers who are planning future travel.
By adapting their organic search strategies to the current situation, businesses can optimize their online presence and better meet the needs of their target audience.
Case Study: How MakeMyTrip Increased Visitors and Sales with Organic SEO
Introduction:
MakeMyTrip is a leading online travel agency based in India that offers a wide range of travel products and services, including flight bookings, hotel reservations, holiday packages, and more.
In recent years, MakeMyTrip has achieved significant success by leveraging the power of organic SEO to drive website traffic, boost brand awareness, and increase sales.
In this case study, we will examine the strategies that MakeMyTrip followed before and after implementing their SEO campaigns and the impressive results they achieved as a result.
Before SEO Campaign:
Before launching their SEO campaign, MakeMyTrip’s primary strategy was focused on paid advertising.
They were spending a significant amount of money on Google AdWords and other paid search platforms to drive traffic to their website.
While this strategy was effective in generating traffic and sales, it was also expensive and not sustainable in the long term.
SEO Strategy:
To address these challenges, MakeMyTrip developed a comprehensive SEO strategy that focused on improving their SEO organic search rankings and increasing visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). Their SEO strategy included the following key elements:
- Comprehensive Keyword Research: MakeMyTrip conducted extensive keyword research to identify the most relevant and high-volume search terms related to their products and services.They used this research to develop targeted content that would help them rank higher in organic search results.
- Website Optimization: MakeMyTrip optimized its website structure, content, and technical elements to ensure that it was easy for search engines to crawl and index their pages.They also focused on improving website speed and mobile-friendliness, which are critical ranking factors.
- Content Creation: MakeMyTrip created high-quality, informative, and engaging content that targeted specific keywords and answered the questions that their audience was searching for.They published this content on their blog and other relevant platforms to attract backlinks and boost their authority.
- Local SEO: MakeMyTrip also focused on optimizing its local SEO presence to target users searching for travel-related services in specific geographic areas.They created Google My Business listings and local landing pages that targeted location-specific keywords and attracted more traffic and bookings.
After SEO Strategy Results:
After implementing its SEO strategy, MakeMyTrip achieved impressive results in terms of website traffic, engagement, and sales. Following are some of the key outcomes:
- Increased Traffic: MakeMyTrip’s website organic search traffic increased significantly, with organic search accounting for a significant portion of their overall traffic.Website visitors increased by 55% in the first year of the campaign.
- Higher Rankings: MakeMyTrip’s organic search rankings improved dramatically, with many of their pages ranking in the top positions for their targeted keywords.MakeMyTrip’s website ranked in the top 3 positions for several highly competitive keywords.
- Improved Engagement: MakeMyTrip’s content-focused approach to SEO also led to higher engagement metrics, such as longer time on site and lower bounce rates.The company’s blog received over 1 million visits per month, which helped in increasing brand awareness and driving organic search traffic to its website.
- Increased Sales: MakeMyTrip’s organic SEO efforts resulted in a significant increase in bookings and revenue.The company’s revenue increased by 95% in the same period.
Conclusion
MakeMyTrip’s success with organic SEO is a testament to the power of developing a comprehensive and targeted strategy that focuses on delivering value to your audience.
By conducting keyword research, optimizing its website, creating high-quality content, and focusing on local SEO, MakeMyTrip was able to achieve impressive results and grow its business.
This case study demonstrates that investing in organic SEO can deliver significant returns and help businesses succeed in today’s competitive digital landscape.
Also Read: What are the Most Effective Ways To Measure the ROI of a Digital Marketing Campaign?