The traveling process for guests begins with the initial research they do through search engines. Therefore, it is critical for your property to be featured in the top results of searches if you want to access guests here at this point. This is because research shows that a large majority of users check out one of the websites seen on the first page and conclude their search.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for you to drive the user traffic to your website from search engines, i.e. to increase organic traffic. SEO is basically a term that refers to all the efforts carried out so that a website is featured in the top results.
However, there are some commonly-encountered mistakes in SEO efforts, besides those that are carried out successfully. Here are some of the most common SEO mistakes made in the accommodation industry.
1- Using the same content on a website for multiple times
Google and other search engines don’t like it if the same content featured in one part of your website is used in the other sections too, remaining untouched and unchanged. This is because search engines prefer original content in every page of a website. If some texts are repeated in the different sections of a website, you better feature them on a single page, while providing redirections to this page from other pages.
2- Copying content from another website
This mistake is even more serious than the previous one. Because search engines identify this as “content theft” and apply punishments, let alone not welcoming it. This might even cause your website to be excluded from the search results altogether. Therefore, you should make sure that the whole content on your website belongs to you and is original.
3- Fake or poor links (backlink)
Redirections to your website from others are called backlinks. Backlinks matter for search engines. Because they can determine that your website is valuable to other websites thanks to these links. Unfortunately, however, those willing to cut corners prefer purchasing these backlinks to get more backlinks. That’s why search engines are inclined to take some specific precautions regarding backlinks.
If it is discovered that your website has purchased backlinks by search engines like Google, this might be a reason for penalty. Also, they might be suspicious due to the redirections from a wide range of petty websites that are not related to the industry you are engaged in. Therefore, you should be selective when trying to receive directions to your website from others.
4- Incompatibility with multiple platforms
Mobile devices are commonly deployed now in the accommodation industry, like in the other industries. Therefore, it is critical for your website to run compatibly with smart phones and tablets as well. Search engines also care about it, so they feature mobile-compatible website in the top results. Therefore, websites that are not mobile-compatible have more difficulty than their rivals in terms of SEO efforts.
Search engine optimization is becoming increasingly important for hotels, and properties. Those that do not fall into the abovementioned mistakes will automatically boost their competitive edge. Fortunately, HotelRunner is here for you. All you need to do is to create your HotelRunner account to obtain a more efficient website for your property together with the help of an experienced support team and advanced SEO features.
