Optimized Content for the Hotel Website: 5 Important Tips

The hotel website serves as an online business card, digital brochure, and sales center that is always open, and content optimization is essential for driving direct sales and reducing dependence on OTAs.

Your hotel website takes on many roles in sales. It serves as your online business card, a digital brochure, and a sales center that is always open. A strong website with quality content can be a real guest magnet. As a source of direct bookings, it even offers the opportunity to make your hotel a little less dependent on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). Now, content optimization is a crucial step if you want to drive direct sales through your hotel website. Here are five things to keep in mind.

1. CREATE A CLEAR STRUCTURE

Before you start working on your content, it's important to get the structure of your website right. Its structure has a strong impact on the user experience. The better your site is structured, the easier it is for visitors to find the content they are looking for. This, in turn, increases the likelihood that guests will stay on your site, learn about the hotel, and book directly.

For the basic structure, the following has proven effective: Use your homepage as an overview and guide. It must capture the visitors' interest and show them they have come to the right place.

You can achieve this by elegantly showcasing your hotel, its key amenities, and your best deals using pertinent images and concise text. By doing so, you give visitors a nice overview and can clearly link to info pages.

Only on these info pages should more details about the rooms, restaurants and other services follow. This frees up space on the homepage and makes it easier for guests to find specific information.

Overall, it’s important that information about your various offers and services are easily accessible. Organize your website’s structure logically so visitors can find the answers to their questions in as few clicks as possible.

2. USE TARGETED SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) makes your website easier to find. In short, you show Google what your website is about and what search terms it matches.

As expected, having optimized website content helps your SEO. The initial stage in this process is keyword research. Reliable online tools for this are Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest and Wordtracker. This will help you find relevant keywords for your hotel that you can include in your content. This way, your website will be displayed in a higher position for more search queries.

But be careful! Don’t overdo it. Your texts must remain easy to read and should not be overloaded with keywords. After all, your content is not primarily for Google, but for your readers.

In addition to keywords, here are other ways to rank well with search engines:

Fast loading speed: Compress large files such as photos and videos, so your pages load even quicker. Also, work with your web designer to optimize technical aspects that may slow down your website.
Clear structure: Upload your sitemap to Google to show the search engine the structure of your website. This makes it easier to analyze your content and list it as a result.
Internal and external links: Link your info pages to the homepage, but also each other. This shows Google that your individual pages are related and makes your website more credible - an important factor for a high ranking.
Alt text for images: The alt text of a photo is displayed on the web page when it fails to load. Although website users rarely see this text, alt text with pertinent keywords can help you rank better in search results.

3. PRESENTING OFFERS AND SERVICES ATTRACTIVELY

Before you start working on your texts, think about what interests your guests most about the topic at hand. This should be the focus and this information should be in a prominent position. Your images should also emphasize this point so that your content presents a coherent overall picture.

Also, when writing, remember to present not only the dry facts but also the benefits that your services bring to guests. This will appeal more to your readers and help them remember you better.

To be more thorough, you can list other relevant details as bullet points.

For hotel rooms, for example, the following always belongs:

Equipment
Arrival and departure times
Technology in the room
Options for cribs

For other offers (such as the restaurant, spa or events), this information is important:

Opening hours
Services and prices (e.g., menu, list of spa treatments, etc.)
Possibility to make a reservation or an appointment

For general information about the hotel, these points should not be overlooked:

Reception opening hours
Parking facilities
Directions
Contact information

Here you can easily kill two birds with one stone because the information about the additional services also fits nicely into your (digital) guest directory. This obviously also applies to basic information about your hotel as well as its history and other details that you would like to share with your guests.

4. BUILD TRUST

review-3690633_1920 The website is often one of the first points of contact that the guest has with the hotel and your brand. Your text and images lay the foundation for guests to make their choice about whether or not your hotel fits their needs.

The following step is to prove that you deliver what you promise. Above all, positive customer feedback and guest reviews will help you do this. But prizes and awards that your hotel has won can also serve as effective persuasive tools. So, highlight these elements on your website.

Another way to appear transparent and trustworthy is to be clear with your prices. Make sure guests know what is covered and try to prevent sneaking up on them with extra fees right before they make a reservation. And of course, your website should always have the best deal available.

5. ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE ACTION

The website’s purpose is not only to promote your property but also to urge website visitors to take action. And that action depends on where they are in the Guest Journey.

Through your content, you can direct visitors to the following three steps:

Newsletter sign-up: It is ideal for those who are just starting their research. Create an attractive lead magnet for them, such as a PDF full of insider tips about your region. Then offer this resource to potential guests in exchange for their email address. This will steadily grow your subscriber base and allow you to check in regularly with news to keep your hotel in their mind.
Contact: Make it as easy as possible so more potential guests will contact you. Ideally, you should offer several options, such as direct chat, email or phone calls.
Direct booking: It should be simple and accessible from all pages of your website. It’s preferable to include the link to the booking form right in the header. This way, it’s visible and accessible from any page of the website.

CONCLUSION

Optimizing the content of your website often seems more complicated than it really is. If you implement the advice given above, you will have already accomplished a lot. Feel free to get expert support for this as well. Work with a web designer to revise structure and design, and hire a copywriter if you need help writing creative and compelling copy.

Then your website will become an even more powerful guest and booking magnet, bringing you more valuable direct bookings.