If you own a travel blog or website in the travel industry and are looking for cost-effective ways to increase traffic and brand awareness, travel content marketing might be the answer. Due to the nature of its product, the travel industry is full of relevant opportunities that can skyrocket your organic visibility. Travel content writing offers you a platform to inform, educate and inspire people, giving them extra motivation to take action.
Content Marketing for Travel Companies
In this day and age, nobody wants to be a tourist. This is why traditional travel agents, brochures and old-fashioned travel guides don’t work. When you are in the travel industry, you should first and foremost realize that you are basically in the industry of selling a dream rather than a product. Travel content marketing can be a huge asset in your arsenal.
What Is Travel Content Marketing
Content marketing relies mainly on the creation and sharing of original online material (such as blogs, videos, and guides), in order to spur interest in a brand’s services. Contrary to traditional forms of promotion, content marketing does not have conversions as a primary goal. Instead, its purpose is to inform, educate, entertain and spur interest in the product or services of a brand.
Travel content marketing is the application of this frame of mind into the travel industry. So, instead of relying on boring old brochures, you can create fresh, entertaining travel SEO content, that will attract and retain new leads to your site.
As the travel industry grows and evolves, the need for engaging content that will push your brand higher in the search results of Google increases.
Content Writing for Travel Industry Companies
Travel content writing is suitable for a wide range of travel businesses and can be adapted to suit your particular needs. Here are some types of services I offer for companies in the travel industry.
- SEO for travel startups
- SEO for tour operators
- Luxury travel SEO
- SEO for travel agencies
- Commercial passenger airlines
- Tourism boards
- Online travel agencies & travel comparison websites
- Accommodation booking networks
- Airport transfer companies
- Rental management companies
How Can Travel Content Marketing Aid Your Business SEO
Being continually bombarded by marketing attempts, today’s customers have well-tuned radars against anything that appears too salesy. Consumers are choosing ad-free streaming services and installing ad-blockers on their computers. Savvy travel marketers know that content is king in today’s travel industry.
When it comes to creative content marketing, small businesses have the upper hand. In a big corporation, innovative ideas need to pass through several departments before they can be implemented. With their ability to act quickly, small organizations can capitalize on hot topics and travel trends. Moreover, mega travel brands tend to be afraid of taking creative risks.
Content Strategy for Travel Industry Websites
Travel blog SEO is an important key to the success of any industry business. Through creative travel blogging, small businesses can encourage customers to return to their websites for information. Smart travel companies establish themselves as authorities who consumers trust for high-quality travel content.
Here are some of the things you can do to enhance your search engine visibility:
Emphasizing long-form travel content
Travel writing relies on descriptive language that evokes the senses and tells compelling stories that encourage consumers to book a trip. Long-form blog posts of 2500 words or more tend to rank higher in search results pages.
Keeping content fresh
Travel customers typically shop around before making a purchase. Give clients a reason to refer back to your site. Additionally, search engines reward pages that continuously add new content.
Creating useful resources
Informative and mobile-optimized Destination Guides and Vacation Planners help clients to remember your brand. These resources also make perfect opt-ins for building your e-mail list.
Targeting long-tail keywords
The best way for small companies to get noticed in today’s travel industry is to stop competing for the most obvious keywords. Long-tail travel keywords allow smaller travel companies to rank for specific niches that megabrands ignore. Small travel companies should focus their keyword research on the things that make their business unique. Rather than wasting effort trying to appeal to the masses, smart travel companies target the customers who are most likely to make a purchase.
Carefully placing keywords
Finding the best keywords for travel websites is crucial for effective travel content SEO. Long-tail keywords should be strategically placed in titles, meta-descriptions, and sub-headings.
Using compelling images
Enticing imagery encourages clients to connect emotionally with travel destinations. Ideally, you’ll want to use original images and develop your own style. Process any stock images that you use with special effects, and add text in a consistent style to help identify your brand. Don’t forget to optimize image titles with appropriate keywords.
Off-Page SEO for Travel Companies
Link-building cannot be overemphasized for the travel industry. It is not a coincidence that pages at the top of Google search results have an average of 150 internal links!
Successful travel businesses add internal links to alternate travel destinations, hotel guides, budget itineraries, and destination guides. A travel site that offers seamless navigation pleases both potential customers and web-crawlers.
Googlebot favors websites that include backlinks from reputable sites. Additionally, backlinks from popular travel sites allow businesses to benefit from “Barnacle SEO.” Small businesses can gain backlinks by guest posting for travel publications, including:
- Travel blogs: Travel blogging has become a lucrative industry with new influencers popping up daily. Busy bloggers usually welcome quality blog posts that they don’t have to create themselves. Small companies can create personal relationships with bloggers who normally expect financial compensation from larger brands.
- Local magazines: Usually open to submissions from travel businesses, local magazines maintain online versions of their publications.
- Hotel and airline publications: Submitting a well-crafted article to these types of publications can help your small travel company reach national and international audiences.
While there is no guarantee that a publication will run your article, the potential return on investment can be game-changing for your business. You can always repurpose unaccepted articles for submission in other publications. Don’t forget to add your contact information in the by-line.
Cultivate User-Generated Content
Word-of-mouth advertising converts, and user-generated content is the new social proof. Studies show that today’s consumers are much more willing to make a purchase based upon peer-reviews and recommendations than direct marketing from travel companies. Small businesses can find virtually limitless ways to encourage user-generated content, such as:
- Social media campaigns: Contests and hashtag campaigns on Facebook and Instagram remain fantastic methods of encouraging user-generated content. Smart businesses cultivate a community of superfans through shared emotional connections. Let members know that their influence counts, and they will advertise your business for free.
- E-mail marketing: Entertaining and engaging newsletters can include calls to action for clients to share their travel experiences on review sites like Yelp and Yahoo Travel.
- Pinterest: This platform deserves a special mention. On the surface, Pinterest simply looks like a convenient way to save ideas. However, Pinterest maintains its own search engine. By creating pins for informative articles, you can drive potential customers to your site who might not see you in a typical Google search result.
Frequently Analyze the Effectiveness of Your Travel Website
While Google Analytics can provide statistics on user-metrics such as click-through rates, time on site and bounce rates, there can be no substitute for regular website audits. A competent SEO specialist will look for issues that may be causing your business to rank lower in search results pages, including:
- Duplicated content: Although Google does not penalize websites for duplicate content anymore, copying content from other sources will not bring the desired SEO results. The main reason being that the algorithm will ignore your content.
- Slow loading times and broken links: Broken links and slow loading times sink pages to the bottom of Google SERPs and frustrate potential customers.
- Faulty website structure: Potential clients quickly abandon travel sites that are difficult to navigate or continuously interrupt their browsing with pop-ups.
- Ineffective landing pages: Like pushy used-car dealers, overly salesy landing pages turn off travel consumers. Landing pages need to provide useful travel content that includes well-structured links and subtle, yet effective, calls to action.
Travel Content Writing
The travel industry and search engine algorithms continuously change. An SEO-expert that specializes in the travel industry can help you to target keywords that huge corporations ignore. In today’s information age, creative content marketing provides infinitely higher ROI than traditional ad campaigns.
Professional travel SEO copywriting can help lift a ton of stress from your shoulders. A seasoned travel writer knows the subtleties of the hospitality business and can help you tap into the potential of content marketing in the most efficient way possible.
An experienced travel content writer can help you with many time-consuming tasks, including:
- Creating guides: Inspire potential customers with detailed restaurant recommendations, transportation guides, and local business directories. Guides like this will provide value to your audience, create leads and generate awareness for your brand.
- Optimizing your website copy: Beautiful photos are essential, but sometimes, appealing text can be the factor that convinces travelers to choose your service.
- Implementing a content strategy: Driving organic traffic is less costly than other forms of marketing, but it is unusable without a proper strategy. A professional travel content writer can help you target the right people and bring them to your website.
