While the globe maybe an insignia of exploring places but it’s the activities on the search that inspire travellers to go places.
Online interactions and increasing the use of the device - too old but true - are shaping how people plan and execute for their next trip. Online search engines continue to dominate the travel industry with 60% of leisure travellers and 55% of business travellers using them to research and plan travel.
In fact, leisure travellers today are as likely to shop for flights on their smartphones as they are to shop for music.
Marketers in the travel and hospitality industry, need to effectively pursue their organic search efforts. Let’s find out why.
4 Reasons Why Travel Marketers need to Focus on SEO🔍
Planning for a trip is not easy. There are a lot of moments when travellers are confused and may feel dizzy. People are turning to their smartphones for immediate answers to their travel questions.
- It starts off with search
Search is the most common channel to research and plan. "Honeymoon destinations" and "europe destinations" are common searches. 60% of searches for destination information come from mobile devices. "Best time to visit [destination]" searches are common as well, and increasingly so on mobile.
Search is an important part of the micro moment travellers are experiencing. This 'i-want-to-get-away-show-me-options' is when travel marketers can capitalize. This is the time when they consume a lot of travel content in general, and look up great deals too!.jpg?width=646&name=Travel-Search-Srijan%20(1).jpg)
- When does the wanderlust kick in
Once these viewers have been inspired to travel, there is a spike in the amount of information they consume. The spike is particularly high when they know where they’re headed and there’s no looking back.
This is where they switch from searching for generic content to specific content. This could range from authentic experiences to local cuisines, shopping and a lot more!
Curating and maintaining the relevant and quality content is the second most important part of the search. - When do they search
There are all types of travellers. Some who love to keep things planned, and some who plan 'right now'. Interestingly the percentage of latter is increasing. 48% of bookings happen after the people arrive at their destination.
It could be anything, from restaurants, to photo walks, a romantic boat ride or booking rooms. Investing your energy and resources in SEO ensure that they find you, which gives you a great chance again, to land new travellers and to provide the best customer experience possible, to the already existing ones.
- They are in a hurry🏃🏻
As marketers we know that page speed affects your SERP. 94% of leisure travellers switch between devices as they plan or book a trip, slow speed is definitely a deterrent that you would hit you bad.
The travel season might bring in a plethora of options for the inquisitive wanderers, but it also turns the competition you face into an intense race. SEO practices also take into account how your content affects the page loading time.
88% of travellers with smartphones would switch to another site or app if yours doesn't satisfy their needs.
While a page which loads quickly increases the likelihood of a conversion, slow pages direct your viewers to your competitors.
SEO is important because your travellers need content relevance. Quick load, mobile friendliness and the quantity of great content is also crucial for a great customer experience but also for your SERP.
Packing Up!
Search is what powers travel businesses online and this makes it highly important for travel businesses to focus on SEO. Not only does search pump up revenue, but it also helps in building a better brand.
What’s more is that a better SERP ranking leads to a greater number of conversions, even if there is a more established website but with a lower rank. SEO is therefore the most effective means to helping travellers find you, in their quest to finding themselves!
