Why Local SEO Matters for Hotels
Local SEO becomes very important whenever travelers go on a trip and search for hotels in that specific area. It ensures that your hotel appears as one of the options when potential customers search for rooms in their location. Whether it is Google Maps or a ‘near me’ search, local SEO helps you optimize such searches, allowing you to make more direct bookings from guests looking for rooms in your area.
In this session, we will focus on the ways to improve your hotel’s local search engine optimization, encourage more customers to leave reviews, and promote your hotel to the top in location-based searches.
What is Local SEO for Hotels?
Local SEO for hotels means optimizing the online presence of your hotels. Hence, every time someone is looking for accommodation within a nearby area, your name will appear on the top. This could be anyone who types the phrases “hotels near [landmark]” or “hotels near me” in the search bar and is looking for somewhere to stay. The goal of local SEO is to ensure your hotel ranks high in these local search results and increases the number of bookings.
In terms of Local SEO, the following are the three most important aspects for hotels:
- Google My Business Optimization
- Local Listings and Citations
- Getting Reviews
All these actions when applied together tend to make a hotel perform well in local searches, increase visibility, and maximize the number of direct bookings.
How to Optimize Google My Business for Your Hotel
GMB has the potential to greatly advance local SEO. Through it, your hotel will be able to receive localized search results and appear on Google Maps and Google’s Local 3 Pack (which refers to the first three local listings displayed in search results). This is how to optimize your GMB profile to the maximum:
Claim and Verify Your Listing
If you have not yet verified the GMB listing, then do it now. For this, Google will send you a verification code along with a postcard to your business address. This is to confirm that you are a rightful owner.
Provide Complete Information
After that fill in the complete details of the hotel like hotel name, address, phone number, website, check-in/check-out times, services offered, and amenities. Your ranking chance will increase if you have a more complete profile.
Add High-Quality Photos
Visual content plays a very important role in the hotel industry. Uploading high-quality images of your rooms and amenities is recommended. You can also add photos of local attractions to stand out in the listing. These images will also appear in Google’s image search results.
Use Local Keywords in Your Description
Use local keywords in your business description such as “luxury hotel in [city]” or “beachfront hotel in Mombasa”. This helps Google relate your listing to location-specific searches.
Enable Messaging
Keep messaging enabled so that potential guests can contact you directly and ask questions. This can increase engagement and secure more bookings.
Why Local Listings and Citations Matter
Local listings and citations refer to mentions where the hotel’s name, address, and phone number (also known as NAP) are provided on platforms such as TripAdvisor, Yelp, or other travel-related groups or publications. Among them, some citations can be quite clear without linking to your website and still help search engines validate the legitimacy of your business.
Steps to Optimize Your Local Listings:
- Ensure Consistent NAP Information: Make sure your hotel’s name, address, and phone number are consistent across all online platforms. Inconsistent information can confuse search engines and ruin local SEO.
- Submit Your Hotel to Travel Directories: Being listed in online travel directories such as Expedia, Hotels.com, and industry-specific sites can increase your visibility and authority. These platforms also often rank higher in search results that drive indirect traffic to your hotel.
- Audit Existing Citations” It is important to regularly check existing listings to keep your hotel information updated. Especially when you have recently changed your phone number, website, or address, it is essential to change it.
How to Get More Reviews for Your Hotel
The impact of reviews on local SEO as well as on gaining potential guests’ trust is very important. Therefore, the more positive the reviews are, the more favorable the local search rankings will be. Reviews are considered by Google to be the most effective measure of relevance and quality.
Tips for Getting More Reviews:
- Ask at Check-Out: When guests check out from your hotel, politely ask them to leave a review. You can provide a quick link to your Google Reviews page in your follow-up email. It will become easier for them to give reviews from there.
- Automate Review Requests: Set up automated emails to be sent a day or two after guests check out. This automated mail should include a thank you message for their stay and also ask them to give reviews.
- Respond to All Reviews: It is important that you reply to all types of reviews. This will give the guest assurance that you care about their feedback. You can leave a positive impact on them by replying properly and honestly to negative reviews.
- Pro Tip: Tell guests to share their experience by giving reviews on popular review sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp. A diverse range of reviews helps strengthen your hotel’s online presence.
Geo-Targeted Keywords for Hotels
Your content must have geo-targeted keywords to rank in local searches. This keyword should include both hotel-related and location-specific terms so that you rank in searches of your specific area.
How to Find and Use Geo-Targeted Keywords:
- Find the most popular search terms for hotels in your area by using tools such as Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner.
- Try using “hotels near [landmark]” or “luxury hotel in [city]” in the meta title, description, and on-site content of your website.
Examples of geo-targeted keywords:
- Best family hotel in Nairobi
- Affordable hotels near Jomo Kenyatta Airport
- Beachfront resort in Diani Beach
You can raise your chances of ranking higher in local searches by carefully integrating these geo-targeted keywords into your blog posts, website, and local listings.
Conclusion
Local SEO is an important factor in bringing bookings for hotels. Mainly when it comes to capturing guests searching for accommodations in your area. You can increase your local search visibility and attract more direct bookings by optimizing your Google My Business profile, managing local citations, and generating more positive reviews.
For more information, you can read our blog The Ultimate Guide to SEO for Hotels.