If you have a long-term marketing strategy in place for your hotel, then you’ve no doubt covered all the bases in terms of paid advertising and getting the word out there about what you can offer. However, organic search is also a great way of raising awareness for your property – and it’s free. All it requires is your time.However, organic search has come a long way since the early days of web 2.0, the proliferation of short news articles and the stuffing-in of short keywords.
Today, the best way to approach this hotel digital marketing method is through long tail keywords.What are long tail keywords and why use them?Long tail keywords are actually key phrases that people are searching for within your particular niche. So, for hotels and travel, an example might be ’boutique hotels with spas in San Francisco’. They are usually three or more words long and they deal with specifics, rather than the vague search terms of old.This is because the goal is no longer simply to drive reams of visitors to your website, but to ensure they convert and actually make bookings – you want quality traffic, not just quantity. If someone is typing a really specific term into a search engine, it suggests they are almost ready to get out their credit card and make a reservation.They are at the conversion stage of the booking process, whereas someone who has only typed in ‘hotels San Francisco’ may just be daydreaming and could bounce off almost as soon as they arrive.
Another good reason to make the most of long tail keywords is that they are less competitive and so are more likely to see you performing better in the Google rankings. For instance, if you just concentrate on ‘hotels’ or ‘spa hotels’, you’re up against thousands if not millions of other properties with similar offerings, not to mention the online travel agents who have the monopoly on such terms.The chances of you being spotted on a list this long are very slim indeed. Yet if you choose to focus on a long tail, specific key phrase, there’s a lower chance of other properties having the same one, particularly if you focus on what makes you unique. You might even get close to the top of the results pages.
How to use long tail keywords To achieve good results in this area, you first need to choose your key phrases. You can do this by considering what makes you unique and what existing guests already enjoy. For example, do people regularly come and stay with you because you’re close to a great hiking route? If yes, use this in your keywords strategy. Don’t forget even basic things like dry-cleaning facilities or free breakfasts.You can then produce content that features your long tail phrases. Remember that keyword-stuffing is to be avoided at all costs, as it is now penalised by the search engines and looks odd anyway. The best way to get your phrases in is to produce interesting, informative content such as articles and blog posts where they can be woven in naturally. Make them on the longer side if possible, as content of around 400 words tends to perform best.Hopefully readers should then start to share your work – and you’ve achieved so free advertising for your hotel.
Check out World Hotel Marketing for more digital marketing products, strategies and tips.
