Get your Hotel Internet Marketing Right
A hotel website that isn’t optimized effectively can present a variety of problems and blockers that detract from the user experience, deter customers from booking and reduce its visibility in search engine results. Many of the issues are quick fixes, but some may take a re-think to get right. Below are 10 hotel internet marketing issues that could be blocking your hotel’s potential:
A slow website can be a big sales blocker. A slow loading site may cause frustrated customers to leave before seeing what your hotel has to offer, especially if they are viewing it on a mobile device where attention is short and at times pages load slower. It’s also a put-off for Google and other search engines. They’ve made it no secret that they prefer snappy, quick loading sites.
Are you viewing this on your desktop or a phone? It’s a good question to ask when reviewing your website. For most websites, the majority of their traffic is from mobile users. When reviewing your design, it’s important to put mobile first and not as an afterthought. But how about when your site has been around for a while? Remember when adding content to your site that new pages should also be mobile first.
A site is the most useful if people come to it. Building a strong presence is important to ensure your site is visible not only for brand, but also for phrases from guests who are a good match for your offering. Missing meta tags, alt text for images, and proper keyword usage can result in poor search engine visibility. Careful reviews of each can ensure that your site is discoverable by your target audience.
How easy is it to answer a question or get to specific content on your site? Complex or confusing navigation can make it hard for visitors to find the information they’re looking for, which may put them off booking. Especially important is checking that navigation is easy to use on mobile devices and is accessible for all users, especially those using a keyboard or screen reader.
The funnel through a hotel website needs to sell the property to the user so that they choose this hotel over others, but also to sell the hotel website as the preferred method of booking so that the user doesn’t buy through an OTA or other channel. Persistent “Book” buttons or other triggers through the site drive the customer through the funnel from discovery through to booking. Measuring these steps helps show the effectiveness of your sales funnel.
A good hotel website can influence potential guests to make a booking, and to choose a direct booking as their channel. For hotel internet marketing advice, please call our team for more information.
