Make sure they can find you: Vacation Rental SEO

The internet is big. Like really, really big. Sources estimate that there are over 4.87 billion pages on the Internet right now. That amount of content takes a lot of time to weed through when someone searches for anything from the world’s best popsicles to great vacation rental property. Luckily, due to the process called SEO, you can make your vacation rental seen more often than your competition. Search Engine Optimization is a way to help websites find things within the vastness of the Internet. If you do it right, you’re helping search engines to locate your website, which will, in turn, help your customers find you. If you’re doing it wrong or not doing it all, your vacation rental listings may get lost. Find out how taking the time to work on your vacation rental SEO will make your business more visible.  

Vacation Rental SEO 101

Think about keywords

An excellent way to get found is with keywords. Keywords are the terms that people put into the search bar of a vacation rental site to find your property.  Your goal is to match the search terms they use with the ones in your property listing so your listing. The best way to do this is to think like a guest. Figure out how someone would search for your property and include those words in your listings. Keep it simple, make sure to always include your city and neighborhood, and make sure your spelling is correct. After you’ve added keywords, ask a friend to search using the words you’ve chosen to see if you’ve hit the mark. Always aim to be on the 1st page of vacation rental site – very few people look at the second page and beyond.

Name your images

Vacation rental sites are image heavy so guests can get a good idea of how your property looks. Each one of your vacation property images have names that can help you hone your SEO and get your properties found. This is a tedious step but taking the time to name your images with relevant keywords is very helpful. Name photos with the name of your city, your neighborhood, the name of the amenity pictured (i.e., huge pool in Shadyside) or the type of home you have. This practice will help your home be found quicker and easier, especially when someone does an image search.

Pro Tip: Need to save some time so you can fix your SEO? Try Hosty! We’re the professional vacation rental management software that can help you automate tasks, become more efficient and save time so you can focus on building your business.

Update often

Another great tip is to update your vacation rental information often. SEO takes into account the activity and updates on your site. Most SEO algorithms assume that an updated site has the most relevant information available. Accomplish this by updating photos, tweaking your descriptions and refining keywords so your vacation rental can be an SEO juggernaut.

With a little diligence, creating some great vacation rental SEO is easy and will have a strong effect on your bottom line.