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In the age where everything is now digital, especially in terms of travel and accommodations, hospitality companies are grappling how to attract and engage with consumers and ultimately drive conversion. With so many choices at the disposal of the customers, it becomes imperative for hotels to try and attract customers through digital marketing techniques and encourage direct bookings. All these imply that with the right combination of the online strategies, hotels can develop the brand awareness, enhance customer interactions and thereby raise the occupancy levels.
Here, we’ll dive into some of the best tactics that hotels should use to increase their bookings and their presence online.
1. How to increase conversion rate of hotel’s website?
Your website is the first and the main source that visitors see when they think about your hotel and is the basis of your online promotion. If your site is not properly optimized for conversions, all your other vectors of digital advertising may be ineffective. Your website should be easy on the eye, simple to use and above all else designed to drive direct bookings.
Key elements to focus on:
Mobile-Friendly Design: Make certain your site is responsive – this means the site should appear on any device with simple and easy navigational features. Increasingly, people use mobile devices for travel searches and booking, which makes a site friendly to mobile essential.
Fast Load Times: According to the research, slow sites will repel possible visitors. Tune up your website with speed resources to ensure rapid loading of your website.
Simple Booking Process: The booking process requires a simple and direct engine, which implies that booking itself ought to be as simple as possible.
Compelling Calls-to-Action (CTAs): To inspire users to reserve a booking, the need will be there to use straightforward and enticing CTAs such as ‘Book Now’ or ‘Check Availability’.
In relation to booking systems, your website has to be simple for users to use and produce conversions to help increase your chances of acquiring more direct bookings.
2. Optimizing for search engine optimization commonly known as SEO.
SEO is useful in putting your hotel website on the top of search engines results especially Google. Using quality SEO tactics, your hotel will be ranked
Key areas of focus for hotel SEO include:
On-Page SEO: It’s vital to have the appropriate keywords in your title tags, meta descriptions, and content to fit what your target market looks for during searches. Look at ’boutique hotel’ positioned in [city name], or the ‘luxury hotels’ placed close to [attraction].
An important example is the term ‘luxury hotel in [city]’ or ’boutique hotels near [attractions].
Local SEO: It’s important to complete and verify all the information in the hotel’s Google My Business profile. This will assist your hotel to feature in the local searches and maps whenever a client is searching using the Google application.
Content Marketing: Post blogs that are worth reading – information about traveling, tourist attractions in the area, and services offered in the hotel. Developing the right content for your site with an eye on SEO strategies will help you rank higher in the search engines and pull in more traffic.
Backlink Building: Optimize your site for travel-related keywords and establish backlinks from popular travel blogs and other trustworthy resources that will help to improve the ranking of your domain.
However SEO is not a one-time thing; it is an ongoing process but it is very important if you want to get traffic to your website naturally.
3. Advertise using Pay Per Click (PPC)
While SEO assists in increasing the website ranking in organic search, PPC advertising offers an opportunity for immediate visibility. Thanks to PPC campaigns, you have the capability to bid on particular keywords and show at the highest position in the SERPs.
Benefits of PPC for hotels:
Targeted Reach: You have the ability to show your advertisements in response to user’s location, age, and also based on their propensity to book a hotel. You will be able to ensure that the people viewing your ads have an interest in a hotel within your geographical area.
Flexible Budgeting: PPC lets you control your budget and boost your initiatives based on the performance that is most effective. Being an inexpensive advertising method, the only time you incur costs is when the ad gets clicked.
Instant Results: Unlike SEO, which is a slow process, PPC will give you the exposure you need immediately. This is especially beneficial to market special discounts, last minute packages and other activities in your hotel.
When you integrate PPC with SEO, you are assured of getting high ranking of your hotel both on the natural and paid listings.
4. Use of Social Media Marketing’
Other important aspect of hotel digital marketing strategy is social media marketing. Applications such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter provide the hotel industry with the opportunity to present their hotels, communicate with guests and offer promotions.
Effective social media tactics for hotels:
Visual Storytelling: Through these social media platforms, Hotels can post photos and videos of the rooms, facilities, the food they offer, and other things of interest around the area. To draw the attention of the intended visitors, the use of visual information is quite effective.
Engage with Your Audience: Engage with the posts, messages and reviews left by customers on social media platforms. Interacting with your audience helps in building brand loyalty and the audience that was once a prospect can become your customer.
Run Social Media Ads: Social media advertising is a very specific form of advertising. You can use them to ad special offers, to bring attention to certain experiences, or to re-target people who have been to your website but didn’t book anything.
Influencer Marketing: Engaging the services of travel influencers to review your hotel or to share their experience of staying at your hotel can create awareness and get you new customers.
Social media are not only good for increasing bookings, but they also contribute to the formation of the overall image of your hotel.
5. To perform Email Marketing Campaigns.
Email is a great way to tell your potential and your returning customers that you are still here and ready for them. With the use of email marketing, hotels can engage leads, sell packages, and stimulate revisit.
Best practices for hotel email marketing:
Segment Your List: Split your email list by customer preference, past visits, and interests. For instance you can use the guest database and send out emails that will prompt guests who have previously visited your hotel to come back.
Offer Exclusive Deals: You should use e-mail to notify clients about special offers or some reductions that are available only for the most loyal clients. Time-sensitive deals are a good way of generating more business as customers are forced to make bookings within a certain period.
Personalize Your Emails: Opt for using individualization techniques, for instance, using the recipient’s name and sending them tailored content related to their actions or prior visits.
Send Post-Stay Emails: After the guests have left, send them a thank you email and ask for their feedback or review. These emails after the guest has left the property are always positive and help in creating future bookings.
Email marketing is inexpensive but very efficient for keeping in touch with your customers and getting them to book a room.
6. Review and reputation management monitoring.
The process of booking hotels significantly involves online reviews. TripAdvisor’s recent survey unveiled that 96% of consumers look at reviews as important when selecting their accommodations.
Strategies for managing your online reputation:
Monitor Reviews Regularly: Watch for reviews across platforms such as Google, TripAdvisor, and Yelp. Answer all reviews, positive or negative, in a timely and appropriate manner.
Encourage Guest Feedback: Support pleased guests in leaving feedback by leaving reviews. Positive feedback benefits your hotel in terms of image as well as providing social proof for forthcoming guests.
Manage Negative Reviews: There cannot be negative reviews, but the way you manage them is important. Reacting with compassion and presenting solutions can prove to potential customers that you prioritize guest satisfaction. Managing your reputation well online helps your hotel to look good, which is important for attracting fresh bookings.
Conclusion
In a sector becoming more competitive, hotels wanting to differentiate themselves and drive bookings must prioritize effective digital marketing. Optimizing your website, applying SEO and PPC, being active on social media, using email marketing, and handling online reviews can help your hotel attract more guests while also increasing its occupancy rate.Being in the hospitality industry means that staying current with the latest digital marketing trends will allow your hotel to stay ahead of competitors and be memorable to possible visitors. Adopt these strategies, and you will definitely see a marked difference in your reservations and the growth of your enterprise.
