Don’t Blame SEO for Missing On-line Bookings

AccomNews Sunday, November 13, 2011

0 3 minutes read

SEO is not the reason why your website isn’t working to its full potential!

When a website is running at 100% efficiency and your bookings are down, we find that many businesses start to blame SEO. However, you have to understand that search engine optimisation is a process that requires many other areas to be finely tuned and working well in order for it to work properly.

SEO is all about delivering inbound traffic to your website. Once traffic is there, it is up to you (your brand, website and products and services) to convert that visitor to either contact you or make a booking.

Here are some reasons why it might not just be your SEO that is stopping you from converting online traffic:

Poor website layout: If users are finding it hard to find information, or if your website is poorly laid out, not user-friendly and doesn’t flow properly, then your web browsers are going to leave straight away and move onto your competitor where they can find the information they want at a click of a button.

Poor page content: Your content is your virtual salesman. If it is poorly written and doesn’t communicate exactly what you are offering, then online users won’t read further. And make sure you check for spelling and grammatical errors.

Outdated website design: Design is very subjective but an up-to-date web design is crucial for branding and trust building. First impressions count. We recommend having large rotating photos at the top to showcase your property and try to not use flash if possible. Flash is not ideal for SEO and many smartphones cannot read flash either, making it harder for people to visualise your property.

Website errors: Broken links, pages not found and forms that don’t work will not help convert visitors. When visitors click on a link that leads to nowhere, it does not help to build up much trust and confidence in your brand. Check that all links are working and your contact forms are delivered to your email address.

Lack of updates: Keep things fresh on your site. If you recently updated your bedrooms, add new photos to your website. Include a section on your website for upcoming events or activities in the area.

Lack of proper SEO: What you think is SEO and what website professionals think is SEO could be vastly different. Make sure what you are doing is actually what needs to be done in order to get the job done. SEO/SEM is not what it was five years ago, so don’t think that your efforts from 2006 are going to work now. Get professional help from a reputable SEO company or do your research on the Internet on what search engines look for.

No social media: Social media is not going anywhere. It has changed the way everyone does and you need to accept this. If you don’t include social media into your marketing strategy, you will fail over time. For example, include a TripAdvisor feed on your website, add Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn icons and link it to your page. Add social sharing icons on the website and make it easy for people to share your website with their networks.

Strong call to action: Lead your customers down the path you want them to take. Have a book now button placed prominently on the website above the fold. Include your phone number and direct them to call or book with you straight away. Include these calls to action on every webpage so your viewers don’t need to hunt around your website looking for it.

No trust: Building trust is one of the most important things in today’s digital landscape. People do not just submit their information to any old webpage they visit any longer. If you want their info or their credit card information, you have to instill some confidence first. Make sure your website looks professional, include high res and updated photos of your hotel, the bedrooms and facilities, include testimonials from happy guests, add a TripAdvisor feed on the website.

If you feel that you need a new website after reading this article, then speak to a web design company.