Every hotel interne marketing professional knows the importance of SEO but, that doesn’t mean that it’s always done right. SEO is a complex and ever changing field, with new schools of thought, new best practice advice and new algorithms to contend with on a seemingly endless cycle. So, while you might think you’re doing the best job you can with your SEO, if you aren’t keeping up with the changes or are taking your advice from the wrong sources, you might be falling victim to outdated methodologies or find yourself caught out by an SEO myth. All of this can and will have a damaging effect on your hotel’s online presence and reputation. Keep reading to find out how bad advice could be undermining your activities….

Google (not to mention other search engines) certainly care about whether your website is optimised for mobile users. With about 50% of browsers consistently searching the web on the go, there’s never been a better time to make sure your website is fully mobile-ready.

There are bigger factors which search engines take into account when testing your mobile-readiness than just how the page looks. They also consider page load time, click-speed, even the page size. With the arrival of AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages), the importance of mobile to SEO is only going to grow. Make sure you get up to speed ASAP.

As social marketing shifts increasingly towards image-led content, the importance of optimising those images for SEO grows, too. Doing this is quite simple, but can be easily forgotten when creating content. As with many things SEO-related, a little care and attention goes a long way.

Keywords definitely still matter – but they’re by no means the full story when it comes to getting SEO-ready in 2017. Relying too much on an SEO-strategy which prioritises keyword building at the expense of everything else often simply results in clunky copywriting and disappointing results. Taking the time to assess your SEO weak-spots and addressing them systematically is no quick fix – but it is a great way to ensure long-term SEO-ranking success.

Ignoring the importance of SEO overall is a little like the digital equivalent of going to live in a cave instead of paying rent. Sure, you can still have a website which doesn’t pay any attention to SEO – but it won’t be very effective for drawing in leads or filling up your rooms (much like a cave won’t have central heating or cosy double glazing).

Investing a little time and money into getting your website SEO-ready will pay huge dividends for years to come, both in terms of your hotel’s reputation and profit margins.

Not sure where to go from here? Digital Hotelier are experts in hotel internet marketing. Get in touch with us today to discuss how we can help you upgrade your efforts.