7 Ways to Improve Your Travel or Tourism Website to Get More Bookings
By: Improve, Grow
Tags: SEO, Digital Marketing, Travel Marketing, Tourism Marketing, PPC Marketing

As a tourism business, your website is your greatest marketing asset. Your website is your go-to salesperson who works 24/7 and knows exactly what to say for you to get more bookings — when set up correctly. But what if your website isn’t doing its job?

Improving and optimizing your website to get more bookings is within reach and can be started as soon as today. We’re breaking down seven easy ways to improve your website to gain more bookings and leverage your website. We’ve also created a video going over some specific examples of these tips in action.

7 Ways To Improve Your Website — Examples Video Accelerate Tourism

#1. Add credibility triggers across the website

These triggers refer to things that make your company appear more credible to your customers. This can include certifications, memberships, recognition, local or national press, reviews, and testimonials. Think of credibility triggers as items that establish trust with your audiences.

Reviews and testimonials from places like Google and Facebook may already exist for your business. If they do, pulling that content into your website is a great way to leverage already existing feedback about your business and make it visible for new users. You can add these testimonials to your site through plugins such as GatherUp or TripAdvisor’s Widget.

#2. Make it easy to buy or book your products or services

If you run a travel or tourism business, and people can’t figure out how to buy or book on your website, customers cannot be converted, and sales won’t happen. It is essential to be clear and straightforward with your customers, both in-person and on your website.

If your website isn’t the most user-friendly, try making the buttons that lead to a purchase of the most visible objects on your website. As a website best practice, include your call to action (book, buy, schedule, etc.) and quick business information in the top right-hand corner of your website.

Additionally, including multiple buttons as you scroll down each page of your website is a great way to “train” your audience to take that next step in your sales funnel. Once the buttons are clear and easy to follow, keeping in mind your customers’ booking process or buying journey is equally important. Be aware of the information your customers may want to know or review before pulling the trigger on completing that purchase process.

#3. Create high-quality content

Content on your website should establish authority and trust with your audience. While it may come naturally to talk about yourself or your business, creating high-quality content designed for your users is essential.

Content connecting with your users should answer their questions, provide helpful insight, always offer value, and develop empathy between your business and their needs. Eliminate any industry jargon, and write content that is easy to scan and read.

#4. Consider content flow

Once you have great content, understanding where to place it and what the flow of each website page should look like comes next. If steps aren’t clearly laid out in a logical flow, you may need to rearrange it. Walk your users through each page, hand-in-hand, and make it very clear where they should go, what they should do, and provide them any need-to-know information.

#5. Provide a consistent user-experience

Consistency is key in establishing your brand’s message and experience. Every piece of your marketing material should cohesively tell your business’s story and dictate the interactions users have with you. Consider your brand’s colors, layouts, fonts, buttons, photography, messaging, and tone on your website and other touchpoints. And don’t forget to check your mobile site for a good user experience, too.

#6. Utilize analytics to collect user data and test and improve new items

Google Analytics is a free tool we recommend installing on all websites. Whether you’re a data junkie or not, try setting aside 15 minutes every month to review your analytics and see what is happening on your website.

As you make adjustments to the first five points above, you should see your website users reacting accordingly. Look for reinforcements in your data that the changes you’re making on your site are working through metrics like bounce rate, click-through rate, and page views per session.

#7. Take the time to sharpen your tools

Make it a habit to build time into your schedule that allows you to assess, review, and tweak your website. You can start by asking someone unfamiliar with your brand to review your travel or tourism website and give you feedback. That objective insight can be extremely valuable and a roadmap for areas you may need to revise.

Remember, you don’t want to leave people confused. Keep your brand consistent and be recognizable across your website, Google My Business page, and social media profiles.

How To Get Started

While making changes to your website may feel overwhelming, it’s important not to get bogged down. Identify small chunks of things you can do, and complete them one at a time.

When in doubt, we also suggest you check out the variety of free resources available, and take a look at our meetup, where we covered the 7 ways to improve your website with an in-depth conversation. Unsure about other areas of your travel or tourism website and marketing? The team at Improve and Grow is ready to help. Feel free to schedule a discovery meeting with our experts to answer any of your questions.

Originally published at improveandgrow.com on 11/10/2020