Designing Websites for the Travel Junkies: Trends, Tips, and SEO
In the age of digital nomads and Instagram travel aesthetics, the travel industry has certainly found its foot online. According to seasoned web guru Kevin Indig, as of June 2024, travel ranked as the fifth largest industry on the web by organic visibility. And if you're in the travel industry and want to generate more bookings or patrons, then SEO is non-negotiable.
Organic visibility, and ultimately SEO, has become paramount in the travel industry. This could be attributed to the voluminous searches made by modern travellers - from flight and hotel bookings to travel blogs and Instagrammable spots. In turn, travel companies have to leverage SEO to reach their audience effectively.
The introduction of Google's Core Web Vitals has affected the SEO strategies of many travel websites. These metrics focus on the speed, responsiveness, and visual stability of a webpage. Hence, web design should encompass not just aesthetic considerations, but also these technical aspects.
Mobile experience and local SEO have emerged as key contributors to a successful travel website. With most travellers using their smartphones for searches, designing for mobile is critical. Moreover, local SEO helps drive traffic from potential customers within a particular geographic location.
The traditional SEO techniques, such as on-page optimization, quality content creation, and back-linking, remain relevant. However, they must be tailored to the travel industry’s specific factors and audience.
Ongoing strategic adjustments that consider Google's Core Web Vitals are now crucial in web design. Launched by the tech giant, these vitals are a set of factors significant to user experience, hinging on elements of speed, responsiveness, and visual stability of a webpage. In simple Scouser, it's all about fast loading websites, quick responsiveness and pages not flickering or jumping as they load. This development has surely made web designers in the travel industry sit up and pay attention, rightly so.
The dramatic increase in smartphone usage in the past decade has seen the rise of mobile websites too. This hits home particularly in the travel industry as modern travellers heavily rely on mobile devices for destination research, booking flights, and hotels. Thus, having a mobile-responsive website is nigh on essential. In conjunction, local SEO is increasingly getting a piece of the action. In other words, if I'm in Liverpool and search for 'best hotels around’, Google should show me options within my local area. Hence, travel companies must level-up their local SEO game to appear in such searches.
Back to the basics, the traditional SEO techniques remain a steadfast presence in the puzzle. Quality content creation, on-page website optimization and back-linking may be oldies but they are definitely goldies! However, in the world of web design for the travel industry, these methods require a bit of tweaking and personalisation. After all, travelling has a unique allure to people and any marketing efforts, particularly in SEO, will need to tap into this.
From a designer's pair of keen eyes, the puzzle pieces of creating a successful online presence in the travel industry include a great website design and good SEO practices. The balance to strike here is the marriage of aesthetics, functionality, and visibility. Core Web Vitals, mobile experience, local SEO, and proven techniques should be the foundation of every travel business aiming for a significant digital footprint.
The web design landscape has become pervasive and complex, but hey, isn't that where we web designers, especially us here in Liverpool, thrive? It's like being in a constant football match where strategies must be fluid and we need to keep one step ahead of the opposition. The next time you sit down for a web design brainstorm, remember this Liverpudlian advice - SEO doesn’t have to feel like a never-ending river Mersey of challenges. Sail on it smoothly by understanding these key points and you'll reach your audiences far and wide. Isn't that what travel is all about, anyway?