Why You Need Ongoing SEO Services For Your Vacation Rental Company

Posted on Categories Vacation Rental Marketing

This is in no way a sales pitch. It’s just the truth.

SEO, or any vacation rental marketing services, is not a one time endeavor that your business can check off a list and never have to worry about it again. Instead it demands continuous attention to reach its maximum potential and to remain an effective tool for your business. Search Engine Optimization is an investment, not an expense. The difference between ranking #5 vs #3 for target high-converting keywords can lead to anywhere from 15% to 35% more traffic to your website!


Source: Google CTR from backlinko.com

Hence … why you need ongoing SEO services for your vacation rental company. While the investment per month may be above your comfort zone, the power of SEO yields a better ROI than you can imagine.


Let’s dive in! Below are some pretty good reasons why Vacation Rental Companies need ongoing SEO services:

Because Search Engines Continuously Change Algorithms (and designs)
Google changes their algorithm… alot! In its early years, Google only made a handful of updates to its algorithms. Now, Google makes thousands of changes every year.   In 2018, they reported an incredible 3,234 updates — an average of almost 9 per day, and more than 8 times the number of updates in 2009. While most of these changes are minor, Google occasionally rolls out a major algorithmic update (such as Panda and Penguin) that affects search results in significant ways. (source)

You never know what changes the next algorithm will bring.

The chatter in the SEO world on the 10th of August was that Google finally flipped their algorithm and was starting to depend on their AI algorithms . Voice Search has become a popular trend and it is AI powered (think Google Home and Amazon Alexa here). Thankfully, that was NOT the case and Google worked quickly to fix the error. Everything was back to normal by 10:30 EST the next day.

What if this Google algorithm wasn’t a blip? A rental company would not know it until it’s too late and you would see traffic and bookings decline. By then, you may have lost two or three weeks worth of bookings, let alone the time to fix your website to get to ranking again.

How often do you check your rankings and analytics? We knew within the hour. Do you have a dedicated team that will be discussing first thing in the AM like ICND? Notice the time stamp. 

Thankfully, here at ICND, we STALK your rankings and track them on a daily basis, so YOU don’t have to worry about the changing web landscape.

We Are Your Second Set of Eyes

In all of our proposals, we have this paragraph: 

ICND is not “robotic”.  We know every website is different and users interact with it differently depending on site content, market conditions, etc.  We take pride in adapting our methods to each individual client to maximize revenue.  In the end, we are always wanting to get your more exposure and in turn, more bookings.  We don’t focus on “SEO”, but rather, we focus on “Digital Marketing” as a whole for your company.

When any marketing company works for you, they are (or, well, should be) on your website constantly, looking at pages, titles, text, images. They are using the searches, seeing what is good and bad, and what needs improvement.  The color of your calendar, how well it works on mobile, and it’s functionality all have a big impact on how well your website converts lookers into bookers.  Is it part of SEO? Not really.  But our job is not only to bring traffic (qualified traffic) to your website, but also get your conversation rate maximized!

Because Your Competitors Continuously Perform SEO Too

Your competitors change often. Do you have the time to keep up with them? NO. Let us do all the work , so you don’t have to!  More importantly, it’s likely that at least a dozen businesses in your local market are targeting the same visitors and promoting their similar services within the same geographic area.  Your other competitors may have one sole person in charge of your SEO services. However, at ICND we have a WHOLE TEAM of SEO geniuses that you can rely on for accurate information and ideas. 

Did you know every single member of our ICND SEO team has at least 2 Google Certifications if not more? I personally have 4 certifications and we are always encouraged to go for more!

Because of Changes in Search User Behavior

We have recently seen this type of behavior this year because of Covid. When Covid 19 swept the nation, people stopped booking vacation rentals and our industry went through a slump. If you didn’t have an SEO agency to work with, how you would know how to pivot your marketing efforts? ICND works with vacation rental companies from coast to coast, so we are able to see a larger picture. We have the knowledge and ongoing experience through our research to help you get your marketing efforts back on track.

 
Our marketing director, Paul Hanak, said in late March that COVID is going to cause a boom in the industry once the virus subsides.  And it did. Traffic and bookings to vacation rental websites double, tripled, quadrupled the VERY NEXT DAY a beach city declared they were “opening” again.  And now, there are more people searching for vacation rentals, rather than hotels, ever before. Our experience in this industry is what sets us apart from the rest. Seeing the patterns, pivoting with them, and learning along the way.
Your SEO consultant is your secret weapon and your website will need constant tweaks, reviews and shifts to keep it moving in the right direction, so that it continues to deliver stellar results.
Does your SEO team have a secret Slack channel called #traveling-during-pandemic? Yeah we didn’t think so.

Because Continuous SEO Maintains Your Page Rankings

The set of keywords you were targeting at launch two or three years ago may have produced good SEO results then, but may not have the same kind of impact now, given the changes in online markets. How would you know unless you have someone dedicated to research your site, keywords on a regular basis? Your competition could start outranking your business on certain terms, and costing you sales!  This is where ongoing SEO comes in to keep you ahead of your competition.  New algorithm changes, new Google features like rich snippets, and let’s not forget, Google Travels’ infiltration into our space.

Because of this, SEO should be a constant and continuous process of research, re-evaluation, and re-optimization, particularly with regard to the keywords you are targeting in your campaigns as well as user behavior.

SEO is still a mysterious dark art to an average business person. However, SEO is an ongoing process and it’s powerful. We live it, day after day. Try not to think of it as a cost, but as an investment on your website. Every element of your SEO can be measured, evaluated and corrected. By doing this continuously, you can find out your return on every SEO dollar invested. In addition, ICND makes sure you get regular reporting and review to ensure goals are being obtained or at least going in the right direction. I said this wasn’t as sales pitch but just the facts, so if you want to learn more facts on how to improve your website contact us here and let’s build a better website together.

Author: Tonya Harmati

Tonya has two degrees from North Carolina Wesleyan University in Computer Information Systems and Business Administration. She also earned her Masters degree in Computer Information Systems & Security. When Tonya is not geeking out on the newest SEO news, she is exploring the coast with her two daughters & son. She is also the STEM Instructor for the Girl Scouts.