Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for holiday parks
SEO. A tiny acronym that can strike fear into the heart of even the most website-savvy of individuals. So, what exactly is it and why is it so important?
It goes without saying that the holiday park and campsite industry is a competitive one. Whether a customer wants coastal, country, city, tranquil or an all-action holiday there’s hundreds of parks and campsites across the UK that could, potentially, cater for their needs.
The online world is just as – if not more – competitive. So, how does a holiday park stand out from the crowd? This is where our little friend SEO comes into play. A strong organic ranking on search engines such as Google and Bing will play a big part in a park’s success or failure.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation to give it its full term, is the optimisation of a website to perform to the best of its abilities in search engines. Sounds simple, right? If only…
SEO for holiday parks and campsites
Here's how we can help your business grow
Keyword research
Before putting pen to paper (or fingers on keys) it is important to undertake thorough keyword research. What keywords best sum-up your holiday park? Are these keywords achievable or is the competition too strong to realistically challenge?
We'll undertake all the necessary research before putting together a list of keywords that you are happy with - and that we feel would work well for your business in what can be an extremely competitive sector.
Content is king
There’s always a balance to be struck when writing content. Including the correct keywords in the right places is vital, but remember that your content is for human consumption not just for Google’s benefit.
Too often we see content that puts the customer second and the search engine first. We'll make sure you content is easy, enticing and engaging to read while still ticking those all-important boxes for Google.
Let's stay connected
Strong linking between pages is a hugely important factor when it comes to SEO. Before any content on a website can rank it needs links! Links can be both external and internal. External links from other quality websites, such as a local tourism body or newspaper website will help a site rank for a specific keyword and phrase.
But internal links also play a huge part. These links connect content together and help give Google an idea of the structure of a website, helping to establish a hierarchy of pages and content.
A simple structure
Let’s be honest. We all like things that are simple and straightforward to understand, don’t we? The same can be said of a website. Not only will a clear, simple and easily navigable site be good for the user (after all, we want them to find what they’re looking for and book as soon as possible…) but it’s also good for search engines, too.
Search engines use bots to ‘crawl’ websites – this is the act of scanning and searching all elements of a website, looking for new content and pages. To do this Google uses links between pages to find this content. If a menu and structure is difficult to navigate, with relevant pages not linking to one another, Google will find it very hard to discover this new content and it may never get noticed – or appear high up in Google’s search rankings.
Fast & Not So Furious
A relatively new kid on the block in terms of ranking factor, the speed of a website (and individual pages) will now play a part in where a website appears in search engines. The basic principle behind this decision is that more and more of us are using our mobile phones to browse the web (and make holiday bookings).
And, if a website is slow, taking an age to load on with a 3G signal, then this isn’t offering a very good experience for the user…. Therefore, why should Google promote this site? After all, it only wants to serve content to users that is relevant and useful. We can help optimise your site for page speed - and help you climb Google's rankings.
