Unlike in the past, building a website and starting a blog has never been easier. With more users gravitating towards the internet to make their purchasing decisions, the tourism and hospitality industry could reap rewards by having a hotel website blog. If you are in the hotel business and you haven’t thought about starting a blog, then it’s time to think about it.
Here are three reasons why you stand to gain a lot by it.
1. Grow your SEO reach.
If you ever needed one reason why your hotel should start blogging, it would be to expand your search engine footprint through search engine optimisation (SEO).
As recently as 10 years ago, having a website with some organic keywords on your webpages was enough to establish your digital presence. There just weren’t as many people online. But today, the crowd is far bigger and the competition much tougher, so you need to consistently make your presence visible or else you’ll get shoved out of sight.
That’s where SEO and blogging comes in. When you blog regularly, you are constantly getting search engine algorithms to take notice. With the right combination of SEO and research, you can get your website pushed to the top of the search results when customers are looking up for hotels to stay on their next vacation.
By writing on topics that ties in with your hotel and its location, your hotel website will get more attention. For instance, a blog post titled, “The 5 Exciting Attractions In [your location]” might pop up on your guest’s feed and appeal to them to make a booking at your hotel.
If you think blogging is a waste of time, Google’s May 2022 Core Update will make you sit up and think again. The search engine giant has shifted its focus on the content quality to boost website rankings. Keywords and backlinks without the information that helps audiences will probably get dropped while high-quality content that addresses a topic in detail to aid the user will get you pushed higher.
To stay on the internet’s radar, you need to put out relevant fresh content regularly. Blogging will accomplish that for you.
2. Create your identity and brand
Staying at a hotel is about offering guests the ultimate experience and a blog is a great way to communicate and shape your hotel’s brand and identity. It opens up a chance to show and talk about what makes your hotel unique.
Is your hotel situated in a unique location that allows your guest to immerse themselves in the environment? Here’s your moment to put a spotlight on your activities as an eco-friendly hotel.
It’s also a chance to get up close and personal with your hotel. Customers crave authenticity and realism.
Maybe get your executive chef to talk about how they source their ingredients to create an exclusive dining experience that the hotel is famous for. Or have your F&B director walk through the steps they take to create atmosphere.
Remember, stories sell. It’s the ideal marketing tool to use without spending a lot of money to promote your hotel. And isn’t that what you’re trying to accomplish at the end of the day?
3. Keep your customers updated on the latest developments and trends
The best part about a blog is that it lets you communicate with people directly. It offers you a platform to share updates and keep them posted on the significant events happening in your hotel and in your vicinity, from the addition of new services and facilities to seasonal promotions.
Therefore, your blog is the best place to keep people in the loop and entice them with what you have to offer.
How is a hotel website blog different from social media?
You might be wondering why you need a blog to do this when you could use social media.
Blogs have the upper hand on social media in the long run. Not only is it especially better for SEO, but content is ephemeral on social media. It’s there one moment and gone the next. The odds of going viral are rare.
Blogs have lasting power. The right combination of organic keywords and content can keep your hotel website appearing in the top results of a search engine for a long time, thanks to evergreen and regularly published blog posts.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic shaking up travel plans, travellers are gearing up to make up for the lost years and start travelling once again. This is a prime opportunity to start a blog on your hotel website or boost your existing blog to start attracting attention.
So, if you’re looking to create blog posts to market your hotel, call us to get started on turning your hotel website into a powerful marketing tool. You don’t want to pass up this opportunity!