Ah, keywords… the very things designed to make all but the most experienced of copywriters go pale. And since you are focused on marketing your holiday rental, the chances are you’re not as experienced in using keywords as you could be.
But while keywords and how to use them might pose a challenge, it’s certainly not insurmountable. In fact, we’ve put together some tips here that should make life a little easier for you.
Let your visitors tell you how they found you
If you look at the statistics for your website, they will tell you which keywords people used to find your site.
Look for the most popular ones, as well as those that perhaps don’t rank as highly but still get results, and make a note of them.
Remember you’re writing for the audience first
Writing for search engines might work to an extent, but you’ll never get a search engine calling you to book a week in your holiday rental property.
It’s the customer you need to attract.
So while adding keywords is still important, you should remember to keep your customer in mind above all else.
Be smart when choosing keywords
Before you even write a word of copy, consider which keywords and phrases best describe your holiday let.
Think about the precise location of your property e.g. the town, city or village. Your property type e.g. cottage, apartment, gite, chalet, villa, lodge, beach house, etc. Plus any unique selling points such as hot tub, private swimming pool, suitability for large groups, luxury property, pet friendly, child friendly, etc.
Some good examples might include:
- Dog friendly holiday cottage in St Ives
- Luxury gite in La Rochelle with swimming pool
- Child friendly beach house in Bundoran, Donegal suitable for large groups and surfers
… and so on.
You’ll notice the type of property and location are mentioned in the examples above. These are a must to ensure you get the basics of what people will search for when typing their query into Google.
But remember, don’t guess your keywords.
Carry out thorough keyword research to find the best ones for your property, based on the location, property-type and number of competing pages for those keywords.
That way you will find keywords that are being searched for, but aren’t as competitive, so you have a higher chance of achieving positive results.
Don’t be too repetitive
When you write content for your website – whether it’s for the home page, a blog post or a description of the property – you should go over it a few times before actually publishing it.
You’d be surprised how easy it is to repeat the same keyword over and over in a short space of time.
Including keywords naturally and not cramming them all into a small space is very important.
In fact, once you have your keywords, it can help to write your content without paying attention to them too much. Then go back over everything afterwards to make sure you have the balance just right.
Learn from experience
Have you already written content for your holiday let website that has keywords included? Do some of them appear to have fallen flat, while others are performing well and bringing you visitors?
Now is the time to use that knowledge to make changes.
Don’t be afraid to swap out the unsuccessful ones that aren’t bringing visits for others. Just make sure the sentence and structure still makes sense.
The more practice you get, the better you’ll be and the more enquiries you should receive.
dave says
Good advice – especially about repetition. Must check that we’re not guilty!
PromoteMyPlace says
Yes, what you’re looking for is a variety of naturally placed keywords throughout your site. Not the same ones used over and over again. Always good to carry out a little SEO review of your own website from time-to-time:)