SEO can feel like a black box, especially when you’re busy running trips. But most of what makes a tour operator’s website rank comes down to a few clear steps, done in the right order.
This guide walks through where we’d start with any tour operator’s website.
Make sure Google can see your trips
Before anything else, check that Google can find and read every trip page. Set up Google Search Console if you haven’t already, and look at the pages report. It shows which pages are indexed and which aren’t, and why.
Common problems we see on tour operator websites:
- Trip pages that only exist inside a booking widget, so there’s nothing for Google to read
- Old trips that redirect nowhere, or show an error
- The same trip available under several web addresses
- Slow pages, usually because of large photos or too many plugins
Fix these first. Content and links won’t help a page Google can’t see.
Give every trip its own page
Each trip, activity and destination is something people search for. A single page listing everything you offer can’t rank for all of those searches at once.
Give each trip a page of its own, with:
- A clear title that matches how people search, such as “Small group walking holiday in the Dolomites” rather than a clever trip name on its own
- The price, the dates and what’s included
- A day-by-day itinerary
- Photos from the trip itself
- A way to book or enquire that’s always in reach
On See Wadi Rum, each experience has its own page: 4x4 tours, camel rides, overnight stays and treks. Each one can rank for its own searches.
Understand what people are searching for
Travellers search very differently depending on how close they are to booking.
Early on, the searches are broad: places to go, the best time to visit, what a destination is like. These people aren’t ready to book, but if your website helps them, you’re the operator they remember.
Later, the searches get specific: a type of trip, in a particular place, at a certain time of year. These are the people ready to book, and they’re worth far more.
A good SEO plan covers both. Destination guides and helpful articles for the early searches, and strong trip pages for the later ones, linked together so readers can move from one to the other.
Plan around your seasons
Travellers plan months ahead. If your summer trips sell from January, the content that supports them needs to be live and ranking well before then, not published in June.
Map out when each of your trips starts selling, and work backwards. New pages typically need a few months to settle into Google’s results.
Look after your Google Business Profile
If customers meet you at a physical location, such as an office, a base or a meeting point, a complete Google Business Profile helps you show up on Google Maps. Add good photos, keep your hours and details up to date, and ask happy customers for reviews.
Measure bookings, not just visitors
More traffic is only useful if it leads to bookings. Set up conversion tracking so you can see which pages and searches bring in enquiries and bookings, and focus your time on what’s working.
Where to go from here
These steps will put most tour operators’ websites on a solid footing. If you’d like a hand with any of them, or want us to look at where your website stands today, book a call.
