You’re competing against giants. The major travel discount sites take the lion’s share of travelers’ business when booking airfare and hotels. How can your site stand out? Here are the answers to three SEO questions every travel website should know.

Your travel website may be one of many struggling to compete with Travelocity, Expedia, and others among the 15 most popular travel websites in the world. That’s why distinguishing your brand should be a central part of your strategy.

But these travel aggregators seem to cover all angles of the travel business. They offer discount prices other brands cannot achieve. How can anyone hope to compete?

The Ins and Outs of Successful Online Travel

The following are responses to the three most pressing SEO questions when marketing an online travel website. These tips will help you enhance your web presence and put your value propositions in front of the exact travelers you need.

How do I Use SEO to Differentiate My Services Online?

The most important two distinctions of any travel brand are specialization and quality of service. For example, agencies help travelers plan experiences as opposed to just transit. This degree of personalization is not offered by most travel aggregators.

Quality SEO (search engine optimization) boosts your site’s organic results through Google, Bing, and Yahoo! search. Successful SEO uses text, links, and other website elements to drive the right kind of traffic to your business.

Begin by selecting the keywords your potential customers are most likely to use when searching. Include these keywords on the pages of your website, without overcrowding. You should also add internal links to each web page. You should try and gain inbound links directing traffic from other credible websites as well.

You can improve your results by focusing on value specific to your business. Using keywords like ‘airfare’ or even ‘flights to Hawaii’ will be drowned out by other travel sites with these services. Keywords like ‘cheap couples vacations’ or ”vacations in Arizona” might draw the relevant traffic that drives bookings.

What Should I Add to My Website to Boost Performance?

A few years ago, Google reported that 61% of travelers claim search engines are their top online source of inspiration when searching for travel. Here are the most searched subjects when travelers begin planning a trip:

• Location / destination
• Flights / hotels
• Names of major discount sites
• “Cheap ________”

What to include on your travel website is one of the greatest SEO questions. You can start by monopolizing on the first and second items in the list. Local SEO is a lesser known concept. Use keywords specific to your areas of service to draw the right kind of traffic. Websites like viajacompara.com specialize in Mexico trips while offering additional travel packages.

How can I Improve My SEO as I Go?

This is one of many SEO questions whose answer is always changing. Google changes its algorithms periodically which can alter the power of your existing SEO. The simple answer: partner with an SEO professional. There are affordable or free options for travel businesses that give you peace of mind as your business moves forward.

Best-In-Class Tools for Your SEO Questions

Your travelers deserve the specialized services and care you offer–things they can’t get from the Orbitz’s of the world. Help them find that care with a free, 15-second SEO audit from Site Report Card today.