I have been to a beautiful resort on a scenic hill station. I got to know it from a friend who had visited it the previous year. This resort has all the necessities a tourist could wish for. It has a beautiful valley view, delicious food, 24 hours prompt room service, and clean and hygienic interiors. Even the rates are affordable. There is one problem though. When you search on google, this resort can be found on the 4th page. It is as good as being invisible from the SEO point of view.
In a way it was good for me that the resort was on the 4th page. More down the search results meant less crowds, less expensive, and more freedom. But if there are similar good resorts and hotels which come on the bottom of search results, I may not be able to find them. This way I would be missing a lot in form of variety and choices. Some resorts and hotels are far away from civilization based at isolated locations. Could this be the reason they are unaware of SEO, web traffic, rankings and stuff like that? Right now, I do not know the answer. But I am going to find out.
Somehow I consider it my moral duty to make them aware that there are scores and scores of people searching for them. These people are from far away places and want to visit these resorts and beautiful locations. Resorts, such as the one I mentioned above, should make themselves ‘findable’ by incorporating the appropriate basic SEO tactics on their websites. What are the reasons this resort and similar places are not well known in spite of having all the ingredients a fun loving tourist would want? What can they do about it? Let us find out more:
1) Power of the internet:Some people have still not realized the power of the internet. They just consider it as one of the newer technologies that come and go. Resort owners and hoteliers are cautious in their approach to the internet. As they are not sure what the internet can do for them, they do not wish to spend time and money on SEO and stuff. One thing is sure, somebody who is not able to harness the power of the internet might as well be staying in a period 100 or 200 years back. Internet is here to stay and we are going to encounter it in our paths for a long long time to come.
2) Urban vs. Rural folks:In the city almost everybody has heard of SEO, digital marketing and social media. But this is not the same in the countryside. Most of the resorts and hotels are located in isolated areas which come in rural zones. The owners have to stay far away from civilization for long periods of time. This could be the reason they are not much aware of the developments taking place in the urban areas.
3) Too much information:Another reason the hospitality industry might be away from SEO is that there is too much information available. They could be downright confused and overwhelmed by the amount of material available on the topic of SEO. Moreover this information is related to the mainline businesses such as FMCG industries and online marketing. There is a shortage of content especially for the leisure industry pertaining to resorts and accommodation businesses.
4) Trying to save money:Maybe you have heard about SEO. Perhaps you have read about it and tried to implement it on your website. A Do-It-Yourself kind of tactic. But you failed miserably. This is a similar case when you have a fever and try to treat yourself rather than seek doctor’s treatment. SEO is a vast field and newer updates are coming up on a regular basis. What works today may not work tomorrow. So rather than following a Do-It-Yourself formula to save some money, hire a SEO professional. Though initially he will charge you, it will be cheaper in the long run. He will provide the necessary boost to your website to lift your business off the ground.
Tourism is a multi-million dollar industry. But there are also a large number of competitors to share your profits. It is advisable to use all strategies and techniques to attract the maximum number of customers. Till now you have been a naive and simpleton business owner using offline business and sales strategies. You thought that the best way to get customers was door to door marketing and putting up costly banners. But now after reading this article you must have become convinced of the power of online marketing and the effectiveness of SEO.
