Running a travel blog is not as simple as people think. Turning a hobby like travelling into a business is impossible without taking the right steps to do so. And search engine optimisation is a mandatory step you have to take.
Fortunately, travel blog SEO is not as complicated as some might want you to think. There are so many different things that you can do and the most important part is naturally taken care of when you run such a site. We are talking about creating unique, relevant, high-quality content. Because you actually travel to the destinations you cover, the content is practically guaranteed. But this is not enough.
If you want to get more traffic to your travel blog and climb in rankings, here are the things you have to focus on.
Focus On Search And User Intent
Google’s main goal is to satisfy the user’s search intent. When the content you create does not match, it will not rank. This is why keyword research is so important. For a travel blog, most relevant searches are connected to activities to do in a destination, tour guides, travel guides, and similar topics.
When your content matches search intent, it is a lot easier to rank higher in search engines.
As an example, let’s just say you came back from Berlin. You want to blog about it. The keyword “Berlin” is very common. It is very difficult to rank for phrases like “Berlin travel guide”. Instead of choosing this, you could always go for something better, like “Berlin budget travel guide for students”.
Don’t Forget About Core Web Vitals
Your goal should always be to have your travel blog load as fast as possible, in a similar way to how Travel Tipsor loads right now. It is now official that Google utilises core web vitals as a ranking factor. For those not aware, this includes:
- How fast web pages load.
- How smooth the loading process is.
- The mobile optimisation of the page.
- The safety of the site.
From a technical point of view, you need to focus on three main parts:
- LCP (largest contentful paint) – The loading duration of a page for the user.
- CLS (cumulative layout shift) – The stability of the page while loading.
- FID (first input delay) – How long it takes for the user to interact with the page.
Make sure to check out Google Search Console, the Core Web Vitals section. This shows you the performance of your pages. Do the necessary changes to solve all the problems highlighted there. In some cases, this might mean having to change hosts. But it is highly important if you want to rank.
Optimise The Travel Blog For Featured Snippets
Featured snippets do get many of the clicks for relevant searches. So, having your site optimised for them is very important. The main steps to take are the following:
- Look for featured snippets opportunities
Look for the keywords you are ranking for now. Then, see if there are featured snippets present for them. You would need to rank number one for that.
- Add featured snippet bait
This is practically a paragraph or a block, usually of around 50 words that offers answers to what people ask in search engines.
- Choose featured snippet types
Google now shows different featured snippet types, including tables, videos, bullet lists, number lists, and paragraphs. Based on the keyword you rank for, choose the most suitable featured snippet type.
Create Video Content
The popularity of video content is growing and there is no sign that it will slow down. This is why in several search queries we now see video snippets. For travel blogs, such a visual representation is a huge potential boost.
It is a very good idea to embed some video content inside blog posts. This will also offer the advantage of improving bounce rates and increasing time spent on page, which are both seen as signs of authority by Google. At the same time, it is a very good idea to start a channel on YouTube or start publishing more on it if you already have it.
Focus On Mobile SEO
You need to think about your visitors at all time. Many of them are going to use mobile devices to find the information they are interested in. This is why, if your website is not optimised for mobile users, you are missing out on a lot of traffic. In fact, mobile users already surpassed desktop devices for almost all industries.
Analyse your website and make sure that mobile user experience is as it should be. A great way to do this is to focus on simplicity. When using CMS systems like WordPress, there are several plugins that can do that for you.
Final Thoughts
The 5 tips highlighted above will help you out a lot when it comes to ranking your travel blog higher. But remember the fact that the world of SEO is constantly evolving. You need to be up-to-date with all the changes that happen in the industry. And if at any point in time you have doubts, it is just better to talk to professionals.
