Andy Headington, CEO of digital marketing agency Adido, shares his thoughts on the changing dynamics of SEO.
Last month, ABTA welcomed guests from across the travel industry to learn about the latest in the world of SEO.
It was clear that SEO was in a situation where the goalposts were constantly shifting. And with the rise of automated content, Google has a big job making sure the best websites get top rankings.
Google still wants to prioritize useful and authentic content on its platform. But as Google itself begins to fend off competition from other technologies, or at least prevent them from gaining traction, travel marketers also find that search engines account for a larger share of their traffic than their competitors. You have to adapt to what's going on.
With this in mind, a wealth of advice and insight was provided to attendees, with key tips for travel operators listed below.
- Let's get the technical house in order. We perform a comprehensive technical audit to ensure that all aspects of your site, including its structure, web critical elements, and crawlability, are in place.
- Increase page speed as much as possible to minimize bounce rates, but don't expect to see a rise in rankings. Page speed is a determining factor, not a big ranking signal.
- Content is still king. Original, well-written and expert content is what makes the game so appealing. Keep your content fresh and relevant to your audience.
- EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) may not be an official ranking factor, but it's still important to readers and helps send more “human” signals to Google .
- Google's focus on AI this year is both to stay ahead of the competition and to “improve” the user experience. This year, Google plans to roll out Search Generative Experience (SGE) in some form that will impact the way SEO is measured and analyzed. Early research suggests that being “listed” is very difficult to control because the results returned are generated from content across the web rather than from top sites. One thing businesses can look forward to is seeing more content like images and snippets in the SERPs. So make sure your site's visuals are great, focus on optimizing long-tail queries, and provide concise responses at the top of the page to increase visibility and engagement. .
Overall, the basic foundations of SEO have remained largely unchanged over the decades. Your website should be built on sound SEO principles, have great content, and be updated over time. However, if you travel, be careful about AI, especially how you use it. While something like ChatpGPT can quickly churn out generic content, the output must always be thoroughly edited to maintain a travel-friendly human element.
It's also worth keeping in mind that if Google thinks it can craft better answers to long-tail queries, it could start stealing traffic away from you. It might not be the end of the world if you miss a booking due to traffic, but it's something to keep an eye on as snippets are expected to become especially popular this year. Maintaining visibility and relevance has required constant vigilance and adjusting strategies accordingly, but this year will be a real challenge for everyone in the travel industry.