Top 6 Tips to Improve Your Travel SEO

In the evolving digital landscape, travel businesses need more than just an appealing website to attract and convert travellers. As user behaviour shifts and search engines grow more sophisticated, travel SEO becomes an indispensable part of a successful digital strategy.

To help you in your journey of conquering this type of SEO, we’ve put together a list of 6 practical tips. Whether you’re a boutique tour operator, a destination blog, or a large OTA, these strategies will ensure your visibility stays strong in a highly competitive space.

1. Prioritise E-E-A-T Across All Content

Google’s emphasis on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) continues to influence how travel content is ranked. In 2025, search engines expect websites to not only be informative but also credible and written by those with genuine travel experience. Here’s how you can apply this into your own content:

Use Real Travel Experts

When creating content, ensure it’s written or reviewed by individuals with actual experience in the destinations or services you’re promoting. This could include professional travel writers, tour guides, or staff who’ve been on the ground. Google increasingly favours content that demonstrates first-hand knowledge, especially in the travel industry, where authenticity influences both rankings and trust.

Add Author Bios and Credentials

Include detailed author bios that highlight their expertise, background, or relevant travel experience. If the author has written for reputable publications or holds relevant certifications (e.g., licensed guide, travel consultant), showcase it. This adds credibility in the eyes of both readers and search engines, helping you stand out as a trusted source.

Cite Reliable Sources

Referencing credible data or quoting reputable sources, like tourism boards, government travel advisories, or established travel journals, reinforces the trustworthiness of your content. Always link back to these sources where possible. This not only supports your arguments but also signals to search engines that your content is well-researched and accurate.

Earn Quality Backlinks

Securing backlinks from authoritative sites in the travel space such as local tourism boards, travel blogs, or industry publications, strengthens your site’s perceived authority. These backlinks act as endorsements of your content’s quality and relevance. Focus on earning them through partnerships, guest posting, or offering unique resources that others naturally want to reference.

By establishing strong E-E-A-T signals, your travel site is more likely to rank for competitive search terms while building user trust.

2. Use Real-Time Data and Personalisation

Travellers are searching for new and personalised information from live weather and crowd forecasts to current visa requirements. In 2025, integrating real-time data sources into your content and tailoring it based on user location or intent significantly boosts engagement and rankings.

Action steps:

Embed Live Travel Tools

Incorporating real-time tools such as weather updates, exchange rate calculators, or flight trackers can add immediate value to your content. Travellers increasingly expect this kind of practical information when planning a trip, and embedding these dynamic elements keeps your site more engaging and useful. Additionally, live tools can help improve user retention and interaction metrics, both of which are positive signals for SEO.

Tailor Content Based on User Behaviour

Using AI-driven personalisation allows you to serve content that aligns with the user’s preferences, location, or browsing history. For instance, a visitor from the UK researching Italy may benefit from seeing visa tips, cultural insights, or flight deals relevant to their origin. Personalised content not only improves the user experience but also increases the likelihood of conversion.

Implement Structured Data for Context

Schema markup (structured data) helps search engines better understand the type of real-time content you’re offering. Marking up this data enhances your chances of appearing in rich results or featured snippets. For travel websites, this can significantly improve visibility for time-sensitive or location-based searches.

Personalisation not only enhances the user experience but also improves dwell time and reduces bounce rates, both key SEO signals.

3. Target “Experience-Driven” Long-Tail Keywords

Today’s travellers are less interested in generic terms like “Paris holidays” and more focused on experience-based queries such as “hidden wine bars in Paris” or “best cooking classes in Tuscany”. These long-tail keywords show clear intent and often have lower competition. Here’s what to do:

Find Niche Search Terms

Use keyword research tools like Google Search Console, AnswerThePublic, or AlsoAsked to uncover specific, experience-based queries travellers are actually searching for. Instead of broad, high-competition terms like “Thailand travel”, focus on more specific and intent-driven phrases such as “best street food in Chiang Mai” or “family-friendly beaches in Phuket”. These long-tail keywords tend to attract more qualified traffic and are easier to rank for.

Optimise Content Around Unique Experiences

Structure your content to reflect real, personalised travel experiences rather than generic lists. Highlight activities, cultural insights, or local recommendations that align with search intent. For example, a blog titled “A 3-Day Coffee-Lover’s Itinerary in Colombia” will not only engage a specific audience but also capture niche search traffic with strong purchase or booking intent.

Create Dedicated Landing Pages

Develop standalone landing pages for specific topics, locations, or experiences, for example “Wine Tasting Tours in Tuscany” or “Solo Travel Tips for Japan”. These pages allow for deeper content, more targeted keyword optimisation, and better internal linking. Google rewards this type of content structure by recognising your site as a reliable resource for that topic.

This approach helps you reach an audience that’s closer to booking, increasing both traffic quality and conversion rates.

4. Optimise for Voice and Conversational Search

With the rise of voice assistants and mobile searches, travellers are now asking complete questions like, “What’s the best time to visit Bali for surfing?” rather than typing short queries. This has reshaped how content should be structured.

Follow these best practices:

Add Natural-Sounding FAQs

Voice search queries tend to be longer and more conversational, often phrased as full questions. By incorporating well-structured FAQ sections throughout your site and blog content, you can directly answer these queries in a natural tone. For example, answering “What’s the best time to visit Santorini for fewer crowds?” in a dedicated section improves your chances of ranking for that voice search. It also boosts engagement by offering immediate value.

Use Conversational Language

Adopt a writing style that mirrors how people actually speak, especially in your blog posts, service pages, and headings. Instead of stiff or overly formal language, aim for a friendly and informative tone that matches spoken queries. Phrases like “How do I get around Rome without a car?” resonate more with voice searches than keywords like “Rome public transport”. This approach aligns better with how users interact with voice assistants.

Apply FAQ Schema for Rich Results

Implementing FAQ schema markup enables search engines to recognise your question-and-answer content and potentially display it in rich snippets. These enhanced search results stand out visually and are more likely to earn clicks. For travel SEO, this is particularly valuable for capturing voice search traffic, as Google often pulls from structured FAQ content for spoken responses via smart devices.

Incorporating voice-friendly content makes your travel site more accessible and positions you better for voice search traffic, which continues to grow in the following years.

5. Improve Mobile UX and Core Web Vitals

In a mobile-first world, speed, usability, and responsiveness directly influence how your pages perform in search results. Google’s Core Web Vitals, metrics that measure user experience, remain essential to travel SEO.

How to get ahead in the competitive SEO landscape of the travel industry:

Regularly Test and Optimise Performance

Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse to assess your site’s loading speed, responsiveness, and visual stability. These tools highlight areas needing improvement, such as large image files or unused scripts. In 2025, Google continues to prioritise sites that meet its Core Web Vitals benchmarks, so consistent monitoring and optimisation are essential for maintaining search visibility.

Focus on Mobile-First Design

A mobile-first approach is no longer optional, most travel searches now begin on mobile devices. Ensure your website layout adapts smoothly to different screen sizes, with intuitive menus, legible fonts, and responsive images. Elements like clickable buttons, interactive maps, and booking widgets should function seamlessly without zooming or horizontal scrolling.

Eliminate Disruptive Elements

Avoid intrusive pop ups, overlays, or booking widgets that block important content, especially on mobile. Google penalises sites that create poor user experiences through disruptive elements. Instead, aim for clean, unobtrusive designs that guide the user naturally towards conversions without compromising accessibility or engagement.

A seamless mobile experience not only supports SEO but also converts spontaneous mobile searchers into paying customers.

6. Leverage Video Content for Travel Discovery

Travel is an industry driven by visuals, and video has become one of the most powerful tools for storytelling and engagement. From immersive destination guides to short-form Reels or TikToks, video boosts dwell time and shares, both beneficial for SEO.

Here are some actionable tips to maximise SEO value from video:

Host Videos on YouTube and Embed Them

Publishing your videos on YouTube, then embedding them on relevant blog posts or landing pages, gives your content greater visibility. YouTube not only acts as a powerful search engine in its own right but also increases your chances of ranking in Google’s main search results. Embedding these videos on your site also enhances user engagement and keeps visitors on the page longer.

Add Transcripts and Captions

Including transcripts and closed captions with your videos makes your content more accessible while also boosting SEO. Search engines can’t “watch” your video, but they can crawl text, so transcripts provide important context. Captions also improve the user experience, especially for mobile users or international audiences who may prefer reading along.

Optimise Titles, Descriptions, and Tags

Just like written content, your videos need keyword optimisation. Use relevant travel SEO keywords in the video title, description, and tags to help both YouTube and Google understand what your video is about. Be specific, “5 Hidden Hikes in New Zealand’s South Island” is much more effective than “Travel Tips”. Also, include links to related pages on your site to help drive traffic from your video content.

Additionally, Google increasingly ranks video content in search results, especially for “how-to” or location-specific queries, making this an essential investment.

Travel SEO Is About Relevance and Real Value

Improving your travel SEO is all about delivering value, trust, and meaningful experiences to your users. From content strategy to technical optimisation, each of the tips above plays a critical role in future-proofing your travel brand online.

At Saigon Digital, we help travel businesses navigate these digital shifts with bespoke, user-first SEO strategies tailored to their goals. If you’re looking to boost visibility, increase bookings, and stand out in a crowded market, we’re here to help you turn your digital challenges into opportunities.

Looking for a tailored travel SEO strategy? Contact Saigon Digital today to discover how we can help your business grow.