How to get more bookings via your own website
It’s no surprise that the large holiday booking companies such as Holiday Lettings and Booking.com spend thousands of pounds a month on search engine optimisation to appear at the top of search engines leaving very little room (if any) for small agencies, cottages or B&Bs to get anywhere near the 1st page on Google etc. So it’s not surprising that this has had a direct effect on how many people get to your website for a generic search for accommodation in your area. But does this mean your own website is now obsolete? Not at all, in actual fact the opposite is true. There has been quite a few Watchdog style programs on lately that have advised their viewers to approach accommodation owners directly for the best price. How can they do this if you don’t have your own website?!
Quite a percentage of people will “google” the accommodation that has caught their eye on the large booking engines – and as they are “googling” your accommodation name, they should easily find your website. When they reach your website, it is important to make it VERY clear that for the best prices to contact you directly.
We have just designed a great new layout that does this beautifully – take a look here at this website we made for this great B&B in Newquay – click here
This design makes it very clear throughout that the reader should contact the B&B owner directly for the best price, so you can guarantee that this is exactly what most people will do! The website also benefits from an easy to navigate layout and the addition of testimonials on each page instills confidence for site visitors to book.