Your vacation rental is more than a lifestyle, it is a business. And, home-sharing websites, such as Airbnb and HomeAway, are more than just platforms, they’re businesses as well.
As such, vacation rental websites are out to ensure guests have a great experience and their search engine algorithms can make or break your success as a host.
Understanding and using these search algorithms will optimize your listing to increase visibility which will drive up your booking rates.
Based on a recent webinar hosted by Pillow’s Charlie Ryan, here are six ways to increase your vacation rental SEO on Airbnb and HomeAway.
Use Great Photos to Increase Your CTR (click-through rate)
When a traveler’s search yields a myriad of choices, how do you ensure they click on your listing? Your thumbnail photograph (which should be your best photograph ), will be the largest determining factor on whether a potential guest will click-through to your property listing. Interestingly, getting a guest to click-through is a lot more significant than a single potential booking.
Your higher click-through rate will inform Airbnb that travelers enjoy your property and they’ll reward you for it. Listings with higher click-through rates are catapulted to the top of the platform’s search results list by the algorithm, exposing your property to more potential guests.
Bear in mind, booking platforms will do everything they can to guarantee a traveler not only becomes a guest but becomes a guest who had a great stay and therefore becomes a repeat customer.
Once the traveler has clicked-through to your full listing they’re likely to immediately head for the remainder of your photos. Which is why you’ve read so many articles about the importance of having quality images. You may think of yourself as the next Annie Leibovitz, but sometimes it’s best to leave photography to the professionals.
Airbnb offers free photography for hosts and brands like TaskRabbit let you source freelance photographers in the local area. HomeAway suggests using 24 photographs (the maximum you can use on the platform), which also boosts your listing and increases your vacation rental SEO.
Fill Out Your Listing
A good listing description will increase your booking rates, especially if you utilize Instant Booking features. If your listing description is done, you minimize the need for a potential guest to reach out to you and maximize the chances they’ll have all the information required to instantly book your property.
With search algorithms, the higher your conversion rate (percentage of those who click-through and actually book your property), the higher your property ranks in the search result pages. An excellent conversion rate articulates that guests enjoy your listing and can easily book your property — an attribute that Airbnb and HomeAway pursue.
When creating your listing description, keep the following tips in mind.
Mention the design style of your property, what sort of mattress (and how many) you have, and your Wi-Fi speed. At Pillow, we have found the majority of questions come in about the actual sleeping surfaces and the availability of Wi-Fi. With a service such as Homestyler or RoomSketcher to display a floor plan on your listing is also a benefit that many guests appreciate.
Advertise Amenities
Guests often use filters when searching for rentals. Maintaining your amenities list updated will make certain you’re not unnecessarily eliminated from a search query. In addition, highlighting amazing amenities will not only set you apart from your rivals, it’ll further validate your nightly rate.
As mentioned, Wi-Fi is the most amenity in vacation rentals, with 38 percent of guests listing it as their top property must-have.
Guests will need to understand the benefits of your property and the reasoning behind your nightly rate. When they do, you’ll see an increase in booking rates. The platform algorithms will also take notice, pushing your listing closer to the top.