In order to successfully start and promote your business on Airbnb, many hosts invest in SEO or Search Engine Optimization.
Why is it so important?
There are millions of active listings on Airbnb, and their number is growing. SEO helps your listing to stand out and beat the competitors by effective description texts, image optimization, and a deep understanding of the search mechanism. By paying attention to SEO, you can improve the click-through rate of your listing, increase its booking rate, and get a chance to increase the rates to gain more profit.
In this text, we will explain to you how SEO works and why it is one of the most effective methods to improve ranking of your listings.
SEO for Airbnb: how it works
Search Engine Optimization of the listings on the Airbnb website means editing them according to the rules and algorithms of the in-built Airbnb search engine, which filters listings for users.
All the information is checked by the Artificial Intelligence engine, and listings containing the most accurate data relevant to the guest are shown on top. The algorithm considers the trip info, previous searches, preferences, favorites, filters, host ratings, location of the property, photos, and some other factors. SEO helps to maximize the chance of your listing to be included in the search results and placed at the top.
Which factors impact the position of Airbnb listings?
- Advantages when compared to competitors: better description, better matching, lower price, higher quality pictures, and other things, which make your listing stand out. Professional vacation rental management software helps automatically analyze competitors and gather all information that can help improve the ranking position of your listing.
- Useful and detailed description with organic keywords. Textual SEO can be delegated to professionals or carried out on your own.
- Many high-quality pictures, which help guests get a clear perspective of what they get if they book.
- Heading, which matches the query of users. Automatic research carried out by the short-term rental management software can help to pick up the most successful combination for your listing’s heading.
- Guest relationship - positive reviews, response time, number of inquiries. The better interaction with guests you have, the higher your listing is ranked.
- Price optimization - listings with dynamic pricing, which rapidly reacts to changing market circumstances, always have an advantage in search results.
Tips on SEO optimization of your listings on Airbnb
For better texts and high-quality pictures, we strongly recommend hiring professional copywriters and photographers. There are also Airbnb management agencies, who offer these and other services for Airbnb promotion.
For managing the guest relationship, adjusting the price, researching competitors, listing descriptions, and heading you can use professional Airbnb software.
It provides great assistance in price optimization - which is an important parameter for SEO optimization of the listing. Vacation property listings with dynamic and competitive rates more often end up winning top results. Let the system compare the pricing of competitors and analyze the market situation to suggest you the proper price.
Also, apps help hosts to make calendar adjustments, improve the response time by auto messaging, and help to acquire the title of a Superhost to get to the top of the search results. Proactive work with positive reviews and the wishlist is also an important part of the Airbnb search engine optimization, which can be automated by special tools.
By installing the application, hosts get their own virtual assistant to the 360-degree Airbnb management and hassle free.
Other tips include:
- Set autoresponder or minimize the response time leaving no message without attention. In the vacation rental management apps, you can create and save message templates.
- Update calendar timely to avoid overbooking and misunderstanding with your guests.
- Need a review? Being proactive and sharing your impressions about the guest’s stay can help you get more reviews from them.
- Promote your listing on social networks. It can also help you boost the position of the listing.
- Provide detailed information in a clear and readable way: structure, keywords, simplicity.
- Pay attention to canceled bookings. This parameter is very important for ranking: a high number of canceled bookings makes the system mark you as a suspicious host and drop your positions.
- Activate instant booking - guests appreciate such a strategy as it saves time and shows you off as a reliable host, who is in business for a long time.
The Bottom Line
Airbnb listing optimization can be done on your own, but using vacation rental management tools will help you automate the workflow, save time and get access to those aspects of SEO listing optimization, which are not available with manual analysis.