The Crucial role of keyword performance analysis in the travel industry: Viator case study
SEO is crucial in the travel industry, where search is integral to the customer journey. Explore Viator's keyword performance analysis with inpages to understand the importance of SEO and keyword strategy!
Jul 02, 2024
The travel industry revolves around "search" from the start to the end of the customer journey. Whether they're looking for flights, accommodations, or activities, customers are constantly searching. This isn't limited to search engines like Google; it also includes social platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Given this emphasis on search, it's no wonder that companies within the travel value chain—airlines, accommodation bookers, activity providers, and more—prioritize SEO. Leaders in the industry, such as Booking Holdings and Airbnb, are deeply invested in content optimization, link building, user-generated content (UGC), and programmatic SEO to attract customers cost-effectively.
For instance, Booking.com attracts around 89.3 million customers each month through organic traffic alone, highlighting the importance and impact of effective SEO strategies in the travel industry.
Booking.com Key SEO Metrics
- Domain Rating: 93
- Number of Backlinks: 5.5 billion
- Monthly Organic Traffic: Approximately 89.3 million
- Monthly Organic Keywords: Approximately 12.5 million
- Keywords Ranking 1-3 on Google SERPs: Approximately 470,000
Diving into Viator SEO Data
Let's take a closer look at the SEO metrics for Viator, one of Tripadvisor's subsidiaries. Despite experiencing a slight dip in traffic during COVID-19, Viator has shown a swift recovery. They continue to rank highly for popular keywords such as "things to do in Miami," "Statue of Liberty tickets," and "day trips from Dublin," effectively driving significant customer traffic through organic search.
Viator Key SEO Metrics
- Domain Rating: 87
- Number of Backlinks: 21.7 million
- Monthly Organic Traffic: Approximately 4.2 million
- Monthly Organic Keywords: Approximately 2.9 million
- Keywords Ranking 1-3 on Google SERPs: Approximately 80,000
Explore Viator’s keyword performance analysis
1. CTR Boosting Keywords
CTR boosting keywords are those that have a lower click-through rate (CTR) than the CTR by search ranking. These are keywords you should focus on improving to drive more traffic.
For example, when searching for "tours in london" on Google, Viator content appears at the top. However, despite this #1 position, only 16.4% of people who search for it are clicking on it. This is a critical area that needs quick improvement.
*Note: This metric is based on Ahrefs data and may not match actual data. Please use it as a guide only.
In addition to "tours in London," here are some other keywords and content areas that need attention:
- New York city tours
- Madrid tours
- Cancun attractions
For these keywords, it is essential to understand the search intent. You need to grasp the context and intent behind searches for "tours in london" and tailor your titles and content accordingly. By focusing on these areas, Viator can significantly boost its click-through rates and drive more organic traffic.
Implementation Tips
- Understand Search Intent: Analyze what users are looking for when they search these terms. Are they seeking specific types of tours, deals, or user reviews?
- Optimize Titles and Descriptions: Write compelling and relevant titles and meta descriptions that align with user intent.
- Engaging Content: Ensure your content is engaging and informative. High-quality photos and videos can also enhance user engagement.
- User Experience: Improve the overall user experience on your landing pages to ensure they meet user expectations and needs
2. Good Keywords
Good keywords are those that have a higher click-through rate (CTR) than the typical CTR for their search rank. For example, if you search for "day trips from dublin" on Google, Viator content appears at the top, with a click-through rate of 62.7%. This is more than double the average CTR for the #1 search position (typically 30-40%). This indicates that most people searching for "day trips from dublin" are clicking on Viator content.
*Note: This metric is based on Ahrefs data and may not match actual data. Please use it as a guideline only.
In addition to "day trips from dublin," the following keywords also perform exceptionally well:
- Day tours from Paris
- Zumanity tickets
- Sydney day trips
These keywords achieve high click-through rates, and depending on their search volume, they can create new opportunities for organic growth by targeting either long-tail or general keywords. These keywords also perform well in sales, so promoting them through newsletters and social media can be highly effective.
- High Search Volume: Focus on long-tail keywords to drive more traffic. Long-tail keywords are more specific and often indicate a higher intent to purchase or book.
- Low Search Volume: Target general keywords with high search volume. These keywords can attract a broad audience and increase overall visibility.
Implementation Tips
- Content Creation: Develop detailed and engaging content around these high-performing keywords to enhance their value and attract more traffic.
- SEO Optimization: Ensure these keywords are well-integrated into your site’s metadata, headings, and content to maximize their effectiveness.
- Promotions: Highlight these keywords in newsletters, social media posts, and other marketing materials to leverage their high CTR and drive more engagement.
- User Experience: Continuously monitor and improve the landing pages for these keywords to ensure they provide the best user experience, further boosting CTR and conversion rates.
3. Chance Keywords
Chance keywords are those that currently rank low in search results but have the potential to see a 2,100%+ increase in traffic with some improvements. For example, if you search for "things to do in Chicago" on Google, Viator's content appears in the 7th or 8th position, making it less visible.* "things to do in Chicago" is a keyword with over 98,000 monthly searches. Ranking #1 on the SERPs for this keyword could drive up to 39,000+ visits, which is over 11 times more traffic than the current position generates.
*Note: This metric is based on Ahrefs data and may not match actual data. Please use it as a guideline only.
In addition to "things to do in Chicago," here are some other keywords that are highly relevant for our customers and have significant potential:
- Statue of Liberty tickets
- Things to do in Las Vegas
- Things to do in San Diego
Implementation Tips
These keywords can be optimized through content modification and link building to better match search intent. Here are some steps to consider:
- Content Modification: Update existing content to make it more comprehensive, engaging, and relevant to the target keywords. Use rich media such as images and videos to enhance user experience.
- Keyword Optimization: Ensure that the target keywords are strategically placed in titles, headers, and throughout the content.
- Link Building: Increase the number of high-quality backlinks to the pages targeting these keywords. This can be achieved through guest posts, partnerships, and outreach.
- User Intent: Understand the search intent behind these keywords and tailor the content to meet the needs and expectations of the users.
- Technical SEO: Ensure that the website is optimized for speed, mobile-friendliness, and other technical SEO factors that can impact rankings.
The importance of keyword performance analysis in search-driven industries
In the Viator case, we've seen how crucial SEO is in industries where search plays a key role in the customer journey. Industries like e-commerce, finance and insurance, healthcare, professional services, and IT services all rely heavily on search. For businesses in these domains, search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for success.
SEO Essentials: Keywords
One of the most critical elements in SEO is keywords. Keywords provide valuable insights into customer intent and help businesses strategically attract customers based on competition and search volume. Knowing how your existing content or pages, like those on Viator, perform by keyword is crucial. This analysis reveals which keywords are effective and where improvements are needed, enabling you to fine-tune your SEO strategy.
The Role of inpages
inpages is an all-in-one webpage performance analysis tool that offers features from automatic page indexing to keyword-specific performance analysis and SEO audits. It empowers businesses to systematically analyze and enhance their SEO performance.
Key Features
- Auto-Index pages: Automatically index and manage all pages on your website.
- Keyword performance analysis: Analyze search rankings, click-through rate (CTR), traffic, and more for each keyword, and suggest improvements.
- SEO audit: Conduct a comprehensive check of your website's SEO health and provide actionable solutions.
Upcoming Features
- Keyword research: Understand search volume, competition, and related long-tail keywords (lightweight Ahrefs or Semrush).
- Competitor analysis: Gain insights into your competitors' organic traffic and incoming keywords.
- Internal Link building: Recommend relevant internal links for each piece of content.
Sign up for inpages launch notification today to get early access to these powerful tools! Don’t miss this opportunity to optimize your SEO and attract customers effectively and cost-efficiently.
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