Compelling content is one of the most important things you can add to your website. Don’t just think of this as your blog and social media, but also what you place on your product and landing pages. Every word, picture and video you use should have the aim of inspiring your customers and persuading them to make a purchase.
Tour operators often have a number of issues with creating content. The main one is not publishing and the excuse given is always a lack of time. If this is the case, either make the time, find someone on your staff who enjoys it, or hire someone, and then do a content review. Go through everything on your site and ask if it is doing the best job it can.
A content strategy needs to be put in place. What do you tell potential customers on your sales pages, what are you going to write about, how often are you going to publish, and what are your goals for this content? All of this should come together as a whole to boost traffic to your site, inspire your readers, and increase your direct sales.
What to examine when creating compelling content
The first and most important stage of creating compelling content is writing headlines that people will click on. Then you have to choose a picture and write a meta description that reinforces this. For social, there will often be a third piece of copy. An SEO tool called Yoast can help with this. These will be the first thing any potential customer will see on Google or on social media, your first chance to make a sale, and therefore the most important part.
It is better to be short and concise on your sales pages. Tell people exactly what they will see and what they can expect. Seriously. So many operators will have a single line saying: “See all the sights of Paris on the best bus tour in town.” Instead, say what the itinerary is. Your guests will have things that they want to see and they will choose the company they know will take them there. Use an inspirational paragraph or two to seal the deal. Feel free to take a look at how online travel agencies (OTAs) display your products and what aspects they emphasise.
Pictures used on your sales pages should show people having fun and looking interested in your destination, and if possible, on your trips. Ideally, they should be taken from eye level or below. You want your guests to be able to imagine that they are there and in the group, even if it’s unconscious. This should also be the case for your homepage. Across the rest of the site, such as on your blogs, you can use more general shots of points of interest. But remember copyrighted images need to be taken into account, here’s how a tour operator can avoid getting into trouble for using copyrighted pictures you don’t have permission to use
Write inspirational supporting website content
Your supporting content, such as blogs, should be much more inspirational. Many of you are excellent storytellers who know every secret about your location or have staff who do. Don’t be afraid to use this knowledge. Show potential customers that you are an expert.
It should be very easy — with just one click — for a guest to reach your sales pages from a blog. The goal of a blog is to get customers on your site and inspire a sale. Make that as easy as you can.
There are a number of basic rules to follow with blog content for search engine optimisation (SEO). Make sure it’s longer than 500 words, use your keywords in your headlines and subheadings, and always have pictures. Yoast, mentioned above, will give you a checklist of things to ensure your SEO is as good as possible. If you can, placing a video on a blog will also boost its SEO.
Don’t follow this checklist slavishly but do try to make sure the traffic light it shows you turns green. It is more important that the writing is good and readable. For example, keyword stuffing — where you try to mention the keyword as many times in your writing — feels unnatural and can harm your SEO ranking.
If you want to increase your direct bookings as a tour operator, you need to get on top of your marketing as soon as possible. Read our article on how to stand out in a crowded market.