When it comes to search engine results, the minimum aim for any brand must be to rank in Google's top ten.
The Click-Through Rate (CTR) from your search engine listing not only determines the volume of traffic to your site (and hence your conversion rate), it will also affect your position in the organic (non-paid) listing.
What Does CTR Mean?
Click-Through Rate (CTR) is calculated as the number of people who click on an ad or organic listing divided by the impressions (the number of times it is displayed).
It is an important metric as a high CTR is associated with higher conversion rates and better organic ranking. If a low placed organic result gets a higher than expected CTR, its ranking is likely to improve and higher ranked results get more clicks.
Good CTR generates positive results and feedback which will deliver an improved return on investment (ROI).
CTR optimization is a key technique for
SEO.
If browsers don’t click on your listing, then they won’t see your content or offers and there will be no conversion. When they do click through, your engagement and conversion rate will be higher and your organic ranking improves.
For a paid ad, your quality score is boosted and your cost per click is lower.
How to Maximize Your Hotel Search Click-Through Rate in 5 Simple Steps?
While it is impossible to second-guess the behavior of any individual browser, it is possible to maximise your chances of getting user clicks and improving your average CTR.
In this post we will dive into CTR optimization for top hotels and how to improve organic CTR:
1. Capture browsers’ attention using unique and transitional content
Most brands are aware that they need to increase the amount of their content. However, for luxury brands the main challenge is updating their offering on a regular basis. For instance, auctions, events, reviews and ratings require attention on an hourly or even minute by minute basis.
Firstly, use a great title. An attention-grabbing headline will encourage users to click. In addition, leveraging information to create regularly updated content allows your hotel to match the fast pace of digital marketing.
It also gives your guests more certainty about your services. The most effective way is to use live prices within an ad - they have great click through rates compared to a more generic alternative.
2. Make sure your content is accessible
Over 60% of hotel rooms are booked on mobile devices and this key channel must be optimised for customer engagement and conversion.
Every single piece of content you produce, no matter its point, place or purpose, must be responsive and accessible to all users. Smartphones in particular are a key tool during guests' booking journeys.
If your content isn't designed for smartphone browsers, they will abandon their search and go elsewhere for better options.
3. Strategically optimise your meta descriptions
Think of your meta description as ad-copy. While a meta description is not a ranking factor in itself, a good one will highlight to browsers what to expect if they click on the result and lead to a higher CTR.
Optimizing your meta descriptions is a vital aspect of on-page SEO. It is amazing how many websites Aró audit which have missing or duplicated meta tags. Each page should have a unique meta description.
4. Promote rich snippets
A rich snippet presents your search result in a more eye-catching format due to the way your website data is structured.
Google’s ultimate aim when introducing rich snippets, was to give companies an opportunity to promote their best content.
Hotels are ideally placed to use them because they typically have services which are well suited to the format such as customer reviews and ratings.
The best way to highlight those reviews and ratings in search results is by activating a rich snippet plugin.
5. Optimize your URL for users
URLs should be short, clear, descriptive, relevant to the topic and user friendly. It makes sense to match them to the page title and they can also contain keywords.
The URL is displayed in the search result so the more readable it is, the more clicks it is likely to receive.