Doing business in one of the fastest growing sectors globally has its pros and cons: plenty of opportunities on one hand and tough competition on the other. Travel industry has been one of those sectors for some time already and if you run a travel company or work with one, you know what it takes to stay on top of it all.
At the time when more than a half of all passengers book online and when this number is only growing, your website gets to be one of your most valuable assets. So what it takes to have a great website for a travel agency?
At first glance – breathtaking photos and flattering design
You only have a few seconds to capture someone’s attention. And the best way to do that for a travel company is to show them pictures. Big, beautiful pictures of the places you could take them to. If you don’t have your own photos to show, you can use stock images to let your customers get a glimpse of their next journey. If they like what they see, they might stay around a bit longer and explore your website a bit more.
The overall design can also help you win over your customers at the very beginning. It should be both appealing and tailored to your offer. If you operate in the luxury segment, your website should reflect that. It takes a very brief moment for a visitor to get an idea about a website and the company behind it, so website design plays a major role in it.
Easy to use – convenient navigation and reliable reservation system
No one comes to your website to play detective games. If it takes too much effort or too much time to find information or book a trip, the customer will probably give up and leave. And in today’s world, where the competition is just a tab away, you certainly don’t want that to happen. So keep your website easy to use and your customers happy.
Navigation is the first thing to think about. Not everyone is looking for the same piece of information and they don’t even use the same criteria. Some people come searching for a specific type of trip, such as summer or winter holidays, while others get focused on a particular destination. Consider offering several ways to navigate your website and letting your visitors choose the one that suits them best – whether it is by destination, type of trip, cost, etc.
Make sure users can quickly access all the relevant information and book a trip with no problem. A reliable and easy-to-use reservation system, with various travel products combined, is essential for a smooth and convenient booking process. You should also decide on what payment methods to offer and what additional options to make available, such as allowing your partners to book easier or providing them with dedicated communication channels. To get the best results, SEO consultants should be brought in when planning the website structure, starting from navigation to website sections, including the top offer on the home page.
Once completed, your website will require regular updates and maintenance. You will also greatly benefit from tracking your visitors’ behavior and optimizing your web pages accordingly.
Coming next – search evolution and latest digital trends
As building websites is an ever-evolving process, let’s take a closer look at what to expect next.
Being more intuitive and convenient, Voice Search is expected to grow tremendously. The sooner you get your website optimized for it by adding conversational phrases, the better for your business. Google’s mobile-first index is another big change. Since nowadays more searches happen on our smartphones than on our desktops, Google has decided to start using the mobile version as its main search engine index. If by some chance you still don’t have a responsive website, that needs to change as soon as possible.
With the competition getting fiercer day by day and organic reach declining on social media, your way out is meaningful and engaging content, the one people will love and share. Starting a blog on your website is a great way to provide more value to your customers and also score some SEO points. And with travel being such an inspiring topic, options are endless.
One more thing to look forward to is video. It has been massively growing in popularity for some time already and the trend is not going away. Fortunately, travel is a great field to be creative, even if you don’t go far away from home. You could still go out and explore, try to find a different angle and show people what they can see and do in that particular area. Useful content is always appreciated and rewarded and serves as a field to demonstrate your business approach.
It may seem after all that it takes too much effort to get a great website, but consider its impact on your business and its worth. Getting a top notch asset never comes easy – but always pays off.
In need of a travel agency website, portal or blog?
