SEO travel trends hinge on authenticity, emerging search intelligence and multi-channel strategy for 2024. Staying ahead of the curve is crucial for brands aiming to shine amidst the sea of digital and AI-aided content. For travel brands and airlines, SEO strategies should focus on content that taps into new technologies to gain visibility in a quickly recovering market over the next 12 months. Understanding the key trends for 2024 will help you rank higher and increase organic traffic, with higher intent, to your website.
Outshining AI: The Power of Personal NarrativesIn 2022, Google added an additional “E” to its current ranking factors, known at the time as E-A-T, (Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness). The additional “E” stood for “Experience”, which changed the content creation game. Experience alludes to first-hand narratives and writing stories which humanise content but also resonate with both human and search engine crawlers. This is an essential SEO travel strategy.
What does this mean for travel brands? Travellers and search engines are looking for experiences alike, meaning incorporating even more of those personal experiences, stories and adventures into your content strategy will be a key ranking factor in 2024. Consider tales off-the-beaten-track, voyages gone slightly awry and local specialities to really draw interest and rank highly in the search engine.
Google’s SGE (Search-Guided Exploration) is pushing the boundaries of AI-powered search results. Whilst still in Beta, this new feature is expected to take flight globally in 2024, and travel and airline brands need to understand how to use it to improve their SEO travel content.
Until we know more about this tool, it’s hard to say exactly how brands should prepare. However what we do know is that the tool will be able to directly answer user queries in the search engine, with snippets of further analysis and sources appearing for extra reading. That being said, we would suggest content that addresses user queries focusing on longer-tail keywords and queries which would help yield higher rankings. Read more about Google SGE and some examples of how it may work.
A zero-click result, also known as a featured snippet or direct answer, occurs when a user’s query is answered directly on the search engine results page (SERP), eliminating the need for the user to click on any specific search result link. As search engines get smarter, these results will become more common in 2024. These snippets often provide concise and relevant information, appearing in a prominent position at the top of the search results.
Travel and airline brands can make the most of these results and rank highly with a few simple content hacks. Answering FAQs, visual content optimisation, local SEO and using long-tail keywords are just a few ways brands can appear in zero-click results with a focus on brand building and encouraging further reading.
In 2024, the reach of SEO travel content will continue to extend beyond Google, particularly with Millenial and Gen-Z travellers, with platforms like YouTube and Pinterest already serving as search engines. According to research, 74% of Gen Z use TikTok search, ranking it as their preferred search tool.
Since social media will play a more significant role in searches, travel and airline brands must identify the right mix of search marketing platforms aligned with their business goals and plan their social media strategy in the more structured way they would have done for traditional SEO marketing in the past.
With 80% of UK travellers expressing a desire to embark on the same or more trips abroad in 2024 compared to the previous year” (Skyscanner) there is no shortage of customers looking to spend their hard-earned money on the travel and airline industry. Naturally, content marketing is fiercely competitive. Ranking high-volume keywords, especially as a smaller brand, can often lead to low results in travel SEO.
Leverage the expanding intelligence of search in the new year and go for niche and longtail keywords with high intent to climb the search ranks more effectively in your SEO travel strategies. You’ll need a thorough understanding of your target audience, meticulous keyword research, and an optimised content plan for success.
Voice Search Compatibility: The Future of SEOWith voice search gaining prominence, optimising content for voice queries is becoming the norm, and brands that forget to plan for voice searches will miss out on vital traffic, particularly as travellers increasingly use phones for their entire trip.
Current statistics show that 41% of adults use voice search at least once per day. Brands should focus on aligning their SEO travel content with voice queries to increase search rankings and enhance organic traffic, catering to devices like Alexa, Siri, and OkGoogle, particularly for on-the-go travel advice.
For travellers, a mobile-first approach to digital is paramount. Whether it’s scrolling through a potential holiday, or accessing support when you’re already there, mobile-first websites are essential for travel customers. This is important for airline digital transformation, since many airlines don’t currently optimise for mobile despite customer demand. Brands must, at the very least, ensure their websites have fast loading times, intuitive navigation, and a seamless user experience across various screen sizes. Success in 2024 hinges on embracing mobile optimisation for both user experience and search result rankings.
SEO travel strategies in 2024 demand a multifaceted approach. From personal narratives and topical authority to mobile optimisation and voice search compatibility, brands must navigate these trends strategically to secure visibility and success in the digital realm.
Ready to improve your SEO strategy? Our Experience team at Sagittarius can audit your current search presence and work with your team to devise and implement a robust plan for your travel brands. We combine best practice with over 20 years of experience to help you reach high-intent customers at the right time. Contact us now to find out how we can help.
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