Marketing & SEO
Most holiday rental operators know that reducing dependence on OTAs saves money, but fewer have a clear strategy for making it happen. Search engine optimisation is the most sustainable route to direct bookings: unlike paid ads, organic rankings keep generating traffic without a per-click cost. The following framework covers the areas that matter most for accommodation businesses specifically.
Google Business Profile: Your Local Foundation
A verified and fully completed Google Business Profile is the single most impactful free action an accommodation operator can take. It determines whether your property appears in Google Maps results and the local pack that sits above organic listings. Make sure every section is complete: category (select Vacation Home Rental or Hotel as appropriate), address, phone, website, check-in and check-out hours, and amenities. Upload high-quality photos regularly — Google rewards active profiles. Solicit reviews through the profile link and respond to every one of them. Properties with more than fifty reviews and consistent responses rank measurably higher in the local pack than comparable listings with minimal engagement.
Structured Data and Schema Markup
Schema markup is code that you add to your website to help Google understand what your pages are about. For accommodation providers, the most relevant schemas are LodgingBusiness (or VacationRental), which tells Google about your property type, location, price range, and amenities, and the Review schema, which enables star ratings to appear in search results. Rich results driven by schema markup consistently achieve higher click-through rates than plain text listings. If your website is built on a CMS such as WordPress, plugins can generate the necessary JSON-LD automatically. If you have a custom site, a developer can implement it in a few hours. Either way, validate your markup using Google’s Rich Results Test before going live.
Page Speed and Core Web Vitals
Google uses page experience signals as a ranking factor. The Core Web Vitals — Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint, and Cumulative Layout Shift — measure how fast and stable your pages feel to a real visitor. Accommodation websites are particularly vulnerable to poor scores because they typically carry many large images. Compressing images to WebP format, implementing lazy loading, using a content delivery network, and minimising render-blocking scripts are the most effective interventions. Aim for a Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5 seconds on mobile. Tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights and Search Console’s Core Web Vitals report give you a prioritised list of specific fixes.
Long-Tail Keywords and Content Strategy
Generic terms like holiday villa Greece or apartment Athens are dominated by OTAs with enormous domain authority. A more realistic and often more effective strategy targets long-tail queries: dog-friendly villa with pool near Nafplio, or two-bedroom apartment walking distance Acropolis. These phrases have lower search volume but also far lower competition and much clearer buyer intent. A blog or guide section — covering local attractions, seasonal events, travel tips for the area — builds topical authority that gradually lifts the rankings of your booking pages too. Each piece of content should target a specific query, include the phrase naturally in the title, first paragraph, and one subheading, and provide genuinely useful information rather than keyword stuffing.
Backlinks and Digital PR
Links from other websites to yours remain one of Google’s strongest ranking signals. For accommodation operators, natural backlink opportunities include being listed in local tourism directories, being mentioned in travel blogs and regional media, and partnering with local businesses that link back to recommended accommodation. A short press release when you open, renovate, or win an award can earn coverage from local news sites whose domain authority benefits your own rankings. Quality matters far more than quantity: one link from a respected regional tourism board is worth more than fifty from low-authority directories.
Patience and Measurement
SEO rarely produces results within days — most improvements take three to six months to fully materialise in rankings. Set up Google Search Console from day one to track impressions, clicks, and average position for your target queries. Review the data monthly, identify which pages are gaining traction, and double down on the content types and topics that are working. A systematic approach, maintained consistently over a full year, can meaningfully reduce OTA commission costs and build a direct-booking channel that strengthens with every season.