Attract More Bookings for Your Holiday Rental: SEO Website Tips

SEO Strategies to Attract More Direct Bookings for Your Holiday Let

Most holiday let websites struggle to compete with booking portals like Airbnb and Booking.com. But if you want to attract more direct bookings, you can’t afford to rely solely on third-party platforms.

Strong SEO helps your holiday rental appear in Google search results when potential guests are actively looking to book.

This article explains how to optimise your holiday let website for search engines. You’ll learn how to improve visibility, rank for key booking terms, and encourage potential guests to book directly with you.

Outline

1. Why SEO Matters for Your Holiday Let Website

2. What Do Guests Search for When Booking a Holiday Rental?

3. How to Optimise Your Holiday Let Homepage for Direct Booking

4. What Pages Should You Include on Your Site?

5. How to Write SEO-Friendly Content for Your Holiday Rental

6. Should You Target Local Attractions and Events?

7. Can Blogging Help Attract More Holiday Let Bookings?

8. How to Get Backlinks Without Relying on Agencies

9. What’s the Role of Technical SEO in Your Holiday Let Business?

10. How to Track SEO Performance and Booking Improvements

1. Why SEO Matters for Your Holiday Let Website

Direct booking is only possible if people can find your holiday let website in search results. Most guests search on Google first, even if they end up on a listing site.

Strong SEO puts your website in front of them earlier.

Relying on listing sites means you’re competing in someone else’s space. SEO lets you control your content, target your ideal guest, and keep more of the booking income.

If your goal is to attract more direct bookings and reduce commission costs, SEO is essential.

2. What Do Guests Search for When Booking a Holiday Rental?

Understanding what people type into Google is the first step in improving your visibility.

Search intent often includes:

• Location: “Cornwall holiday cottage with hot tub”

• Features: “dog friendly holiday home Lake District”

• Occasions: “family holiday rental for Easter break”

• Booking terms: “book direct holiday cottages Devon”

You need to include these phrases in your content. This helps search engines understand your site and match it to relevant booking queries.

Keyword research tools like Ubersuggest or Google’s Keyword Planner can help you find search terms with volume and intent.

3. How to Optimise Your Holiday Let Homepage for Direct Booking

Your homepage should clearly target the key term you want to rank for, such as “[location] holiday rental” or “book direct holiday home [region]”.

To optimise the page:

• Use the target keyword in your H1 title and meta title

• Add booking-focused content that describes your property and area

• Include internal links to other key pages like availability, reviews, and blog

• Use alt text and filenames for images like holiday-home-hot-tub.jpg

Avoid clutter or gimmicks. The goal is to make it easy for potential guests to understand what you offer and how to book.

4. What Pages Should You Include on Your Site?

A one-page website isn’t enough. To improve booking potential and attract organic traffic, you need a proper site structure.

Key pages to include:

• Availability and booking - use a booking engine or calendar with direct options

• Location and travel - include directions, maps, and transport tips

• Things to do - showcase local attractions and seasonal events

• Guest reviews - encourage guests to leave reviews and publish them

• Blog - add useful content to target longer-tail searches and show expertise

Every page should target a different keyword group and give information to potential guests looking to book.

5. How to Write SEO-Friendly Content for Your Holiday Rental

Writing content for SEO doesn’t mean stuffing keywords. It means writing content that reflects what your audience is searching for and what search engines expect from a quality page.

Best practice includes:

• Writing at least 500-800 words per page

• Using headings (H2s and H3s) to organise your content

• Including booking-related phrases like “holiday let”, “direct booking”, “holiday rental”, and “book your property”

• Describing your guest experience clearly - amenities, nearby towns, privacy, etc.

• Answering common questions about your holiday home in natural language

Each page should have one clear focus. Avoid duplicating content across multiple rental properties if you own more than one.

6. Should You Target Local Attractions and Events?

Yes. Local event traffic can bring in bookings you wouldn’t get otherwise. When someone searches “place to stay for Glastonbury” or “holiday let near Swanage Carnival”, your site should be there.

To do this:

• Create specific blog posts or landing pages for local events

• Mention walking trails, heritage sites, beaches, or food festivals near you

• Link back to these pages from your main content

This helps your site appear in event-based searches and increases relevance in Google’s local algorithm. It also supports your goal to attract more direct bookings.

7. Can Blogging Help Attract More Holiday Let Bookings?

Yes, if done properly. Blogging is a long-term SEO strategy to attract new bookings by answering real questions from future guests.

Topics that work:

• “Best family walks near [your location]”

• “How to book a holiday let without Airbnb”

• “Packing list for a week in [region]”

• “Local events in [month] near [holiday let]”

Each blog post should focus on one subject, include relevant booking terms, and link to your main holiday home pages. Over time, this builds your online presence and increases booking potential.

8. How to Get Backlinks Without Relying on Agencies

Backlinks (links from other websites to yours) are still one of the strongest ranking signals. But paying for them can be expensive and risky.

Safer ways to get them:

• Add your site to free holiday rental directories (not just listing sites)

• Write a guest article for a local tourism blog and link back

• Partner with local event organisers or attractions to exchange links

• Ask previous guests to mention your website if they blog or review online

Each link helps Google trust your site more and boosts rankings for relevant terms like “book direct holiday rental” or “holiday let with garden in [location]”.

9. What’s the Role of Technical SEO in Your Holiday Let Business?

Even with great content, your site won’t rank if it loads slowly or has broken links. Technical SEO covers the behind-the-scenes aspects that affect performance.

Checks to make:

• Site loads in under 2 seconds

• Mobile-friendly and responsive layout

• No duplicate pages or content

• Secure (HTTPS)

• Sitemap and robots.txt correctly configured

• Structured data (schema) for holiday rentals, reviews, and local business

Tools like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, FREE SEO JETScan or Google Search Console help you monitor and fix issues. If you use WordPress, a plugin like RankMath or SEOPress can help manage it.

10. How to Track SEO Performance and Booking Improvements

Tracking matters. You need to know what’s working and where you’re getting bookings from.

Key tools to set up:

• Google Analytics 4 - track traffic, user flow, and direct booking actions

• Google Search Console - monitor rankings, impressions, and click-throughs

• Booking system analytics - track where bookings originate from (e.g. organic search vs. social)

Compare data over time. Look for improvements in:

• Organic traffic to key landing pages

• Number of booking enquiries made directly on your site

• Keywords that bring people to your pages

This helps you understand how SEO supports your rental business and where to invest time next.

Summary: SEO Tactics to Drive Direct Holiday Let Bookings

• Optimise your homepage for terms like “[location] holiday rental” and “book direct”.

• Structure your site with key pages for availability, location, things to do, and reviews.

• Use SEO-friendly content that includes booking terms naturally.

• Create blog content around local events, attractions, and common guest questions.

• Build backlinks through tourism partnerships, guest blogs, and directories.

• Make sure your site is technically sound - fast, mobile-friendly, and structured.

• Track traffic and bookings to measure what’s working.

• Focus on direct booking by providing a better guest experience and clearer value than portals.

If you’re serious about attracting more direct bookings through search traffic, an SEO agency like SEOJet can help. We specialise in SEO for holiday let businesses that want to own their traffic, not rent it from platforms.