There’s no denying it’s been a turbulent year for SEO across many sectors, with experts speculating whether 2024 marks the ‘death of SEO’. But nowhere is this turbulence more apparent than in the travel industry.
The travel industry SERPs have changed dramatically over the last few years, and 2024 has only intensified this shift, with Google Travel’s dominance, new SERP features and AI overviews all changing the SEO landscape.
However, far from signalling the ‘death of SEO’ for travel sites, 2025 offers an opportunity for travel sites to redefine their SEO approach with a new and improved strategy.
Here’s how travel brands can prepare for SEO success in 2025…
Switch up your keyword strategy
Arguably, the biggest competitor that travel sites are fighting right now is Google itself.
Google Travel has become a dominating force across the SERPs, with new features such as its ‘Price Guarantee’ for flights beginning to challenge the industry’s biggest players. Travel SEO Industry Report 2024 by Screaming Frog has shown Google now has a higher share of traffic for ‘flight’ queries (5%), surpassing Ryanair (4%), Booking.com (3%) and British Airways (3%).
Part of this can be attributed to Google continuing to prioritise its own platforms, making high-volume keywords even harder to rank for.
Instead of fighting against Google Travel, travel sites should treat this as an opportunity to rank in new Google tabs, such as Google Flights, Google Hotels and Google Holiday Rentals.
Brands should also look to target lower-competition keywords. A focus on regional and zero-volume keywords can help set travel brands apart in a crowded marketplace.
Adapt for AI integration
Not only are AI travel tools gaining traction in the industry, such as Booking.com’s smart filters and Expedia’s ChatGPT-powered planner, but AI is also altering the way consumers access content on Google.
AI Overviews (AIOs) have become a key feature on search engines, one which has either sent traditional SEO marketers into a panic or caused them to adopt a head-in-sand approach.
As it stands, AIOs are showing for approximately 30 percent of travel-related queries and five percent of travel brands’ keywords on average, which is inevitably having an impact on site visibility. Brands will need to be agile in adapting content strategies with these overviews.
While it’s true that AIOs are typically prominent for informational queries, we’re starting to see them appear for those crucial commercial travel terms too. Looking ahead, integrating both page intent types will be essential for a successful AIO strategy.
Leverage local SEO and user-first content
With Google setting its sights on the global market, regional travel brands have benefitted from a boost in visibility.
The research conducted found that Google is prioritising authentic, localised content written by regional travel experts over sites with overly SEO-optimised content.
In addition to adopting a regional focus, brands should look to place useful, user-first content at the heart of their content strategies. Reviews still have the largest keyword visibility on average, so first-hand experiences and expertise will be key to appealing to Google’s EEAT signals.
One strategy to tackle both of these elements is to optimise your content for the traditional travel buyer’s journey. This begins at the inspirational stage, e.g. ‘best holidays for families’, before optimising content with a regional angle for the research and discovery stage, e.g. ‘tourist attractions near me’. Next comes the commercial content that showcases product pages and offers as consumers move into the booking and preference section of the sales funnel.
Strengthen link-building
There’s no denying the value of backlinks; as one of the most important factors for increasing rankings, having a strong offsite strategy is key to helping travel sites get ahead of their competitors.
Credible, unique data and taking a regional focus can work well, particularly in relation to hero content.
Travel brands should take advantage of relevant trending topics and newsjacking opportunities to secure valuable backlinks while showcasing their expertise which, again, is crucial for triggering Google’s EEAT signals.
