The world of luxury travel is competitive, and a well-crafted SEO strategy can often be the difference between standing out and standing still. Those looking to travel with the exclusivity of luxury expect seamless experiences and exceptional service from the off – starting with their first search.

How luxury travel has changed over the years

Over the years, luxury travel has evolved. In the latter half of the 20th century, as methods of travel such as commercial flights became more accessible to the masses, airlines created a more luxurious experience by creating first class flying.

First class offered affluent travellers more comfort, attention, and exclusivity. These are all things that luxury travellers still look for today.

The demographics of the types of travellers indulging in luxury travel are also set to change drastically in the near future.

Marriott’s President of Luxury, Tina Edmundson, has said that Millennials and Gen Z are set to inherit $80 trillion globally over the next two decades, making them the new target luxury market. Edmundson also mentioned that these two generations value experiences over material luxury, something the travel industry should see as an opportunity.

What is luxury travel SEO and why is it important?

Like many industries, SEO can be a valuable addition to an overall marketing strategy.

SEO for luxury travel brands can contribute to brand awareness and a positive user experience. It can also help create trust in a brand, leading to higher conversions.

For example, luxury users tend to have different expectations of brands than the average person. Having a core understanding of these differences is vital as this can help luxury travel brands further connect with their target audience, instilling trust in the brand, which can lead to further conversions.

What are the pain points for many luxury travel brands?

As the travel industry is highly competitive, it can be challenging to stand out. A good luxury travel SEO strategy can help assist with this through various means. Depending on a company’s needs and goals, areas of focus can include technical, strategic, content, and digital PR components.

For example, producing high-quality, authoritative content that resonates with luxury users can help with search rankings, but ignoring technical SEO could have a detrimental effect. A good strategy should be multifaceted.

Core Components of Luxury Travel SEO

High-Quality Content Creation

Content for luxury travel companies needs to not only inform the user, it needs to inspire and captivate them. High-calibre content should show sophistication, exclusivity, and expertise in order to fully engage the user’s wants and needs.

Keeping the content consistent with the user’s expectations is key. A luxury travel user would be unlikely to search for terms like “cheap boat rental Croatia” but would be far more likely to search for something along the lines of “yacht charter French Riviera”. By utilising the terminology luxury consumers use, you can better target the content you create.

Informational Content

Informational content, specifically on a blog, is there to support affluent users before they make a decision to convert. Blog content tends to capture users at the top or middle of the funnel, so it is vital that informational content moves users further down the funnel towards conversion.

It should also focus of the areas above to support the trustworthiness of the business. Well-supported informational content not only helps instil trust in the user, but it also supports E-E-A-T.

Commercial Content

Commercial content for luxury travel brands should utilise their offering to showcase the sophistication and exclusivity of their product. Displaying clear signs of the brand’s expertise in the field also helps to cement the user’s trust. Luxury consumers especially expect perfection, so it is important that this content is flawless.

Digital PR

In addition to blog and commercial content, digital PR can also support the creation of high-quality content. Whether through infographics, expert commentary, newsjacking, or other methods, these can all contribute to the brand’s image and level of trust with luxury consumers.

Technical SEO Considerations

The technical side of your site can be just as important, if not more, than the content side. Users want a site to work quickly and without issue. Luxury users, however, expect this alongside a good user experience, which contributes to their overall perception of the brand.

Excellent User Experience

While not directly related to SEO, user experience contributes to the overall opinion luxury users have of the brand. Technical SEO strategies can support excellent UX through a variety of means, including analysis of the site’s architecture, creation or consolidation of pages where needed, or checking for any responsive design issues to name a few.

Mobile Optimisation and Responsiveness

Like many users, mobile devices are the primary way affluent consumers plan upcoming trips. This makes it vital for luxury travel brands to consider how their site performs from a mobile perspective. While sites are primarily built and maintained from a desktop, considering the mobile user first can go a long way towards satisfying the perfection that luxury users expect.

To accommodate a variety of screen sizes, brands should utilise a responsive design, though it is important to regularly monitor this for any opportunities for improvement, such as images or text that become too small on desktop but look normal on mobile devices, or how the navigation menu works on mobile devices versus desktops.

Site Speed and Performance

Considering site speed in an SEO strategy is vital in a competitive landscape like luxury travel. It not only contributes to good user experience, but it also can play a role in search rankings.

From a UX perspective, fast site speed allows users to navigate the site quickly without long page load times. As luxury users value their time highly, a fast load time, in turn, allows them to spend more time considering your site’s content.

From a search rankings point of view, site speed contributes to overall Core Web Vitals (CWV) scores. Google utilises these as a “tiebreaker” in rankings, but given the very saturated nature of the travel industry, having good CWVs can have a drastic positive impact.

Summary

The luxury travel industry has changed drastically over the past several years and is expected to continue to change in the future.

As Millennials and Gen Z take over the luxury travel target market, brands need to consider their shifting expectations. Through a well-planned SEO strategy, luxury travel companies can better optimise their sites and brands to meet those expectations.