One of the most powerful marketing tools of any travel agent or tourism agency is a travel blog. It provides a resource where clients can learn more about the destinations you recommend or modes of travel in which you specialize, cementing your authority as a travel expert. It also gives readers the confidence they need to finally choose a place to go and book their vacations.
Numerous travel agents maintain popular travel blogs that, in addition to sharing their knowledge and experience, help them drive traffic to their business websites. (One of our favorites is The Travel Agent, Inc.’s blog.)
Below are five key benefits of a travel blog as you look to attract more leads to your tourism agency:
1. Constant destination coverage
The top travel destinations are always changing. To market your travel agency effectively, you must demonstrate that you are up to speed on this season’s hot destinations. A well-updated blog with relevant information on trendy travel tips and locations is a great way to provide interesting and engaging content to your target audience. Constant destination coverage means you’re always offering content your clients want to consume.
2. Ongoing SEO opportunities
Regularly updated travel blog content is great for your organic search engine optimization efforts. Google will recognize and catalog regular content continually hitting your website. And, when people search destinations during vacation season, they’ll find your blog posts in their search engine results pages. More content makes for more clicks, which makes for more visitors and more authority in the eyes of the almighty Google.
3. Build your knowledge base
Clients look to travel blogs to give them insight into potential destinations. The more locations you cover and the more you publish content on destination specifics, the bigger your knowledge base will become. Whether readers are looking for information about New Zealand as a travel destination or wish to learn more about the cuisine of Thailand, your dedication to travel blogging will provide them with the answers they need before booking a getaway.
4. Offer a range of ideas
The world is a big place, which means people are always looking for the next place to spend a vacation. A travel blog puts destinations into perspective for readers, helping them figure out where they want to travel. For example, they may never have considered a vacation to Gibraltar or French Polynesia until reading an insightful blog series about these destinations and all they have to offer.
5. Boost sales opportunities
All the above benefits culminate in a sales funnel that results in more bookings. Impressed with your knowledge of destinations and consistent dedication to sharing that knowledge, readers of your travel blog will be likely to trust you when it comes time to plan and book their vacations. And, because they are already reading content on your site, there’s no extra effort needed to submit a simple contact form and start a conversation with you.
The importance of regular travel blogging cannot be understated for travel agents and tourism agencies. Blogging is both a cornerstone of any good content marketing strategy and the simplest and most engaging way to get your audience to pay attention to what you have to say. With a virtually infinite number of destinations in the world to visit, visitors to your website are almost certainly looking for insights you can communicate through regular blogging.