Search problems for travel websites

30/09/2008

Independent travel agents could be missing out on business because they are failing to employ effective search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques, the findings of a new study suggest.

Click with Technology assessed the quality of 115 agents' websites as part of its research and rated only 12 per cent as good.

Among the faults uncovered by the internet consultancy were a shortage of links pointing to the domain and insufficient keyword-rich content.

This led to many of the sites failing to feature prominently in search results, with some failing to make it on to major search engines at all.

Dan Caplin, Click with Technology's head of marketing and search, warned: "Most users only look on the first page of a Google or Yahoo search. Some don't even look beyond the first one to five, so it's so important for websites to have good search engine performance."

The study also identified problems with website design, with some agents failing to display contact details clearly and others not featuring offers and prices prominently enough.

A study by Whatsonwhen.com and Travolution published earlier this month revealed that more than half of travel companies intend to increase their search marketing budgets during the next 12 months.