If your website does not drive traffic, there will not be many bookings in Booking Engine. We prepared this checklist to help you audit your website on your own. It will let you assess if your website is user-friendly and what can be improved to increase the number of bookings.
Website performance
1. The website quickly loads both on mobile devices and desktops.
According to our research, if the website loads for longer than 5 seconds, users do not wait any longer and leave it. Slow loading also affects the website’s ranking in search engines. Google ranks fast-loading websites higher.
How to check:
2. The website adapts to the screen of any device.
If the website does not adapt to mobile devices, it will not be convenient for users to search for data they need, look at the photos, and enter data in fields. In this case, users are likely to leave the website because the booking process takes too much time and effort.
How to check: the Google Search Console service meant for checking the website optimization for mobile devices.
3. From mobile devices, the website chatbot only opens at the user’s request.
If the chatbot opens itself, it covers most of the screen as well as most valuable information.
How to check: the Google Search Console service meant for checking the website optimization for mobile devices.
4. The website has the SSL Certificate and the HTTPS internet protocol security.
Search engines rank websites with SSL Certificates higher. Websites without the Certificate are considered to be unreliable.
How to check: on the left of the website address, there should be a sealed lock icon. This means that the website has an SSL Certificate and it follows the HTTPS internet protocol security.
5. The Title tag should include the hotel’s name, its location and mention that the website is official.
This is what users will see in the search engines. For example, Hotel Sunset in LA — official website.
How to check: mouse over the website tab in the browser and check the Titled displayed.
6. The title on the home page marked with the H1 title contains the name of the hotel and its location.
Search engines use the H1 tag to make a website description. If the information in the H1 tag does not correspond to the page content, the ranking will be lower.
How to check: right-click anywhere on the website, then, select the “View page source”.
On the page open, press ctrl+F. In the search box, enter H1. There should be a line that looks like this: <h1>...</h1>. The H1 title should be the only one.
7. There are “Robots.txt” and “Sitemap.xml” files.
These are the most important files for SEO promotion. They help search engines to understand which website pages to display in search results.
How to check: PR-CY service
Website content
1. The hotel address and phone number are in the website header
The most important contact details of the hotel should be well-visible and placed at the top of the page. The phone number should be clickable, which means by clicking on it from a mobile device, it should dial the number.
2. In the header and the footer, it is mentioned that the website is official.
The official website badge or line will distinguish the website from clone websites.
3. The main marketing menu sections are easy to find on the home page.
On the home page, the following menu sections are placed in the well-visible space: “Booking”, “Special offer”, “Services”, and “Contact details”.
Before making a booking decision, users look through these sections. That is why they should be in places where they are easy to find.
4. In the “Contact details” section, there is a detailed information
Place several clickable phone numbers, emails, hotel addresses, and directions on how to get to the hotel.
5. The “Booking”, “Special offer”, “Services”, and “Contact details” menu sections lead to the corresponding pages.
— The pages are displayed as grids with titles, photos, brief descriptions, price, and the “Book” button. The button should lead to the booking of a specific room or extra service.
The “Book” button on the marketing pages of the website will increase the conversion rate of the Booking Engine.
— By clicking on a title or photo of the room/service, users are redirected to the pages with detailed descriptions.
6. The room type pages contain the following:
— room type name, photo, description, room and bathroom amenities
— service descriptions if they are included (for example, accommodation with kids or free parking)
— price and the “Book” button
— at the bottom of the page, other room types, room service photos, prices, and brief descriptions
7. The website has better deals than other platforms.
If it is cheaper to book indirectly than on the hotel website, you will not get many direct bookings. Make sure website prices are the same as prices on OTAs. Regularly check your hotel offers on online distribution channels from your traveler’s accounts to see all the available discounts and special offers.
If you want us to audit your hotel website, contact your personal support manager.
If you have not ticked most of the checklist points, then, you most probably need a new website. TravelLine develops websites for any property type and takes care of each step from domain registration to website launching.