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The 10 best online travel agencies in 2024

The top 10 online travel agencies.

• Booking.com
• Lastminute.com

Best online travel agencies for business travel

1. travelperk.

Main offerings and features:

• Industry-leading travel inventory
• Flexible booking with FlexiPerk
• Safety alerts with TravelCare
• Integrated travel policy & approval flows
• Centralized invoicing
• Easy & real-time expense reports
• Carbon offsetting with GreenPerk
• 24/7 fast customer support in target 15s
• VAT reclaim
• Integration with 3rd party tools , such as expense management or HR software like Expensify and BambooHR

Save time and money on your business travel with TravelPerk

2. sap concur.

• Works with some of the biggest brands
• Easy tracking and reporting of expenses for expense reports
• Many connected apps, such as Uber and Airbnb for cars and hotels
• One solution for a variety of business travel spending

Click below to compare both platforms’ features and benefits

• Ample integrations
• Award-winning mobile app
• Employee-centric travel management

Click below for a more detailed comparison between both platforms:

Best online travel agencies for leisure travel, 1. booking.com.

• Intuitive booking tool and website
• Flight + Hotel booking for easily planning trips with no cross-referencing travel websites
• Simple car rental options and taxi hire
• Available in over 40 different languages and offers over half a million properties across 207 countries
• You can book experiences in your destination city to entertain you on your travels
• Genius rewards program

• Simple interface and booking tool
• Deals when making more than one booking
• 38 different languages and offers a 24-hour, multilingual customer support service
• Free cancellation within 24 hours of booking
• Millions of reviews to help make your decision

3. Lastminute.com

• Filter hotels according to budgets, star ratings, guest ratings, board types, and more
• ATOL protection on flight + hotel bundles
• Flash sales for last-minute deals
• Payment plans to spread out the cost of travel
• Extra entertainment booking for your trips, like theatrical productions and day trips
• Gift cards for gifting travel

• Expedia rewards for hotels, cars, and more
• Experienced support
• Compare cruise lines
• Big savings when booking flights, hotels, and car rentals
• Operates in nearly 70 countries and in over 35 different languages
• Luxury travel options

• Book hotels, flights, cars, and bundles
• 24/7 support
• Lower prices on the app
• Great last-minute deals for spontaneous travel

6. Bookmundi

Best online travel agencies for flights

1. skyscanner.

• Super flexible booking filters
• Cheaper flights and hotels than other OTAs
• Price alerts for travel routes of interest
• Easy-to-use booking tool and UI
• Hundreds of location and currency options
• One-way, return, and multi-city travel options

2. Kiwi.com

• Simple flight booking tool
• Partnerships with Booking.com and Rentalcars.com
• Discover deals anywhere with the option to open up your search
• Easy-to-use app

How do online travel agencies work?

What are the advantages of booking through an online travel agency.

• Access to comparison tools
• Peer reviews to help you with your decisions
• Flexible cancellation policies
• All your travel in one place
• Local flights and deals

Rewards programs

Comparison tools, peer reviews, flexible cancellation.

Flexiperk: Cancel anytime, anywhere. Get a minimum of 80% of your money back.

One account for all of your travel needs, a local approach to global travel, wrapping up.

Make business travel simpler. Forever.

• See our platform in action . Trusted by thousands of companies worldwide, TravelPerk makes business travel simpler to manage with more flexibility, full control of spending with easy reporting, and options to offset your carbon footprint.
• Find hundreds of resources on all things business travel, from tips on traveling more sustainably, to advice on setting up a business travel policy, and managing your expenses. Our latest e-books and blog posts have you covered.
• Never miss another update. Stay in touch with us on social for the latest product releases, upcoming events, and articles fresh off the press.

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Travel Agency Promotion: 7 Tips for Boosting Your SEO

It is no secret that it’s increasingly difficult for travel agents to compete in the digital marketplace. Online travel agencies (OTAs) provide ready access to customers who want to book a trip on a whim, travel bloggers and hobbyists flood social media platforms with their latest pet project, and travel suppliers pay big bucks to showcase their travel packages at the top of search results.

If you are a travel business owner who is wondering how in the world you will compete, find new customers, effectively promote your services, and drive traffic to your website, you are not alone. But don’t despair.

It is entirely possible to grow your agency, find ideal customers, and create a thriving travel business using digital marketing .

In this blog, we’re going to help you develop successful online marketing strategies and hone your digital marketing strategy using online reviews to boost your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. This is not only a highly efficient marketing technique ( and free! )… it has become outright necessary. 

The numbers speak for themselves.

Ninety percent  of consumers read online reviews before doing business with someone.

Ninety four percent say that reading positive recommendations about a company makes them more likely to buy a product or service from them.

Online reviews are a form of word of mouth marketing tactics that boost SEO.

Objective evaluations play a major role in any business’s online visibility and SEO . Put simply, if you’re not gathering positive online reviews and responding to any negative ones, you’re missing a great (and inexpensive) opportunity to leverage viral marketing, boost your rankings, and grow your travel business.

Even if you’re not an expert in marketing, it doesn’t take much to learn how to promote your travel business through online reviews and attract and audience of travelers. Not sure where to start?

Here are five ways you can harness the power digital marketing to quickly attract more business. 

1.   Create/update your Google Business profile

Since Google is the world’s most visited website and holds a 92% search engine market share, you should start there. The search engine provides a Google Business Profile as a free listing to help business owners attract new customers and visitors to their website. Completing this information will increase your visibility online and bring up your travel agency profile for anyone using Google Search , Google Maps, and Google Shopping.

Google even has its own suggestions for improving your travel agency’s local ranking , such as keeping its physical address, phone number, business category, and attributes updated. However, since many travel agents work from home, this gets a little sticky.

If you are a home-based travel agent, a lot of your interaction with customers happens online, via Zoom/phone calls, or in other locations. Google’s free business profiles are only available to businesses that have physical contact with customers , either at a brick-and-mortar location or in other spots. In other words, businesses operating entirely online aren’t supposed to have a profile.

There’s a simple fix to this. If you fit this category, don’t enter your home address under the “info” tab under the Business Profile Manager. Just leave this field blank and choose your type of business as “service area provider.” You can then select a larger service area and still show up in local search results.

2.   Get more customer feedback (even if it’s negative)

If you’re like most consumers , the first thing you do when researching a product, service, or business is to “Google it.” That’s why smart business owners across all industries pay attention to their Google Business profile and the reviews it receives.

So naturally, the next important step is to get more testimonials from your customers about their trips, tour, or hotel stay… consistently. Don’t be worried about the negative ones that come in as a result, since even negative reviews boost your search engine optimization and increase your presence and traffic to your website.

Also, negative reviews help by balancing the five-star ones that some consumers might think are fake, overly positive, or biased. Any travel agency owner that has been in business for a while knows that things will go wrong, so don’t be intimidated by the occasional negative feedback.

3.   Make getting more reviews a daily practice

Now that you know how important it is to get clients to sing your praises often and consistently, here are a few strategies that have worked well for others to get more reviews:

Email . Request reviews from clients by email or add it to your email signature. Keep in mind that it will increase your chances of getting those marketing-worthy quotes if you add a hyperlink for your customer’s convenience.           

Post-travel follow-up call . A client thanking you for your service during a post-travel follow-up call is the best time to ask them to let the world know how wonderful your travel agency is . Be sure to let them know exactly where to leave it if you’re focusing your marketing efforts on Google or Facebook (or both!).

Social media followers . You may already know how important it is to engage with your social media followers and prospects. And your social media followers are usually happy to leave a review for your travel business. A simple post mixed in with your regular posting schedule can be all that’s needed to encourage your customers to review your agency.

Invoices . Including a request for reviews on your invoice template or other travel agency template is a great way to bring in consistent reviews after you’ve worked with a client.

QR code. A printed QR code on every invoice or sales receipt is a subtle yet successful way to get more clients to leave a review (they might click through out of curiosity). It also makes it convenient for them to write a review at that moment before they forget later.  

Offer rewards. Offering rewards is one of those strategies that many travel agents have a strong feeling about, one way or another. If you are inclined to leveraging this word of mouth referrals tactic to boost your sales and revenues, you can offer existing clients a discount or free gift when they make a referral that generates a vacation booking.

Extend this offer to clients who leave a glowing review for you online as well.

Even if people don’t personally know online reviewers, they often trust reviews left about a product or service experience. When you reward referrals, you’ll gain travel agent leads, make your existing clients happy, and your travel agency business will continue to grow.         

4.   Get them in the right places

There are at least 32 popular product review websites , and that number steadily grows. Some of these sites won’t apply to you, as a travel professional, but it’s worth your time to look at how other organizations are utilizing these sites.

Share your testimonials. A good story always sells. When you provide exceptional service for a client, they may have something nice they want to tell others about you. Make sure you get that customer testimonial, post it on your website, and share it on social media and in your newsletters.

As with any long-term marketing strategy, nothing happens overnight. Build your agency’s reviews in each space while focusing first on Google and Facebook, which rank #1 and #3 respectively for the most visited websites in the U.S. The reason we’re skipping #2 is because it is Amazon.

5.   Keep your eyes on the Local Pack spot

If you Google “travel agent near me,” you’ll see three local travel agents listed in what’s known as a local pack or map pack spot.

Want to know how businesses make it to those high-value advertising spots? First, Google’s algorithm considers several factors when choosing which businesses to advertise there. Among those factors is the radius around the person making the search, and businesses within that radius that have a) many reviews and b) reviews that average 4.1 stars and higher .

6.   Keep reviews coming in consistently

Now that you’re getting reviews to come in on a regular, consistent basis, keep that momentum. When consumers look at business reviews, they prefer ones that have been written in the past few weeks .

They also say that reviews written more than three months ago might not be relevant, especially if it’s for a restaurant or similar business that frequently changes employees and/or owners. 

7.   Respond to negative reviews

Responding promptly to any negative feedback you receive is crucial because it shows you care about making your clients happy. It also shows you are willing to make things right if the customer has a legitimate concern or complaint, which goes a long way in helping potential clients trust you.

Keep in mind that your responses should always remain professional, which might be difficult if the reviewer is stating false or misleading information. You should address the complaint respectfully, choose your words carefully (even if you must sleep on it), and always offer to speak with the client in person to settle the problem.

Getting your travel business ranked online is a process and a marketing strategy that works.

Twitter co-founder and entrepreneur Biz Stone once said , “Timing, perseverance, and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success.”

At Travel Industry Solutions (TIS), we know first-hand how much work goes into building a travel business and growing it. We’d like to support you and help make your job easier.

Join now for more insights on how to grow a wildly successful travel agency full of freedom and profit.

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Best Online Travel Marketplaces To Promote Your Tours

• International Tour Operators
• Group & Multi-Day travel
• Sales & Bookings

When it comes to choosing the Best Online Travel Marketplaces to promote your Tours on, there are a few key features to consider that will optimize your marketing success.

As a tour operator, the benefits of promoting your product on an Online Travel Marketplace are immense.  Online Travel Agencies (OTA’s) harness the power of the internet to create a global platform that brings together an audience far larger than what any other marketing channel can attain.

As the saying goes, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.  Instead in the same way that you would use  multiple travel distribution channels as part of your marketing plan to promote your tours,  use as many Online Travel Marketplaces or Online Travel Agencies that fit your product as possible.

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The good news is the bulk of Online Travel Marketplaces are free to list upon and only take a commission once a successful booking is made. Overall though, what you save on marketing fees you will probably spend on paying booking commissions.

An Overview Of Some Of The Best Online Travel Marketplaces

Those that reach a major global audience.

The giants of the industry such as Expedia , TripAdvisor Experiences (who bought out Viator ) and Orbitz (which belongs to Expedia), have an enormous global reach with millions of committed, ready-to-purchase visitors on their sites on a daily basis. They have, after all, had years to build up an extensive network of trusted brands, partners, and affiliates.

Promoting your product on Online Travel Marketplaces such as these, who translate your content into numerous languages across their sites, ultimately makes your product accessible to a global audience.

Although the marketplace is not very niche with these particular Online Travel Agencies, travelers who are on the sites are actively immersed in the travel-cycle and committed to buying.  Generally speaking, they have already purchased either a flight, accommodation, or car rental, and this means that when they hit the Things To Do tab, it is often with the intent of making a purchase.

Consumers who visit these sites trust them and trust that the product they intend to purchase is exactly what is advertised.  Take TripAdvisor Experiences (Viator) for example – their affiliation to TripAdvisor , which is known as the ultimate trusted peer travel review site, has seen them mark their spot among the giants of the Online Travel Marketplaces.  People use this Travel Marketplace because they are able to share information about their experiences and review the products on offer.

Adding to the concept of trust, Viator is also one of three tour operators that the traveler's ultimate go-to for travel guides company, Lonely Planet , uses for its online bookable tours.

Membership Based Online Travel Marketplace

Online Travel Marketplaces such as iWTX , are online trading platforms accessible by membership only.  Only once have you have signed up do you get access to other participants on the site, and products are not directly accessible to consumers without a membership.

An annual subscription and processing fee per person per element booked will give you access to a large database of buyers who are committed to making a purchase, as well as to sellers who have developed a highly marketable travel product.

Benefits Of Reward Programs

Everyone likes to be rewarded for purchasing and it is no different for travelers buying travel products.  Rewards Programs use discounts or points accrual methods among others to incentivize a customer to return for their next purchase.  Online Travel Agencies realize the value of this invaluable income generating tool and subsequently make use of them.

Orbitz which is owned by Expedia has a rewards program where consumers can earn Orbucks and use them to pay for any other products booked on their site.  This ultimately translates to the consumer displaying loyalty to Orbitz and returning to purchase their products.

Another Online Travel Agency with a popular rewards program is TourRadar .  Their reward program is for the tour supplier and aims to raise the status of the tour offered on the online travel marketplace.  The traveler sees the reward as an indicator of the quality of the tour and by booking and subsequently reviewing it, cements its status.

Online Marketplaces With A More Focused Offering

Some Online Travel Agencies offer a more focused marketplace than others.  Agencies like TourRadar and StrideTravel restrict their offering to multi-day tours, making their product more niche than what Expedia or Viator has to offer for example.  Consumers who book on these sites are typically searching for ready to book, multi-day group itineraries in a particular destination.

From a reporting and feedback perspective, as you scale down in size from the giants to these up and coming Online Travel Agencies, the supplier tends to receive more focused and analytical feedback regarding the performance of their tours on the marketplace, as well as receive more information on how to optimize and improve their content.

Quick Exercise

Begin by defining your tours’ potential audience, decide how involved you want to be in the marketing process and from there decide which are the Best Online Travel Marketplaces to sign up with from there.

Our comparison table below gives an overview of the traffic each site sees, its accessibility to the supplier, and relative ease of use.

It’s In The Delivery

This breed of Online Travel Agency understands how important user experience is when utilizing the internet and is taking how you interact with their marketplaces up a step.

As more and more people access the internet via mobile, it has become increasingly important to have a good mobile site and even a mobile app.  As well as a booking app, Thrillophilia also has a supplier app where you can manage your product and optimize your content based on the insight to the market that they provide you with.

GetYourGuide also has a booking app that is optimized for people searching for and booking tours whilst on the go.  Their website is also very user-friendly and sees high traffic volumes.  Musement is not quite as big as the other two mentioned as it only opened its doors in 2014, but it has already acquired a global following, probably because of their unique offering of activities and user-friendly market platform.

All of these Online Travel Marketplaces focus on user experience and have a dedicated support team on offer to both the consumer and the supplier to promote a great online marketplace experience.

Niche product marketplace

In 2016 Veltra acquired City Discovery and became VeltraCityDiscovery .  Like the giants, they have a large global audience and an online travel marketplace available in different languages.  Their selling point, however, is that they offer more unique tours and experiences on their marketplace.

Another one to pay attention to, even though it is still in its' early days, is AirbnbExperiences .  What started out as a website that offers home-style accommodation has now evolved to include experiences too.

The requirements to gain access to the platform are quite stringent though.  In order to get listed a supplier has to be a knowledgeable expert and personally offer the unique experience or tour to guests. A co-host can assist but the tours are required to be specialized and a unique experience, as well as immersive and hands-on for the guest.

You do not have to be a House Host to be an Experience Host but any experiences advertised on AirbnbExperiences marketplace can only be undertaken by Airbnb guests.  External bookings cannot be added to the group.

A Worthy Mention

Google with all of its features, is the most powerful tool on the internet and if your business is not listed with GoogleMyBusiness , it should be.  It is a free and invaluable tool that will literally put you on the map and provide your business with the legitimacy of being visible to the millions of people who use it.

As you can see from the information above, there is no single best online travel marketplace to promote your tour on, there are actually a few.  They each have their own points of value and provide a great platform on which to market your tour.

Remember that the best way to promote your tours is to use various key distribution channels and not rely solely on a single one. If you are looking for tips on how to successfully market your travel and tour business check out our free resources for more information.

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A Step-by-Step Guide: How to Start an Online Travel Agency (OTA)

Building a new online travel agency (OTA) can be an exciting and rewarding business venture. While starting an OTA can be an attractive opportunity, it also involves significant challenges and competition.

To succeed in this industry, it’s essential to conduct thorough market research, develop a strong business plan, and focus on providing exceptional customer experiences and unique value propositions. In this article, you will find all the information you need to start an online travel agency.

Boost your travel business with the right technology

You will learn:, state of travel industry in 2024, key travel trends and technologies, customer experience with ai and ar, automation and efficiency in travel business, strategic technology investments, what is an online travel agency (ota), business benefits of starting an online travel agency, key steps to start your online travel agency, difference between an online travel agency, a channel manager and a property management system, what is a travel search engine, a travel booking engine and a metasearch engine, the role of a global distribution network (gds).

• Key statistics on online travel agencies
• Fees and commissions between an online travel agency, a channel manager and a hotel

Latest innovations in the online travel agency industry

How to personalize the booking experience for travelers when running an ota.

An online travel agency (OTA) is an online platform, developed by a travel software development company , that allows users to search , compare, and book travel services such as flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and vacation packages. OTAs act as intermediaries between travelers and travel suppliers, such as airlines, hotel chains, and car rental companies.

OTAs offer customers the convenience of planning and booking their trips online, often providing competitive pricing and a wide range of options to choose from. Some well-known examples of OTAs include Booking.com, Expedia, and Agoda.

These platforms typically make money by charging commissions on each booking made through their websites or apps. OTAs have become increasingly popular in the travel industry, as they simplify the booking process for consumers and help travel suppliers reach a broader audience.

The market of online travel agencies offers several advantages and opportunities:

Growing market

The travel industry has been expanding rapidly in recent years, driven by increasing disposable incomes, globalization, and technological advancements. A new OTA can tap into this growth and cater to the evolving needs of modern travelers.

Niche opportunities

While there are already several large OTAs in the market, there is still ample room for new players focusing on niche markets or offering unique products and services. By targeting specific customer segments or travel experiences, a new OTA can differentiate itself from the competition and build a loyal customer base.

Convenience for customers

OTAs provide a one-stop-shop for travelers, allowing them to search, compare, and book various travel services in a single platform. By starting an OTA, you can offer customers the convenience of planning and booking their trips online, potentially attracting a significant share of the market.

Global audience

Operating an OTA allows you to reach a worldwide audience, expanding your potential customer base and increasing your opportunities for growth.

Flexibility and scalability

An OTA is a largely digital business, making it easier to adapt and scale as the market evolves. You can quickly add new products, services, or partnerships, and expand into new markets or customer segments as needed.

Low overheads

Compared to traditional brick-and-mortar travel agencies, an OTA often has lower overheads, as it doesn’t require physical office space or a large staff. This can result in higher profit margins and increased financial flexibility.

Leverage technology

By starting an OTA, you can take advantage of the latest technology advancements in the travel industry, such as artificial intelligence , machine learning, and big data analytics, to enhance your product offerings, optimize your marketing efforts, and improve customer experience.

Collaboration opportunities

Starting an OTA offers the opportunity to forge strategic partnerships with various travel suppliers, such as airlines, hotels, and tour operators. These collaborations can lead to exclusive deals, improved inventory access, and competitive pricing.

[Build Your Own OTA With Us]

Starting an online travel agency (OTA) can be a rewarding business venture, but it requires careful planning, research, and execution.

Here’s a practical guide to help you establish your own OTA:

1. Market research

Conduct thorough market research to understand the current travel trends , competition, and customer preferences in the travel industry. Identify your target audience, their needs, and the niche you want travel company to focus on (e.g., luxury travel, budget travel, adventure travel, etc.).

2. Create a business plan

Develop a comprehensive business plan outlining your goals, target market, competitive analysis, marketing strategy, operational plan, and financial projections. This document will serve as a roadmap for your business and help you secure funding if needed.

3. Legal requirements

Register your travel business, obtain the necessary licenses and permits, and comply with any specific regulations in your region. This may include registering as a travel agent or agency, obtaining insurance, and adhering to consumer protection laws.

4. Establish relationships with suppliers

Build relationships with travel suppliers and businesses such as airlines, hotels, car rental companies, tour operators, and other service providers. You may need to negotiate contracts, commission rates, and access to inventory.

5. Choose a technology platform

Select a suitable technology platform to power your OTA. This may involve purchasing or developing various travel agency software such as a booking engine , custom search engine , hotel inventory management system, travel management solution , integrating with Global Distribution Systems (GDS) or other supplier APIs, and setting up a user-friendly website and mobile app.

6. Design and develop your website and mobile app

Create a visually appealing, easy-to-navigate website and mobile app that showcases your travel agency business plan, products and services. Ensure the platform is mobile-friendly, responsive, and optimized for search engines (SEO).

7. Payment processing

Set up a secure payment processing system to handle online transactions. This may involve partnering with a payment gateway or merchant account provider, and ensuring compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

8. Marketing and promotion

Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy to promote your OTA and attract customers. This may include search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, email marketing, content marketing, and public relations efforts.

9. Customer support

Provide excellent customer support to assist travelers with their booking needs, handle inquiries, and resolve any issues. This may involve setting up a dedicated support team, offering multi-channel support (e.g., email, phone, live chat), and providing self-help resources.

10. Monitor and analyze performance

Regularly track and analyze your OTA’s performance using analytics tools and key performance indicators (KPIs). Use this data to identify trends, optimize your marketing efforts, and improve your product offerings.

11. Continuous improvement

Continuously update your travel products, improve your travel website, and mobile app, and refine your marketing strategies based on customer feedback and industry trends.

By following these steps and remaining adaptable to the ever-changing online travel industry here, you can successfully establish and grow your online travel agency.

These travel industry related terms can be confusing. so when discussing how to set up your own OTA, it’s worth looking closely at these terms to understand the differences.

An online travel agency (OTA), channel manager, and property management system (PMS) are distinct components within the online travel business and hospitality industry, each serving a specific purpose:

Online Travel Agency (OTA)

An OTA is a web-based platform that allows customers to search, compare, and book various travel services such as flights, hotels, car rentals, and vacation packages. OTAs act as intermediaries between travelers and travel suppliers, providing a convenient way for consumers to plan and book their trips. Examples of popular OTAs include Expedia, Booking.com , and Agoda.

Channel Manager

A hotel channel manager is a software solution that enables hotels and accommodation providers to manage their room inventory, rates, and availability across multiple distribution channels (including OTAs, metasearch engines , and direct booking platforms) from a single, centralized interface. The primary function of a channel manager is to simplify and streamline the process of updating room information across various channels, reducing the risk of overbooking or double-booking, and ensuring accurate, real-time data synchronization.

Property Management System (PMS)

A PMS is a software application designed to help hoteliers manage the day-to-day operations of their properties. It typically includes functionalities such as reservation management, yield management , guest check-in and check-out, billing and invoicing, housekeeping management, and reporting. A PMS can also integrate with other systems, such as channel managers and point-of-sale (POS) systems, to enable seamless communication between various aspects of hotel operations.

To sum up, an OTA is a platform for travelers to search and book travel services, a channel manager is a tool for managing room inventory and rates across multiple distribution channels, and a PMS is a system for managing daily hotel operations.

These components often work together to provide a comprehensive solution for managing and optimizing a hotel’s online presence, distribution strategy, and operational efficiency.

[Read also: How to Start Real Estate Busines ]

Travel search engine, travel booking engine, and metasearch engine are distinct terms used in the travel industry, each referring to a different type of online platform or tool:

Travel Search Engine

A travel search engine is an online platform that allows users to search for travel-related information, such as flights, hotels, car rentals, and vacation packages. These search engines typically crawl and index travel websites, aggregating relevant data for users to browse and compare. However, they may not offer the ability to make bookings directly on their platform. Instead, they often direct users to the respective travel suppliers’ websites or other booking platforms to complete the reservation process. Examples of travel search engines include Kayak and Skyscanner.

Travel Booking Engine

A travel booking engine is an online platform or software application that enables users to search, compare, and book travel services directly on the platform. It is typically integrated with various travel suppliers’ inventory systems or Global Distribution Systems (GDS) to provide real-time availability and pricing information. Travel booking engines can be found on travel suppliers’ websites (e.g., airline or hotel websites) or on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia and Booking.com .

Metasearch Engine

A metasearch engine is a specialized type of search engine that aggregates information from multiple travel booking platforms or OTAs, enabling users to compare prices and availability for flights, hotels, and other travel services in one place. Unlike a regular travel search engine, a metasearch engine focuses on collating information specifically from booking platforms and often allows users to book directly through their site or redirects them to the appropriate booking platform to complete their reservation. Examples of travel metasearch engines include Google Flights, Trivago, and TripAdvisor.

Again, let’s recap mentioned terms. A travel search engine helps users find travel-related information by crawling various sources, a travel booking engine facilitates the booking process on a platform, and a metasearch engine aggregates data from multiple booking platforms to enable users to compare prices and availability more easily.

A Global Distribution System (GDS) plays a crucial role in the travel industry as a centralized network that connects travel service providers, such as airlines, hotels, and car rental companies, with travel agencies and consumers. It facilitates real-time inventory management, pricing, and booking of travel services, making the process more efficient and streamlined for all parties involved.

The key roles of a Global Distribution System include:

Inventory management

GDSs store and manage inventory data from various travel service providers, including seat availability on flights, room availability in hotels, and available rental cars. This centralized inventory management enables service providers to update their availability and pricing information in real time, ensuring accurate data for their travel agents, agencies and customers.

Distribution

GDSs act as intermediaries between travel service providers and travel agencies (both online and offline), allowing the agencies to access and book inventory from multiple providers through a single, consolidated platform. This broadens the reach of service providers and simplifies the booking process for travel agencies.

Booking and reservation

GDSs enable travel agencies and consumers to search, compare, and book travel services seamlessly. They provide real-time information on pricing, availability, and booking conditions, allowing users to make informed decisions and complete reservations efficiently.

Marketing and sales

GDSs offer marketing and sales opportunities for travel service providers, as they can promote their services to a vast network of travel agencies and consumers. They can also implement targeted marketing campaigns and offer special deals or promotions to increase their visibility and sales.

Reporting and data analysis

GDSs provide valuable data and insights on booking trends, customer preferences, and market dynamics. This information helps travel service providers and agencies make data-driven decisions to optimize their offerings, pricing strategies, and marketing efforts.

Some of the major Global Distribution Systems in the market include Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport (Galileo and Worldspan). By connecting travel service providers with travel agencies and consumers, GDSs play an essential role in streamlining the booking process, enhancing the visibility of the host agencies and travel services, and improving the overall efficiency of the travel industry.

Key statistics on Online Travel Agencies

Some key statistics that illustrate the scale and impact of OTAs in the travel industry:

Market size

The global online travel market was valued at around USD 765.34 billion in 2019 and was expected to reach approximately USD 983.39 billion by 2023, according to a report by Statista.

Market share

OTAs account for a significant portion of travel bookings. In the hotel industry, for instance, OTAs were responsible for around 39% of total room bookings in the United States in 2019, as reported by Phocuswright.

Key players

The OTA market is dominated by two major players, Expedia Group (which owns brands such as Expedia, Hotels.com , and Vrbo) and Booking Holdings (which owns brands like Booking.com , Priceline, and Agoda). Combined, these two companies accounted for approximately 70% of the U.S. OTA market share in 2019, according to Phocuswright.

Mobile bookings

Mobile devices have become an increasingly important channel for travel bookings. In 2019, around 38% of OTA bookings were made through mobile devices, as reported by eMarketer. This trend is expected to continue as more consumers adopt smartphones and mobile booking apps.

Growth drivers

Some of the key factors driving the growth of the OTA market include increasing internet penetration, rising disposable incomes, and a growing preference among consumers for online booking platforms due to their convenience, pricing transparency, and extensive range of options.

Customer demographics

Millennials and Gen Z travelers are more likely to use OTAs for travel planning and booking, as they tend to be more tech-savvy and value the convenience, choice, and comparison capabilities offered by these platforms.

Fees and comissions between an online travel agency, a channel manager and a hotel

The fees and commissions in the travel industry are typically split among the involved parties, including online travel agencies (OTAs), channel managers, and hotels. Here’s a general overview of how fees and commissions may be distributed:

Online Travel Agency (OTA) commissions

OTAs earn revenue by charging a commission on each booking made through their platform. The commission rate can vary depending on the OTA, the market, and the negotiated terms between the OTA and the hotel. Generally, OTA commission rates range between 15% and 25% of the total booking value. This commission is paid by the hotel to the OTA for facilitating the booking and providing access to their customer base.

Channel manager fees

Channel managers usually charge a monthly subscription fee or a per-booking fee for their services. The fees can vary depending on the channel manager, the number of channels being managed, and the level of service required. These fees are paid by the hotel directly to the channel manager for providing the software and services necessary to manage their inventory and rates across multiple distribution channels.

Hotel revenue

Hotels earn revenue from the bookings made through OTAs, minus the OTA commission and any channel manager fees. The net revenue for the hotel depends on factors such as their room rates, occupancy levels, and the efficiency of their revenue management strategies.

[Read also: Guide to Hotel Revenue Management: Best Strategies and Tips ]

How to avoid an overbooking as an online travel agency

As an online travel agency (OTA), avoiding overbooking is crucial for ensuring customer satisfaction and maintaining a good reputation.

Here are some strategies to prevent overbooking:

1. Real-time inventory updates

Make sure your platform is integrated with hotels’ property management systems (PMS) or channel managers to receive real-time inventory updates. This ensures that your OTA displays accurate room availability information, minimizing the risk of overbooking.

2. API integration

Establish a robust API connection with hotels’ PMS or channel managers to facilitate seamless data exchange and real-time synchronization of room availability, rates, and other relevant information.

3. Set booking cutoffs

Collaborate with hotels to establish booking cutoffs, such as a certain number of hours before check-in, to minimize the risk of last-minute overbookings that may not be communicated to the hotel in time.

4. Monitor booking trends

Regularly analyze your OTA’s booking data to identify patterns that could lead to overbooking, such as high demand for specific dates or hotel properties. Use this information to adjust inventory allocations and prevent potential overbooking issues.

5. Use a centralized reservation system

Encourage your hotel partners to use a centralized reservation system or a channel manager, which can help manage inventory across all distribution channels more effectively and reduce the risk of overbooking.

5. Overbooking management policies

Develop clear overbooking management policies and procedures in collaboration with your host agency and hotel partners. This may include providing alternative accommodation, compensating the affected guest, or offering incentives for voluntary changes.

By implementing these strategies, you can significantly reduce the risk of overbooking as an OTA and provide a better experience for your customers. It’s essential to continuously monitor your booking processes and maintain strong relationships with your hotel partners to ensure a seamless and efficient booking experience for your customers.

The Online Travel Agency (OTA) industry has experienced several innovations in recent years. These advancements aim to enhance user experiences, streamline processes, and stay competitive in the evolving digital landscape.

Some of the latest innovations in the OTA industry include:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning

OTAs are leveraging AI and machine learning algorithms to provide personalized travel recommendations, enhance customer service with chatbots, and optimize pricing strategies based on customer behavior and market trends.

Mobile-first strategies

As more travelers use smartphones to research and book trips, OTAs are focusing on mobile-first strategies, developing responsive websites, and user-friendly mobile apps. They also utilize mobile-specific features, such as push notifications, to engage with customers and provide real-time updates on bookings.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

OTAs are exploring AR and VR technologies to create immersive experiences for customers, allowing them to virtually explore hotels, attractions, and destinations before booking. This can help users make more informed decisions and enhance the overall booking experience.

Blockchain technology

Some OTAs are exploring the potential of blockchain technology for secure, transparent, and efficient transactions. This technology could enable decentralized booking systems, streamline payment processing, and enhance loyalty programs.

Voice search and booking

With the increasing popularity of voice-activated devices, OTAs are developing voice search and booking capabilities to cater to this growing market segment, making it more convenient for users to search for and book travel services using voice commands.

Sustainable and responsible travel options

As the demand for sustainable and responsible travel options grows, OTAs are integrating eco-friendly accommodations and activities into their platforms, allowing users to make more environmentally conscious choices when planning their trips.

Enhanced customer service

OTAs are utilizing AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants to provide instant customer support, address common queries, and assist with bookings. This enables OTAs to provide 24/7 support without significantly increasing operational costs.

Dynamic packaging

OTAs are offering dynamic packaging, which allows customers to create customized travel packages by bundling flights, hotels, car rentals, and other services. This approach provides more flexibility and personalization for users and can increase customer satisfaction.

These innovations are continually evolving as new technologies and market trends emerge.

[Read also: Digital transformation in the travel industry ]

Personalizing the booking experience for travelers can lead to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and conversions. By implementing these personalization strategies, you can create a more engaging and customized booking experience for travelers, ultimately leading to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and conversions:

Data collection and analysis

Collect and analyze data on traveler behavior, preferences, and booking history. This can help you understand their needs, interests, and patterns, enabling you to tailor your offerings accordingly.

Personalized recommendations

Use the collected data to provide personalized travel recommendations , such as hotels, destinations, or activities that align with the traveler’s preferences and interests. Machine learning algorithms can further enhance the accuracy of these recommendations.

Tailored offers and promotions

Send targeted offers and promotions based on the traveler’s booking history, preferences, and search patterns. These could include discounts, upgrades, or special packages that cater to their specific interests.

Customized communication

Personalize your communication with travelers by addressing them by name, acknowledging their previous bookings, and offering relevant content based on their preferences. Ensure that the communication is consistent across all channels, including email, social media, and mobile app notifications.

Allow travelers to create customized travel packages by bundling flights, accommodations, car rentals, and activities based on their preferences. This flexibility can enhance their booking experience and lead to higher customer satisfaction.

Personalized user interface

Personalize the user interface on your website or app to display relevant content, offers, and recommendations based on the traveler’s preferences and browsing history. This can make the booking process more efficient and engaging.

Localization

Adapt your website or app to cater to travelers from different regions by offering language options, displaying local currency, and providing region-specific content and recommendations.

Chatbots and virtual assistants

Implement AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants to provide instant, personalized support to travelers. These tools can answer frequently asked questions, help with booking processes, and offer recommendations based on the traveler’s preferences.

Post-booking personalization

Continue personalization efforts after the booking is complete by providing tailored pre-trip information, such as destination guides, travel tips, and itinerary suggestions based on the traveler’s interests.

Collect feedback

Encourage travelers to provide feedback on their booking experience and preferences. Use this feedback to further refine your personalization efforts and enhance the booking experience for future travelers.

Final words

Starting an online travel agency can be a challenging but rewarding venture. By following these practical steps and leveraging the latest technology and industry trends, you can create a successful business that offers personalized and convenient travel experiences to your customers.

Remember to prioritize customer service, stay up-to-date with industry developments, and continuously innovate to stay competitive in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

With determination, hard work, and a commitment to excellence, you can turn your dream of starting your own travel business as an online travel agency into a reality.

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How to Promote a Travel Website: 20 Actionable Tactics

David kovacs.

• March 11, 2019

What is the best way to promote a travel website? It’s not an easy question to answer. The sales generated through online travel bookings was 693.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, this figure was forecasted to grow to 817.5 billion U.S. dollars by 2020 ( according to Statista ).

If you have a travel website, you probably know that getting traffic and enquires on your website is not easy. There is no way to get potential customers land on your site on a continuous basis without having the key ingredients in your digital strategy.

Helping people with valuable information is something that you have to take into consideration when trying to sell or promote your travel website. However, many travel websites on the internet don’t have enough sources and presence for people to notice their existence.

When we talk about travel website promotion many people think about paid advertisements .

Well, that can work, but let me take this opportunity to share some other strategies with you where you don’t need to pay Google or Facebook to get traffic on your site.

In this article, you will learn how to promote your travel website and at the same time providing valuable information to your potential clients.

Sounds good?

Let’s start with a very simple question.

Why your travel website does not have traffic?

It is very easy… you are not applying the correct promotion tactics to position your content or you don’t have enough keyword optimized content on your website for Google to see your pages.

But wait, what is keyword optimized content?

I will cover that later in this post… so keep reading.

More and more people are using the Internet to research and book their dream travel or tour. Therefore, it is important that your travel website has a strong presence online, especially on social media networks and search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing.

So, to be effective let’s start learning a couple of tips and tricks on how to get more traffic on your travel website without spending thousands of dollars on advertisements.

1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

According to Forbes SEO is a must for small businesses and it is true for any travel business as well.

SEO is basically driving targeted organic website traffic to your website from search engines.

In my opinion, SEO is one of the best ways to promote a travel website and this is the strategy I recommend for everyone who is in the travel business.

Because there are lots of topics to cover related to travel , like destinations, tips, how to’s and lots of informative articles. You can provide valuable information to your potential customers on your website.

Of course, it has to be done right, which I will share with you in a second.

But that’s just part of the story because SEO has two types.

The so-called On-page and Off-page SEO.

Let’s learn a little more about these two optimization types.

On-page SEO

On-Page is the optimization that you can do on your page to improve your organic positioning in Google search engine.

This directly depends on you (or your website developer), because you are the one who controls the website and able to update or upload the content.

Using the right keywords on your service pages and blog posts can bring potential customers to your website who are looking for information about a destination, specific tour or any informative content which can be related to your services.

Your website can reach the top of the Google ranking if you’ve used the right keyword strategy.

Otherwise, if you are just writing blog posts on your website without keywords and SEO strategy you won’t be able to generate free traffic from Google search engine.

So using the right words on your landing pages, service pages, and blog posts is something that you need to take into consideration when writing and building your pages.

There are additional On-page SEO strategies which are more technical, but I will not cover those in this article.

Off-page SEO

Once you’ve nailed your On-page SEO, then you need to build quality do-follow backlinks to be able to generate organic traffic from Google. Off-page, SEO is commonly called “Link Building” which is a very important factor when you want to rank your travel website in Google.

A backlink is basically when a page or posts links to an external website.

Generally, the more quality backlinks you have the higher rankings your page or blog post will receive in Google search result page.

What is a high-quality backlink?

A backlink from high authority sites, for example, Forbes magazine or National Geographic. Sites that have 35+ Domain Authority can be considered as good quality website. There are several tools that can help you identify high-quality websites in Google’s eye, for this I recommend you to try MOZ bar.

SEO takes time and this is why many people give up before they see any results. This is a great opportunity for you to start writing those keyword optimized content and to build those quality backlinks.

Be patient and the results will come.

2. Write to travel blog

Blogs are one of the best ways to increase your search engine rankings and to use it as a main source to promote your travel business.

Without content, you don’t have too much things to promote about your travel business right?

Only your homepage or service pages.

Just imagine if you have hundreds of informative articles on your website, covering topics that are interesting for your potential clients. You are not just going to have content for your social media profiles, but you have many articles to rank in Google or other search engines like Bing or Yahoo.

Let’s see an article headline like “ Top Ten Things to Do in Paris in Summer”.

According to Google’s Keyword Planner Tool , the keyword “top ten things to do in Paris” has an average 100-1K search per month in Google. It means that if your website or blog posts appear on first page of Google search results then you are going to get free traffic to your website.

It also means that you are writing articles about topics that people are searching for.

When someone is searching for the top ten things to do in Paris, they are definitely in the stage of going to visit Paris, because they are looking for tips on what to do there.

Keep writing and uploading keyword optimized articles, create authority in your domain and provide useful content that your potential clients will love and share.

Traveling is a very visual subject, and a blog is an excellent way to tell the story of your brand through a combination of beautiful images, videos, and text. The best way to promote a travel website is to blog about a wide range of topics, such as travel guides, tips, and tricks, how to’s, activities… anything which you think that can be interesting for your customers.

Using the right keywords in your blog posts and using the On-page SEO strategies mentioned earlier will help you to get organic traffic from Google.

You see, blogging is a fantastic promotional tool that can help you grab readers’ attention during the research and planning phase to generate quality leads.

People are looking for valuable information and they make lots of searches before they visit a destination. If you keep providing high-quality content your potential clients will find you.

3. Email Marketing

Having someone’s email address is like having access to their phone number. So email marketing is a great way to promote a travel website.

To be able to grow your email list first you need to have the traffic of course.

Without traffic, it is very hard to collect email addresses from potential customers right?

Once you have the traffic, then you can collect email addresses by giving the visitors something in exchange for their email address.

This can be an advanced guide in a PDF format or anything that is valuable for your potential clients. Hosting a giveaway can be a great start for growing your email address which I will talk about later on.

The perfect email marketing has a defined funnel and a goal.

Ask yourself, what is my goal with the email addresses that I collected?

Here is a funnel example:

The personalization of email messages should go beyond calling customers by name.

If you use any email marketing automation platforms (like Aweber ), you can send personalized emails to your potential customers based on their behavior. Customers consider that this type of email is much more valuable and the returns they offer are much higher.

EasyJet created one of the most innovative and outstanding campaigns for their 20th year birthday using personalization using the data they have about their customers.

Each customer received a unique and personalized email highlighting the places they had traveled with easyJet in the last 20 years.

Social media promotion

Using various social media channels with the right strategy is still a very strong way to promote a website online.

What is the right strategy?

Having a clear goal and using quality content. Creating a posting plan and measuring everything you do.

It sounds simple, but many people are failing at this.

They either post low-quality content or they just don’t have a posting plan and they post three times a day and they stop for two weeks.

This shouldn’t only be with posts with images, it should be video content as well.

When we talk about travel the type of content you can promote and create is basically endless. On the other hand, there are many tools and services which can help you automate your posting and optimizing your posting plans.

Using social media to promote a travel website is a must!

Let’s see a couple of examples on how to do that.

4. Pinterest

Pinterest is a great platform to start promoting your travel website. First, because it is a visual planning tool, and second, because it has a great search engine. Besides that, it has around 250 million active users and out of that 81 % are female which is worth to consider when you start being active on Pinterest.

How to use Pinterest to promote travel website?

Pinterest is a visual tool so you should always aim for posting or “pinning” high-quality content. There are many image editing tool on the internet which can help you create stunning images which will fit Pinterest, but one of my favorites is a tool called Canva and Pablo by Buffer .

It is free (you can buy a premium subscription as well) and it is very easy to use, so check it out.

You can also find free stock photos using Pexel if you don’t have your own images.

Create your Pinterest account, define your boards and start pinning your optimized, quality images.

As a rule of thumb the more posts you have on Pinterest the better your chances to receive traffic. Be an active member of the Pinterest community and you will be rewarded with quality traffic.

Check out a few successful Pinterest pages, get some inspiration and start replicating what is working for them by using your style and brand.

One more thing…

Be patient with Pinterest, it takes time to start seeing good results from it, but it is totally worth it.

5. Instagram

Instagram is huge for travel businesses, but it is a lot harder to stand out nowadays. Personally, I think it is the network which is built for travel agencies or people who are in the travel business.

In other words, Instagram is great for promoting your travel agency.

Because there are many amazing photos you can share about travel and people just love them.

Now you can post images, videos, stories and live which gives you a great opportunity to cover different topics related to your travel business. Sharing behind scenes, tour experiences, customer feedback will definitely attract potential clients.

Just like on any other social media platform, having a strategy is crucial.

It is not enough to post one or two images or videos anymore…

In order to grow your account, you need to be a valuable member of this great community.

Use the right hashtags, post at the right time, add geolocation tags and collaborate with influencers can help you reach more people on this platform.

There are more advanced strategies like follow/unfollow or liking competitors followers images, but I will not cover these tactics in this article.

Twitter can be another great platform to promote your travel website. The user base is different than Instagram or Facebook so you have to take that into consideration when you start using Twitter for promotion.

Here are some best practices from Twitter:

• Keep it short
• Use visuals in your Tweets
• Incorporate relevant hashtags
• Ask questions and run polls
• Curate and connect with Retweets and replies.

The idea is the same… have a strategy, measure your posts and find the best possible setup which will give you great results.

Using the right content, image and hashtags are very important on Twitter.

Because people post 500 million times per day on this platform so you need to stand out somehow if you don’t want your posts to be always ignored.

Being a valuable member of this community is important, so feel free to repost other’s tweets, add comments and follow Twitter accounts that are related to your business.

If you want to set Twitter on autopilot you can use a free tool called Hootsuite which helps you schedule tweets for weeks or months.

Of course, if you don’t have enough content on your website, then you can promote other’s posts or tweets that are relevant to your business.

Remember, do not try to sell always… help people out with information and every once in a while you can promote your services.

7. Facebook

When we talk about Facebook promotion we have to take into consideration the fact that if you post something on your feed it will only reach around 3% – 5% of the followers due to Facebook’s recent algorithm update.

Besides that the engagement on Facebook became very low.

It seems that in some cases it is better to have one or two email subscribers then 1,000 followers on Facebook.

So what should you do?

First of all focus on quality, not quantity.

Second, there are many active groups on Facebook where people are sharing information, best practices, tips and tricks related to anything that you can name.

Finding the one which suits your business takes a bit of time, but it is worth it.

Be careful, I’m not saying that you should spam the hell out of these groups! If you have the right the content and the knowledge about a specific question posted into this group feel free to reply.

Remember, these groups are created to help each other… not for selling travel-related services.

Third, consider your timing.

And last, but not least stop selling on Facebook.

Focusing on brand awareness will help you get more organic reach so posting valuable information to your followers is a better strategy than just posting your services pages with a call to action.

The basic function of Quora is very simple. Users ask questions and other users respond to them.

The topics on the site vary; it could be anything that comes to your mind.

In that sense, the users who answer these questions are generally experts in the subject.

It means that if you are an expert in your field then you can use Quora to promote your travel website.

As a result, this site has become the site to go to users to clarify their doubts with the help of experts. You must take advantage of this and answer questions related to your business.

Be careful with the links inside your answers, because sometimes it is marked as spam and Quora will remove it which you don’t want.

So my suggestion here is exactly the same as on the platforms.

Provide value to the people and the platform and the community will reward you.

Just be patient!

It has be reported how travelers increasingly searching for travel related topics on social media. For travel brands and agencies, this means a great opportunity to engage and capture potential client interest.

Videos are one of the easiest ways to connect with, inspire and engage travelers. And YouTube is one of the easiest ways to get your videos in front of the right travelers for your travel business.

Recently, the YouTube official blog stated that 1.5 billion logged in viewers visit YouTube every single month. That’s the equivalent of one in every five people around the world!

What does this mean for you?

YouTube allows you to upload videos which can include the experience that your client will receive if they purchase your service for instance.

With a 59% increase in referral traffic year-on-year, Skyscanner has been one of the brands to best capitalize on YouTube interest.

Based on my experience many small companies, travel agencies are scared about producing travel related videos because they have no experience in video production. The thing is that you don’t have to create a cinematic video, so don’t let the lack of video editing skills stop you from creating a YouTube video for your business.

10. Travel Influencers

Influencer marketing became very popular in the last years, especially among travel bloggers and vloggers.

According to Statista in 2016, there were 9.7 million brand sponsored influencer posts on the social platform. The volume of sponsored content is projected to amount to 32.3 million posts in 2019.

This promotion tactic is very simple. You just have to find an “influencer” in your niche who is willing to promote your business or website.

If you would like to find influencers yourself, I suggest you to check out Heepsy . You can filter the users by location, engagement rate, and many other factors.

Once you find the ideal candidate for the collaboration, then send them a direct message.

When we talk about travel influencers they usually offer Instagram promotion or they can include your service in one of their YouTube videos or even share your travel website with their huge email list.

It doesn’t matter which one you choose, the most important thing here is to measure everything. Because it might sound amazing to use influencers to promote your travel agency, but if nobody will book your tour or use your service at the end of the day it does not worth a penny.

Besides that, it can be a great idea to link it with your remarketing.

Let’s see how to do that.

11. Remarketing

Remarketing is another great way to get those paying customers landing on your travel website.

According to Hotjar 94% of website visitors leave before completing a transaction.

Did you know that?

So now you understand why remarketing can play an important role in your digital marketing strategy.

As I mentioned several times earlier, first you need to have traffic.

Once you have the traffic then you can think about remarketing.

How remarketing works?

Let’s say you have hundreds of visitors on your website from Google Search (thanks to SEO) on a daily basis, but those people are just looking around and not purchasing anything from you.

With Facebook or Google remarketing you can show ads to those people who did not take actions on your page.

For example, show remarketing ads for only those people who spent at least one minute on your landing page or the person visited a specific page on your website.

Knowing this information that person probably interested in your service, but did not make their choice yet.

Guess what?

You can help them to make a decision by offering them a 10% discount or a customized offer.

So the next time when they read an article online or browse their Facebook feed, they will see a nice advertisement from you which is actually talking to them to make an action.

If you would like to increase your conversion rate, remarketing is something you should definitely consider.

12. Tripadvisor listing

If you want to promote your travel business for free on TripAdvistor , register yourself as a business representative and claim your TripAdvisor listing.

Upload photos, set a hero shot, reply to reviews and collect as many reviews as possible to move up in your organic traveler ranking.

TripAdvisor also provides a suite of free marketing tools that help you encourage more customer reviews, create photo slideshows, promote your area by showing local points of interest, and more.

Downloadable badges and widgets are available to display on your website, which you can add by inserting a snippet of HTML code. You can also request window stickers for use at your business location.

How cool is that?

Most business consultants understand that online reputation management is not a maybe, it’s a must. It’s a fact that online reviews have the power to increase your revenue and TripAdvisor is great for that.

13. Host a giveaway

If you are planning to use email marketing and to build your email list to promote your travel website, I highly recommend you to start it with a giveaway.

It is also a great way to get some hype on social media.

Giveaway is probably the best way to collect email addresses if you are just starting.

Because everyone loves free stuff and if you use the right strategy your email list will be filled with potential clients.

Let me share one example with you which worked for many businesses.

You can offer your service for free as a price (or anything which is valuable for your clients) to your target audience in exchange for their email address. Using their email address they can participate in the contest.

Then you just need to start promoting that page which you’ve created for this offer, using paid advertisements or your social media channels.

Once the promotion is over then you will draw the winner.

Simple right?

If you are not familiar with how to build such a page, I suggest you try KingSumo which will give you a full mechanism.

Besides that, the strategy provided by KingSumo is even better, because once if someone gives you their email address the tool give the option to the user to share it with their audience in order to increase their chance to win your service.

In this way, the users will do additional promotion, which will create a win-win situation.

If your offer and promotion were successful, then your email database will be full with potential clients because if someone wanted to win the price you offered, probably they are going to be interested in your products and services.

Before you start hosting a giveaway, I suggest you have a clear goal on what you are going to do with those email addresses. It is not enough just to collect those emails, you should use them for your future campaigns and strategies.

Just remember that.

14. Signature branding

A true email marketer has a call-to-action to every single one of their emails. And I’m not talking about email marketing here. What I have in mind is the individual, personal email messages you send on an everyday basis.

Yes, your personal email signature can provide a serious marketing opportunity for your travel business.

You are most likely already using your own email signature to provide information about who you are and what you do. But you can take this practice to the next level by updating your signature to reflect the different types of travel services you are running today.

I know it sounds simple, but believe me, many people skip this.

15. Leave insightful Comments

Most of the blogs on the internet allow you to leave a comment after the posts. This way you can join the conversation and create a link to your website.

These comments should add value to the overall conversion, so don’t write something like “great article, thank you for sharing” because that is not something we are aiming for.

It is also important that you don’t spam these comment sections, so be careful with that.

If you are just writing really bad quality comments, then the website owner either not going to approve your comment or just delete it.

With this strategy, you can promote your website by adding your link so people might want to read more about the things that you have to say.

Chose a website in your niche and start the conversation!

16.Linkedin

While there are plenty of options and networks where travelers can share comments, photos or reviews, allowing for interactions between travel brands and consumers, one social media clearly stands out when it’s time to focus on business-to-business is LinkedIn.

• Create a company page
• Post company updates and useful information
• Follow and engage with clients
• Join groups

You can easily discover groups by searching in the search bar at the top of the LinkedIn page, or browse groups that may interest you by going to the  Interests tab > Groups > Discover . There are many travel-and travel agent-related groups out there, so choose several to commit to, and be active in the conversations.

If you want, you can even start your own group!

17. Interviews

Having interviews is a very effective way to promote your travel business.

Reach out to travel bloggers who already have a large following on social media, and even those who don’t, to participate in an interview.

When you feature someone in an interview they can promote their interview on their end bringing visitors to your travel website. If you run interviews enough (let’s say weekly or monthly) people will start contacting you to participate.

18. Google my business

Google My Business is one of the platforms that Google makes available to companies. For any travel website and business on the internet, this is something that I highly recommend. Google My Business allows you to be present for free in the searches carried out both in the Google search engine and in Google maps.

Why is this useful for your travel business?

You can manage the direct relationship with your customers by showing reviews and images about your office or your tours that you offer. Thanks to the review option, you can learn what people think about your service or product that you are selling online. Besides that, you can respond to all of these and build a great customer relationship.

As mentioned earlier reviews are really important if you are serious about your business and your customers.

Paid advertisement (PPC)

The first source of traffic for most websites and travel companies are done through paid advertising . It is the easiest way to start getting traffic to your travel website. If you are just a small business trying to compete with the big players then probably this is not the best way to start.

The reason why because it has to be done right which will take lots of try and error to find the perfect ad copy, targeting and additional setups which will result in a great ROI.

To tell you truth, it’s not easy to create ads which will generate profit at the end of the day.

But let’s see a couple of paid solutions which you can use to start promoting your travel website.

19. Google Adwords

Google Adwords is the largest (and most used) and one of the best-paid advertisement service for your travel business.

Your ads can appear on first page of Google just by paying for a specific keyword. For example, if you have a service that sells private tours in Paris, then you can set up a keyword based Adwords ad within Google ad platform.

As you will start receiving clicks to your ads and your website, you pay for Google based on the number of clicks your ad generated.

Let’s use the example “top ten things to do in Paris”.

If you want to get clicks by using this exact keyword you will pay around 1-2 dollars per click for this specific keyword. But this is an informative keyword, which means that people who are typing this keyword into Google search they are just at the research phase… they are not planning to purchase anything.

Not like a keyword “private tours in Paris” which is more expensive to run ads, because it has a buying intent.

Of course, you have to play with the keywords, landing pages, ad copy, targeting and so on to find a profitable ad because if you pay 1,000 dollars for one conversion, but your service cost 100 dollars… well, that’s not a very good investment, right?

Let’s see the next promotion strategy for your travel website.

20. Facebook PPC

Facebook PPC is another great source to generate targeted traffic to your travel business. Just like with Google ads you have to pay for Facebook based on clicks, views and reach.

You must have your own Facebook business page to be able to run advertisements.

There are three types of ads you can run on Facebook:

Each ad type serves a different goal and it is priced differently.

Since Facebook reduced the organic reach of a business page feed, running ads on Facebook is crucial if you would like to get your service in front of your target audience or potential clients.

Unfortunately, if you are not running ads on Facebook and you are just posting content on a regular basis, then not too many people will see your posts anymore.

For example, if you have 1,000 followers on Facebook and you post an interesting article or an image, it will reach around 5% of your followers only as mentioned before.

You can start using Facebook ads by only spending a dollar day to see how it works and later on you can increase your daily spendings.

There is no right or wrong way to start advertising on Facebook if you know the basics. You can experiment for yourself to see what is working for you.

Last but not least let me share a couple of additional tips which has to be considered when thinking about website promotion.

These are important for SEO and Social Media as well.

Optimize page titles and descriptions

The titles and descriptions of the pages are one of the most underrated things to set up. The search engines take into account these two key factors when evaluating the relevance of the page, so it must be optimized.

They also have a big impact on click-through rates.

The title and description are all search results and users make a quick decision about whether to click on a link or continue browsing.

Optimize URL

Another aspect that many people ignore is URLs.

Setting up the right URL structure is just as important as the title and description. The use of easy-to-search URLs with relevant keywords and a consistent structure throughout the site can definitely help you in your SEO effort.

And of course, it looks much better.

Minimize page loading time

Page load time is an extremely important ranking signal for Google, this means that if your site takes too long in loading your visitors will leave your website and your organic traffic will suffer that.

Besides that, the user experience will be lower if your visitors have to wait for 30 seconds for your website to fully load.

To see how your website performs I suggest to check out Gtmetrix .

Optimize for mobile devices

Ten years ago, companies could have run without having a website optimized for mobile devices. A large number of people now use mobile devices for their travel needs and the design of a mobile device guarantees an excellent user experience on phones and tablets.

An interesting fact is that 52.2% of all website traffic worldwide was generated through mobile phones in 2018.

In other words, having a mobile optimized, a responsive website is a must!

By now you should have a couple of ideas on how to start promoting your travel website on the various channels I’ve mentioned above.

What did you think about these strategies? Did it motivate you to start promoting your site?

Let me know in the comment section below!

Grow Your Travel Business with SEO

All you need is to contact us and get started! 

2 thoughts on “How to Promote a Travel Website: 20 Actionable Tactics”

These are all wonderful actionable tips, surely the best we have come across so far. Thank you so much for sharing ☺️

Thank you Sandra for the comment!

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Order delivery date pro for woocommerce, booking & appointment plugin for woocommerce, product delivery date pro for woocommerce, abandoned cart pro for woocommerce, how to promote & increase sales for your online travel agency.

• 27 min read
• By Vishal Kothari
• Last Updated: 22 November 2023
• Categories: How to Increase Sales

Table of Contents

Technology is growing fast day by day and so is the use of the internet. As the internet has worked to streamline many processes, it has turned marketplace for Online Travel Agencies(OTAs) too crowded.

In today’s fast-paced world, Online Travel Agencies like Expedia, MakeMyTrip enormously influence the way travelers make tour bookings. These Online Travel Agencies offer many benefits to traveling bookers by bundling hotel reservations with rental cars, air tickets, etc.

Online Travel Agencies are not only competing for clicks and revenues but they are also competing with hotel chains and airlines that sell their product directly from their website.

As the travel industry is rapidly becoming a very competitive market , we need innovative strategies to increase its revenue.

In this post, we will be discussing some of the key strategies to increase revenue for Online Travel Agency .

20 Key Strategies to Increase Revenue for Online Travel Agencies

1. have a good website.

We come across many travel agencies website that does not turn out beneficial. So it is very very important to have a good , attractive and user-friendly website of your Online Travel Agency.

Firstly , while designing your website, you should be sure that it attracts the customers quickly by having high-quality professional photographs and proper functionality .

Your website should describe each and every service provided by your business like hotel booking , car rentals , flight bookings , etc as shown in the below image. See to it that all your services are properly linked to the relevant service page.

You can also flash pop-ups coming on the side panel of your website that shows best deals or offers . This will attract the attention of the visitors visiting your website and will create interest to see the details of the available best deal or offers and book the same.

Secondly , you need to make sure that your website has a strong SEO and can be found easily. Your Domain name should be such that it is easy to remember and it also  highlights your brand .

The best example for this is Booking.com . Anyone can easily identify by reading the domain name that this company is into booking business.

2. Engage With Social Media

One of the most popular sales technique for travel agencies is the use of Social Media. With an active social presence, your content will appear closer to the top of the page in search results.

Having a great website is not enough. You also have to get engage with social media like Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , Instagram , etc. That’s because Google ranks content that is spread via these networks higher than other content.

Have you noticed how many vacation photos your friends post on Facebook or Instagram? That’s because people like to brag about their travel on social media.

People get influenced by their friend’s photos and book their trip accordingly.

You can see in the below stats that 52% people get influenced by watching photographs of their friends on facebook while 48% stuck with their plan.

Build a page on such social sites where people post their stories, photos, and videos of their most recent experience. It is also fine to post some special offers or best deals on this page to increase revenue for your travel agency.

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3. Offer Packages

Combine different services you provide to a unique experience by offering packages. You can promote exclusive seasonal packages , announce hot deals from airlines , try to offer a better price by selling hotel and activity together. This can be interesting for you and for your customers.

It is a trend to sell travel packages online. All the leading Online Travel Agencies like Orbitz , Booking.com opt this strategy to increase their revenue.

Customers prefer to go for a holiday with tour packages because all things are well organized in advance by the travel agency and they can feel relaxed and enjoy their outing as well.

If you offer your customers good service along with attractive and best deal packages then definitely they would come back to you for the next trip. This is how you can increase the revenue of your online travel business.

4.  Offer Added Value

The simplest thing to increase your revenue per customer is to offer added value to their experience as they agree to pay the price for your tours. Your customer would be a happy customer if you give them something more than the offer.

For example, you can offer free lunch or dinner option with your tour package. You can also offer a free sight-seeing for a day. If it’s a couple who booked your tour then you could offer a glass of wine and tapas prior to the viewing to make the experience more romantic.

  5. Upload Videos

Sixty percent of all traffic online comes from video, according to Forrester research. People who love to travel, love to document their journey in form of photographs or videos and share them as well. 

You can always ask your customers to share these experiences with you. All their experience can be a showcase on your website and also on social channels.

For example, customers want to see exactly what they are getting when they book a room online. Highlight the hotel’s exterior, public spaces, dining facilities, meeting rooms, guest rooms and bathrooms when shooting videos and developing virtual tours. 

People planning for their trips can get a clear idea of how the experience would be by watching to those videos and make a choice accordingly.

6. Encourage Your Customers To Leave Reviews

The practice of checking reviews before booking is becoming more and more common. The impact of Customer reviews is that you can improve your sales 5 times .

You can encourage your customers to leave their precious reviews by running competitions for the best travel picture with reviews each season and award a prize or perhaps give a small discount on their next trip.

The web allows people to read more about their specific travel destination and they will surely search for reviews. So encourage your past customers to post a review of their trip experience on your site so new customers will be able to book with confidence.

The reviews can be taken for any services, for example, you can see the review page of  Hotel Bay View in Singapore  and get an idea.

7. Manage Online Reviews And Take Action

Reviews are a barometer that can be used to identify that the services you are providing are doing well and also let you know the areas where you need to do better.

It is not necessary to always get a positive review. In fact, negative reviews always inspire you to improve yourself in criteria’s in which you are lacking behind.

Every day, millions of people check reviews that are posted on Online Travel Agencies website before finalizing their decision . It is not good to always upload good and positive reviews of your travel agency. So you should always manage your customer’s reviews with positive as well as negative responses you get.

Below is the stats of impact of online reviews on visitors and travelers .

You should also take action on the negative reviews and improve your services. This is the best way to increase revenue for online travel agencies.

8. Ask For Referrals

Customer Referrals are one of the top and most effective way to increase revenue for Online Travel Agencies and luggage storage service if implemented correctly. Asking for referral should be a habit to get more clients. It is a small effort for a great reward .

Sometimes people are not comfortable to ask for referrals . Small businesses usually don’t ask for the referral as they feel shy and uncomfortable.

They assume that by providing good services/products, their clients are satisfied and then definitely will pass good words about them to others.

But this doesn’t work. It is not that they don’t want to help you out, but it’s that it never comes to their mind unless you ask them .

So it is very important to ask your client for referrals and be specific when asking for a referral. If you don’t tell your contacts who your target customer is, then you will be wasting time.

Referrals can be asked by emails and on social media Channels too. You can write the referral email for your client and ask them to drop in their name and send to their friends.

You can also publish a blog post about your services on social media channels like facebook, twitter, etc., and share it with your customers . Encourage them to share on their page or tag their friends in the comment section.

9. Know Your Audience

Another most important steps to increase your revenue is to know your audience properly. You should try to understand the needs of your customer first. Only then you will be able to speak their language  and fulfill their requirements and make them satisfy with your services.

To know your audience well, you need to ask them some questions , but remember questions should not be too long and boring. It should be short and up to the mark .

For example, you can ask them what’s their budget? How many days would they like to go for a trip? Which place are they interested in going? etc.

With the help of this response from your audience, you will be able to know them well and can try to give your best too.

As the needs and requirements of your audience are clear in your mind, you can offer them best deals/packages accordingly. This will surely make your audience turn into a happy customer and help in increasing your revenue.

10. Engage Your Audience

Once you know who your audience is, then the next logical step is to engage them based on their habits .

Sometimes your agency may be working with the same customers for years and hence, develop a great relationship that makes it easier for them to select a product they will love.

But even if you work with different group of customers, you can engage them by updating latest deals, offers, hot spots to travel , etc. This will help them to find a travel product that fits them well.

You can engage your audience on social media and your website by writing good blog posts and uploading latest updates . Local new channels and newspapers are also powerful tools to engage your audience.

Look in the below image how an online vacation planner company called  Zicasso  use such tools and get engaged with their audience regularly.

You can also engage your audience by giving a quick reply to their queries and sending thanking emails or messages if they comment on your blogs.

11. Start A Blog

Whenever your customers are planning their next journey or just fantasizing about it, they would love to read about the experience of other people with you .

Create a blog on which audience can read about all the beautiful destinations your agency can offer along with your past customer’s experiences .

You can write the trips yourself or encourage your customers to write about their adventures and accept them as guest posts . This is an extension of both your self-generated and user generated content .

Good writing is a sales technique  that helps to build a relationship with clients. Online Travel Agencies like MakeMyTrip , Travelocity  use this sales technique which helps them to increase their revenue.

12. Develop A Trusted Reputation

People are always looking for an exciting adventure at a good value but they also want a reputed Online Travel Agency who can guide them safe, appropriate and provide the best deal for their journey.

Developing a trusted reputation of your Online Travel Agency is not an easy task . You have to work hard and stand out to be the best from the other competitors.

It all depends on the services you give , best deals you offer  and also a good customer support that you provide to your customers.

Customer support plays a vital role in building your agencies reputation. Say for any reason, your customers have any complaints or cancellation of bookings, at that point of time it is very important how you deal with such situations and give your customers good and satisfactory support.

Customer support also helps in building good reputation especially when your customers don’t speak the language of the country for which they have booked the trip. It is important that you are clear to the customer and they understand well what they have booked .

13.  Be Responsive And Always Available

Waiting for any reply is the most frustrating thing your customers may feel. So you should respond to all the queries of your customers within a short span of time .

You should be extremely responsive through email , social media  and your website . Receiving prompt response may also help you in building a good reputation of your Online Travel Agency.

The above image shows the response time your guest expects . Prompt the response from your side, better is the reputation of your company and it ends with an increase in revenue.

14. Use Professional P hotography And Good Description

Your website should be different and unique . It should not be same as your competitors .

Take your customers opinion about it. Your customer’s suggestions will make you better . They are the person who will give you right opinion. Ask them for their reviews and accordingly, you can make your website better with the good description of all the services you provide.

Also, you should use professional photography on your site to have a pleasant and attractive look by which visitors will be engaged to your site. For travel websites, the quality photograph is an essential factor to impress your visitors.

You can check how Airbnb  use professional photographs  and receives 2-3x bookings on an average. This definitely attracts the customers and also creates a good impression on them.

Thus, use of professional photography and the good description of each and every service you provide will help you to boost your revenue.

15. Send An Email Newsletter

Email marketing strategy has been a smart choice for direct communication since a very long time. It still remains so, even with the advent of social media and other fancy marketing channels.

Email is a great way to generate leads and keep people informed of the news and updates about your travel agency.

Remember your email marketing strategy should be a weekly or monthly newsletter to keep your company fresh in the minds of your customers.

With sending emails to your customers you can promote exclusive seasonal packages , announce hot deals from airlines and other travel partners , or post helpful travel tips from your agents.

Use your email newsletter as a showcase for everything your website has to offer travelers . You can combine the power of technology and story-telling to create highly customized emails.

16. Host a Contest

Hosting a contest is an another most used technique to motivate people to get involved with your agency.

Everyone loves the possibility of winning something whether it is a free flight , a free night at a hotel or a discount.

Contests are a great way to engage your audience .

You can see in the below image and get an idea how MakeMyTrip host contest and sends contest alert.

You can ask your customers for a photo gallery or video of their best vacation or ask them to write 500 words describing their dream destination.

One of the best examples you can see in the below image is of Alaska Airlines  who hosted Chicago Contest through a special tab where viewers can upload a video or a photograph in which they “put the smackdown on ordinary”. They have to collect votes from their friends.

The winner wins a flight from Chicago to California on a competitor airline and then a free California getaway and a trip back to Chicago on Alaska Airlines’s inaugural flight .

The idea behind it was a hope that if people travel one time by other flight followed by the Virgin experience will surely convert a few fans.

In the same way, you have to make your audience work for the prize or for attractive discounts . They will love to share their experiences and probably they may come back for their next trip, even if they don’t win.

17. Regular Content Update

Google loves fresh, original content . When you  update your content frequently Google will trust that you are an engaging , active business and they may rank your site higher in the search.

People look for timely information . Regular updates of special offers , events and hotel details will ensure you to  get more customers . It is important to keep your audience informed and updated .

As travel business is getting competitive day by day, updating new content shows that your business is active . By showing that you are engaged and interested in providing information, you make sure that you are committed to your customers.

18. Be Clear

Writing clearly is one way to capture and retain our customer’s interest . Be clear, specific and bold in what you are writing.

If you are offering any deals or hosting any contest, be clear and specific. There should not be any hidden cost or extra charges applicable .

Keeping in mind that all type of customers may visit your website , so use simple words that could be understood by all audiences.

Being clear also helps your customers who don’t speak the language of the country they have booked for , it is very important that you are clear to the customer and that  they understand what they book .

Make sure the customer leaves with a clear view on things such as pick up time and location , what to bring , what to pay on arrival , extra cost if any etc.

19. Tailored Sales Promotion

Nowadays people prefer to book a tailor-made tour so that they can enjoy their destinations in the way they want and also in their budget. Hence, tailored sales promotion is important to increase the revenue of your travel agency.

Tailored sales promotion includes a combination of different products into a unique experience . Create a package and try to offer a better price by selling hotel, flight and activity together. This can be interesting for you and for your customers.

You can have a look on Cox & Kings website to get an idea of tailor-made holidays they offer.

20. Mobile Friendly

It is also very important to ensure that your travel website is properly responsive with multiple mobile devices such as iPhones , Android devices , iPads , etc. This is important because nowadays people prefer to view and book their trip from devices like mobile, tablets, etc.

Having a mobile-friendly travel website allows customers to enjoy a seamless transition between devices and gives much more satisfying user experience.

Mobile-friendly travel sites are easier to navigate and benefit from faster load times . Thus it simplifies booking process and makes convenient for the customer to make the booking from anywhere, anytime at their comfort level.

Google offers a helpful Mobile-Friendly Test for your website. This can give you an idea of how mobile-friendly your travel site is?

Conclusion:

You can check these  20 Key Strategies to Increase Revenue for Online Travel Agency and implement it for your business growth.

Hopefully, these tips will bring you one step further in running a successful Online Travel Agency.  It will surely create interest in your customers to get more engaged with you.

Vishal Kothari

Thank you for the information. Love it.

Hi vishal,I want to thank you for posting this excellently written blog which is easy to understand strategies for travel agency improve revenue.As a travel agency who wants to improve travel business can go with automation software for travel agency.

Thanks for the informative read. Would just like to add that a lot of Websites are trying out different ways to keep the customer engaged during such difficult times for the travel industry. One of the sure-shot ways to keep the customers engaged is through web push notification. It allows you to instantly update travelers about their flight information, hotel information, and other items. To generate more revenue and traffic, you can use the below web push playbook for a travel site. https://blog.pushengage.com/web-push-notification-playbook-travel-site/

The blog you posted here is very informative and illustrating about the key strategies to increase revenue for online travel agencies. Thanks for sharing such a great information here.

The post you shared here is very informative. Thanks for sharing such good stuff with us.

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How to Promote Your Travel Business Online (7 Best Ways)

Looking for ways to promote your travel business online? it’s more important than ever to have an online presence and reach potential customers through the internet.

There are several strategies you can use to effectively promote your travel business online, including:

• creating a professional website,
• using social media,
• partnering with influencers,
• optimizing your website for search engines,
• using email marketing,
• advertising online,
• and offering promotions and discounts.

In this article, we’ll go over each of these strategies in detail and provide tips on how to effectively implement them to promote your travel business online.

Best strategies for promoting travel businesses online

If you’re looking for the best strategies to promote your travel business online, you’re in the right place.

From creating a professional website to advertising online and offering promotions and discounts, there are several effective ways to reach a wider audience and attract new customers.

To get started, consider implementing the following 7 strategies:

Here is the shortcut list:

• Create a professional website
• Optimize your website for search engines
• Use social media
• Partner with influencers
• Use email marketing
• Advertise online
• Offer promotions and discounts

1. Create a Professional Website

Having a professional website is essential for any business, and it’s especially important for a travel business.

Your website should include information about your business, the destinations you offer, and the types of travel experiences you provide.

Make sure to include high-quality photos and videos to showcase your offerings, and make it easy for visitors to learn more and book a trip.

2. Optimize Your Website for Search Engines

Optimizing your website for search engines is also important. This involves using relevant keywords in your website’s content and metadata, and ensuring that your website is easy to navigate.

Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to research the best keywords for your business, and make sure to include them in your website’s content and tags.

3. Use Social Media

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can be effective tools for promoting your travel business.

Share photos and updates about your business, and consider running social media campaigns to reach a wider audience.

Use relevant hashtags to make it easier for people to discover your content, and engage with your followers by responding to comments and messages.

4. Partner with Influencers

Influencer marketing can be a powerful way to promote your travel business. Find influencers who align with your brand and work with them to promote your business to their followers.

This could involve providing them with a free trip in exchange for social media posts, or paying them to create sponsored content for your business.

5. Use Email Marketing

Email marketing can be an effective way to promote your travel business.

Build an email list by collecting the contact information of interested customers, and send them updates about your business and special offers.

Use a professional email marketing platform like Mailchimp or Constant Contact to create and send emails, and make sure to follow best practices like including a clear subject line and a call to action.

6. Advertise Online

Consider running online ads to promote your travel business. You can use platforms like Google Ads or social media advertising to reach a targeted audience.

Make sure to define your target audience and create ads that will appeal to them, and set a budget for your advertising efforts.

7. Offer Promotions and Discounts

Consider offering promotions and discounts to attract new customers and encourage repeat business.

These could include discounts on travel packages, special offers for returning customers, or limited-time promotions.

Use social media and email marketing to promote your offers, and make sure to clearly communicate the terms and conditions of your promotions.

Practical Final Thoughts

As you start implementing these strategies to promote your travel business online, it’s important to keep a few practical considerations in mind:

• Set specific goals : Before you start promoting your business online, it’s important to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. Do you want to attract more customers to your website? Increase bookings for a specific destination? Set specific, measurable goals to help guide your efforts.
• Monitor your results : It’s important to continuously monitor the results of your online marketing efforts to see what’s working and what’s not. Use tools like Google Analytics to track website traffic and conversions, and use social media analytics to see how your posts are performing.
• Be consistent : Consistency is key when it comes to online marketing. Make sure to regularly update your website and social media channels with fresh content, and stay active on email marketing to keep your business top of mind with your audience.
• Keep learning : The world of online marketing is constantly evolving, so it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices. Take the time to learn about new strategies and technologies, and consider working with a marketing professional or agency to help you effectively promote your business online.

By implementing a combination of these strategies, you can effectively promote your travel business and reach a larger audience. With the right approach, you can successfully grow your customer base and achieve your business goals.

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10 Promotion Strategies for the Travel and Tourism Industry that Actually Work

Almost every industry is (still!) going through tough times since the pandemic outbreak back in 2020. Some of them, though, have been affected by coronavirus far more than the others – and the travel industry is definitely one of them. Canceled trips, canceled flights, confused guests and hosts alike, countless restrictions, and the overall uncertainty of what’s coming next – all this have brought the industry to the brink of collapse.

Thankfully, most travel and tourism businesses decided to fight against the odds, and work their way through the pandemic. As of summer 2022, there are signs of coming back to (normal) life. Nobody knows, though, what autumn will bring and convincing consumers to plan their trips is far more difficult now than it ever was. That’s why clever marketing and promotion strategies seem to be the keys for the industry to get back on its feet.

Marketing for the travel and tourism industries in 2022

The pandemic isn’t the only problem the travel and tourism industry has faced lately. The economy (for example in Europe) forces people to think twice before going on costly vacations abroad. The competition is stiff as ever, and there’s still a need to maintain a healthy balance between costs and earnings. There’s no point in pumping thousands of dollars into marketing strategies if they won’t bring enough ROI. That’s why it’s crucial to select the next promotion strategy for your business carefully.

Here are some notable travel marketing trends are worth mentioning:

• TikTok marketing – this social video platform became a powerful marketing tool for those skilful enough to unlock its potential. Often referred to as a platform for children and youth (and dismissed for being such), TikTok hosts 1 billion active users. It’s a value that shouldn’t be ignored.
• Social media marketing – the dominance of TikTok does not mean that other social media platforms are doomed in marketing. Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn – all those media have their place and are still valid marketing platforms. The key is – as always – targeting the right audience.
• Influencer marketing – staying in the social media area: engaging celebrities and influencers in your marketing activities is an idea worth thinking of. Of course, the influencer with a 250K Instagram profile won’t bring thousands of customers directly to your company, but the recognizability should definitely help.

What about some travel marketing trends for 2022?

• Flexibility is a key – though low prices are still important, customers are eager to find offers that enable them to get a full refund or change bookings if necessary.
• Long-term rentals – in times of remote work, more people want to try living in new places for a more extended period. So-called workations have become more popular than ever, and people expect special deals for long-term rentals.
• Geofencing – looking for attractions near the place of living has become a thing during the pandemic. People are forced to put off their travel plans until somewhere in the future, turned to what their area has to offer. With geofencing , local attractions, such as restaurants, museums, go-karting tracks, escape rooms or laser tag places, became open for people searching for “[something] near me” which, apparently, grew popular in recent years.

Enough of those trends – you’re here for the list, so here it is! 10 promotional strategies for the travel and tourism industry that actually work – they have been launched and tested by companies we know. There’s no room for hypotheses. Below you’ll find nothing but real-life examples – get ready to get inspired!

Gamecity Zoetermeer

Promotion types used: discount coupons, gift cards, giveaways.

Gamecity GoKarting Zoetermeer is a place of fun games and entertainment for people looking to do something more active and demanding than watching VOD at home or going to the cinema. Gamecity offers go-karting, laser tag, minigolf and an innovative, competitive escape room-like experience called Prison Island.

1. Social media giveaways

Pursuing the newest trends, Gamecity launched a few social media profiles, such as Instagram or TikTok (their most popular video has been watched more than 40K times!). They use TikTok not only for sharing funny, short videos but also to run giveaways for their engaged followers, thus increasing company recognizability and gaining new followers (as well as potential customers):

Online contests are usually a very effective way to raise awareness of newly-created brands. Still, nothing stands in your way if you want to organize a sweepstake every now and then to promote your already established brand.

‍ In short: a well-performed online giveaway should not only bring some attention to your company but it might also result in a significant followers increase. Each of them can become your next valuable customer!

2. Discount coupons

People who don’t order any service without typing “[name of the company] discount coupon” in Google Search won’t be disappointed, as Gamecity Gokarting issues discount coupons every once in a while. A nice 20% discount for go-karting should be enough to convince the unconvinced and create the opportunity for them to try new things while traveling or just hanging out with friends.

Discount coupons are the salt of promotion strategies for the tourism and travel industry – it’s always nice knowing that the attraction you were already willing to experience is a bit cheaper than expected. However, from a business perspective, too big of a discount can be deceptive, as people could try it once and then never come back due to the feeling that the service should be cheaper than it is. That’s why companies usually launch 10-20% discounts.

‍ In short: The most significant advantage of the discount coupon promotional strategy is that it’s not very demanding to launch and maintain such a promotion. And with a proper tool, such as the Voucherify, issuing coupons is approachable and developer-friendly.

Promotion types used: gift cards, partnerships, giveaways.

Sportihome has created its unique business model that combines two things you can find in the company name – sports and housing rentals. To make their offer attractive for sports enthusiasts and travelers alike, Sportihome runs numerous giveaways with strongly-thematic rewards, such as entries for sports events and so on:

3. Partnerships

A popular marketing strategy is partnering up with well-known brands to provide discounts, equipment and other gifts. Sportihome decided to follow this path by teaming up with Decathlon , the most prominent sports gear brand in France. Each host, who joins the Sportihome family, gets an exclusive 10% discount for equipping the lodgings they share with Sportihome customers.

In short: partnerships may strengthen your brand as showing up in the right company to a business meeting does. And if the partnership comes with benefits for the customers, you can be sure that it will positively impact your marketing efforts.

4. Gift cards

One of the ultimate travel and tourism promotion types is gift cards. However, buying holidays as a gift can cause unintended trouble – it isn’t easy to be a hundred percent sure that the gifted person won’t have any plans in a given period. Also, choosing the location and lodgings for them might not be the best idea (who knows if they’d like it?). In such a case, the best way would be to present someone with a gift card for holidays of their choice. And that’s exactly what you can do via Sportihome – choose the price (from €50 to €1,000) and choose whether Sportihome should send the card to the recipient or if you want to do this personally.

Each gift card is valid for 24 months, and the gifted person can use the code from the gift card during the payment – after choosing the most suitable location.

In short: Gift cards are present in almost any industry, but they became especially popular when the pandemic began – if all the travel companies ensured full refunds for everyone who wanted to cancel their flights, trips and vacations, they would already be out of business. One of the ways to stay above the surface while encouraging customers to return was to offer them gift cards instead of a cashback.

This is precisely the way easyJet decided to deal with the coronavirus crisis – read more about it in our case study!

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Al Ali Yachts

Promotion types used: BOGO, discount coupons, giveaways.

Al Ali Yachts is a luxury yacht-rental company based in Dubai, UAE. In a demanding market, rental companies have to try different marketing strategies to get to the right audience. One of the most effective promotions used by Al Ali Yachts is BOGO – buy one, get one free – promotion.

How does it work? BOGO promotions add an item whenever a customer orders a required number of items. For example, during the "Enjoy the Summer" promotion, Al Ali Yachts offers their customers 1 hour of yacht rental for free for every 3 hours booked. It’s easy to calculate that the offer equals a 25% discount. The difference lies in the incentive.

If a group of friends would like to rent a yacht for two hours, they might get incentivized by the promotion – they’d rather pay for 3 hours and have a boat for 4 hours.

6. Holiday giveaways

There’s always an occasion to celebrate – should it be International Women’s Day, Independence Day or National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies) Day, brands have learnt to incorporate them into their marketing efforts. A contest where the winner gets 1 hour of free cruising? Why not? If it brings people interested in the product, it’s probably a good idea (though there’s a million dollars for whoever creates a campaign combining National Pizza Day with yacht rental).

Dertouristik

Promotion types used: discount coupons.

Visiting the Dertouristik website for the first time is one of those unforgettable moments, when a pop-up ad doesn’t get on the nerves – why so? Because of an exclusive, time-limited offer (also the fact that it doesn’t cover the whole screen)!

7. Time-limited offers

Though setting a time limit for the offer is old as the world, it’s useful promotional tool companies use with success in 2022 (and will probably still use in 2222). Here’s what it looks like on the Dertour website:

The window pops up right after entering the website – it says that there’s a €50 discount for any travel package from Dertour, as soon as the total costs are above €500. The offer is valid until midnight, so there’s a strict deadline, but with plenty of time to think this decision through.

It’s a nice touch that after closing the pop-up window, it’s still available under the blue “Ihr Rabatt Code” button, so the customers can get back and copy their code anytime.

Promotion types used: flexibility packages, discount codes, freebies.

8. Flexible packages

Trends in the travel and tourism promotions have changed – customers expect more than low prices, loyalty solutions or various discounts. They also need peace of mind when it comes to planning their vacations. That’s why solutions such as ItaliaRail’s Flexibility packages work! With an additional fee customers can ensure that they would be able to reschedule or cancel their train tickets with an 80% or 90% refund:

9. Freebies

Genuinely taking care of customers’ well-being is one of the most effective promotional strategies – especially if the goal is to create a long-term relationship with the customer. So ItaliaRail went the extra mile and prepared a little welcoming gift for their potential customers – a free Italian phrases ebook, which can be a helpful guide for those who visit Italy for the first time. Of course, giving away an ebook like this probably won’t become a game-changing strategy for the company. Still, it’s an excellent little addition to make customers feel better about traveling, and to get some email addresses in the process.

Promotion types used: cart promotions, discount coupons.

With its branches in Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, France, Poland, Spain, the UK, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Finland, TUI became one of the most popular travel agencies in Europe, offering holiday trips worldwide.

10. Cart promotions

Knowing that the most straightforward solutions are often the most satisfying ones, TUI went through with cart promotions – the discounts visible immediately while browsing the offers:

A big, red –41% alert is precisely what TUI wants people to see right after clicking the TUI Deals button on the homepage. The difference between the regular and discounted price is what drives people’s purchasing decisions more often than they want to admit. But the difference between €1410 and €831 is just too good!

‍ Cart-level promotions , though, offer more than only displaying lower prices. Using them, you can assign automatic discounts to each customer who meets the redemption criteria, create personalized deals, enable free shipping, bonus items and much more!

Coming up with a successful promotion strategy for the travel and tourism industry requires a lot of work and dedication – I hope the above list of examples will help you choose the best promotion type to begin with. Now, before I finish, here are three final tips you might find helpful:

• Select two or three promotion types you’re eager to try out. Learn more about them and see if they are within your reach before investing any money in them.
• Look around and search for software that would help you create and launch the type of promotions you’re interested in. It’s always a better (and cheaper) idea to find ready-made software instead of trying to come up with your own solution.
• If you’re determined to try out different types of promotions for your business, make sure that the software you’ve found in step 2 is able to handle each of them. No point in subscribing to (and paying for) two or three different software packages while you can stick to a single one.

If you’re looking for a powerful promotion engine where you can create numerous marketing campaigns (personalized coupons, cart-level promotions, digital gift cards, product bundling, loyalty and referral programs, geofencing), but pay only for the actual usage, try Voucherify. And when I’m saying “try” I mean it – Voucherify comes with a free plan, which you can use to find your way through the platform before deciding to pay any money!

Don’t hesitate any longer

Get started with Voucherify!

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How To Market Your Travel Business Website

Wondering how to promote your travel business website?

In previous blogs , I’ve mentioned that online marketing trends change quickly, as well as the demands of modern travelers. If you’re a tour business owner looking for a way to create and promote your travel business website , stick around and let’s go over the tips and tricks on how to design the best travel website .

Your website needs to stand out.

The first question is – what are the best ways to market a travel business?

With a quality, well-written and user-friendly website.

Even though there are many social media channels you can use to build brand awareness and promote your tour business, having an actual company website goes a long way. Even if you are a small tour operator, tour guide or you own a small travel agency, having your own domain builds trust.

Before you decide to create your travel business website, make sure you understand the broad picture of your company and what you want to do with it .

It might be best to get to know your biggest competitors and check out how they arranged and designed their website.

How to write a good website copy?

Here’s the thing — your travel website should contain relevant information about your tour business and other travel services you provide . You must create a need for people to explore your website further. That also doesn’t mean you get to cram it all up on one page. First decide what kind of message you want to send out and which exact services are you offering to your potential clients.

When deciding how to design your website, have in mind consistent branding as well as how people read online. This means that you should always use the same set of fonts, colors, and logos, for example.  People read in an F, E, and Z pattern so you might want to have that in mind as well.

For instance, research the term knolling. It’s actually a process of arranging related objects in parallel or 90-degree angles as a method of organization.

Allow website visitors to scan your text. Write in a digestible way. So is to say that your copy must be explicit. Tailor your words.

Know exactly what the audience wants. In fact, that’s what’s SEO copywriting all about— delivering value to readers while meeting your strategic and tactical goals .

Additionally, make sure you’re near that sweet spot of 5th-grade reading level for general audiences .

“Good copy creates clarity in the world of short attention spans.”

You have to tell people exactly what you want them to do when they visit your site! Whether it’s to contact you for customized tours and activities, or to browse your website or to book a tour online right away.

Here’s a quick checklist:

• Is the call to action button easy to find?
• Are graphics relevant for your target audience?
• Use your website mobile-friendly when it comes to usability?
• Have you gone through the SEO strategies on your homepage?
• Do you have any customer testimonials on your website?
• How are you leveraging social proof in your marketing efforts?

Be mindful of conversion rate optimization

Your goal should be to convert passive website visitors into active users which later on engage with your content and book your tours.

Look out for CTAs because they need to be relevant to your landing pages. For example, check whether all CTA buttons lead to the proper pages. You can’t have the “book now button” opening the latest eBook download form.

If you’re having a hard time picking out the right CTA words, consider words that provoke emotion as well as the ones that start with a strong command .

Have a responsive website with relevant information

These days a lot of people book online via mobile devices. That’s why it’s very important that you’re website is responsive and mobile-friendly . And not to mention the fact that it needs to be indexed by search engines such as Google.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, your travelers should be able to find all the information they need about a service you’re offering . Go and check whether all of your pages, tours, and offers, as well as pictures and itineraries, are up to date. While you’re at it, make sure all of your contact forms work so clients can reach you.

Use the footer on your home page to provide links to your social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.

How To Use Social Media To Promote Tours

• Awesome Tour Operator Website – Absolutely Essential for Customers’ Trust

Maintain a blog

Should you start a company blog?

As a content writer with many years of experience in blogging, I have some bad news for you, I’m afraid. The market is overly saturated with all kinds of blogs, articles, and generally various content. We’re producing more content that people can physically digest.

However! All is not lost.

If you think you have the time to maintain a blog in order to build brand awareness, go for it!

It’s all about patience and investing time in researching topics that your target audience will be interested in. Nowadays, it’s much harder to create interesting blogs that people will actually engage with. For a travel blog to work, you need to back it up with social media.

Focus on consistently providing value for your clients.

Tell your story.

Prioritize content.

Talk to your audience.

Address them as if they were standing right in front of you.

Show people how your tours are different, why they are good and what your audience is missing out on if they don’t book a trip with you. If you do decide to attract potential customers to your company’s blog, research who you’re writing to and who’s your audience.

Apart from that, you have to keep up with the latest marketing trends, learn about SEO, keywords, social media, Google Analytics, etc.

Search engines care about content’s authority. You also have to keep in mind that longer content ranks better than short on search engines. So, if you can make your blog lenghtier, you can, at the same time increase, user’s time spend on the site. That way search engines know your content is trustworthy.

Hint: Once you create a successful blog, you might want to cash that in and join forces with a travel blogger.

Implement a “book now” button on your website and sell your tours online

Having an online booking system is an absolute must if you ever want to be near the competitive edge.

It’s an application that allows you to manage your bookings. With it, you are able to manage your important tour dates online, appointments, meetings, itineraries, and receipts.

That way you save yourself a lot of time and avoid a grueling and tedious task of doing everything manually.

Time, not money, is your most valuable asset. Remember that.

If you have your own website, you can add a “book now” button and transform your travel website into a key selling tool by enabling tourists to book your tours bookings 24/7.

•   This Is What the Most Effective Booking Button Looks Like

The biggest advantage of online booking software is in the fact that they are displayed online, on a website in the form of a “book online” button. That way travelers can book at any time, as well as pay for their activity online. Clients don’t have to call or come to the office to make a reservation.

Every Tour Operator Should Know This About Online Booking

As the travel technology keeps coming up with new solutions every year, there are a lot of different booking systems on the market today.

That means you get a chance to choose between some of the best booking solutions out there. And, while the cost of implementing a booking system doesn’t come cheap, there are, of course, less expensive options out there. The only thing you need to really concern yourself is which system best fits your business needs. However, keep in mind that there are no flat free systems other than a few open sources.

• Advantages of Using Online Booking Software [eBook]

Ask people to leave reviews and testimonials

If you have a bunch of happy and satisfied clients, ask them to leave a nice review on sites like TripAdvisor.

Also, you can ask some of them for their impression of your services and tours which you can later use in the form of a testimonial. Just make sure you have their permission to quote them on your homepage.

• 8 Tips How to Increase Positive Reviews for Tour Business

Grow your network and partner up with other travel professionals

Especially if you’re run a travel business that’s a startup, you’ll need as much help as you can get. So why not connect with other people from your niche and travel industry to form long-lasting business partnerships?

Growing through word of mouth.

• 5 Ideas For Forming Partnerships and Growing Your Tour Business

Post your offers on popular marketplaces

Are you having a hard time picking out the right marketplace for your tour operator business? Marketing places are becoming more popular and they are a great way to introduce your tour business to a much bigger audience.

The Most Popular Distribution Channels for Tour Operators and Travel Agents

Be active on social media

It’s all about having an online presence. Nurture your business relationships, take care of your clients and their needs. Connect with them and let them get to know you and your tour business.

Here’s everything you need to know about online marketing and social media in travel and tourism:

• Best Digital Marketing Practices in Tourism

Depending on how you handle this communication, you can learn a lot from your custo

mers as well as offer better service and tailor your product to fit your customers’ needs .

When someone goes on the Internet and searches, for example, for your tour guide business, travelers are interested in your website and social media posts. Through your Instagram profile, potential clients can see all those posts with fabulous pictures from your journeys and guided tours a few months back.

This allows people to get to know you and your business without even seeing you. They get to see what kind of tour business you run, how much time you devote to organizing tours, and also, they get to see other people’s comments—preferably, positive feedback from your clients.

It’s always about providing value for your clients.

If you organize magnificent tours, your treat your clients with respect and make them feel special while at the same time being able to focus on organizing other tours—then you have your work cut out for you.

I hope this blog post was helpful. Share it!

If I’ve, by any chance, missed a tactic you use to promote your travel business website, let me know in the comments section below.

ORIOLY on June 19, 2018

by Lidija Šomodi

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11 Ways to Promote Your Tours for Maximum Sales

Travelers today do not have to depend on friends and family recommendations to find the ideal travel package. They also do not need to rely on a travel agent to book their tours for them. They have a lot of options to choose from (your competitors) and a host of technological tools (think Google) to help them identify and book the perfect trip.

Furthermore, travelers can buy spontaneously, but they can also take quite a bit of time in between deciding to travel and which travel package to book. In fact, according to Think with Google , a traveler can have more than a hundred interactions with brands while researching their trip.

For example, Amy, a traveler planning a trip to Disney World, spent 2 months researching the trip and had 419 interactions with brands.

So why should travelers like Amy, choose and book your tour package? Well, that’s the question we’re going to help you answer.

In this article, we’ll present 10 tips to promote your tour packages and stand out from the competition so you can maximize sales.

Let’s get to it.

11 Tips for Selling More Tours and Vacation Packages

First, get a booking system.

First things first, in order to get online bookings, you need to get a booking system to automate your processes and start selling your tours online. Try Regiondo , Europe’s leading booking system designed to streamline your travel business. To learn more about how you can make profits using a booking system, book a demo with one of Regiondo experts.

Create an Appealing Tour or Vacation Package

In order to effectively promote and sell your tour packages, you have to create a great tour package  — one that appeals to your target audience. A great tour package is actually the foundation for your promotion and sales strategies: You need to have a good product that can sell itself.

How can you create a great tour package? Know your audience first.

Know Your Audience

The first thing you need to do when designing any tour package is to figure out who you’re selling to. Are you targeting families or millennials? Those two groups have different travel ideas and dreams.

For example, if you’re targeting family travelers, you may want to consider this research study by Bing. The study reported that 68 percent of family vacation idea searches are conducted by women and that women conducted 59 percent of overall travel-related searches. Among those, women aged 35-48 accounted for 41 percent of those travel searches.

So, if you want to target family travelers, based on Bing’s data, you need to market your tours to women between the ages of 35 and 48. However, that audience is not narrow enough.

You should also consider which types of travelers you would like to cater to: Higher-end, middle income, or budget?

The Bing study found that “cheap family vacations” was the top growth term for people searching for family vacation ideas. So, if you’re targeting family travelers, your ideal audience could be women aged 35-48 who are looking for budget-friendly options. You would then design your tour packages accordingly so they appeal directly to that audience.

Make Your Marketing Clear as Ice

Any marketing you do for your tour packages needs to be as clear as possible. Any user scrolling through your site, social media, or anywhere you have information pertaining to your tour package, should be able to quickly understand your unique selling point.

So, quickly spell out your marketing message for potential tourists and make it easy for them to find everything they need to make a purchase decision.

Personalize Your Messaging to Sell More Vaction Packages

The customer is king and should be made to feel that way in every interaction.

If you want to give your tour business an edge, you should deliver personalized content: from personalized emails to targeted messages. Generic emails no longer do well. In fact, they can cause more harm than good as they convey the message that you are simply aiming for quantity and do not fully understand your audience.

It would be much better to send targeted communications based on the experience a specific customer is interested in. But how can you know the individual preferences of everyone in your audience?

You can add cookie consent to your website and use marketing tools to track your audience across multiple channels. With that tracking data, you can send personalized messages with recommendations that are suited to specific customers.

If you’re already using Regiondo to manage your online bookings, you can send personalized messages to your customers from the Messages field in the Sidebar:

You’ll find 20+ templates for the most common scenarios such as confirming an order and rescheduling a booking. These are ready to use but you can also edit them so you include your brand colors, logo, and communication style.

If you don’t have a Regiondo account and want more information, book a free demo here .

Optimize Your Website and Accept Online Bookings

One of the first steps in promoting and selling your tour packages is to make sure your website is optimized to sell that tour product and is able to accept online bookings. Truth be told, your website may be your biggest distribution channel.

Every single thing you could possibly look for and find is online. Your customers are too. That means that you should also have a dedicated web presence — mainly via your website .

In addition to having a website to begin with, it’s important that you have all the key information about the tour package you’re promoting at the front and center of your site. A user should be able to easily access that information and understand what your tour is about. They should also be able to book instantly online if they decide that your tour is it. Use can use this free SEO grader tool to make sure your customers can easily find you on search engines.

The advantage for you is that you don’t need to be by your computer or phone 24/7: You can accept bookings around the clock (from all over the world, in advance and short notice), have your inventory updated in real-time, and also get more bookings (since your website is your storefront).

Make Your Site Mobile Friendly

The next step is to make sure your website is mobile-friendly, meaning that a user can do everything they can do on your desktop website just as easily on your mobile site.

Just to highlight how important it is that your site is mobile-friendly, a recent Google study found that 45 percent of smartphone users in the United Kingdom are comfortable researching, planning, and booking their entire trip using a mobile device. The same is true for 48 percent of smartphone users in the United States and 44 percent of smartphone users in France.

A Think with Google study found that people switch between desktop and mobile for certain actionable steps. Specifically, they found that a majority (46 percent) of travelers who perform travel research on mobile made their final purchase decision on mobile but used another device to finalize the booking.

Think with Google also reports that over one-third of smartphone users have a negative impression of the company if the mobile experience is slow. Speed isn’t the only issue — smartphone users get irritated by a confusing mobile site.

All this is to say that your mobile site should have easy search functionality, straightforward yet engaging language, and booking should be a hassle-free process. Ideally, user experience should be similar across all devices.

Utilize the Power of Video

The power of video is undisputed . Especially in the travel industry where you’re trying to sell an experience or dream.

Video is a great way to engage and inspire potential travelers. You can specifically use video to help travelers better envision themselves in a particular destination and with your tour offering. Since video is a highly visual and emotive medium, you can more easily inspire potential travelers to book the experience you’re selling.

Indeed, video gives them a visual interactive insight into what the experience will be like. Particularly if it’s about an adventure tour or activity.

Our advice is to make video a staple medium in your overall marketing strategy. You can start off by creating short destination videos for social media before progressing to more immersive videos.

Get on YouTube

Hosting the awesome videos you make on YouTube will put you in front of a larger audience. Travelers are curious about what you are all about and which experiences you’re offering them so allow them to find you by hosting your own travel channel on YouTube.

You can release a set of informational videos about different tours and activities, or destination guides covering things to do in a particular location. Make sure to include links to your website and any social media handles so that the viewer can contact you or stay in touch.

Tap into the Power of Social

There are several reasons why social media is key in any tourism marketing strategy. The first one is that there are almost 3 billion people on social media today — basically, your entire audience and beyond.

As mentioned earlier, travelers today go online to conduct research on travel destinations and tours. They also largely depend on reviews, especially peer reviews which are aggregated on social travel sites like TripAdvisor .

A study showed that 89 percent of millennials plan their travel primarily based on online peer reviews. A TripAdvisor study found that 53 percent of travelers do not make a purchase decision without reading reviews and that 80 percent read between 6-12 reviews before making a purchase decision. That’s huge.

Indeed, people are scouring social media platforms for peer-approved travel inspiration. They have access to travel photos, reviews, and more on social media. That content is what gives them some insight into what your tour has to offer and if it’s the ideal one for them. Back to our main point: social media greatly influences purchase decisions.

That’s why it’s important to have an active presence on all social media sites that your audience may be on. From Instagram to Pinterest , identify the platforms that your target audience uses and get on there with fresh and engaging content.

Speaking of peer-reviewed and approved travel inspiration…

Hire Travel Influencers

Travel influencers are people who can promote destinations, activities, and businesses by using their social media influence. They partner with brands to review their products or share general experiences with a particular brand, in an effort to get their audience to engage with that brand. Brands essentially hire travel influencers to create awareness or drive sales for specific products.

You may want to think about doing the same: hiring a travel influencer to promote your tour package.

However, before you make the decision to partner with an influencer, you should be mindful that appearances can be deceiving. Having a large following or heavy web traffic does not make someone an influencer. Rather, look for someone who is proactive and able to inspire their followers to take action.

It’s going to take some research to identify an influencer that is a good fit for your brand. One whose ideals match your message and brand. What you can do perhaps is find a few influencers to come and try out your tours for free in exchange for reviews.

If you’ve never ventured into this space before, it may be best to start off small and see whether it’s a strategy that will deliver desired returns. (Rather than investing in a highly famed influencer who will inevitably charge high fees and have specific demands.)

With any marketing plan, you need to know your analytics inside out . If you hire an influencer but are not tracking where your traffic and brand mentions are coming from, you will not be able to effectively target your marketing — you will be advertising broadly when a more targeted campaign could be more successful.

The good news is that if you are working with bloggers or influencers via social media, you will be able to see where traffic is coming from (via the analytics tools offered by some social platforms). You should keep in mind, however, that traffic should ultimately translate into returns; meaning that it should either result in more bookings or increased activity and engagement on your social media pages.

All in all, if done correctly, you can substantially boost your brand awareness and tour package bookings by partnering with an influencer.

There are many creative ways to improve your marketing strategy and promote your vacation packages. We covered the fundamental strategies that will help you to better convey your marketing message, to engage with potential tourists in an authentic way, and convert that engagement into actual sales.

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9 Effective Ways to Market Your Travel Agency

Written by: KHM Staff on December 14, 2017

Marketing your business to your clients is an important part of being a travel agent. Managing your social media accounts, website, CRM, blogs, and emails, plus staying on top of new travel deals and booking your clients–there’s always so much to do!

Are your efforts bringing in the business that you hoped for? When looking at your marketing plan for the year, consider adding one or more of these ideas into the mix.

Practice your 30-second commercial.

Often called an “elevator speech,” this is your opportunity to explain your business in a succinct message. Whether you’re walking into the grocery store or attending your child’s school function, you’re bound to bump into someone you know. Having your 30-second commercial  prepared is essential to marketing your travel agency stumbling over the words to explain it each time. Attending Boot Camp at our corporate office will help you perfect your pitch.

Create a monthly email newsletter.

Developing a short email sent from myTravelCRM or Mailchimp is an easy, efficient way to keep in contact with your clients. Your newsletter content should focus on the current travel season. Whether it’s engagement season, summer break, or time to deck the halls, email your clients on a consistent basis to give them travel ideas and tips for all occasions! KHM Travel Agents can utilize email templates in myTravelCRM for more content ideas.

Add variety to your social media posts.

Inspire your followers with content based on new travel deals, industry news, packing tips, destination highlights, and holiday posts! Add life to your with these suggestions:

• Consider setting up a theme for each day to help with consistency.  For example, Travel Tip Tuesday. 
• Share eye-catching photos from your own travel or from supplier websites and include short, attention-grabbing captions .
• Subscribe to emails from travel publications like Travel + Leisure and Travel Weekly to share their news articles to your pages.
• Subscribe to travel agent supplier Facebook pages for shareable contact posted regularly.  
• Look on Pinterest for packing must-haves to share on your pages!
• Search suppliers’ YouTube channels and share interesting, informational videos to your page. Be sure you are using supplier content and not the content of other travel agents. 
• KHM Travel Group Agents can read  Agent Access Weekly emails to learn about the newest travel deals. Post about the latest sales by pairing your content with appropriate graphics or supplier resources !

Scheduling posts is a great way to make sure you are consistent. 

Set up a booth at a local trade show or fair.

Find the perfect trade show by checking your local chamber of commerce, event center schedule, fairgrounds, or even call your nearest mall to set up a table or booth during a specific time. Broadcasting your business to potential clientele is the best way to amp up your leads list. KHM Travel Group has tips to prepare our agents to work a tradeshow .

Start a referral program.

Marketing by word of mouth requires minimum effort and is low-cost! Boost your sales by asking your clients to refer a friend to your travel business or to simply keep you in mind when someone mentions travel. Add an extra incentive with a referral program. Gift cards are a great way to reward clients for referrals.

Do a giveaway.

Giving out items with your travel agency’s information creates wide, visual exposure for your business. Think of low-cost giveaways that your clientele would enjoy and possibly use while traveling. We suggest visiting 4imprint to brainstorm ideas.

Advertise locally.

From bulletin ads to newspapers to pizza boxes, there are advertising opportunities everywhere. Putting your business name, logo, and contact information out publicly lets others know that your services are available and can boost your public relations image . Since some ideas will be more of an investment than others. Start small by putting an ad in the local school directory or your church bulletin and see if the response meets your expectations. 

Send direct mail to your clients.

Every day your clients come home to a mailbox full of bills, newspapers, and the occasional note from grandma. Add a little variety and a personal touch to your client communications by sending them something from their favorite travel agent! For special occasions like birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, or congratulations for a life event, consider hand-writing a card or letter.

Don’t forget to put a “travel” spin on your message.  For example, in an anniversary card add, “During these special times, couples often plan an anniversary trip, renewal of their vows, or just a romantic getaway as a celebration of their love. [YourAgencyName] will plan the perfect time for you and your spouse, so you can focus on each other. If I can be of any assistance to you, please contact me.”

The Engagement program through Travel Leaders Network is another great resource for low cost, professional looking, direct mail marketing.   

Plan a travel night.

By hosting a travel night, clients can learn more about a specific destination, tour or cruise. If you choose, you can even offer an exclusive booking incentive. Host this night in your home, event space, or restaurant depending on the number of attendees. Supplier BDMs are great resources to tap into when planning a travel night.

Keeping in contact with your clients is crucial to developing your business. When developing your marketing plan, keep an eye out for creative ideas that will attract your target audience. Be consistent with your timing, your message, and use the tools available to you through your host agency.   

Are you looking to be a successful travel agent ? KHM Travel Group’s travel agents have access to support for their independent business. Download our free guide by completing the form to the right or by calling 1-888-611-1220.

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Delta Is Offering a Limited-time Promotion to Help Loyalists Reach Medallion Status — What to Know

Travel must be booked by Sept. 30.

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Looking to qualify for Delta Medallion status? There are just four months left of the year, though the airline has made elite status easier in reach with its latest promotion. 

Right now, SkyMiles members can earn 1 Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) per dollar spent on car rentals, hotels, and vacation rentals through the online Delta Travel Extras portal after taxes and fees. Travel must be booked by Sept. 30 and completed by October 31 in order to qualify for the MQD earnings. 

These MQDs are separate from SkyMiles , though you will still earn the latter on any bookings via the Delta Travel Extras portal. Whether booking a car rental, hotel, or vacation rental, members will earn a minimum of 2 SkyMiles per dollar spent that can be redeemed for future award flights. 

However, it can take up to eight weeks after travel is complete to receive MQDs and SkyMiles, according to the airline . 

There are four levels of Delta elite status: Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. The following MQD thresholds are required to qualify every calendar year, and once achieved, travelers will enjoy status benefits for the remainder of the calendar year and the next full calendar year:

• Silver Medallion - $5,000 MQDs
• Gold Medallion - $10,000 MQDs
• Platinum Medallion - $15,000 MQDs
• Diamond Medallion - $28,000 MQDs

For instance, a traveler who books a weeklong vacation rental home for $3,000 after taxes and fees through Delta Travel Extras will earn 3,000 MQDs. That purchase alone clears more than half the requirement for Delta Silver status, which grants perks like waived baggage fees and priority customer service. Beyond booking flights — which earn 1 MQD per dollar spent with Delta — travelers can earn MQDs by holding the right credit card. Delta’s premium credit cards , including the Platinum and Reserve, come with a $2,500 MQD headstart. In addition, Delta Platinum cardholders will earn 1 MQD per $20 spent on everyday purchases, while Delta Reserve cardholders can earn 1 MQD per $10 spent. 

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Travly lets travelers submit videos for a chance to earn a 5% commission from hotel bookings

Travly is a new social-first discovery and hotel booking platform designed to cater to the growing number of travelers who rely on short-form video content for trip ideas. 

The platform features user-generated content that provides authentic reviews of hotels instead of generic information and often outdated images. Creators who submit videos of hotels have the chance to earn a 5% commission from bookings.

Co-founded by travel enthusiasts Zak Longo (CEO) and Mayur Patil (COO), Travly initially began as a travel network on Instagram and TikTok. In the summer of 2022, the duo acquired @Travel , building a social community of millions of followers across Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. Longo and Patil run 45 channels in total, including @Cruises, @Hotels, @Resorts, and @Vacation on Instagram and TikTok. Collectively, the pages reach over 1 billion monthly views, they say. Travly also has an ambassador group of about 1,000 creators who help out with brand deals on its host of social media accounts. 

The company recently branched out to develop its own trip discovery product, using its insights to launch a video-focused booking platform and mobile app . Travly integrated with Booking.com to power its search capability, which features millions of hotels worldwide. 

“We were always like, ‘Okay, we need a product to go with this,’” Longo told TechCrunch. “So we put our heads together, and we were thinking, ‘Why don’t we do a booking platform?’ Because nowadays, we feel like the newer generation of travelers are using social media as a search tool … we could bridge the gap with our network and help people book the stuff they’re seeing on social media.” 

The platform is currently accepting video submissions, offering anyone with high-quality videos of hotels a 5% commission from all bookings done through the platform for that hotel. Travly only accepts one video per hotel and may replace it if it performs poorly. 

“We’re going to analyze whether a video doesn’t perform optimally for a hotel. We want to be fair to the hotel in that regard,” Longo said, explaining that Travly will consider factors like the average duration of the view or click-through rate. It may also swap out new and up-to-date videos if, for example, hotels offer new amenities they want to promote. 

Travly touts around 2,000 sign-ups and 500 video submissions so far.

Another way Travly stands out is its Destination Dupes feature. A playful spin on a makeup “dupe,” or close duplicate of a product, Travly compares luxurious travel destinations to more affordable ones that are similar in feel. This feature helps users not only save money but also discover hidden gems that offer a similar experience. For instance, it highlights the price difference between a hotel in London (~$325 per night) and one in Krakow, Poland (~$75 per night), offering a similar charm at a lower cost. Although it’s not a global cultural and financial capital like London, Krakow is known for its culture, cobblestone streets, and historic landmarks.

If users are still unsure where to travel next, they can click on the “Discover new directions” button to answer a series of questions and get a curated selection of ideas. For instance, if they want a lazy, low-budget holiday, Travly’s AI assistant pulls up hotels that fit the description.

In the future, Travly is set to expand its offerings, aiming to integrate more experiences into the platform. These include offering trip packages, restaurant reservations, and concert tickets, providing a comprehensive travel planning experience. In terms of additional revenue, the company is considering having ads on the platform as well.

With the creator economy estimated to be a $250 billion industry and the market expected to nearly double in size to $480 billion by 2027, other startups in the booking space are also tapping into the travel influencer trend. Plannin , a new travel booking platform founded by former Priceline executives, enables creators to monetize their hotel recommendations.

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50 Free Places to Promote Your Website for Free Advertising

Congratulations, entrepreneur! Your business idea has come to life, and you've designed a brilliant website to boot. Now, the question on your mind is likely: "How do I broadcast my website to the world?" With countless guides focusing on SEO optimization, email outreach, and engaging blog content, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, especially when working within a tight budget. Well, fear not! We've curated an exclusive list just for you - a compilation of 50 remarkable platforms where you can advertise your small business for free. That's right, free online business advertising isn't just a myth. So, without further ado, let's embark on this exciting journey to explore top-notch spaces for zero-cost promotion!

Why Do You Need Free Promotion Websites for your Business?

Wondering why our list of 50 free platforms for business promotion is a game-changer? Well, think of it as your shortcut to top-notch, costless publicity for your small business without spending countless hours navigating the vast ocean of the Internet. Even if your brand has been online for a while, a revisit might just be what you need. You could discover hidden gems that you've missed earlier, platforms that could funnel notable traffic to your online hub.

It's undeniable: every business thrives with free online advertising. But let's be honest - aggressive online promotion often comes with a hefty price tag, making it elusive for many small business owners. Fear not, for we are here with the ultimate guide. This comprehensive list of 50 unbeatable platforms ensures your enterprise enjoys the spotlight it truly deserves. So let's get started!

Promote Your Website in Online Directories and Review Platforms

Tapping into online directories and review platforms is a savvy move for those seeking free business advertising. Some of these platforms boast global visibility, while others are tailored for local exposure.

However, a word of caution: it's essential to vet these promotional platforms carefully. Their relevance hinges on the nature of your business. For example, an eCommerce store would undoubtedly benefit from a Google listing, but would Yelp serve the same purpose?

Online directories and review platforms rank highly as website SEO tools. They act as a beacon, shining a spotlight on your business by adding your details to their databases. While these platforms may offer "no follow" backlinks, they're instrumental in funneling traffic your way as curious users visit your site to delve deeper into your offerings.

1. Google My Business

Google My Business improves your traffic and SEO.

One of the first things you should do when you start a business is to go over to Google My Business, fill out all the information about your company. Whether you run a local café or an online store, it is essential to have correct info about your business presented in the Google search. If you rely on Google for website traffic, then you cannot miss this opportunity to promote your website for free.

From an SEO perspective, having your business present in this place gives you the chance to get a free Google-rich result , making it easier for people to contact you, visit your website, leave a review, and much more!  

2. Bing Places for Business

Bing Places for Business promotes your website for free on all devices.

Although it has a smaller market share, Bing covers a significant portion of web searches. That's why you should register for this service. Bing Places for Business works almost the same as Google My Business, just for the Bing search engine. As free places to promote your website go, Bing Places for Business might offer you some advantages over the competition, as well.

Since fewer people use Bing for their searches, you have a better chance of standing out in search results. Moreover, you will address a compelling internet-based market and drive new traffic to your website that you would otherwise ignore.  

3. Apple Maps

Apple Maps is the go-to place for businesses to promote websites for free.

You certainly heard about Google Maps, but Apple Maps is coming strong from behind. It comes preinstalled on every mobile Apple device, and statistics say it gets more than five billion requests every week. If you listed your business in Goggle Maps – and we recommend you do –, the next logical step is to use Apple Maps for the same reason: free online advertising.

Promote your website on Apple Maps and get a massive share of the Apple users' market! As free places for website advertising go, it cannot get better than this. However, keep in mind that you should have a free Apple ID to list your business here. 

4. The Better Business Bureau

Get your business in front of customers by registering with the B.B.B.

The Better Business Bureau was cool before we started using computers and the Internet as a daily habit. It is the place where all reputable brands and businesses are. It is one of the oldest business review platforms. Although some controversies surround their rating system, they proved to be a good intermediary between companies and customers.

Keep in mind that this platform serves only companies and customers from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. On the other hand, almost every country has a similar official directory offering businesses genuine opportunities to connect with potential customers, partners, investors, etc. 

Back to this free place for website promotion, a company's presence on the B.B.B. is a standard of good practices. The more positive feedback you receive with them, the greater your chances to develop a successful business. 

Manta is one of the best places to promote your website for free.

Another small business directory, Manta , is a great place to promote your website if you have a small business in America. However, you can list your business here for free if you are from another country as well.

Manta registers over 13 million monthly users. It provides businesses with specific industry categorization, which makes this website easy to navigate. Moreover, you can exploit their online tools to boost your free online advertising efforts: Google Ads, SEO, social media, and other useful features and instruments for optimal website promotion. 

6. Merchant Circle

The Merchant Circle is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs running eCommerce businesses.

The Merchant Circle is a platform connecting merchants with potential customers. Connecting two million merchants and one hundred million consumers annually, this platform allows you to choose among multiple plans.

It is a great place to promote your website for free, especially if you just built an eCommerce business and you want customers and potential business partners to find you. You can register your online store or service providing company in a specific category and use the platform at its maximum potential. 

The free plan gives you access to most of the platform's features, while the paid plans clean your page of distracting ads and allow you to post more than one link to your website, among others. Nevertheless, if you want a free place to promote your website professionally, Merchant Circle is a great option. They provide you with digital footprint expansion, automated marketing tools, social media opportunities, search engine marketing, and more. 

> Do you want to build an eCommerce business? Get started now !

Yell is the largest online directory for free business promotion.

If you run a business in the U.K. or have a company U.K. branch, you know Yell is for Great Britain what Yellow Pages were for the world before the Internet was cool (or even in existence). 

Yell allows you to promote your website by getting a free listing. They also have a dedicated Yell app allowing customers to find, contact, and review businesses on the go. The tool is more powerful than the eye can see. Big businesses have access to advertising, pay-per-click campaigns, social media advertising, SEO tools, and more. 

However, you can get an exciting range of free digital marketing tools. In other words, if the U.K. market is part of your online business strategy, don't hesitate to promote your website for free here!

Promote your restaurant or other business on Yelp but manage customer reviews wisely.

Next on our list of free advertising sites is Yelp . Although this platform is more popular with restaurants , you can also use it if you do business in other industries. If you claim your business on this platform, it is important to check it frequently to see what your customers are saying about your brand. Companies that manage their reviews mindfully gain more popularity and brand awareness on the platform. So don't forget to encourage your existing customers to drop by and leave a few kind words!

Keep in mind that Yelp reviews are double-bladed swords and people use the platform for nefarious reasons. Nevertheless, suppose you are confident in your products' and services' quality. In that case, Yelp acts as a free website promotion tool and social media platform that can drive your business's traffic and engagement. 

9. TripAdvisor

Use TripAdvisor to promote your website and hospitality business for free.

Suppose you chose a gorgeous website template for your hospitality business, and now, you run a cozy, welcoming inn, hostel, or guesthouse. If you are not on TripAdvisor, you don't exist, according to some. How are tourists going to find you, review your services, or recommend your place to others?

TripAdvisor is the place to be for any business related to travel and tourism – restaurants and other connected services included. Promoting your website on TripAdvisor is free. They will also help you reach a large qualified audience and make your business stand out from the competition with plenty of free marketing tools!

Use Angi to promote your service-providing company.

A well-established and reputable website directory, Angi provides verified user-generated reviews of local businesses across the U.S. The main objective of this directory is to advise users on where they can find reliable services. If you use their Green plan, you will find one of the greatest free places to promote your website and company. Angi is especially valuable if you run a business in repairs, landscaping, plumbing, home cleaning & decorations, health & wellness, pet care, auto repair, and more. 

11. Gartner Digital Markets 

Great place to showcase your apps and software eCommerce store.

If you've just published an app or created software, Gartner Digital Markets is the place to promote your product for free. You will most likely feature your business on the GetApp platform , but you should also consider Capterra or Software Advice when you draft your software products eCommerce business plan. 

Gartner Digital Markets specializes in business apps and software so that it could be more than just a traffic channel for you. It may be a potential lead generation channel. If you want your software displayed on G.D.M., all you have to do is request a free basic listing. 

12. SaaSGenius

Promote your SaaS solution, software, or app for free on SaaS Genius.

One great online directory specialized for SaaS solutions, apps, and software is SaaS Genius . It would help if you took some time to populate your profile so that it doesn't look unfinished in comparison to others. This platform is a free place to promote your website where users can find and compare different SaaS solutions and make their decision based on these findings. This listing can bring you some serious customers, but make sure you follow the directory rules before creating a free listing. 

> Do you want to build an eCommerce business? Learn more ! 

eLocal helps you promote your website quickly and free.

Just like Manta and Angie's List to some extent, eLocal is a business directory allowing users to find millions of businesses across the United States. You can promote your website for free here, whether you have a plumbing business, sell dental office equipment, or help people get auto insurance. Listing your business on eLocal is free, and it takes about five minutes. This directory helps you with traffic, but it is also an excellent free tool for generating leads and sales. 

14. E.Z. Local

Stand out of the competition with free local business listings on E.Z. Local.

Next on our list of best free promotion websites is E.Z. Local , an online business directory. The platform helps businesses gain visibility and use their tools to boost traffic and leads for your service website or online store . We recommend checking their professional SEO tools, social media management, reputation management, search engines' top placements, and more, among some of their best features. While a basic listing is free, you might want to verify some of their other pricing plans as your business develops. 

15. Local.com

With Local.com, you get business listings on 40+ promotion websites.

Whoever said free promotion websites and business directories are obsolete they are wrong. Such directories are becoming stronger than ever. For instance, Local.com offers users and businesses plenty of opportunities to find each other.

People who are looking for certain businesses, stores, services, or events get information about driving directions, other customers' reviews and ratings, phone numbers, addresses, and more. The platform runs a successful collaboration with the Yext Answers Search Platform so that you can claim your business listing on Local.com and tens of other websites. 

16. Hotfrog

Promote your website for free on Hotfrog!

According to Hotfrog , 2.7 million people make more than 430,000 inquiries to businesses on the platform every month. As promotion websites and free online advertising go, you should not miss this one. It works like almost all other free places to promote your website that we discussed until now.

You can read their blog as well – a cornucopia of resources and actionable advice, useful particularly to new business owners. Either you want to list your brand new gift shop teeming with compelling popular products or a digital marketing company, Hotfrog is one of the best promotion sites in the United States. 

17. Brownbook.net

Brownbook.net is an international directory for businesses.

With over 40 million businesses present on their platform, Brownbook.net distinguishes itself among the top players in the field of worldwide business listings. Registration is free. The platform allows you to use your keywords for search engine success, as well.

As free promotion websites go, this platform requires no effort or stress on your part. Just have your branded logo , photos, videos, and other marketing materials at the ready!

Tupalo allows European and American companies to promote their businesses.

Do you conduct business in Europe or the United States? Tupalo operates from Vienna and allows customers to find businesses (spots) in Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, France, and the U.S.A. If you don't have a budget for a premium account, you can start with their free plan. They offer you minimalistic widgets for your website and a link to your online profile. 

19. Wikipedia

Build a professional company page on Wikipedia.

Probably one of the best-known sites on the Internet, Wikipedia is still – after so many years – one of the top places to create a page for your business and include a link to your website. It is because Wikipedia is often the first place people go to check out anything – companies included.

20. Trustpilot

Give your customers a voice and your website traffic and leads with Trustpilot.

Next on our list of free places to promote your website, Trustpilot is among the most powerful and influential ones. If you look at their statistics, you will find that around four million new reviews go online on the website every month. The platform is an excellent tool to promote your business and give your customers a voice. 

Let your customers discover and review your apps and software on G2.

Previously known as G2crowd, G2 is one of the largest tech marketplaces in the world. With over three million people visiting G2 regularly to discover and review new software products and business services, it is a great place to promote your services and redirect people to your website.

If your online store deals with app/software creation and selling, you need to list your website on G2. Of course, you can start with the free plan and work your way upwards with the other plans. 

22. Sitejabber

A strong reputation on Sitejabber drives trust, traffic, and sales.

With more than ten years of experience and over 3 million users' reviews, Sitejabber is a platform that helps consumers find secure online businesses and avoid scammers. It has the reputation of being "the Yelp for websites and online businesses," allowing consumers to write reviews and businesses to respond to them.

Also a great promotional platform for your website, the platform offers free business listing opportunities and plenty of features to help you drive traffic and leads. 

23. NextDoor

Make a name for your small business in the neighborhood with NextDoor.

With fifty million business recommendations by neighbors on NextDoor , this business directory is a breath of fresh air for small businesses. This platform is one of the best free places to promote your website and build a brand presence or following in your neighborhood. Whether you own a store, you are a real estate agent, a dog walker, or a hairstylist, you have to be here. 

The platform helps you make valuable community connections and grow your local customer base while driving clients to your website as well. The platform assumes the responsibility to verify all the members, so businesses and clients meet real people who live in a neighborhood. 

Best Free Promotion Websites for Any Business: Social Media Networks

While the buzz around social media platforms remains ever-present, many small business owners have yet to harness their complete power. Yes, you might have set up a couple of accounts to flaunt your brand, but there's a vast world beyond just those few platforms. Exploring both new and established platforms can skyrocket your visibility within your niche. So, why not dive deeper into these communities and spark meaningful conversations with prospective customers? Below is a curated list of top promotion websites and social media networks where you can benefit from free online business advertising.

1. Facebook

Build a Facebook page for your business and start building a loyal audience.

If you have not created one already, a Facebook page for your business is the place to start when it comes to your website/company's free online advertising. When creating your page, make sure you choose the right category for your business and fill in all the information and the 'About' section to make it more informative.

Of course, you should consider paid advertising and sponsored posts with Facebook. However, having an engaging page to generate leads and users' loyalty is a great start for beginner entrepreneurs.  

Be mindful about what you post on Twitter and gain a loyal following.

As you know, Twitter users are the ones who find out first what is going on in the world, from business news to political shenanigans. If they love and follow your business, you will get impressions, re-tweets, followers, shares, and all the good stuff social media has to offer. If you are doing business in the tech sector, then being present on Twitter is a strike of genius. However, this platform is not only for tech companies.

You can achieve significant Twitter "juice" if you run a fashion store, a restaurant, a service company, and everything in between. Here you can post news about your business, articles that you've published on your company's blog, fun staff for user engagement, bits of business storytelling, and so on.

Keep in touch with industry-relevant influencers and customers easily! However, take time with your Twitter posts, as, as you probably know, you have a tough crowd on your hands, and you need to treat them mindfully. 

3. YouTube 

If you put in some thought, you can promote your website on YouTube too!

Many people don't consider YouTube to be a place where you can promote your website. Still, it's the perfect place to upload both promotional and tutorial videos (especially now that YouTube has replaced traditional media as we speak). You might think that you cannot promote your website with video marketing, but remember, video surpasses written content in many industries.

Take a walk outside the box and keep your audience close with company presentations, product teasers and commercials, behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, interviews with your collaborators, team members, clients, etc. As long as you deliver quality videos relevant to your business and your users' interests, you are good to go. 

4. LinkedIn

Every respectable business needs to have a LinkedIn profile. With around 500 million users in membership, this business-oriented social network serves as a platform where people find work, partners, and vendors. It is perhaps the most famous place for free business advertising, talent hunting, and growth opportunities.

Do you want to become an authority in your niche? Connect with prospect collaborators and clients, write well-researched articles, and use all the network's features to promote your website, products/services, entrepreneurial profile, and more! 

5. Instagram

Instagram allows you to humanize your business and get invested followers.

Instagram was once a platform to share fun bits of users' personal lives. Now, it is one of the most valuable platforms for free website promotion and user engagement. Running a profile on Instagram can drive traffic to your website and give your brand a more "humane" feel.

Whether you want to promote your music on Instagram, your restaurant, bookshop, photography website, or anything, Instagram is the place to be these days. Just be mindful of the hashtags and the website links you are trying to promote. Try to be less on the nose with guerilla advertising and have some fun with the platform. Use all the social network's features to tell real business stories and grow your fan base into loyal customers. 

6. Pinterest

Create stunning imagery and descriptions to harness the full Pinterest power.

Pinterest is a great platform for fashion/jewelry/D.I.Y./design-oriented ventures. Or so it was a few years back. Now, Pinterest is an excellent social network to promote (mindfully) any business. Your marketing efforts here revolve around producing attractive, original photos or graphics to accompany your blog articles, how-to guides, tutorials, business stories, products, etc.

Pinterest is one of the largest and most popular traffic drivers across all social media networks and free promotion websites. However, make sure you only create quality images and write compelling descriptions. 

People on Reddit are hard to please, but you can use the platform for website promotion.

Something between a social media platform and a social news aggregator, Reddit can be an amazing way to promote your website. Keep in mind that it will not let you get away with guerilla marketing attempts. Don't let the high volume of links posted on this network fool you. Redditors are perhaps the toughest crowd on the Internet when it comes to marketing. This community doesn't allow shameless self-promotion, but they will give you valuable feedback. If you play your cards right, Reddit users can become your most loyal customers.

The platform works well if you don't give off the impression that you want to sell people something in particular. It is a good way to promote your blog, a portfolio, a news website, and so on. Spend time on Reddit and engage with the users. Just dropping a link and checking the reactions a week later is not a good way to approach the fiery pits of Reddit. Choose your subreddits wisely. 

Use the power of TikTok to promote your website for free to a young, active audience.

Formerly known as musical.ly, TikTok is a short video sharing platform where users can incorporate funny videos and music to tell a short story.

Initially used by teenagers, TikTok now has a wide audience of adults who take advantage of the platform's promotion side. If you have a fun, whimsical brand image and a young audience, TikTok is among the best places to promote your website for free, engage your audience, and convert it into loyal customers. You can post how-to videos promoting the products you sell online, business stories, tutorials, and more.  

9. AngelList

AngelList allows you to connect with potential investors and business partners.

Although the AngelList started as a platform for matching startups and investors that want to fund them, it has become a tech company database over the years. If you are in the entrepreneurship game, you have to create a profile on this platform. You should do it, especially if you want to gain angel funding or recruit talent for your startup.  

10. We Heart It

Post stunning visuals on We Heart It and get a loyal following.

Here is another image-based platform/social network and is a good choice for brands that rely on beautiful visuals. Users come to We Heart It in search of inspiration, so if you plan to utilize it, make sure your images are truly inspirational and not just your basic advertisements. It is a less known opportunity to promote your website for free, but use it nonetheless. 

11. DailyMotion

Create fun, catchy, and viral videos to stand out on DailyMotion.

Does your website rely on video materials and live streams? Then DailyMotion is one of the best promotion websites to use for free online advertising. If your company already has a few promotional videos, then you should create an account on this network.

DailyMotion has a strong community and millions of monthly visits. With this in mind, you might consider making some funny, engaging, or creative videos and make them go viral on this platform. You can start with the Free Starter Offer or pack and work your way to more complex features in the platform's portfolio. 

Use Vimeo’s video-sharing platform to make your website and business famous.

Another video-sharing platform that you can use to boost your free website promotion efforts. Vimeo became popular because it was the first platform to support H.D. videos, and brands still use it today. From company presentations, product demonstrations, teasers, and user-generated content, the sky is the limit with Vimeo. 

The German alternative to LinkedIn.

The last entry on our list of promotion websites in the shape of social media networks is XING , a Hamburg-based social network for professionals and businesses. XING is somewhat of a competitor to LinkedIn and can help set up your profile to drive traffic and business.

Start with the free membership and move on to the XING ProJobs and XING ProBusiness plans to take your business to the next level. With almost 15 million registered members, XING may allow you to connect with partners, customers, future employees, investors, etc., in ways other professional social networks do not. 

If you have a website for your business but still don't have a blog, then you should consider starting one as soon as possible. Not only will your blog drive more people to your website, but you can also use the content you create to promote your site across multiple platforms. Remember, your content should always provide value to the readers to want to share it. Regardless of the subject of your articles, videos, or photos, social media platforms are always a good place to promote your website (content) for free. 

> Don't you have a business blog yet? Start one now !

Press Release Promotion Websites

When something happens in your company that is newsworthy, publishing a press release is necessary. If you plan to distribute your press release for journalists to notice, you should keep in mind that it is better to write as a journalist yourself.

It means to keep self-promotion to a minimum. Concentrate on the facts and benefits for your users instead. When your press release is ready, you need to submit it to as many places as possible. That's where we come in. Here are the platforms that let you promote your website (news) for free!

Submit your company’s press releases for free on PRLog.

It is an easy-to-use platform where you can submit your press release for free if it is under 500 words. It is more than enough to get your point across and explain to the world what is new in your company. If your company released a new product, organizes an event, or has very important news to share, post your articles on PRLog and easily drive traffic to your website. 

PR.com is a good platform to distribute press releases and drive traffic to your website.

Between the other promotion websites for distributing P.R. released and news, PR.com is an interesting hybrid. The platform refers to itself as "a cross between a public relations and advertising entity." PR.com is a good option for distributing press releases and building a name for your business.

With the free account, you can distribute press releases and submit job postings. If you grow your business enough to afford the Gold or Platinum memberships, you get a full business profile, directory listings, and more. 

3. Newswiretoday

If you want the whole world to know what your company is up to, Newswiretoday might be a solution. This press releases aggregator's downside is that it will not offer you many features with the free plan. Other than this, Newswiretoday is one of the best-regarded P.R. platforms in the industry. You will enjoy the benefits of a solidly integrated network even with a free plan, although we recommend you budget the Site Launch Boost package. 

When it comes to press release sites, online marketing experts and SEO specialists recommend you do not exaggerate using them. If you don't have news every week and a budget to make sure such news reaches the right people, your content will most likely get lost in the great Internet noise. Even if you use such promotion websites for your link development strategy, it is best to consult with an agency regarding the use of too many P.R. websites. Some links could do more damage than good. 

Free Classified Ads Sites for Website Promotion

When you want to gain exposure, posting your company name and website on classified ads sites may be a good idea. It will improve your SEO efforts and market your business to potential customers and leads. We know, Craigslist gained a controversial (and scary) reputation online in recent times. Still, it doesn't mean you cannot harness the power of free classified ads for solid website promotion and free online advertising. 

If you want to know how to promote your website, Locanto is one of the many answers.

Here is a worldwide online classifieds network whose ads are available in about sixty countries. The upside of using Locanto is that you get to have HTML code for your website, product/company pictures, and other links. The free ad stays on the website for sixty days. Among other benefits, Locanto comes with a decent internal search engine, minimal analytics to help you understand how your ad works, and social media sharing opportunities. 

2. Facebook Marketplace

Use the full power of Facebook to promote your business.

While most ads on Facebook Marketplace come from individuals, you can post your company's ad as well. You will have more success chances if you pay for a sponsored ad.

However, if you are a beginner and don't have a hefty budget for a solid SMM strategy, you can start by placing ads on this marketplace and hoping to gain leads and customers. Make sure you edit your product/service descriptions well. 

Geebo offers safety for all sellers and buyers.

Use Geebo to stand in front of potential customers, leads, and business partners while you also get a backlink to your website. Geebo's design is a bit outdated (but not too much). Otherwise, their selling point is their safety and cleanness. The classified ads site screens the ads, buyers, and sellers. For this reason, it will take some time before you see your ad online. On the other hand, by checking everything going on there, Geebo offers professionalism and safety to all users. 

Don’t skip Ad Post in your website promotion efforts! They have over 30 million users a month!

The downside of Ad Post is that you will not likely get a clickable link back to your website. If a user wants to reach your website, they will probably have to copy and paste the URL in their browser. The upside is that this classified ad site has about 30 million page views per month. Posting an ad is free here so that you could try it.  Another great news is that you could go international with your ad, so it's worth a shot. 

As a short conclusion, you can use free classified ad sites to promote your website and business. However, you should choose wisely the ads platform. Not many offer a backlink to your website. Moreover, your ad might get lost among thousands of ads posted by people and companies every day. 

Promote Your Website via Content Aggregators and Content Management Platforms

In a competitive market, where tons of brands compete for user attention, fetching content can make a huge difference. Whether you post well-written blog articles, opinions, lists & tops, etc., you need to find places where you can share engaging and viral content with a larger audience. That's why we suggest you check out this list of places to promote your website for free via the written content you create. 

Before you begin, keep in mind the following issues:

Some content platforms praise the irreproachable content quality and will not go for any SEO scheme or shameless promotion;

Posting content on such aggregators does not mean instant traffic to your website or online visibility. You will have to try your best, especially if your content goes through a users' vote system;

Content curation and social bookmarking websites are incredible places to promote your website as long as you follow their rules to a capital T;

While having some backlinks on these websites is a good thing, your content might not reach that "hot" status you desire for it. People might not even see it. Do not despair. Polish your content writing skills until you create a piece that users will want to read and share.  

So let's see a short rundown of promotion websites where you can subtly promote your business and naturally guide users towards your website. 

Quora users are a tough crowd, so don’t use any shameless self-promotion technique for your website.

This platform encourages refined and intellectual discussions on a wide variety of topics. Dropping links in the conversation is a frowned-upon practice. However, the best way to approach website promotion on Quora is to build a solid, credible, and trustworthy presence. Creating a great network and becoming a reliable source of information is the best way to go about this platform. 

One of the largest news aggregators in the world, Digg uses readers’ voting, so mind your content.

Digg is indeed a news aggregation platform featuring articles coming mostly from established news outlets, so getting your content on the front page might be difficult. The platform also works on a users' vote system, so if readers enjoy a piece, they will push it to the website's top.

It seems hard to make a name for your company or drive traffic to your website in this context. However, with millions of users digging articles on the platform, you should give yourself a chance.

As promotion websites go, Digg is one of the biggest and toughest to conquer. Build a solid content marketing strategy before you start dropping links there. 

It is an honor to have engaging content published on Medium, so take your time with it.

For any content creator, publishing on Medium is a badge of honor. Among the many content aggregators and promotion websites, Medium stands out with high-quality pieces people love to share on social media. However, you need to write engaging, potentially viral, and useful articles to have a chance at this. On the other hand, if you write excellent pieces worth sharing, Medium is one of the best free places to promote links to your blog articles, shop, a branded landing page, etc. 

Mix is a content aggregator you could use to promote your content.

We all know Mix – it absorbed StumbleUpon together with its users. Now, the platform became the go-to choice for people who want to find commercial or entertainment content, music, articles, and so on. It is a great opportunity to promote your website for free and save content created by others to stimulate your imagination and boost your content marketing efforts. 

5. Buzzfeed Community

Buzzfeed Community relies on users’ votes so make an effort to write outstanding content.

Having an article loved by the Buzzfeed Community enough to push it on their top pages is a dream come true for any content creator. Buzzfeed is a very tough crowd, and you will have to write many articles until you nail the perfect one. Check out the trends and see what readers like more. Understand how the platform chooses articles to display front and center. Write catchy content without even thinking about website promotion. 

6. Scoop.it

Scoop.it is a great opportunity for business promotion if you create great content.

What do you want more from a content curator, curated content, more content to publish on your blog, brand-building opportunities, influencer networking? Scoop.it is a great place if you want website promotion, rankings, traffic, and new business growth prospects. The free plan is to get you started. As you will acquire a budget and taste for the Scoop.it power, you will probably move on with the paid plans. 

7. Flipboard

Another great content/news aggregator is Flipboard to promote your content.

Just like Digg, Flipboard is a content and news aggregator. As a business, you can take advantage of the platform's streamlined and smooth processes. If you want to become a publisher and promote your website by producing quality content, you will have to go through a series of verifications. Other than that, if all is well, you will see traffic coming from the platform.  

Bottom Line

Now that you have gone through this list of free promotion websites and learned how to market your business across multiple platforms, the only thing left is to put in the work and create a solid online presence. Make sure the promotion websites you found are relevant to your business. Moreover, you should thoroughly check content aggregators and classified ads sites to ensure backlinks from them do not hurt your website.  Now, we'd love to turn the conversation over to you. What are your top picks for promotional websites where you can feature your business without cost? Have you explored directories beyond our list? Are there any additional content aggregators or zero-cost ad platforms you'd endorse to our community, especially those looking for the best way to advertise their small business with no costs? Your insights are invaluable, and we're all ears for resourceful promotion spots you deem noteworthy. For those yet to establish an online presence or considering a website revamp, we've got encouraging news. With Ucraft, thanks to our intuitive drag-and-drop website builder, you can design an engaging website in a snap. Dive into the world of zero-charge online business advertising without the need for coding expertise. Simply select a ready-to-customize template, infuse your creativity, and you're set to unveil a remarkable business website in no time.

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