6 Sources of Fresh Web Content for Tourism Websites

Update Your Web Content To Keep Visitors Coming Back

Keeping travelers and search engines coming back to your site requires that new pages of content are added on a regular basis. Fortunately, there are a number of reasonably simple ways to create and repurpose content that can help accomplish this – without dedicating every waking hour of every day to the effort.

Six ways to keep your site fresh:

1. Blogs

It’s still surprising how few travel brands have embraced blogs, considering how much potential content they have to offer. A travel website could have a single corporate blog, or several that come from different points of interest: the concierge, the special events coordinator, the chef, the wedding planner, the head of the ski school, the golf pro, the list goes on. With the ability to post comments, customers and prospects will join the conversation.

2. Podcasts

Have a subject that can be serialized? Informational and educational content like tours, reviews, lessons and the like make great podcasts. They can be hosted on site and distribute through iTunes, too. And if dialog is transcribed, it can be published as keyword optimized content on new web pages.

3. Embedded Video

Who among us has never watched an embedded YouTube video? If your destination has interesting things to point a camera at or footage in the can and it fits the brand position, we recommend using it on your website. The cost is negligible compared to broadcast media, and someone will surely be paying attention (search engines like fresh content).

4. Online Communities

On the simple end, an online community can be a guest logbook much like those found at a small inn or a bed & breakfast, where visitors can share their experiences. A little more involved would be a photo/video of the day section, where visitors upload and then rate and comment on each others’ content. Still more involved (and potentially more interesting) would be a section of the site where frequent visitors and those with upcoming reservations could share personal experiences, just chat or make plans to meet up.

5. News Releases

Not to be confused with press releases (which are designed to gain media coverage), news releases are simply keyword-enhanced announcements of interest that are posted as new pages on the website. They can also be published elsewhere on the web using distribution services.

6. Online Newsletters

Assuming the email addresses of customers and prospects are being captured, a periodic online newsletter is a great way to reach out to those who have shown interest and add pages to a site.

These are just a few of the many types of content you can add and update to keep your site fresh. I'd be happy to hear your suggestions... leave a comment!