The 10 Biggest Mistakes and Wins for Travel Websites
Insights from 10 years of helping travel websites succeed
Presenter: Matt from TravelTractions Marketing
BIGGEST MISTAKES TO AVOID
1. Trying to Target the Whole World
The Problem:
- Attempting to create a website that covers everything: skiing, holidays, family travel, etc.
- The bigger your target market, the bigger your budget needs to be
- To take on the whole world, you need budgets comparable to Viator and GetYourGuide
The Solution:
- Niche down - this is critical for success
- Understand exactly where your audience is (Facebook for older demographics, TikTok for younger)
- Google algorithms are focusing on personal branding, expertise, and topical authority
- Build significant topical authority around ONE topic first
- Zero in on one thing, then expand from there
2. Launching Without SEO Review
The Problem:
- This is the toughest and most devastating mistake
- Brings tears and upset to many website owners
- Building a new website without proper SEO structure can destroy existing organic traffic
The Critical Step:
- Get an SEO specialist to review BEFORE the website goes live
- Ensure proper URL structure, heading structure, and internal links
- If your website is already getting organic traffic from Google, a poorly structured redesign can tank your rankings
- Have an SEO agency run thorough checks before launch
3. Not Automating Customer Reviews
The Problem:
- Missing out on one of the most important parts of the marketing funnel
The Solution:
- Automate your review system with timed follow-ups:
- One to two days after experience
- Two days after
- One week after
- Two weeks after
- (Timing depends on your business type)
- Create a smart funnel system:
- Positive feedback → Direct to Google Reviews or public review platforms
- Negative feedback or improvement suggestions → Direct to Google Form or private feedback system
- This separates constructive criticism from public testimonials
4. Selling Price Instead of Experience
The Problem:
- Trying to sell the price, the room, or the destination
- Anyone can offer those things
The Solution:
- Sell the experience and the feeling
- Focus on what guests will go through and the emotion of arriving
- Differentiate through experiential storytelling, not just features
5. Using Stock Images
The Problem:
- Generic stock photos don't create authentic connection
- Massive difference in conversion when showing real experiences
The Solution:
- Invest in original photography and videography
- Get a day or week of professional content creation
- Show real people having real experiences on your website
- Authentic visual content makes a significant impact on conversions
6. Poor Post-Visit Communication
The Problem:
- Not maintaining engagement after the initial experience
- Missing opportunities for repeat business
The Solution:
- Ensure guests join your mailing list during signup
- Prioritize direct bookings through your own website to control communication
- Set up automated re-engagement campaigns
- Stay top of mind with past customers
7. Not Using Retargeting Pixels
The Problem:
- Missing opportunities to re-engage interested visitors
- No way to identify or reconnect with potential customers
The Solution:
- Set up retargeting pixels (Google and Meta) on your website
- Retarget people who visit your booking page or show significant interest
- Social media retargeting is an excellent converter
- When people compare your business to competitors, they check the vibe and experience through social media
- Without pixels, you lose those visitors forever and can't reconnect
8. Targeting Multiple Languages Too Soon
The Problem:
- Spreads authority too thin
- Increases budget requirements
- Makes it harder to gain traction
The Solution:
- Stick to one language initially
- Master that market completely
- Expand to additional languages only after establishing success
9. "Build It and They Will Come" Mentality
The Problem:
- Websites don't automatically become popular just by existing
- Passive approach leads to no visibility
The Solution:
- Active marketing is essential:
- Reach out to journalists
- Build quality links
- Get people talking about you
- Maintain active social media presence
- Invest in paid advertising
- Launch consistent content
- Create multiple discovery pathways
- Build on your website foundation continuously
10. Misusing AI for Content Creation
The Problem:
- Creating massive amounts of AI-generated content (20-100+ pages)
- Flooding the internet with low-quality, AI-generated pages
- Google struggles to identify important pages to crawl
- Sites can get penalized for excessive AI content
The Solution:
- Use AI responsibly:
- 3-5 pages per month is acceptable
- Use AI to assist and improve your work, not replace it
- Always add human guidance and expertise
- Focus on quality over quantity
- Don't rely on AI as the sole content creator
CRITICAL STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
Website Structure
Importance:
- Not sexy, but absolutely critical
- Proper structure impacts everything
Key Elements:
- Choose the right TLD (top-level domain): .com, .ca, or country-specific
- Ensure your domain targets one specific country initially
- Proper URL architecture
- Correct heading hierarchy
- Strategic internal linking
Tracking and Analytics
Essential Setup:
- Install tracking pixels immediately:
- Google retargeting pixel
- Meta (Facebook) retargeting pixel
- Without pixels, you cannot:
- Identify customers
- Understand their behavior
- Know their interests
- Retarget them effectively
- Missing tracking makes advertising extremely expensive
- Proper tracking dramatically reduces ad costs and improves conversion rates
LINK BUILDING REMAINS ESSENTIAL
Common Misconception:
- Some claim link building is no longer important
Reality:
- Link building is one of the quickest ways to gain authority and trust
- Any positive mention of your business helps you rank higher
- Important for both traditional search engines and AI
Modern Approach:
- Old method (mass emailing about broken links) no longer works
- New focus:
- Relationship building
- Demonstrating expertise
- Authentic outreach
- Monitor mentions on Reddit, Quora, and other platforms
- Jump into relevant conversations
- Quality over quantity
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Niche down to build focused expertise and authority
- Get SEO review before launch to protect your rankings
- Automate reviews with smart positive/negative funneling
- Sell experiences, not features or prices
- Use authentic visuals from real customers
- Control customer communication through direct bookings
- Set up retargeting pixels before losing valuable traffic
- Master one language before expanding
- Actively market your website—it won't grow passively
- Use AI as a tool, not a replacement for human expertise
- Build quality links through relationships and expertise
- Proper website structure is foundational to success