2020 had been explicitly cruel to the tourism industry, cruelly scathing down the potentialities that it had accumulated over the former few years. Hardly there exists an industry, except tourism, whose success depends on several factors, including weather, governmental policies, and global economies. These give rise to SEO trends. Orlando experts of MyCity Social talk about how these have changed so far and how our excellent SEO services Miami locals swear by can help you.
With cloistering indoors becoming a decree following the COVID pandemic at the onset of 2020, the tourism industry began facing its worst days. Travel took a hard hit, and even the largest DMOs, destination marketing organizations, incurred huge losses.
2020 SEO Trends: What Worked?
Most states had implemented bans on migration, which resulted in the globally recognized tourist destinations turning to a locals spot only. There was the celebration of the local culture, much to the advantage of the hometown. There was a rise in SEO and localized content, which in turn sold out reimagined experiences, rekindling the interest of the town folks.
We can take up the example of ‘Visit Philadelphia,’ which revitalized their marketing efforts by promoting the concepts of staycations and nearer to home trips. This DMO advocating the more significant Philadelphia regions has turned to regional marketing initiatives through the winter of 2021.
The goal to focus on Visit Philadelphia is to bring tourists from nationwide to Philadelphia. Before 2020, the town used to serve as a central hub of tourism, receiving an innumerable amount of visitors every year that are from out-of-state. Even before anyone can guess about the imminent pandemic attack, Visit Philadelphia used to put up content that would serve both the local crowds and the tourists. They were eager to adopt a localized SEO, covering all the necessary points, including nearby diners to sightseeing points. This indicates the importance of finding the best SEO services Miami offers.
With the pandemic putting an end to the inclusion of visitors who are out-of-state, Visit Philadelphia came up with mini travel plans explicitly meant for the local population, which altogether optimized newer gateways to promote local places. They distributed COVID-19 content and scheduled plans keeping in mind the travel restrictions. Their campaign supported all the tourist-based businesses, including local diners, small-scale businesses, and hotels.
“Visit Philadelphia” snagged SERP features, widened the local search, and has brought to use unique features, such as Discover, which altogether points out that it tends to remain a long-term advocate for the town of Philadelphia.
Before the advent of 2020, there was no room for virtual space in companies that were based on experience. It looked so unnatural to witness something exciting miles away at home when it is not difficult to reach the spot in person.
Tourism services around the world were hit hard by the pandemic. Beyond the Bells, one of Philadelphia’s very own tour operators also faced the same problem. It is solely owned and operated by the LGBTQ+ community. Their popular offerings were now not plausible due to COVID-19. However, a significant increase in searches for online events or gatherings gave new opportunities to businesses. Those who were able to adapt survived the shock of the pandemic.
Their website’s initial purpose was to operate as a tour booking platform, so it was developed on an engine that supported such booking. However, due to a change of plans, they incorporated E-commerce enabling functions into the website and customized the website accordingly to sell experiences and products, which align with the theme of pride.
The company thus focused on preparing a box that could embody the entire community. The income that was generated from their weekly held event was generously donated. According to the company’s sayings, their approach of selling pride boxes had helped support various LGBTQ+ businesses that were dwindling due to the pandemic.
The above example implies that change is necessary for survival, and the pandemic cruelly pinpointed this universal truth. Some businesses were swift enough to bring changes according to the search behavior of consumers and integrated keyword research into the newly emerging content. The content was drafted by targeting the terms that were previously looked down upon. Those businesses survived the waves by offering themselves a better position for visibility and consumer support, despite the decrease in travelers and tourists.
In the United States, when it comes to domestic travels, things go unregulated. When the government declared a nationwide shutdown, all cities responded to it, resulting in the hot tourist destinations’ emptying. Consequently, the revenue underwent a drastic fall.
Continually updating the Google My Business listings is always advisable, and in 2020, it became unavoidable. The listings which got the highest ranks were the ones who had updated working hours, stated their COVID-19 related policies and preventive measures, and delivery or 3PL services. Accordingly, Airbnb and VRBO came in the top rank in the searches due to their new COVID related content showcasing owners’ guidelines and a strict cleaning protocol. The businesses who updated their listings on Google My Business were able to capture the consumers searching to find out which businesses were prevalent and what services could be availed. During that time, various businesses that primarily depend on searches could create a brand image of being readily available, concerned for safety.
2021: Expectation From Tourism
There are high chances to expect most of the travels and vacations at the beginning of 2021 to happen closer to home, despite testing pre-travel, business closures, and border closings being a target.
The near future has chances to witness an increase in short travels. The annual sales of recreational vehicles were up by 4.5%. If this trend continues and the effects of COVID-19 decrease, people are likely to explore traveling throughout the middle and end of 2021.
Various outdoor activities recorded a considerable increase in terms of what people were searching on the internet, and the real-world impact is also quite visible. The early phase of 2021 saw astonishing growth in what was formerly considered suitable for the elderly folks – snowbirding. The US witnessed a considerable migration of the northerners to the nation’s southern parts in the winter season. Moreover, there is a higher chance of witnessing busier beaches, fuller flights, extended stays, and vacations.
Strangely enough, the nearby hotels are expected to receive more travelers than ever. Those who work remotely and do not have a proper office space have taken over local hotels as their new office. To make the best use of the ongoing online-meeting-culture, many hotels have come up with the unique idea of offering day-time, single-day, or work-from-hotel deals. These offers are extended mostly to reduce the losses that occurred during the high time of the pandemic. Most importantly, these deals seem to appease the people by allowing them to manage zoom calls that they are forced to attend in the same room. Thus, people can easily stay at the hotel for the day during office-hours and continue with their zoom meetings.
Extended Visits
With migration under restriction, remote employees are forced to remain in their accommodations along with their families. This results in a situation where there are too many people remaining glued under one small roof. This may become mentally exhausting for few families, and that’s why the concept of remote relocations extending for a few weeks has become very popular. The villas and hotels, which have stopped receiving tourists who are traveling out of state, have come up with the idea of extended visits for the local families, accompanied by an affordable range of prices. Many countries are coming up with newer concepts and plan to bring back the charm of staying local. People are demanding a change in atmosphere and surroundings, and few countries are trying to work towards this.
The remote stays are pacing up to grab the attention of the people. With work options like working from home becoming a trend, the world is also witnessing an increment in people’s interest in longer-term stays. The search ratio was also high in April and October 2020. People opt for longer-term stays either for themselves or for the family.
This is the most recent scenario in vacationing and tourism. There are chances of us getting an opportunity to witness an expansion in the tourism deals and offerings in parallel to consumer demands. Along with consumer demands and needs, the tourism industry will likely focus on the pre-quarantine needs, as they do not run the same in every city.
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The concept of traveling has certainly altered in the eventful year of 2020, and so has the SEO trends. With COVID-19 hitting hard, every other industry has been forced to bring relevant changes to their former working approach to survive the waves. The pandemic will forever change our traveling patterns and transform the tourism eco-system completely. To get started with the best SEO services Miami offers or for more information, get in touch with the Orlando experts of MyCity Social today.
