How can you climb up the rankings of OTAs?

A guest blog by GetYourGuide.

Many tour owners believe that they cannot optimize or grow their product sales on Online Travel Agency (OTA) platforms like GetYourGuide, Viator, and Expedia.

However, this is not true, as there are many ways to optimize for:

1. volume (# of travelers who land on your activity on an OTA) 
2. conversion rate (% of travelers who book your tour after viewing it on an OTA platform). 

In this article, we will explore the critical factors for optimizing both volume and conversion rate, which ultimately lead to better rankings on an OTA. We will also provide some tips on how to test and compare your tour with your competition.

How OTAs rank products

One of the essential factors that determine a product’s ranking on an OTA is the revenue it generates for the platform. The more bookings a product gets, the higher its ranking will be. 

There are other factors that may influence a product’s ranking like the number and quality of reviews, pricing, availability, and relevance to the customer’s search criteria.

However, revenue generated is the most significant one, so we’ll focus on it.

The ranking of an activity can be described as a loop:

1. Volume: The more volume the activity gets → the more bookings it gets → the higher it starts ranking → the more volume it gets → and so on.
2. Conversion Rate: The more bookings the activity makes (because of higher Conversion Rate) → the higher it ranks → the more volume it gets → the more booking it makes → and so on.

You can visualize it as follows:

Therefore, it’s crucial to find levers to impact Volume and Conversion Rates which we’ll talk about below.

How to Increase Volume

OTAs consist of two main landing pages: search pages and category pages. 

As a tour owner, it’s crucial to be included in all relevant search and category pages. The more search and category pages you’re included in, the more customers will see your product. 

1. Search pages. When a customer searches for something, OTAs show the results for that search. See example below.

GetYourGuide search results page

1. Category pages. Category pages are organizing activities based on a certain criteria. Common criterias are:
   1. Locations
   2. Activity type (example: water activities)

Using those OTAs create category pages where they list activities. See example of “Family-friendly activities in New York” below.

GetYourGuide category page

The more search and category pages you’re included in, the more customers will see your product. 

Here are the most important tips for optimizing your tours for volume:

1. Location Inclusion: Ensure that all the locations where your tour takes place are included, or it will not be viewable by customers in the locations you didn’t add.
2. Categories Inclusion: Add keywords, descriptions, and categories to your tour, so it shows up on different pages corresponding to your tour. For example, if you offer water activities in Barcelona, make sure to add those keywords and descriptions to your tour.

For example, on GetYourGuide you can add keywords when setting up the tour.

Note: make sure your tour information is relevant. All the information included in your tour listing should be complete, accurate, and relevant to attract the right customers and increase conversion rates. Irrelevant information may lead to low conversion rates, negative reviews, and harm to your reputation.

How to improve Conversion Rate?

Conversion rate refers to the percentage of people who book your tour after viewing it on an OTA platform. Here are some key factors for optimizing conversion rate:

Reviews

The more reviews and the higher the review rating you have, the higher your conversion rate will be.

Customers look for activities they can trust and tend to pick those with more reviews if they have a similar offering. Ask your customers to leave a review after the activity and provide them with a link/QR-code to the OTA to do so.

Bookability

Ensure that your activity is bookable by as low and as many people as possible and as often as possible.

Don’t set too harsh conditions on your tours, such as allowing only two tickets minimum or setting a minimum price too high. Tours with two minimum participants have, on average, 30% less conversion rate, and tours with three minimum participants have 85% less conversion rate.

There’s a chance to improve your activity by making it available as frequently as possible, on as many days as possible. By offering more dates and times to choose from, potential customers are more likely to discover a convenient time that works for them, which can result in more bookings and ultimately, higher revenue.

Visuals

Add beautiful images that allow customers to envision themselves in the experience.

Research shows that 93% of customers make their purchase decision based on the first 4 images. Use the most engaging, representative, and well-composed photos as your first four images to increase the likelihood of a customer booking. 

Additionally, our research shows that having 10 or more high-quality and relevant images can increase bookings by up to 24% as customers are better able to picture themselves enjoying the activity.

Description accuracy

Ensure your descriptions are accurate and free of errors.

To summarize, as a savvy tour operator, you can boost your bookings with a few simple steps. 

1. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews, making it easy for others to see the great experiences you offer. 
2. Make sure your tour is accessible to everyone by keeping group sizes flexible and scheduling frequent departures. 
3. Engage potential customers with captivating, high-quality images that transport them to the heart of the action. 
4. And finally, ensure your descriptions are accurate and free of errors, so customers can book with confidence and have the time of their lives.

Test and compare vs competition

As a savvy business owner, it’s crucial to keep an eye on your competition and continually test and improve your performance. Here are some helpful benchmarks and tips to help you stay ahead of the game:

Here are some benchmark numbers and suggestions for you:

• Aim for a conversion rate of at least 1% to match the industry average. If your conversion rate is lagging, focus on optimizing for conversions
• Take a close look at your competitors and compare their performance to yours. If similar tours with 1000+ reviews are outperforming yours, it’s time to reevaluate your strategy and make some changes
• Use customer reviews on your competitors’ pages as a source of inspiration to identify areas where you can improve or differentiate yourself. Analyze their photos, pricing, and tour setup to pinpoint gaps in your offerings and opportunities to stand out

Conclusions

Optimizing your tour for volume and conversion rate is crucial for success on OTA platforms like GetYourGuide. By following the key factors discussed in this article, you can increase both your volume and conversion rate, leading to more bookings and revenue for your business. Don’t forget to test and compare yourself with your competition regularly.

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