Swiss House B&B

Background

Swiss House B&B is a eight-bedroom guest house in the popular Peak district town of Castleton. Having bought the business a couple of years prior the owners had inherited the marketing material including the website which was out of date and need attention.

Taking advantage of assistance from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Marketing Peak District and Derbyshire (MPDD) they were keen to improve their online presence, attract more guests via their website rather than the online travel platforms, reduce commissions, and rank better in Google for accommodation in Castleton.

How We Helped

Ranking in Google for holiday accommodation in a popular location is key to getting bookings. The trouble is search engine results are often dominated by the likes of Airbnb and Booking.com which charge commissions to both the guest and property owner. Ranking an independent holiday property amongst the big boys is not impossible but requires an understanding of search engine optimisation that many agencies don’t have – but is an area in which we specialise. (By way of example, we also ranked an independent bed and breakfast business on page #1 of Google for keywords relating to ‘Alton Towers b and b’.)

First of all we audited the existing website and understood what keywords it ranked for and what it didn’t. We then looked at who ranks already for the targeted keywords and created a website with relevant, optimised content.

We also improved their online profiles in Google and Bing with updated and more relevant information thus telling Google they were on the ball.

Photography is a key component of holiday accommodation. Guests like to see where they will stay, what the rooms look like, the facilities and amenities. We therefore engaged with a local professional photographer who created a video and gallery of photographs.

Outcome

Since launch the website now ranks in positions one to four for keywords targeting ‘Castleton’ and ‘bed and breakfast’ both in the local Map Pack and organic results going head to head with Booking.com, Tripadvisor, Visit Peak District, Hotels.UK.com, BedAndBreakfasts.co.uk, and lodging-world.com.