In order to help you capitalize on the full potential of coupons, we are thrilled to announce the release of the improved Discount Codes, an important part of the Regiondo booking system. This updates brings new design and multiple usability improvements, lets you automatically generate discount codes, use quick filters and much more! Let’s take a closer look at the recent improvements to understand how your business can benefit from them.

Discounts aren’t just about reducing prices; they are a powerful tool to drive growth in your business. Beyond increasing conversions, they can raise your average cart value, foster customer loyalty, and improve overall conversion rates. Read our article to learn more about the benefits of discount codes. 

New look and feel

The redesigned Discount Codes section can still be accessed right from the main menu (Dashboard → Coupon Codes). In this section you can create a new discount code, view the list of the existing ones, filter or search for discount codes, and export or import them. Enjoy the look and feel familiar to you from the Booking Management section.

Note: In this update only experience products are supported. Discount codes can’t be applied to bundles, add-ons, and value vouchers. Their values are also ignored when calculating percentage discounts.

Types of codes

In the new Discount Codes, we are introducing two types of discount codes: Simple and Advanced (Buy X Get Y). You are already familiar with the simple discount codes: they are the codes that can be redeemed during checkout. In this update, only simple codes can be used in Regiondo; advanced codes will be available in the next versions – stay tuned!

Automatic code generation

In this update, you can create your own discount codes or generate random ones. Moreover, you can automatically generate up to 1,000 discount codes in bulk to streamline your processes and save time! To do it, click “Autogenerate”, choose the required amount of codes and a general prefix (e.g., WinterDiscount2024”).

Discount rules and validity

In order to create discount codes, you need to configure the settings which might be familiar to you from the previous versions. Here you can set discount rules: use percentage or fixed amount discounts, choose discount per ticket or per cart, arrange limited/unlimited redemptions, and apply discount to all or specific products. Additionally, you can define the redemption period during your customers can redeem the code and the event period during which the discounted activities take place.

Discount codes overview

Overview

In the new version, we made it much easier to navigate and filter the list of your discount codes. In the table, you get a quick overview of the code name, event period, discount type, discount amount, number of redemptions, product validity and discount status. You can create a customized view of the discounts by drag-and-dropping the columns in your preferred order. It’s also easy to activate or deactivate selected discount codes in a few clicks!

Filter your discounts

With this update, we have introduced discount statuses, which can help you clearly see the validity of your discount codes. The discount codes can be Activated, Deactivated, Expired and Redeemed. If you would like to display only one category of discounts (for example, only activated), you can use the quick filters that can be found on the right of the page.

If you would like to use more advanced filters for your discount codes, press “All filters”. Here you can set the discount rules and validity to look for the discounts you need. “Save for the next session” option will help you save your filter configuration, which can be helpful if you are constantly using it to find your codes.

Search for discounts

In this version, we have also improved the discount search: you can quickly search for the discount names or prefixes and see the results right away!

Import and export

In the Discount Codes section, you can easily import your existing discount codes to the system. In order to do it, Press “Import”, download template in the .XLS, .XLSX or .CSV format, fill out the templates with your discount code information and upload them to the system.

If you would like to export your discount codes or the information about the customers redeeming them, press “Export” and download the data in the XLS format.

What’s next?

Stay tuned! In the next versions we are going to introduce Advanced discount codes, which help you promote and sell specific products by using discounts.

The post Unlock the Full Potential of Discount Codes with the Latest Updates appeared first on Regiondo.

Today we couldn’t be more excited to announce we’re starting a series of important refactoring updates which will bring new usability improvements and make your booking experience easy, fast, and enjoyable. Today’s update is about one of the most frequently used parts of our platform – Booking Management, which includes several pages, such as Booking Overview, Participant List, Import Bookings, and Booking Detail Page.

The new Regiondo experience is simpler, more modern, responsive and intuitive. We have been focusing on making the platform more user-centric and improving navigation, so that all important information is clearly visible and can be instantly accessed. A new, streamlined search experience will make it much easier to look for bookings and reservations, while quick actions and customizable columns allow you to view and manage your bookings more efficiently. Let’s delve a little deeper into all the new features and improvements and see what it means for your personal booking experience.

All Bookings in One Place 

When managing bookings, speed and efficiency is above all. Previously, important booking-related information could be found on separate pages. With this update, you can view your bookings, find all important details and perform typical actions from a single Booking page. Here you can switch easily between your booking and participant list, redeem product vouchers directly, add or import new bookings, and much more.

You can also notice this change in the menu navigation: “New Booking”, “Attendee list” and “Redeem product voucher” are now a part of a larger “Bookings” section, making it easy and intuitive for you to navigate through your bookings.

This update improves navigation and allows you to focus on the most important information at a glance.

If you don’t have any bookings yet, it is now easier to start importing or adding your bookings from scratch.

Booking List Improvements

More customization & flexibility

In this release, we made booking and participant lists more customizable to match unique needs of our diverse customers. From now on, you can sort the columns in the list simply by drag-and-dropping them in your preferred order. It is up to you to prioritize the most important information!

Apart from that, you can select the columns to display in the Booking list to create your unique personalized view and hide any information you do not use.

New columns: Booking number, Check-in status and Notes

We have introduced new columns to the Booking List for you to have a clear look at all the important information on one screen:

• Booking number. Previously the booking number could only be seen on the booking page.
• Notes. The notes in the list are marked with a special icon. If you’d like to read the note, just point your mouse cursor to it. Alternatively, you could also read the note by opening the booking page.
• Check-in status. Check-in is a useful feature that helps you register guests upon their arrival, create reports and collect valuable insights. With check-in status, you can quickly see the booking progress and take quick actions if needed.

Quick filters

In tour operator business, it is important to be able to act fast, especially when you are on site. Whether you are a guide organizing a city tour or a winery, you need to be able to access and perform typical actions quickly and efficiently. This is why we have introduced “quick filters”, which are designed to help you run your business smoothly.

Quick filters are displayed right above your booking and participant list and help you filter your reservations based on the most frequent case scenarios. By using quick filters, you can save your valuable time and access the information easier. However, if your search is more specific, you can still use the “All filters” button to access advanced parameters.

Quick filters for Booking list:

• Bookings for today
• Bookings for tomorrow
• Unpaid bookings
• Action is required.

Quick actions for Participant list:

• Participants for today
• Participants for tomorrow

Save filters

Often using filters to find a specific booking or participant? You can now save filters and sorting combinations for future use! If you have filters you use frequently, filter saving will be a handy, time saving shortcut.

Note:

Filter saving is a cookie-based setting, which can only be saved on the device you are currently using. Make sure you accept the cookies before saving the filter.

Easy booking search

With improved booking search, you can find your reservations faster. Start typing your search query to look for a specific customer or booking: no need to enter the complete name!

Check-In All

To save your valuable time, we’ve added a quick way to check-in all registered participants from a specific booking directly from the booking list! Just click “Check-in all” button next to the specific booking to approve all participants.

UI Improvements

Smooth scrolling experience

In the Booking and Participant lists, there is lots of information and columns to display. Previously it was easy to get lost among multiple bookings when scrolling the table horizontally. With the new release, our tables always stick to the first columns with important booking information such as order or name, so that this information is always visible when scrolling.

Accordion structure

In this update we’ve introduced accordion structure to highlight more important information of each section and reveal more details with a click. Thanks to this structure, it’s easy for you to navigate fast to the relevant information and choose to display more if needed.

Better visibility for manual confirmation pending

When managing bookings with manual confirmation, you have multiple days to confirm or decline them. In the updated booking page, we have decided to encourage you to take this action by highlighting this action and de-cluttering the view, so that it is difficult to miss.

Booking statuses

Booking statuses (e.g., confirmed, cancelled, reservation, etc.) displayed in the Booking list now have different colors. This update will let you differentiate between statuses easier and take corresponding actions faster.

Other improvements

Imported Bookings

From now on, it is easier to use imported bookings in Regiondo. The bookings you have imported have the same properties and features as normal bookings, they can also be filtered or modified. Upon the import, the bookings trigger typical customer reminders, tax invoices and sales receipts.

Display redeemed vouchers

With this update, it’s easier to view the number of redeemed vouchers. Just open the voucher booking page to see how many tickets have already been redeemed.

Edit customer data before booking confirmation

Previously you could only change the customer data after you confirmed the booking request, which may have led to certain issues (e.g., the customers who provided incorrect contact details may not have received email notifications about the booking). With this update, you can modify the customer data manually before accepting the booking.

Discontinued (End of Life) Features

Propose Alternative Appointment

Previously you could use “Alter booking” feature to change the product or propose an alternative to this appointment to your customers.

In the new version, you can still change the time and date of your booking and send an automated email to your guest right on the booking detail page. However, at the moment it is not possible to change your product or suggest another alternative appointment from this section. We are planning to support this feature in the future, stay tuned!

Calendar view

Previously you could access a calendar view on the Bookings page. With this release, we are discontinuing this feature and encourage you to use our powerful dashboard calendar instead of maintaining multiple ones.

Overbookings

Overbookings are not displayed in the booking grid and booking detail page anymore. We are planning to improve the overbooking display in the dashboard calendar in our next releases.

If you’d like to learn more about our End of Support and End of Life Schedule, please visit our knowledge base

Webinar: New Booking Management

Would you like to see the new Booking Management system in action? Watch our on-demand webinar! In this video, our expert guides you through main improvements and showcases new features.

More updates to come!

As mentioned before, this is just the first episode of the series of important refactoring updates designed to revolutionize your booking experience. However, none of this would be possible without your continued feedback and support. We would like to thank our loyal partners and customers for being the heart of Regiondo community and inspiring us to be the best booking platform in Europe!

The post Regiondo Major Update: Re-Imagined Booking Management appeared first on Regiondo.

Marketplaces and travel agencies are not the only ones benefiting from the recovery. In a survey organized by Arival and Tiqets, involving 250 operators worldwide, 67% of the respondents declared they were at, or above, 2019 levels.

On the flip side, the biggest concern of OTAs and providers is keeping up with the ever-rising demand. Some could argue that this is a nice problem to have after the last couple of years, but it’s still a problem. Currently, multiple players in our sector are struggling to hire and retain employees. According to Le Monde, in Emilia Romagna (Italy), 83% of businesses cannot find enough staff. Similarly, over 50,000 seasonal workers are missing on the Spanish coastline.

Here at Regiondo, we’ve been asking ourselves what we can do to help our partners during such a hectic period. As you probably already know, we strive to build the most loved booking solution in the world. For us, providing a fantastic piece of software is not nearly enough. Our goal is to be there for our clients and to support them when they face difficult challenges.

For this purpose, we’ve completely revamped the navigation of our web app. The new interface will empower you to work faster and more efficiently. At the same time, it will improve the user experience on phones and tablets. The result is that you’ll be able to comfortably manage your reservations on the go, even when you’re busy with other tasks.

Last but not least, the new design is brighter, cleaner, and more beautiful than ever. Who said that form and function couldn’t go hand in hand? Anyway, let’s take a look at the most significant changes, and how these new features will improve your day-to-day operations.

Top Navigation Bar

• Now the navigation bar is fixed at the top of the screen. This means that, even while scrolling, the navigation menu will remain visible in the upper part of the page. This way, you can always access the main functionalities of Regiondo in less than a second.

• Check all your booking notifications by clicking on the bell icon.
• There are five types of notifications related to your bookings. You can see examples of each in the screenshot below.

• Swiftly add a new booking by clicking on the plus icon (the first one from the left).
• To avoid confusion, we have removed product update notifications. To keep up with announcements of new features, please subscribe to our newsletter.
• Click on the question mark icon to open our Knowledge Base.
• We have moved the option to change the language of your dashboard under the “Profile” drop-down menu. You can access it by clicking on the icon located at the right end of the bar.

Side Navigation Menu

• Now you can scroll through the side menu independently from the body of the page and vice versa. This new feature allows you to keep an eye on the information you’re reading while looking for the next tool you need.

• Previously, if you wanted to access the submenu for one of Regiondo’s tools (e.g., the Channel Manager) you had to click on it and wait for a new page to load. Only then could you see – and select – the items inside it. Now you just need to click on the down-arrow icon to open the corresponding drop-down menu. From there, you can select the feature you need to use. As you can imagine, this is a far smoother workflow that saves you a lot of time in the long run.

• As you have probably noticed, each item on the menu now has an icon on its left side. You can spot faster the functionality you need to use, especially on mobile and tablets.
• For clarity, opened menu items are highlighted in grey and orange.

Footer and Mobile

• There are no significant changes in the footer, except for the new graphic design.
• The above tweaks and improvements dramatically benefit our web app’s mobile interface. You can expand the navigation menu on your smartphone by clicking on the burger icon on the left. Check out the video below to see it in action.

• On tablets, the navigation is almost identical to the desktop version. The main difference is that you can collapse the sidebar by clicking on the burger icon next to the Regiondo logo.

Release Date

The new and improved navigation menu will be available during the next few weeks for all our customers! We’re confident that its cleaner design and faster performance will significantly improve your user experience. Furthermore, the improvements to the mobile interface will make using Regiondo on the go much easier. This way, you’ll be able to check your bookings and do some administrative work even when you’re busy with your tours.

Keep in mind that this is only the first enhancement of many. During the following months, Regiondo will change for the better: our software is getting faster, sleeker, and more feature-rich than ever. It will be an exciting journey, and we want you to be an integral part of it.

As mentioned before, to stay updated with our product-related announcements, subscribe to our newsletter and keep checking out our blog. Don’t miss out on new exciting features!

If you have any questions regarding Regiondo, contact our Customer Support team or consult the Knowledge Base.

The post Save time and improve your workflow with our new navigation menu appeared first on Regiondo.

Website builders are tools that allow you to put together a website without coding experience. They have a “drag and drop” interface that is easy to use, while at the same time offering plenty of flexibility and customization. With some good photos and catchy descriptions, you’ll create a fantastic website in no time. Sounds pretty straightforward, right?

If you work in the leisure industry, Regiondo Website Builder is your best option. We have carefully crafted it with the intent of delivering the definitive website builder for tour operators and activity providers. It’s such an intuitive program that you’ll be able to master it just by following this 10-step tutorial.

1) Set a clear goal

Before starting, you should ask yourself why you’re creating a website. Do you intend to mainly sell tickets or vouchers? Which tours or activities do you want to showcase? Maybe your objective is to get more reviews?

It would be best if you defined your goals from the very beginning: they will influence both the structure and the content of your website. It’s a good idea to follow the SMART framework to set goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based. 

2) Choose your template

When your objectives are clear, you can finally open Regiondo’s website builder. The first step is to choose which template you want to use. Our templates are sleek and inherently responsive, which means they automatically adjust for different-sized screens. In other words, your website will look fantastic on both your laptop and your smartphone. 

Each template is crafted to satisfy the needs of different types of businesses. In this phase, don’t worry about the colors and images, you can edit them during the next steps. Instead, look for a template with a layout that helps accomplish your goals. With different options to choose from, you can easily find one built for a similar purpose to the site you’re about to create.

3) Define your global design

Now that you have an incredible template, it’s time to customize it to show your brand’s unique personality. We recommend starting with the Design section, which can be found in the top right corner of your dashboard. Here, you can set all the site-wide customization settings, such as the fonts you want to use, default background, and color of the buttons.

Defining precise guidelines from the get-go will drive consistency and speed up your processes. This way, your website will look more professional, and you won’t waste time configuring each element. 

4) Place the main info regarding your business

The next step is making sure that your clients can quickly find what they’re looking for on your website. For instance, they surely need to know where you’re located, how they can contact you, and your opening hours. Believe us, even if you have plenty of experience, it can be easy to forget including some of this information. Thankfully, the content section of your dashboard will give you a complete rundown of all the details you should include. From there, you can also upload your logos and pictures, which helps keep your branding consistent. 

You can also use this section to upload the most important files related to your business; just keep in mind that the size limit is 50 MB. For more info on uploading and importing your data, you can check out this guide.  

5) Decide how to structure your website

All our templates (except for the one-pagers) include several pre-built pages, giving you a good starting point. Of course, you can modify the default structure however you want. Again, the top priority is finding a setup that allows you to achieve your goals. You can create new pages in the pages section, delete or rename existing ones, and modify their order. For example, you can decide if the Contact Us page should be a subpage of the About Us page or if it should be directly reachable from the Home page. 

You can modify the order of your pages by just dragging and dropping them around, but if you need some more info, you can find it here.

6) Configure your pages

With a clear structure in place, you can focus on configuring each webpage. Just go to the Pages section of your dashboard and select each webpage to edit its specific settings. It’s particularly essential to pay attention to the SEO tab. As you may know, optimizing your website SEO-wise, will improve its visibility on Google so that more customers can discover your business. To get better results, make sure that the keywords and the description are genuinely related to the page’s content. If you want to master this field, check out our beginner’s guide.

7) Create content for your pages

Our editor arranges content in rows and columns. As you can imagine, rows are the horizontal sections of your site, and you can easily insert more of them through the Add button in the editor. To edit the design of a Row, right-click an empty space within that row. Next, select Edit Design. This menu allows you to change the row’s background and spacing. 

Every row contains a maximum of four columns. By default, columns are arranged side-by-side in desktop and tablet view and stacked vertically for mobile users.

Thanks to widgets, you can add content like text, images, and videos to your website. To add a widget, select it from the editor’s left panel. Pick the one you want, and drop it where it fits best. 

To edit it, right-click anywhere on the widget to open the Contents menu. If you’re unsure about what you’re doing, you can find some additional resources here.

8) Catch your visitors’ attention with pop-ups

Now you have created all your pages, but what if some piece of information is still missing? Let’s imagine that you want to highlight your newsletter or a limited-time promotion. In scenarios like these, you can use pop-ups, which are windows that appear while browsing a webpage and immediately catch the reader’s attention. You can create pop-ups from the Personalize section of your dashboard using a simple drag and drop editor. When the pop-up is ready, the only thing left is selecting the page where you want it to appear.

9) Edit your site-wide settings

Before going time, it’s best to check the general setup of your website from the Settings section of the dashboard. In this section, you can customize some essential features, including your favicon. The favicon is a small image that appears next to your page title in the tab of your browser. It allows users to identify your website at a glance, even if they’re multitasking. You can upload your custom favicon from the Site Icons tab.

That being said, there is a lot to unpack in Site Settings, so we invite you to read our support article explaining these features. It will only take you four minutes.

10) Go live!

Before publishing your website, here is a list of some things you should check:

• Consistent branding (fonts, logo, favicon)
• SEO optimization
• Copy of your content, buttons, and forms included
• Responsiveness (desktop, tablet, mobile)
• Legal aspects (privacy page, opt-in fields)

If everything works out perfectly, you’re ready to go live! Click on the Publish button in the top right corner and let the magic happen. Now you’re the proud owner of a website that will help you attract more customers and improve your brand’s image!

To check if your website performs well in terms of speed, SEO, security and content, try SEO grader. This free tool provides an overview of your website and gives recommendations on how to rank higher in search engines and drive more organic traffic. 

You could also like to learn more about: 

Free SEO grader

SEO in 2022: SEO tips for leisure providers

Web design inspiration – checklist for leisure providers

The post How to use the Regiondo Website Builder in 10 easy steps appeared first on Regiondo.

Create Your Website for Leisure Providers in 10 minutes

Step 1: Creating the website yourself vs. an agency

Step 2: Choose a theme and template

If you’ve decided to have your website created by an agency, the agency will take care of the next steps for you. With our website builder, you have the freedom to design your website easily and comfortably according to your taste. The first step is to choose a theme and template. These have been developed in advance by web designers, which means you don’t need any coding skills. Simply choose the design that you like best and matches your leisure company and its offers.

Step 3: Upload your texts and offers

Now it’s time to fill your website with informative and compelling content. Create a page about your company so that customers can get a good impression of your leisure offers before they book. Information about how to contact you should be easy to find. Detailed pages about your offers and prices are also important. All texts should be optimized for SEO. This means, for example, that your texts are grammatically correct and sentences are not too long. We also recommend doing keyword research with SEO tools such as SEMRush or Ahrefs.

Step 4: Add photos and videos

When you create your website, you’ll need professional, high-quality photos and videos. On the one hand, this gives your customers a much better impression of what you have to offer, while on the other hand, photos and videos have a positive effect on SEO (i.e. your search engine ranking). If you don’t have professional, high-resolution photos and videos, it’s a good idea to create them for the website. However, make sure you don’t put too many videos on one page, as this can slow down the website enormously and may lead to a loss of customers. Photos should also be optimized so that they do not take too long to load.

Step 5: Register a domain

To present yourself as professionally as possible on the internet, you should definitely register a reputable domain for your website. The domain name can be the name of your company or a variation of it. If you offer leisure activities within Germany, your domain should end with .de if possible., but .com is also acceptable. You can register a domain for a cheap price on Namecheap, for example.

Step 6: Observe DSGVO and online law

If you market your leisure activities in Germany and the European Union, your website needs to include information on data protection guidelines, an active cookie opt-in and an imprint. Make sure you are well-informed here, otherwise you could quickly face a fine.

Step 7: Use Google Analytics and Search Console

In order to always know exactly how many visitors your website attracts each day, what distinguishes your visitors, and where they access your website from, we highly recommend connecting your site with Google Analytics. Google Analytics shows you, for example, where visitors access your site from, how old they are, and what gender they are. You can also find out whether your visitors access your website more often from mobile phones or computers, here.

Google Search Console is also recommended, as it gives you more analytics statistics. For example, you can find out which keywords your website is ranking for and which keywords bring the most visitors to your website. You will also be shown SEO optimization suggestions.

Step 8: Integrate online booking system for leisure providers

Another essential step is to integrate an online booking system on your website. This way, with just a few clicks, your customers can see which offers are available and when, so that they can then conveniently book them online. This way, you not only record more tickets and increase your turnover, but also save a lot of time yourself. You also keep track of all your reservations. With Regiondo’s system for leisure operators, you can manage all your reservations in one place, accept payments online, and even create special barcodes for your tickets. Sound exciting? Then arrange a free demo with us now!

Did you catch website fever and want to learn more?

Then take a closer look at the following blog articles:

SEO in 2022: SEO tips for leisure providers

Web design inspiration – checklist for leisure providers

How to use the Regiondo Website Builder

The post 10 min to create your website appeared first on Regiondo.

Web design can be this easy – let’s get started right away!

Web Design Inspiration – Checklist for Leisure Providers

1. Intuitive and well-organized Page Structure
2. Well-placed CTA Buttons
3. High-Quality Photos and Videos
4. Optimization for Mobile Devices
5. Separate Page for Contact and Arrival
6. Search Web Design Inspiration from Competitors
7. Calendar with all Availabilities for your Activities
8. Social Networks for Maximum Presence
9. Informative and easy to understand Content
10. Online Booking System on your Website

1. Intuitive and well-organized Page Structure

Our first web design inspiration: The optimization of your site should start with the page structure and navigation. On the one hand, this helps you immensely with a better search engine ranking, because an important Google ranking factor is a simple and user-friendly structure. Furthermore, it helps your customers to navigate through your website with just a few clicks and to make a booking in the end.

Above all, make sure that you have a clear and easy-to-understand menu, from which your customers can access the most important pages of your website with just one click. If you cannot manage with just a few menu items, you should create additional subcategories, for example for different leisure activities. Therefore, link only the top categories on the homepage and allow your customers to open another drag-down menu if they are interested in the subcategories within a category.

(Source: Regiondo)

Shhh… a simple but effective tip we have: Also keep your URLs clear and as short as possible!

2. Well-placed CTA Buttons

The CTA (‘Call-to-Action’) button entices your website visitors to take the decisive step and book your leisure offers. Thus, the choice of words on the CTA button should be short and precise, prompting the customer to buy or book. “Book now!” is simple, but effective. Also, pay attention to the color choice. The CTA button’s color should not be red, as those signals “stop” to the user. Green or blue are ideal, but it’s also recommended to try different colors and see which one achieves the highest conversion rate. It is also important to place it in a visible position so that the user will not have to search for it.

CTA-samples (Source: Vertus)

3. High-quality photos and videos 

Photos and videos of your leisure activities and business give customers a good impression of your offerings and what they can expect when they book. At the same time, photos and videos are also a great way to stand out from the competition. Make sure all your videos are high quality and not pixelated. If you plan to feature multiple videos on one page, keep page speed in mind. If your page takes a long time to load, many users will quickly bounce and close your page before they can post (“bounce rate”).

4. Mobile device optimization

Everyone has a smartphone these days, and many people even own a tablet. The use of the Internet via mobile devices is higher than ever before. Very often, the number of mobile users even exceeds the number of users accessing from the desktop. Especially for you as a leisure provider, this is important because people often spontaneously or on the go make a booking of exciting leisure activities on their cell phone. So, make sure that your website is also optimized for mobile devices so that you don’t lose any customers. At the same time, Google also rewards you with better search engine rankings if your site is optimized for mobile devices.

5. Dedicated page just for contact and travel

Ensure it’s as easy as possible for your customers to contact you, whether it’s for questions or to make a booking. A separate page is ideal, where customers can find contact details such as a phone number, an email address, and the address. Having a contact form is also excellent, as users don’t have to go to their email inbox first. A live chat and Whatsapp number are also popular, especially with younger target groups. In addition, you could create your own “Contact” button, which is visible on all pages of your homepage and is linked to your email address.

Below you can see how to contact us at Regiondo. As you can see, we even give you several options on how to get in touch with us – depending on your very personal request.

Example of contact (source: Regiondo)

6. Look at your competitors for web design inspiration

Are you looking for web design inspiration or want to find out what the competition’s sites look like? Good, because you are supposed to. Find out who your competitors are and learn from their websites what they do well and what you could do better than them. Google will help you out here. Take notes and pay attention to things like page structure, navigation, content, CTA buttons, photos, and videos.

7. Include a calendar with all the available days and times for your activities

For an easier booking experience for your customers, you should include a calendar on your website with available days and times for all your activities. This way, customers don’t have to contact you with questions about availability and can decide to book right away. Make sure that your calendar is always up-to-date. With Regiondo, it’s easy to add a calendar to your website. The automatic update is included. A little web design inspiration from our Partners Eifelnomaden: Here you can see how our partner implemented the Regiondo calendar feature into their website.

Example calendar view (Source: Eifelnomaden)

8. Include social networks for maximum presence

In addition to a website, you should also have a presence on major social media platforms. These include Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, for example. By using multiple channels, you can reach even more customers and also easily share more impressions of your activities. In addition, customers themselves can also share their experiences on your social media pages and contact you there. On your website itself, you should link your social media pages with clearly visible buttons so that visitors to your website can access them quickly. The number of followers and fans on your social media accounts will also show your website visitors that you are a reputable and recommendable leisure provider (“social proof“).

Some web design inspiration from us: If you have a very nice Instagram feed, for example, you can integrate it into your website using various tools. This way, your website also reflects the look and feel of your social media presence.

9. Provide informative and easy-to-understand content

As a matter of course, the texts of all pages on your website must be informative enough to convey all important information to the user in a short time. This includes detailed information about your offers as well as prices and booking options. Your texts should be easy to understand and quickly give the visitor a good picture of your company. Also, make sure to always use paragraphs so that the visitor is not put off by too large a block of text. To optimize your texts for SEO, you should perform keyword research, for example with SEO tools like Ahrefs or SEMRush.

10. The online booking system on your website

As a leisure provider, you should definitely integrate your own online booking system on your website. Valuable customers can be lost if they can’t book easily and immediately on your website. One of the many advantages is that a booking system on your website is “open” 24/7, i.e. it is not subject to any opening hours. This means that your customers can book at any time. Customers can also see immediately which offers are available when and how much they cost. With Regiondo’s booking system, you will be able to attract more customers, optimize your bookings and significantly increase your sales. Arrange a no-obligation consultation now and learn more about how we can effectively support you as a leisure provider.

• Create your own tours and activities website in 10 minutes

• How to use the Regiondo Website Builder

• SEO in 2022: 8 SEO tips for leisure operators

The post Web design inspiration for leisure providers appeared first on Regiondo.

This increased focus on building online traffic comes as a result of the growth in online bookings, which, according to Phocuswright, currently sits at 21%.

SEO proves that it’s worth your time and money, because the more viewers you get to land on your site, the more leads you create and opportunities to convert those viewers into buyers.

So, how do you get started with SEO as a tour or activity business?

There are on-site and off-site SEO strategies that are available for you to consider. From researching relevant keywords and redesigning your site for mobile devices, to building quality backlinks and optimizing various web contents. 

In this article, we’ll describe these SEO strategies in detail, but first, let’s take a look at the definition of SEO and go through its importance for tour and activity providers. 

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization, as the name suggests, is the process of optimizing your website in order to rank on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). 

While this is one of the most effective ways of increasing web traffic, it does not offer quick results. So unlike paid advertising like Pay Per Click (PPC), SEO’s rewards will not be seen overnight. It is therefore important to be patient and consistent, so you can reap the benefits of your successful SEO, which include increased and consistent organic traffic.

If you’re serious about SEO, you should take the time to learn various tactics and implement them on your site. 

How can I check SEO performance of my website?

There are a number of platforms that allow you to analyze your SEO performance in terms of website speed, on-page SEO, security, domain rate, backlinks, keywords, etc. Try Regiondo’s SEO grader – it’s a free tool that rates your website and provides you with a PDF report that also contains useful recommendations on how to improve your performance. 

Why is SEO essential for tours and activities?

1. Increasing visibility and improving site ranking

The results of effective SEO marketing is evidenced by raised ranking and higher visibility to potential clients.

This way, as travelers search for various products and services, they can come across your company in search results. This is helpful for building awareness for your business. Once they click on your web page, that view becomes a potential new sales opportunity. 

2. Generate more leads

As SEO enables you to rank higher in search engines like Google, the likeliness of getting more organic clicks to your site increases. This creates lead generation opportunities for your business. Now let’s look at how this comes about. 

First, travelers love using Search Engines to plan their trips. Among leisure travelers, search engines make up 60% of the online information gathered, while for business travelers, it’s 55%. That’s much higher than any other resource, such as dedicated travel websites like TripAdvisor.

In addition, the top five listings on SERPs claim over 75% of all clicks. This goes to show just how many opportunities you get by investing in SEO and ranking on search engines. 

3. SEO is cost-effective 

SEO costs money and time but compared to other alternative sources of traffic, e.g. PPC, it’s often cheaper and more effective in the long run.

If, for example, you run a paid advertising campaign using Google Ads, traffic increases immediately depending on your budget. Once you stop paying for the adverts, there will be a decrease in traffic.

With SEO, once you’ve successfully optimized your website and are ranking on SERPs, you will continue getting traffic at no additional cost.

4. Consistent business growth

If your company website has a constant flow of targeted traffic, this makes business growth smoother.

For example, when you invest in growing organic traffic, you will not have to rely on one-time miracles, influencer campaigns, or advertising. Instead, you will get a consistent flow of relevant traffic, assuming you produce regular content that’s adapted to your target audience.

4 SEO tips for tours and activities

1. Effective keyword research and use

Keyword research is one of the fundamental steps when carrying out SEO for tour operators and activity providers. Choosing the right keyword will significantly boost your success.

So what is a keyword? This is the text or phrase someone types into Google or any other search engine when looking for particular information. 

To target the right keywords on your website, first ensure the keywords are relevant to your industry. Put together a number of potential phrases and compare their relevance, difficulty, and search volume, along with other parameters.

You can use tools such as KW Finder or SEMrush when doing your keyword research.

After deciding on a keyword, create a blog post or page around it, making sure to include it in the following places:

• In the page URL
• Once in your page title and meta description
• In at least one subheading.
• In the body copy: within the first 100 words and 2-3 times within the body. 

As you research and use keywords and phrases, keep in mind the searcher’s intent: why the user typed that search query, and what information they expect to find. This will help you make better keyword choices and create more relevant content on your website. 

2. Optimization of different types of content

When adding any piece of information to your website, consider how to optimize it for the search engines. Here are a few examples to get you started:

Local Web Page – These pages are targeted at the locals or people near your business location. How it works is: when searchers key in location-specific key phrases (e.g. “escape room in Berlin), they can find your tour or activity business. Position yourself by creating a Google My Business account. Verify your business address and optimize the page by filling in your profile details.

Images – If someone only wants to view images related to a certain keyword phrase or text, they can select the “images” tab on the Google search engine for this. This is another opportunity to market your site through your images. Before posting images online, you should optimize them by adding an ALT tag and naming the image using the target keyword.

Videos – Optimizing videos is another way to take advantage of SEO. To begin, ensure your videos are clear, well-edited, and most of all, eye-catching. These could be videos of you and your clients during one of your tours or activities. For optimization, edit the file name to include search queries. 

Whether you post on YouTube or Vimeo, remember to make the video public. Write a detailed keyword-rich description, add relevant keyword tags, and include your target keyword in the title. 

3. Site optimization for mobile

Today, SEO for tour operators and activity providers should include site optimization for mobile. Did you know that Google has implemented mobile-first indexing for over 50% of websites?

This means that Google prioritizes the mobile version of your website before the desktop one when ranking it for a given keyword. This move has occurred right in tandem with the rise in internet usage on mobile phones. Surveys reveal that 62% of travelers research their upcoming tours on smartphones. 

This statistic is proof that optimizing the mobile user experience can attract even more leads and mobile bookings. 

Some of the important elements to note when it comes to optimizing your site for mobile are:

• Ensure your web page is mobile-friendly.
• Have easy navigation.
• Good speed on mobile.

4. Building quality backlinks

So far, we’ve looked at “on-page optimization” strategies, which are methods of boosting SEO by directly addressing the issues on your website. 

Furthermore, tour and activities companies need to work on “off-page optimization” as well. One of the best ways of doing this is building quality backlinks. 

Backlinking is by far one of the best strategies with the greatest impact on your website’s competitiveness. It involves getting other websites to link back to your site, in order to boost credibility and increase authority. 

Here are some methods of acquiring quality backlinks to your tour or activities website:

• Guest posting – This method involves writing a blog post for another website/blog for free. In exchange, most companies will offer you one or two links back to your website.
• Link roundups – You can write a roundup blog of different companies and link out to each of their websites. If you later request a backlink from them, they are usually more willing to do so. 
• Writing great content – As you create amazing content for your blog, other authority websites and blogs may want to link to you to quote some of that information. 
• Using great images – If you have catchy images on your website, e.g. of happy clients on tour with your company, other bloggers may want to use those images. The truth is, most will not ask for your permission but will likely link back to your site. 
• Broken link building – For outdated articles online, it’s no surprise to find them leading you to pages that no longer exist. You can look for such opportunities and write an article on the topic that the link was originally pointing to. Approach the webmaster and inform them of the broken link and offer your post. There’s a chance it will be accepted, and some backlinks may follow.

Conclusion

By following and implementing these SEO tips for tour operators and activity providers, your business is bound to get increased visibility, generate more leads, and raise its bottom line. Although this does not occur overnight, it’s worth the effort as it will get you organic traffic for an indefinite period of time.

To recap, these are the SEO tips we mentioned above that will help grow your website traffic:

• Doing proper keyword research.
• Optimizing different types of content.
• Setting up mobile-friendly websites.
• Building quality backlinks.

You might also like:

• How to Use Images Effectively to Sell More Tours and Activities
• A Simple Guide to Google Analytics for Tours & Activities
• 7 Email Marketing Tips to Grow Your Tour and Activity Business
• The Keys to Effective Video Marketing for Activity Providers

The post An Introduction to SEO for Tours and Activities appeared first on Regiondo.