10 Effective Link Building Strategies for Hotels

Link building is one part of a broader SEO strategy for hotels that can help search engines understand your property’s relevance and authority and improve its visibility.

For hoteliers looking to expand their digital marketing efforts, link building offers opportunities to connect with relevant websites, strengthen industry relationships, and reach potential guests.

This article explores strategies for identifying and pursuing link-building opportunities that can eventually lead to valuable backlinks and greater online visibility. 

1. Create Link-Worthy Content

Crafting valuable content is the basis of effective link building. Develop articles, infographics, or videos that are not only relevant to your hotel but also offer unique insights about your destination, making others eager to link back to your site.

First, you’ll need to do some keyword research to find what people are interested in. Using tools like Moz Keyword Explorer, Semrush Keyword Magic Tool, or even Google Keyword Planner are good places to start for finding search volumes. Next, create informative, relevant content that answers travelers’ questions and gives other websites a reason to share or reference it. Adding other media elements like videos, infographics, and images can also boost your content’s value.

For example, a beachfront hotel could create a guide to seasonal activities, local attractions, or family-friendly experiences in its destination. Including original photography, maps, or firsthand recommendations can make that content a useful resource for travel bloggers and local tourism websites. For additional guidance, explore our article on creating high-quality, optimized hotel content.

Once you publish new content on your website, your next step should be to promote it on your social media channels and in your email newsletters. This will help get your content in front of more people faster.

2. Monitor Brand Mentions

Brand monitoring is the process of tracking mentions about your property from sources across the web. When your brand receives a mention, it’s up to you to determine whether the source is or isn’t linking back to your website. If not, then it’s an opportunity for you to reach out to those sources to turn those mentions into backlinks. A powerful tool for tracking brand mentions is Google Alerts.

To get started with Google Alerts:

1. Go to www.google.com/alerts.
2. Enter your brand name.
3. Use quotations around the query for an exact match.
4. Choose language, region, how often and how many results you want.
5. Click Create Alert.

Now you’ll receive alerts from sources across the web that mention your hotel.

For web mentions, especially blog posts, you’ll want to try to find contact information from the author and thank them for including your brand and request a link. Hunter.io is a useful tool for finding that contact information. Keep your outreach personalized and explain how linking to your hotel’s website could provide additional value to their readers.

For example, if a travel blogger includes your hotel in a roundup of local accommodations but doesn’t link to your website, you could send a short message like this:

Example Outreach Template:

Subject: Thank You for Featuring [Hotel Name]

Hi [Name],

I came across your article about [topic] and wanted to thank you for including [Hotel Name]. We appreciate you sharing our property with your readers!

I noticed our website wasn’t linked in the article and wanted to see if you’d consider adding it so readers can easily explore our accommodations and amenities.

Thanks again for the mention!

[Your Name]

3. Monitor Topics Relevant to Your Business

Google Alerts is also one of the best ways to discover who is mentioning topics relevant to your business.

Let’s take a look at an example.

Say you have an article that highlights “best time to visit myrtle beach.”

1. Create a Google Alert for “best time to visit myrtle beach”.
2. Use quotations around the query if you want an exact match.
3. Choose language, region, how often and how many results you want.

When a Google Alert comes to your inbox, you can reach out to the author and explain that you have some supporting content on The Best Time To Visit Myrtle Beach, and suggest they link to it.

You may need to give them a reason to link to your content. Maybe you have some infographics or images in your content covering topics such as weather patterns, specific events happening during certain times of the year, or occupancy statistics that their content does not cover. You will need to figure out a reason why your content would be a good support piece.

Example Outreach Template:

Subject: Additional Resource for Your Myrtle Beach Guide

Hi [Name],

I enjoyed reading your article about [topic], especially your recommendations for visitors planning a trip to Myrtle Beach.

Our hotel recently published a guide covering [specific topic], including [unique information or resource]. I thought it might be a helpful addition for readers looking for more information about the destination.

Here’s the resource if you’d like to take a look: [URL]

Thanks for considering it!

[Your Name]

This is a very basic example of finding related content. The point here is to find topics similar to your content and offer yours as additional value to what they already have.

Pro Tip: Google Alerts can also be useful for identifying content creation opportunities. Seeing what others are saying about your valuable keywords can spark ideas to create your own content around that topic.

4. Broken Link Building

By identifying broken links on other websites, you can reach out to the site owners/authors and suggest your relevant content as a replacement, providing a mutually beneficial solution.

A good place to start is by analyzing one of your competitors using Moz’s Top Pages tool.

Once you’ve analyzed a competitor’s website, sort by ‘4xx’ status code, and sort by # of external links. Now you have a list of your competitor’s broken pages with backlinks that may present opportunities to suggest your own relevant content as a replacement. Before reaching out to the content owner, make sure your source is a good fit for the original resource.

For example, a local tourism website may link to an outdated guide about nearby restaurants. If your hotel has published a current dining guide covering similar information, you could suggest it as an alternative resource.

Example Outreach Template:

Subject: Broken Link on Your [Page Title]

Hi [Name],

I was reading your [page or article title] and noticed that the link to [resource] no longer works.

We have a similar resource covering [topic] that may be helpful to your readers: [URL]. I thought I’d pass it along in case you’re looking for an updated replacement.

Thanks for putting together such a helpful resource!

[Your Name]

Pro tip: Another way to use broken backlink building is for retaining your current backlinks. This is helpful for your own site by getting ahead of competitors that may use a similar strategy above or before the author removes your link entirely. Just use Moz’s Top Pages report to identify those pages and get to fixing!

5. Lost Link Building

Lost link building is the process of analyzing your own website’s lost links and understanding why they occurred.

Both Moz and Semrush offer Lost & Found reports that make it easy to identify lost links. From here, you’ll need to assess what link was lost and why it was removed. Does the content no longer exist? Did the other website replace it with a different source? Reach out to the source with a friendly message to address any issues and present new, valuable content that might encourage them to re-add a link.

6. Vendor Partnerships

Vendor partnerships are an often-overlooked opportunity for hotel marketers to earn relevant, high-quality backlinks through existing business relationships.

To start, you’ll need to gather a list of vendors from both the operations and the marketing sides of the business.

Operations vendors may include housekeeping services, security firms, telephone systems, valet services, food & beverage, cleaning supply companies, in-room amenities (soap/shampoo/coffee/etc.), and so on.

The first step is to check their websites to see if they are listing any other hotels or businesses that they are servicing. If they are, you simply ask to be included and request a link. If they are not, consider whether a customer feature, testimonial, or case study could provide useful content for their website. A personalized message explaining how much you appreciate their services can also help strengthen the relationship.

Marketing vendors may include PMS, CRM, marketing agencies, booking engines, radio advertisements, billboards, print, and others. These vendors tend to be a little more savvy and may want something in return for the link you’re requesting. You can create your very own case study about how that vendor improved your revenue/occupancy/OTA reliance/etc. Sometimes a simple testimonial is sufficient.

If you do this and present it to your vendor, you have a good chance of getting a link back to your hotel website.

7. Directories and Resource Pages

Consider submitting your hotel website to reputable, relevant directories and resource pages that travelers may use when researching your destination. This not only helps with building backlinks but also enhances your local and industry-specific visibility.

Local tourism boards, chambers of commerce, and destination websites can be especially useful resources to explore. These listings can support a hotel’s broader local SEO strategy by helping travelers discover relevant accommodations in their destination.

But submitting your site to a directory isn’t the only way to use them. You can also use directories to find related sites.

Identify major directories like Hotfrog and find other sites that are listed in your target category. You can also search for directories that focus on your niche or niches you’re trying to reach. These directories will give you a list of sites that fall under a particular category. For example, if you’re looking for Ski Rental businesses near your hotel, search for “Ski Rental” and your city.

Once you have a list of related sites, check them out and figure out how you could possibly earn a link from them. You could ask them to link to a piece of your content that could be beneficial to their visitors, or you could even start a partnership with a nearby business.

8. Use Search Operators

You can use search operators like “inurl” to find URLs that contain your target keywords, or use “intext” to find sites that have your keyword in the document text. Moz has good information on how to use search operators if you need a crash course

By using search operators, you should be able to identify pages that are similar to yours or focused on a related topic. You may have some additional content to offer to link to, or you could possibly write for their site if they allow it. Focus on identifying websites where your content could provide useful information for readers and create a relevant linking opportunity.

9. Competitor Links

The idea here is to find sites that are linking to two or more of your competitors but not you. There are many tools out there, like Moz’s Link Intersect Tool, that will show which sites are sending links to your competitors.

For instance, Moz’s Link Intersect Tool lets you add up to five competitors. You’ll then get a list of websites that link to two or more of your competitor sites (or intersect). Export the CSV, and now you’ve got a list of link-building opportunities.

Pro tip: After you export a list of websites, you’ll then need to determine where those links are coming from. Is it a list of related sites? Did your competitors blog for that site? Once you understand how competitors earned those links, evaluate whether similar opportunities may be relevant to your hotel.

10. Use HARO (Help a Reporter Out)

HARO (Help a Reporter Out) is an email newsletter that connects journalists looking for sources with businesses and industry experts who can contribute to their articles. For hotels, these requests can create opportunities to share relevant expertise, earn media coverage and potentially gain valuable backlinks.

To get started, subscribe to the HARO newsletter to receive journalist requests directly in your inbox. Review the emails for opportunities related to travel, hospitality or topics where your hotel has relevant experience. When you find a request that aligns with your expertise, follow the reporter’s submission instructions and provide specific insights or information that could be useful for their article.

As an example, here’s a query from a reporter with Famadillo looking for hotels that can offer hosted stays and experiences for a mom’s getaway feature. If your hotel fits the bill, this could be an opportunity to earn relevant media coverage and potentially a backlink.

Example Media Pitch Template:

Subject: Response to Your Request About [Topic]

Hi [Name],

I saw your request for insights about [topic] and wanted to share some perspective from [Hotel Name].

Our team has experience with [relevant topic], and we’ve observed [specific insight or example].

I’d be happy to provide additional details or answer any follow-up questions if this would be helpful for your article.

Best,

[Your Name]

Strengthen Your Hotel’s Search Visibility

Link building is one component of a broader hotel SEO strategy. When combined with relevant website content, technical optimization, and a strong understanding of traveler search behavior, it can help hotels improve their online presence.

At TravelBoom, we help hotels identify opportunities to strengthen their digital marketing efforts and connect with travelers throughout the booking journey.

Schedule a Free Evaluation to explore how our team can support your hotel’s SEO strategy.

About TravelBoom Hotel Marketing

TravelBoom specializes in developing and executing customized data-driven marketing solutions that drive direct bookings and growth for its clients. With over 25 years of experience in digital marketing for travel and hotels, TravelBoom leverages advanced data science and analytics to uncover insights and develop strategies that greatly enhance results for our clients and reduce reliance on third-party channels. TravelBoom is also host of the world’s #1 ranked Hotel Marketing Podcast and its quarterly Traveler Sentiment Study both of which can be found at www.travelboommarketing.com.