Multiple studies, including one conducted by TripAdvisor has confirmed what we all suspected. Hotel imagery creates the most significant impact in driving engagement from potential travelers.
There are myriad ways a hotel booker might see you for the first time and while Pinterest and other Social Media channels hog the limelight, Google Image Search is an unsung hero in this space. Once a destination is chosen, travelers delve deeper, using GIS to get a visual feel for potential hotels. High-quality images showcasing spacious rooms, inviting pools, and delectable dining options can significantly influence their decision-making process.
We looked at the 2024 Google Search Console organic impression numbers for 50 of our hotel clients; 16% to 23% of organic impressions over a three-month period were from Google Image Searches. That’s a decent chunk.
This is something we’ve known for a while and image optimization for search has been something we’ve practiced at Antyra Hospitality since our inception.
Here’s how you can optimize your images for Google Image Search.
Hyatt Hotels used to call it the photo tour back in 2004; a selection of 30 key images each of their hotels should have online. Today, with faster internet speeds, you can share as many images as you would like. Especially for a hotel, the more, the better (optimized for faster loading, of course).
Here’s a quick guide for a room: The first picture should be from the room entrance; this shows the size and scale of the room. A close-up of the bed, key room amenities, the bathroom from the doorway (again to show the size of the bathroom), the shower / bath, featured bathroom amenities, views from the room and room outdoor areas such as a terrace or balcony.
Images should be high quality and compressed for faster loading without pixelation or loss.
Each of your web pages may target two to three keywords. Your images on said page can extend that keyword strategy further.
Let’s take a room page for example, your page keywords might be “hotel” + “location” keywords, while your image keywords could have hotel amenities and experiences keywords as well. How we typically go about it is, we ensure each room page has at least five or six images. If we can organically use the page keywords on the images we do so. Afterwards, we extend the keyword strategy by looking at long tail / niche keywords for the remaining images. If the room has a pool, i.e. – Room with plunge pool in Vermont.
Use JPEG or WebP and descriptive filenames. Instead of generic names, use filenames that accurately reflect the image content and location within your hotel. For example, “oceanfront-suite-balcony-[hotel name]” is far more informative than “IMG_1234.jpg.”
Craft compelling alt text that goes beyond basic descriptions. Think storytelling. For example, instead of “Hotel room with a king bed,” use “Unwind in our oceanfront king suite, featuring a private balcony and breathtaking coastal views.” This not only helps visually impaired users but also entices potential guests with a glimpse of the experience you offer. Use keywords in ALT text when possible, but avoid keyword stuffing.
Rectangular images without effects work best for hotel image optimization. Avoid text overlays, stickers, fades or other effects that obscure the image in any way. Images should be accessible from their own URIs, they cannot be embedded within JavaScript or within any type of dynamic code.
We’ve noticed non-UGC images appearing in the top 10 results on GIS are usually above 1,000 px in width. We maintain this as a standard for all images we target for optimization.
Just like traditional SEO, image SEO is an ongoing process. Utilize Google Search Console to monitor your image performance and identify areas for improvement. Track metrics like impressions, clicks, and CTR to determine how best to continuously optimize.