John Haynes

How you can double your enquiries, without spending any money.

Airbnb has become a numbers game — a game that you can win. The tips in this article are specifically designed for Airbnb; but you could definitely apply them to any website on which you list your Vacation Rental property.

The Objective The tips included in this article are designed to do two things; get your Airbnb listing on to the front page of an Airbnb search in your area, and get your listing on to the front page of a Google search for properties in your area.

The Method Every property listed on the site has a conversion rate (the percentage of people that go on to make a booking after viewing your profile). You can calculate your own conversion rate by taking the number of enquiries per month, and divide that by number of people that view your listing.

The Algorithm Airbnb uses to determine the order in which listings are shown rely on a number of factors; some that you can affect (how many people view your listing, and how long they spend on the page), and others that you can’t (location, listing type).

We’re going to focus on improving two areas; bringing more people to your listing, and keeping them there for as long as possible.

Keeping People On Your Listing For Longer I’m starting here because we want to prepare your listing to make it as effective as possible. We want maximise the potential conversion rate before we increase the number of page views.

Fill out listing with information It sounds silly, but it’s just like being at school — if they give you a box to fill out, make sure it has something in it.

This is about “metadata”. Simply put, Airbnb prioritises listings that it deems are ‘complete’.

Google also reads all of the information on your listing, so use Google to find a keyword checker, like this one — then use it to see what phrases other people use when they are searching for your area. Try and include these keywords on your listing, as this will increase your chance of ranking higher on a Google search.

Move Your Reviews Into Your Photos The anatomy of the Airbnb listing puts reviews at bottom, underneath the bulk of the descriptive fields (now beautifully full of information). They also only show one or two, making the user click to disclose the rest.

The area that users spend most time on? Your photos.

It’s a no-brainer. Find the best reviews, preferably those that mention specific things in your home, then add them to the captions of your photos. This works best when something in the review matches the photo; “comfiest night’s sleep ever” on a picture of a bed, “light and airy home” on an interior shot with natural light.

Quick Tips

Put quotation marks around the excerpt Add the name of the reviewer Add the number of stars using asterisks ***** See this is action!

Following the advice in this article, Jacob (a member of the Airbnb Academy Facebook Group ) has added review excerpts to his photo captions. Take a look at his listing to see how easy & effective it is.

Build An Interactive Property Guide, Sell Late Check-Outs — And More: www.yourwelcome.com

Bring more people to your listing Sorry to say, but there’s no one-size-fits-all method for doing this — instead you need to experiment, measure and be ruthlessly cut things out that don’t deliver.

Start Measuring The key to understanding the channels that work for you — Facebook marketing, emails, etc — is by finding ways to measure the number of people each channel delivers, so you know what is working.

Learn how to create a bit.ly or goo.gl link to your listing and use it to measure the number of people that click, each time you share your listing online (email, on social channels, in your blog). These services are free, and easy to use.

It’s a rudimentary measure, but the click-through metric is enough to determine the channels that are most effective for you.

Get On The First Page Of Google using YouTube The goal of this technique is to drive more people to your listing by creating a video that appears on the front page of a google search, driving more people to your listing via a link.

Determine what your niche is — farmhouse for big groups in Wisconsin — then try using google to search for similar terms. Use tools to check the number of monthly searches & ask friends — get a sense of the specific terms they would type into google to find what you’re offering. You’re aiming for something niche.

When you have a search term that you’re happy with, use Google to check whether there are any videos that already show up — we’re hoping not, but not a complete failure if there are some already.

Create a 60–90 second video of you talking to the camera about your place. Doesn’t have to be fancy (can be shot on your phone), but must include the following:

Specific search term must be mentioned in the first few seconds, as an answer to the thing they are searching for. “Are you looking for a farmhouse, suitable for big groups, in Wisconsin?” A SHORT description of the house and features — idea is to tease people to click the link to your listing, not reveal everything up-front. Try to explain how guests will feel when they stay at your place — cosy, relaxed — words and phrases designed to help them picture staying with you. “Imagine warming yourself by the fire pit, watching the stars while snuggled under a blanket.” Ask them to book with you — “If you’d like to see more, click the link in the description of this video and take a look at our wonderful home” Make the title of the video as close to the search term as possible: “Reviewed: Wisconsin Farmhouse for Big Groups” (using title case helps title stand out in results) Choose or upload a good thumbnail. Can take a few days / weeks for the video to appear on page 1 (really helps if you can get people to watch the YouTube video — share with me, I will definitely share it elsewhere)

Experiment with Social Media Channels You might be a blogger, you might enjoy using Twitter or Facebook — wherever you are most comfortable, start experimenting. You can find travel-planning forums, groups of like-minded folk on Facebook and LinkedIn — the aim is to get people to click on the link and go through to your listing.

Make sure you use a different link for each channel. This will ensure that you’re able to precisely track the number of clicks that each post delivers.

Again — there is not one method that works for all — you simply need to find what works for you.

I really hope that you have got some value from this article. Do get in touch with me if you’re planning to implement anything i have suggested, or have any questions. My email is john@yourwelcome.com

Do also take a look at YourWelcome . We’re building a really cool product for Airbnb hosts and Vacation Rental owners.

Originally posted on medium.com

John Haynes

Eastbourne, England, United Kingdom 1K followers 500+ connections

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Elysian Strategies Ltd

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