SEO for RV parks can sound intimidating, but let’s think of it as your new best friend.
Who has the time to conquer SEO when you’d rather be checking hookups than sitting at a computer trying to figure out what in the world metadata is?
You have a park to run. The Wi-Fi password has disappeared again, and somebody is standing in the laundry room staring at the machine like it just landed from Mars. Oh, and how do you use the dump?
Meanwhile, somewhere down the road, an RVer is looking for a place to stay. It might be for tonight. It might be for a month.
The question is, will they find you?
SEO gives your park a better chance of being there when they search.
What Is SEO for RV Parks?
SEO is short for search engine optimization. That sounds important. And slightly exhausting.
Forget the fancy definition. Google doesn’t know your campground from Adam. It’s never driven past your entrance. It hasn’t seen your pull-through sites. And it certainly hasn’t met the guy in Site 14 who wants to know why the Wi-Fi won’t reach his recliner.
All Google has is what it can learn online. Your website is a big part of that.
There’s more to SEO, of course. Some of it gets pretty technical.
Thank goodness you don’t have to learn it all.
Start With What Travelers Search For
RV travelers usually have something particular in mind when they start searching.
One may be looking for a park close to the interstate because they’re stopping for one night. Another needs a pull-through site because the last attempt at backing up the rig nearly required a marriage counselor.
What about that family traveling with a Labrador the size of a small pony? They’re probably checking whether you’ll let the furry beast through the gate.
Stay awhile and the questions change. Where’s the nearest restaurant? How’s the Wi-Fi?
And if the kids have been riding in the back seat since breakfast, their parents may be searching for the nearest hiking trail out of pure self-preservation.
If you’ve got what they’re looking for, say so. Don’t make travelers—or Google—hunt for it.
Take a Look at Your Website
Pull up your website on your phone. Pretend you’ve never seen it before.
How long does it take you to find the rates? Can you tell what kind of sites are available? And please don’t make somebody conduct a scavenger hunt just to figure out how to make a reservation.
Got full hookups or a dog park? Put it where people can find it. Google is looking at that information, too.
Make Sure Google Maps Knows You’re There
Your website isn’t the only place travelers may find you. Plenty of people go straight to Google Maps, especially when they’re already on the road.
Take a peek at your Google Business Profile. Do the pictures still look like your park, or are they old enough to qualify as family heirlooms?
While you’re there, read your reviews. Your future campers probably will. Google notices them, too.
You could have the cleanest showers this side of the Mississippi and pull-through sites wide enough to land a small plane, but none of that helps much if travelers can’t find you.
And that right there is why understanding the basics of SEO is worth your time.
Because the next time somebody searches for a place to park that RV, you’d much rather they pull into your campground than the one down the road.
Ready to Put SEO to Work?
You know enough now to see why SEO deserves some attention.
Not interested in adding “figure out Google” to your job description? Fair enough.
RV Park SEO works specifically with SEO for RV parks. Let them take a look at your park and see what Google is seeing.
You can get back to running the campground.
And somebody, please check on that guy in Site 14.