You know your website needs work … but hiring a web designer just isn’t in the cards right now. Or maybe your website is still fairly new, but it’s just not working for you—i.e. it’s not bringing in leads. You don’t have to totally overhaul your travel agent website to improve it. Try one of these 5 quick website fixes (no web designer required)— then be sure to grab the website checklist at the end to make sure your website is positioned to bring in leads:
1. Break up your text: Writing for the web is so not like writing for your fifth grade composition class. You’re allowed to break the traditional writing rules—in fact, you should! You have my permission to break up your text by writing much shorter paragraphs. Yes, even paragraphs that are just one or two sentences long. Text that is broken up this way is much easier to read on a laptop or phone, where endless scrolling makes long paragraphs run together.
2. Keep the focus on your clients: Is your website all about me, me, me? One way to tell if your website isn’t focused enough on your visitors is by counting up how many times you mention “I” or “we” or “our agency,” then compare that to the number of times you mention “you”—referring to your reader. If you’re using “I” way more than “you,” rewrite your “I” sentences to put the focus back on your ideal clients. So instead of “We have 20 years of experience,” you should write, “You can trust our travel expertise, honed through 20 years of experience.”
3. Make your contact info easy to find: You want your web visitors to contact you about a trip or consultation, yes? Then make it easy to figure out how to contact you! That means not hiding your contact info under your About Page or making a visitor scroll all the way down to the bottom of your website to find your email address. Instead, make “Contact Us” its own tab in your menu bar. You might need your web designer’s help with this one—but it’s worth it.
4. Add a headline on your home page: The top third of your home page is extremely valuable real estate, since it’s where most of your web visitors land first. So make the most of it with a clear headline that lets them know they’re in the right place. Try this easy headline formula: “[type of vacation] for [type of traveler].” So an agency that specializes in beach vacations for families might have a home page headline that reads: Sun-Drenched Vacations for Families Yearning to Relax, Together.
5. Tell your web visitor what to do next: Ease decision-making anxiety by guiding your visitor through your website and toward specific actions. For example, at the end of your services page, you might encourage your reader to book a consultation call. You can do this by linking to your online scheduler, or even better, formatting the link as a button.
Emily Matras is the owner of Bon Vivant Copy, the copywriting and content marketing studio for travel pros who want to build profitable, sustainable businesses. Click here to get your free Travel Agent Website Checklist to diagnosis your website and make sure you have everything you need to convert your web visitors into travel clients.
