TripAdvisor.com is a household name when it comes to travel planning. With millions of users and an exhaustive list of reviews, it’s the go-to resource for vacationers and adventurers alike. However, even the most popular sites have room for improvement, especially in the fast-evolving world of search engine optimization (SEO). In 2009, I conducted a comprehensive assessment of TripAdvisor’s SEO strategy. Here’s what I found, and how TripAdvisor can enhance its search engine presence.
Objective of the SEO Assessment
The primary goals of the SEO assessment were to:
- Analyze TripAdvisor’s website against current SEO best practices.
- Offer recommendations to improve compliance with search engine requirements.
- Suggest enhancements to strengthen TripAdvisor’s search engine experience for potential visitors.
Methodology and Limitations
The methodology entailed scrutinizing TripAdvisor’s website based on several criteria: search engine visibility, presence, branding experience, and on-page user experience. While the analysis was thorough, it’s important to note that it was conducted without in-depth knowledge of TripAdvisor’s internal business strategies, goals, or IT constraints.
Search Engine Visibility: Strengths and Opportunities
TripAdvisor.com showcases a well-formed HTML structure, with no significant barriers to search engine indexing, a comprehensive HTML sitemap, and a solid linking structure. However, opportunities for improvement were noted in areas of canonicalization, JavaScript management, XML sitemap creation, and Robots.txt file optimization.
Key Recommendations:
- Implement 301 redirects for homepage variations to avoid confusion.
- Externalize JavaScript to reduce code clutter.
- Create and publicize a .90 protocol XML sitemap.
- Review the Robots.txt file to ensure valuable content is searchable.
Search Engine Presence: Where TripAdvisor Shines and Where It Can Polish
TripAdvisor’s keyword strategy and unique, keyword-rich meta tags for main pages are commendable, reflecting the site’s strong SEO foundation. Nevertheless, opportunities exist to further leverage these strengths.
Key Recommendations:
- Limit the use of multiple
<h1>tags and empty headers. - Enhance user profile visibility in search results.
- Engage in ‘PageRank Sculpting’ and refine link strategies.
Brand Experience in SERPs: Maximizing Impact
TripAdvisor excels in providing excellent search engine descriptions and generating rich snippets for review pages. However, there’s a lack of presence in multimedia search results, and “By City Pages” need more meaningful titles and descriptions.
Key Recommendations:
- Optimize multimedia content for search visibility.
- Create more engaging video content.
- Develop unique, keyword-focused tags for city-specific pages.
- Explore Google Subscribed Links for custom search listings.
On-page User Experience: Encouraging Positive Visitor Interactions
TripAdvisor’s content quality and user engagement mechanisms are strong, but there’s always space for improvement in optimizing the user experience to drive desired actions.
Key Recommendations:
- Implement A/B testing to fine-tune page layouts for revenue generation.
- Introduce comparison views for hotels and restaurants.
- Integrate more obvious social networking features.
- Leverage successful paid search strategies across the site.
Conclusion: A Roadmap for SEO Excellence
TripAdvisor.com adheres to many SEO best practices, positioning it well within the competitive online travel market. The assessment underscores the importance of continuous SEO refinement. By addressing the highlighted opportunities, TripAdvisor can enhance its search engine optimization across the board, ensuring that it not only maintains but also grows its formidable online presence.
