Backlinks super-charge your hotel’s visibility to your potential guests. As a refresher, backlinks are simply links to your hotel’s website from anywhere on the web. If your hotel’s website is a car, SEO is the engine that will get it to new eyes and new guests, and backlinks are the fuel that will keep it going.

Backlinks can help turbo charge your SEO strategy, making it easier for travel shoppers to find your website and all the convincing information, photos, and details that will drive them to book.

This leads us to the essential question: how do hotels get backlinks? For some ideas on where to source backlinks, start with 5 Ways to Boost Your SEO Strength with Backlinks. Acquiring backlinks require relationship building. You’ll have to reach out and ask for most backlinks, which takes some work. Luckily, we’re here to help.

Here is our step-by-step guide on asking for backlinks:

1) Personalize It

Don’t just write one standard email and send it off to everyone you identified as a potential backlink. Customize the opening of your email without being too generic. That means more than just “how are you,” or “hope things are well.” If they’re not an existing business partner, here are some of the ways you can personalize your email:

• Compliment content on their site
• Ask how a recent event or special ran
• Explain how you found yourself on their site

2) Offer Value and Quickly

Be direct and make it clear exactly what you’re emailing about. Offer value to the contact you’re reaching out to by giving your pitch on why they should link back to your hotel. Most people skim emails, so provide a few concise reasons why it makes sense for them to link to you.

Just like your personalized opening lines, specificity is key. Tie your hotel’s amenities to the attraction, event, or blogger you’re reaching out to. Why do guests choose your hotel? Make sure your potential backlink-er knows! 

Be direct in your subject line as well. Catch their eye with a to-the-point subject. Start off with an action verb and keep it short. A third of all people decide whether or not to open an email based on the subject line alone. 

Here are some very simple, sample subject lines:

• Your hotel directory is missing something!
• Found a broken link on [Site]
• Question about [Page Name]

3)Don’t Forget The Small Stuff

You’ve started your email with something specific to make it clear they are receiving a personally crafted email and not a press release. You’ve launched into your ask, and made it clear why it would be good for them (or for their audience) to visit your hotel and its website. Now you have to make sure all the details are in order.

Before you hit send:

• Read it again for grammar and spelling
• Send it at the right time: people tend to open and act on their emails during the work week. For the best results, we recommend sending your emails around 10 AM on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
• Send a follow-up email after a few days, but don’t bother them too much after that

4) Track & Improve

As with any marketing efforts, it’s essential to keep track of your efforts and, based on your results, make any improvements to your strategy. Keep track of the emails you’re sending out and how successful you are. It can be as simple as creating a “pitch” spreadsheet, where you enter who you pitched to, what you pitched them, and whether or not they ultimately ended up linking to you.

Keeping track of who you have already emailed will also stop you from reaching out to someone twice!

3 Pitch Templates to Customize

Ready to start gaining valuable, trustworthy backlinks to your hotel website? Here are a few example backlink pitches. They use our best practices outlined above—but the more specific you can make your email while still being concise, the better. The best backlink pitch should be personalized based on your relationship with the person, brand, or business you’re reaching out to! 

The Local Blogger or News Source

Hi ,

I was looking for info today about [attraction] and stumbled on your piece about [attraction]. Great tips!

I work at [hotel name], and I always tell guests [specific anecdote about attraction]. I noticed you frequently write about accommodations in the area. Our hotel [value-add or stand-out features], and I think we would be a great fit for [specific page on site.]

I look forward to reading more about [subject matter] on your site in the future!

Talk soon,

[Name]

Updating Links or Changing Links to a Vanity Site

Hello [First Name],

I’m [Your Name], the [Title] at [Hotel]. We recently launched a brand-new website to provide visitors to [area] with more information about the hotel. I noticed that the link on [Their Page Title], [URL] is [dead/pointing to the wrong page.]

Can this link be changed to [New URL]? Our new website has been updated to better reflect the property and our offers.

Thanks,

[Name]

The Area Attraction

Hello [First Name],

I’m very excited about [event]! I was looking for details about [attraction/event] as I work as the [Title] at [Hotel] and we’re [specific hotel event/offer/details related to the event].

While on your site, I noticed you have a directory of [area] hotels. I think [hotel name] would be a great fit for [existing category section]. We have [value-adds/amenities] that visitors to [attraction] always rave about.

Let me know what you think,

[Name]

Learn more about off-page SEO, or super-charge your online success and get in touch with your Success Coach for personalized help today.