Non-Stop Bookings: How to Build and Rank Rental Property Websites

Renting out property is supposed to be a solid source of passive income. This is especially true for people with vacation homes in popular and beautiful vacation destinations.

You have a gorgeous property, you have the popular destination, but you’re only missing one thing: actual renters.

If you’re finding that your vacation home isn’t as popular as you had hoped, it may be time to look at the website you’re sending people to.

Rental property websites can heavily influence the success of your rental property, but only if you know how to build them the right way.

If you want to have more renters at your property this summer, you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to give you our must-follow tips for building websites for renting houses.

Have Excellent Visuals

Visuals are everything when it comes to real estate marketing and online advertising. If you want to see an increase in bookings, you need to spend some time on getting professional pictures.

When you’re thinking about your real estate photos, you need to show and not tell. If there’s something you want to show people, make sure you take pictures. 

Make sure that every picture you post of the property is clear and is taken in great lighting.

Camera phones have come a long way and many can take nice pictures. But if you want to make sure that the quality of your pictures of high, it may be time for professional help.

If you have an interest in photography and would love to learn about picture editing, you could rent a camera and do pictures of your own. You could also choose to hire a freelance photographer to take pictures.

Find an SEO Expert

Someone that understands SEO inside and out could easily help make your website more visible in search.

When you’re thinking of what to do for your website, take some time to bring in an SEO expert. They can help ensure that you’re making the right choices to make your website as SEO friendly as possible.

Remember, it’s never too late to get SEO help. It’s good to find SEO help early in the process, but there’s nothing wrong with bringing in someone after your site is built to review it. 

Choose a Great Domain Name 

Your website’s domain name can have a significant and positive effect on SEO. But it’ll only work if you set it up right.

Let’s say that you have a vacation home on Lake Hollingsworth in Tampa, Florida. You may get the urge to do something a little creative with your home and use a name like HollingsworthViewHome.com.

People that are looking for a lakefront home to rent in Tampa aren’t going to search for Hollingsworth View. They’re much more like to search for “Hollingsworth Lakeview property” or “vacation home on Hollingsworth lake”. 

This is why it’s important to think about what internet users are going to use to search for property. Their keywords should be a part of your URL.

A URL like VacationHomeHollingsworthLake.com or HollingsworthLakeRental.com can bring in a lot of searches. Both are very targeted towards the user’s end goals. 

Create the Right Pages

A lot of people struggle when they make rental property websites because they don’t know the right content to post.

When you’re thinking of what pages to put on your website, make sure you include these essential ones.

Home Page

This is going to be the first thing people see when they land on your website. You’re going to want to make it appealing and useful for everyone that sees it.

Always start off with beautiful pictures of the property. Some people also like to include a simple contact us form on the homepage so interested visitors can contact you as soon as they land on your page.

About the Property

This should give people extensive information on the rental property. On these pages, the phrase “too much information” has no meaning.

Let them know about the rooms, the number of bathrooms, square footage, and any other important information about amenities and local attractions (we’ll elaborate on that soon).

Video & Photo Gallery

Every page on your website should have some visual elements. But if you really want to promote your property, you’ll need a page devoted to pictures and videos. 

Take pictures of rooms from different angles so people can see exactly what they’re getting with your rental. You may even want to include a virtual tour so they can truly “see” the rental without having to physically visit. 

Contact

This page is pretty self-explanatory. List all of your relevant contact information, and be sure to include a simple form so you make it easy for interested renters to get in touch with you.

As a good rule of thumb, try to include a few important keywords in your content. Make sure that top performing keywords can be found in header and title tags along with the regular copy.

Promote the Surrounding Area

People are trying to rent your property so they can have an outstanding vacation. If you play up sights to see in the area around your vacation home, you could start to see an increase in bookings. 

Do a little online research when you’re writing content for your website and make a special section devoted to local activities on your website. Check out local forums and Facebook groups to see what people in the area like to do. 

If people are talking about how amazing the food is at a local restaurant, be sure to mention it on the site. Also, be sure to list any child-friendly things to do so you can appeal to families that need rentals.

Going Beyond Rental Property Websites

When you have the right help and mindset, building rental property websites is easy. Once you have SEO help and good content, you’ll see your number of renters skyrocket!

Do you have any questions about SEO and building websites? We’re always here to help, don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions you may have.

In the meantime, visit our blog to learn about other strategies you can use to improve your website. Read our post on digital marketing so you can increase your renter leaders.