3 ways to market your Airbnb

Why marketing your Airbnb is important

When I wake up in the morning and check the Airbnb calendar and see it fully I’m thrilled. Who wouldn’t be right? It’s not enough just to sit back and hope the bookings will come in. You need to put effort into marketing your Airbnb if you want to get more bookings.

Several techniques I use can help you market your Airbnb effectively without taking up too much of your time. In this article, I’ll discuss three strategies that have helped me increase my Airbnb revenue: organic search, word-of-mouth referrals, and paid advertising. By combining these tactics, I’ve been able to consistently keep my Airbnb booking calendar full of high-quality reservations.

You don’t need to apply all of these approaches at once, just let your imagination go and pick a couple to get started with. There are a couple of marketing terms in this article so don’t run away just yet. I promise I’ll break it down and it will start to make sense. Plus, I guarantee you’ll start to recognize how other companies you currently use and love utilize these approaches.

What is organic search and why it’s Important for your Airbnb?

Organic search is an effective way to market your Airbnb without any additional costs. Organic search refers to the unpaid, natural rankings a website receives in search engine results pages. As more people use search engines like Google and Bing to find rental listings, it’s important to make sure your listing is visible and that you rank high in the search results.

When you think about search results go check out google’s landing page and search for anything. I searched for “best outer banks airbnbs.” Now of course my preference is our Airbnb’s on Hatteras Island… but I digress. Everything under the “sponsored” results are considered organic search results.

Organic search is beneficial to your Airbnb because it allows potential guests to find your listing easily and quickly. The higher you rank in search engine results, the more likely people are to click on your listing resulting in more bookings and increased revenue. By optimizing your Airbnb listing with relevant keywords and phrases, you’ll be able to improve your organic search ranking and attract more guests.

You want guests to be able to quickly and easily find your listing. It’s as simple as that!

Organic search can help your Airbnb stand out from the competition, so make sure you put in the effort to optimize your listing for maximum visibility. With a little bit of work and dedication, you can increase your bookings through organic search and reach a much larger audience.

Your Airbnb profile is a form of organic search marketing

Adding your listing on the Airbnb platform is utilizing organic search. You’re adding your rental property to a directory which helps guests find you. When people search your geographical location the Airbnb, VRBO, etc platforms are serving up your listing when they deem it relevant. Our goal is to make our listings more relevant in organic search. The airbnb algorithm wants you to have complete and descriptive profiles. We have an article about the 7 important tips for your Airbnb profile.

Go to your profile on Airbnb and make sure you add descriptive works that help guests get a sense of who you are as a host. When people are searching for listings they will naturally gravitate towards profiles that are more complete and seem professional. If an Airbnb host hasn’t bothered to fill out their profile how dependable could they be, right?

Social media profiles are organic marketing

Social media profiles are a form of organic search that can be optimized. When you post photos of your Airbnb on Instagram or other Social platforms you should consider how potential guests are going to find and interact with those posts.

Add value to your social media posts

If you don’t have a following for your short-term rental that’s totally fine! When you start collecting photos and videos of your property think about the types of guests you’d like to attract and post content that speaks to what they like. If you want families to travel to your home don’t post photos of single college students sunbathing on your porch.

Think of your social marketing as a resource for would-be guests. Post information about your area, great restaurants, conventions, and seasonal attractions, etc. If you just post a photo of the front of your house and say “dates available this Spring” you’re not inspiring people to continue following your page. However, if you’re always posting about things happening in your city or location guests feel like they’re still getting a “locals perspective” on an area.

Word-of-Mouth Referrals – What it is and why it’s beneficial for your Airbnb

Word-of-mouth referrals are one of the most powerful ways to market your Airbnb. By utilizing the power of word-of-mouth marketing, you can tap into people ‘s networks to spread the word about your Airbnb. World of mouth is essentially giving potential guests a great first impression without you having to do anything. Thing about how excited you are to visit a hotel or short-term rental after a trusted friend recommends it!

Word-of-mouth referrals are powerful because they come from people who have experienced your property, and therefore can provide a thorough review of their experience. This allows potential guests to make an informed decision when choosing a rental property.

In addition to providing potential guests with detailed information about the property, word-of-mouth referrals also help build trust with potential guests. When someone recommends your Airbnb, they are putting their own reputation on the line to vouch for you and your rental property. This is often much more trustworthy than advertising or other marketing tactics.

Word-of-mouth referrals can be a great way to increase bookings for your Airbnb. You can encourage word-of-mouth referrals by providing an incentive such as discounts or other rewards to those who refer others to your rental property. Additionally, you can increase the reach of word-of-mouth referrals by utilizing social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. By actively engaging with potential guests on these platforms, you can increase the likelihood of them referring your property to their friends and family.

When done correctly, word-of-mouth referrals can be a powerful way to market your Airbnb. By providing potential guests with detailed information about the property and building trust with them, you can increase bookings for your Airbnb. Additionally, by utilizing incentives and social media platforms, you can increase the reach of your word-of-mouth referrals and get more bookings for your Airbnb.

How I use word-of-mouth marketing in my Airbnbs

My approach is to thank all of my current guests for their visit and ask for a referral. “Hey (guest’s name) thanks so much for your visit! We really enjoyed hosting you and would love it if you’d stay in our Airbnb again in the future. If you have any friends or people you know traveling to the area we would be thrilled to host them as well.” It’s as simple as that!

Local marketing for your Airbnb

Why do people travel to your location? I’m in Durham, NC and we have a ton of weddings in the area so I reach out to wedding planners I know (I photographed weddings for 15 years) and let them know I would love to host their couples and guests. I offer the wedding planners I know a 10% discount on the accommodations as well. That way they can offer real financial value to their clients which makes them look good.

If you have conventions in your city you could post on those boards and reach out to organizers to offer your listing to their attendees.

Think about the type of work and groups you’re in. Do the people close to you even know you have an Airbnb and would love to get their recommendations? If your answer is no you should change that ASAP.

Organic search also includes your website and blog

Not many people have websites these days! But, it’s a great way to get more bookings and build your brand. I use WordPress as my CMS and create blog posts about tips for my city like the best restaurants, attractions, things to do etc. It’s a great way to show potential guests the information they may not be able to find elsewhere. Additionally, you can use SEO tactics to increase the visibility of your website and draw in more guests.

Write a blog post that’s title “best Airbnbs in (insert your location)” and then write all about your properties. Remember to be transparent and keep the tone light about how you’re doing some shameless self-promotion so you don’t seem like an egomaniac. That way when people search “best” and your location your post might show up! I know when I do travel research I start with google.

Paid ads for Airbnb

The third way I market my Airbnb is through pay-per-click or display campaigns on Google Ads and Facebook Ads. Before you run away consider what this might look like for your short-term rental. If you have people traveling to your location from say Washington DC, which is the case for me, I could run geographically targeted ads to people in that city. I could promote a post I made about the best “secret” Airbnbs in the Outer Banks and drive traffic to my blog post. You don’t have to break the bank to use this technique but you do want to be careful you don’t set an unlimited budget.

These are great ways to reach a wide audience very quickly, but it’s important to make sure you have a good budget set aside for this as it can get expensive quickly.

It’s important to be strategic with your ads, too. Make sure you’re targeting the right audience (people who might be interested in your property) and have relevant keywords that match up with your ad copy. Additionally, make sure to track your campaigns so you can see what’s working and what isn’t. You want to make sure you’re getting a return on your investment, so tracking is key!

Closing Thoughts – Summarizing the importance of Airbnb marketing and how to get started

Airbnb marketing can be a great way to fill up your short-term rental calendar and reach more potential guests. It doesn’t have to take a ton of time, but it does require some effort. The key is to combine organic search with word of mouth and paid ads so that you can reach the widest audience possible. My approach is to pick two of these and work on them!

Hope this helps! Good luck with your Airbnb marketing journey 🙂