Your holiday park might have the best facilities on the coast, but if potential guests can’t find your website when they search online, those empty cabins and caravan sites aren’t doing your bottom line any favours. Most park owners understand they need a website, but many miss the crucial steps that help Google show that website to people searching for accommodation.
Search engine optimisation might sound like something only tech experts worry about, but the reality is straightforward. When someone types “holiday parks near Jervis Bay” or “caravan parks with pools Queensland” into Google, you want your park to appear in those results. The difference between showing up on page one versus page three can literally mean the difference between booked-out weekends and disappointing occupancy rates.
The problem? Many visibility issues come down to a handful of common holiday park website mistakes; the kind that can frustrate users and quietly hurt your search rankings without you realising. The good news is, these mistakes are both common and completely fixable. No tech expertise or pricey consultants required.
Mistake 1: Your Website Looks Terrible on Mobile
When families are planning their next getaway or couples are looking for a weekend escape, they’re doing most of their research on their phones. Whether they’re browsing options during lunch breaks, planning trips from the couch, or searching for somewhere to stay while they’re already on the road, phones are how people find and book accommodation these days.
If your website doesn’t work properly on mobile devices, you’re turning away a huge number of potential customers before they even see what your park offers. Google recognises this shift in user behaviour and actively penalises websites that provide poor mobile experiences by ranking them lower in search results.
The mobile-responsive design problems we see most often include text that’s too small to read without zooming, buttons and links placed too close together to tap accurately, and content that requires horizontal scrolling to view properly. Sometimes park owners assume their website works on mobile because they can technically access it, but there’s a massive difference between a site that loads and one that provides a genuinely user-friendly experience.
The Retain Media Solution
To make your holiday park site mobile-friendly and avoid turning away potential guests, you need to test your website on various phone sizes and operating systems, rather than assuming it works. This can be easily done by right-clicking on a page, selecting “Inspect,” and navigating through the different handheld devices listed in the Dimensions menu at the top of your browser.
Once you’ve done this, we suggest asking family members or friends to try booking accommodation through your site using only their phones. Watch them navigate through the process and note where they struggle or get frustrated. If your website consistently provides a poor mobile experience, it may need professional attention to ensure it works properly across all devices.
Mistake 2: Your Website Takes Forever to Load
Patience isn’t a virtue when it comes to website loading times. People will abandon a website if it takes too long to load, and Google uses loading speed as a ranking factor when determining search engine result positions.
Holiday park websites often suffer from slow loading times because they’re packed with high-resolution photos showcasing beautiful accommodation and scenery. While these images are great for convincing people to book, massive file sizes can cripple website performance, especially for visitors using mobile data connections in regional areas.
Other common culprits include outdated website hosting, too many plugins or add-ons running in the background, and embedded content from social media platforms that hasn’t been optimised properly. Some park owners unknowingly sabotage their own loading speeds by adding every widget and feature they come across, creating websites that struggle under their own complexity.
The Retain Media Solution
To fix a slow-loading website and keep potential guests from bouncing, you need to identify what’s dragging your performance down and take steps to speed things up. Start by testing your website’s loading speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or WebPageTest. For Australian businesses, it’s worth testing from different locations since many holiday parks serve visitors from major cities who may experience different loading speeds. These tools will identify specific problems slowing down your site.
Once this is complete, we suggest installing a plugin that automatically compresses photos and images as they’re uploaded to your site’s gallery. Some of our favourites include WP Smush Pro and Imagify. You can, of course, compress your images manually, but it’s an awful lot of work, especially for holiday park sites. We also suggest simply considering using modern image formats that maintain quality while reducing file size. This means that your imagery will still look professional despite the change in file size.
Last but not least, if your website consistently scores poorly on page speed tests, discuss hosting upgrades with your web developer or consider switching to a hosting provider with Australian servers.
Mistake 3: Your Content is Thinner Than Budget Toilet Paper
Google rewards websites that provide genuine value to visitors, which means your accommodation pages need to contain more information than just “Cabin sleeps 4 people, has air conditioning, $150 per night.” Sparse content tells Google that your website probably isn’t the most helpful result for people searching for holiday accommodation.
Many park owners assume that a few photos and basic pricing information will suffice, but this approach wastes enormous opportunities to capture search traffic. People searching for holiday accommodation want to know about local attractions, what activities are available nearby, what amenities your park provides, and what makes your location special.
Thin content also means you’re missing chances to target the various ways people search for accommodation. Someone might search for “pet-friendly caravan parks,” “holiday parks with playgrounds,” or “accommodation near national parks.” If your website content doesn’t mention these features, Google won’t connect your park with relevant searches.
The Retain Media Solution
To avoid being overlooked by both Google and potential guests, your content needs to go beyond the basics and showcase what makes your park worth booking. We recommend expanding your accommodation descriptions to include details about what guests can actually do and see. Describe your park’s facilities comprehensively, create content about local attractions and activities, and write about the experiences people can have when staying with you. Don’t just tell people you have a pool; explain that families love the heated pool area where kids can safely play while parents relax with coffee from the on-site café.
Mistake 4: You're Ignoring Meta Titles and Header Tags
Meta titles and header tags might sound technical, but they’re simply the headlines and subheadings that help both Google and your website visitors understand what each page is about. Many holiday park websites either leave these elements blank or fill them with generic text that provides no useful information.
Your meta title is what appears as the clickable headline in Google search results, so “Home Page” or “Accommodation” tells potential guests absolutely nothing about why they should visit your website instead of your competitors’. Similarly, header tags (the H1, H2, and H3 elements that structure your content) help Google understand the hierarchy and relevance of information on your pages.
When these elements are missing or poorly written, Google struggles to determine what your pages are actually about, which directly impacts your search rankings. You’re essentially making Google guess why your website deserves to appear in search results, and Google doesn’t like guessing.
The Retain Media Solution
To help Google understand (and rank) your pages properly, your meta titles and header tags need to be clear, specific, and actually reflect what each page is about. The key is to write concise, descriptive meta titles for each page that include your park name and key features, placing the target keyword for the page at the beginning of the meta title. Instead of “Accommodation,” specify the type of accommodation and who it’s for. For example, you could say, “Family Cabins” or “Family Cabin Accommodation”.
For header tags, structure your content logically with clear headings that describe what visitors will find in each section, using the same keyword as the meta title somewhere in your page heading. It’s important to apply an H1 title tag to the main page heading and use this heading to clearly state what the page offers, then use subheadings to break down different aspects of your accommodation or facilities.
If you’re unsure what header tags are, just think of a hierarchy, with an H1 as your main page heading, H2s for subheadings, H3s for subheadings within subheadings, etc. Below is a visual breakdown to help you.
This is an H1
This is an H2
This is an H3
Mistake 5: Your Pages Don't Connect to Each Other
Internal linking means creating connections between different pages on your website, and most holiday park websites completely ignore this powerful search engine optimisation strategy. When pages on your website link to each other logically, it helps Google understand the relationship between your content and determines which pages are most important.
More importantly, good internal linking helps potential guests discover more about your park and facilities. Someone reading about your cabin accommodation should easily find links to information about your swimming pool, playground, or nearby hiking trails. This keeps people on your website longer and increases the chances they’ll make a booking.
Many park owners create individual pages for different accommodation types, facilities, and local information, then fail to connect these pages together. This creates isolated islands of content that neither Google nor website visitors can navigate efficiently.
The Retain Media Solution
To avoid creating disconnected content and missing out on both SEO benefits and bookings, you need a clear internal linking strategy that helps Google (and your guests) to navigate your holiday park site with ease. We recommend looking for natural opportunities to link related content together. For example, your cabin page should link to your facilities page, which in turn should mention and link to nearby attractions. Additionally, your location page should connect back to specific accommodation options that cater to different visitor needs.
When adding these internal links, make sure you use descriptive anchor text (the clickable words in a link) that tell users and Google what to expect on the next page. Instead of vague phrases like “click here” or “learn more,” use the keyword that reflects the target search term of the page you are linking to. For example, link to your pool information page using anchor text like “heated outdoor swimming pool” (if that’s the keyword you are targeting on your pool page), rather than just “pool” or “read more”. This helps to reinforce the topic of the linked page and can improve search engine rankings for the keywords that matter most to your park.
It’s also important to regularly check your internal links to ensure none are broken. Broken links frustrate visitors and can harm your SEO by signalling to Google that your site isn’t well-maintained.
Create a logical web of connections that guides visitors through all the reasons they should choose your park for their next holiday.
Mistake 6: You're Using Duplicate Content (Even If You Don't Realise It)
Google’s goal is to show users the most relevant and original content for their searches. But if your website contains duplicate content, either copied from other sites or repeated across your own pages, it confuses search engines and can hurt your rankings. In some cases, Google may skip indexing pages entirely if it thinks they’re too similar to others.
This is a common issue for holiday park websites, especially when owners reuse the same descriptions across multiple cabin types, or copy-and-paste content from regional tourism websites, booking platforms, or even competitor sites. While it may seem harmless (or like a time-saver), duplicate content tells Google that your site isn’t offering anything unique, which gives it little reason to rank you above others.
Another trap is syndicating content from third-party booking systems. If your listings appear word-for-word on your website and on sites like Booking.com or Expedia, Google may consider the booking platform the “original source,” pushing your own site lower in search results. You’re essentially promoting the third-party source while harming your own site’s relationship with Google.
The Retain Media Solution
To prevent duplicate content from damaging your search visibility, you need to ensure that every page on your site offers something original and genuinely useful to both Google and your guests. Make sure every page on your website contains unique, helpful content tailored to your holiday park and your audience, and write unique descriptions for each cabin or accommodation type, even if they’re similar. Highlight differences, specific locations within the park, nearby features, or guest feedback. If you use booking platforms or local tourism websites for inspiration, rewrite the content in your own voice and from your park’s perspective.
Google values originality and relevance. Avoiding duplicate content not only improves your SEO but also builds trust with potential guests by giving them a sense of what makes your park special.
Mistake 7: You're Competing with Yourself in Google Search Results
Most holiday park owners understand the importance of using keywords on their website. But what many don’t realise is that targeting the same keyword on multiple pages, a problem known as keyword cannibalisation, can actually harm your SEO instead of helping it.
When several pages on your site are optimised for the same keyword or search intent (like “family-friendly accommodation” or “holiday park in Port Macquarie”), Google can struggle to decide which one is most relevant. As a result, none of them may rank well. You’re essentially forcing your own pages to compete against each other in search results, leading to missed opportunities to rank more effectively and attract the right traffic.
This often happens when parks create multiple pages for similar cabin types or publish separate blog posts covering almost identical topics, with each targeting the same key phrases. Instead of building your site’s authority around a single strong page, you end up spreading your relevance too thin.
The Retain Media Solution
To avoid competing with your own pages in search results, and to reclaim missed opportunities, you need to clarify the purpose or intent of each page and align it with a unique keyword focus. We recommend reviewing your website’s content to identify pages that target the same or very similar keywords or search intent. One of the most effective solutions is to consolidate overlapping content into a single, comprehensive page that fully addresses the topic. Assign one primary keyword topic to each page, ensuring each one has a clear and distinct purpose.
For example, your “Family Accommodation” page should focus solely on that topic, while other pages can target “Pet-Friendly Cabins,” “Romantic Getaways,” or “Powered Caravan Sites.” Use internal links to connect related pages and guide users (and Google) through your site without confusing the search intent.
Avoiding keyword cannibalisation ensures each page has a focused role in your SEO strategy and helps you capture more visibility, traffic, and bookings that might otherwise be lost to poorly structured content.
Get Your SEO Foundation Right with Retain Media
These seven mistakes represent the most common SEO problems we encounter when working with clients, but addressing them provides an excellent foundation for improved visibility in the Google search algorithm. The key is approaching SEO as an ongoing process rather than a one-time fix, because Google’s requirements and your competition both evolve constantly.
Remember that SEO success takes time to materialise. Google needs several months to properly assess and rank website improvements, so don’t expect overnight transformations. However, parks that consistently address these fundamental issues typically see meaningful improvements in their search rankings and website traffic within six to twelve months.
At Retain Media, we help holiday parks and caravan parks build stronger online visibility through strategic digital marketing that drives real bookings. If you’re ready to fix the SEO issues holding back your park’s website and start attracting more guests through search, contact us today to discuss how we can help your business grow.
