When families start planning their next holiday, they don’t usually search for “holiday parks Australia” and scroll through hundreds of results. They search for things like “holiday parks Noosa,” “caravan parks Byron Bay,” or “family accommodation Phillip Island.” These location-based intent searches represent your biggest opportunity to attract new guests, but many park owners miss out because they don’t understand how local search works.
After speaking to countless owners who didn’t even know what they were missing out on, we at Retain decided to put together a list of local SEO tips to help owners make the most of searches and get more bookings.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the practice of making your holiday park more visible when people search for accommodation in your area, or are conducting searches while located in your area. Unlike general SEO, which helps you compete nationally, local SEO focuses on capturing people who are specifically looking for places to stay near your location. When someone searches for accommodation while they’re planning a trip to your region, you want your park to appear at the top of those results.
The challenge many holiday park owners face is that aggregator websites like TripAdvisor, Booking.com, and Wotif often dominate local search engine results. While these platforms can bring bookings, they also take commissions and put barriers between you and your potential guests. Local SEO gives you the tools to compete directly for visibility in your area.
Understanding How People Search for Accommodation
People searching for holiday accommodation typically follow predictable patterns. They might start with broad searches but quickly narrow down to location-specific queries when they’re ready to book accommodation. They’re looking for parks that are close to attractions they want to visit, beaches they want to enjoy, or towns they’re planning to explore.
Someone searching for “holiday parks” while browsing from Melbourne is likely planning a trip somewhere, but someone searching for “holiday parks Bright” while they’re already in Bright is probably looking for last-minute accommodation. Your local SEO strategy needs to capture both types of searches.
Google uses its location tracking to determine where a search is coming from (so there’s no need to add ‘near me’ anymore) and has become increasingly sophisticated at understanding the intent behind location-based searches. When someone searches for accommodation near a specific place, Google looks at factors like the searcher’s location, the business’s proximity to that location, and how well the business’s online presence matches what the person is looking for to recommend the most-trusted businesses in that location. As a business, your goal is to appear in those searches.
Google Business Profile: Your Most Important Local SEO Tool
If you only focus on one aspect of local SEO, make it your Google Business Profile (GBP), previously known as Google My Business (GMB). This free tool from Google is essentially your park’s storefront in local search results and on Google Maps. When people search for holiday parks in your area, your GBP listing can appear prominently with photos, reviews, contact details, and booking information.
Setting Up Your Profile Properly
Setting up your Google Business Profile properly is essential because it controls how your park appears in Google Maps, local search results, and the knowledge panel when people search for your business name directly. Many park owners either don’t have a GBP listing at all, or they have one that’s incomplete.
Your profile should include comprehensive information: exact address, phone number, website, operating hours, and high-quality photos showcasing your accommodation, facilities, and surroundings. Write a detailed but concise business description that mentions the types of accommodation you offer and what makes your location attractive to visitors.
Choose specific categories like ‘Holiday park’, ‘Caravan park’, or ‘Camping ground’, that accurately represent what you offer. Include practical details about parking availability, Wi-Fi access, pet policies, and accessibility features. Complete and accurate information is crucial because Google prioritises businesses with thorough profiles when determining local visibility.
Optimising for Google Maps Visibility
Your Google Business Profile directly determines how your park appears on Google Maps, which has become one of the primary ways people discover local businesses. Google determines which businesses to show based on three main factors: relevance, distance, and prominence.
Relevance is how well your profile matches what someone is searching for, and a complete and detailed profile helps Google understand exactly what you offer. Distance considers how far your park is from the person searching, which is why accurate address information matters. Prominence reflects how well-known your business is, based on factors like the number and quality of reviews and your overall online presence.
Verifying your business through Google’s verification process is essential for improving your local visibility. Verification tells Google that you’re authorised to represent the business, making it more likely to show up in search results and on Google Maps.
Keeping Your Profile Active
Regular updates to your Google Business Profile signal to Google that your business is active and engaged. Post updates about new facilities, special events, or seasonal attractions. Keep your hours current, including special hours for holidays or seasonal changes.
Respond to reviews promptly and professionally. When you reply to customer reviews, it shows that you value their feedback and helps your business stand out in local search results. Positive reviews and helpful replies contribute to your prominence ranking, which directly affects how often your park appears in Google Maps searches.
Add photos and videos regularly to show what you offer and tell your business’s story. Visual content helps your listing stand out in both search results and on Google Maps, giving potential guests a better sense of what makes your park special.
Managing Your Online Citations and NAP Consistency
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. NAP consistency means ensuring these three pieces of information appear exactly the same way across every online platform where your business is listed. This might seem like a minor detail, but inconsistent NAP information confuses Google and can hurt your local search rankings.
Citations are online mentions of your business that include your NAP details. These can appear on online business directories, tourism websites, local government sites, or any other platform that lists your business and website details. Google uses these citations to verify that your business exists and to understand its location and relevance.
It isn’t uncommon for business information to appear differently across various platforms. Your park might be listed as “Sunny Shores Holiday Park” on one site, “Sunny Shores Caravan Park” on another, and “Sunny Shores HP” somewhere else. More commonly, things like business hours, links to key pages on your website or phone numbers get updated on one platform, but forgotten on others. These inconsistencies make it more challenging for Google to associate all these mentions with your business, which can lead to a lack of trust in your website.
We recommend starting with an audit of how your business appears online. Search for your park name and look at how your information is displayed across different websites. Create a master document with your exact business name, full address (including state and postcode), and phone number formatted consistently (this means the spacing between numbers should be consistent everywhere, including on your website), and use this information whenever you create or update online listings.
Focus on getting listed on reputable Australian business directories and tourism websites. Industry-specific directories for caravan and camping can also be valuable, but prioritise platforms that actual travellers use when planning trips.
Creating Location-Specific Content That Attracts Local Searches
Content that mentions your specific location and nearby attractions helps Google understand what makes your park relevant to local searches. This doesn’t mean stuffing your website with location-based keywords, but rather, providing useful, relevant information about your area that helps potential guests plan their visits.
Write content about attractions and activities near your park. If you’re located near a national park, create content about hiking trails, wildlife viewing opportunities, or scenic drives. If you’re in a coastal location, write about beaches, fishing spots, or water activities, and remember to include valuable local keywords in your content. Terms and phrases specific to the activity or location, followed by the location name, will enhance your local search visibility in both Google and other search engines. This content serves two purposes: it enhances local SEO and provides value to potential guests researching the area.
Your accommodation pages should mention nearby landmarks and attractions where relevant. Instead of just describing your cabins, mention that they’re “perfect for families visiting the Grampians” or “ideal for couples exploring the Mornington Peninsula wineries.” This helps Google connect your accommodation with other location-based searches. You can take this a step further and match your blog topics up with the landmarks and attractions you’ve mentioned on accommodation pages. Link these mentions through to your blogs to improve your internal navigation and ease of user access to information.
Additionally, create location pages if your park serves multiple nearby towns or attractions. A park near both Ballarat and Daylesford might benefit from dedicated pages explaining why it’s a good base for exploring each location. These pages can capture searches from people planning to visit either area.
Local content also includes practical information that travellers need. Write about local shops, restaurants, fuel stations, and other services that your guests might need. This type of content often appears in local search results because it answers common questions that visitors have about the area.
Encouraging and Managing Customer Reviews
Online reviews play a significant role in local search rankings and customer decision-making. Google uses the quantity, quality, and recency of reviews as ranking factors for local businesses. More importantly, potential guests read reviews to decide whether your park suits their needs.
Many park owners are hesitant to actively encourage reviews because they’re worried about negative feedback. However, having no reviews is worse than having a mix of positive and negative ones. A business with dozens of mostly positive reviews looks much more established and trustworthy than one with no reviews at all.
Ask satisfied guests to leave reviews, but make the process easy for them. Provide direct links to your Google My Business listing where they can leave reviews, and implement a system where guests are followed up with automatically via email a few days after their stay with a polite request for feedback.
Respond to all reviews, both positive and negative. Thank guests for positive reviews and address concerns raised in negative ones professionally. Your responses show potential guests how you handle customer service and can often turn a negative review into an exemplar of good customer care.
It should go without saying, but don’t try to manipulate your review profile by asking friends and family to leave fake reviews or by offering incentives for positive reviews. Google can detect these practices and may penalise your local search rankings as a result.
Optimising for Mobile and Voice Search
Local searches happen predominantly on mobile devices, especially when people are travelling or looking for last-minute accommodation. As such, your website needs to work flawlessly on phones and tablets because a poor mobile experience will send potential guests to your competitors. To learn more about this, check out our other article on 7 SEO Mistakes Holiday Parks Make.
Voice search is becoming increasingly common for location-based queries. People ask their phones or smart speakers questions like “Where can I stay near Port Campbell?” or “Find me a caravan park in Margaret River.” Optimising for these natural language queries means using conversational phrases in your content and ensuring your basic business information is easily findable.
Many people browsing for accommodation on their phones want to call directly to ask questions or make bookings, so make sure your contact information is prominently displayed on your website and easy to tap on mobile devices. Include click-to-call phone numbers and easy-to-find email addresses to reduce the number of steps it takes for a visitor to get in touch.
Building Local Links That Boost Search Rankings
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.
Measuring the Success of Your Local SEO
You don’t need expensive tools or complicated tracking to know if your local SEO efforts are working. Focus on simple metrics that directly relate to your business outcomes.
Your Google Business Profile insights provide the most useful information at no cost. Check how many people viewed your listing, how they found it, and what actions they took, like visiting your website or calling your park. If these numbers are increasing over time, your local SEO is improving.
Pay attention to where your bookings are coming from. Ask new guests how they found you when they check in or make reservations. If more people are saying they found you through Google searches rather than booking websites, your local search visibility is working.
Notice changes in your phone inquiries and website traffic. More direct calls and website visits often indicate that people are finding you through search rather than third-party platforms. While you might not track these precisely, you’ll notice the difference in your day-to-day operations.
Take Control of Your Local Search Engine Presence with Retain Media
Local SEO gives holiday park owners the chance to compete directly with large aggregator websites for visibility in their local area. Instead of relying entirely on commission-charging platforms, you can build your own search presence that drives bookings straight to your business.
The process requires consistency and patience. Improvements to local SEO don’t happen overnight, but parks that stick to the basics (keeping business information accurate, creating useful local content, and responding to reviews) usually see real improvements in their search visibility within six to twelve months.
At Retain Media, we help holiday parks and caravan parks take control of their local search presence and reduce their reliance on expensive booking platforms. If you’re ready to start attracting more guests through your own website rather than paying commissions to aggregators, contact us today to discuss how we can help you reach more visitors with your digital marketing.
