Before landing on your website, every guest typed something into Google. Sometimes your hotel's name, sometimes "hotel with pool near…", sometimes "things to do in … with kids". Those words are precious: they tell you what the guest wants, in their own words.
Yet many hotel websites are written in the hotelier's words ("property", "unforgettable stay", "comforts") rather than the guests'. In this article we look at how to discover the keywords your guests search, for free or nearly.
1. Google Search Console: the most valuable source
Search Console is free and shows the real searches your site appears for on Google, with impressions, clicks and average position.
How to use it:
- go to Performance > Search results;
- look at the Queries tab;
- filter out your hotel's name to see "non-brand" searches;
- sort by impressions: you'll find searches where you appear often but get few clicks, or appear on page two.
These are your quickest opportunities: Google already considers you relevant — you just need to improve the page.
2. Google suggestions
Start typing "hotel [your town]" into Google and look at the autocomplete suggestions. Then try variations: "hotel [town] with", "hotel [town] for", "where to stay in [town]". Also look at:
- the "People also ask" section;
- related searches at the bottom of the page.
Repeat in the languages of your main markets.
3. Guest questions
Emails, WhatsApp messages and phone calls contain the exact words your guests use. Collect recurring questions for a few weeks: "do you have parking?", "can we bring the dog?", "how far are you from the trade fair?". Each is a search someone also makes on Google.
4. Reviews
Read your reviews and your competitors' on Google, Booking.com and Tripadvisor. Guests describe their experience in spontaneous words: "handy for the station", "perfect with toddlers", "quiet for sleeping". They show what matters to guests and how they say it. See how to use reviews to understand why guests choose your hotel.
5. Keyword research tools
There are tools (free, like Google Ads Keyword Planner, or paid) that estimate how often a keyword is searched and suggest variations. A small hotel doesn't need complex analysis: they're enough to compare alternatives and see which searches have more volume.
6. What shows up for those searches
For each interesting search, look at Google's results:
- are there only OTAs, or hotel websites too?
- is there a map?
- are there guides and articles?
This tells you what kind of page you need: a hotel page, a guide, a well-kept Google profile.
How to organise what you find
Create a simple sheet with:
| Search | Intent | Website page that answers | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| rimini hotel with parking | Book | None | Create "Hotel with parking" page |
| things to do in rimini with kids | Research | None | Blog article + link to family rooms |
| hotel near rimini trade fair | Book | Events page (weak) | Improve trade fair page |
Then act, starting with searches that show booking intent. See SEO for independent hotels: which searches can bring bookings.
Frequently asked questions
Is Search Console hard to use?
No — the basic features are easy. If it isn't set up on your website yet, that's the first thing to do: without it, you don't know which searches you appear for.
Should I repeat keywords many times in the text?
No. Use your guests' words naturally: in the title, subheadings and body. Forcing keywords makes reading worse and doesn't help.
Do searches change with the seasons?
Yes, a lot. That's why it's worth looking at a full year of data and preparing seasonal pages in advance.
Want to know what your guests search for?
With our free marketing audit we analyse the searches bringing people to your website and those where you can grow, and give you a list of pages to create or improve.
