Are you headlines helping or hurting your rental advertising?

Headlines are the focal point of your listings….visually and figuratively. If you don’t have a good headline, you reduce the chance that someone is going to click through to your listing. The time you put into this will pay off in a strong headline, and also give you the foundation for a strong ad listing.

Here are some guidelines for developing a compelling headline that sells to your renter:

★ Include keyword search terms for your vacation rental in your headline. These search terms may include: area specific key words, local events, property amenities, or descriptive words about your property.
★ Don’t include your property name, or repetitive information about your property.
★ Differentiate yourself by including any special offers or unique selling points
★ Make sure your headline is unique

What Not to Include in Your Headline:

★ Property Name (Unless it’s key word rich or very descriptive of the property itself.)
Example: Jenna’s Bed and Breakfast is not a good headline because it doesn’t offer the renter any “at a glance” information about the property itself

★ Location Information (Most ad listing sites are already organized by location so this takes up valuable real estate in your headline un-necessarily)
Example: Jennas B&B, San Francisco, CA

★ Bedrooms / Baths / Number of Guests
Example: Jenna’s B&B, San Francisco, 2/BR 2/BA, Sleeps 4

★ All caps or un-necessary characters (most sites won’t allow this either…for example multiple exclamation points)
Example: Jenna’s B&B, San Francisco, 2/BR 2/BA, Sleeps 4 !!!!

Examples of Compelling Headlines

★ This is an amenity rich headline:
Charming Vail Mountain Retreat: Ski In, Pool, Sauna, Golf, Billiards, Pet Friendly

★ Here is a location rich headline that also features amenities:
Private, secluded, panoramic views, family & pet friendly, 10 minutes to Golden Gate

★ Here is another location rich headline that’s followed by the amenities. You can experiment with where you include the location based on it’s importance to your guests.
10 minutes to Yosemite, Hot Tub, Free WiFi, Fireplace, Private, Pet and Kid Friendly

★ Here are two keyword focused headlines:
Finest Bodega Bay Lodging on the Sonoma Coast, Fireplace, Free Wifi, and
Luxury, Secluded, SF Bay Waterfront Home 10 minutes to San Francisco

That’s enough to get you started. For more detailed information and step-by-step guidelines to writing compelling headlines, check out the Booked Solid Blueprint. Or if you want 1:1 guidance on your headlines or keyword selection, take a look at our Jump Start Your Bookings Program where we do the work for you!