As a tour operator, your sales pages are the backbone of your online presence. They’re your digital storefront, working tirelessly to convert visitors into paying customers. But are your tour sales pages living up to their full potential? Let’s dive into seven best practices that can supercharge your tour descriptions and boost your bookings.
1. Write for your Ideal target guest
Your tour description should speak directly to one person: your ideal target guest. Generic descriptions don’t sell—specific ones do. Take the time to understand your ideal customer’s needs, wants, and pain points. Use this information to craft a compelling tour description that resonates with them.
For example, if you’re targeting bachelorette groups for your party bike tours in Scottsdale, create a dedicated page just for them. By speaking directly to this subgroup, you’ll see a substantial increase in your conversion rate.
Remember, you don’t have to turn away other customers. You can use perceived customization to create multiple descriptions for the same tour, tailoring each one to a specific target audience.
2. Create separate pages for each tour
Don’t make the mistake of trying to sell multiple tours on a single page. Each tour deserves its own dedicated page with a unique URL. This approach allows you to focus on the specific details and benefits of each tour, making it easier for potential customers to find exactly what they’re looking for.
3. Use a clear, single call to action
Your tour description page should have one clear goal: to get visitors to take action. Whether it’s “Book Now,” “Buy Tickets,” or “Contact Us,” make sure your call to actionstands out. Use a bright, contrasting color for your CTA button and avoid distracting links to external sites like TripAdvisor or social media profiles.
4. Implement booking software
Booking software is a game changer for tour businesses. It reduces the steps between browsing and buying, allowing visitors to check real-time availability and complete their purchase without leaving your site. Think of it as having a 24/7 sales rep working for you, significantly increasing your chances of making a sale.
5. Optimize for mobile and speed
With over 85% of people booking travel through their mobile phones, having a mobile-optimized website is crucial. Ensure your tour pages look great and function well on smartphones and tablets.
Page speed is just as important. Slow-loading pages frustrate visitors and can lead to lost sales. One common culprit? Oversized images. Make sure to optimize your images for the web to improve load times.
Use tools like Google Page Insights to check your mobile responsiveness and page speed. These factors not only affect user experience but also impact your search engine rankings.
6. Use a floating ‘Book Now’ button and availability calendar
On desktop views, implement a floating “Book Now” button and availability calendar that stay visible as users scroll down the page. This keeps your call to action front and center, making it easy for visitors to start the booking process at any point during their browsing.
7. Add a floating ‘Book Now’ button for mobile
For mobile views, where screen real estate is limited, add a floating “Book Now” bar at the bottom of the screen. This ensures that your call to action is always visible, no matter how far down the page a visitor scrolls.
Implementing these best practices
These seven best practices are simple yet powerful ways to optimize your tour sales pages. By focusing on your ideal customer, creating dedicated pages for each tour, using clear calls-to-action, implementing booking software, optimizing for mobile and speed, and using floating “Book Now” buttons, you can significantly increase your conversions and boost your tour bookings.
Remember, your tour description pages are some of the most important pages on your website. Don’t overlook their potential. By making these tweaks and optimizations, you can increase your sales, revenue, and profitability.
Take some time to review your current tour sales pages. How many of these best practices have you implemented? Which ones could use some improvement? By focusing on these areas, you’ll be well on your way to creating tour sales pages that truly convert.
Want to learn more about how to create tour descriptions pages that convert? Download the free Tour Descriptions Workbook, courtesy of our friends at Guest Focus!
Kelsey Tonner is the founder of Guest Focus Tour Business Coaching, and for two decades he’s been helping tour business owners as a mentor, consultant, speaker, experience designer, guide trainer, and award-winning tour leader. Since 2015, Guest Focus programs have helped over 2,000 tour operators from 75-plus countries around the world, and Kelsey has been a regular speaker at more than 35 industry events and conferences. Learn more or get involved at https://www.guestfocus.com.
Top image: ©oselote/Adobe Stock
