This in-depth report was produced by a team of senior SEO strategists at Tan Phat Digital, specializing in analyzing fiercely competitive projects, especially in the Tourism and Hospitality industry. The analysis focuses on the breakthrough Entity SEO strategy that helped a 5-star hotel website in Hoi An make a spectacular breakthrough, grow Organic Traffic by more than 300% and regain the Direct Booking advantage from App Booking giants (OTAs) such as Agoda and Traveloka.
I. A CHALLENGING START: THE ACCOMMODATION INDUSTRY'S COMPETITIVE CONTEXT
1.1. Current Situation of "Forgotten Name Card": Initial SEO Health Analysis
When receiving the project, this 5-star hotel website was in a serious state of stagnation, operating like a forgotten digital "name card". The amount of Organic Traffic only remains at about $2,000/\text{month}$. Notably, this traffic is mainly direct (old customers type the brand name), showing that the website completely failed to attract new customers from the Google search engine. In terms of ranking, the website only reaches the Top for brand keywords, while "money keywords" (keywords that bring direct conversions) are lost on pages 3-4.
This website suffers from a serious "technical debt", a physical barrier that prevents Googlebot from crawling and understanding content effectively. The Heading structure is messy, missing H1 tags (the most important title, needs only one tag on each page) and severe H2 tags, making it difficult for Google to determine the structure and core content of the page. Furthermore, a Schema Markup of 0 means the website is not clearly identified, losing the opportunity to display Rich Snippets and strengthen Entity. Along with that, a Backlink of 0 shows that the website has no Trust or Authority signal from the outside, making it difficult for all On-page SEO efforts to rank for competitive keywords.
This weak technical condition is not just a simple SEO error, but a physical barrier that prevents Googlebot from effectively crawling data and understanding website intent. The combination of flawed Schema and messy Heading leads to Google not understanding the Entity or Page Purpose, causing Indexing errors and resulting in low Traffic/Ranking. This is why handling Technical SEO is determined to be an absolute priority, in order to transform the website from a "disabled" state to a "combat ready" state on the fierce competition front.
1.2. Core Challenge: Pressure from Booking Apps (OTAs)
The biggest challenge of the project is having to directly confront giant Booking Apps such as Agoda and Traveloka. Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) offer unmatched visibility, global reach, and a steady stream of bookings.
However, partnerships with OTAs hide a major financial problem: the Commission and Rate Parity Trap. Although OTAs provide volume, they cut into hotel profits with high (often significant) commission fees. More importantly, Rate Parity agreements (price parity) often force hotels to keep prices directly on the website equal to or higher than prices on OTAs, eliminating the most obvious incentive for customers to Direct Booking.
Therefore, the SEO battle with OTAs is not simply a Marketing strategy but also a Financial strategy. Each Direct Booking conversion results in direct profit margin growth due to reduced commission fees. The strategic goal is to attract customers to click on the hotel website instead of intermediary platforms, and the SEO Entity strategy is designed to solve the question: "Why should customers ignore OTA offers to click on hotel links?"
II. BREAKTHROUGH STRATEGY: CHANGE ENTITY DIRECTION TO CREATE YOUR OWN PATH
Faced with unequal competitive pressure in the keywords "Hoi An Hotel" or "Hoi An Hotel", the strategy decided by the Tan Phat Digital team is to change the Central Entity to create its own path.
2.1. New Vision: Turning the Website into a "Travel Guide" (Central Entity Shift)
The old mindset only sees the website as a place to introduce rooms. The new thinking is to turn the website into a prestigious and comprehensive "Hoi An Travel Guide". This change moves the Entity from Product-centric (room) to Location/Experience-centric ("Hoi An").
This strategy is based on an understanding of the customer journey: Before booking, tourists search in order: What to eat? -> Where to play? -> What's the schedule like? After deciding on a place to play, they look for a place to live. This shows that customers often spend a lot of time researching travel content (on average, visiting 277 content pages, consuming more than 500 minutes before making a booking decision). The new strategy focuses on using informative content to pull traffic to the top of the funnel (Top-of-Funnel - ToFu) and middle of the funnel (Middle-of-Funnel - MoFu), then redirect users to the booking page (Bottom-of-Funnel - BoFu).
2.2. Deploying Topical Map and Topic Cluster
The foundation of the new strategy is Semantic SEO, using Topical Map to cover related topic clusters, thereby proving the absolute Topical Authority of the entity "Hoi An".
The difference between the old strategy and the new Entity is clearly shown by Tan Phat Digital:
Compare the Old SEO Strategy and the Entity New
Main Entity:
Old thinking (Product-Centric): Hotel.
New thinking (Location/Experience-Centric): Hoi An (Destination/Tourism).
Goal Keyword:
Old thinking: Target direct converting keywords like "5-star Hoi An hotel," "Cheap Hoi An room booking."
New thinking: Focus on Keywords at the top of the funnel: "What to eat in Hoi An," "Lantern Festival," "Experience going to the Japanese Covered Bridge" (First Keywords funnel).
Competitive Strategy:
Old thinking: Compete directly, confront Agoda/Booking.
New thinking: Build indirect Authority first, then convert.
Type of Main Content Director:
Old thinking: Service page, room description.
New thinking: Content Pillar (Handbook), Topic Cluster (Cuisine, Schedule).
Results Goal:
Old thinking: Low traffic, ranking Money Keyword failure.
New thinking: Increase Organic Traffic, build Trust, direct Lead.
This strategy creates strong internal Authority Transfer. When Google identifies a website as an Authoritative Entity about Hoi An through covering the Topical Map, this power is transferred through the Internal Link to the sales page. This process takes place according to the flow: Gain Authority about ToFu (articles about Hoi An) $\rightarrow$ Users trust the information source $\rightarrow$ Implement strategic Internal Link (Anchor text conversion) $\rightarrow$ Transfer Authority and Trust to BoFu $\rightarrow$ Increase Direct Booking Conversion.
III. IN-DEPTH IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS: 5 STEPS FROM "CLEANING TRASH" TO EXPLOSION
To turn the website from a "frozen" state into a stable customer attraction channel, the Tan Phat Digital team broke down the campaign into 5 profound intervention steps.
3.1. Step 1: Technical and UX/UI Optimization - Platform Cleanup
This is the part that takes the most effort because the initial technical status is very messy.
First, the team restructured Heading and Meta. Most pages are structurally incorrect, missing H1 and H2 tags. Heading tags are edited to ensure unique H1 and H2/H3 are used properly to clarify the content structure, and at the same time optimize Meta Description (brief, under 158 characters, with CTA and main keywords) to increase click-through rate (CTR) on SERP.
Next is to optimize Crawl Budget: Block junk links, unnecessary links (such as feed links, links containing parameters ?utm=) to direct Googlebot to focus on crawling important articles (Pillar/Cluster). This improves Indexing performance. Indexing errors are thoroughly handled by using Google Search Console to check "Why pages aren't indexed".
Regarding user experience (UX) and Conversion Optimization (Conversion), CTA is added. Previously, after reading the content, customers did not know where to click to book a room. The team added a prominent "Booking" button right in the content of the informational article to bridge the gap between content and conversion action.
3.2. Step 2: Research Keywords and Build Topical Map
Instead of diving headfirst into highly competitive keywords, the team focuses on building a Topical Map that covers topic clusters based on Search Intent surrounding the entity "Hoi An". Satellite topics are expanded to closely related Entities such as Hoi An Cuisine, Lantern Festival, Check-in Locations.
The process of creating internal links (Internal Link) is done strategically. All satellite articles are responsible for navigating to the homepage or booking page. The philosophy is: Whether guests are reading about Chicken Rice or Chua Cau, they should see a hint of where to stay. For example, the article "Experience going to Chua Cau" will have the following paragraph: "The hotel is only 5 minutes walk from Chua Cau..." accompanied by Anchor text: "Book a hotel room now". This strategy ensures the transfer of Authority and continuity in the reader experience.
The division of roles between content types is the foundation for this success:
Role of Satellite Content vs. Sales Content
Satellite Content (Cluster Content):
Purpose: Pulling Organic Traffic (ToFu/MoFu), building Topical Authority.
KPI: Traffic, Time on Page, Bounce Rate, Internal Link Clicks.
SEO Role: Transmitting Authority, Entity Identification, Increasing Trust.
Sales Content (Money Pages):
Purpose: Direct Conversion (BoFu), Direct Booking.
KPI: Conversion Rate, Revenue, Ranking Money Keywords.
SEO Role: Get Link Juice from Cluster, Achieve Top Hot Keywords, Maximize Profits.
3.3. Step 3: Optimize Schema - Entity Recognition
To help Google understand exactly who the website is and what business it is in, the Tan Phat Digital team has deployed a standard set of Schema. This helps confirm that the website is a legitimate accommodation service business entity, not just a regular news blog.
Implemented Schema types include:
Hotel & Organization Schema: Helps Google accurately identify this as a accommodation service business entity.
BreadcrumbList Schema: Optimize the way navigation links are displayed on search results (SERP), helping users easily locate within the website structure, thereby increasing click-through rate (CTR) and improving UX. Optimizing Schema helps increase the visibility of Rich Results and Rich Snippets, indirectly strengthening user trust.
3.4. Step 4: Handling the Crisis of "Keyword Cannibalization"
After sharply increasing the amount of content according to Topical Map, the situation of articles competing for rankings began to appear, confusing Google and scattering ranking signals.
The solution is not just to fix errors but to optimize power distribution:
Filter and Identify Intent: Filter entire list of cannibalized URLs (duplicate Intent) and redefine the Search Intent, select the main URL that needs Target (usually the conversion page or the best authority page).
301 Redirect: Perform 301 Redirect (permanent redirect) of secondary URLs to the main URL that needs to be targeted. This is the most effective way to consolidate content and focus SEO power, avoiding signal dispersion.
Restructuring Internal Link: Review and move Internal Link with appropriate Anchor text, prioritize placing from articles with Top and good Traffic to put power to the right destination (sales page). Cannibalization processing is a technical tool that ensures that all Page Authority and Link Juice from informational articles are merged and pushed to the main conversion page.
3.5. Step 5: Take advantage of the Power of PR and Authority (PR-Driven SEO)
In the hotel niche, competition is so fierce, on-page internal strength is sometimes not enough to break through. Websites need evidence of Authority and Trust from the outside, also known as the E-E-A-T signal (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
The team has suggested that customers book more PR articles in reputable local/travel newspapers. Backlinks from highly authoritative and relevant domains (Relevant, Authoritative Domains) are the best way to prove E-E-A-T, helping your website break out from the group of weaker competitors. Furthermore, even pure brand name mentions (Implied Links) from trusted sources are also counted by Google in measuring page quality, improving E-E-A-T credentials.
The combination of Topical Map (internal expertise) and Press PR (external reputation) creates a double E-E-A-T leverage, helping hotel websites compete fairly in terms of trust with other brands. OTAs.
IV. EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS OF ACHIEVED RESULTS
4.1. Analyzing Quantitative Results After 6 Months of Implementation
After 6 months of persistently handling every smallest technical error and building content according to the roadmap, the Entity SEO strategy has brought outstanding results compared to the initial KPI goals. The figures show growth not only in overall traffic quantity, but also in traffic quality (proportion of keywords in the Top converting).
Below is a summary data table of strategy effectiveness after 6 months:
Category KPI Analysis
Organic Traffic/month:
Initial Status: ~ 2,000
Results After 6 Months: 8,159
Growth: +307.95%
Keyword Top 3:
Initial Status: 0
Results After 6 Months: 24 words Key
Keyword Top 5 (Goal 15):
Initial Status: 0
Result After 6 Months: 46 keywords (Exceeding 306% KPI)
Keyword Top 10 (Goal 35):
Initial Status: 0
Results After 6 Months: 32 keywords (91% KPI achieved)
Data shows that the Organic Traffic goal (growth to $8,159/\text{month}$) has been exceeded. In particular, achieving 46 Top 5 keywords, far exceeding the initial goal of 15 keywords, proves that the strategy not only increases overall traffic but also focuses on quality traffic (Business Impact Metrics), helping to significantly increase the number of Leads and Direct Booking.
4.2. Discovering the Conversion Mechanism: Why Do Customers Choose Website?
Success in beating App Booking in some Hot Keywords shows that customers are attracted to click on the hotel website instead of intermediary platforms. This happens thanks to two main factors:
Content Authority Drives Trust: Modern travel customers often spend a long time researching (more than 500 minutes) before making a decision. The fact that the website has become a prestigious "Hoi An Travel Guide" has built solid trust. Customers have trusted this website in terms of information, and that trust is easily converted into the decision to book a room at that trusted information source.
Value-adds and Brand Experience: Despite being bound by Rate Parity, hotel websites can still provide exclusive added values (for example, room upgrades, personalized services) that OTAs can hardly compete with. Furthermore, the Direct Booking website has beautiful images, a smooth user experience, and displays asset/brand details, reinforcing the brand value that OTAs obscure. Personalization and attractive visuals are key to attracting and retaining direct customers.
4.3. Lessons Learned for the Tourism SEO Industry
This case study provides bloody lessons for businesses competing in the tourism/hospitality industry:
Don't be afraid to "Detour": Going head-to-head with OTA giants on high-converting keywords (BoFu) is a suicidal strategy without a solid foundation. Success comes from dominating the information supply chain (ToFu/MoFu) before customers make purchasing decisions.
Technical SEO is a Solid Foundation: No Entity or Content strategy can be successful if the technical foundation is broken. "Cleaning up technical trash" (Fix Heading, Schema, Crawl Budget) is a required investment to get the website ready to be indexed and ranked.
Measuring Business Outcome: Always measure KPI not only by Traffic/Ranking, but by the number of Lead/Direct Booking (Business Outcome). Traffic is not the end goal; The ability to attract customers to click on your website instead of intermediary platforms is the real value.
The Entity SEO strategy established and implemented by Tan Phat Digital has proven its ability to turn the market situation around in the accommodation industry. The success of Hoi An hotel website is based on three main pillars: Technical Integrity, Authoritative Content (Topical Authority through Topical Map), and Building External Reputation (E-E-A-T/PR).
This case study confirms that, even when starting with zero backlinks and schema, and facing the strongest competitors, businesses can still regain Direct Booking if they apply a strategy Comprehensive SEO, focusing on satisfying the entire user search journey and consistently reinforcing Trust/Authority.
5.2. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Hotel SEO
This Q&A summarizes the most frequently asked questions related to SEO strategies for the hotel and tourism industry:
1. Why do OTAs always rank higher than hotel websites?
OTAs (like Agoda, Traveloka) have extremely high Domain Authority (DA), global reach and millions of Backlinks accumulated over many years. These are the main ranking factors that Google uses to measure trust and reputation. To compete, hotel websites cannot use overall strength, but must use the Entity/Topical Map strategy to dominate information keywords at the top of the funnel and enhance E-E-A-T through press PR.
2. How to handle Keyword Cannibalization error when increasing content?
When a website has many pages targeting the same keyword or keyword phrase, they will compete with each other, reducing the power of each page. The best way to solve this problem is to use 301 Redirect to focus power from secondary URLs with duplicate Intents on the main URL that needs to be targeted. At the same time, it is necessary to review and restructure the Internal Link with appropriate Anchor text to distribute PageRank optimally.
3. What role does Schema Hotel play in increasing Direct Booking?
Schema Hotel and Organization helps Google accurately understand the business Entity, not just a simple news website. Optimizing Schema like BreadcrumbList helps increase Rich Snippet visibility on SERP. This indirectly increases click-through rate (CTR) and builds trust, as users feel the information is clearly structured and validated by search engines.
4. Is local SEO optimization important for hotels?
Very important. Local SEO helps attract customers nearby or in the area, often customers with high booking intent. Optimizing your Google My Business profile and local citations are important ranking factors, helping your website appear when users search for local services such as "hotel near [tourist destination]" or "hotel Hoi An".
5. Can a website with serious technical errors (such as missing H1, Schema 0) be ranked?
Very difficult. Technical errors such as messy Heading structure, missing H1, or 0 Schema are physical barriers that prevent Googlebot from crawling and understanding content effectively. While you may still rank for some brand keywords, your competition for "money keywords" will be zero. Fixing Technical SEO is the first and mandatory step (Step 1 in this Case Study) to transform the website into a "combat ready" state.
5.3. In-depth Services from Tan Phat Digital
Comprehensive SEO strategy, especially in the tourism/hotel industry, requires sophistication in technique, content and Entity. Tan Phat Digital is a unit specializing in providing SEO Entity and Topical Authority solutions, helping businesses overcome huge competitive barriers from OTAs.
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