To receive more bookings on Viator you need to stand out amongst the crowd. In this article an expert walks you through building the perfect product. Once you’re done reading go check your products to make sure they’re optimized for success!

Looking for ways to set your experience apart from other operators on our site and quickly capture traveler attention? Whether you’re building out a new experience on Viator or looking to improve a current listing, there are a few quick and easy tips that you can follow that will help optimize your experience and increase your chances of  receiving more bookings.

Capture Attention with Descriptive Titles & High Quality Photos

Creating a descriptive title is one of the easiest ways to share information with a traveler and highlight what type of experience you’re providing. This helps a traveler decide whether or not they’d like to click into your product listing or scroll further to explore other experiences on the site. Don’t make a traveler go searching for this type of information, make it easy for them to decide if this is the type of experience they are looking for while visiting your destination. The more descriptive the title the better, and it’s helpful to relay this information by utilizing the most relevant keywords such as:

    1. Destination name
    2. Experience type (ex: Admission Ticket, Tour, Cruise, Class, etc)
    3. Mode of transportation (i.e. Trolley, Double Decker, Sailboat, Bus, Walking Tour, etc)
    4. Time of day (ex: Sunset Cruise, Night-Time Ghost Tour, etc)
    5. Inclusions (ex: City Tour plus Admission to Attraction, Skip-The-Line or Fast Track Entry, Audio Guides, Autographed Souvenir, etc)
    6. Group type (ex: Private, Self-Guided, Guided, etc)

Pair your title with engaging, high-quality photos. The primary photo added to your listing is the first one a traveler sees, so it should capture their attention as well as tell a story about what your experience is, the same way your title should. Additionally, adding many high-quality photos allows users to browse and get a feel for your experience.

Do add:

  • High-res and bright photos
  • Photos featuring travelers
  • A primary photo that summarizes what a traveler will experience by purchasing your product
  •  A photo that would look great on both desktop and mobile. 

Avoid

  • Outdated, blurry, or dark photos
  • Stock images of people or places 
  • Company logos
  • Photos that are irrelevant to the experience

Examples of High Quality Photos

Stand Out With Viator’s New Badge Of Excellence

Have a high quality experience? Make it stand out even further on Viator with our new Badge of Excellence displayed right on your product listing. When your product meets our standards for “Excellent” products, the badge will automatically be applied to your listing.

We’re helping our travelers identify some of the highest quality experiences across our platform and have added a new search filter so they can be located even faster. This new badge is free and will automatically appear on your product listing within 48 hours once your product has met all of our qualifying Badge of Excellence criteria

Tip: Products that are categorized as “Excellent” on our site can receive up to 3x more bookings!

Let Travelers Know You’ve Added COVID-19 Safety Measures

Safety is at the top of traveler’s minds this year—and for the foreseeable future—when searching for things to do within a destination. That’s why we’ve made it easier for you to highlight some of the safety precautions you’re taking to let travelers know that they can feel safe and at ease while attending your experience. We’ve introduced a new ‘Taking Safety Measures’ icon that can be added to your product listing to make it easier for travelers to identify those with added covid safety protocols by filtering on their searches.

As soon as you fill out the COVID-19 Health and Safety section within your account, you’ll receive this icon and have your list of safety precautions featured prominently at the top of your product page for travelers to read. 

Make It Easy For Travelers To Understand What Your Experience Is

When adding in content to your product listing, always keep in mind that all of this information will be brand new to travelers as they are not as familiar with the experience as you are—additionally, travelers can find your experiences based on your details with their searches. Some travelers may have never even visited your destination before. If you’re offering an experience that is similar to a competitor in the market, assume a traveler is comparing your product to others on the site.

To make sure you’re providing the best information possible:

1. Keep content clean and concise so that information is easy to find. Avoid using slang or terminology that may only be familiar to locals.

2. Use the same descriptive wording as you would in your title (ex: Destination Name, Guided Tour, Walking Tour, Night-Time, Sunset, Skip The Line, Audio Guided, Private, etc).

3. Tell a story, let travelers know what they will be doing from the time they arrive to the time the experience concludes. Where will the experience start? What will they see? Where will they visit? What will they do? What will they experience? What will they learn?

4. Utilize keywords to add SEO value (ex: If you stop at three popular Attractions in your destination then take the time to type them out by name).

5. If you’re a Tour, add as many landmarks and points of interest to your Tour Details section as you can. This will help travelers visualize the tour itinerary, as well as help improve product visibility on our site. We’ll be able to feature your experience on any Tripadvisor Things To Do page that you have added under this section (make sure to only add points of interest that are relevant to your experience).

6. Utilize the Inclusions section to highlight any key elements of your experience.

Example of Inclusions 

Collecting Reviews

Last but not least, having a number of highly rated reviews on your product listing page helps draw travelers in as this helps establish trust in a product. Travelers can see that others have experienced your product and consistently left great reviews. Read more tips about Review Collection here.

COVID-19 Resource Page

Visit our continually updating COVID-19 resource page for:

  • More information on our efforts to support you
  • Links to industry news
  • Ways to prepare today for tomorrow

Click here >

About the Author: Angelica Pella

Share This Article

Happy Fish Catamarans Succeeds by Adapting and Curating the Experience to their Audience
3 Takeaways from Viator's Keynote at ITB Asia 2020