Sonesta Hotels

Sonesta was looking to expand its online presence, increase non-branded organic traffic, and introduce the brand to a wider audience on search engines.

To achieve these goals, our SEO and content experts devised a comprehensive SEO strategy that focused on technical improvements, content optimization, and targeted keyword rankings.

Our SEO strategy aimed to transition Sonesta from passive to intentional SEO, establishing and implementing best practices and processes. We prioritized the following areas:

• Technical and Fundamentals: We focused on strengthening the technical foundation of Sonesta’s website, ensuring optimal crawlability, indexing, and site speed. This included implementing technical SEO best practices and resolving any existing issues.
• Purposeful Scaling: With a strategic approach, we aimed to scale organic traffic and growth intentionally. By analyzing search trends and user intent, we identified opportunities to align Sonesta’s content with target keywords, enhancing visibility and relevance.

To leverage Sonesta’s website effectively, we implemented a series of SEO best practices and addressed content and technical issues. Our efforts included:

• Content Optimization: We identified and prioritized content issues and optimized Sonesta’s web pages to align with relevant keywords and improve search engine visibility. By enhancing the quality, relevance, and structure of the content, we aimed to attract a broader audience.
• Technical Improvements: We addressed technical issues on Sonesta’s website, ensuring proper indexing, optimal site performance, and improved user experience. Resolving technical issues not only enhanced search engine visibility but also provided a smoother browsing experience for users.

In addition to the corporate website, we developed a focused SEO strategy for individual Sonesta hotels. By collaborating directly with each hotel, we identified opportunities to optimize their property pages and drive targeted traffic.

To capture diverse search intents, we created content across four key page categories:

• City Pages: We developed city-specific pages (e.g., Chicago hotels, NYC hotels) to cater to location-based searches, targeting users seeking accommodations in specific cities.
• Point of Interest Pages: By creating pages centered around popular attractions (e.g., Navy Pier hotels, hotels near Statue of Liberty), we increased Sonesta’s visibility for location-specific searches linked to points of interest.
• Location-based Interest Pages: We designed pages catering to specific interests within cities (e.g., Chicago pet-friendly hotels, NYC extended stay hotels), capturing niche search queries and increasing Sonesta’s relevance to various traveler preferences.
• State Pages: To target broader search intents, we developed pages dedicated to states (e.g., New York, Florida), attracting users searching for accommodations across entire regions.

By restructuring Sonesta’s web content map using an “inside-out” approach, we established a scalable hierarchical relationship between parent and child pages.

This approach enhanced the connection between location-based pages, focusing on city pages as content pillars, and clustering point-of-interest and location-based interest pages around them.

In less than one year of collaboration, we achieved:

Let’s unpack:

Non-Branded Keyword Rankings

• The number of non-branded keywords increased by 40% from July 2022 to May 2023, totaling 192,000 keywords currently.
• Sonesta now ranks predominantly on the second and first pages of Google or better for the most important, all-new keywords.

Location Keyword Rankings

• Sonesta has witnessed a remarkable increase of over 18,000 location keywords (e.g., Scottsdale hotels) it ranks for in the past year.
• The brand’s visibility in location-specific searches has expanded significantly, enabling it to capture more relevant traffic.

Top Search Engine Rankings

• The number of keywords Sonesta ranks for in the coveted positions 1-3 has more than tripled. This prominent placement drives higher click-through rates and brand visibility.

Organic Traffic Growth

• Sonesta’s total organic traffic has demonstrated steady growth, currently reaching 20,000 visitors per month. This represents a 2x increase compared to July 2022.
• Organic traffic specifically to location pages has experienced substantial year-over-year growth, increasing from 7,000 to 12,500 visitors.
• The brand’s comprehensive SEO efforts have contributed to a consistent rise in organic traffic across the website.

Total Non-Branded Traffic

• Sonesta has observed a consistent increase in total non-branded traffic, indicative of successful brand exposure and capturing new audiences.