Your website is more than a digital business card. Done right, it becomes a powerful sales tool that helps your ideal client understand your value, builds trust instantly, and guides them seamlessly through the decision-making process.
Ingrid Urena of Penguin Designing, a trusted expert in website strategy and design (and mastermind behind our recently revamped website), outlines exactly what makes a high-performing travel advisor website. From copy and structure to legal pages and segmentation, these essentials will help you create a site that works as hard as you do.
Clarity will always convert better than cleverness. That means skipping the fluff and instead focusing on intentional, client-focused messaging.
Start With Strategy Before Design
Start with strategy before design. The foundational step to a successful website is a clear understanding of your brand, niche, and target audience. Ask yourself: Who are you trying to reach? What are they searching for? What hesitations or objections might they have before booking?
A powerful tool for this phase is a copy guide, a document that aligns your brand’s voice and message with the needs of your audience. It includes specific words to use (and not use), your brand’s tone, how to position offers, and what differentiates you from others. Skipping this step often leads to vague or inconsistent messaging that fails to convert.
Structure Your Website for SEO and Conversions
The structure of your site is equally important. It isn’t just about how your site looks. It’s about how it functions. A strategic layout improves both user experience and SEO. Every page on your site should serve a purpose and guide the user one step closer to booking or making a purchase. Use one clear H1 per page, incorporate relevant keywords, and make navigation intuitive. Limit your main menu to no more than six items to avoid overwhelming your visitor.
Strong calls-to-action (CTAs) should be placed throughout the site, not just at the top or bottom. Make sure each CTA leads exactly where it says it will. For example, if your button says “Book a Call,” it should link directly to your calendar, not another page with more instructions.
Communicate Your Services Clearly
For service-based businesses like travel advising, clarity around what you offer is critical. One of the most common mistakes travel advisors make is being too general. Your site should state clearly who you serve, what kinds of trips you specialize in, how your planning process works, and what makes your services unique.
Educate Your Visitor Before You Sell
Think of your website as an educational tool as much as a sales tool. Today’s clients want to understand how things work before committing. Use your content to address common concerns, outline the planning process, and set expectations. This helps build trust and positions you as a professional.
Segment your content to speak to people at different stages of their journey. For instance, have a pathway for someone who’s never worked with a travel advisor, and another for returning clients who just want to get started quickly. Even within a niche, different clients need different levels of support, and your site should reflect that.
Include Legal Protections on Every Page
Every travel advisor website must also include legal protections. At minimum, you need a Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Terms & Conditions, and appropriate disclaimers. These aren’t just nice to have; they’re legally required in many cases and protect both you and your clients. Never copy them from someone else’s site. Instead, use templates from qualified legal professionals or work directly with a lawyer.
Make Design Functional and Brand-Aligned
When it comes to design, aesthetics matter, but only if they serve your strategy. Effective design is clean, easy to navigate, and reinforces your messaging. Branded imagery is a significant advantage, as it fosters trust and credibility. If you use stock photos, ensure they align in style and tone.
Avoid visual clutter. Every section of your site should serve a purpose. Use imagery to break up text and draw attention to key areas, but don’t let it distract from your copy or CTAs. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and includes alt text for images to support accessibility and SEO.
Audit and Maintain Your Site Regularly
Remember, your website is never truly finished. Schedule quarterly check-ins to review analytics, test new layouts or CTAs, and refresh seasonal content. Google Search Console is a great free tool to monitor keyword performance and page rankings. Tools like Hotjar can help you understand how users interact with your site and where they drop off.
If your current website isn’t converting, start by auditing your structure and copy. Look for broken links, vague messaging, or confusing navigation. The more seamless and intuitive the user journey, the more likely a visitor is to convert into a client.
Your Website Should Work For You
A well-built website should educate, reassure, and invite your ideal client to take the next step. Focus on clarity, user experience, and strategic design. When done right, your website becomes one of your most powerful sales tools.
To dive deeper into the strategies mentioned here, explore the travel advisor Website Roadmap and SEO Checklist available inside the Niche resource vault.
And if you want to level up your messaging across all platforms, TIQUE’s Client Communication Templates can help you bring the same clarity and consistency to your emails, proposals, and more.
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