SEO Is Driving Traffic—But Are You Building Trust?

It was supposed to be the kind of place you dream about booking. A sleek, oceanfront loft apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows and a view that practically begged to be posted.

But the moment I walked in, something felt off.

Not the location. Not the layout. Not even the amenities.

I bought a picture-perfect lie.

It Was the Windows

They were filthy—caked in dust, salt, and smudges from months of neglect. And though I was steps from the ocean, I couldn’t actually see it.

Two nights. That’s all I stayed.

When I returned to that same city later that season for a six-week stay, I didn’t even consider booking with that brand again.

The view wasn’t the only thing I’d lost—the trust was gone, too.

And here’s the part that matters to you:

• Your website might be showing up in search results.

• You might be getting decent organic traffic.

But if your content isn’t clear, compelling, and confidence-building? You’re giving travelers a fogged-up version of your brand—and losing them before they ever click “book.”

Search Visibility Isn’t the Same as Trust

I’ve been doing SEO for a decade, writing copy even longer. I’ve helped startups, global brands, and scrappy in-house teams rank for competitive terms in noisy markets. One of the most persistent myths I hear? “If we get more traffic, we’ll get more business.”

Traffic doesn’t build trust.

Traffic doesn’t guarantee bookings.

SEO alone won’t fix what a broken brand experience tears down. But when it’s aligned with your brand’s voice and purpose—it becomes a powerful amplifier.

Turn Visibility Into Momentum

SEO isn’t meant to be your brand’s emotional core. But it does play a critical role in widening your reach, deepening your story, and earning your audience’s confidence.

I’ve seen this firsthand in other high-trust industries.

At a major healthcare system, I led local SEO efforts—but my biggest wins came from something surprisingly simple: responding to reviews. It wasn’t about optics—it was a deliberate strategy to increase visibility, build trust, and strengthen the brand’s presence in local search.

Every review. Every reply. Every acknowledgment of a concern helped shape how patients—and Google—saw the brand. That’s what happens when SEO and Brand show up as a team.

In another role, strict legal policies limited our SEO strategy. But I worked hand-in-hand with the PR team to earn high-authority backlinks through editorial mentions. Not by gaming the algorithm—by understanding how reputation earns relevance.

Travel SEO Needs to Be Built on More Than Keywords

It needs:

• Transparent, honest content

• Accurate information that reflects real experience

• Clean design and mobile-first booking flows

• Strategic internal linking, schema, and on-page structure that serve humans and search engines crawlers

• Reviews that are actively monitored—and responded to with empathy and clarity.

Because visibility without clarity? That’s just another dirty window. And nobody books that twice.

The Real Opportunity for Your Brand

If your site’s getting traffic but not converting, don’t assume it’s just a weak CTA or a clunky checkout process.

Yes—the problem might be SEO. Maybe you’re targeting keywords that don’t match your ideal customer’s intent. Or maybe you’re showing up for search terms that don’t resonate with your audience at all. Sometimes, the metadata overpromises and the page under delivers. Sometimes, the title tag says “oceanfront views,” but the content feels like a fogged-up window. If you're not getting organic traffic, these SEO issues might be the reason why.

Another possibility?

Maybe your copy doesn’t align with the headline that drew the click. Maybe your CTA is forgettable—here’s looking at you, “Learn more.” Your lead capture form might be asking for too much, too soon—or your checkout experience may be asking for trust before earning it.

This is where alignment turns effort into impact.

• SEO brings the visibility

• Brand brings the voice

• Copy tells the story

• Together, they shape the customer experience

  
  

Here’s the part so many teams miss: Writers need to be part of this equation.

Not just any writers—the ones who get nuance. Writers who ask the right questions: Why does this message matter? Who is it for? Where does it fit in the buyer’s journey?

The ones who know how to shape narrative with structure, empathy, and intent.

Too often, organizations hire writers who just want to wordsmith and walk away—leaving marketers to stitch everything together after the fact.

But if you want content that converts, resonates, and reflects your brand values? You need someone who understands how to weave strategy, story, and search together.

Let's fix the disconnect

If your SEO or content—or both—is slipping through the cracks, I can help you bring your message—and your value—into focus. Turn your traffic into trust.