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secure holiday cottage website

Securing your holiday cottage website with SSL

secure holiday cottage websiteThe security of the internet and the information we share on it is becoming a concern for all of us. Whilst the ransomware attack on the NHS back in May 2018 was an extreme example, any business or holiday cottage website can fall victim to hacking. There were no fewer than 5.6 million fraud and computer misuse crimes committed in the UK during 2016 alone.

Having a securer internet is a cause that Google have been championing for a number of years; in 2014 they announced they were beginning to take whether or not a site was secure into their ranking algorithm. Google have continued in that vein with a view to contribute toward creating a safer internet for all users.

As this is a technical area, let’s talk through it in plain English…

How do you know if your own holiday cottage website is secure?

Look at the url bar of your web browser, you’ll see that your website starts with either:

  • http://
  • https://  

If it is https:// you will often also see a small padlock which indicates that your website is secure. (Although this may depend on your browser).

Secure in this context means that the information you are viewing and data you enter into the site is encrypted. (An example of this is where you fill out a contact or booking form).

So the next question is if it is not already, how does the information become encrypted and the site therefore become secure?

What is an SSL Certificate and why should your holiday cottage website have one? 

Short for ‘Secure Socket Layer’, an SSL Certificate is something that you as a website owner buy (usually from your website hosting provider) and then install on your site.

Its purpose is to encrypt the information passed between you and your visitor, and visa versa, therefore making this information secure and unable to be hacked or intercepted.

The cost of an SSL Certificate can vary from £20 a year up to £150, depending on the needs of your site and your website developer should be able to point you toward the most effective and appropriate for your needs.

What are the benefits?

As we’ve already mentioned, Google first began taking security into consideration within its algorithm back in 2014, and this is only going to continue to grow as a ranking signal.

Whilst it’s an over simplification to say that having an SSL certificate on your site and operating over https:// will increase your rankings on its own, it will certainly help.

With the new GDPR legislation dictating how we all handle data also coming into place in May this year, this is a good time to be diligent in how you handle data in all areas of your holiday cottage business, including your website.

Need more information on installing an SSL Certificate to make your holiday cottage website more secure?

Please talk with your hosting company and website developer who will be able to asist you.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For information on how specialist insurance can help protect your holiday home, call us on 01237 429444.

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Holiday Home Bookings

Achieve more holiday home bookings with improved copy

Holiday Home Bookings When someone visits your website the words you’ve written about your holiday cottage and the way in which you’ve written them can be the difference between a booking and a missed opportunity.

Encourage lookers into bookers with enticing holiday home website copy

We take a look at how to achieve more holiday home bookings with improved copy to make sure your website’s words do your cottage justice, and entices those potential lookers to eventual bookers.

People browse online

People like to browse; they like to know their options and how each of those is suited to their own needs and requirements. With this in mind, yours is likely to be one of many websites a potential booker visits. The success of your copy will depend on conveying that you are the right choice for them, and potentially a better fit than the others they visit.

Write down a list of features your holiday cottage has to promote; we’ll use this later.

Creating a visitor persona

The first port of call for most people when writing website copy will be ‘what have we got’ rather than ‘what do they want’. To really engage with visitors we want to focus on the latter, so what do your potential visitors really want?

To know this we want to build an idea of your average visitor.

Most businesses will say this could be anyone, but in reality you should be able to create a broad stereotype that will represent the core demographic you appeal to. Is it young families? Keen surfers or hikers? How old are they?

Put together a description of your average visitor, and then make a list of what it is they want when they visit (even use the feedback you’ve had from visitors to make sure this list is as accurate as possible).

People make decisions based on logic

People don’t make holiday decisions on a whim; they make them in the same way as other important decisions in their life. They are measured against certain criteria and with a degree of logic.

Your potential booker will have a variety of different requirements, each with a varying level of importance to them:

  1. Essential Requirements – a cottage near the beach, something suitable for a young family, three bedrooms etc.
  2. Desirable Requirements – is near to a local pub and have plenty to do within a ten-minute radius.
  3. Added Value Requirements – a hot tub, free surf lessons with a local surfing school.
  4. Fears – how far off the beaten track is it? How far is it to the beach? Will they have to drive everywhere?

Take the list you’ve just created of things your visitors want and divide it into these categories.

The next step

So far we have a list of what your holiday cottage has to offer, and a separate list of what your potential visitors want, divided into how much they want each of those things.

It’s time to bring the two together.

Match the list of items your cottage has against the list your visitors want, so you’re left with a single document that tells you who your average visitor is, what they want, and how your holiday cottage answers each of those needs.

Now the actual writing starts!

Review your own copy or write new copy!

Every page of your website should have the visitor in mind, so every page should be conveying how your cottage answers their needs. Begin with explaining how you meet their essential requirements, then their desirables and tip the scales with the added value you bring.

Don’t forget they also have fears; small things that could prevent them from booking. Make sure there’s no misunderstanding or reason they shouldn’t book with you.

Do all of this and you’ll make sure every paragraph you ever write is hitting the spot!

And the bookings will follow! If you have found this blog post on how to achieve more holiday home bookings with improved copy of interest do check out our other holiday home marketing posts by following the link – Holiday Home Marketing

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to holiday letting owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

 

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