How to Launch Your Hotel Website Without Breaking SEO
Launching a new website for your hotel or vacation rental is thrilling (it’s like the digital equivalent of a ribbon cutting ceremony). But with that excitement comes risk: a misstep in the transfer process can wipe out years of your SEO progress overnight.
Don’t panic. We’ve created a simple go-live checklist designed for boutique hotels and vacation rentals to help you launch with confidence. No matter your property type, these steps will protect your search rankings and ensure your site is set up for long-term success.
Step 1: Final QA Review
Before flipping the switch, give your new site a thorough check to catch errors before you guests (or Google!) do. Your hotel website QA checklist should include:
Testing all links, buttons, and navigation
Ensuring forms and booking engine work seamlessly
Checking page load times (speed is a ranking factor)
Verifying mobile responsiveness (most travelers book on their phones!)
A double check of these key factors improves user experience and signals to search engines that your site is trustworthy.
Step 2: Set Up 301 Redirects
If you’re replacing an old hotel website, don’t let those old URLs die. Not setting them up to properly redirect will cause visitors (and Google) to hit error pages, which damages your rankings and your reputation.
Instead, use 301 redirects to map old URLs to their new homes. This ensures anyone with old links (whether from TripAdvisor, travel blogs, or your own past marketing) lands exactly where they should.
Step 3: Verify Schema Markup
Schema markup is invisible code that gives search engines context about your site. For hotels, this is crucial because it tells Google you’re an actual lodging business, not just a random website.
Add it to your site header and test it using Google’s Rich Results Test. This extra step can help you earn enhanced search listings, such as star ratings, pricing, and availability.
Step 4: Update DNS & SSL
When it’s time to go live, log into your domain registrar, update the DNS records, and confirm your SSL certificate is active. This ensures your site is secure and live at both www[dot]yourdomain[dot]com and yourdoman[dot]com, while also displaying the secure padlock in browsers. Since Google uses HTTPS as a ranking factor, this is an essential step to preserve your SEO.
Step 5: Reconnect Google Tools
Don’t forget to reconnect your analytics and tracking tools after launch. At minimum, you’ll need to:
Update Google Search Console and Analytics with your new domain
Submit a fresh sitemap for crawling
Verify your Google Analytics tracking codes are working
Test real-time analytics to make sure data is firing
This ensures you have visibility into how your site is performing right from day one.
Step 6: Monitor After Launch
The first few days post-launch are critical. Test redirects, check for crawl errors, and keep an eye on your traffic in Analytics.
If you notice a small dip in rankings, don’t panic — that’s normal during the transition. Long-term, a clean, well-structured launch protects and even boosts your SEO.
In Conclusion…
A successful hotel website launch isn’t just about flipping a switch, it’s about protecting the online visibility that you worked hard to earn. By following this SEO website launch checklist, you can ensure your guests find you online and your new site is set up for growth.
At Brosy Studio, we specialize in smooth, SEO-safe website launches for boutique hotels and vacation rentals. If you want expert support that guarantees a flawless transition, we’d love to partner with you.
Ready to launch your hotel website without breaking SEO? Get in touch!
