How to Write an Airbnb & VRBO Headline That Gets CLICKED
If you're wondering why you're not getting as many inquiries on your Airbnb or HomeAway listing as you'd like, it could be that your headline is just not cutting it.
Let's talk about how you can write a headline in Airbnb and VRBO that gets CLICKED!
Three Common Mistakes Made in Headlines
First, let's review three common mistakes that I see vacation rental listings doing all the time, as well as four steps on how you can improve your headline.
As a HomeAway Premier Partner and an Airbnb Superhost, this is the proven formula that I've used to get in the top 1% of all listings in my area, and it's the same formula that I use with all of my Fully Booked clients.
The first thing you want to do is avoid these three common mistakes that I see all the time.
Headline Mistake #1:
Mistake number one is using generic adjectives. You don't want to use your valuable space to say things like "beautiful" or "nice" in your headline.
Everyone is using generic adjectives like this, and it's really not telling the potential guest anything specific about your listing. So, you want to avoid using generic adjectives altogether.
Headline Mistake #2:
Mistake number two is using really broad location descriptions. For example, if you have a condo in Orlando: You don't need to say in your headline "Orlando Condo."
Your potential guest already knows that they're looking for places in Orlando, so you don't need to use that valuable real estate to say the generic location description.
Headline Mistake #3:
Mistake number three is repeating information that the potential guest will already see in the listing overview. This is repeating things like how many bedrooms, bathrooms, or how many people it sleeps.
Again, when the potential guest is using their filters, they already know what they're looking for, and the listing description overview will already share this information in most listing platforms. So, you don't need to use that space to repeat that type of information.
4 Steps to Creating a Better VRBO or Airbnb Headline
Step #1:
You want to identify your ideal guest. Who is your home perfect for? This is exactly who you want to keep in mind when you're writing your headline for the first time.
Whether it's families or couples or a business traveler, you definitely want to think who your ideal guest is and keep that in mind when you're writing the headline.
Step #2:
You want to brainstorm all the amenities that make your home special:
What are guests commenting about in the reviews?
What do you hear from your guests as they're leaving that they loved about your place?
What do you know sets you apart in your market?
You'll want to brainstorm a list of offerings, amenities, and location benefits that your property has, and then choose about two to three that are the best of all of your amenities.
This is what you'll want to use when you write your new headline.
You'll want to take your very best amenity and put that at the front, and then try to fit in at least one or two additional amenities that will really draw that ideal guest in.
Step #3:
Do not be afraid of symbols! Symbols are under utilized, and what this does is it really helps make your title readable and easy to digest.
So, you can use vertical bars, commas, tildes, you can be creative with this and use this to break up the different amenities that you're featuring in your headline.
Also, for an advanced tip, you can use emojis in your headlines, so you could use a heart or a star or something that really speaks to your specific location.
Step #4:
Be succinct. Remember, you only have so much space to utilize in your headline. So, for Airbnb, you have only 50 characters. For HomeAway or VRBO, you have 80.
You want to make sure that when you're writing your headline, you are checking the character count on that, and use the max amount.
Try to use close to the 50 characters in Airbnb, and try to use close to the 80 characters in HomeAway or VRBO. I would definitely write two specific headlines for those platforms.
Conclusion:
Even if you feel that you're not a strong writer, you can create a great headline that will get noticed if you avoid the three common mistakes and follow these four simple steps.
Let me know in the comments...will you be updating your headline?
Need a Little Marketing Help with your Vacation Rental?
Whether you're just getting started with your vacation rental or you've been in the game for a few years but need a little help with the marketing, I'd love to help you on your journey.
That's why I created the Vacation Rental Marketing Roadmap.
This is a seven-step guide to help you walk through all of the essentials that you need to do when setting up an optimized listing (as well as the most common mistakes I see vacation rental homeowners making).
