How to get your holiday rental found on Google.

How guests search for a holiday home

• By name. They heard about your place from a friend, saw it on Instagram or stayed before, and type its name into Google.
• By wish. “Holiday home with a pool in the Algarve”, “cabin by a lake for four”, “B&B near the coastal path”.
• By the area. They know where they want to be and look for something to do and somewhere to sleep nearby.

Big platforms win most of the generic searches. Where you can win is your own name, specific wishes and the small area around your home.

Step 1: a page of your own on your own domain

Google needs one clear address for your home. A domain with the name of your place (for example casaoliva.com) makes that address, and it is something you keep even if you change platforms.

Step 2: a title and description that say what and where

The page title is what people see in Google. Make it say what the home is and where: “Casa Oliva: stone villa by the sea in …”. The description below it should give a reason to click: the view, the pool, the walk to the beach.

Step 3: real text about the home

Google can’t read photos the way guests do. Describe the home in plain sentences: how many guests, which rooms, what’s outside, what makes it different. Use the words a guest would type, not marketing words.

Step 4: write about the area

This is the step most hosts skip and where small pages win. Every tip with its own sentence and travel time (“the beach: 5 minutes on foot”, “the Saturday market: 10 minutes by car”) is something someone searches for. A short guide to your area makes your page relevant for far more searches than the home alone.

Step 5: structured data

Structured data is a small block of code that tells search engines exactly what is on the page: a vacation rental, in this place, for this many guests, with these amenities. It doesn’t guarantee anything, but it removes guesswork for Google and for AI assistants.

Step 6: fast and good on a phone

Most guests look at holiday homes on their phone. Compressed photos, a page that loads in about a second and a booking button that is always in view matter more than any trick.

Step 7: get your link out there

Search engines trust pages that other pages point to. Put your link in your Instagram bio, your email signature, on the local tourist office or village website, in the guest book and on a QR card in the home. Ask partners nearby, like a restaurant or a bike rental, whether they want to link to you.

What about a Google Business Profile?

Google’s guidelines exclude most rental properties, such as holiday homes without staff on site, from a Business Profile. A B&B or guesthouse with a reception or staffed hours often does qualify. Check Google’s current guidelines for your situation before you create one: profiles that don’t qualify can be removed.

What to avoid

• Copying your listing text word for word onto your page. Write it fresh, in your own words.
• Stuffing the page with place names and keywords. Write for guests; Google reads it the same way.
• Huge photos that make the page slow.
• Promises of a “first place on Google”. Nobody can honestly promise that.