Airbnb SEO Secrets: 10 Proven Ways to Rank Higher and Get More Bookings

Key Takeaways:

• AirDNA, in collaboration with IntelliHost, analyzed thousands of Airbnb listings to uncover the most significant factors influencing search rankings.
• Our research found that seemingly small changes, such as optimizing your listing title or adjusting your pricing strategy, can lead to significant improvements in your Airbnb search visibility.
• Monitor your listing's performance using Airbnb's Conversion data to track metrics like first-page search impressions and search-to-listing conversion rates.

Ever wondered what makes some Airbnb listings pop to the top of search results while others languish in obscurity? The Airbnb search engine optimization (SEO) algorithm considers over 100 factors, some of which remain a mystery to Airbnb hosts.

With IntelliHost, we decided to take a closer look. We analyzed data from thousands of listings to find out what really moves the needle on a listing’s visibility in Airbnb's search results. In this article, we'll share our findings and show you how to apply them to your vacation rental to improve performance.

10 Proven Ways to Get Your Airbnb Listing to the Top 

AirDNA examined thousands of Airbnb listings from IntelliHost's dataset to find out how to get your Airbnb listing to the top of search results. We found 7 significant factors impacting your vacation rental’s Airbnb SEO.

1. Increase your Click-Through Rate (CTR) 

The strongest factor influencing your listing's visibility is the click-through rate. Click-through rate, or CTR, is a key metric that measures how often people click on your Airbnb listing after seeing it in search results. It’s expressed as a percentage of clicks divided by the total number of impressions (the number of times your listing appears in search results).

For example, if your listing appears in search results 100 times and 10 people click on it, your CTR would be 10%. 

IntelliHost’s optimization recommendations focus on improving CTR by prioritizing cover images, highlighting unique features, optimizing pricing, and making strategic title changes—though titles may have a slightly lesser impact than the other factors. These improvements can significantly boost your click through rate (CTR).

Our data found that boosting your CTR can increase your ranking factor by up to 5 percentage points. Improving your CTR should be the first step in your Airbnb listing optimization strategy.
Here are some practical ways to improve your listing’s CTR:

• Craft a Compelling, Keyword-Rich Airbnb Title: A well-crafted title can grab attention immediately. For example, instead of “Cozy 2-Bedroom Apartment,” try “Clean, Stylish 2-Bedroom Loft—Perfect for Families & Remote Work.” See strategy number 4 for which keywords perform well.
• Use High-Quality Images, Especially for the Cover Image: Listings with clear, bright, and professional photos tend to get more clicks. Our data shows that the number of photos doesn’t have a direct effect on your ranking factor. The first few photos are what will influence your CTR the most, so it's about quality over quantity. 
• Highlight Unique Amenities in Your Title: If your listing has a feature that sets it apart, like a hot tub or private patio, include it in your title. For instance, “Modern Cabin with Hot Tub & Mountain Views” can attract more clicks than a generic title, especially if guests are looking for a relaxing getaway.

2. Consider adding bedrooms 

Our analysis showed that listings with more bedrooms tend to have better Airbnb SEO rankings. Properties with additional space attract larger groups and families, which can boost their visibility in Airbnb search results. Increasing from a 1-bedroom to a 2- or 3-bedroom listing improves the ranking factor by nearly 2 percentage points, while 4- to 5-bedroom properties can gain 3-5 points.

Here’s how to make the most of your property’s space to improve ranking:

• Emphasize space for groups in your description: Use phrases like “ideal for family gatherings” or “sleeps up to 8 comfortably” to make it clear that your property can accommodate larger parties. This can attract groups looking for spacious options.
• Add a bedroom (if possible): If you have the space to convert an office, den, or basement into an additional bedroom, it could improve your Airbnb search ranking and attract more guests.
• Think about bedroom count when investing: If you’re purchasing a new rental property, keep in mind that larger properties with more bedrooms tend to rank higher, making them a potentially better investment.

3. Achieve and maintain Superhost status

Achieving Superhost status signals to Airbnb that you are a reliable and responsive host, which can help your listing move up in the Airbnb rankings. According to our research, Superhost status can add about 2 percentage points to a listing’s ranking factor. The analysis indicates that consistently high performance is equally impactful to Airbnb Superhost status, so don’t fret if you haven’t been granted this status. 

Here are some quick ways to achieve and maintain Superhost status or comparable high performance:

• Respond quickly: Aim to reply within an hour to guest inquiries to keep your response rate high and demonstrate reliability.
• Encourage positive reviews: Provide thoughtful touches like welcome notes or local recommendations to enhance the guest experience and encourage 5-star reviews.
• Avoid last-minute cancellations: Keep your calendar updated and avoid double bookings to minimize how often you cancel on guests. Airbnb hosts must have a cancellation rate of less than 1% to qualify as a Superhost.

4. Use descriptive keywords 

Our research found that using certain keywords in your Airbnb listing’s title and listing description may improve your ranking.  Keep in mind, however, that these keywords are highly location-specific and may not necessarily cause your specific listing to rank higher.

Here’s how to write and optimize your Airbnb listing with the right terms:

• Highlight cleanliness in your Airbnb title: Using words like “clean,” “spotless,” or “hygienic” in your title can boost your ranking factor by over 4 points, even beyond your cleanliness scores. Example: “Spotlessly Clean 2-Bedroom Loft—Safe and Sanitized Stay.”
• Emphasize privacy and seclusion: If your property offers a private or remote setting, using terms like “remote,” “secluded,” or “off-grid” in your listing title can add around 3 points to your ranking factor. Example: “Secluded Cottage with Private Hot Tub—Perfect for Relaxation.”
• Showcase eco-friendly features: Including words like “green” or “sustainable” in your listing description can add over 1 point to your ranking factor, appealing to environmentally conscious guests. Example: “Eco-Friendly Tiny Home—Solar-Powered and Sustainable Design.”
• Use novelty terms to highlight updates: Words like “new” and “renovated” can add about 1 point to your ranking, even after accounting for the actual age of the vacation rental. Example: “Newly Renovated Apartment with Modern Amenities.”
• Incorporate unique experience keywords: Terms like “unique” or “one-of-a-kind” can help you stand out to guests looking for distinctive stays, adding about 1 point to your ranking factor when added in the listing summary.
• Avoid overused or misleading terms: Our research found that using words like “view” might actually decrease your ranking factor. Instead, focus on letting high-quality photos showcase your property’s scenic views.

5. Develop a competitive pricing strategy

We found strategic price adjustments, especially during the week, can improve your ranking factor by up to 3 points.  According to Airbnb itself, listings that are priced below other comparable listings in the area with similar guest capacity and amenities tend to rank higher in search.

Listings positioned in the top 40% price tier for their market tend to perform better than lower price tiers by 4 points, even when absolute price is controlled for. This could be because those with a higher ADR serve the growing demand for luxury accommodations and are focused on providing an elevated guest experience. 

It’s important to be priced competitively within your price tier. Between price tiers, however, upscale listings tend to get more exposure in Airbnb search results. However you slice it, you really need to be on top of your pricing game to boost your visibility. 

Here’s how to optimize your pricing strategy:

• Use Dynamic Pricing: Adjust your rates based on local events, seasonality, and demand. For example, increase your prices during a local festival or offer discounts for last-minute bookings to fill gaps.
• Offer Discounts for Longer Stays: Guests looking for a month-long stay often filter by discounts. Offering a weekly or monthly discount can attract more bookings, keeping your calendar full and boosting your ranking.
• Review Competitor Rates Regularly: Check what similar listings in your area are charging, especially during peak times. Staying competitive with other listings can help keep your property visible in search results. You can build a comp set with AirDNA to benchmark yourself against competitors and fine tune your pricing strategy.

6. Increase your overall review score 

AirDNA and IntelliHost found that increasing your overall review score from 80 to 100 can boost your ranking factor by about 3.4 points. Accumulating more reviews also helps—each additional 50 reviews can add approximately 1 percentage point to your ranking factor. Cleanliness scores were found to be three times more influential than general review scores.

Focus on these strategies to improve your review scores:

• Cleanliness is Key: Consider hiring a professional cleaner, especially before high-season stays, to ensure your vacation rental shines. Set high cleaning standards—guests who are impressed by the cleanliness are more likely to leave positive feedback.
• Personalized Follow-Ups Encourage Reviews: After guests check out, send a message like, “We hope you enjoyed your stay! It would mean a lot to us if you could share your experience in a review—your feedback helps us improve!” Uplisting, our recommended property manager software, can automate this for you. 
• Address Feedback Openly: If a guest mentions an issue in a review, respond publicly to show future guests that you take feedback seriously and are committed to improvement.

7. Highlight the right amenities

According to our analysis, high quality listings with 8-9 key amenities receive the best boost in visibility—around 4 percentage points. This optimal number balances offering enough features without overwhelming the listing.

Here’s how to make your amenities work for you in your Airbnb SEO:

• Don’t Overdo It: While it’s tempting to list every possible amenity, focus on quality over quantity. Too many amenities can overwhelm potential guests and dilute the impact of standout features. Optimize your listing by highlighting the essentials (like Air Conditioning or a Stocked Kitchen) and your property's best attributes instead.
• Emphasize Unique or Luxury Features: If you have luxury amenities like a hot tub, fireplace, or fast EV charger, mention these prominently.
• Showcase Guest-Focused Amenities: Tailor your listing to attract specific types of potential guests by emphasizing features like pet-friendly spaces, family-friendly additions (like cribs or high chairs), or gear for outdoor adventures (like bikes or kayaks). 

By focusing on these seven proven strategies—grounded in our research—you can enhance your Airbnb listing’s visibility and attract more bookings.

Other Essential Airbnb SEO Tips

We hope AirDNA's collaboration with IntelliHost has offered some powerful insights for optimizing your Airbnb listing. It doesn't cover everything, though—there are some additional factors that affect search results. 

Here are some key practices, straight from Airbnb, that can boost your listing's visibility:

8. Maximize availability and keep your calendar updated 

Airbnb emphasizes that the more dates a listing is available, the more likely it is to be compatible with a guest's plans. This increased availability can improve your listing's visibility in search results and ultimately improve your booking rates. Regularly update your calendar to reflect accurate availability, even if you're just confirming existing open dates. This practice signals to Airbnb that your listing is active and ready for potential guests. Additionally, offering flexibility in how long guests can stay can make your listing more appealing and increase its chances of appearing in search results.

9. Tailor your listing to your target audience

Understanding how guests search and how Airbnb personalizes results can help you optimize your listing. Airbnb uses guest search patterns and past booking behavior to customize search results. Consider your target audience and tailor your listing accordingly to leverage Airbnb’s ranking algorithm.

If you're near a business district, emphasize your listing as a corporate rental with key amenities like fast Wi-Fi and workspace. For family-friendly locations, highlight features like cribs or nearby parks. You increase the chances of appearing in relevant searches by aligning your listing with specific guest preferences. 

Keep in mind that Airbnb may show your listing to guests even if it doesn't meet all their criteria, so providing a comprehensive and appealing listing description can help attract a wider range of potential guests. 

10. Boost your listing's popularity

Airbnb’s algorithm evaluates popularity using various metrics of guest engagement, such as how often guests save a listing to their wishlist, how frequently they book, and how often they message the Airbnb host. More popular listings tend to rank higher in search suggestions. While some of these factors may be outside your direct control, understanding their importance can help you focus on creating an engaging listing that encourages guest interaction.

The Inside Scoop on Airbnb SEO from AirDNA and IntelliHost

IntelliHost provided listing performance data on 2,753 unique U.S. Airbnb listings over three months from September to November 2023. We controlled for bedroom count, property type, price, location, host type, amenities, and performance metrics so you'd know what makes the most impact on your listing ranking. We then took those data insights on how to increase Airbnb ranking and came up with actionable recommendations. 

Ranking factor: The key to Airbnb listing visibility

We were looking to measure the impact of certain Airbnb SEO strategies on a listing’s ranking factor.

Ranking factor represents the percentage of impressions where a listing appears on the first page of search results on the Airbnb platform. Airbnb calls the ranking factor the first-page search impression rate, and they track it for you—more on that later! 

On a practical level, here’s how ranking factor breaks down: 

• Ranking factor is calculated by dividing the number of first page search impressions by the total number of search impressions.
• 100% ranking factor means your listing always appears on the front page when guests search Airbnb.
• 0% ranking factor means it never appears on the first page.
• A ranking factor of 50% means that, on average, your listing shows up on the first page in half of the total times that it appears in Airbnb search results.
• Seemingly small increases in your ranking factor can make a big difference. For example, a 4-point increase in your ranking factor could mean your listing appears on the first page of search results 40 more times per 1,000 impressions.

The more often you're on the first page, the more people see your listing. That can translate to more bookings and, you guessed it, higher revenue. 

Keep in mind that our analysis produces interesting evidence of potential relationships, but it may point towards associations rather than cause and effect. 

How to Find Out How Your Airbnb Listing Is Ranking

You can use the Conversion data available in your Airbnb dashboard to get a better understanding of how your Airbnb listing is performing in search results. For an even more comprehensive analysis and actionable insights, IntelliHost’s tools can help you optimize key metrics to improve your performance.

Here’s how to access listing performance information on the Airbnb platform and what to look for:

1. Access the conversion section

• From the top navigation menu, select Menu and then Insights from the dropdown options. Navigate to Performance > Conversion > Booking Conversion on the left-hand side bar. This section gives you real-time data on how well your listing is turning views into bookings, along with the impact of any changes you’ve made.

2. Monitor booking conversion metrics 

• Overall Conversion Rate: This shows the percentage of unique visitors who viewed your listing and then booked a stay. A higher conversion rate indicates that your listing is effectively turning interest into bookings.
• First-Page Search Impressions: This metric indicates how often your listing appears on the first page of search results. If your impressions are low, consider optimizing your listing to improve visibility.
• Search-to-Listing Conversion: This shows how often guests click through from the search results to view your full listing. A low rate here may suggest a need for a more appealing cover photo or listing title to peak a potential guest’s interest.
• Listing-to-Booking Conversion: This metric measures how often guests book after viewing your listing page. If this rate is low, you may want to revisit your photos, description, or pricing.
• For each metric, you can filter the data by listing and performance period (date range). You can also narrow performance data by number of rooms or beds, geographical area (regions), and amenities.

Please keep in mind that the metrics that Airbnb provides are for future trip dates. This means that Airbnb reports metrics based on the dates that guests are searching for, not based on the dates the guest made the search.

This can be in issue if you are trying to optimize your listing by analyzing trends within Airbnb. IntelliHost helps remedy this by converting your listing’s trip date data into search date data, allowing hosts to optimize their listings using historical data to A/B test changes.

3. Review page views

Below Booking Conversion under Conversion on the host performance dashboard, click on Views. Page views differ from booking conversion indicators because they track your listing visibility in the 90 days leading up to a selected date range. 

• Average page views: the number of distinct visitors who saw your listing page when searching for trip dates within the date range of your choosing.
• Average first-page search impressions: the number of distinct people who saw your listings on the first page of Airbnb search results when searching for trip dates within the date range of your choosing. 

4. Compare to similar listings

• All Conversion indicators allow you to compare your listing’s performance over time and against similar listings in your area. This can help you understand where you stand relative to competitors and identify areas for improvement.

Monitoring these metrics gives you valuable insights into your listing's search performance. With this data in hand, you can hone in on our Airbnb SEO strategies and improve your visibility on Airbnb.