Decide who you are for

It is easier to be the obvious choice for one group of travellers than one more option for everyone.

1. Choose one or two kinds of traveller you know well, such as families with young children, walkers, cruise passengers or a local sports club.

2. Note what worries them when they book and where they look for ideas.

3. Say plainly on your website, Google profile and social media who you help and what you sell, and build your content and emails around them.

Your website and Google search

Google finds most pages by itself, mainly by following links from pages it already knows, so submitting a sitemap is optional.

Google is clear on a few points:

• It never accepts payment to crawl a site more often or to rank it higher, and advertising with Google has no effect on your place in the unpaid results.

• No one can guarantee a first-place ranking, so be wary of anyone who promises one.

• It does not use the meta keywords tag, keywords in a domain name have hardly any effect and there is no ideal word count.

• It uses the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking.

Google’s SEO Starter Guide says useful content is likely to do more for your search presence than anything else it suggests. That means pages that are easy to read, written by you rather than copied, kept up to date and genuinely helpful. Give each page a clear title that describes it accurately. Google says a title can include your business name and location.

Google says its AI features, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, are rooted in its core ranking systems, so the same basics apply. Its guidance encourages first-hand experience rather than general tips anyone could write, and says you do not need special files such as llms.txt.

Some shortcuts break Google’s spam policies. They include near-identical pages for different towns that all lead to one page, blocks of place names added to a page, buying links to boost rankings and using AI to produce many pages that add nothing for readers. Our guide to what makes a good travel website covers the site itself.

Google Business Profile

A Business Profile lets you manage how your business appears on Google Maps and Search at no charge. Not every travel business qualifies:

• Google says a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours. Online-only businesses are not eligible.

• A rented address you do not work from, which Google calls a virtual office, is not eligible.

• If you visit customers rather than receive them, you can have one profile as a service-area business. Google says you should then hide your address, for example if you run the business from home.

If you are a homeworking travel agent who only deals with clients by phone or online, read Google’s eligibility rules before you create a profile.

Use your real business name without added keywords or slogans, choose as few categories as you can and keep your opening hours accurate. The business description must not focus on offers or prices, and it cannot contain links.

Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, which reflects how well known a business is, including links to it and its reviews. Verifying your profile, keeping it complete and replying to reviews can help. Google says there is no way to pay for a better local ranking.

Email and text marketing

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) treat marketing by email, text, picture or video message, voicemail and social media direct message in the same way. The rules say you must not send it to individuals unless they have consented or the soft opt-in applies. Sole traders and some partnerships count as individuals.

The ICO’s guidance, updated on 28 April 2026, says consent must name your business, cover each channel you use and come from a positive action, so pre-ticked boxes do not count. It should not be a condition of booking, and you should keep a record of who consented, when and how.

The soft opt-in lets you market without consent only if all of these apply:

1. You collected the person’s details yourself.

2. You did so during a sale or negotiations for a sale. The ICO says asking for a quote can count.

3. You market only your own similar products and services.

4. You offered a simple, free way to opt out when you collected the details. An opt-out first offered in a booking confirmation is too late.

5. You offer the opt-out again in every message.

The soft opt-in never applies to bought-in lists. The ICO says that if you encourage customers to forward your offers to friends, you are likely to be responsible for those messages too. Every message must say who it is from and give a valid address for opting out.

UK GDPR also requires a lawful basis. If you send marketing because people consented, the ICO says your lawful basis is likely to be consent. If you use the soft opt-in, it is likely to be legitimate interests, backed by a legitimate interests assessment. People have an absolute right to object to direct marketing, and the ICO says you should keep a suppression list.

The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 19 June 2025 and changed these rules in stages:

• 20 August 2025: PECR gained the same definition of direct marketing as data protection law.

• 5 February 2026: charities gained their own soft opt-in for people who support or show interest in their charitable purposes, for details collected on or after that date. PECR fines can now reach £17.5 million or 4% of global turnover, and the rules now cover messages that are sent but never received. UK GDPR now names direct marketing as an example of processing that may be a legitimate interest.

• 19 June 2026: organisations must help people complain about how their data is used and acknowledge complaints within 30 days.

• 30 September 2026: the regulator became the Information Commission. It is still known as the ICO.

Social media, influencers and affiliates

Since 2011 the CAP Code, which the ASA applies, has covered marketing on your own website and on social media accounts you control. It says ads must be obviously identifiable as ads, and you must not pose as a customer. Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has also banned paid editorial content that is not made clear.

The CAP and CMA guide for influencers treats money, commission, a discount, a free trip or a free hotel stay as payment, so any post that results must be labelled as an ad. It says:

• put a clear label such as “Ad” or “Advert” at the start

• avoid labels such as “gifted”, “PR trip”, “sponsored” or “in partnership with”

• a platform’s own paid partnership label may be enough if it is upfront, clear and prominent

• a general note that some links may earn commission is not enough for affiliate links

Both the brand and the creator are responsible. The CMA’s guidance for brands, updated on 28 August 2025, says to give creators clear instructions with any gift, to check their posts and to act on any that are not labelled. If you promote your business from a personal account, people must be able to tell it is advertising without checking your bio.

In a report published on 7 May 2026, the ASA found that only 20% of the travel influencer ads it checked were adequately labelled.

Where you pay an influencer under a contract and have editorial control, a post that promotes a specific ATOL-protected trip must also mention ATOL protection, as explained below.

Prices, “from” prices and offers

Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has required an advert that shows a product and its price to give the total price, including every fee, tax and charge the customer must pay. Unless they are already clear from the context, it must also give your business name, address and any business email address, plus the same details for any business you are selling for as an agent. Adding unavoidable charges later in the booking is drip pricing, which is prohibited.

The CMA’s price transparency guidance (CMA209) says mandatory charges include booking and administration fees and the local taxes and resort fees payable at a hotel. One of its examples is a travel agent advertising a Paris hotel “from £105” so that the price includes the local tax. In August 2026 the CMA opened an investigation into one airline’s package holidays, looking at whether mandatory resort fees and local taxes were included in the upfront prices. It has reached no conclusions. Under the same Act, the CMA can fine a business up to £300,000 or 10% of its global turnover, whichever is higher.

“From” prices need care:

• The CMA says a “from” price must be realistic. Using a midweek or off-season price to advertise a weekend or peak-season break would mislead.

• The CAP Code says “from” claims must not exaggerate availability. In November 2025 the ASA ruled against a coach operator’s “from” fare that applied, on average, to 6% of tickets, even though the advert said “subject to availability”.

• For prices on your own website that change with supplier rates, CAP’s travel guidance says “from £X” with the date of the last update, such as “Prices are accurate as of [date] and are subject to change”, is likely to be acceptable if prices are updated often and were genuine at that update.

• In January 2026 the ASA ruled against a holiday price that rose by over £700 at checkout because of a third-party flight price. A note that the price may update at checkout was not enough.

Savings claims need evidence that the higher price was genuinely the usual price. Falsely saying that an offer is only available for a limited time, to rush a decision, is banned outright.

ATOL and ABTA in your marketing

ATOL holders must show their name, ATOL number, the ATOL logo and a standard CAA statement on all publicity, including websites and brochures. Since 1 April 2026, ATOL Standard Term 1.3 has also required adverts for ATOL-protected services aimed at UK consumers to refer to ATOL protection.

The CAA’s guidance (CAP3236) says the rule applies when an advert refers to an ATOL-protected product, for example by showing the price of a flight-inclusive package. Brand, destination and hotel-only adverts are outside it, and so is paid search. The reference should suit the format. Text and audio can use the words “ATOL protected”. An ATOL holder can show the ATOL logo where it shows its own logo. On social media a tag such as #ATOLProtected or a pinned comment can work. The rule also covers paid influencers where you have a contract and editorial control.

If you sell as an agent for an ATOL holder, the same publicity rules apply to you using the ATOL holder’s name and ATOL number, and you must name the protecting ATOL holder on any publicity for flights or flight-inclusive packages. Agents may not use the ATOL logo without the CAA’s permission. Members of an Accredited Body state that membership and show the Accredited Body’s ATOL number and the ATOL logo. Our ATOL guide explains each route.

ABTA’s Code of Conduct, issued in September 2026, requires members to show the current ABTA logo and their ABTA number in all advertising for travel arrangements. Where that is impracticable, such as a classified press advert, the number alone is enough. A breach is a fixed penalty offence with a £400 fine. ABTA says its logo can only be used with its express permission, and its guidance tells travel agents not to claim they are “fully ABTA bonded”. Consumer law and the CAP Code also ban showing a trust mark or quality mark without authorisation. Read more about ABTA.

Reviews and testimonials

Since 6 April 2025 it has been a banned practice to write or commission fake reviews, to hide that a review was incentivised or to publish reviews in a misleading way. A business that publishes reviews must also take reasonable steps to prevent and remove fake ones.

The CMA’s fake reviews guidance (CMA208) says you can:

• ask customers in general for a review, for example by emailing all of them

• offer an incentive, as long as you tell readers the review was incentivised and it still reflects a genuine experience

It gives these as examples of what is not allowed:

• inviting only the customers you expect to be happy, or holding back negative reviews

• offering a free or discounted product for a five-star review, or a refund or gift card for changing a negative one

• asking staff to write reviews without saying so

If you show reviews on your website or social media, the CMA expects you to publish a policy that prohibits fake reviews and explains your approach to incentivised ones.

Google is stricter than the law. It bans any incentive for posting, changing or removing a Google review, and it does not let businesses discourage negative reviews or ask only happy customers. You can share a Google review link or QR code instead.

Testimonials in your adverts need the person’s permission, and the CAP Code says you must hold evidence that each one is genuine and contact details for whoever gave it.

Measuring what works

Search Console shows how much traffic your site gets from Google Search, broken down by queries, pages and countries. A separate report shows how your content performs in Google’s AI features.

For website analytics, the rules changed on 5 February 2026. PECR now lets you use cookies and similar technologies without consent for “statistical purposes”, but only if:

• the sole purpose is to learn how your site is used so you can improve it

• the information is not shared except with someone helping you improve the site

• visitors get clear information and a simple, free way to object, and you stop if they do

The ICO’s guidance, finalised in April 2026, says counting visits, devices and how people arrived, for example from an email campaign, can fit. Tracking individual visitors, measuring whether people saw or clicked an ad and sharing conversions with advertising partners still need consent. To rely on the exception, an analytics provider you use must act as your processor. Where consent is needed, the ICO expects refusing to be as easy as accepting. Tracking pixels in marketing emails also fall under these rules.

Suppliers, consortia and trade bodies

You are responsible for what your marketing says, even when the words come from someone else. The CAP Code puts primary responsibility on the marketer. On 9 September 2026 the ASA ruled against travel adverts that called resorts “eco” without explaining why. In one, a travel agent had taken the claim from the hotel’s own factsheet. In another, “Eco” was part of the hotel’s name and the advertiser said its ad tools had added the wording automatically.

If a supplier, consortium or host sends marketing to your customers for you, the ICO says you can both be responsible. It says you should check that the sender complies and have a written contract with it.

Trade bodies offer practical help. ABTA members can download the ABTA logo and marketing materials for their websites and social media from ABTA’s member zone, and the public can check membership on ABTA’s website. AITO runs a scheme for independent specialist travel agents, with a find-an-agent link on its website and free training events with AITO tour operators.