Travel Websites Rank Near the Top Less Often Than Most Industries
Just 5.4% of the typical travel and transportation website's Google keywords ranked in the top three, versus 9.5% for other websites. For 58% of travel sites, more search demand sits on page two than on page one.
Travel websites rank in Google's top three less often than most, likely because booking sites and big brands crowd the results. But for most travel sites, more search demand sits on page two than on page one, which is the easiest place to gain ground.
Most people click one of the first few results on Google. For travel and transportation businesses, such as tour operators, charters, shuttles and transport companies, those spots are especially hard to reach.
What the data shows
Diib looked at the US Google keywords that websites with connected keyword tracking ranked for between April and September 2026. It included sites ranking for at least 20 keywords:
- For the median travel and transportation website (186 sites), only 5.4% of keywords ranked in Google’s top three positions, versus 9.5% for about 10,300 websites in other industries.
- 29% of its keywords ranked anywhere on page one, versus 34% elsewhere.
- For 58% of travel websites, the keywords sitting on page two (positions 11–20) had more total monthly search volume than the keywords on page one. That compares with 47% of other websites.
What this does and doesn’t tell you
This is aggregated Diib keyword data. Search volume is an estimate, and ranking doesn’t equal traffic. The competition likely explains much of the gap. Travel searches are crowded with booking sites, review platforms and big brands that small operators rarely outrank.
The page-two finding is the useful part. Many travel businesses already rank just out of sight for their most-searched terms. Moving a few of those keywords from page two to page one usually takes less effort than ranking for a brand-new search.