When I rebuilt my content strategy, I didn't start by brainstorming topics. I started by looking at what already works, for the competitors ranking above me. Their keyword rankings are public information: tools like SimilarWeb and Ubersuggest will show you exactly which searches send traffic to any site you point them at. That's not espionage; that's reading the market's map before drawing your own.
“Our organic traffic has increased by 30% in the last month or two.”
The research sequence
- List the five sites your ideal client lands on instead of yours, competitors, big travel publishers, even tourism boards.
- Run them through a keyword tool and harvest the queries they rank for that YOU could answer better, especially the specific, low-competition ones ("best time to visit X with kids" beats "luxury travel").
- Sort by intent: someone searching "is a travel advisor worth it" is closer to booking than someone searching "pretty beaches." Write for the money-adjacent queries first.
- Feed the harvest to AI as a content calendar brief, then write the essays with your actual expertise, because ranking without substance doesn't survive.
The volume play matters too: I set an aggressive target, a hundred posts, because topical authority is cumulative; each essay makes the others rank better. But volume aimed by competitor data beats volume aimed by guessing, every time. Your rivals spent years discovering what travelers search for. Read their homework. Then write the better answer.
Claire's own numbers
The framework, step by step
- 1
List the five sites your ideal client lands on instead
of yours — competitors, big travel publishers, even tourism boards
- 2
Run them through a keyword tool and harvest the queries
they rank for that YOU could answer better — especially the specific, low-competition ones ("best time to visit X with kids" beats "luxury travel")
- 3
Sort by intent
someone searching "is a travel advisor worth it" is closer to booking than someone searching "pretty beaches." Write for the money-adjacent queries fi
- 4
Feed the harvest to AI as a content calendar brief —
then write the essays with your actual expertise, because ranking without substance doesn't survive
Claire's own framework from this essay, in the order she teaches it.
Source: Claire B. Soares, from her own travel business and live trainings.
Common Questions
How do you decide what to blog about?
Look at what already works. Competitor keyword tools show which searches send traffic to the sites your clients land on instead of yours.
Which keywords should a travel advisor target first?
The specific, low-competition, money-adjacent ones. Someone searching whether a travel advisor is worth it is closer to booking than someone searching for pretty beaches.
Does blog volume still matter for SEO?
Yes, when it is aimed. Topical authority is cumulative, so each substantive essay makes the others rank better, but volume without direction is wasted effort.
Written By
Claire B. Soares
6× Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist, Certified AI Consultant, and founder of Travel AI University. $3.4B+ in enterprise travel software sold to Google, IBM, Boeing, the federal government, and the DoD; $16M+ in luxury travel sales with Up in the Air Life.
About Claire
