Bringing search strategy to THE PLAZA Seoul’s website renewal

Project Background#

THE PLAZA Seoul launched a new mobile-optimised platform in December 2017 to replace its ageing official website. The Korean and English sites, however, faced inefficient search indexing. As a five-star hotel in central Seoul competing with nearby properties including Lotte Hotel, it needed an SEO strategy to reach international visitors.

Delivery#

• Developed a site optimisation strategy through a Technical SEO audit.
• Provided architecture improvements and content guidelines.
• Supported implementation and performed phased quality assurance.
• Continuously monitored indexing of Korean and English pages on NAVER and Google.

Customer Understanding and Research#

We designed distinct approaches for Korean and English customer contexts. Existing hotel sites often simply translated content produced in Korea. Instead, we optimised English keywords and metadata for international travellers researching Korea, while Korean pages addressed domestic customers searching for five-star hotels in central Seoul. These differences reflect the starting point and cultural context of each search journey.

Implementation and Improvement#

• Identified site-wide priorities through a detailed crawl-based Technical SEO audit.
• Provided guidelines for tags and structured data by page template.
• Established standards for URL architecture and canonicalisation.
• Checked implementation and continuously monitored indexing and visibility.
• Improved outcomes through repeated optimisation.

Lessons Learned#

Hotel websites often emphasise high-quality images and a premium atmosphere while overlooking content elements essential to search discovery. This creates an imbalance between brand presentation and visibility. The engagement demonstrated the value of building visibility after brand development and the importance of consistent E-E-A-T across the web when optimising an established hotel brand.

Visit THE PLAZA Seoul