Travellers and backpackers might say they do, but in the end although airports represent the start of a new adventure, they’re really just a purgatory of needless waiting punctuated with scenes of people either totally losing it, or giving up entirely.

You don’t want to be that person that goes postal when they realised they’ve missed their flight by only a few minutes. You don’t want to be that person that has a public meltdown when their flight gets delayed due to general airline nonsense. And you definitely don’t want to be the person who causes a Hollywood-worth scene in the middle of the departure lounge when the loudspeaker announces that due to a situation out of their control, the flight is cancelled.

Instead you want to be the cool kid. The ‘I don’t mind if I wait’ guy. The ‘I’m happy to just sit back and relax’ personality. But that isn’t always something that comes easy to people, regardless of their travel expertise. I know that despite being a self-confessed travel addict, I really don’t like airports. Sure, me being at an airport pretty much always means I’m about to embark on another exciting part of my travelling life, but they’re just really horrible places. So, when I was recently sitting at Brisbane Airport with a seven hour wait ahead of me, I started to compile a little list in my head of just how I deal with being in airports.

Time It

There is a fine line to be walked in relation to how much time you want to spend in an airport, so don’t make it anymore than it needs to be unless you absolutely have to. Know how early you have to be at the airport for your flight, and then plan to get there more or less at that time. Definitely double, and even triple check this though! But once you’re sure, it makes sense to get to the airport exactly at that time, and not hours beforehand so you’re wait isn’t extended any more than it needs to be. Obviously, the last thing you want to do is miss your plane, but at the same time sitting around the airport is just a soul-destroying exercise.

Ample Entertainment

I cannot stress this enough. Unless you’re planning on spending your time at the airport doing zombie stares into space to pass the time, you’ll want to bring enough to keep you entertained. This means charge the iPod, mp3 player or walkman (no judgement man), make sure you bring your headphones and bunker down for the long haul. But, I’d also suggest bringing more than one form of entertainment, like a book or a drawing pad as well as music. Unless what you actually do to keep occupied is zombie staring into space (or at people, which may very well be entertaining), then you’re probably fine.

Snack Time

Airport food is already ludicrously expensive without the added issue of being a backpacker looking to get the most out of every dollar. Unsurprisingly, I can’t see great value in paying massive dollars for food that is worth half as much, which I’d probably pass on if I was anywhere else. But if you’re at an airport, especially with the possibility of long waiting times, you’re probably going to need to eat. So if you don’t want your rumbling stomach echoing around the terminal, do yourself a favour and pick up some food before you get to the airport. Even if you don’t expect to be waiting that long, throw a few muesli bars or crackers into your bag just in case.

Sleep It Off

I’m a big fan of nap time in any environment, and have been known to be awfully protective of my lunchtime siesta. One of the positives of this for me when it comes to airports is that I can fall asleep just about anywhere. If you’re on the road, this is a good skill to have anyway, but it comes super handy if you’re delayed or laid over for hours in airport land. Just make sure you set an alarm so you don’t miss your flight!

Airport Exploration

Yeah you’re on your way to an adventure, but who says you can’t start that adventure right here at the airport? If you’ve got time to kill during a delay or a layover, there are few things that will pass the time better than a walk and and a people watch. One thing about airports is that they’re usually full of all manner of people. Plus, larger airports also tend to cover a lot of ground, meaning your can stroll around to your heart’s content. So familiarise yourself with your gate, and then let the adventure begin!

For most people, airports hardly represent an enviable place to be, especially for hours and hours between flights. But, if you go about it the right way, you can keep yourself occupied, and keep your head level in any airport situation, no matter what change of plans comes flying in your direction.

Dealing With Airports Like A Backpacking Veteran! is a post from: RTWbackpackers - Taking you Backpacking Around the World

And to a large extent that’s what Morocco is about! It’s a country rich in culture, local markets and has a large history of nomadic people of the desert.

But Morocco alos has and amazingly rugged and empty coastline too – which means one thing to a person like me…SURF!

The Souks – Great For a Haggle and Some Bargains!

Drawing Me Back

I first headed to Morocco back in 2008 with my little bro – with the aim of scoring a heap of warm water waves. And it was an epic success – despite the roughness around the edges we both loved the place!

The surf was perfect, the local cuisine was nothing short of mouth watering, the living was cheap and the weather was a solid 25 degrees+ our entire stay! What more could a travelling surfer ask for?!

In fact I liked it so much I went back a second time after my trip to Oz – and if you’ve seen my travel blog (Backpacker Banter) you’ll know that I just spent 4months working there as a surf coach – what more of a personal recommendation do you need?!

Perfect Winter Escape

Even though the cost of living in Morocco has risen slightly (especially in the surf towns) – it’s still heaps cheaper than it’s European counterparts. Not only that but flights to Morocco can still be had for under £100 return, and Easyjet will even take your surfboard (up to 9foot) for £40 all in…now that’s an epic deal!

For me Morocco is the perfect winter escape for any surfer – as the UK water temps start to plummet (and I wont even get started on the air temperature!) Morocco is considerably warmer, you’ll still need a 3/2 suit over the main part of their winter (Dec-Apr) but you’ll spend your time out of the water basking in glorious sunshine and boardies!

The one things I’d suggest if you do a large surf trip to this part of the world though is to take all the kit you need and a heap of spares too. Things like ding repair kits, wetsuits wax, FCS thruster fins and hire boards can be ridiculously expensive in places like Taghazout, and outside of that area they can be near on impossible to locate…so come stocked up!

The upside of being so prepared also means you can sell some stuff if your cash runs short!

Waves Waves Waves

Warm Water And Pumping Waves!

Wave wise Morocco main surf region is around the sleepy town of Taghazout – about an hour north of Agadir and a 3-4hour bus journey down from Marrrakech.

In all my surf travels I’ve never found a place so concentrated with a variety of surf spots that draws in so much swell!

If you base yourself in Taghazout you’ll have a solid amount of spots (I’m talking in the 20′s here!) within a 10min drive of the village, although to be honest you can walk to most of them! They range from easy beginner beach breaks like Croc Beach and Panoramas right through to pumping world class point breaks like Anchor Point and Killers.

You can check out my Moroccan Mini Surf Guide over on my main blog – and this post including some shots of the surf PUMPING will be sure to get your stoke on!

Even if you don’t surf already and want to learn it’s a great place to start – with a whole load of surf camps to choose from – so whether you want simple surf guiding or full on tuition you’re fully covered.

So if you’re looking for some waves, don’t have a crazy big budget to blow on somewhere like Indo then Morocco is the perfect place to bounce – and at only 4 hours flight from Gatwick it’s perfect for a quick week long escape too!

Just make sure you relax with a mint tea post surf for me please – I bloody miss that stuff!

Travelling Morocco – Souks, Deserts And…Surf?! is a post from: RTWbackpackers - Taking you Backpacking Around the World

One of the main reasons people give for not going travelling is that they can’t afford it and I’m the first to admit that travelling for a few month or longer is crazy expensive. But I’ll also admit that it will be the best money you will ever spend and it’s well worth working your socks of for a few years in order to save for that big trip.

Here are my top tips to help you save for your trip that bit faster and make the saving process as bearable as possible.

Have a spending detox

Like a diet, it’s good to start with a detox, mainly because it’s horrible and when you allow yourself a few little treats you’ll really appreciate it.

A spending detox should last for a week and you should spend nothing all week other than your rent, bills and transport costs. Make sure you take packed lunches when you’ll be out for the day and don’t buy ANYTHING! If you can, don’t even take any cash or cards out with you to avoid temptation.

A spending detox will be tough but it will help you realize how much money you waste and the places you really need to spend it. You’ll realize that you don’t need to spend money on drinks and treats throughout the day, you don’t need those magazines and papers and you can go without a few drinks in the pub after work.

Have a target

It’s tough to save if you don’t know exactly what you’re saving for or how long it will take. Work out how much you’re going to need for your trip and when you want to go so you know exactly how much you need to put away each month.

Cover your walls, your fridge, your notebooks, your office, your bedroom, (hell, cover your bathroom if it helps) with pictures of the places you’re going to keep you inspired to keep saving.

What could you be spending your money on?

One night’s accommodation in Thailand can cost as little as £5 a night so try to keep this is mind every time you spend a fiver at home. What can £5 get you at home? A McDonalds meal, two coffees, a pint and a packet of crisps, a book, a magazine and not a lot else. These are all things you can live without so whenever you’re tempted, think about what you could be spending that money on.

Sell everything

That’s right, everything! If it’s not going with you, get it on eBay. If you’re travelling long term, all your clothes will be outdated and all your technology will be old news. Sell your books and DVDs because, let’s face it, who reads on a book and who watches DVDs these days? Sell your car; you could travel for months on the money you get for your car and you’ll thank yourself for it later when you can stay on the road that bit longer.

Start buying travel

If you’re really terrible at saving, start spending, just make sure you’re spending it on the right things. Buy a flight as soon as you get paid, buy your backpack, book some accommodation, book activities with flexible dates or put money on a travel money card. If you’ve already spent the money, there’s no way you can spend it!

If all else fails…get a working holiday visa

If you’re under 30 you can get a working holiday visa fairly easily for Australia, New Zealand and Canada. If you’re working abroad, you’ll only need to save enough money to buy your flights and keep you going for a month or two just in case you don’t find work immediately.

It’s much more fun to save for travel when you’re already travelling and you’ll find that you’ll meet lots of other backpackers in the same situation. I lived with heaps on people in Australia who were all working 12 hour days in order to save as much money as quickly as possible to start travelling again. You can travel around that country and when you run out of money, just stop travelling and start working again. Simples.

Do you have any other tips for saving for travel?

Top Tips For Saving To Go Travelling is a post from: RTWbackpackers - Taking you Backpacking Around the World

Between 12 & 6 Months to go…

• Where do you want to go? You don’t have to set anything in stone, but a rough idea about where in the world you would like to visit would be good. Do you fancy relaxing in an Asian paradise? Or maybe exploring what South America has to offer? Or how about a city sightseeing Eurotrip? The world is your oyster!

• Who do you want to travel with? This is important. You don’t want to choose a travel companion that will drive you insane and make you want to launch yourself off the edge of a cliff. Whether you choose to go with a boyfriend or girlfriend, a group or a mate, make sure you can trust them and you will enjoy travelling with them. There is always the solo travel option too. You will always meet new people and make friends along the way.

• Save, Save, Save. Saving is really boring. But it has got to be done. Whenever you’re a bit low about the lack of spending money you have, just think what all your hard work is going towards, a fantastic trip that will be full of laughs and new experiences. It will be worth it in the end. When you go out, drink less, save your money and save your liver at the same time! When you go shopping and want to buy those beautiful sparkly stilettos, just think to yourself… ‘Do I really need these? Can I take them travelling?’. While saving money, it helps if you can live at home and car share, I know sometimes this isn’t possible, but just think of different ways to economise. Work out your finances and set a travel fund target that you can hit. Put aside a certain amount a month, but don’t leave yourself too broke! Sorted.

• Book your flights! Then there is no backing out! Flights are cheaper when you book them in advance and once you have an outbound flight booked it is all suddenly real! Plus, you have time to replenish your money.

• Create a blog. Blogging is the best way of keeping  your loved ones up to date with your travels and a way of keeping your very own personal diary of your adventures. You can make it absolutely perfect before you go away and start writing about your previous travel experiences, interviewing other travel bloggers and sharing tips. It’s great fun, I would recommend it.

Between 6 & 1 Month to go…

• Get organised. Write lists. Then you will feel less stressed about everything and you will not forget to do anything. Think about what you need to buy, do and sort out before you go away. Do it the old school way, where you get a pen and notepad and write it down! Smartphones are good but you could easily delete it by mistake!

• Spend some money. You need to start buying boring things like visas, travel immunisations and insurance. These can be expensive, but are essential.

• Research. Read up on your chosen destinations. Make sure you know about the culture, language, sites and local hotspots. Travel books and traveller blogs are my favourite ways of researching.

• Sort your life out. Hand in your notice at work, sort out your bank, check your passport, make sure visas are approved, sell things that you don’t need to get a bit of spare cash! Try a trial round of packing your backpack, it gives you a good insight in to how much stuff you can take! Etc Etc. You get what I mean.

1 Week to go…

• Time to get excited! Counting down the days! Make sure everything is sorted and start to pack. Have a think about what you want to get out of your trip. Make sure you have a huge leaving party with all your family and friends, make sure you leave the country on a high! Remember to get those skype contacts and give your blog web address out to keep in touch! Have a fabulous time!

Some Essential Month By Month Pre Travel Tips is a post from: RTWbackpackers - Taking you Backpacking Around the World

Life as travellers took president and the organisational skills of backpackers failed us miserably!

The original cast got caught up in awesome new jobs and simply couldn’t find time in amongst all their travel plans…

…however – RTW is back and better than ever!

We’ve redesigned the site, created a shiny new logo and now there’s some old and new faces to introduce…

Chris – One of the original RTW members, Chris has since left South America after exploring Ecuador, Peru and the Galapagos. His travel plans changed, changed and changed again – and after 6 months bouncing around Asia and a random month in Switzerland of all places he ended up surf coaching in Morocco for the winter! Later this month he’s finally heading to NZ!

Dan – He’s still in the Welsh Valleys but Adventures With Dan is still finding time to live up to his sites name! Whether it’s white water rafting, learning to dive in the freezing lakes of the UK or plotting some adventures around Europe and beyond he’s still got travel on his mind.

Monica – The final original member, Mon has jumped into the travel industry with both feet – being the networking whizz behind Flight Centres social media team. Her job comes with a whole heap of travel perks and she’s been bouncing around the world – from snowboarding in Canada to camel trekking in northern Africa.

Sam – The first of the new RTW recruits! Sams currently on the home straight of travel planning before she flies off on her RTW adventure later this year from the UK. Expect a whole heap of planning advice from her and a greta person to pick the brains of if you’re heading out on your first travel experience soon.

Oceana – Our second new recruit and solo Aussie of the pack Oceana is currently pit stopping in Sydney to drum up some more dollar for an epic adventure in Asia. Having lived in Indo for most of her childhood and spending the last few years bouncing around in Australia she has a pretty unique take on life.

You can find heaps more info about the crew over on the new about us page – so go get acquainted with your new hosts!

But what are the original crew up to now?!

The original crew are still blogging away- here’s what they’re currently up too..

Bev – The Bevster has settled down in Auckland, NZ for the time being. She’s still blogging via Pack Your Passport as she explores the land of the long white cloud and she’s also already put together and epic set of plans for 2013.

Poi and Kirsty – Poi and Kirsty are back in the UK after an awesome time living and working in Asia. No Place to Be is still going strong and they’re slowly adjusting to life bck in the UK, but no doubt will hit the road again very soon!

Gemma – Media girl Gemma is still doing what she does best – social media, promo and planning her own epic trips!

We hope you enjoy following some new adventures, the new faces and the new look – here’s to some epic backpacking carnage! *cheers*

New Faces, New Places, New Adventures…

Meet The New RTW Backpackers Crew! is a post from: RTWbackpackers - Taking you Backpacking Around the World

Not sure if you’re a travel nomad yet?! Here’s 10 signs you’ve got the travel bug bad…!

1) Being in One Place Doesn’t Work For You

It might seem obvious, but whether it is for better or worse, restlessness is definitely becoming a trend in your life. It’s the first thing that tips people off to your nomadic ways, and it is a handy excuse for your constant moving. Even day to day you want to get out into the world and see what there is on offer. Sitting around and passing time without purpose? No thanks! If you arrive somewhere, you can guarantee you won’t stay long before that gypsy blood of yours is pushing you back out to adventure.

2) People Have Stopped Trying To Keep Track Of You

Once, when you we’re just a newbie nomad, your friends and family back home faithfully kept track of where you were and where you were heading next. Now they’re most likely to say you’re “On the road” or “Travelling around”. They’ve reached peak levels of either comical confusion or annoyance at your constant bouncing, and your habit of being gone by the time they figure out where you’ve just been.

3) It’s Completely Normal For You To Relocate Every Few Days/Weeks/Months

If people were to see your relocation history they might think you’re running from something, and their assumption is hardly without ground. You’ve hardly stayed in one place for long enough to know it or be known for longer than you care to remember. It’s not so much that you can’t decide where to go, but that every time you do make a decision, another option parades itself seductively around your travelling mind.

4) You Can’t Remember The Last Time You Held A Job Longer Than 3 Months

Your work history includes everything from sales and promo work to cleaning toilets in questionable hostels. You will, and in the past have, work any job that is going to help you get from Point A to Point B. And to be honest, you’re usually counting down the dollars until you have just enough to get moving again. It’s hardly a good look for your resume, but hey, at least it makes for an entertaining read!

5) Your Friend Group Has Representatives From Just About Everywhere

When you walk into a hostel, you can guarantee that on walking out your ranks of travelling friends will have grown. You aren’t always going to the same destinations, and you’re rarely travelling together, but its nice to see people suffering from all the same nomadic curses/blessings that you are. Keeping track of your global network on social media, they’re a little bit of inspiration, and a little bit of a challenge to stay exciting throughout your travels.

6) Seeing Old Friends On Facebook Getting Houses and Families Worries You

People you went to high school (and god forbid elementary school) with are buying houses, furthering careers, getting married and having babies. Updates from their lives via Facebook, in amidst the flood of traveling goodness from your nomadic friends, is bringing out some new emotions. It seems every time you’re internet AWOL while getting lost in the Amazon or running wild in South East Asia they’re making money and spawn like theres no tomorrow. And to be completely honest, it’s freaking you out.

7) You’re A Verifiable Expert On Flight and Hostel Comparison Websites

For some people having to book flights and accommodation is an annoyance, but to you it’s a challenge. Always you’re asking yourself: ‘what’s the lowest price I can get for this flight’ or ‘I wonder just how cheap I can get this room’. You’ve got a memorised list of hundreds of websites and databases guaranteed to save you money, and you can jump between them without a thought.

8) You Can Fit All Of Your Worldly Possessions Into One Bag

Ownership is hardly on the top of your list of priorities. You can acquire and dump possessions as you need to, usually based on how much you can be bothered to carry around at any one time. Those who’ve ever woken up hungover 10 minutes from checkout know the feeling of people totally unattached to anything that’s just too difficult to get into your bag. Impermanence is the name of the game, and you’ve taken it from its Buddhist roots right into the middle of backpacker heaven.

9) Anything in the Future Beyond Three or Four Months is a Mystery

Any notion of future plans gets you very quickly bouncing between two moods. The first is excitement: So many places to go and things to see, and you might have just enough money to do this and that, or to check out this random place. The second is complete and utter confusion: Let’s be honest here, you have no idea where you’re going to be three months from now, even next week is an open book, a plan written in pencil. But you know what? That’s just how you like it!

10) The Most Valuable Things You Own Are Memories From Your Adventures

The best thing about memories is they’re nice and light for a streamlined packing experience. Whether they’re photographs stored on handfuls of hard drives and USB sticks, or good old-fashioned memories blending in with dreams in the nomadic sponge of your brain, they’re the only thing you really care about now and in the future. You could stand to lose anything else, and you just might, but nobody can take back the memories you’ve had.

10 Signs You’re A Travel Nomad is a post from: RTWbackpackers - Taking you Backpacking Around the World

I am quitting my job, hanging up my stilettos and packing my backpack for a RTW adventure! It’s a bit daunting but mega exciting and the most spontaneous thing I have ever done! I am usually super organised but all I have done is book a one way flight to Bangkok!

So many travelling thoughts keep running though my head, but one question really gets my pulse racing…

“What am I most looking forward to?”

1)      Not having a job

I have worked two jobs since I was 15, so I think I deserve a little break! So many people have said to me “doesn’t it scare you knowing that you have nothing to come back to?” and, quite frankly the answer is NO. Travelling the world is such a fantastic learning experience, it teaches you lessons that no job could ever teach. It opens your eyes to the world around you, rather than keeping you in your own little bubble and it enables you to ‘find’ yourself and have a think about what you want to get out of your life. Plus, If I want something I will work and work until I get it. So it will be fine!

2)      The ‘Backpacking’ experience

Not going to lie. I am petrified of backpacking. And staying in hostels. When I told my friends and family that was what I was going to be doing, they laughed in my face. Everyone I know who has been Backpacking seems to be so carefree. I need carefree in my life. The thought of just have one bag to live out of does, somehow, make me feel liberated! I can live without my heels and make up (I think…) and I can’t wait to put that tremendously gigantic backpack on and explore the unknown! And as for budgeting, well I’m going to try and avoid being a flash packer – I don’t want to have to start running out of cash and browsing through the Halifax online loan calculator to fund the rest of my trip!

3)      Full Moon Parties

Who doesn’t dream about getting totally sloshed on a beautiful paradise island, dancing with fire and covering each other in UV paint? C’mon… It can’t just be me!

4)      Travel ‘Friend’

I am really looking forward to meeting the locals and other fellow travellers. I can’t wait to swap tips, stories and learn about new cultures from the people who know best.

My New Home!

5)      Beaches

White golden sand, turquoise ocean and the scorching yellow sunshine. Take me to Paradise. The Islands of Thailand, Bali and the Whitsunday’s are the picture perfect places that I cannot wait to visit.

6)      Blogging

Writing a blog is such a good way of keeping your friends and family up to date while you are away and it is a practical way to pass the time on boring train or plane journeys. It’s like an online diary of all of your experiences. I love writing, it takes me away from reality and I get lost in thought. It’s always fun to look back on older posts and remember what you did and how you felt at that particular time. My site, Totally Sam’s World, opened in June 2012 and I love it. It’s a great tool to help other travellers plan their trip or give readers a giggle. I love reading other people’s blog posts too. Learning about who they are, where they have been, what they have done and listening to their tips. Blogging rocks my socks.

7)      Sharing the laughs

This is super cheesy and I am not the romantic, slushy sort. But I’m really excited to be backpacking RTW with my Boyfriend. It is always good to share awesome experiences with someone special.

8)      *NEW*

Trying new things is sometimes a little nerve wracking but it’s good to open your mind and try experiences that you haven’t tried before. I think food is going to be my biggest nemesis, as I am not normally very adventurous with it. Grotty public transport scares me too, but I am willing to giving it a go! Being a bit of an adrenalin junkie I am most looking forward to learning to surf, going skydiving, getting my PADI open water diving qualification. Bring it on!

9)      Not being in the UK

Honestly, I am not the biggest fan the UK. I love my friends and family, and a good cup of tea. But apart from that, I really won’t miss it. The majority of people are rude, the places are dull and the weather sucks. Sometimes I genuinely believe that I have lost the colour from my eye sight because the days are so grey and miserable! Routine is not for me. I want to get out of my comfort zone, get a sun tan and start my adventure, many miles away.

10)   NYE in Sydney

I have always wanted to see in the New Year, watching the fireworks in Sydney. 2013/2014 is the one. Electric atmosphere, beautiful surroundings, lots of yummy Aussie accents and a whole lot of booze. Perf.

If the idea of doing these things gives you butterflies, or if you have just turned green with envy, then get out there and make it happen!

I know it is cliché, but you only live once…  so what’s stopping you?

Top 10 Reasons I’m Looking Forward To My RTW Trip is a post from: RTWbackpackers - Taking you Backpacking Around the World

As a little background story my past 4 years of working experience has been within the SEO field. I’ve been an SEO manager for some high-end companies and have seen some amazing results within the travel industry… I’m not trying to brag I’m just trying to show I’m not plucking this information out of the air. I’m also not trying to say I’m the expert who knows everything because I certainly don’t… I just know enough. For my next few posts I’ll be doing a mini-series on some of the basics of SEO that hopefully you will be able to use and put to good use on your own sites.

The first myth I want to expel from the dark arts of SEO is that it’s hard… because it’s not. SEO is something a lot of you do without realising it. I’m going to try and explain what I know in a very basic and general manner so I’m sorry to those of you who know what you’re doing.

In a nutshell Google has these little things called spiders. Google uses these spiders to crawl through every web page on the internet and record information about that page. Once Google has all of that information it will assess what that webpage is about and will then show that page in its search results if it is deemed relevant to the search being made. This is why when you search for something like “Weather in the UK” it will show web pages that are related to showing you what the weather is like in the UK rather than a website about sausages. Occasionally you will get a webpage showing in the results that don’t match what you’ve searched for and this is usually down to bad people using nasty black-hat SEO techniques to gain top places in Google for money-making keywords… but that’s a whole different topic.

With this in mind the most basic principle of SEO is to make your site as relevant as possible for the keywords you want to show up for. What I mean by this is if you’re writing about sausages and nothing else then don’t expect to show up for searches in Google from the keyword “travel” – it just won’t happen. However if you’re hoping to show up in Google for the keyword “Australia Travel Blog” then you need to show Google that your website is a good resource for somebody that may be searching for a Travel Blog about Australia. To show Google that your travel blog is about Australia then you need to mention it somewhere on your site… this could be in the form of a few sentences on your ‘about’ page or even post tags and categories… whichever way you do it you need to make sure it’s there. If you don’t mention ‘Australia’ anywhere on your blog then how can you expect Google to recognise your blog as a resource for Australia?

If your blog is more of a general travel blog then you’re more than likely going to be relying on your posts to do the work for you. Currently 70% of my traffic comes from Google searches and that’s because I’ll make sure to have information in my posts that I know people will be looking for. As an example one of my older posts about Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary receives searches for terms such as “Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary opening times” and “How much does it cost to hold a Koala at Currumbin”. My personal blog is one of the top results for these terms because I’ve included lines in that post that refer to searches that would be made.

Googles spiders have crawled through my posts, recorded information that shows those posts having the information about the opening times and then has shown them in their results pages because they are relevant to what is being searched for. I’ve not deviated away from the post topic by putting the opening times in there… I haven’t blatantly spammed the post with keywords as they are useful bits of information for somebody reading it, but I have made it relevant for something that I know will be searched for.

As I’ve said there are many ways to make sure you’re showing up for keywords and making your site relevant is just one of them. As this is part of a mini-series I won’t dive in too deep just yet but if you’ve any questions so far leave them in a comment below and I’ll either answer you on here or send you an email if the response is too long!

A Basic Travel-Blogger SEO Guide: Keep it Relevant (Part 1) is a post from: RTWbackpackers - Taking you Backpacking Around the World