With summer vacation season just around the corner, some travel locations are already gearing up for an influx of visitors, but one Michigan company is using search engine optimization (SEO) to help boost the online visibility of some prime vacation spots.

The Michigan Business Review reports on Coast 2 Coast Vacation Rentals, an Ann Arbor-based vacation rental business that lists more than 2,500 properties in places like Hawaii, Florida and Italy.

In an effort to increase business, company owner Sonia Kaufman told the magazine that she plans to begin implementing an in-house search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to help make sure her vacation rentals show up on page one of a search engine result page.

Kaufman told the magazine that even though her company has been near the forefront of search engine optimization (SEO) and online marketing in their field, the economy is still causing the firm to try new ways to garner rentals.

"We have to work harder for the same amount of business," Kaufman said.

The tourism industry is one of the many sectors that may need to consider the use of search engine optimization (SEO) as more consumers turn to the web for their vacation planning. Earlier this year the French town of Eu announced that it was considering changing its name because it was difficult to find using search engines.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.