How to Improve Your Search Rank on Hipcamp

Hot dang! You’ve taken the first step towards Hipcamp Host greatness by caring about your camp’s visibility in Hipcamper searches.

Your land is so wonderfully unique that we’ve designed a special system to make sure it always gets the right eyes on it. We do this by assigning a search rank to each camp based on a wide variety of factors, many of which you can impact, some of which are dependent on the Hipcamper’s personal needs and tastes.

How it works

Think of it this way: if your camp were a cake, everything you’ve told us on your camp page would be the recipe. Hipcampers tell us which ingredients they love, so we’ll increase your rank if you sprinkle those in.

Some Hipcampers might filter their search for marble cakes, some for triple-layer, some for red velvet—if you’ve got what that specific Hipcamper is hankering for, it’s our goal to connect you. And the more Hipcampers tell us about how delectable your cake is—which, duh, it totally is—the higher your rank gets.

Piece of cake, right?

Fortunately for you, we’ve got the recipe for success below. Check it out.

Ingredients

• Location (what the Hipcamper searches)
• Positive recommendations and reviews
• Camp freshness
• Instantly bookable or quick response rate
• Camp quality (price, photos, amenities—more on this below!)

Recipe for search success

1. Use your freshness boost to get your first booking

You only get the freshness boost once, so you should take full advantage in order to get your first booking. We suggest you:

• Seriously lower your price for the first 30 days
• Consider switching to Instant Book
• Add at least 10 good photos of your camp
• Share the heck out of your camp on social

2. Make sure your first Hipcamper review is positive

This is the number one thing you can do to set yourself up for success as a Hipcamp Host. Here are the easiest ways to get your Hipcamper to leave you a positive recommendation and review:

• Triple-check that your directions are correct
• Add on-site signage for parking, the camp, and toilet to ensure easy check-in
• Make sure your camp is ready—clean, clutter-free, and comfortable
• Be responsive and communicative with the Hipcamper

Getting your first positive recommendation and review will make future Hipcampers more comfortable booking with you.

3. Add desirable amenities

Hipcampers are more likely to search for and book camps that offer awesome amenities. Specifically, after surveying more than 1,000 Hipcampers, we found that camps with these amenities get booked most often:

• Fire pits
• Toilets
• Being pet-friendly

Depending on your land, some of these might not be possible, which is totally okay. We know you’re going to deliver an awesome Hipcamper experience no matter what and we’ll be here to help along the way. Just drop us a line if you want more support.