If your GetYourGuide, Viator, or KKday listing isn’t ranking well, the instinct is usually to blame the algorithm. In reality, these platforms are fairly transparent about what they reward — most operators just aren’t optimizing for it.
The three factors that matter most
Reviews — quantity, recency, and response rate. A listing with 40 reviews from the last six months outranks one with 200 reviews that stopped coming in two years ago. Responding to reviews, especially negative ones, is factored in directly on most platforms — not just as a trust signal to travelers, but as a ranking input.
Conversion rate. Platforms track how often a listing view turns into a booking. A listing that gets lots of clicks but few bookings will often rank lower over time than one with fewer views but a higher conversion rate — because the platform’s own revenue depends on bookings, not views.
Photo and content quality. Generic stock-style photos and vague, keyword-stuffed descriptions underperform specific, accurate ones. Travelers can tell the difference, and so, increasingly, can the algorithms trained on traveler behavior.
What this means in practice
Optimization isn’t a one-time task. A listing set up well a year ago can slip simply because a competitor started responding to reviews faster, or because your availability calendar has quietly had gaps for a few weeks. Ranking is relative — it moves as competitors’ listings move, not just your own.
If you’re not sure where your listings currently stand, a straightforward first step is a proper audit — of the actual listing content and metrics, not guesswork.
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