What Are the Top Google Searches for Europe River Cruises?
By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Today, we all do searches for information on the web. By far, Google is the number one search engine in use today. Basically, Google uses keywords to find the information you are looking for from other sources—websites, blogs and other items posted to the world-wide web. While the goal of most is to be on page one of Google, the basic question is—is the information accurate and useful to the user just because it is on page one of Google?
So, I thought I would go into a minefield and tell you about what folks are looking for on the web about Europe River Cruises. Why is it a minefield?—it is often hard to tell how accurate the information is about Europe River Cruises and the vendors and writers often sing the praises of Europe River Cruising, without adequately defending their views.
Let’s go together, with open eyes and see how we would answer these most searched topics—not only will we answer the question but tell you where we rank on Google—but please remember, just because it is popular, it doesn’t mean it is the best available information.
Also, you may Google these topics and get slightly different results, so we must consider this a snapshot at best for 1 and 2 May 2019.
My first Search—“Top Google Searches For Europe River Cruises”
Here is the Title Photo we used for the Best Europe River Cruise Company Blog
Well, to my complete surprise, we came in #1 with “What is the Best Europe River Cruise Company?—Dream Destinations”—a blog I wrote. While I think this is a great article, there may be a little search engine optimization (SEO) here—I began the article about googling what is the best Europe river cruise company and the lack of great results (my term was “interesting”). This article covers 8 river cruise line companies and their advantages and disadvantages. For us, the good news it beats some high ranking web sources—Cruise Critic, KAYAK, the River Cruise Advisor, Travel + Leisure Magazine and Mundy’s (a UK travel company).
However, I always also look at the section “people also asked”, so let’s see the results of these searches next.
From the People Also Ask is “What is the Most Popular River Cruise in Europe?”
Here is the Title Photo we used for the Best Europe River Cruise Route Guide
Just to show how a great article can sometimes miss the mark, our web page Best European River Cruise Routes Guide—Dream Destinations ranks 100 on Google—last on page 10. Again, this may be a lot of SEO here—the key part of our page is an evaluation of each route and it this a great resource for all routes—not just the most popular routes,
So what were the Google results on page one for the most popular route—Frommer’s, Travel + Leisure and Mundy show up in the top spots. They are joined by AAA, Cruise Critic and Far and Wide.
In my opinion, this is a bad search when researching Europe River Cruises. Why?—popular just means a lot go on the route—it sure doesn’t mean it is the best route for your vacation. This is one of the central questions about Google searches—are you asking the right question?
So, I would search for Europe River Cruise Route Guides. The results—we are # 2, behind Conde Nast Traveler.
Does this help you see clearly the difference in asking the proper question on Google?
Next on the People Also Asked is “Which is the Best River Cruise Company in Europe?”
Here is one of the slides from our Europe River Cruise Company Comparisons 2019
Our Europe River Cruise Company Comparisons 2019—Dream Destinations comes in at #24.
This may be the most confusing search of all the different topics on Europe River Cruising. Why?—the vendor companies and larger magazines and review services dominate this category. Since I am unaware of any of the 8 river cruise companies who have not won some type of award for their company—these distinctions are a lot of judgement and opinion. Even ours, has some of this bias, but we have tried to eliminate it as much as possible.
Perhaps a better search would be Advantage and Disadvantage of Europe River Cruise Lines. Wow—what a difference for us—there is one above us and we have the next 4 top spots.
We all seem to want the best, yet best alone is so subjective—we just think this is a better way to look at Europe River Cruise Companies, using an advantage and disadvantages search topic.
What is the Best Time to River Cruise in Europe?
Our 2018 Christmas Markets Cruise—this is one of 7 Christmas Markets in Cologne, Germany
We did not rank in the top 100 in Google. Even though I have never directly addressed this question, I have written about spring cruises (tulip time cruises) and Christmas cruises. Also, hidden in some other blogs, I talk about the differences in times to river cruise in Europe. I see this as an Advantage Disadvantage question of the different seasons but people search for the best time. So after looking at this topic, it is clear I need to write a comprehensive blog about the best time to river cruise in Europe.
What Should I Pack for a European River Cruise?
Anne’s Rolling Carry-on bags when she travels to Europe
We did not rank in the top 100 in Google. But never, fear, we have answered this question in a blog and on our website. Here is what I wrote from the FAQ’s blog
What is the dress code?
River cruising is casual. No formal wear is required. For the dinner meal, most men wear slacks and a nice shirt. Some men will wear a sports coat--maybe a tie for the Captain's dinner, but it is not required or even expected.
Anne & Hank at the Captain’s Dinner Table—by far, the most dressed up we would be on a Europe River Cruise
Women usually wear comfortable clothes during the day for sightseeing. At night you will see the ladies a tad bit more dressed up with blouses, slacks or dresses but seldom will you see formal wear.
Maybe the best way to define the dress code is casual elegant for dinner and comfortable day time wear during the day.
So, do you see the problem here in our post on the FAQ Blog—I used Dress Code instead of highlighting a packing list for Europe River Cruises.
Anne also wrote a great blog about packing. The title was—Don’t Pack Stress in Your Vacation. Here is the link https://visitdd.wordpress.com/2016/06/09/dont-pack-stress-in-your-vacation/. It is a great article, well written and very informative but the title misses the mark—it must include the key words pack and Europe River Cruise to rank on Google.
Europe River Cruise Comparisons
Douglas Ward Individual Ship Ratings
We rank #7 for our web page—Europe River Cruise Companies 2019. I have looked at all the competition on page one and there is nothing as complete as our 86 slide PDF comparisons. That is not to say the others aren’t good—in fact all ahead of us are excellent. The River Cruise Advisor holds the top 3 spots, followed by 2 articles from Travel + Leisure and one from Cruise Critic. Only the River Cruise Advisor has as comprehensive information as we do, in my humble opinion.
Europe River Cruise Blogs
We ranked # 3 for Our 5 Best River Cruise Blogs—Dream Destinations—last night (Wednesday) when I was writing and researching this. This morning Google doesn’t list this article at all and we come in #11 for our Archive page. This points out another weakness of Google—it is such a fluid system, it sometimes ignores great content on some days, yet finds it on other days.
Again, I will step into the minefield—I think we are near the top blogging about Europe River Cruising—we are consistent and cover most of the subjects folks are searching for.
My Final Thoughts
I hope you found this interesting—I did, as it helps us refine what we write about. For me, however, it reinforces what we are all about—reliable, useful information about Europe River Cruising. We must be doing something right to be ranked so highly in so many searches.
It also helps defend our claim that We Are Europe River Cruise Experts!
We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise experts, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.
When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision making process. We think we have all these qualities.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 45 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
