Many vacation rental portal websites like HomeAway.com and VRBO.com allow you to write captions underneath the photos of your home. This is a great place to further sell prospective renters on your home, as well as help the search engines find your home.

Here are a few tips for writing photo captions:

Use the space provided. The photo captions are another bit of real estate in your ad where you can potentially sell a prospective renter on your home. HomeAway allows you to write 50 characters (about 9 words) and VRBO allows you to write 80 characters (about 12 words). You';re paying for the space, why not use it?

Be as specific as possible. Each caption should describe in detail the contents of the photo. Let renters know the size of the bed, the number of guests your dining room table seats, or which mountain range your balcony overlooks.

Use area keywords. Search engines like Google and Yahoo have a special search function just for images. If you include specific area keywords (like your city name, nearby beaches, property type, condo complex) in addition to specific property information like features and amenities, your property listing is more likely to show up in these searches.

Proofread your captions for spelling, grammar, consistent capitalization, and punctuation. This is the most common place where vacation rental homeowners make spelling mistakes. Your captions don';t have to be AP-Style correct, but they also shouldn';t look like a Nigerian scammer wrote them.

Examples of Good Photo Captions:

WindanSea Beach Is Just 2.5 Blocks Away- A Short Walk from Our La Jolla Home

Relax in the Hot Tub or Play Volleyball at Silver Strand

Robert Redford Master Suite with King Size Bed and Private Bath

Enjoy a Family Barbeque in the Private Backyard Dining Area of Our La Jolla Home

© Copyright 2008, HomeAway, Inc., Updated 10/24/08.

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