How To Start A Travel Blog In India? 7 Simple Steps

Travel blogging is the art of sharing travel experiences with the goal of assisting others who are looking up to you. Although travel blogging appears to be lucrative, it is extremely difficult to establish. It’s difficult because, as you know, there’s a lot of competition out there. So it is very important to learn how to start a travel blog in India before you start producing your content.

Here in this article we will explain you How to Start a Travel Blog in India in 2022 by cover it step by step.

How to Start a Travel Blog in India?

Select a Niche for Your Content

One of the most important aspects of starting a travel blog is determining your blog’s niche. There are so many blogs, websites, and articles about travel these days that a generic new one may get lost in the crowd. It is always preferable to choose a niche. Determine whether you want to write about adventure, luxury, or budget travel, or about a specific city, and establish the tone of your blog.

Choosing a niche will also assist you in deciding on a name for your blog. Adventure Travel, City Travel, Country focused, Budget Travel, Luxury Travel, Solo Travel, Female Travel, and Heritage & Culture Travel are some of the most searched and popular blogs in India.

Choose an Attractive Domain

The next step in becoming a travel blogger is to come up with a unique domain name. By domain name, we mean the URL of your website. For example, ours is www.travelothon.com. This should ideally be done while keeping your blog’s content in mind, as your blog’s name should reflect its features. The name should ideally be easy to remember and spell.

You should also check the domain availability before deciding on a name. Because there is so much competition for good domain names these days, you may not always be able to find one that matches your name. However, if you discover a domain name that matches your name, you should immediately block it.

There should be some things that you should avoid while selecting a perfects domain name for your travel blog. Keep it short and easy to memorize as this make it easy to share over calls and verbally. Avoid overused words and this will make it look lame and cheap. Avoid hyphens and numbers to make it less complicated and easy to type and remember.

Hosting your Blog

WordPress and Blogger / Blogspot are the two most popular free blogging platforms, and which one to use is largely a matter of personal preference. We personally prefer WordPress.com due to its ease of use, beautiful themes, professional templates, degree of flexibility, and SEO potential.

But if you to go with a paid hosting service then Bluehost is also one of the most affordable options available, their live chat support team is helpful and friendly, and they can usually resolve issues within minutes, and you’ll get your domain name for free.

For this article, we would be talking about building a website using WordPress

Why use word press

We strongly advise you to use WordPress.org. WordPress powers nearly one-third of the world’s websites, ranging from small personal blogs to complex corporate sites like Sony, Time Inc., the New York Post, and NBC. WordPress is only one of the free site builders and content management systems available to users, but it has unique features that have helped it become the most popular content management system in use today.

It offers many free themes, plugins and user friendly features that will help you to design your web age from scratch and mold it in whatever way you want. Also, WordPress sites rank higher on Google and they are also mobile friendly which means that they also look good when viewed on small mobile devices. Other then all these features, their community support is also top notch.

Set up your site

Select an appropriate theme

You can go for a free theme or for a premium theme. But make sure that your theme suits the type of content that you are going to provide on your site. Don’t keep a too fancy theme and keep it simple. A premium theme, on the other hand, is required for serious blogging. Free themes have limitations, and you will not be able to customise them to your liking.

Premium themes provide more customization, run faster, and look better. For premium themes, GeneratePress and Elementor Pro are excellent choices as they offer wide range of customization and support.

Choose a logo

Logo is one of the first things that create an impression on the users. And as they say your first impression is the last ., so it would make sense to have a good logo don’t you think?

There are many online tools that you can use to create your logo design and they also offer ready made logos that you can select.

Set up your site

Create an eye-catching header for your blog. Finally, design a few pages for your blog. If you are unsure of your design abilities, you can use Fiverr and Upwork to hire someone who knows the job.

Initially, I would advise against investing a lot of time and money in these. You can always do your own site design once you’re comfortable with your blog and have a sizable following.

Install essential Plugins

Plugins are third-party apps for your site that improve the functionality of your blog and give you access to a plethora of new features. We have listed some important plugins that you will need for blogging journey.

Rank Math: If you have a travel blog and want to increase your search traffic, you should install the Rank Math SEO plugin. It’s a WordPress optimization plugin that aids in the optimization of your blog posts for specific keywords.

WP Rocket: One of the most important factors that contribute to the success of your website is its speed. Get a premium caching plugin like WP Rocket if you want to speed up your page loading times.

Yoast SEO: SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is critical for ranking high in Google searches. Yoast SEO will optimise your posts and pages for SEO while also assisting with the integration of Google Sitemaps and analytics.

Akismet Anti-Spam: With over 5 million active downloads, Akismet is one of the most popular WordPress plugins.

This free WordPress plugin automatically checks all comments and filters out spam comments, preventing spammers from linking to your site.

Social media sharing plugin: Have you ever wondered how the Facebook or Twitter share button floats on a blog post? That is done by the social media sharing plugin. On our website, we use the Sumo plugin for social share buttons.

Start creating content

When you’ve finished configuring your blog and installing a premium theme, it’s time to start creating new content. You can write your first blog post on a variety of topics, or you can simply use it to introduce yourself and the topics you’ll be covering on your blog.

Here are some quick tips for producing high-quality content for your travel blog.

Optimize for long-tail keywords: To increase search traffic to your site, use long-tail keywords. A long-tail keyword is one that contains three or more words. For example, “how to start a travel blog for free” is an 8-word long-tail keyword. Long-tail keywords, rather than short-tail keywords like “travel blog,” can help you rank higher.

Always prioritise quality: Only publish high-quality, informative blog posts. Publishing one High-quality article is preferable to posting five mediocre blog posts. Try to publish articles with a word count of 2000 or more because they tend to rank well in Google and receive a lot of social shares.

Maintain consistency: Set a posting schedule for your blog. Make use of an editorial calendar. Even if you only post three times a month, stick to that schedule because consistency is important.

How to make money by blogging?

Honestly, blogging is not the easiest way to earn money. It requires a lot of time and dedication to perfect your content and learn what your audience actually needs. You need a nicely developed site and content before you start earning. Once your blog is up and running, you can (finally!) start looking into ways to monetize it. A well established can expect to make about Rs 20k to Rs 50k per month but this value is not fixed. It all depends on how much you work on your site and what steps you take to make money.

These are the best and simplest ways for a blogger to make money:

Use affiliate marketing on your blog:

Affiliate marketing works by inserting tracked affiliate links into the body of your blog’s text. Every time a reader clicks through to a site you recommend and makes a purchase, you can earn a small commission.

The links will direct readers to a brand’s website, and the money you receive is your way of saying “thank you” for directing some of your lovely readers to their site.

Almost all online eCommerce websites, such as Amazon, ASOS, and Apple, have some kind of affiliate programme.

Add banner adverts to your website

You can sell banner advertising space on your blog page to brands that are relevant to your readers as a more visual form of advertising.

Advertisements can appear anywhere, but they are most commonly seen at the top of blog pages or in the sidebar.

You can make money in one of two ways. CPC (cost per click) means you’ll get a fixed payment for every reader who clicks on the ad, whereas CPM (cost per thousand) means you’ll get a fixed payment for every 1,000 ‘impressions’ the ad receives.

Write advertorials and sponsored content

Offering sponsored content opportunities is one of the best ways to monetize a blog (or advertorials). These are essentially paid advertisements in the form of an article or blog post.

For instance, if Make My Trip releases a new tour package and you have a blog about Travel, they may offer to pay you to write an article about their collection. You might be able to add some affiliate links on top as well.

Direct Advertisements

Direct advertisements are another great way to monetize your blog. For example, if you have a well-established blog, you can directly contact brands and ask them to place advertisements on your site. Alternatively, you could form a partnership with agencies to accomplish the same thing.

Physical or digital product offerings

Many bloggers monetize their blogs by establishing a presence on an ecommerce platform, creating an online store, and selling products. Your products could be either physical or digital in nature. In the case of an adventure travel blog, you could sell t-shirts with your logo or digital guidebooks to exotic locations.

Sell your Travel pics and videos

You can easily sell your travel pics and videos to sponsored and other travel sites. But to do so your image quality and photography skills should be good. You can learn these skills from other bloggers via YouTube and courses. This will be a good investment and will pay you good sum of money.

Best Travel Blogs in India

There are many popular travel blogs in India that you can take inspiration from.

Shivya Nath

Meet an adventurer on a mission to encourage other young women to travel alone and be self-sufficient. Shivya Nath accomplishes this through her award-winning blog, The Shooting Star. Sharing her knowledge and tips on how to travel like a local earned her the title of Best Travel Blogger at the Indian Blogger Awards, and she continues to pique people’s interest in off-the-beaten-path destinations. It’s always inspiring to hear about someone who left the corporate world to work as a full-time traveller – and Nath’s story is absolutely fascinating.

Blog: https://the-shooting-star.com/

Karthik Reddy

With his MBA in hand, Karthik Reddy realised he was ready to leave his comfort zone and hit the road in 2012. His passion soon led to the creation of his travel blog, Romancing The Planet, where he shares travel stories, advice, and his favourite photos. This is a blogger who is passionate about world cuisines, discovering cultures, and meeting new people. Check out his blog – it’s like having a (new) best friend assisting you in gaining the confidence to venture into new pastures.

Blog: https://www.addsomecurry.com/

Anuradha Goyal

When it comes to discovering new places, this gypsy woman who has made travel her life’s passion is unstoppable. Anuradha Goyal’s innate wanderlust has taken her to nearly every state in India as well as 15 countries beyond its borders. Her travel blog, which she has been writing since 2004, is a lovely virtual diary full of inspiring stories and rich and useful information about the history and culture of the places she visits. She is also a book critic and the author of The Mouse Charmers: India’s Digital Pioneers.

Blog: https://www.inditales.com/

Lakshmi Sharath

Lakshmi Sharath is a well-known name in the Indian travel blogger community as a full-time traveller, photographer, journalist, and blogger. She gave up the security of a 15-year corporate career to travel the world, and she has since visited more than 25 countries. Her blog encourages solo female travellers to pursue their dreams of exploring the world on their own. Her blog contains several inspiring stories about travelling to national and international destinations. In 2008, she received the award for India’s Best Travel Blog.

Blog: https://lakshmisharath.com/

Arnab Maity

Arnab Maity, a well-known photographer and travel writer, credits a motorcycle trip to Bhutan with changing his life. Arnab’s story is featured by Lonely Planet, and knowing him further would be more than just interesting. Simultaneously, he is receiving professional assignments from a variety of sectors, including photo agencies and non-profit organisations.

We can tell from his blog “arnabmaity.com” that he has a strong desire to reshape the world with his camera lenses. The beautiful frames the world adjusts in front of his camera are the most thrilling glimpses you can find on his blog, and poetry obviously lies over.

Blog: http://www.arnabmaity.com/

Parnashree Devi

Devi, also known as Shree, is an Assamese travel blogger who started My Travel Diary to share her personal travel stories. The originality of her observations shines through. She enjoys travelling to remote parts of the world, meeting locals, tasting their food, and learning about different cultures. Devi hopes that her blog will inspire others to pack their bags and venture outside of their comfort zones.

Blog: https://www.traveldiaryparnashree.com/

Shalu Sharma

Shalu Sharma is one of the most knowledgeable travel bloggers we’ve come across, writing about her beloved home country of India with poetic fluency and insight. This proud housewife and mother from Bihar, an eastern state bordering Nepal, is passionate about the outdoors, sightseeing, and India travels, which she writes about whenever she has the opportunity. Her goal is to provide factual, valuable information to visitors to India, such as places of interest, best times to visit, what to pack, vaccination requirements, and everything in between.

Blog: https://www.shalusharma.com/

Sankara

When Sankara is on the road, he is at his happiest. Among India’s most popular bloggers, he considers travel to be not only his passion, but also his life and career. He became a full-time travel blogger after leaving his 8-year corporate job. His adventures have taken him to all corners of the globe, and he has visited every continent! Some of his blog posts have even appeared in the Deccan Chronicle and National Geographic Traveller India magazines. You can rely on this blog for information on wildlife travel, budget trips, backpacking, and surviving as a vegetarian while on tour.

Blog: https://www.beontheroad.com/

Venkat Ganesh

When it comes to a motorcycle road trip, then Venkat Ganesh’s blog will open your eyes wide open. Venkat Ganesh is a legendary rider who is best known for his incredible solo bike trip in 2011 that inspired him to quit his job. He began travelling on his bike, eager to learn about different places and people. His blog, ‘India Backpack Motorbike,’ documents some of his incredible travel experiences. You will be astounded by the exciting stories that were unplanned but turned out to be the most thrilling.

Blog: https://indiabackpackmotorbike.com/

Prasad NP

Some travel blogs focus on destinations, while others focus on journeys. Prasad NP’s blog discusses not only the destinations and journeys, but also what he discovers in these places. Unlike most travel bloggers, he takes his family on his trips. So, if you’re looking for detailed information about places to visit with your family, don’t overlook this blog. His posts are primarily concerned with exploring the human aspect of the places he visits. The blog also contains reviews of hotels and resorts.

Blog: http://desitraveler.com/

Best Travel Vloggers in India

Tanya Khanijow

In 2012, she launched a YouTube channel under her own name. Tanya Khanijow is a passionate solitary female traveller. In the case of female solo travel, it can be more difficult than for men. But she has accepted all of the hardships and continues to travel. Her bravery has inspired many women who wish to travel the world without fear of being judged.

She gained over 855k subscribers on his YouTube Channel by sharing critical knowledge in over 117 videos. She has travelled to eight countries, including London (UK), California (USA), Namibia (Africa), Nepal, Bali, Bhutan, and others.

YouTube Channel: Tanya Khanijow

Navankur Chaudhary

For those who are unfamiliar with him, Navankur Chaudhary is a doctor who aspires to visit every country once in his lifetime. He is the fifth most popular Indian travel vlogger, with over 923K subscribers.

Navankur began travelling on October 13, 2017, and by 2020, he had visited more than 14 nations, including South Korea, Japan, Russia, Iraq, Egypt, and Israel. He covers all of the expenses he incurred while travelling in his vlogs.

YouTube Channel: Yatri Doctor

Mithilesh Yadav

Mithilesh Yadav is from Mumbai and has a 9-to-5 job in addition to YouTube. According to him, he enjoys travelling, meeting new people, and establishing new acquaintances. He was born in Mumbai on December 7, 1993. He’s a well-known travel vlogger. On February 29, 2016, he launched his YouTube channel.

He only started vlogging in November 2017, when he recorded his first video on a trip to Malaysia. Mithilesh has visited every major South East Asian country, including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. He has a 0.78 percent engagement rate.

Mithilesh has travelled throughout Asia and parts of Africa, earning him one of India’s most popular travel YouTube channels.

YouTube Channel: Mithilesh Backpacker

Deepanshu Sangwan

One of the most popular Indian travel vloggers on YouTube, he began his journey in 2017. He was born in Maharashtra and has a BBA (Marketing) degree. From 2015 to 2016, he worked as a Telemarketing executive and Sales Executive. Then he launched the “Nomadic Indian” YouTube channel, which has since become the top Indian channel.

He visited more than 12 countries in the last three years, which may appear to be a short time, but it was enough for him to become a Top Indian vlogger. “Live the life you’ve always wanted!” he says.

YouTube Channel: Nomadic Indian

Varun Vagish

Varun Vagish is the top Indian travel vlogger on YouTube right now. Dr. Varun Vagish is a former journalist from Delhi with a PhD in Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. He has also visited more than 20 nations around the world during his travels.

He also published over 400 videos to his YouTube channel, spanning the United States, Canada, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Serbia, Thailand, Bali, Kirgizstan, Italy, Turkey, Russia, and many other countries.

YouTube Channel: Mountain Trekker

Mohit Manocha

Mohit Manocha is YouTube’s second most popular Indian travel vlogger. He visited almost 25 nations in less than three years while staying in the same place. He was born in Faridabad, together with an IT entrepreneur who became a YouTube vlogger.

In 2019, he moved to Canada and enjoys spending time with his family. Furthermore, his YouTube account has over 1.69 million subscribers. He creates daily vlogs and uploads them to his channel. He is primarily interested in low-budget solo travel and the culture of new places.

Within three years, he has uploaded over 560 videos.

YouTube Channel: Traveling Desi

Shubham Kumar

Shubham decided to travel the world after graduating from high school rather than attend college. He has stated that “it was the best move he had ever made.” In 2019, he launched his own YouTube channel, Nomad Shubham. This 18-year-old man has visited 40 countries, including Russia, Thailand, China, Kazakhstan, and South Africa.

He has over 2.12 million subscribers on his YouTube account and has produced over 200 videos. This guy frequently travels around the world via hitchhiking and couchsurfing (it allows stay with locals). He has demonstrated that you do not need a million dollars to complete a 1000-mile expedition.

YouTube Channel: Nomad Shubham

Jasminder Singh

Jasminder Singh, also known as Jaysn, is the owner of the YouTube channel JS flicks. Jaysn is a typical example of a ‘extrovert on a bike,’ with an incredible capacity to connect with his audience, thanks to his witty humour and Desi flair. You’ll frequently find yourself laughing out loud when watching his videos.

He is a bike enthusiast who shares their vision of riding throughout the world. He creates videos about bicycling lifestyle, bike reviews, travel route videos, store visits, bike launches, destination features, culture/heritage of various parts of India, and custom motorcycles, among other things. On August 2, 2013, he created his YouTube channel. He is a motorcycle enthusiast in India.

YouTube Channel: JS Films

Nikhil Sharma

Nikhil is a travel vlogger on YouTube with 3.9 million subscribers and 1.1 billion total views! He has travelled the length and breadth of India, vlogging and publishing his trips on his YouTube channel from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Kutch to Sikkim. Nikhil’s vlog from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is a must-see.

Due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances, he had to relocate his starting point from Srinagar to Jammu. However, as he points out, you must be willing to accept these changes in plans in order to enjoy the journey! Stop and gaze into the beautiful Gurudongmar lake near the Chinese border, or go up to Gangtok’s famous Banjhakri waterfall.

YouTube Channel: Mumbiker Nikhil

Gaurav Taneja

Gaurav Taneja, often known as the Flying Beast, is one of the most prominent Indian travel YouTubers, with over 7.54 million subscribers. He’s also a gym junkie, nutritionist, lifestyle expert, hands-on dad, certified commercial pilot, and aspiring lawyer.

Did you know Gaurav Taneja’s other YouTube channel established a world record by gaining 1 lakh subscribers in just 98 minutes? Or how about the daring pilot who challenged his old employer, AirAsia, one of India’s major airlines, for safety violations?

Gaurav’s daring demeanour, down-to-earth personality, hilarious health and fitness tips, fascinating holiday vlogs, and charming family vlogs have helped him develop a dedicated following across numerous social media platforms, including YouTube, where he has an engagement rate of more than 2.01%.

YouTube Channel: Flying Beast

And there you have it. A perfect guide to how to start a Travel Blog in India. If you find this article useful then make sure to like and share this article. If you want to give any important points to improve this article then you can do so in the comment section down below.

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