Words from the Pros: SEO, AI and Digital Transformation Strategies in Tourism by 2026
Summary
From a passion for service to the creation of Astrak
What motivated you to create Astrak and develop a long-term vision for SEO?
Léo Poitevin:
I created Astrak quite naturally, starting with what I truly loved doing. Of all the business models I know, the service model is by far the one I find the most human. Affiliate marketing is very solitary, and SaaS requires a huge amount of development and time investment, especially at the beginning. At that particular moment, the agency model was also the most financially viable for me, so I simply applied a fairly basic principle in entrepreneurship: double down where it works.
The long-term vision of SEO came almost instinctively. If you don't think long-term, no one really has any interest in working with you. SEO is a lever that takes time, requires trust, consistency, and a genuine vision. More broadly, I believe that the long term is the only healthy way to build anything, whether it's a client relationship, a team, or a company. Doing things without being committed to the long term, in my opinion, doesn't make much sense.
From technical SEO to sustainable visibility
What is the difference between good technical SEO and a sustainable visibility strategy?
Léo Poitevin:
Good technical SEO is a prerequisite, not an end in itself. We sometimes forget that SEO always rests on three fundamental pillars: technical aspects, content, and link building. To simplify, we could say that each accounts for roughly a third, although the exact weight depends heavily on the type of website and the industry.
Technology allows a website to be crawlable, understandable, and perform well. Without it, nothing works properly. But a sustainable visibility strategy goes far beyond that. It relies on a genuine content strategy aligned with user intent, a consistent and progressive popularity strategy, and continuous technical optimizations, particularly in UX and navigation. It is these three levers, combined and developed over time, that allow you to build solid visibility.
Towards smarter and higher-quality link building
How do you see the evolution of link building with AI and algorithm changes?
Léo Poitevin:
Netlinking has long been treated in a rather crude way, almost like an undifferentiated raw material. PageRank was piled up like gravel, with the main consideration being volume and cost.
I think this approach is evolving. We're moving towards something much more granular and qualitative. Links will no longer just be there to convey popularity, but also to position content, get mentions, appear in lists, and feed search engines and generative AI. Each placement will have to be considered as a unique opportunity, with relevant content capable of ranking on its own.
There will always be a need for more basic link building, but the industry should gradually move towards finer, more selected strategies, close to quality guest blogging or so-called parasitic strategies, where each publication has real intrinsic value.
LinkaVista: making the link building market more transparent and fluid
What is your vision for the future of link building with LinkaVista?
Léo Poitevin:
With LinkaVista, our goal is quite simple: to bring more transparency, clarity, and efficiency to a market that sorely lacks it. We want to offer an easy-to-use marketplace with low prices, a very large catalog, and actionable data.
We deliberately remain agnostic about metrics. Rather than imposing a single interpretation of the market, we highlight what actually works: the most purchased and most appreciated sites, and the best-performing placements. Much like a consumer marketplace, where usage and feedback are what generate value.
Ultimately, the ambition is to become a benchmark in France and internationally, with an ever-expanding catalogue, even more competitive prices and a truly seamless shopping experience.
Investing wisely in tourism SEO
What advice would you give to a tourism brand that wants to invest wisely in SEO?
Léo Poitevin:
There is no single answer, because tourism encompasses very different realities. A hotel, a travel agency, a flight comparison site, or a marketplace do not have the same challenges at all.
That said, the fundamentals remain the same. You need a technically sound website, genuinely useful content for users, and a strong distribution and promotion strategy. My main advice would be to start small and very targeted. Identify a specific angle, a specialty, a topic you can master, produce a lot of quality content around that focus, and then gradually expand once you've established a strong position.
In the tourism industry, many things work very well: editorial content on tours and destinations, programmatic advertising for routes or cities, reviews, and comparisons. Major players like Booking and Airbnb are also excellent sources of inspiration in terms of content structure and depth.
SEO consultants: towards market polarization with AI
How do you see the evolution of the SEO consultant profession with AI?
Léo Poitevin:
AI and automation are clearly changing the game, but they don't eliminate the need for human expertise. Companies still need reassurance, a clear and contextualized opinion, and to feel that an expert truly understands their specific situation.
In the medium term, I see two main possible trajectories for agencies. Either strong automation, with highly automated, SaaS-like offerings at lower prices. Or a move upmarket, with highly personalized, more expensive support based on experience, advice, and strategic decision-making.
What will become very difficult is the middle ground. Cheap but low-quality offers will be caught between AI on one side and premium agencies on the other.
High value-added B2B media
What role for B2B media and analytics platforms in tourism?
Léo Poitevin:
B2B media have an important role to play, but only if they provide real added value. Simply republishing news or generic content is becoming less and less differentiating.
What works are in-depth analyses, strategic breakdowns, and concrete case studies. Showing how one player gained an advantage over another, explaining the mechanisms, and proposing applicable methodologies. This type of content truly contributes to the professional development of experts and their digital transformation.
2026: Consolidation of Astrak and international expansion of LinkaVista
What is the 2026 roadmap for Astrak and LinkaVista?
Léo Poitevin:
At Astrak, the primary objective is to continue what we're already doing very well. The offering is solid, the strategy is working, and customer confidence is there. The main challenge is organizational: further strengthening the quality of delivery, structuring the team, and maintaining a very high level of operational standards.
For LinkaVista, 2026 will be clearly focused on international expansion. We want to accelerate growth, significantly expand our catalog, ideally reaching 100,000 websites, and continue to lower prices to remain extremely competitive. Our ambition is to generate an increasing share of our revenue outside of France and establish ourselves as a key player in international link building.
About Léo Poitevin
Founder and CEO ofAstrak, an SEO agency working with brands such as Interflora, Green Brothers, and Selectra, Léo Poitevin also develops LinkaVista, a marketplace dedicated to link building. At just 30 years old, he has established himself as one of the rising stars of SEO and digital visibility in France.
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