Google My Business: why is it essential for your hotel?
Marketing 17/03/2022
Since its creation in June 2014, Google My Business has become a very popular tool due to its usefulness for all businesses and, especially, for hotels. The numbers speak for themselves: 49% of company listings on Google My Business receive more than 1,000 visits per month . In this article, we tell you why Google My Business has become so popular and we give you reasons to integrate it into your digital strategy if you have not already done so.
Google My Business (GMB) is a Google service that displays relevant information about any business on the results page based on the user's search.
This information is stored in files that each owner manages and fills out. On many occasions, our hotel listing is the first point of contact with our potential guest. Our audience will be able to easily obtain information such as the hotel's telephone number, email address, a link to its website, and will have access to reviews from former guests.
These factors make Google My Business automatically improve your positioning on the Google results page:
Signing up for Google My Business is very simple and fluid. You only need a Gmail email account to have access to the service. To create your Google My Business listing you must follow these steps:
The best thing about Google My Business is that all its features are 100% free, so you won't have to take out your credit card at any time. Once Google has completed the verification process for your hotel listing, your target audience will be able to easily find it and write reviews about their experience at your hotel. For your part, you can continue perfecting the content of your GMB.
The first trick to maximizing your hotel's GMB listing is to complete, complete and keep completing. Take advantage of all the space you have to provide relevant data for Google and your potential guests. Don't leave any gaps unfilled as long as you can provide something of value that can help position your hotel.
Don't forget to include the keyword your audience is searching for you with in your H1 header (the title) and in the description. If you do not include your keyword, the city where your hotel is located or the name of your hotel establishment in the title, you risk losing visibility.
Avoid keyword stuffing or excessive accumulation of keywords at all costs. Abusing keywords in your posts, descriptions and titles can lead to a penalty from Google. In some cases, your Google My Business may choose to delete your listing directly if it detects this violation.
It is highly recommended that you upload attractive photos of your hotel and its facilities to brighten the eyes of your future guest. Your audience is more convinced by a photo of the rooms and breakfasts than by any list of services and products.
When uploading images of your hotel to Google My Business, we advise you to do the following:
Place the url of your official website to increase your visits and guide users. Google My Business also implements a functionality to redirect your users to a booking page. By enabling a button to check availability, you will speed up this process and your customers will be able to book rooms at your hotel more easily.
If you want to take the price war one step further and cajole your client with your best price, in Google My Business you can indicate your best price on your hotel listing. This functionality is activated in Hotel Ads, also for free. In this sense, we take this opportunity to remember that at Paraty Tech we are Google integration partners and that the mere fact of working with us implies appearing directly in sections as interesting as the Free Booking Links.
The “Hotel details” section lists all the features of your hotel, its facilities and services, namely:
Google My Business reserves a space for you that you can dedicate to answering the questions written by users who visit your listing. This way, you will be able to complete your file with information that was previously missing. This also makes it possible for you to engage with your audience and show a more human side of your hotel.
The more positive reviews you have, the better. User reviews that contain words with positive connotations such as “phenomenal”, “perfect”, “the best hotel”, etc. They help Google to consider that your brand and your services are valuable to users. In turn, if you get your guests to use keywords from your business, you will further enhance your positioning. Remember that Google trusts your customers more than you.
This is why you should encourage your guests to write reviews on the hotel's Google My Business listing after their stay. Google recommends that you frequently interact with your customers on GMB by responding to their reviews, as it shows special attention to your customers and your company. Customer satisfaction is one of the best means of promotion.
This dynamic can work in the opposite direction, as negative reviews can damage your reputation and ranking. To combat fake and malicious reviews, Google has been adopting stricter measures. Last year, Google removed 55 million reviews and 3 million fake profiles.
Google My Business also offers metrics so you can measure and analyze your users' interactions chronologically. With this data you will be able to know your audience better and improve the positioning of your hotel on Google.
The most interesting metrics are:
As you have seen, Google My Business is a tool extended to any business due to its ease of use and its free nature. It helps improve your traffic, your web positioning and provides valuable information to search engines and your users.
The best way to optimize your hotel's GMB listing is to fill out all possible fields using keywords and obtain positive reviews from your guests. Google My Business provides you with valuable information by analyzing in detail all user interactions with your hotel listing.
If you liked this article about Google My Business, do not hesitate to leave a comment and share it on your networks so that your contacts discover how wonderful this digital tool is.
What is Google My Business and how can it improve the positioning of my hotel?
Google My Business (GMB) is a Google service that displays relevant information about any business on the results page based on the user's search.
This information is stored in files that each owner manages and fills out. On many occasions, our hotel listing is the first point of contact with our potential guest. Our audience will be able to easily obtain information such as the hotel's telephone number, email address, a link to its website, and will have access to reviews from former guests.
These factors make Google My Business automatically improve your positioning on the Google results page:
- You can exploit your main keywords in this additional commercial space. This will make you gain visibility to your target audience.
- You generate traffic to your hotel's website , which will mean an extra influx of traffic and an increase in the number of visits.
- It is essential for local SEO as it is linked to Google Maps. 86% of users find the location of your hotel on Google Maps. With a GMB listing your guests will find you much more easily.
- Positive reviews from your guests attract the attention of Google, which values them highly.
How does Google My Business work?
Signing up for Google My Business is very simple and fluid. You only need a Gmail email account to have access to the service. To create your Google My Business listing you must follow these steps:
- Access the Google My Business registration and enter your hotel's email address.
- Fill in some basic information such as hotel location, categories, contact information, etc.
- Choose a verification method for your GMB account. You can verify it by email, phone number and even through Google Search Console.
- Once verified, Google will take a maximum of two weeks to display your GMB listing. We recommend that you do not modify the initial data you entered while waiting, as the verification process could take even longer.
The best thing about Google My Business is that all its features are 100% free, so you won't have to take out your credit card at any time. Once Google has completed the verification process for your hotel listing, your target audience will be able to easily find it and write reviews about their experience at your hotel. For your part, you can continue perfecting the content of your GMB.
How to optimize Google My Business for SEO?
The first trick to maximizing your hotel's GMB listing is to complete, complete and keep completing. Take advantage of all the space you have to provide relevant data for Google and your potential guests. Don't leave any gaps unfilled as long as you can provide something of value that can help position your hotel.
Keywords
Don't forget to include the keyword your audience is searching for you with in your H1 header (the title) and in the description. If you do not include your keyword, the city where your hotel is located or the name of your hotel establishment in the title, you risk losing visibility.
Avoid keyword stuffing or excessive accumulation of keywords at all costs. Abusing keywords in your posts, descriptions and titles can lead to a penalty from Google. In some cases, your Google My Business may choose to delete your listing directly if it detects this violation.
Images
It is highly recommended that you upload attractive photos of your hotel and its facilities to brighten the eyes of your future guest. Your audience is more convinced by a photo of the rooms and breakfasts than by any list of services and products.
When uploading images of your hotel to Google My Business, we advise you to do the following:
- The ideal size is 720 px high and 720 px wide for mobile and computer of any size.
- Your images must be of high quality . Use a good camera and photograph the most attractive corners of your hotel. Upload them in PNG or JPG format preferably.
- Add categories to your images . These can be exterior, interior, services, products or personnel.
- Encourage your guests to attach their own images to their reviews after enjoying their stay. Google rewards when your guests publish images of your hotel establishment and its services.
Linked
Place the url of your official website to increase your visits and guide users. Google My Business also implements a functionality to redirect your users to a booking page. By enabling a button to check availability, you will speed up this process and your customers will be able to book rooms at your hotel more easily.
Services and prices
If you want to take the price war one step further and cajole your client with your best price, in Google My Business you can indicate your best price on your hotel listing. This functionality is activated in Hotel Ads, also for free. In this sense, we take this opportunity to remember that at Paraty Tech we are Google integration partners and that the mere fact of working with us implies appearing directly in sections as interesting as the Free Booking Links.
Details
The “Hotel details” section lists all the features of your hotel, its facilities and services, namely:
- Payment policy.
- Restaurant and beverage services.
- Car and bicycle rental.
- Parking.
- Spoken languages.
- Health and security.
Frequent questions
Google My Business reserves a space for you that you can dedicate to answering the questions written by users who visit your listing. This way, you will be able to complete your file with information that was previously missing. This also makes it possible for you to engage with your audience and show a more human side of your hotel.
Do reviews influence Google My Business?
The more positive reviews you have, the better. User reviews that contain words with positive connotations such as “phenomenal”, “perfect”, “the best hotel”, etc. They help Google to consider that your brand and your services are valuable to users. In turn, if you get your guests to use keywords from your business, you will further enhance your positioning. Remember that Google trusts your customers more than you.
This is why you should encourage your guests to write reviews on the hotel's Google My Business listing after their stay. Google recommends that you frequently interact with your customers on GMB by responding to their reviews, as it shows special attention to your customers and your company. Customer satisfaction is one of the best means of promotion.
This dynamic can work in the opposite direction, as negative reviews can damage your reputation and ranking. To combat fake and malicious reviews, Google has been adopting stricter measures. Last year, Google removed 55 million reviews and 3 million fake profiles.
Google My Business Metrics
Google My Business also offers metrics so you can measure and analyze your users' interactions chronologically. With this data you will be able to know your audience better and improve the positioning of your hotel on Google.
The most interesting metrics are:
- How users find your hotel : This graph shows the proportion of users who search for you by your commercial brand, who find you when searching for a category or product, or who come from other related brands.
- Where they find your hotel : They can reach your listing through the Google results page or by searching for a location on Google Maps.
- Actions of your users : the data is divided into the interactions that users have made on your hotel listing. These may include calling you, accessing your website, or looking up your address.
- Photo Views : Google My Business also analyzes the number of views your photos receive and comparative data on image views from other establishments.
- What your hotel is known for : Google aggregates and interprets your guest reviews based on term repetition. From this set of data, a graph is extracted that shows what your guests highlight most about your tourist service.
Conclusion
As you have seen, Google My Business is a tool extended to any business due to its ease of use and its free nature. It helps improve your traffic, your web positioning and provides valuable information to search engines and your users.
The best way to optimize your hotel's GMB listing is to fill out all possible fields using keywords and obtain positive reviews from your guests. Google My Business provides you with valuable information by analyzing in detail all user interactions with your hotel listing.
If you liked this article about Google My Business, do not hesitate to leave a comment and share it on your networks so that your contacts discover how wonderful this digital tool is.
![[INFOGRAPHIC] Your newsletters and databases, more powerful than ever](https://cdn2.paraty.es/paratytech/images/e9e9f5c0c2459de)