Creating an engaging but also effective Google Business Profile listing is important for any business looking to attract more local guests while growing its online presence.
However, it is absolutely vital for hotels and restaurants to get it right.
In this blog post, we’ll explore three simple yet powerful steps you can take to overhaul your hotel’s Google Business Profile listing. Whether you’re a seasoned hotel owner or just getting started in the hospitality industry, the steps we’ve outlined in this blog post are aimed at helping you maximize your visibility on one of the world’s most popular search engines.
Claim and Verify Your Google Business Profile
The very first thing you need to do is claim your business listing on Google Business Profile. This part is a fairly straightforward 2-step process that involves claiming your listing and then verifying that you are the owner or representative of the business.
Claim Your Google Business Profile
Claiming your business profile is simple. Just search for your hotel’s name on Google and if it’s already listed, you’ll see an option to “Claim this business.”
If it isn’t listed, you can add it directly to Google Business Profile. To complete this step, you will need to login to your Google account and provide basic information about your hotel, such as its name, address, and phone number, also known as your NAP.
Your NAP in Google Business Profile needs to match, exactly, the information you have listed on your business’s social media accounts, your website and any other business directories it is listed in before you proceed to the verification step.
And that’s it when it comes to claiming your profile.
Verify Your Google Business Profile
Now for the part that can be a little tricky sometimes.
Once you’ve claimed your business listing, Google will need to verify that you are the rightful owner or manager of that business. This can be done in a couple of ways. You can either record a short video of your business for Google to review, or you can have Google send you a postcard with a verification code.
Video Verification
Getting your business verified with the video verification option is, by far, the quickest way to approach this step. With this method, you will simply record a video of both the outside and inside of your business. If you can, you should try to capture all of the following things in your video as it may help expedite your verification:
- Street name
- Address on the outside of the building
- You walking inside the building and unlocking and entering your office, going behind front desk, etc.
Post Card Verification
If you can’t get verified via video, you can opt to have Google send a postcard to your business address that contains a verification code. Once you receive the postcard, you simply enter the verification code in your Google Business Profile dashboard.
It is important to note that it can take Google up to 14 days to send out this postcard.
Sync Bing Places with Google Business Profile
Every time you create a listing in a business directory, it is called a citation. You want to create as many relevant citations as you can, even if they are not as heavily trafficked as Google.
One such directory is Bing Places. The reason we are focusing on Bing Places? Because you are able to sync Bing Places with your Google Business Profile listing.
What this means is that if you choose to create and sync your Bing Places listing with Google, as soon as Google verifies it, so does Bing. This is really helpful as most citations take time to be manually verified. So anytime that you can sync your Google listing with a directory for quick and easy verification, you absolutely should.
Optimizing Your Google Business Profile Listing
Once you have claimed and verified your business on Google, it’s time to optimize your business information. This will include things like:
- Business description
- Hours of operation
- Services available at your hotel
- Photos of your business, branding, etc.
Create a Compelling Business Description
Your business description should be engaging, informative, and reflect the unique character of your hotel and the experience your guests can expect to have when booking a stay with you. This is your opportunity to include key details like your hotel’s history, special amenities, and nearby attractions that your ideal guest may be interested in.
Also, you will want to focus on including relevant keywords that potential guests might use when searching for hotel accommodations in your area. There is no need to overdo this, simply choose one or two primary keywords to target and include them where appropriate.
High-Quality Photos and Videos
Profiles that have high-quality images get substantially more views in search and on the map view than those without. Furthermore, profiles with over 100 images of their business perform significantly better.
However, search and map views are not the only benefit to be had here.
There are various studies, like this one by BrightLocal, that show the importance of photos on your Google Business Profile. While that entire article is a good read that I would encourage all business owners to have a look at, there are a couple of interesting key findings from that study to pay attention to that are particularly relevant for those in the hotel industry:
- Google Business Profile listings were averaging roughly 11 photos.
- Hotels had the highest amount of photos, with a median of 150 each.
- Businesses with more than 100 images get
- 520% more calls
- 2,217% more direction requests
- 1,065% more website clicks
It is important to keep in mind that reaching 100+ photo uploads is not terribly difficult for most hotels as Google takes into account photos uploaded by both the owner as well as the guests.
Your guests have likely enjoyed all of the photo-worthy opportunities that your hotel offers. In fact, they will probably be going though them in the first few days they’ve returned home, saving their favorites to send to friends and family across their socials. This is the perfect time to send out your follow-up email to give them a chance to give you feedback on their stay with you… It’s also a good time to ask them to leave an honest review for your hotel on Google and show off their best pictures from their stay.
Ideally, you should aim to upload high-quality photos of your hotel, showcasing your best rooms, amenities, dining areas, and any other unique features your hotel offers.
Regular Updates
Consistency is something that will always play a vital role in helping your hotel remain relevant in the SERPs. The same is true for your Google Business Profile listing.
Keep your profile up to date with fresh and consistent updates, post seasonal / holiday content, update your hotel’s offering as soon as you launch a new service, post about any special offers or events, share your blog posts as updates, etc. Every time you post an update, it creates a new opportunity for a potential guest to engage with your hotel. Even if this simply serves to keep your brand on their mind anytime they consider hotels in the area, it is a win.
Continue to Monitor, Optimize, and Maintain
So you’ve claimed your business listing, verified it and filled out all your basic business information. Now what?
First, take a moment to congratulate yourself on a rather important milestone for your online presence.
From this point forward it is simply a matter of routinely monitoring, optimizing and maintaining your Google Business Profile. The more you engage with your audience and your audience engages with your business profile, the better. Below are a few things that you should continue to do consistently as you move forward.
Encourage Google Reviews
When customers are searching for hotels to stay at on their next trip, they likely do what most of us do… read the reviews.
Reviews are one of the most powerful tools you have available to you for improving your hotel’s reputation and visibility somewhat directly. Engaging with your guests publicly builds a sense of trust and care. Furthermore, it shows future potential guests how you treat your guests, further encouraging their decision to pick you over other local hotels.
Respond too all reviews, both positive and negative. Doing so further shows a level of care and concern for all guests while also sending more engagement signals to Google.
Encourage satisfied guests to leave a review on your Google Business Profile whether through your newsletter, upon check-out at the hotel, etc. Positive reviews can significantly impact potential guests’ decisions and improve your hotel’s search ranking. As we mentioned earlier, asking your guests to share photos of their stay is another great way to get them to engage with your Google Business Profile and potentially leave a review alongside their photos.
If you want to learn more about the importance of your Google reviews, check out our recent blog post How do You Measure The Effects of Local SEO For Hotels?
Utilize Local Keywords
Focusing on keywords specific to your local area is always going to be a winning strategy for hotels and other business in the hospitality industry where the ability to drive foot traffic is vital to their success.
You want to ensure that your profile not only includes local keywords within your basic business information, but that you utilize them frequently when posting updates to your profile.
Got a location specific event happening soon? Post an announcement about it on your profile.
Your website has a blog? Share locally-focused posts from it to your Google Business Profile.
As a general rule of thumb; if it is specific to local area you serve, share it as an update on your business profile.
Keep Your Business Information Up-To-Date
Actively managing your Google Business Profile demonstrates to guests that you are attentive and committed to providing excellent service. If your operating hours change or there are certain events cancelled, it is best practice to update your guests and potential guests wherever they may be looking. And chances are good that one of the places they will check first is Google.
Follow the advice in this blog post and you will have taken your first steps in creating a solid and impactful Google Business Profile listing for your hotel to build further from there.
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