Google is now the dominant search engine. Everyone who wants visibility on the internet needs to be on Google. The hospitality industry is no exception to this rule. Google dominates the market decisively by more than 90% market share. So basically, 9 of 10 internet users are dependent on Google for all their internet needs. Hence, you need to use Google tools for hotels in order to rank.
To make the most out of Google's presence, hotels need to use google tools. The advantage of these tools is that they are provided to Google themselves so that you perform better on their search engine. So you are getting information, data and insights from the marketplace itself, which makes your work a lot easier.
Hotels must increase their online presence if they want to survive in the hospitality industry. Let us discuss by you should use google tools for hotels.
Why Should You Use Google Tools For Hotels
Before we discuss the important Google tools, we need to understand why we should utilize them in the first place. Let us discuss the important reason for using google tools for hotels.
1. SEO Compliant
It makes your online presence SEO compliant. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, has emerged as an integral part of digital marketing. In turn, digital marketing has overshadowed traditional marketing. Google tools for hotels will help your property gain relevancy and authority, which are the main factors in determining your Search Engine Result Pages, or SERP rankings.
2. Brand Identity
The most important aspect of any business is its brand identity. Whether it is traditional marketing or digital marketing, brand identity always plays an important role in making your business a success. The hospitality industry depends on branding even more, because it has to face various competitors.
3. Reliability
The internet has become such an integral part of our lives that we cannot trust anything which we cannot surf online. In fact, your business is as good as non-existent if it is not on the internet. Not merely literal existence, even not being visible on Google My Business listing can cast doubts in the mind of users about your hotel.
That's why one should use Google tools for hotels. As a business, you should be the one approaching the customers, because most customers don’t have the time to stroll through 10 pages of Google. They will select the one on the first page itself.
4. Reputation Management
Marketing does not stop after the customer purchases your product or service. In fact, what happens after a customer books your hotel is also important. You need to take feedback from the customer, good or bad, and modify your services to gain the best possible review for your hotel. This is where hotel reputation management comes into play.
Google My Business offers an option for customers to put out reviews about the business. As a hotel, it is your responsibility to reply to these reviews and assure the customers that their grievances will be met.
9 Most Productive Google Tools For Hotels
We have discussed why we should use Google tools. It is now time to talk about the 9 most productive google tools for hotels for higher reach and more revenue.
1. Google My Business
Google My Business is the most important google tool for hotels. It is essential for SEO, especially Local SEO since it allows you to get ranked on search results based on location. For example, if you are a hotel in Candolim, Goa. You can make a GMB profile and give Candolim Goa as your location. Then that business will rank if they type - “hotels in Candolim”.
Another advantage of Google Business is that it gives information about the business such as location, booking engine rates, amenities, and reviews all in one place. It also consolidates all the properties in that location into map packs, which show their location on the map along with its other competitors to the customers.
2. Google Search Console
Google Search Console is an essential google tool for hotels, especially for SEO. With it, you can check how your website is performing on the search engine. Search Console gives access to your content to Google to monitor it. With Search Console, you can replace old content with new, and Google will crawl it and reflect these changes.
With Google Search Console, you can access your search traffic and performance, and also submit sitemaps and individual URLs for crawling.
3. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is the best Google tool for hotels to track web analytics. It analysis the various acquisition metrics, conversion metrics, or behaviour metrics. You will get various information such as finding who visited your website, how much time they can spend, and the search terms they use. You will also get to know about which pages they visited on the website.
With Google Analytics, you can build result oriented website and also understand where customers visit. You can also determine how to make the customers visit certain pages on your website.
4. Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is essential for keyword research. Without keyword research, the entire Search Engine Optimization goes for a toss. If you don't know which keyword you should rank for, how will make the website content and blogs SEO-friendly?
Google Keyword Planner is linked to your Google Ads account. With it, you can get data on the search volume of keywords based on location. For example, if you are a business that mainly deals with locals, you can search the popular keywords in that area. You can then go on to create keyword-rich content for your hotel website.
5. YouTube
YouTube is the most popular video hosting platform in the world. Google has now acquired it. So if you want to be on Google, you cannot ignore Youtube. In Search Engine Result Pages i.e SERPs, Google also gives preferences for video content on various topics. It can be a fabulous Google Tool for hotels for video content.
Video content is in rage now and as a hotelier, you need to capitalize on this trend to create engaging content for the target audience. You can use your creativity to increase your SEO visibility along with upgrading your marketing.
6. Google Hotel Ads
Google Hotel Ads is a meta-search platform that allows you to view the prices of a hotel on different platforms, all in one place. With hotel ads, you can see complete information such as price availability, reviews, amenities and more.
It also has a “Book a room” option where customers can book directly with the hotel from the search result. This tool is especially great for direct bookings since you can save on OTA commissions.
The best part is that the hotel only has to pay if someone clicks on their ad. It only appears if the description of the property matches the search criteria of the visitor. It increases the likelihood of direct web traffic on your hotel website.
7. Google Trends
Google Trends is the best tool to understand what your guests require. It gives you important insights that you can use to determine your marketing copy and strategy. It also helps you see which properties are popular in the area i.e your competitors.
You can also check which holiday destination is popular in which parts of the world, whether it is famous internationally, domestically or regionally.
8. Think With Google
Think with Google is another great site for insights about potential customers. This tool will help you stay ahead of the curve, which is essential for any business. By gaining data about your target audience. It becomes easy to market your products and services the right way.
Think with Google is among the best Google tools for hotels to boost your business and gain additional reach and revenue.
9. Travel Insights With Google
A new Google tool for hotels, Travel Insights is the best solution to get insights about the travel industry such as destination insights and hotel insights. This tool helps in all stages of business from the planning stage to the booking stage.
With the help of Demand Insights, hotels can understand the demand of various holiday destinations. With Hotel Insights, one can understand from where the travel demand in a region is coming.
With this tool, you can understand the industry trends and create better strategies for hotels. You can also know what guests like.
Google tools for hotels are especially for those who want to take their marketing to the next level. Since Google itself is offering additional help to hospitality businesses, one should take full advantage of it. Read our blogs to know more about the hospitality industry.