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Why are you spending money on advertising

05.09.2020 | SEO, Useful tips

Dmytro Romanovskyi, CEO and founder of the Destra internet marketing agency

if you’re not even using free tools to 40% of their potential?

People read reviews — that’s a fact. Especially when it comes to the service industry. Whether we like it or not, that’s the reality of modern life and the hospitality industry in particular.

Do you also read reviews before making a purchase or booking a hotel room? And when it comes to a restaurant, does its rating play a decisive role in your decision? We’re sure it does.

Guidebooks, rankings, directories — there are plenty of options. But most people still prefer to read reviews from other consumers just like them. And those reviews can ultimately determine whether or not a purchase is made.

As obvious as it may sound, Google’s most popular free tool, Google My Business, is not used by many hotel owners and marketers. And when it is used, it is often only partially — at 30–40% of its potential.

This tool has already been covered in countless articles and webinars. Yet many entrepreneurs still don’t make full use of the free Google Maps tool in their businesses. In February 2019, Google celebrated the 14th anniversary of its first online mapping service — a service that could be used directly in a web browser without installing any software, allowing users to explore the world without reloading the page.

If your rating on Google Maps isn’t great — or your business isn’t listed there at all — you’re losing customers!

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Google My Business (GMB) is essentially a business owner’s dashboard for managing company information across Google services such as Maps and Search. It also gives you valuable feedback from your customers about what needs to be fixed or improved. Customers can share this feedback through ratings and reviews. It looks like this:

You may not have a website or social media page, but your business should definitely have a verified listing on Google Maps. It should be regularly maintained and kept up to date. As the world becomes increasingly digital, here are several reasons why you should make the most of this service:

Your company or hotel information appears on Google Maps: the physical address, phone number, website, customer reviews, and photos. Customers can also get directions from their current location to your business. You can update the information depending on holidays and days off, and the service regularly reminds you to do so.
Your business doesn’t need to have a website to create a listing.
You can appear on the first page of organic search results for branded searches (such as your hotel’s name) without spending money on advertising.
You can inform customers about opening hours, prices, and hotel news.
GMB has long been integrated with other accommodation booking services such as Booking.com, Hotels.com, and Tripadvisor. Reviews left by your customers on these services may also appear on Google Maps. So make sure new reviews are regularly posted there as well.
Keep in mind that Google also analyzes reviews and additional data from some platforms. As a result, Google may sometimes provide additional segmentation based on customers or their interactions with your business.

Who needs Google My Business and why

An additional communication channel with customers through reviews and your responses to them, as well as a rating based on those reviews, which helps you compete with other hotels.

Users can find your website faster, especially when they are nearby. This means targeted and, most importantly, free traffic to your website.

Search engine ranking factors. When responding to reviews, don’t forget to use relevant keywords — they can help improve your relevance in search rankings.

Monthly statistics on visits to your business profile.

You can occupy more space in search results for branded searches (your company name) without spending money on advertising.

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The image highlights several sections: paid search results, organic search results, and a section that is only displayed if you have a Google Business Profile account.

Useful tip: use a single Gmail address for all Google services, including Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console.
This will make it easier to link the services together and set up data imports between them more efficiently.

How to add your business to Google Business Profile:

Go to the Google Business Profile page and click “Get started.” You’ll need a Gmail account to do this.
Fill in your business information. Be sure to add any branches or locations if you have them.
Specify your service areas.
Check that all the information you entered is correct and wait for a letter containing a verification code, which will be sent to the specified address within 1–2 weeks.
Use the verification code to confirm your right to manage the account, and your business will appear on Google Maps.

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Let’s take a hotel or restaurant as an example and look at the stages of a more or less standard customer journey where GMB can be used and provide value.

When choosing a business, a user (or potential customer) can see all the relevant information, from the website address, phone number, and reviews from previous customers to the option of taking a virtual tour.

If the business also has posts (updates in GMB), users can learn about special offers, promotions, or new services, such as a massage room or spa treatments.

When comparing our hotel with competitors, users will definitely look at the rating and number of reviews. The higher the rating, the more likely they are to make a positive booking decision. More reviews also mean greater trust — especially when the hotel management responds to them. This shows that the business cares about its reputation.

If we’re talking about a popular restaurant, Google can show its typical busy times. This helps customers know what to expect and, if necessary, book a table in advance.

If you need to contact the restaurant, it only takes a couple of clicks, or you can visit its website. In some cases, you can book a room or table directly through Google Search without visiting the website.

First encounter with the business

Researching information

Booking a room or table

How Google My Business affects the Customer Journey

A user searches for restaurants or hotels on Google by entering a query into the search bar. For example, “hotel near me.” The results show nearby hotels in the local search results.

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Need to find the address? Simply enter the business name into the search engine. You’ll see the business profile with its address and phone number, as well as an option to get directions from your current location or any other starting point. You can also estimate how long it will take to get there using different types of transportation.

The business profile also includes photos of the interior and exterior, including the building’s facade, which can help customers find their way around once they arrive.

Getting to the business

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Google may send customers a reminder asking them to leave a review, share their experience, and answer a few questions. These are usually follow-up questions that help Google better categorize the business based on its services.

Based on these questions and the answers provided, the business can be assigned various attributes. These help the search engine identify the business’s specific features and make search results more personalized.

After visiting the business

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Complete your business profile in full.

Add photos of the building’s exterior and interior. If you run a restaurant, don’t forget to add photos of the dishes on your menu.

Don’t forget about your employees, either. Adding photos of your team makes your company feel more personal, approachable, and open to the public.

Post questions and answers on your business profile.

Regularly add photos and videos. Do it yourself and encourage your customers to do the same.

Start using posts with calls to action in your Google Business Profile at least once a week. Share business news, promotions, event information, or descriptions of your products and services — use different types of content.

Do it today:

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Companies should work on increasing the number of Google reviews they receive. Ask every customer to leave a review. The principle here is simple: “If you don’t ask, you don’t get!” Encourage your customers to engage and share their feedback.

Ask customers to include as many specific details as possible in their reviews (booking dates, room number, what they liked, what they didn’t like, etc.). Such reviews will be more convincing to people who read them.

Respond to every review. No exceptions. Avoid template responses. Your customer took the time to leave a review, so take the time to respond personally. People usually read several reviews, and identical responses are likely to create a negative impression, especially when responding to negative reviews.

When responding, state who is writing the response and include some information about yourself. People are more likely to appreciate a response from a real person rather than an abstract company.

Your response should be comprehensive, but there’s no need to write an essay. That may not be appreciated. However, if you approach your responses creatively, you can stand out and make a lasting impression. For example, you could respond in verse — if you have the talent for it, of course.

If something went wrong on your end, acknowledge your mistakes. And be sure to explain what you will do to resolve the issue.

Encourage customers to leave reviews not only on Google Maps, but also on your website and social media. This allows the person managing your website to add them using structured data markup and potentially display star ratings in search results.

Create 3D tours. You can do this yourself for free using the Google Street View app, or contact Google-certified photographers. The second option is a paid service.

Pay attention to how accommodation booking services ask guests to leave a review and share their experience after their stay. Or, for example, look at how review collection is automated in barbershops. After each visit, an email and SMS are sent asking the customer to rate the stylist. At the very least, you can do the same. And be persistent about it — otherwise, you won’t get results.

A few tips on how to encourage customers to leave reviews:

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Add a link to the reviews section to your company website. Create a short link that takes customers directly to the review section rather than to your business profile. The fewer extra steps customers have to take, the better, as they can easily get confused along the way. Instructions on how to do this can be found in Google’s technical support center by searching for “How to share a short URL to request reviews from customers.”

Run a competition among your employees or branches to see who can collect the most positive reviews within a certain period. A valuable prize can significantly increase employees’ interest in taking part in the competition.

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Turn the link you receive into a QR code and place it on promotional materials: business cards, napkins, flyers, or brochures. Even a regular receipt can be used for this purpose. At one establishment, I saw business cards that said: “You’re eating here, so please leave us a review!” Simple, but it works — and surprisingly well.

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To avoid reviews all sounding the same, such as “Everything was great, I was satisfied!”, replace the standard request — “Please leave a review about your stay at our hotel” — with a more original prompt that gives the customer an idea of what to write. For example, if every room in your hotel is unique and has its own name: “What did you like most about the ‘Room Name’?”

Wait, there’s more — sooner or later, you may come across fake negative reviews. We won’t discuss why they appear, but let’s take a closer look at how to deal with them.
If there is a negative review and activity is generated around it, such as multiple reports or disputes, a Google moderator may take notice, classify the review as fake, and remove it. However, the reports and disputes should come from different IP addresses. Report the review. Instructions on how to do this can be found on Google’s technical support website. Search for “How to report a review.”
If you can’t get the review removed, focus on generating significantly more positive reviews.

If you’ve managed to address the issues and change the customer’s opinion of your business, ask them to update their review. They can visit your business profile and make changes to their review.

Google may make changes to your business profile or correct information you provided based on suggestions from users. These can be regular customers or even your competitors. Google Business Profile sends notifications to the email address associated with the account, asking you to review the suggested changes. If the account owner doesn’t respond, Google may apply the changes at its own discretion. Don’t forget to check the email address linked to your account regularly and respond to suggested edits.