As more and more travelers turn to online booking, hotels must focus on increasing their direct bookings to avoid hefty commission fees charged by online travel agencies (OTAs). Some of the biggest online travel agents include: Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda and many more.
With Google being the world's most popular search engine, it's an excellent platform for hotels to promote their services and drive direct bookings. In todays,blog we'll explore some tips on how hotels can increase their direct bookings using Google.
1. Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile formerly known as Google my Business is a free tool that allows hotels to manage their online presence across Google. It's essential to optimize your Hotel Google Business Profile listing to appear higher in search results and attract more direct bookings. Ensure your profile is complete, accurate, and up-to-date with high-quality images, opening hours, contact details, and customer reviews. Also, use relevant keywords in your business description and encourage guests to leave positive reviews.
2. Use Google Ads
Google Ads can help hotels reach potential guests who are actively searching for accommodation in your area. With Google Ads, you can create targeted ads that appear at the top of search results when users search for keywords related to your hotel. For example, a hotel in Mombasa might create ads that target users searching for "hotels in Mombasa," "Budget hotels in Mombasa," or "Luxury hotels near Nyali Beach." By targeting the right keywords, hotels can attract users who are actively searching for accommodation in their area.Consider using ad extensions like callouts, sitelinks, and structured snippets to highlight your hotel's unique selling points and drive more direct bookings.
3. Implement Google Hotel Ads
Google Hotel Ads is a powerful tool that allows hotels to showcase their rates and availability directly on Google Search and Google Maps. With Google Hotel Ads, hotels can promote their properties to potential guests and drive direct bookings. Hotels can also use Google Hotel Ads to target specific audiences based on location, search history, and device type.
Implementing Google Hotel Ads is therefore an effective way for hoteliers to boost their direct bookings and increase their visibility to potential guests totals maximizing on their return on investment.
4. Use Google Analytics to Track Results
Google Analytics is a free tool that provides valuable insights into how users interact with your hotel's website. Hotels can leverage the use of Google Analytics to track their results and increase revenue by gaining valuable insights into their website performance and user behavior. By tracking metrics such as website traffic, user engagement, and conversion rates, hotels can identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to optimize their website for maximum revenue generation. For example, hotels can analyze the performance of their booking engine and identify any issues that may be causing users to abandon their bookings. They can also track the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and adjust their strategies based on performance data. In addition, by setting up goals and tracking conversions, hotels can measure the impact of their website changes and marketing efforts on their revenue.
5. Leverage Google Reviews
Google Reviews can have a significant impact on a hotel's online reputation and directly influence a guest's decision to book with them. Leveraging Google Reviews can be an effective way for hotels to boost their direct bookings using Google. By encouraging guests to leave reviews, responding to feedback, showcasing positive reviews, using reviews for feedback and improvement, and monitoring reviews for reputation management, hotels can build trust with potential guests, enhance the guest experience, and increase their direct bookings. In an effort to increase their hotels public rating, we have quite a number of hotel managers going a notch higher by embracing hotel technology tool like Sopago App which offers a feature that allows them to encourage guests to share their experiences with the world.
Google offers a wealth of opportunities for hotels to boost their direct bookings and grow their business. Hotels that will play along will now be able to increase their visibility to potential guests, gain valuable insights into their website performance and user behavior, and build credibility and trust with potential guests. By following the strategies outlined in this guide and investing in Google tools, hotels can stay competitive in a rapidly evolving industry and achieve long-term success.