This is a very simple overview on the various Google tools that can help or influence a hotel website. With so many hotel bookings passing through the internet, your average Hotel Revenue Manager will need a Google Account and will need to know how to use the different tools.
Note - Anyone on the Hotel Support Program will be covering these one by one, starting with Google Maps in the next Support Module.
A. Google Maps
B. Google Local Business Center
C. Google Analytics
D. Google WebMaster Tools
E. Google Adwords
Tip Number 1
There is a very good chance that many of our customers will already have a Google Account, you were probably set up with one to be able to receive Google Analytics Reports or have access to Google Adwords, or maybe you have a G Mail address in which case you will also have access to the various Google Accounts.
A. Google Maps
(Often confused with Google Local or Google Business Listings). Having a Google Account allows you to create your own maps.
Example http://www.clanreehotel.com/Map-of-Attractions
We have seen hotels creates Google Maps for a raft of different purposes ie
- Local Restaurants.
- Local Attractions.
- What to do on a rainy day.
- Local Walks.
- Nearby Train Stations and Airports
etc etc
The process is simple, after logging into Google Maps, simply follow the instructions to create the map, then copy and paste the code into your hotel Content Management System. (Widgets yet again)
B. Google Local Business Center
Probably one of the most important features to be developed by Google in recent times; If your hotel is listed in the Google Local Business Center, when someone searches for 'Dublin Hotels' Google will display a map showing 'pins' for the different hotels it has listed in 'Local'. Obviously you want your hotel displaying here, and to do this you need to access Google Local and list your hotel.
We remain surprised that Google has done this, because we suspect that guests will focus on this instead of Google Adwords, therefore Google is robbing its own revenue stream!
This area is developing its own band of specialists as people appreciate how important it is, and attention shifts to how to move yourself to the top of the 'Local' listing.. If you want more detail have a look at this;
http://www.redcardinal.ie/geotargeting/25-05-2009/google-how-to-rank-google-local-search-ireland
C. Google Analytics
Google Analytics gives you a full set of website statistics to measure things like website traffic, pages visited, length of time on the site. Analytics does have its defects and arguably may not be technically the best, but it is the most commonly used and understood set of statistics. Like all statistics however they need to be taken with a pinch of salt, and it is better to evaluate trends as opposed to overall measurements, ie Increase website traffic by 10% as opposed to worrying why you are only getting 200 visits per day.
D. Google WebMaster Tools
This really is for the techies, however we have seen some Revenue Managers get to grips with some of its features including the ability to review what the Google robot is seeing when hovering up content from their website.
E. Google Adwords
The one most Revenue Managers love to hate due to its complexity, (and there is evidence to suggest that its value is decreasing in a recession). Google Adwords are the boxes that appear at the top or right hand side of your results page after you do a Google search. We would argue that Adwords still has good ROI for specific events or activities.
Tip Number 2
This is a useful page that lists all the different features that Google offers and allows you to login to them. Bookmark this and save yourself sometime searching for Google Accounts in the future.
https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount
Hope that helps, if you have any insights on this matter please do not hesitate to contact us - info@accubook.net