Make the Most of Google Services for Hotels

Make Google work for you
Ecaterina Paun
Head of User Experience
protel hotelsoftware
new Google services for the travel industry

“Personally, I don't think we're in control of
anything, except our attitude to what
comes our way.”
Bruce Lawson
Opera Web browser Opera.com

Google Search link distribution
"above the fold”
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BLED, SLOVENIA, 13th & 14th MARCH 2014
MAKE GOOGLE WORK FOR YOU
protel hotelsoftware GmbH
7
Search
Total Paid & Free Links
Pointing Offsite
Total Paid & Free Links
Pointing to a Google Property
Hotels 8 64
Restaurants 11 60
Pool Halls 8 56
HTTP://BLUMENTHALS.COM
GOOGLE’S LOCAL CAROUSEL – TRAPPED IN GOOGLE’S WORLD?

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“Findability is the new Black.”
Liz Strauss
CEO & Founder, SOBCon

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I. Google New Services for the hotel industry
Google cards (Google Information cards & Google Now cards)
Google Knowledge Graph Carousel, now with Hotel Bookings
Google Hotel View interior 360 Imagery
Google Hotel Finder: Get your hotel listed
Google AdWords Enhanced Campaigns
Email any Google+ connection

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Google Knowledge Graph Information Cards

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Google Map
Google + Business
Google + Business
Google + Business
Google Hotel
Finder
Google Places
for Business
Competition
Google + Business
Google Places
for Business

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Google cards

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Google Now cards

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Google cards
Google + Business
Google Hotel
Finder
Google Places
for Business Google Map
+
Google Places for Business
Google Hotel
Finder

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Google Knowledge Graph Carousel
now with Hotel Bookings

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• Not yet available in Europe

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Google Knowledge Graph Carousel Sightings
Image via http://searchengineland.com
Google Knowledge Graph Carousel Sightings Becoming More Frequent Within A Wider Variety Of Searches

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Google Knowledge Graph Carousel -heatmap
Image via http://searchengineland.com
Study: Google Local Carousel Results Win 48% Of Clicks, While Only 14.5% Of Clicks Were On The Map
48% Clicks
14.5% Clicks

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Not spotted in Europe for hotels, yet.
But spotted for our Italian partners, Serinissima.

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Google Hotel Finder
Get your hotel listed
How can I have my hotel listed on Google Hotel Finder?
Independent hotels: check with your PMS provider if they are one of the Google selected
partners
Major hotel brands: direct implementation (from Central Reservation System to Google )
OTA listing – is your hotel already listed on Booking.com, Expedia.com or another major OTA?

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• Powerful advertising tools for the multi-
device world
• Smarter ads optimized for varying user
contexts
• Advanced reports to measure new
conversion types
Google AdWords Enhanced Campaigns
Bing Ads states that using location extensions on your ad
can boost average CTR by as much as 33%.

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Email any Google+ connection
January 9th, 2014
"Your email address isn't visible to
a Google+ connection unless you
send that person an email, and
likewise, that person's email
address isn't visible to you unless
they send you an email.“
• Good news for the aggressive
marketer
• Use it now, as it probably will be
abused and removed

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II. Make Google work for you
Improve your website’s visibility on Google (search)
Improve your business’s visibility on Google

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• Google AdWords
• Google Plus (including Places & Maps)
• YouTube - telling stories
• Google Hotel Finder
Gabriele Schulze
Entrepreneur
Marketing4results.de Berlin
• Google Places for Business
Ingo Dignas
Managing Director
• YouTube
Manfred Osthues
Managing Director
• Google Analytics
• Google AdWords
anonymous
SEO specialist
Booking.com
• Google Plus
anonymous
Industry expert
Google Travel
• Google Places for Business
anonymous
SEO specialist
Expedia
The top 2 most important Google services for hoteliers:

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Improve your website’s visibility Improve your business’s visibility on
Google
Entertain & Tell stories: confidence & popularity
Direct bookings & easier rate comparison
Get your business on Google
Get your business on Google –social componentDetailed reports about your pages' visibility
Measure & track your marketing efforts
Advertise to boost website traffic and sales
Entertain & Tell stories: drive traffic to your website
Connect with customers & drive traffic to your website

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CONTENT
Social Media
Multi-devices presence
Google + REVIEWS
IMAGES
GOOGLE HOTEL FINDER
Improve your website’s visibility Improve your business’s visibility on
Google

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II. Make Google work for you
Google Hotel Finder
Google + Business & Google Places for Business
YouTube - A Traveler's Constant Companion
Billboard: 1 picture = 100 words

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Number and quality of reviews
Pricing
Presence on Google+ Business
Quality Pictures
Proximity to City Center
Top 5 Hotel Finder Ranking Factors
Google Hotel Finder
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1. Number and quality of reviews
Sources:
Google + users’ reviews
Zagat reviews
Get more reviews
Ask your fans from other
social networks (Facebook,
Twitter, emailing)
Ask at the desk

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2. Pricing
Google tends to show a variety of prices at first, but changing it based on user’s behavior
Google Hotel Finder also ranks hotels that are not overcharging customers
Price model: CPC (cost‐per‐click) lead generation program
There are two bidding options:
Pay a flat rate per night (example $1 per night)
Pay a percentage of total price * # of nights
CPC= (x) * (Total price) * (# of nights).
CPC= 0.2% * 120 * 2 = 0.48 Euro
The most important thing to remember is that the advertiser can only outbid those who
are offering the same price

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3. Presence on Google+ Business
Hotels without Google + Pages?
Verified listings are favorites

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4. Quality pictures
Pictures associated with hotel’s Google + Business & Google Places for Business
“Pictures are worth 1000 words”
Google+ Local photo and video guidelines
https://support.google.com/plus/answer/2689731?hl=en&ref_topic=2624941

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4. Quality pictures
Sources of images
Hotel’s Google + Business
Google + users
Other Google image services (ex: panoramio)
VFM Leonardo –travel & hospitality tech company
Coming soon to Europe: Google Hotel View interior 360 Imagery

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5. Proximity to City Center
Google Hotel finder shows first results from the city center
The results are slowly spiraled out from there.

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How can I have my hotel listed on Google Hotel Finder?
Independent hotels: check with your PMS provider if is one of the Google selected partners
Major hotel brands: direct implementation (hotel’s Central Reservation System to Google)
OTA listing – are your hotel already listed on Booking.com, Expedia.com or another major OTA?

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Losers
OTAs
already branded OTAs lose traffic
Expedia claims that 40% of their traffic
reserches hotels on Expedia but then visits
and books on hotel branded websites
Meta search sites
Kayak.com, SkyScanner.com, Trivago.com,
etc , as Google Hotel Finder is itself a meta
search site.
Winners
OTAs
dominate the Google Hotel Finder pricing menu
Hotels
pushing real-time availability & prices through Google API
(once implemented by the PMS provider)

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“Google Places for Business gives you
access to free tools that help your
business get online, be found on Google
Search and Maps and get closer to your
customers. ”
FREE
Dashboard
15 min
http://www.google.com/business/placesforbusiness/
“Your Google+ page helps you build a loyal
fan base. Your customers can show their
appreciation with ratings and reviews, use
the +1 button to endorse your content, and
re-share your posts across the web.”
FREE
Social component
Forever
http://www.google.com/+/business/
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Address+ Phone
Email address + Website
Description (add keywords, where possible)
Categories
Information:
Service Areas and Location Settings
Hours of operations
Payment options
Photos
Additional Details

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Be found on Google Search and Maps

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Local
listing
Unverified local Google+
Page
Verified local Google+
Page
Displays on Google Maps
Has Posts and Videos tab
Customers can leave
reviews
Verified checkmark next to
name
Which category of Google+ page should I select?
Select the “Local Business or Place” category if you have a physical storefront or provide services or goods within a local
geographic area. This is the only category of Google+ pages that is eligible to show up on Google Maps.
Do I need a Google+ page if I already have a website?
A Google+ page complements your existing website by giving your business a public identity and presence on Google.
If you choose the “Local Business or Place” category, the information you provide on your Google+ page can also appear in
Google search results and on Google Maps.

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Google Map
Google + Business
Google + Business
Google + Business
Google Hotel
Finder
Google Places
for Business
Competition
Google + Business
Google Places
for Business

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YouTube - A Traveler's Constant Companion

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"188.2 million Americans watched 52.4 billion...videos in December [2013],
while the number of video ad views totaled 35.2 billion.“*
comScore.com
We are living in a “more” society:
we have more cars
more personal belongings
more rooms/person
we are watching more TV
we have more free time
we are watching more TV
we want more, complex web experiences

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Billboard: 1 picture=100 words
Quality pictures for Google cards
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Marketing 101
“If you live in any major city you see 800 ads /day
You’re so used to this that you not even notice it.
But your body does
Your heart rate increases
Your pupils dilate
You breathe faster
You became more alert
You’ve been trapped”

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Quality pictures for Google cards

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Hotel’s Google + Business & Hotel’s Google Places for Business
Google + users
Other Google image services (ex: panoramio)
VFM Leonardo –travel & hospitality tech company
Coming soon in Europe: Google Hotel View interior 360 Imagery
Sources of images

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Sources of images

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OTA: 15% better conversion for hotels with more images listed on hotel description: to be
at least 17 images/hotel
“Don’t make me think” web usability 1st rule
People fall in love with images
Speed-read technique : Skimming & Scanning behavior
Google Knowledge Graph Carousel: lower ranked search results can get more “click
throughs” due to carousel
Why images are so important?

• HOW GOOGLE PLANS TO DOMINATE THE TRAVEL SPHERE
http://fredericgonzalo.com/en/2013/01/20/how-google-plans-to-dominate-the-travel-sphere/
• Google Think Insights
http://www.google.com/think/industries/travel-tourism.html
• Google is developing a Street View-like feature to showcase hotel interiors
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2014/01/08/google-is-developing-street-view-like-feature-to-showcase-hotel-interiors/
• Google Officially Launches Knowledge Graph Carousel For Local Search
http://searchengineland.com/google-officially-launches-knowledge-graph-carousel-for-local-search-163809
• Google Knowledge Graph Carousel Sightings Becoming More Frequent Within A Wider Variety Of Searches
http://searchengineland.com/google-knowledge-graph-carousel-sightings-becoming-more-frequent-within-a-wider-variety-of-searches-163562
• Google Showing Date Selector In Knowledge Graph Carousel For Hotels
http://searchengineland.com/google-showing-date-selector-knowledge-graph-carousel-hotels-182756
• Google Hotel Finder & The War for Hotel SERP Listings
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-hotel-finder-war-hotel-serp-listings/67152/
• Google Hotel Finder Finally Gets Ability To Book Reservations From Your Phone
http://www.webpronews.com/google-hotel-finder-finally-gets-ability-to-book-reservations-from-your-phone-2013-11
• GOOGLE HOTEL FINDER, FRIEND OR FOE?
http://www.wihphotels.com/publication/google-hotel-finder-friend-or-foe/
• Google for Hotels: Q+A with David Zammitt, Google Travel Industry Manager
http://reknown.com/2013/06/google-for-hotels-qa-with-david-zammitt-google-travel-industry-manager/
• An Optimized Google+Local Listing
https://www.searchenginenews.com/se-news/content/7-online-assets-your-local-business-needs-to-survive-the-coming-years
• GOOGLE’S LOCAL CAROUSEL – TRAPPED IN GOOGLE’S WORLD?
http://blumenthals.com/blog/2013/06/25/googles-local-carousel-trapped-in-googles-world/
• Google Places for Business vs. Google+ Local
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2293053/Google-Places-for-Business-vs.-Google-Local
• Google Officially Launches Local Results Carousel
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2276176/Google-Officially-Launches-Local-Results-Carousel
Credits
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• What is Google+ Local?
https://support.google.com/plus/answer/2531255?hl=en
• Types of local pages in Google+
• Score ratings for local places
https://support.google.com/plus/answer/1723748
• The Google Hotel Finder: A Game Changing Event, a “Greed is Good” Defining Moment, or a Natural Move to Serve Better Search Results?
http://cdn.hebsdigital.com/cms/pressroom/11_hotelsmag_google_hotel_finder.pdf
• Google Hotel Price Ads (HPA)
http://www.impaqt.com/insights/Google_HPA.cfm
• Google Hotel Finder & The War for Hotel SERP Listings
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-hotel-finder-war-hotel-serp-listings/67152/
• Google Hotel Finder: How To Get Most Of It
http://blog.inndesk.com/post/41186280928/google-hotel-finder
• Google Support
http://www.google.com/business/placesforbusiness/
http://www.google.com/+/business/faq.html
• Google Hotel View interior 360 Imagery
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2014/01/08/google-is-developing-street-view-like-feature-to-showcase-hotel-interiors
• Google Preps “Hotel View” Interior 360 Imagery
http://searchengineland.com/google-preps-hotel-view-to-boost-travel-wallet-offerings-181398
• Study: Google Local Carousel Results Win 48% Of Clicks, While Only 14.5% Of Clicks Were On The Map
http://searchengineland.com/study-google-local-carousel-results-win-48-of-clicks-while-map-only-earned-14-5-of-clicks-164925
• Google Places for Business vs. Google+ Local
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2293053/Google-Places-for-Business-vs.-Google-Local
Credits
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Thank You!
Ecaterina Paun
ecaterina.paun@protel.net
@katepfau
linkedin.com/in/katepfau
plus.google.com/+EcaterinaPaun/
info@protel.net
@protel_en
facebook.com/protelhotelsoftware
plus.google.com/+ProtelNet/

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