Whether you are a Facebook fanatic or you are waiting with baited breath for Google+ to take over the social media world, you’ll find that while you are wrapped up in this inconsequential debate, the online world has changed. Many people who are arguing in Google’s favor speak to its open range of content and information. Facebook, on the other hand, lives within its own bubble-internet and there are concerns around its privacy policies.
Over the past several months, there have been hints as to where Google’s roller coaster ride is taking us, though none of us really know. It’s nearly impossible to pinpoint where this all started because Google has done such a seamless job staying on brand no matter how many innovations and beta tests they experiment with. One of the pivotal moments for me was the ability to see hotel rates on the Google search results page. No longer do I have to shop on Expedia and then go to each website to get a better idea of the experience. I can use Google for my rate shopping as well as guiding me to the most relevant hotel based upon my search (subjective to Google of course).
Critical changes like this have shaped how we marketers utilize tools such as the OTA channels and how we integrate with Google. Take for instance the unveiling of Google’s Hotel Finder. This tool is predominantly configured around the Google Places pages for each hotel. (*Hint for all hoteliers out there – if you have not optimized this page, you best jump on the bandwagon now.)
The tool also pulls the rates from the various OTA channels with which the hotel is participating and provides information very similar to Farecast.com. It is showing you the current rate and whether or not the rate is higher or lower based on the annualized trend for the particular hotel. While just pulling the OTA rates alone has pushed each hotel to practice parity, this is going to take it to the next level. Hotels are now going to face consumers who are able to track the increase/decrease in rate management through Google. It has been proven even the most affluent of travelers still want to feel they are getting the best deal out there and this type of tool speaks directly to this type of guest. If the rate is 40% lower than the rate has been all year, isn’t that the best kind of deal you can ask for? Especially when it is competitive against each of the hotels in the geographic area. This past weekend Google has updated its Hotel Finder with the ability to not only search by star rating, guest rating, price, and location but also by travel time. Now you can filter the results by saying you want to stay at a hotel within 20 minutes of the Chicago O’Hare airport. While this information may have been readily available through Google Maps previously or on individual websites, Google has consolidated the information all under the Hotel Finder umbrella.
And now we have Google+. On April 1st when Google launched its Google+ beta publicly, many people thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke. After the day of pranking had passed, everyone realized Google was serious and it became clear we would all need to understand what this meant in the Internet marketing world. It started with the ability to +1 websites. Hardly anyone was certain as to where this data and behavior was being tracked, but soon enough Google released the Google+ application. Low and behold, there was all of the data. I could see all of our clients’ websites listed under my +1’d category. But what does this really mean overall? Then I saw it. As I was doing a search on Google I noticed at the top of the page a notification which said “Welcome to Search plus Your World – Your photos, your friends your stuff…” And just like that, Google has now integrated my “circles” and their likes and dislikes into my search results.
So where is all of this going? As digital marketers, we are anticipating significant game-changers in the not so distant future. Want to know how to make sure your bases are covered? Here’s a helpful checklist:
- Claim your Google Local listing and optimize it
- Work with your CRS provider to be included in the Google rate display program (not all CRS providers are able to do this service at this time)
- Sign up for Google+ and build your business profile
- Optimize your social posts
- Continue sharing relevant and interesting content about your hotel or business
For more information, please contact sales@gcommercesolutions.com.
