Google Maps is an important part of hotel internet marketing. It is often one of the first stops a traveller makes to find and compare hotels and now Google is experimenting with displaying hotel prices in real-time.
Google is testing a new feature with Google Maps to display hotel prices which could become an important tool in your hotel internet marketing strategy. As per Google’s testing process, Google is working with a limited amount of advertisers and this has only been made ‘visible to a small portion of users’. Google has not been forthcoming about what region or users are able to see this change but if it all goes well, the changes will be rolled out to all users and include more hotel advertisers.
With the new feature switched on, the user will be able to enter the exact dates of the intended stay and find prices for hotel rooms in real-time. Google has made it clear that this will be sponsored advertising available to advertisers who have provided pricing information. By clicking on a result the user can then proceed to the advertiser’s website to book or enquire about a hotel room.
Here is an example Google has provided of someone who is searching for a hotel in New York City via Google Maps:
From the example provided, it appears that as well as prices, Google Maps will also display reviews and testimonials.
Google has also made it clear that it is not changing its ranking system for hotels; instead, this is an experiment to test a new form of advertising that might be useful to web searchers and form part of an hotel internet marketing campaign. This has no effect on the way that hotels are ranked in Google Maps which is based on factors such as:
- your Google Local Business Centre Listing;
- keyword relevancy;
- geographic distance;
- ratings and reviews.
Google will be evaluating the usefulness and effectiveness of the new Google Maps feature based on feedback from both users and advertisers. In time, Google hope to make it more available to more users and entice more advertisers such as hotels and hotel booking engines to come on board. Google Maps is a useful hotel internet marketing tool and this may be a way for Google to capitalise on its monetisation potential especially from local search advertising. Keep watching this space for more details to come!
Contact us to find out how we can localise your hotel SEO while still reaching the global market to allow you to drive traffic to your website, improve your online marketing conversion rate and maximise your return on investment. Hotel internet marketing requires hotels to think globally but act locally – we can help you optimise your Google Local Business Centre Listings and help put your hotel listing on Google Maps.
