Strengthen Your Online Presence on TripAdvisor
Claim your business listing on TripAdvisor
First of all, a few facts about TripAdvisor. This is the world’s largest travel site with more than 500 million reviews and opinions, covering over 7 million travel listings worldwide for the travel community of 390 million average unique monthly visitors (TripAdvisor log files, Q1 2017). Even if you haven’t listed your business on TripAdvisor, there is a high probability that people talk about you online. So, take control into your hands and follow these easy steps to strengthen your online presence on TripAdvisor.
TripAdvisor Premium is a paid service and offers advanced features such as a customized Storyboard of pictures at the top of your property page, the possibility to pin a recent Favorite Review to the top of your page, in-depth analytics, and priority phone support.
For accommodations TripAdvisor introduced a special solution – TripAdvisor Business Advantage – this is similar to Premium subscriptions for the restaurants and includes Photo Tools, Promotional Features and an Analytics Suite in its feature set.
Once you have a listing on TripAdvisor, what should you pay attention to?
1. Write a detailed description of your property.
Travelers are more likely to choose your business if they get a good feel for it. Highlight the key features that make you stand out from your competitors. Add relevant keywords to your description text to make sure that your TripAdvisor listing appears in search engine results pages where potential customers are searching for your service. The content should read naturally and be user-friendly. Search engines penalize keywords stuffing, so don’t overdo it.
2. Keep your listing up-to-date.
Inaccurate information may turn potential guests away from your business. Check that your contact details (website, email, phone and address) are updated. Use the Special Offer feature in TripAdvisor to attract traveler attention to your current deals and the Announcements feature to share news about any recent improvements, new facilities and amenities or special events.
If you run a restaurant, it is a great idea to add the menu to your TripAdvisor page. Maximize the value for the customers, and they will show their appreciation by booking at your place.
3. Use high-resolution images.
Travelers tend to choose a property by its photos. Adding authentic and high-quality images will encourage visitors to spend more time on your listing and give them a better idea of your property. Add enough images of the exterior, interior, facilities, popular dishes and more.
Don’t forget keyword-rich captives for the images! By the way, keeping your listing up-to-date applies to photos too. Change your primary photo often and complement photos with a stunning slideshow or a video. Here you can find TripAdvisor guidelines for uploading images and videos.
96% of TripAdvisor users find that reading reviews is important.
4. Integrate instant booking feature.
According to the findings of the Phocuswright survey, conducted on behalf of TripAdvisor, the majority (63%) of TripAdvisor users want to read reviews, compare prices and book without leaving the website.
Accommodation businesses can integrate the instant booking feature that allows customers to book a room directly on your TripAdvisor profile page. Restaurants can add a booking button from TheFork, while attractions and activity listings can do the same with Viator.
5. Manage your online reviews.
It is not a secret that reviews influence booking behavior. According to the Phocuswright survey, 96% of TripAdvisor users find that reading reviews is important when planning trips and booking hotels. And it doesn’t only refer to hotels, online reviews are equally important for restaurants and attractions.
Track your reviews regularly and always respond to them. TripAdvisor users believe that businesses that respond to customer reviews care more about their guests. It is a great way to engage with your guests and promote your business. Check our Ultimate Guide to Online Reviews to find out how to handle negative and positive reviews.
6. Encourage your customers to leave reviews.
Make sure that you have plenty of recent reviews. We have discussed the topic of generating more online reviews in our blog. TripAdvisor has its own free service – Review Express – which sends out professional looking emails to your former guests and they can write a review right from their inbox.
What are your experiences with TripAdvisor? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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