Reviews and ratings are playing an increasingly important role in Google’s master plan for global domination of online travel planning. This is now especially evident in Search, Maps, and Local Pages, which are available across desktop, mobile, and mobile apps. These products are becoming increasingly integrated, allowing travelers planning a trip to view ratings, availability, location, photos, and reviews without ever leaving the Google ecosystem.
Could you explain the rating system in Google?
Registered Google users can rate a business by visiting its page on Google Maps and clicking the “Write a Review” icon. Google adopted Zagat’s 30-point rating system after acquiring the company in 2011, but they recently announced that they were switching to a simpler 5-star rating system.
The new system allows users to rate a company as follows:
1 Star: I really didn’t like it
2 Star: I didn’t like it
3 Star: Not bad
4 Star: I liked it
5 Star: I really liked it
It might seem odd that Google acquired Zagat, adopted its rating system, and then abandoned it shortly after. It also seems odd that Google bought Frommers in 2012, only to sell it less than a year later. But it’s likely that Google was only interested in the company’s content, which now populates Local Pages, Maps, and other products. In doing so, Google added a layer of user-generated and expert content that is now key to building customer trust and increasing the effectiveness of online sales in travel planning.
What’s different about the new Google Maps?
Google is currently in the process of releasing a new version of the Google Maps product, and in general it makes constant updates, which they described as excitingly interactive. The advantages are not only the new design, simple and understandable to users and enriched with visual objects, but also personalized search, which generates suggestions based on the user’s past actions. Flight search is built into the search result for directions, now hotel search is integrated, route search for various modes of transport and much more. Google Maps is no longer just about travel, it is already a directory of stores and businesses that provide services … but for the service sector, not everything has been done yet, some companies that provide services without an office, and want to use Google Maps as the main source of search, mainly small entrepreneurs, are still suffering …
Notice the new 5-star rating system in the image below, in the info box. Clicking on the blue reviews link takes you to the hotel’s local Google page. Click on the bottom corner and a photo carousel of local sites, businesses, and attractions appears.
Do reviews affect my hotel’s search ranking?
Many people think that reviews and ratings influence Google’s page rank algorithm, but this is not entirely true, the ranking is influenced by the user’s activity relative to the location.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that reviews don’t influence travelers’ decisions. The role of this influence will only increase in the future as Google’s review functionality improves. It’s no longer possible to see anonymous reviews, and more and more reviews are linked to Google Account profiles, which increases users’ trust in opinions published on behalf of a specific person. And the system is now increasingly careful to ensure that the review is from a real visitor or someone who at least accessed the company’s card before leaving a review.
Moreover, reviews are gaining a stronger foothold in search engines. In the Toronto hotel search screenshot below, review information is included in the Hotel Finder window as well as in organic search results. Clicking on the blue review link takes you to the hotel’s local page.
If your hotel has 5 or more reviews (usually 10 is the maximum), your rating will also be shown in search results. The higher your hotel’s rating, the more users are likely to click on the link.
How can we increase the number of Google reviews?
Many hotels put a lot of effort into trying to increase their Google reviews. If you want to be proactive, you can use the standard tactics: asking guests to write a review, handing out business cards, putting up a sign in a prominent place asking guests to write a Google review, adding a link on your website and Facebook page, and sending guests an email after they check out.
As Google reviews become more popular, their number will naturally increase.
Motivators
That is why our company has been working for a long time to develop a convenient, simple and effective mechanism for increasing the number of Google reviews.
This is what they look like; this is only part of what can be done today. For example, a business that quickly serves customers most often chooses the format of a flyer or business card with instructions:
You can select all available media options in the “Products” section.
