TripAdvisor is one of the most popular travel websites in the world, with over 315 million monthly unique visitors. The website allows users to find and book hotels, restaurants, and attractions, as well as read reviews written by other users.
For small businesses, this is a great way to attract new customers—but only if they can find you!
Here are the top five tips to help local customers find your business on TripAdvisor.
The importance of attracting local customers
Local customers are essential for any small business, but especially for businesses in the hospitality industry, like hotels, restaurants, and attractions. Depending on the season, a few guests each day might be global travelers, but you might rely more on local customers for year-round stability.
Locals will visit your business more often and may spend more money overall than travelers. Local customers can help promote your business to their friends and family through word-of-mouth marketing.
Here are the top five ways to ensure local customers can find you on TripAdvisor.
Optimize your business listing
Your business listing is how TripAdvisor users find your business when searching for something specific. Optimizing your TripAdvisor business page makes sure that your business comes up first in search results.
Here are the following steps you can take to optimize your business listing:
- Choose the right category for your business: When you create your listing, you will be asked to choose a category for your business. Be as specific as possible to ensure your business is listed in the correct search results. For instance, if you are a hotel, you would want to choose the “Hotels” category rather than the “Lodging” category.
- Add a detailed description: Your business listing should include a detailed description, so guests know what makes your business unique.
- Include keywords: Keywords are essential to driving more visibility for your business through search engines. Include relevant keywords in your business listing, such as the name of your city or region and more detail about the services you provide.
- Maximize reviews: Customers can leave reviews on your TripAdvisor business page, which is a critical factor for TripAdvisor rankings. After providing a service, you should always send review request emails. You can also set up Review Express to gain more reviews. You can check out the Resouce Center to learn more.
Add photos and videos
Photos and videos help customers visualize your business. They also help your listing stand out in search results. Include high-quality images and videos showing your business in the best light.
Here are some tips for taking great photos.
- Hire a professional: If you can afford it, hire a professional photographer to take photos of your business. They will know how to capture the best shots.
- Include a video: Videos show potential customers what your business has to offer. Include a video that gives a tour of your business or showcases your products and services.
- Show different areas of your business: Include photos that show different sections of your business, such as the exterior, lobby, rooms, and restaurants. This will give potential customers a better idea of what to expect when they visit.
Respond to reviews
The TripAdvisor algorithm favors businesses with high-quality customer reviews. TripAdvisor reviews provide potential customers with insights into the experience other customers have had.
It is critical to respond to all reviews, regardless of whether it’s a positive or negative review. This shows that you are interested in feedback and are willing to make changes based on customer feedback.
Here are some tips for responding to reviews.
- Thank customers for positive reviews: This shows that you appreciate their feedback and are interested in ensuring all customers have a positive experience.
- Address concerns in negative reviews: Even if you provide excellent customer service, you are likely to get some bad reviews. Negative customer feedback might reflect poorly, but it’s also a great chance to show customers you care about their experience and are willing to make changes.
- Be professional and polite: Always respond professionally, especially to negative reviews. Be genuinely interested in learning from customer feedback and tell them about changes you will make to improve the customer experience.
- Offer one-on-one help: If a customer has a specific concern, offer to help them directly. This shows that you are interested in resolving the issue and providing the best possible experience.
- Respond quickly to recent reviews: Customers are more likely to read recent reviews. Responding quickly shows that you are interested in customer feedback.
Get listed in the local directory
The Local Directory is a directory of businesses in your area featured on TripAdvisor. Getting listed in the Local Directory helps potential customers find your business and learn more about what you offer.
To get listed in the Local Directory, go to your business listing on TripAdvisor and click the “Get Listed” button. From there, you can create your listing and choose a category for your business.
Advertise on TripAdvisor
There are two ways to get customers to your business profile:
- Organic search is when potential customers find your business through the TripAdvisor search engine.
- Paid advertising is when you pay to have your business featured in the TripAdvisor search results.
TripAdvisor uses targeted advertising to match businesses with potential customers interested in the type of business. For instance, if you run a hotel, TripAdvisor may show your ad to customers searching for hotels in your area. This ensures that potential customers who are most likely to book a stay at your hotel see your ad.
Here are some pointers to remember when using paid advertising on TripAdvisor.
- Create a campaign that targets users in your area: You can restrict the reach of your campaign to people in your area by targeting them with location-based keywords.
- Choose the right keyword: Keywords are words or phrases potential customers use to search for businesses on TripAdvisor. Choose keywords that apply to your company and that users are likely to search when looking for a business like yours.
- Choose your budget: You can set your campaign’s daily or total budget. TripAdvisor will automatically adjust your bids to stay within your budget.
- Monitor your campaign: Check it regularly to see how it performs. You can adjust your keywords, budget, and other settings to improve your campaign’s performance.
How Broadly can help
All review sites have one thing in common–they prefer businesses with many reviews. For TripAdvisor, good reviews are social proof that your business provides a positive experience.
Increasing your review count is essential to getting a good TripAdvisor ranking. Requesting and managing online reviews on various review sites and social media channels can be an overwhelming manual process–unless you are using a platform, like Broadly.
Broadly specializes in tools to optimize your review pipeline, improve your TripAdvisor presence and increase online visibility. Automated review requests remind forgetful guests to leave a review on TripAdvisor so you rank higher.
With Broadly’s easy-to-follow process, you can attract more local customers by building a strong online reputation. We can help you get new reviews and drive more bookings.
You can learn more about Broadly by getting started today!
