Google My Business for hotels (now Google Business Profile), is a free local search product that opens the door to a bevy of hotel SEO opportunities and increased visibility of your property.
NB: This is an article from Travelboom
Whether you’re running a hotel or bed & breakfast, you can use a Google Business Profile to better promote your property and increase your presence in the local search results. We already know that holding real estate on the search engine results page (SERP) is super important, and Google’s constant algorithm updates play a prominent role.
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But focusing and optimizing for local search is an increasingly important element of earning SERP real estate. First thing’s first…
Claim and Verify Your Hotel’s Google Business Profile
Before your business listing can display on Google Maps, Search, and other Google services, you must claim and verify your account. To claim your listing:
- Enter the name of your business in the Google Maps search bar.
- Choose the correct business from the search results.
- Select Claim this business and Manage now
- Select your preferred verification option.
If you’re opening a new hotel, see our breakdown of how to set your hotel up for success before it opens.
Typically, verification is accomplished by postcard, email, or phone.
If you’ve already verified your business’s website with Google Search Console, you may be able to verify your hotel instantly. Just make sure you’re using the same email account you used to verify your site with Google Search Console as your Google Business Profile.
Choose your primary category
Once verified, you’ll also choose a primary category for your property. That could be Hotel, Resort, Bed & breakfast, etc. The category you select can influence the types of searches your hotel can appear for in the Google Hotel Pack. The Hotel Pack is a search feature that lists several hotels when someone makes a local search like “boutique hotels in san diego”, “pet friendly hotels in chattanooga”, or “hotels near me”.
Important Note: A Google Business Profile typically sits to the right of the SERP on desktop, and below search ads on mobile. On Maps, it will display to the left on desktop and at the bottom on mobile.
Update Your Knowledge Panel to Display Your Business’s Information
You may have heard that your Google Business Profile is like the front door to your business.
That’s because it’s true.
A Google Business Profile acts as your virtual storefront and communicates important information to searchers, similar to what you may see in a physical storefront. It can’t be stressed enough how important it is that this information is correct.
