With Google phasing out Reserve with Google, the company is now exploring a new way to help tour and activity operators get more visibility through organic search on Google. The new pilot project known as "Things to do", currently available for attractions only, will allow attractions to add booking links to their listings, which will appear when travellers search for the company.
What is it?
When travellers search for an attraction, information about the company will appear in the knowledge panel, that is the information box that appears on the right side of a Google search results page on desktop.
Through the Things to do pilot project, operators can now add a free link from their knowledge panel to their company's website or booking page. This new setup allows travellers to view ticket prices and click through to book on your website. There will also be an "Official site" badge added to operators' website link.
At the moment, Things to do is only available for attractions. Tour and activity operators will be able to add links to their sites by the end of 2021. Do note that for now, it is only accessible on mobile and in English as well.
How does it work?
TrekkSoft is excited to join the pilot project, allowing our operators to get their tours and activities listed on Things to do at no additional cost and with minimal setup.
TrekkSoft's operators who sign up for the pilot project will have a Google listing created in English on Things to do. Travellers who want to book with you will be redirected to a TrekkSoft landing page where they can make a direct booking with your company.
The best part? You maintain full control over the content and products you choose to sell. We will get in touch with our users to help them set up their Google listing and TrekkSoft landing page.
Do note that this listing is only available on mobile for now.
How to optimise your listing on Things to Do?
To get the most out of your listing, here's what we at TrekkSoft recommend:
- Be selective about the products you list on Things to do, just like you would on any other OTA.
- Make sure your Google My Business profile is verified and updated. This includes updating key information like you company's name, address and phone number.
- Make sure that prices on your listing match the prices on your TrekkSoft landing page.
How to optimise your landing page?
To capture as many bookings from Things to do, we advise operators to optimise their landing pages to improve user experience throughout the booking and checkout process.
Here are our top tips:
- Use at least 10 high-quality landscape photos on your landing pages.
- If you have the budget, get them to cut you a 60 second intro video to show potential customers what to expect when they book your product.
- When writing tour descriptions, describe your offer in 250 to 500 words. Be sure to address what makes you special and why visitors should not miss your offering.
- Remember to clearly state what languages you deliver your tour in.
- List what is included and what's not included in the tour price.
- Include GPS coordinates along with address of the venue/starting point/pick up location of your tour.
- Clearly state your opening times and include the last tour time, or latest time to best explore an attraction or museum.
- If you collect customer reviews, add them to your tour pages as well.
How to get started?
Operators using TrekkSoft should get in touch with us via at support@trekksoft.com and we'll send over next steps.
Want to learn the other ways TrekkSoft can help increase online visibility for tour and activity operators?
