Google Hotel Ads, Maps, Analytics & Co.: we give an overview of the most important Google products

With its varied product portfolio, Google offers a suitable solution for almost every digital problem. We show you which Google tools could be helpful for you.

Google Ads (formerly Adwords)

Let's start with Google Ads, probably the best-known advertising option on Google. The paid ads first appear classically in the standard search above the organic search results and are identified by the note "Ad".

In addition, the Google ads also appear in other places in the Google network and on non-search websites. The campaigns can be shown in the form of text, images, a combination of both or videos.

Google Ads thus offer versatile forms of design and can be supplemented by numerous extensions and add-ons to get even more out of your campaign and achieve maximum success for your investment. 

You have the option of managing Google Ads yourself. However, due to the high complexity, it is advisable to commission a specialised agency with the management of your campaigns. Expert knowledge and a not inconsiderable amount of time are necessary to optimally manage the campaigns.

Google Hotel Ads

Google Hotel Ads (GHA) is a subcategory of Google Ads (GA). One difference between the two placements is that, unlike classic Google Ads, Google Hotel Ads are not based on keywords. Furthermore, they do not appear in the standard search but on the hotel's Google My Business profile, on Google Travel and in Google Assistant.

In contrast to Google Ads, Google Hotel Ads also pulls a direct rate feed from your PMS, channel manager or booking engine. This rate feed is closely monitored by Google and is subject to strict accuracy and performance criteria. 

If you want to make your ad visible on GHA, you will benefit from working with myhotelshop: as a Google Premium Partner, our campaigns are always attributed the highest quality scores in Google's eyes.

A particular advantage of this type of placement is that guests only click on your ad when they have already done a lot of research and are about to decide to book your hotel. This results in very high conversion rates, which average over 4.5% - making GHA the hotel marketing channel with the highest conversion rate of all.

Basically, there are three types of Google Hotel Ads campaigns:

1. CPC - Cost per Click

• highest performance
• largest amount of work, but best return on investment
  

2. CPA - Cost per Acquisition

• based on a fixed percentage of the booking value (commission) 
• Google converts the value in the backend into CPC 
• inflexible 
• no optimisation
• significantly less performance than CPC
  

3. PPS - Pay per Stay 

• commission is only paid on realised bookings
• poorest performance 
• complicated booking reconciliation
• lowest risk, but also lowest return
• just as inflexible as CPA

With acquisition costs below 8%, Google Hotel Ads gives you impressive results. Currently, the average for 2021 hotels managed by myhotelshop is even only 6% worldwide, with a Return on AdSpend of 18 on average. This means that for every euro invested, you get back 18€ on average.

However, this requires quite a bit of work in terms of optimising your campaigns and adapting to the auction-based environment. Moreover, these results are only possible with CPC campaigns. 

For this reason, you should think about the support of an expert here. Myhotelshop is one of these experts, of which there are only a handful worldwide.

Google My Business

Google My Business (GMB) is another important tool in the Google portfolio for your hotel. Your GMB profile appears on the right-hand side of the standard search and makes relevant business and contact information quickly and easily accessible to interested users. This profile also appears on Google's travel platform as well as Maps and sends data to the Google Assistant.

It is a portal where Google collects all your relevant business data and provides it in the right format. Signing up for Google My Business is completely free. The communication tool offers you a comprehensive dashboard and acts as an easy-to-use interface to provide Google with all the important information about your hotel. 

Google My Business also has an integrated messaging platform that allows potential guests to submit enquiries to your hotel. In addition, guests can rate your hotel on your profile. And favourable reviews in turn attract new guests. Furthermore, you can complete your GMB account with photos and videos of your hotel and thus provide your future guests with first insights. 

Especially interesting is that not only the search volume for your profile is visible to you but you can also see where your search queries come from (e.g. map, direct search, keyword search). 

A well-maintained Google My Business account also has a significant impact on your credibility (from Google's perspective) and thus your ranking in organic search results.

As already mentioned above, Google Hotel Ads also appear on the GMB profile. If you have not yet placed a direct campaign via Google Hotel Ads, you will only see offers from the OTAs for your hotel here. To prevent this and to gain more independence from the online travel platforms, it is advisable to set up a direct link in the booking engine of your own website and thus sustainably expand your direct sales.

Google Maps

Next is Google Maps: First of all, it is important to know that the online map service is closely linked to Google My Business. Therefore, to ensure that potential guests can easily find your hotel on Google Maps, a Google My Business profile is indispensable.

Google Maps offers you the possibility to create your own routes to and from your hotel. You can thus additionally support your users in their travel planning, for example by entering distances to sights or airports.

This measure is particularly advantageous for you if you integrate the entered locations with some information, similar to a travel guide, on your website - Why? Quite simple: this link can again significantly increase the number of visitors to your website.

However, to better understand whether Google Maps is paying off for you, you can see how many of your search queries came from Google Maps in the analytics section of your Google My Business account.

Google Travel-Insights

This is a collection of several easy-to-use tools designed to give you insights into your search volume and where your searches are coming from. You can view this data on both a hotel and destination level. Travel Insights has a two-part structure for this reason. It consists of the Destination Insights and Hotel Insights sections.

Let's look at Destination Insights in detail: This section shows you, among other things, changes in demand by country. In addition, you have the possibility to compare source and destination countries. The product is ideal for discovering untapped markets for your hotel and viewing the demand development of these markets.

Hotel Insights, on the other hand, is used to analyze demand and markets in the immediate vicinity of your hotel. This means that in contrast to Destination Insights, Hotel Insights does not deal with countries, but rather with cities and regions. The goal of these tools is the early perception of changes in the market. So that you are able to align your campaigns with current conditions and make the best possible use of opportunities.

Google Alerts

Let's take a closer look at Google Alerts: As the name suggests, this product is a kind of "alert" in the form of an email notification. Now you are probably wondering what you will be notified about - the answer is quite simple: you decide. 

Based on the selection of search terms you make, you will then always be informed about news relevant to you. So, for example, you could set up a Google Alert for your hotel name, city, region or other search terms that will help you adjust your rates and availabilities according to the market situation. The earlier you are informed about current news events, the better. For example, take advantage of increased interest from events in your area and increase your revenue.

Google-Trends

A Google product that provides insights into the search volume of different search terms and compares them with each other is Google-Trends. You can see how high the search volume for your hotel, your city, different events or similar is. With the help of Google Trends, you can therefore create seasonal or current content, which attracts a particularly high level of interest and thus additionally boosts the traffic of your website. The trend analysis also allows you to draw conclusions about the time when the demand for special offers is particularly high and thus supports you in your time planning.

YouTube

YouTube can also revolutionize your Internet presence. Have you ever thought about giving potential guests insights via short video sequences? Even the cheapest smartphones are equipped with good camera technology these days, so why not take the opportunity and increase your reach for free.

The video platform can become an impactful marketing channel for you, giving your guests another touchpoint to become aware of you. In addition, YouTube has its own advertising system. So you have the additional opportunity to place promotional videos on the platform. The advantage here is that you only pay if your video is viewed or clicked for at least 30 seconds.

Google Analytics

Are you asking yourself what your website is actually capable of? Google also provides you with the right answer to this question: Google Analytics gives you detailed insights into the performance of your website and the usage behavior of your visitors free of charge. 

The tool is extremely powerful and gives you information about which areas of your site are particularly interesting for users or where you might need to make improvements. It's also good to know that Analytics is now compatible with many IBEs and the technical setup is straightforward. However, for in-depth analyses and objectives, you should consult a specialist.

Google Surveys

Last but not least, we would like to give you a Google product that allows you to easily collect feedback from your guests - Google Surveys.

No matter if you need feedback on service, gastronomy or special offers, with Google Surveys you can easily create and send surveys. It allows you to uncover possible areas for improvement or to find out which are the decisive selling points for your hotel. In addition, you receive input for future measures. The use of the tool is completely free of charge.

Summary

As you can see, Google offers you a suitable solution for almost every digital problem, and most of the time it's even free of charge. So what are you waiting for? Don't miss out on this potential and expand your online presence. We are happy to support you in setting up and optimizing the various products.