3 Steps That Every Hospitality Owner Should Be Taking For Google Ads S4E2

Welcome to season four of the Boost Hospitality podcast. I'm back again to show all hospitality owners how you can turn lookers into bookers, get more heads on beds and increase your direct booking. This season I've got something very special lined up. The boosterly website was recently voted one of the top 10 UK hotel blogs out there. After asking you guys, I realized that so many of you haven't actually read the blogs. You said that you prefer audio as a way of learning about new tactics.

And tips to get in more direct bookings.

So what I'm doing this season is I'm going to be providing the audio version of all of my blogs that.

Are on the Boostly website.

So it doesn't matter whether you're on the computer, in the car, getting ready for breakfast or changing those beds.

I can show you how you can increase your diary book. Let's get on with the show. Today I'm going to talk about three things about Google Ads that every independent hospitality owner must know. It's an excellent time for hospitality businesses. Many travellers, especially those millennials, are traveling to independent properties over the big chains to gain a more local and authentic experience. This is because of the rise of Airbnb. Big chain just cannot compete with independent properties. Unique connection to the towns and cities and travellers are real. So with the shift of customer preference going away from the chains and to the independent properties, Google Ads is one of the best ways to advertise your property in this way. In this audio version of my blog, I'm going to show you how to stand out from the crowd by using free, very handy Google Ads tips. As always, I would love to get your feedback. Find me on Twitter Ostlyuk Facebook at Boost Hospitality. Or you can even come onto the website www.boostlead.co.uk and type in free tips Google Ads and put in the comments below. So why use Google Ads? It's the most extensive online advertising network in the world. In addition to its comprehensive yet targeted reach, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get to the number one position. The reason why so many properties don't use it is because they think they have to spend a lot of money to get there. This is what I want to show you in this blog on how you can achieve the top spot and only spend pennies in the process. Number one new advantages with expanded ad text. So Google recently announced changes where it gives you more text to be able to put in front of your users. So before you could have a very limited reach with the amount of text you could use, for example, it was about 25 characters. Now you can have over 30 characters, you can have 80 characters in the description. So you're really able to manipulate what the user sees. For example, in your organic search, which is what comes up in the non paid bit, you have to really be careful what you put in because obviously you're trying or your website designer is trying to get your property to rank for very generic terms. But with AdWords you can put whatever you want in there. So things like official property, website best rates guaranteed, book direct, you know, talk about your unique. What is unique about your property? Is it close to a landmark? Do you have the best breakfast in town? Is there something about your local architecture and decor? Expand on that and you get the ability to do so with ads. I see so many properties and so many people doing ads that don't even use to call out extensions or to call extensions because no one's ever told you how and why. So that's why it's so important. The long tail keyword. Keywords. So in simple terms are words or phrases that people type into Google. For example, if you were to type in hospitality marketing uk, that's a very short keyword, and Boostly might not come up. But if you were to type in the best hospitality marketing company in the uk, I think Boostly would come up. So let's put that into your. Into more hospitality terms. So if, for example, someone wants to find a property in Cornwall UK that's pet friendly and child friendly, they could type in family and pet friendly hotels in Cornwall. Now that is what's classed as a long tail keyword. And AdWords has a keyword tool checker that will be able to tell you not only how many people are typing in that result every single month, but how many competition you've got on there. So it's ranked in low, medium or high. So if you were to put in that search in family and pet friendly hotels in Cornell, for example, and it's averaging over a thousand searches a month, but the competition is medium or low, that is a really good keyword to be bidding on because it's got a lot of searches and there's not many other people that are bidding on it. Now if you were just to go in and do a Google Ad campaign around hotels in Cornwall, now that is a very competitive keyword because that is targeting a user or a guest at the very start of their booking process. And if you want to find out more about the booking process, go into Google and type in boostly booking process. I've got a full five step podcast series which explains about it in a much more detail. But that is right at the very start of it. And the OTAs, Marriott, Hiltons, the big chains, they spend millions to ensure that they can target someone at that stage. So you don't even want to get involved in that fight because it's one you'll never win. Instead, be clever and target people who are going after those long tail keywords. These are more specific, but these are more your ideal customers. It's quality over quantity. Yeah, you could get a one night stay from somebody who's right at the very start and someone that you may not want to come and stay at a property. Or you can get a 7 to 14 night stay from your exact customer avatar because they're a perfect match for what you're offering. So it's all about the long tail keyword number three, bidding on your brand name. It's the secret weapon, to be perfectly honest, and it's one that so many people don't do, including the big chains. And I know because I've been there and I've spoken to big chains at events and conferences about this. We have to all of us be bidding on your brand name. Even if you come at the top of your.