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What’s New With Google: Review Attributes, Top-Rated Labels, Hotel Attributes

…minently highlight both the positive and negative feedback your business receives to better inform potential customers. In an effort to do bring this critical information to the surface, Google began asking customers to select both positive and negative attributes any time they leave a review for your business (unless they leave a 3-star review). When a customer leaves a 4 or 5-star review for your business. Google will then prompt users to select positive attributes to better describe their ……Google continues to focus on being the first and only destination searchers need to turn to during their time of need. In order to achieve this, they must, in turn, consistently refine their technology to better meet consumers’ evolving needs. Lately, it appears Google has been hard at work doing just that, quietly pushing out new functionality with Review attributes and in the Local Pack, as well as adding new features for the hospitality industry. In this blog post, we will dive into what ……ocal Pack, as well as adding new features for the hospitality industry. In this blog post, we will dive into what each of these new updates entails, as well as recommendations from our local search experts on how to make the most of Google’s latest enhancements for local businesses. Let's find out what's new with Google. Review Attributes Expand Google seeks to prominently highlight both the positive and negative feedback your business receives to better inform potential customers. In an e…

The Latest Google My Business Updates Hotel Brands Can’t Miss

…y, languages spoken, concierge, 24-hour front desk, etc. Google also released new health and safety attributes to all business categories to display whether staff receive temperature checks, wear masks, etc. Note: Google has advised that there is currently a known issue with updating hotel attributes via the API and spreadsheets. Please contact your Rio SEO Account Director if you have any questions. COVID-19 Responder Policy This hotel-specific attribute enables you to display that y……The Coronavirus pandemic brought with it sweeping, wide-ranging, and impactful local marketing disruptions for all brands, with hospitality one of the hardest hit. In November, while tracking local search metrics in GMB for over 200,000 locations each month to better bring to light the impact of the pandemic, we found that hospitality brands’ metrics were down across the board by double digits. Search views, search volume, clicks and various types of conversions from local search were all d…

Best Practices for Local SEO for Hotel Brands as Travel Restrictions Ease

…evisit the health and safety attributes added to the platform in late 2020 to help searchers find the information they need. These attributes include characteristics including appointments required, masks required, and staff requirements to wear masks and complete temperature checks. Google continues to add more all the time. Now, there are nearly 100 attributes to provide important, decision-informing information including special interests like wellness, all-inclusive, and amenities such ……As travel advisories are relaxing and some U.S. markets are opening up for the summer tourism season, now is the ideal time to optimize your hotel brand’s local presence. In turn, optimizing local SEO for hotel brands has become crucial as travel restrictions and interest eases. According to a recent Harris Poll, 77% of Americans plan to travel this summer (29% remain cautious but optimistic). Additionally, 42% cite health and safety factors as a barrier to travel. Conditions are right for …

PG Forsta hosts 12th annual Community Day, second worldwide event

…PG Forsta, the renowned leader in transforming the Human Experience (HX) across the healthcare ecosystem of patient, employee, member, consumer, and customer journeys, held its twelfth annual Community Day on Tuesday, September 12. This year marks the second-ever Community Day held by the unified PG Forsta company on a global scale. Community Day represents a $1,000,000 investment by the company annually. In South Bend, Indiana, approximately 500 employees based in PG Forsta’s flagship o…

National pharmacy brand prescribed a hyperlocal content strategy to cure local rankings

…National pharmacy brand prescribed a hyperlocal content strategy to cure local rankings Tools used Local Reporting Hyperlocal Content The challenge A major pharmacy retailer sought a comprehensive local SEO strategy to increase organic and local visibility across its thousands of locations. The brand had a solid foundation of optimized landing pages and accurate local listings, and needed an extra push to gain visibility in under-performing markets, particularly i…

Guide to Google Business Profiles for hospitality brands

… 70% more likely to visit and 50% more likely to consider purchasing from businesses with a complete Business Profile. For hotel brands, Google listings can help build brand trust and authority in the communities you serve, surface your hotel higher in Google Maps and the Local Pack, and highlight your property’s features and amenities to convert searchers to satisfied customers. Your local listing on Google is a consolidated snapshot of the essential information customers need to know t…

Holiday customer service 101: 8 tips to prepare your team

…riences and give agents time to handle urgent service requests. Technology can be a reliable route when it comes to customer service management. It can also alleviate repetitive or time-consuming tasks your customer service team may have to deal with in influx during the holiday season. This is where AI can help. AI can help route customers to the correct representative through chatbots and initial questions during phone calls. Chatbots can help track packages, provide different options to……ptions Omnichannel support Reframe scalable staffing Personalize your local customer’s experience Your customer’s initial experience with your business likely begins long before they land on your website or set foot in your store. Today, 83% of local consumers are searching daily to find information about businesses in their area – and what they find can mean the difference between conversion to an in-store or online visit or their clicking on to a competitor. For many…

Effective local holiday marketing strategies for seasonal success

…hese personalized touches show you’re paying attention. Leverage social media Social media is a powerful way to make empathy come to life in real time. This is where customers share concerns, ask questions, and look for advice—and it’s where your brand can shine by engaging authentically. Respond to comments and messages quickly, offer helpful advice, and highlight budget-friendly promotions in a way that feels approachable. Real-time engagement builds trust and makes your brand m…… marketing strategies for seasonal success Content Connect with empathy in tough times Adapt to your customers’ new rhythms Tap into your community Keep customers in the know Deliver experiences customers remember Supercharge your strategies with AI Key takeaways The holidays are looming closer, and marketers are well aware that this year’s marketing playbook needs a serious update. Inflation is tightening budgets, labor shortages are stretchi…

A complete guide to local holiday marketing strategy

…A complete guide to local holiday marketing strategy Introduction For most retailers, the holiday season is the most significant revenue-generating period of the year, kicking off around Black Friday and culminating at Christmas. Despite pandemic-related concerns, holiday retail sales reached $777 billion USD in 2020 and $1.2 trillion in 2021. It’s not all about ecommerce, either – not yet. In fact, brick-and-mortar sales surged by 17.3% last holiday season, with ecom…

6 Tips For Building a Successful Holiday Marketing Strategy [Webinar Recap]

…To say holiday shopping will be different this year is an understatement. In the past, retailers have eagerly prepared for the influx of foot traffic coming to their locations months in advance. Now, gathering in crowds is not only frowned upon but also impractical with the lingering effects of COVID-19. As difficult as the year has been for both businesses and consumers, the holiday season is a prime opportunity for brands to recapture lost revenue. However, in order to gain consumer’s tru……ess this holiday season, brands must be prepared to reshape their holiday marketing strategy to account for shifts in consumer behavior. In our recent webinar, we were joined by a panel of marketing experts to discuss how to build a successful 2020 holiday marketing strategy. We were fortunate to be joined by Ross Hudgens, Founder, and CEO of Siege Media, Miranda Miller, Writer/Editor, Content & Digital Marketing Strategist, and Ezekireal Thomas, SEO Strategist with MediaHub. In an effort t…

2022 Holiday Marketing Strategy Best Practices You Need to Know

…2022 Holiday Marketing Strategy Best Practices You Need to Know If your 2022 holiday marketing strategy looks the same as it did last year, you're not setting your business up for success. Each year customer needs and expectations vastly evolve. Consider just two to three years ago. Most consumers hadn't yet leveraged curbside pickup or buy online pickup in store (BOPIS). Think back to ten years ago. Consumers did most of their shopping and services in-person. Now, consumers are shifting t……aigns and prepare for the influx of holiday shoppers to come in the next several months, we recently hosted an in-depth virtual event. We were joined by a fantastic panel of SEO and digital marketing experts to help us discuss emerging holiday marketing trends and strategies to better inform your 2022 holiday marketing strategy. Each year, we’re seeing consumers begin their holiday shopping earlier and earlier, which is why we discussed holiday marketing campaigns in late August. In fact, Th…

11 Tips for Enterprise Local Holiday Marketing Success Despite COVID-19

…x of a certain type of review—on your locations’ social distancing practices, for example, or about temporarily closed locations. Update your pre-approved response templates, assign team members tasked with responding, and make sure your triage and escalation expectations are clear. Learn more in How to Pivot Your Local Reviews Management Strategy in a Crisis. Equip your team with the technology needed to manage listings, reviews, and pages at scale. Multi-location retail brands must hav……It’s difficult to even hazard a guess as to how consumers will behave leading into and throughout the critical holiday shopping season. As we’ve learned throughout 2020, the state of affairs can change near-instantly. What is certain is that enterprise brands will face unique challenges in connecting with consumers at the local level and will need to pivot their local holiday marketing strategies as we near the holidays. As Lauren Freedman mused recently in DigitalCommerce360, “It’s har……h setup where everything we need to collect and interpret our data for over 100,000 locations within a single platform was massive. We have access to a full team of proactive, passionate local search experts, which is huge when challenges and questions inevitably come up.” Update your review management strategy and prepare for a possible increase in review volume. You might experience a period of paused reviews, as we saw this spring. Or, you could have an influx of a certain type of revie…

Google My Business Categories: How to Pick the Best Categories for Your GMB Listing [Guest Post]

…“Google My Business Categories: How to Pick the Best Categories for Your GMB Listing” is a guest post by Sherry Bonelli, and is the first post in a two-blog post series on Google My Business category selection. Picking the right Google My Business (GMB) categories for your GMB listing is a particularly important step to optimize your GMB profile. Not only do GMB categories have a direct impact on rankings (your primary category especially), but they also play a role in determining which fea……n follow the “how to suggest new categories to Google” article here. Sherry's second, follow-up blog post on Google My Business categories can be found here! Rio SEO’s team of local marketing experts is here to help your business select the right category for the products and services you offer. Get in touch today if you need support or want to take advantage of our free local audit offer. Author Bio: Sherry Bonelli, owner of early bird digital marketing, is a Search Engine Optimization …

From listings to lasting connections: How Market 32/Price Chopper achieved local SEO wins with Rio SEO’s Local Pages

…From listings to lasting connections: How Market 32/Price Chopper achieved local SEO wins with Rio SEO’s Local Pages Tools used Local Listings Local Pages Read now The challenge A need for seamless local SEO management Market 32/Price Chopper, a leading multi-location supermarket chain, faced challenges in managing accurate local listings and providing a seamless omnichannel experience for customers. With 130 store locations and a strong e-commerce presence,…

From outdated location pages to enhanced visibility: How a renowned women’s retailer leveraged Rio SEO’s solutions for strategic wins

…ocation pages to enhanced visibility: How a renowned women’s retailer leveraged Rio SEO’s solutions for strategic wins Tools used Local Listings Local Pages Read now The challenge Boosting local visibility to drive in-store traffic A global retailer in women’s fashion and beauty knew that optimizing its local search strategy was key to standing out in a competitive landscape. With over 800 stores across North America, the brand faced a major challenge—…

Google My Business API V4.9 Update: More Hours Available for Listings

…Google recently announced a new update to its Google My Business API. The latest Google My Business API V4.9 update introduces more hours for businesses that need additional hours types to better inform searchers of their hours of operation. By enabling businesses to add more hours, they can then ensure accurate information is displayed on their listings for unique services they offer that may differ from their regular business hours. For example, a quick-service restaurant may open from 10 …

Why high-quality photos on Google Business Profiles drive clicks and conversions

…Why high-quality photos on Google Business Profiles drive clicks and conversions In local search, first impressions matter—and they’re often visual. High-quality photos on your Google Business Profile (GBP) can mean the difference between a customer choosing your business or scrolling past. Quality images have a measurable impact, too. As Darren Shaw discovered, there is now tangible evidence that photos directly impact your GBP rankings. Great photos don’t just show wha…

Google’s helpful content system to surface hidden gems

…g that it aligns with ethical standards and provides accurate and trustworthy information. While AI can assist in content creation by generating ideas, providing insights, or automating specific tasks, it is essential to balance its role with human expertise. Showcase the expertise of content creators and local stakeholders Local owners, managers, franchisees, and their teams are the heart and soul of enterprise brand locations. These are your public-facing assets and the point of cont……Google's helpful content system to surface hidden gems Content A brief overview of the Helpful Content System The next iteration of Helpful Content will uncover more "hidden gems" How the Helpful Content System differs from other Google updates Best practices and tips for creating helpful brand content Google plans to continue updating its Helpful Content System as it implements AI in Search in various ways. Recently, it announced its "hidden gems" update.…

Hospitality

…First-class local experiences Your guests’ booking experience begins the moment they find your brand in search. This experience extends beyond search—when they engage with your local listings, click to your website, leave your hotel a review, and become an advocate for your hotel brand. A good local experience is built with trusted solutions tailored to hospitality brands. Rio SEO’s Local Experience Platform powers exceptional customer experiences throughout the entire customer jo…

2022 Hospitality Local Consumer Search Behavior Breakdown

… during the global financial crisis in 2009. In March of 2020, listing views for hotels were down 53% MoM, and by April 2020, they were down even further by 63% MoM. Hospitality brands in 2021 were tasked with making necessary COVID-19 adaptations to accommodate evolve, virtual tours, creating a digital environment for consumers to picture themselves in the hotel, and limited cleaning services for multi-day stays. Google also enabled 100 new ‘Hotel attributes’ with the GMB API 4.8 update ……Consumer behavior shifts occur often, given economic changes, current affairs, and other unforeseen disruptions. However, the shifts seen in hospitality local consumer search behavior over the past two years are a reminder that your hotel's local strategy must continually evolve. Keeping a pulse on how others are performing in your industry is one way to recognize ongoing trends and benchmark your success. That’s why each year, we release an annual study on how COVID-19 and other extern…