What’s New with Google Things to do, and How can Tour Operators Benefit from it?
In early 2021, Google announced the launch of Things to do—the successor to Google Reserve that had been sunsetted by July 2021.
In case you missed it—head over to our blog, Farewell to Reserve with Google. But What’s Next?
The newly introduced Things to do displays your products with pricing information and free ticket booking links in front of people worldwide who rely on Google for planning their trips. The travellers will be able to book your products directly from a Google Search result.
Attractions, tour, and activity operators can promote their ticket booking link at zero cost directly on Google Search, helping people find and compare their best travel options.
Zaui is an approved and connected partner of Google Things to do.
Get Free Listings on Google Things To Do (GTTD) with Zaui
Here is the great news: Zaui is an approved and official partner of Google Things to do. This means that our Online Booking Software can help you reach millions of users searching for travel-related terms all over the world. We have known Google for its endless reach and visibility, and with all the offerings of this new and revamped platform, you can boost your bookings, and improve your brand image. Now, here is the best part; it is absolutely 100% free, isn’t that awesome?
What is Google Things to do?
Things to do is the new google display feature on Google for travellers to discover and compare prices across tours, activities, and attractions worldwide. It helps operators like you drive more bookings as it is quick and easy for users to click through and book tickets directly on your websites.
Tours, activities, and tickets to local attractions can be listed with Things to do. Displaying your products in an easy, searchable way increases your reach and drives new customer acquisition. Your prospective guests who search for in-destination activities get complete, accurate, and timely information from your inventory on Things to do (GTTD).
How Does it Work?
When travellers search for attractions, Things to do displays general information, ticket pricing, online booking links for basic admission, and other booking options available.
For example, if anyone searches for the Statue of Liberty, Things to do will provide users with an overview, reviews, photos, and most importantly, the ticket booking link and other options.
The ticket tab covers ticket pricing and direct booking links from the attraction’s Google listing directly to its website, listings from OTAs and some tour operators that include the attraction on tour. The first link provides the official site link, which takes potential guests to the operator’s website for a direct booking.
How is it Different from Reserve with Google?
Instead of the ‘Buy Tickets’ button in Reserve with Google, Things to do offers a list of booking options, including a direct booking link to the operators’ website. It widens operators’ exposure to get more bookings. By directing potential customers to the official website, the operator OWNS the guest relationship, unlike the predecessor Reserve with Google. Moreover, you do not need to be with a specific payment gateway, as was the case previously.
Google has also introduced new ad formats for Things to do to help advertisers drive additional revenue and bookings as recovery continues. With the new ad feature, operators can expand their reach even further and get a leg up on their competition.
When the feature officially rolls out for tours and activities, operators can display their inventory through free listings, as well as dynamic ad formats.
📍Free Listings
Operators can promote their ticket booking links at zero cost to reach more potential customers worldwide, like the free hotel booking links Google introduced earlier this year.
📍New Ad Format
Things to do will also have an ad format to help operators stand out and expand their reach. The Google ads appear above the search results and show various details, including photos, prices, your company’s name and a booking link for the activity.
Tour operators don’t need to go through the hassle of creating ads and target keywords for an ad campaign. Instead, Google automatically uses data from their inventory feed based on the ad group label. With the set budget, operators can target travellers based on their country of residence and their device.
It’s still early days for Google Things to do, and the program will likely evolve in the coming months and years. Follow our blog, Facebook, or LinkedIn pages to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in Google Things to do.
How can Tour and Activity Providers benefit from Google Things To Do?
More Reach and Visibility
We live in a world where we use Google to look for anything and everything. Hence, it opens more avenues for you to connect with your interested customers. As a Tour and Activity business, you have the opportunity to create a searchable booking link to drive traffic to your website. On this platform, the customers will be directed to your website link instead of booking directly through Google which gives you more visibility and reach than ever before.
Get the official site badge to build trust
If you fulfill the general landing page policy, you will become eligible for an official site badge that will not only lend credibility to your business but will also help you stand out from your competitors. The more you can show your visitors that you are reliable, the likelihood of obtaining direct bookings will increase. Oftentimes, ‘trust’ is one of the primary reasons why your customers might choose a reseller over direct bookings. An official site badge can put that feather in your hat that can prove to them that you are trustworthy enough for direct bookings.
Generate more Revenue
All the visibility and reach that GTTD provides for your business can affect your bottom line to a great extent. As you start appearing for more searches, you have the opportunity to leverage that additional traffic in multiple ways.
You might have to put in extra work to optimize your booking landing packages to appear for multiple search terms and create multiple packages with different add-ons to increase your upselling potential.
You can increase your mailing list or create retargeting audiences by asking your customers to fill out a form. The larger traffic to your landing page also serves as a great way to collect more meaningful demographic data for your business and Google ad optimization. Implementing a Marketing strategy that leverages the data you have collected can provide you with endless opportunities to generate more revenue.
How can Tour and Activity Operators Participate?
Zaui, as a connected partner of Google Things to do, is ready to sell your products through Things to do. If you’re a current Zaui user and operating tours or activities, head over to our Knowledge Base article for more information on how to start sending your products to Google through the Zaui reservation system.
You can get your products listed on Google via your online reservation system if it’s one of Google’s connectivity partners, like Zaui. As you set up the integration through the reservation software, ensure that you have good-quality content describing your products.
Make sure that your product description mentions the attractions and Points of Interest (POI) that are featured in your experience or tours. Remember to keep updating your Google business profile and Google My Business listings as well as, pay attention to Google’s content suggestions and guidelines to give your ticket options the best chance to appear in search results.
Have any questions or need more assistance? Contact our team.
If you are an individual attraction, tour operator, or activity provider, Google strongly recommends working with one of their connectivity providers to get your products listed rather than integrating directly.
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