The power of Tripadvisor is rapidly diminishing. Google, on the other hand, is stronger than ever, consistently being used by travellers in NZ and Australia as THE place to share online reviews. In fact, 70% of people, when given a choice, decide to share reviews on Google, 15% on TripAdvisor and 15% on Facebook Recommendations*.
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Tripadvisor is still a powerful platform that can help you get bookings, but Google reviews is taking the crown as the most influential decision-making tool for most customers.

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Getting 5-star Google reviews from customers is also helping businesses boost their search presence. The more 5-star reviews you have, the higher relevance Google will give your web page in search results.

Google says:‍

“Our algorithms might decide that a business that’s farther away from your location is more likely to have what you’re looking for than a business that’s closer and therefore rank it higher in local results.”

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→ A quick look at movements Google has made in tourism in the last few years:

The Google Travels website was launched in 2019, pulling together flights, hotels and vacation packages, as well as a variety of trip-planning tools and recommendations, all on one page. The features are also available in Google Search and Google Maps, making Google Maps more of a super-app for travel, dining, events, spa appointments, and more. On top of that, Google can often proactively ask people for a review when it has seen your phone has visited a certain business.
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When your customers search for “things to do”, Google provides everything they need to know, from pricing to FAQ’s to reviews, right at their fingertips.

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Are you doing everything you can to build the best Google profile?

It’s important to make sure that your Google My Business details and business hours are always up to date and correct. Set up FAQs and share a link to your Google reviews page with your customers to make it easy for them to review — Yonder can help any business automate this.

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Yonder can also help you save time when it comes to monitoring and responding to your online reviews, which is something Google highly recommends doing: “When you reply to reviews, it shows that you value your customers and their feedback. High-quality, positive reviews from your customers can improve your business visibility and increase the likelihood that a shopper will visit your location.”

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*This split is measured when given only three options of Google, Tripadvisor and Facebook reviews.