Google My Business Optimization Increased 253% Views

The Abstract Hotel & Residences, a luxury modern hotel in Auckland, New Zealand, was struggling to attract online guests. Despite its prime location and excellent services, the hotel's online presence was weak, leading to fewer bookings and low guest engagement.

The hotel's management knew they needed a digital transformation and turned to Konnetor. As a digital marketing agency, we took on the challenge to improve the hotel's Google My Business (GMB) profile and local SEO.

This case study explains the steps we took, the problems we faced, and the results we achieved.

The Abstract Hotel & Residences: Background

About the Client: The Abstract Hotel & Residences is a high-end luxury hotel known for its beautiful architecture, personalized service, and stunning views of the city.

It offers a range of amenities, including a event spaces, fine dining restaurant, spa, and luxurious apartments. The hotel is a popular choice for travelers looking for a luxurious and memorable stay in Auckland.

Initial State: Before working with Konnetor, the hotel’s GMB profile was outdated, with low-quality images and few customer reviews.

This led to poor local search rankings and minimal online engagement. The hotel's management recognized the need for a strategic plan to bridge this gap and reached out to Konnetor for help.

Our mission was clear.

We aimed to increase GMB views by 50% in three months, achieve top 3 rankings for key local search terms, and double the number of customer reviews, improving the rating from 3.8 to at least 4.5 stars.

Challenges and Issues

As we dug deeper, we discovered several issues. The hotel's Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) were inconsistent across various online platforms, causing confusion and hurting their SEO performance.

The GMB profile had outdated and unattractive photos, making it less appealing to potential guests.

Additionally, the profile had very few reviews, and the existing ones were mixed, affecting the hotel's online reputation.

We also found out that the hotel’s management team didn’t have much experience with local SEO and GMB optimization. Previous negative reviews had lowered the hotel’s overall rating, deterring potential guests.

We needed a strong strategy to overcome these challenges.

1. Audit

Our journey began with a detailed audit to understand the current state of the hotel’s GMB profile and local SEO performance.

We reviewed the accuracy of information, quality of images, and content of business descriptions and posts.

We also analyzed the hotel's local search rankings, keyword usage, and presence on local directories and review sites.

Finally, we compared the hotel’s online presence with local competitors to identify gaps and opportunities.

2. GMB Optimization

We started by making sure the hotel’s NAP information was the same everywhere online, including the GMB profile, local directories, and social media accounts. Consistency in these details is crucial for improving local SEO and helping potential guests easily find and contact the hotel.

Next, we updated the GMB profile with professional photos and videos showing the hotel’s amenities, rooms, and scenic views. High-quality visuals are essential for creating a strong first impression and engaging potential guests.

We also wrote interesting business descriptions and regular posts to highlight special offers and events, keeping the GMB profile lively and informative.

To tackle the issue of few reviews, we encouraged happy guests to leave positive feedback and responded quickly to all reviews, addressing negative comments constructively. Managing reviews effectively can significantly improve the hotel's online reputation and trustworthiness.

We also added booking links, answered FAQs, and listed the hotel’s services to make full use of GMB features. These steps helped improve the profile’s functionality and appeal, making it easier for guests to engage with the hotel.

2. Local SEO Strategy

Our local SEO strategy involved finding relevant local keywords and optimizing the hotel’s website and GMB profile for these terms. We focused on high-impact keywords like “luxury hotels in Auckland” and apartments in Auckland city.”

We also listed the hotel in local business directories and travel review sites to increase visibility and credibility.

Creating blog posts and pages about local events and attractions helped attract more visitors to the hotel’s website. Localized content not only provides valuable information to potential guests but also improves the website’s SEO performance.

We also optimized the website’s meta tags, headers, alt text for images, and internal links to improve its search engine rankings and visibility.

The results of our efforts were remarkable.

Also, The Abstract Hotel & Residences saw a noticeable increase in guest inquiries and bookings. Guests gave positive feedback about the improved online experience.

The hotel's management also noted an increase in direct bookings and overall guest satisfaction.

The transformation was clear: the hotel's online presence now reflected its true quality, attracting more guests and boosting its reputation.

The GMB optimization and local SEO project led to significant improvements in the hotel’s online visibility, search rankings, and customer engagement.

The improved online presence attracted more guests, increased bookings, and improved guest satisfaction.

The combined efforts of updating information, adding high-quality visuals, creating engaging content, managing reviews, and using local SEO strategies proved highly effective.