Google Business Profile for travel businesses
A travel company's Google listing works twice: travellers who have arrived find you on the map, and travellers who are about to pay a deposit check your reviews and address to make sure you're real. I set it up within Google's rules and keep it current through the seasons.
What I set up for a travel listing
Office or service area
A storefront if guests visit your office, a service-area business if you meet them elsewhere, or both if both are true.
Category and services
Travel agency or tour operator as primary, with your main trip types listed as services.
Seasonal hours
Office hours that change with the season, and special hours when you are away with guests.
Trip photos
Your office, your vehicles, your guides and real trips, refreshed each season.
Trust details
A description that mentions your registration and what you specialise in, without keywords in the name.
Reviews
A link sent at the end of each trip and a reply to every review.
Why travel listings get suspended
- A town or "best tour package" added to the business name
- An address at a hotel, a taxi stand or a relative's shop where you don't really work
- Several listings for one company in different towns
- Service areas covering whole states instead of where you actually go
- Reviews bought, swapped or rewarded with discounts
If your listing is already suspended
A suspension can usually be appealed once the cause is fixed. I check the listing against Google's guidelines, correct the name, address or service areas, gather evidence such as a shop licence, signage photos and a utility bill, and help you file the appeal. My guide to a suspended Google Business Profile explains the process.
For the search work around the listing, see SEO for travel businesses, and for the site, travel website design.
Questions about travel listings
Travel agency or tour operator: which category?
Choose the one that describes what you mainly do. A travel agency arranges trips and bookings; a tour operator runs the tours itself. If you do both, pick the main one as primary and add the other as a secondary category.
I work from home and meet guests at their hotels. Can I have a listing?
Yes, as a service-area business. You hide your home address and list the areas where you collect or serve guests, up to Google's limits. You can't list a public address where you don't actually receive customers.
How do I collect reviews from guests who've gone home?
Send a short review link on WhatsApp on the last day of the trip or the day after, while the trip is fresh. A QR card in the vehicle works too. Ask every guest, not only the happy ones, and never offer anything in return.
Is your travel listing working, or at risk?
Send me your Google Maps link. I'll check it against Google's rules and tell you what I'd fix before it causes a problem.