Google Things to Do helps customers discover new and unique things to do, making it easier for you to promote your tours, attractions, and activities and connect with interested consumers. With Things to Do, you can integrate your Xola experiences easily within your settings.
This will help get your experiences in front of the hundreds of millions of people who come to Google daily for their travel needs. Google is there to help you get discovered, with the choice to list for free or advertise on Google.
To learn more click here.
To visit the Google Things to do page, click here.
Note: Your business must be registered on Google in order to integrate with Google Things to Do.
What's covered in this article:
- How to set up Google things to do in Xola
- What Does it Look Like on Google
- FAQs
- Things to keep in mind
How to set up Google Things to do in Xola
Install and configure the Google Things to Do app in Xola
- Navigate to the Xola App Store by clicking the App Store tab in the upper right-hand corner.
- Locate Google Things to Do and select the App Store tile.
- Click the green Install button.
- To choose which Experiences are distributed on Google Things to Do go to Settings > Apps > Google Things to Do > Configure > select your Experiences.
- Once an experience is selected, you can search for a Google Place to associate your experience with. Google Things to Do optimizes for Points of Interest (POI) which are well-known landmarks like the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty. For best results, choose a popular/major Point of Interest that your experience visits.
- Select if this listing is Admission or Offical
- Admission: Includes entry to the POI.
- Official: Indicates that your business is the official ticket provider for that POI (this is generally only true if you are a museum, the attraction, etc)
Note: Any updates to preferences can take up to 24 hours to process. Your customers will be unable to book any experiences that are not configured, have no availability, etc.
Ensure your website is configured correctly
- Navigate to Settings > Basic Info
- Verify that you have the correct website entered. Google Things to Do will send referrals to the homepage of this website.
- Verify that you have the Xola JavaScript snippet present on the homepage of your website. You can find the snippet by navigating to Settings > Button Code. This is required for Xola to display the correct product for your referral.
What Does it Look Like on Google
Google Things To Do will primarily focus on Points of Interest (POIs) such as the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and Central Park. Whether your experience revolves around a POI or involves visiting POIs, you can showcase your experiences when people search on Google. You can also take advantage of advertising opportunities through Google Ads to feature your products on the Ads Carousel at the top of Google Search results.
Google offers two booking modules ( Operator and POI) through Google Things to Do. This provides different options for getting a guest to your booking link. Operator Booking Module means you are the operator/owner of that POI that is entered, and POI Booking Module means your experiences go by or start at that POI. Most of Xola's customers will fall into the POI Booking Module.
Note: Google does not accept per-outing pricing experiences to be listed through this integration.
Operator Booking Module (OBM):
- Go to your Google Business Profile and configure this under Prices
- The Google Business Profile must be claimed and open for this module to show
- When guests click See Tickets, Google will show all the options in which a guest can buy tickets, including your Offical Site and OTAs.
Point of Interest (POI) Module:
The POI Module also uses Google search to direct customers to booking links associated with specific Points of Interest (POIs). Below are explanations and examples of the three different variations of the POI module.
Note: Offical Site icon represents your website and will direct people to buy tickets directly from you.
Admissions:
- Eligible Point of Interest (POI) will show General Admission tickets on your Google Business Profile Page when searched.
Note: This may not show if you have multiple POIs listed for an experience or are not the official ticket provider for that POI.
Booking Options/Experiences:
- This will show only for experiences associated with a POI or multiple POIs on your Google Business Profile Page when searched.
Ads
- This will show when guests search on Google Search bar things to do in an area (e.g. Things to do in New York)
- Xola does not manage this for you. Please manage Google Ads in your Google Ads account.
- To learn more, click here.
Note: Bookings made via the Google Things to Do link will be tagged "Google Things to do" in Xola.
FAQ
How do people find my offerings on Google?
Google Things to Do focuses on Points of Interest (POIs), such as the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and Central Park. Whether your business is a POI itself or you offer experiences related to those POIs, you can showcase your offerings when people search for these locations on Google. Additionally, you can utilize Google Ads to have your products featured on the Ads Carousel located at the top of Google's search results.
How do I improve my ranking with Google?
Improving your local SEO rankings is crucial, and Google My Business (GMB) plays a significant role in achieving that. Simply creating a GMB account isn't enough - you must also ensure that it's verified, optimized, and regularly maintained. In fact, GMB has emerged as the most crucial factor in local rankings. To help you improve your ranking, Google offers a useful resource that you can access.
How do I get the “Official Site” icon on my listing?
The Official Site icon is reserved for the experience operator. You must meet Google's criteria to get this. To learn more, click here.
What if my business is not the main operator of a Point Of Interest?
Google Things to Do will still showcase your experience options as long as you’ve included the point of interest in Xola.
Can I charge more/less for my Google Things to Do experience?
Your experience on Google Things to Do must match the price offered in Xola, or Google will not display that experience.
What’s the difference between Google Things to Do and the old Reserve with Google?
Reserve with Google relied on certain OTA and Reservation Technology companies to function. However, this often meant operators had to pay a commission for bookings made through Google. In contrast, Google Things to Do allows customers to book directly through your website, eliminating the need for a middle man and you receive the bookings directly.
Things to keep in mind
- Listings with Tiered Pricing or Group Discount configurations may not apply in Google Things to Do. Google will use the base price for the ticket price shown on Google Things to Do page.
- Google does not accept per-outing pricing experiences to be sold through this integration.
- Virtual Experiences are not supported by Google Things to Do and will not show on the Google Things to Do page.
- Any updates to preferences can take up to 24 hours to process.
- Your customers will be unable to book any experiences that are not configured, have no availability, etc.
- To learn more about Google Things to-do policies, please click here.