How Small Businesses Can Rank Higher on Review Websites like TripAdvisor

Small businesses have one major advantage over large corporations, particularly in the travel industry: They offer a personalized, local experience that can’t be found anywhere else. This can be beneficial in a variety of ways, but particularly on travel review sites. In many cases, small businesses earn higher rankings than their corporate competitors. It can take a bit of work though to earn those reviews, so here’s a few techniques you can use in order to generate additional reviews for your small tour and activity company.

3 Tips for Increasing the Reviews You Receive

1. Provide personalized service and go the extra mile for your customers. Then, simply ask for a review. The first step to earning great reviews is to provide an excellent experience for your customers. Offer free water on your tours, whereas the corporate giants might try to earn an extra buck by selling it at an inflated price. Customize your itineraries based on the preferences of your customers. At the end of the tour or activity, explain how beneficial reviews can be for your business and ask your customers to take the time to leave feedback when they have a moment. In many cases, this is all it takes for a small company to earn a few excellent reviews.
2. Send a postcard after the tour is complete requesting feedback on your site or other popular review sites. Compose handwritten letters to your customers and send them after their trip is complete. They will be impressed by the fact that you have gone to such great lengths to ask for a review, and will likely hop online immediately in order to share their experience.
3. Offer an incentive to leave positive feedback. Create a contest where customers who leave reviews will be entered to win a prize, such as a souvenir item or a discount on an upcoming tour. Incentives can easily motivate someone to leave reviews, especially if you have already delivered a great product. Some companies even give out small gift cards for leaving reviews — it’s a worthwhile investment when your rankings rise on TripAdvisor and you become the go-to tour company for your region.

By providing excellent customer service and high-quality tours and activities, you will easily earn powerful, valuable reviews that will increase your rankings on the most popular search engines and travel review sites. In addition, as a small business owner, your customers recognize the power of their feedback and they often want to reward your hard work with the praise you deserve. Travelers are more likely to leave reviews for small businesses than they are for larger, corporate tour companies. In fact, out of 100 travelers at a small tour company, you might earn 50 reviews. Conversely, a larger travel company may only convince 10 percent of their customers to leave reviews. Reviews play a pivotal role in your online presence and in your overall success, so it’s important to make them a priority.