Move Over Facebook and Yelp: TripAdvisor Tops The Charts in Customer Trustworthiness
Big news for restaurant owners, expert baristas, and anybody looking to get foot traffic in their storefront’s door: TripAdvisor have released a survey on diner behavior, and…well, the news is good for TripAdvisor.
So what insight does the study lay out?
There are some things we knew already. Firstly, restaurant diners are reading reviews more than ever before. The study identified that as many as 94% of survey respondents reported checking online reviews before heading to a restaurant. This goes in line with what we already know about consumer behavior across every industry—customers go to the Internet to find info before they are willing to open their wallets.
The more novel piece of information that the study brings is the news that 60% of U.S. diners and 64% of international clients reported being swayed by online photos in a business’s listing.
This is good news for every industry—compelling images of your storefront or products can help tip the scale in your favour.
The other most crucial point of info in the survey is that, among Google, Facebook, Yelp and other local site directories, TripAdvisor smashed the competition. Over 78% of survey respondents reported using TripAdvisor to research restaurants and tourist attractions before heading out, with only 41% of respondents citing the same figures for Yelp.
The shocking news? A paltry 22% reported using Google My Business to look up restaurants at home or abroad, and support for Facebook’s local directories was only in the single digits.
Can We Trust Local Marketing Directories?
Well, …the survey was sponsored by TripAdvisor and offered to visitors on the TripAdvisor website. So it’s not exactly a placebo-controlled double-blind study. Odds are if you polled 50 random people on the street and gave them the same questions, we wouldn’t get these numbers.
However, there is one key takeaway, no matter what industry you work in. Citations in local directories work.
People want to find out where your business is, they want to read reviews of other customers who’ve used your services, and they want to get as much information as they can about your business online before they commit to making any decisions.
It’s one major reason why having a strong web presence is so important. And a good web presence doesn’t just mean slapping up a website and calling it a day; you need to make sure your local listings are accurate, with a consistent NAP (name, address, phone number) across all platforms, you need to be actively soliciting and responding to reviews, and you need quality content that gets people to stay on your site once they’ve arrived.
How Do I Get Started?
LinkNow Media are the undisputed masters of local marketing. Within one day of signing up for our Local SEO packages, we’ll have you listed on all the top high-value business directories—like Yelp, Google My Business, and Facebook. And yep, that includes TripAdvisor for restaurants!
Pore over our “amazing local marketing packages here” , then give us a call!
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