Google (LBC) Local Business Center

1. Google (LBC) Local Business Center Free Listing, Free Updates, and(New) Free Insights Organize your Ownership Listing for enhanced Optimization and Reports. RevPar Ready Recommends Adding Your Hotel “GOOGLE PLACES” Formerly Known As RevParReady.com Presented by

2. Take control of your Hotel Listing and help customers find you on Google, it’s free! In a few minutes RevPar Ready or you can customize your hotel listing, add pictures and stand out from the competition. This presentation will provide you with the basics to verify and gain working access to everything Google LBC has to offer! The Google Local Business Center allows businesses to add, edit, maintain, and monitor your listings within Google Maps. Many of you already have your hotel listed through your brand efforts, however, Google now requires individual hotel locations to verify their own listings to take advantage of instant editing, updates, reports, coupons, and more. For additional information, check out the Google Help Center or go directly to www.google.com/local/add

3. Getting Started: • Utilizean existing Google account, or create a new account fromthe Google LBC home page atmaps.google.com/lbc - Just sign in

4. If this is your first listing for the account, you’ll be taken directly to the “add listing” page (pictured below) • If not, click the “add listing” link in the upper left corner of the dashboard and • complete the form as completely as possible

5. Use the hotel’s complete landing page URL for the website address.This can be found when visiting your own home page. Click the hotel name and then copy the address out of the browser address bar. • Write your text and add flair to your listing. You can add up to 10 photos and video through YouTube. The text should be appealing and relevant to your search audience; do not copy/paste a description from anywhere online. Contact RevPar Ready directly for further creative suggestions. • Move the marker to the correct entrance location with the fix marker link under the map • Click next

6. NowGoogle willlook for matching listings • If a match is found, select appropriate listing to edit or none of the above • Make sure before clicking “next” someone is ready to retrieve the PIN number at the phone number you entered; Google calls automatically within seconds after selecting “Phone” verification method! • Click next to move onto the verification process

7. Verifying Your Account: • You have two options for verification: Phone or Postcard. The fastest way to complete your listing is to select phone and you should get the call IMMEDIATELY.Prior inform the front desk to ensure you receive the call, as the response is an automated voice message with your pin number. • Retrieve the PIN number from the automated Google call. • You should now be on the LBC control panel page with a listing waiting for a PIN number. Enter your PIN into the box below. • After entering PIN you will receive a confirmation message: • NOTE: If you select the postcard option it can take up to 4 -6 weeks to receive the verification postcard from Google. (Go For The Phone Option)! Google is now calling your business phone to give you a PIN.Please enter the pin against your listing in the dashboard to verify your listing. Thank you! We've confirmed your PIN and validated your listing.Your listing should appear on Google Maps within one day. We appreciate your patience.

8. Optimization Tips: • All Google search results are based primarily on relevance, and Google Maps listings are no different. Google Maps ranks business listings based on their relevance to the search terms entered, along with geographic distance (where indicated) and other factors. • Therefore include the word “Hotel” within your title • Include the actual City you are located in within your title • Remember not to cut and paste, yet create text that is relevant and interesting to your destination/location • Activity increases visibility and optimization: • Encourage people to leave reviews whenever possible • Encourage use of Google Maps for finding directions from other places whenever appropriate

9. What else can LBC offer your Hotel – Free Coupons Add Free Coupons to Your Google Maps Listing! And…….. Ah, the holidays—the most wonderful time of the year for hoteliers. Why not create your holiday special and promote free through Google. And, of course, the best way to get potential travelers to your site is via search engine marketing. 82% of holiday shoppers polled by Google said they find search engines “extremely or very useful” in making their purchases. Let Google users print your coupons and bring them to your hotel. Coupons will appear alongside your business listing on Google Maps. A new way to attract customers. Adding coupons to your listing in Google Maps will bring new customers to your hotel. The better savings you offer, the more customers you'll gain. It's free and it only takes a few minutes. Just enter a few lines of text for your coupon, set an expiration date. Users will start seeing your coupons within a few hours.

10. Discover your link and query traffic • Reports: • View, classify, and download comprehensive data about internal and external links to your site with new link reporting tools. You can determine which Google search queries drive traffic to your site, and see exactly how users arrive there • Click the “view reports” link in your listing statistics column for more details • This is new and may not appear for your area yet • Statistics are not always available, sometimes pressing [F5] on your keyboard to refresh helps load

11. In closing – The Internet Search has proven to be an unparalleled tool for large companies and now it is available for your Local Business. There is no way to request or pay for a better ranking with this free service provided by Google Maps and the Local Business Center . It only takes minutes! RevParReady.com Presented by For additional quick tips and steps on increasing your online presence in this current economy contact Adrienne Pumphrey at RevPar Ready – 303.522.7004