Having a business listing will increase your visibility online. You may already have various web listings for your business online or on social media.
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Make sure your VisitScotland.com listing stands out from the crowd. Convert customers with these top tips:
The importance of accurate information
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Consistency
All of the key information about your business should be consistent across all your web listings.
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Up-to-date contact information
Make sure that your business name, address and postcode are correct and consistent across all digital platforms. Include links to your website and contact email, check to ensure they work and point to the intended place.
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Clear opening times
Clear opening times are essential, especially if your business is in the food and drink or visitor attraction sectors. State if your business closes on public holidays, over the festive period, or operate seasonally. Opening times should be consistent everywhere online.
Perfect your web listing
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1. Entice the reader
Your web listing is your shop window. Make the most of the space that you’re provided to describe your business and convert customers.
It’s important to provide information on the different facilities you offer.
- For example, does your business have parking facilities, have Wi-Fi, cater to the accessible tourism market, or allow pets?
What should visitors expect before they visit?
- For example, is pre-booking now required or do you only accept contactless payments?
The more information you can share with your customers the easier the decision-making process will be for them.
You can expand on this with information about all the things visitors can see and do locally. Customers are more likely to book accommodation if they know there is lots to do and points of interest nearby. Make things easy for potential customers by using hyperlinks to direct users to other useful websites. Think of local transport providers and timetables.
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2. Social media platforms
Visitors search for holiday inspiration by several means. Take social media platforms. They are a very powerful way to capture your customers’ attention. These platforms also offer more inspirational contact at each stage of the user search journey.
To add links to your social media channels on your visitscotland.com web listing, contact our Customer Services Team.
Are you new to using social media for your business, or want to make sure you’ve got the basics covered?
- Check out our tips to improve your social media presence
- Discover how to use Facebook effectively
- Find out how Twitter can help your tourism business
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3. Using good images and video
First impressions count and the first image that appears on your web listing should entice customers to find out more. You can display up to 30 images on your visitscotland.com listing. It’s worth investing in high quality images of the inside and outside of your business. This is because pictures heavily sway your customers’ decision making.
You can add YouTube videos to your listing. Go to your Extranet account and select the External Links option on the Links section. These videos will then appear in the gallery on your listing, along with any images you have. This is a useful tool to show visitors what to expect when they'll visit your business.
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4. Google search
Your listing should include keywords that match what customers would be searching about your product or service. This way your listing appears higher in search rankings. In your short description, avoid using forward slashes (/) or inverted commas (“). Google does not recognise these and it will affect your page ranking. Think about using search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques to increase the number of people looking at your listing.
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5. Location factors
If your business is accessible by public transport, you can tick the "specific facility box" and describe you are on a public transport route. This information will pull through and display on your visitscotland.com listing.
The "what’s nearby" feature on visitscotland.com listings works in a 10-mile radius. It picks up other nearby businesses to highlight all the things to see and do locally to help attract customers.
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6. Accommodation pricing and offers
Potential customers can filter their search on visitscotland.com by price. By pre-stating your guide price, you not only do you stand out. You also allow our iCentre staff to search for your property and book at the point of enquiry for visitors to our iCentres.
You can also add any offers you’re running to your listing. Our advice is to add a date-range so that the offer drops off your listing at the date it expires. Offers are also a filtered option on our search function on visitscotland.com.
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7. Online bookability
The majority of people plan and book their holidays online. Making it easy for people to find and book to visit you online is key to converting customers. Accommodation businesses can receive bookings online through their visitscotland.com listing. But only if they work with a web booking engine that is integrated with our site.
- Find out the range of web booking engines we work with
- Learn more about how to improve your online visibility and increase bookings
Non-accommodation businesses can add a booking website link on their Extranet account. This should only link to a page where visitors can check availability, book online or purchase tickets.
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8. And finally...
A lot of these tips are relevant for all web listings, but are especially aimed at visitscotland.com listings. It’s vital that you check all of your web listings regularly, keeping all information and links updated and accurate. You can update your visitscotland.com listing yourself at any time.