With more than 934 million reviews, TripAdvisor is the one default site for travelers that helps them plan and book their travel, accommodation, restaurants, and activity related stuff.
Being a travel business, you need to rank on TripAdvisor to get more potential customers and more conversions.
It all works through reviews. The more reviews you’ll have, the higher you’ll rank. And eventually, the more business you’ll have.
According to a study, 93% of TripAdvisor users believe in the reviews given on it.
But the question is, “how can you increase your reviews on TripAdvisor while being surrounded by a flock of competitors providing the same services and stand out?”
Here’s a brief explanation of this “how.” Let’s dig into the process.
How to get TripAdvisor reviews?
Fortunately, there are many ways to get online reviews from your customers. And you can pick any one of them or use a combination of them. Also, it might take some time before it starts showing results. But the effort is worth putting in.
Out of those many ways to get reviews, here are the topmost practiced ones.
1. TripAdvisor’s review express
Review Express is a built-in tool that helps you to send reminder emails to your customers. It helps you send a customized email in your customer’s preferred language. And then, your customer can leave a review on TripAdvisor’s listing page.
But remember, if you’re collecting customer’s email addresses, do it with their permission. This is how a highly reputable business works.
2. Send review request emails
This method is a little different from the Review Express. Here you can send your own emails for review requests. And then, in the end, you can add a link to your TripAdvisor page, making it easier for the guests and customers.
Ensure to provide clear directions for them to leave a review on your TripAdvisor page. One useful tool that can help make the review adding process easier is Score My Reviews. You can also use it to monitor and increase your TripAdvisor reviews.
3. Distribute reminder cards
Here’s a secret: Do you know what travel enthusiasts prefer?
They prefer collecting memories. And to give them memories, there’s no better way than old-school methods. Give them something that is physical. Something they can put in their journal. Like a reminder card! You never know what can make your visitor happy?
And at the end of this whole hard work, what you’ll get is a happy review.
How to improve TripAdvisor ranking
It requires a little leg work from your side to rank higher on TripAdvisor. And for that, you need to know how TripAdvisor’s ranking algorithm works.
Basically, there are three factors on what the ranking depends upon:
- Quality
- Quantity
- Recency
But none of these factors are useful alone. For instance, what if you have more reviews, but 70% of them are negative. And what if you have positive reviews, but they’re less. Also, more positive reviews, but they’re old.
So, here’s the thing: you need to work on all of the factors mentioned above collectively and constantly. And here are the ways you can do so.
1. Provide remarkable services
There’s no way you can expect mass positive reviews without providing remarkable services. The happier your customer leaves, the more chances you’ll have to get reviews. Well, that’s because the reviews are a natural instinct related to your customer’s satisfaction.
2. Timing is the key
The best time to ask for a review is after they leave. But, wait!
Do you think that means right after they leave? Nah.
Let your customers digest your services, let them first think of the experience, and smile. The point I am struggling to make is, wait for 2-3 days. And then, send them a review request email because it is when your customers are sharing their travel details and memories with their friends and family. So, make use of their enthusiasm and energy.
3. Train your staff
Make sure you train your staff well for the review requests. Remember, they have to do it seamlessly. They don’t have to overdo it. Neither do they just have to say it at the departure time like it’s a business custom.
Asking for reviews in the right way at the right time should be a part of your training. Here’s an example: if you run a restaurant, your waiters can help travelers choose the best meal at your restaurant. And as a tip, they can ask your customers for online reviews (obviously in a professional way). There are a number of ways like that.
How you can add TripAdvisor reviews on your website?
After getting to know how you can get reviews and improve your ranking on TripAdvisor’s listing page. Here’s how you can add TripAdvisor reviews to your website.
Adding TripAdvisor Reviews on My Website!!! But, why?
This question might pop up in your mind. And here’s the answer.
No doubt, you need to get reviews on TripAdvisor, as many guests directly book their accommodation and travel through it. But what about your website?
You need to showcase reviews on your website to help visitors know about the customer experience you provide. Score My Reviews is a tool that can help. Do you want to know how? Here’s the process.
Score My Reviews will help you add, monitor, and increase your TripAdvisor reviews on your website.
- First of all, login into your Score My Reviews account. Or sign up for the account if you don’t have any.
- Then, from the channels, choose TripAdvisor and add Widgets of your choice.
- These widgets can be a slider or a list of reviews on the page. Or maybe a combo of both.
Can TripAdvisor reviews be deleted?
This is the question asked by almost all of the business owners. But deleting a review isn’t the first option at TripAdvisor. Otherwise, everyone can get a top rank there.
Unfortunately, there’s no option of deleting a review for business owners. Yes, a reviewer can delete it, or otherwise, you can report a review to TripAdvisor. And they might remove it.
But first of all, here’s how you should respond to a negative review.
Responding to a negative review
Sometimes a misunderstanding can result in a bad review. Or maybe your visitor can help you focus on a flaw in your service that you’ve been avoiding for a long time.
But whatever’s the case, respond to the review positively and assure your customer that you’ll correct your mistake next time. Or maybe they don’t know your side of the story. So, let them know. In the end, do thank them for their corrections. This will help them know that their opinion does matter to you.
Ask your customer to delete the review
After having a conversation with the customer and clearing the misunderstanding, ask them to delete the bad review. Let them know how it is affecting your business and how they can help.
Or, if you’re supposed to change your ways of service, do it and ask customers to add a new review about the positive experience this time.
Remember your reviewers cannot edit their reviews. They can only delete and add a new one.
Report the review
If you think the review is spam or a technique by your rival to de-rank your business, you can report such a review. But there’s no guarantee that TripAdvisor will remove the review even if it’s genuinely fake.
Well, there are many reasons behind it. Also, it takes time for TripAdvisor to review the whole case. But in the meantime, you can respond to the fake review to help website visitors know your side of the story.
Are TripAdvisor reviews reliable?
Many business owners do ask such questions:
- Are TripAdvisor reviews reliable?
- Are TripAdvisor reviews worth spending time on?
- Do they really help?
And the list goes on….
But the answer is, “it depends.”
TripAdvisor is a huge platform helping travelers globally. And the chances of finding a fake review are as equal as finding a genuine review. It all depends upon your common sense.
“I would say, ignore all the too positive reviews and all the too negative reviews. Instead, focus on the remainder.”
Also, another thing is, most of the customers decide based on top reviews. Obviously, who got time to scroll down and to look for the reviews that look genuine?
And so, many businesses put 4-5 star reviews themselves on the top of their TripAdvisor page.
In other cases, if you find too many bad reviews on the top. They can be fake.
Catch up?
Even though TripAdvisor is helping your customers find the best restaurants on the other side of the world or helping them get a homely feeling in some hotels, it is not 100% reliable.
You cannot trust online reviews until or unless you’ve been there by yourself. Never trust everything they say on TripAdvisor.
What else can be done?
Well, there are many ways the customers can judge a review based on their deep research. That is why they say, “never make a decision when in a rush.”
Other than that, your customers can review your website on other platforms also. And they can also look for reviews there, such as Expedia, Booking.com, and Travelocity.
And finally, getting a personal recommendation from a friend or a family member is the cherry on the top.
How to request your customers to leave TripAdvisor reviews?
At the end of the day, reliable or not, your customers go to TripAdvisor for the recommendations. And therefore, you need to rank your business there to build your brand’s credibility and earn some online reputation.
Having talked about Review Express, personal emails, and card reminders, there’s still a lot more to discuss. Let’s see what the other ways to request your customer to leave a TripAdvisor Review are?
Send SMS messages
There are chances your customer somehow missed your email, as maybe they didn’t read all of their emails, or maybe your email landed in the spam folder. What now?
The more methods you use, the better it is. Or you can use a combo of all methods. With that said, sending SMS reminders to your customers can help.
Just make sure you make the process simple and easy for them. And keep your messages short.
Use TripAdvisor stickers
Using a customized way to attract mass is the best trick. And this is why we call TripAdvisor Stickers a freebie advertisement. That’s also because stickers you buy from TripAdvisor are free. You only have to pay the shipping cost.
You can put these stickers in your high-traffic areas, such as at the checkout counter, or at the front door, or even in the street, saying, “Review Us on TripAdvisor.” Such a simple yet excellent review reminder, right?
Use review widgets
Showcasing your reviews on your website is another way to motivate your customers to leave a review. Other than that, professional third-party widgets can be used. This is where Score My Reviews helps. You can use our review management system to monitor and add TripAdvisor Reviews to your website. It also helps you build your brand trust by increasing your reviews and ranking you high.
Final word
At the end of the day, increasing your TripAdvisor reviews isn’t that complicated. Once you get into the process, you start to enjoy it. Also, improving your social media presence will help you get more reviews. The more they hear about you and the more positive reviews you have, the more are your chances to increase your reviews.
