Alexey Stiop
Horse Farm
Horses in the fields on a farm in Lexington, Kentucky
Kentucky’s Department of Tourism has launched a statewide cooperative initiative to enhance the quality and visibility of Kentucky travel destinations in Google search and travel planning products, the agency announced.
“We are extremely excited to make Kentucky the first to offer a state-wide cooperative program that will help improve the quality and depth of information about the state as a whole for potential visitors,” Kentucky Department of Tourism Commissioner Kristen Branscum said in a media release. “It is crucial that travel destinations have robust business listings and high-quality imagery that captures the beauty and quality of their destination. The state cooperative Google Program will accomplish this goal for our department and our tourism industry.”
The department is teaming up with the strategic marketing company Miles Partnership to work with local convention and visitors’ bureaus (CVBs) and businesses on strategies to boost their Google presence. Through the partnership, participating Kentucky destinations will have access to a consumer search behavior analysis, a baseline audit within the Google products and visual content review for the destination, as well as work plans for improvement and staff training.
As part of the effort, three Google My Business (GMB) workshops were held in three cities around the state in June. Attendees learned how to have their businesses Google verified, which can improve how businesses are presented within Google. The end goal is to improve the wealth of information on Kentucky destinations that is provided throughout Google’s vast landscape of travel and mapping products, which touch hundreds of millions of consumers every month.
"Many tourism partners aren’t familiar with how to make the most out of those consumer touchpoints within Google.” — Nate Huff, senior vice president of Miles Partnership
Nate Huff, senior vice president of Miles Partnership, said there is a growing audience across all of Google’s different travel products, particularly in the mobile arena.
“On average, we see 10 to 20 times as many people interact with a business’ GMB listing than their actual website,” Huff said, “but many tourism partners aren’t familiar with how to make the most out of those consumer touchpoints within Google.”
And Google benefits as well, Huff said.
“Google is very committed to improving its travel content and user experience across all its platforms, and it recognizes that destinations have a wealth of quality information and local expertise,” Huff said.