How the TripAdvisor Popularity Ranking works?
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Have you ever wondered how TripAdvisor ranks the thousands of properties and experiences on its website? How does this platform decide which deserves to be at the top of the list and which to bury at the bottom?
You might think it’s based on the number of reviews, ratings, or secret algorithm known only to TripAdvisor. But the truth is not simple like that.
In fact, there’s a whole science behind the TripAdvisor Popularity Ranking, which can greatly impact your career as a travel agency or property owner. To increase your TripAdvisor ranking, you need to understand how it works and the factors that affect it.
In this article, we’ll unveil the secrets behind TripAdvisor’s popularity attack and show you how to use it to your advantage.
Let’s go for it!
Factors Affecting Popularity Ranking
TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm that considers three main aspects: the quality, recency, and quantity of reviews. These factors are not equally weighted, and they can change over time.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these factors and how they affect your ranking:
Quality of Reviews
The quality of reviews refers to the bubble ratings that users give your business. These ratings range from one to five bubbles, with five being the highest. The higher the bubble ratings, the higher the quality of reviews.
The quality of reviews is the most important factor in determining your ranking. TripAdvisor gives more weight to businesses with consistently high customer ratings.
For example, if Business A has an average rating of 4.5 bubbles and Business B has an average rating of 4 bubbles, Business A will rank higher than Business B, even if they have the same number of reviews.
Recency of Reviews
The recency of reviews refers to how recent the reviews are. Recent reviews provide a more accurate representation of your current performance and customer satisfaction.
Older reviews have less impact on your ranking, as they may not reflect the current state of your business. TripAdvisor updates its ranking algorithm frequently to account for the recency of reviews.
For example, suppose Business A has 10 reviews in the past month, and Business B has 10 reviews in the past year. In that case, Business A will rank higher than Business B, even with the same average rating.
Quantity of Reviews
The quantity of reviews refers to how many reviews your business has received. Multiple reviews help form a balanced opinion of your business and show you have a steady stream of customers. The quantity of reviews also affects the statistical significance and confident comparison among businesses.
For example, suppose Business A has 100 reviews, and Business B has 10 reviews. In that case, Business A will rank higher than Business B, even with the same average rating. TripAdvisor can be more confident that Business A’s rating represents its true quality. In contrast, outliers or biases may influence Business B’s rating.
The quantity of reviews also affects the user’s confidence in choosing your business. Users tend to trust businesses with more reviews, as they can see more customer feedback and opinions.
Evolution of Popularity Ranking
Now that you know the three main factors affecting your ranking, you might wonder how they have changed over time. TripAdvisor has been constantly updating and enhancing its algorithm to provide a more accurate and fair representation of the businesses on its website.
In 2016, TripAdvisor noticed that some newly listed properties could skyrocket to the top of the rankings on relatively few 5-bubble reviews. They called these properties “fast risers”. Over time, as more reviews were submitted, these fast risers would settle into more stable and realistic rankings. However, this meant that the rankings were inaccurate or unreliable for travelers and businesses during this transition period.
To solve this problem, TripAdvisor enhanced its algorithm to value the quantity and consistency of reviews more significantly than before. This way, a business with many consistent reviews would rank higher than a business with few high ratings. This change also reduced the fast-riser behavior and created a more level playing field for all businesses.
In 2018, TripAdvisor refined its algorithm to account for its website’s different types of businesses. For example, hotels and restaurants have different customer behavior patterns and feedback than attractions and experiences. Therefore, TripAdvisor adjusted its algorithm to better reflect the specific characteristics of each category. For instance, hotels receive more reviews than attractions, but attractions receive higher ratings than hotels.
Therefore, TripAdvisor gave more weight to the quality of hotel reviews and the number of reviews for attractions. This change also improved the consistency and accuracy of the rankings across different categories.
Improving Popularity Ranking
You’ve learned how the TripAdvisor Popularity Ranking works and how it has evolved. But how can you improve your ranking and get more visibility and bookings from TripAdvisor?
The answer is simple: provide excellent customer service and encourage them to share their feedback on TripAdvisor. Let’s explore some practical tips on how to do that:
Provide excellent service
This is the most obvious and important tip. If you want to get positive reviews and high ratings from your customers, you must provide them with an exceptional experience that exceeds their expectations.
You need to focus on the quality of your product or service, the cleanliness of your facilities, the friendliness of your staff, and the value for money you offer. You must also pay attention to the details and personalize your service as much as possible.
For example, you can greet your customers by name, offer them a welcome drink, give them a map or a guidebook, or surprise them with a complimentary upgrade or a gift. These small gestures can make a big difference in how customers perceive and remember you.
Encourage reviews
Providing excellent service is not enough if your customers don’t share their feedback on TripAdvisor. You must encourage them to write reviews and tell them you appreciate their opinions.
There are many ways to do that, such as:
1.Asking them in person at the end of their stay or visit. This is the most effective way to get reviews, as it shows your genuine interest and gratitude. You can also remind them of the benefits of writing reviews, such as helping other travelers and earning TripAdvisor points and badges.
2. Sending them an email or a message after their departure or visit. You can use TripAdvisor’s Review Express tool to send customized and automated emails to your customers, with a direct link to write a review on your listing. You can also use your email system or messaging app to follow up with your customers and thank them for choosing you.
3. Displaying signs or stickers at your property or vehicle. You can use TripAdvisor’s free marketing materials to display signs or stickers that invite your customers to write reviews on TripAdvisor. You can also print cards or flyers with your listing’s QR code or URL and hand them out to your customers.
4. Adding links or widgets to your website or social media pages. You can use TripAdvisor’s widgets to add links or buttons to your website or social media pages that direct your visitors to write reviews on TripAdvisor. You can also share your TripAdvisor reviews on your website or social media pages to showcase your reputation and encourage more feedback.
Respond to reviews
Responding to reviews is another way to improve your ranking and reputation on TripAdvisor. It shows that you care about your customer’s feedback and are willing to improve your service based on their suggestions.
It also helps you build customer relationships and increase loyalty and satisfaction. You should respond to both positive and negative reviews, as they offer learning and improvement opportunities.
Here are some tips on how to respond to reviews effectively:
- Thank the reviewer for their feedback and for choosing you.
- Address the points they mentioned in their review, both positive and negative.
- Apologize for any issues or problems they encountered and explain how you have resolved them or plan to resolve them.
- Highlight the strengths of your business and invite them to return or try other services you offer.
- Be polite, professional, and sincere in your tone and language.
- Keep your response short and simple but not generic or copy-pasted.
Utilize TripAdvisor tools
TripAdvisor offers many tools and resources to help you improve your ranking and performance on its website. Some of these tools are:
1.Management Center: This is where you can access and manage all aspects of your listing, such as updating your information, uploading photos, responding to reviews, checking analytics, etc.
2. Insights: This is where you can find articles, guides, webinars, podcasts, and other resources that can help you learn more about TripAdvisor’s features, best practices, trends, and tips.
3. Marketing Tools: This is where you can find free marketing materials that can help you promote your business on TripAdvisor, such as widgets, stickers, cards, flyers, etc.
4. Review Express: This is where you can send customized and automated emails to your customers after their stay or visit, with a direct link to write a review on your listing.
5. Sponsored Placements: This is where you can pay to advertise your listing on top of the search results and get more visibility and bookings from TripAdvisor.
Offer incentives for reviews
Offering incentives for reviews is a controversial topic, as it may affect the credibility and authenticity of the reviews. TripAdvisor does not allow businesses to offer incentives in exchange for reviews, as it violates its guidelines and policies.
However, some businesses may offer incentives to show appreciation and gratitude to their customers without explicitly asking for reviews.
If you decide to offer incentives for reviews, you should be careful and ethical about it. You should not offer incentives that are too valuable or attractive, as they may influence the customers’ opinions and ratings.
You should also not offer incentives only to customers who write positive reviews, as this may create a bias and a false impression of your business. You should also not pressure or coerce your customers to write reviews, as this may annoy them and damage your reputation.
Learn from competitor reviews
Learning from competitor reviews is another way to improve your ranking and performance on TripAdvisor. By reading and analyzing the reviews of your competitors, you can gain insights into their strengths and weaknesses, customer preferences and expectations, best practices, strategies, etc.
You can use this information to benchmark your business and identify improvement or differentiation areas. You can also use this information to target your marketing and advertising efforts to attract more customers from your competitors.
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Conclusion
TripAdvisor is a powerful platform to help you grow your business and reach more customers. By understanding how the Popularity Ranking works and how to improve it, you can optimize your strategy and performance on TripAdvisor.
Remember, the key to success is to provide excellent service and encourage customers to share their feedback on TripAdvisor. You can also use TripAdvisor’s tools and resources to enhance your listing and reputation.
Thank you for reading! Happy ranking!
