Google Things to Do (GTTD) is a Google web search and maps feature that allows potential customers to discover and explore local attractions, tours, activities and events in any destination. It provides recommendations based on their location and is useful for travellers who want to find new and relevant things to do in their area.
Potential customers are directed from a Google Things to do interface to your website and from there they can make a booking via your Zaui online booking engine. Google Things to Do provides commission-free listings as well as paid options.
For those who prefer visual content, we also have a Google Things to Do Video Overview and Walkthrough Guide.
This article covers the following topics:
- Program Eligibility
- Google Things to do Surfaces
- Google Things to do Modules
- Enabling/Disabling Google Things to do
- Basic Requirements for GTTD
- Configuring Things to do in your Zaui system
- Bookings & Payments
- Reporting
- Google Things to do Error Messages
Why is Google Things to do important?
With Google Things to do, your business can increase its visibility in search results and directly compete with OTAs like GetYourGuide and TripAdvisor, by directing a customer to book through your company’s website instead of the OTA, thus helping you avoid paying high commission fees.
Program Eligibility
Eligible Products
Products which are eligible for Things to do include tours, activities, and tickets to other local attractions that appeal to travellers. More specific examples of eligible products include:
- Tours that include transport, such as a bus tour or boat tour
- Transportation services that specifically serve a touristic purpose, like bike, boat, e-scooter, or kayak rentals used to experience a city
- Recurring tourist events in the same venue lasting for at least four weeks, such as home games for sports teams, artist residencies, weekly shows or seasonal events
- VR/AR experiences that take place at the point of interest
- Day uses of hotel facilities, such as for a spa visit
- Overnight activities such as a multi-day wine tour
- Tours based on local cuisine or food-related events This includes neighbourhood tours with stops at multiple shops and restaurants.
- Meals when part of a performance or other experience
- Activities that include alcohol (e.g. wine or beer tasting)
- Archery, Axe-throwing, Laser Tag, and Paintball
Ineligible Products
Products which are ineligible for GTTD at this time include:
- Transit-specific businesses (such as airport pickups, car services, and rental cars)
- Tickets for one-time events, such as concerts or sports matches.
- Events that do not appeal widely to tourists, such as city government meetings or exercise classes.
- Virtual experiences aren’t supported at this time. Inventory must take place in a physical location.
- Overnight hotel stays and multi-day cruises aren’t eligible. This includes local vacation or “staycation” packages.
- Restaurant coupons for individual meals
See Things to do policies for the most up-to-date information on program eligibility.
Google Things to do Surfaces
GTTD surfaces, or search experiences are the formats and places that your company and its products may appear to potential customers based on relevant search terms. There are three main locations which can trigger the Google Things to do surfaces to display:
- Google Search: Triggered by keywords such as [CITY] Tours, [CITY] things to do, [CITY] attractions, [CITY] activities. Or Google search for Business name > delivers Google business listing
- Google Maps: Map search reveals local tourism activities, business name search delivers Google Business listing
- Google Travel: Google things to do provides a search bar with a general prompt to search for ‘destinations, sights and more’.
The look and feel of the GTTD interface which is surfaced as a result of a relevant search can vary widely, differ between mobile and desktop devices and is continually evolving. We recommend familiarizing yourself with the various formats and checking back regularly while this program is evolving to ensure your products and company are optimized for all formats.
| Google Search | Google Maps | Google Travel |
Google Things to do Modules
There are four different modules available within GTTD and each module is designed to serve a particular type of tourism operation. It is important to be aware of which module(s) are relevant for your type of operation so you can hone your listings based on the module’s requirements, and know which error messages in your feed can be ignored and which need to be addressed. More on this in the Google Things to do Error messages section.
The Booking Module
Examples of tourism operations suited for the Booking Module include Museums, Art Galleries, Zoos and Observation towers.
The Experiences Module
Examples of tourism operations suited for the Experiences Module include skip the line tours, hop on hop off, city tours, and attractions which must be booked as part of a tour.
The Operator Booking Module
Examples of tourism operations suited for the Operator Booking Module include ziplines; wilderness experiences such as aurora viewing, dog sledding, whale watching and horseback riding; bike rentals.
Important note: To be eligible for the Operator Booking Module your business must exist and be findable on Google Maps. Register a Google Business Profile if your company is not yet listed.
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The Operator Booking Module is the most suitable module for many tour and activity operators using Zaui. |
The Ads module
Enabling/Disabling Google Things to do
By default, all users will have Google Things To Do enabled in their Zaui system for all activities. To disable or enable the integration:
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Go to Settings > Marketplace.
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You can find the Google Things to do integration under the Distribution Channels category. Once you've found it, click on the title to view the settings.
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Click to enable or disable the integration & save
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Now that you've enabled the integration, we can head over to the activity settings and optimize your activity
For more information on opting out of Google Things to do, review this article.
Basic Requirements for GTTD
The following is a list of the settings and minimum required information for your products to be eligible for the program:
- The activity must be bookable online
- The activity must have an end date that is in the future
- The activity must be available to book within the next 365 days
- The price of the activity must be the same as the price listed on your website
- The Activity Address must be the same as your Google Business profile address
- The Website Landing Page field must be added
- You must indicate in the Categories field whether your tour is guided or self-guided
Configuring Things to do in your Zaui system
Configuration of the tours and activities you want to make available on GTTD is done within each activity. From the menu bar navigate to Activities > Activity List > Select Activity.
You’ll notice a tab in eligible activities called ‘Google Settings’. This is the main area where you’ll configure your GTTD settings.
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Updates made to your Google Things to do settings will take effect within 24 hours |
Important note for tour operators:
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In order to qualify for the Operator Booking Module, your Google Business profile Category must be one of the following:
One of these can be either your main business category or can be added as a secondary category. To update this information, go to your Google My Business profile page. |
Google Settings Tab Configuration
This is where you enter all the additional information required for Google Things to do. Empty fields can affect how high on a page your product appears in search results, therefore more information is better and accuracy is essential. The minimum required fields are indicated with an asterisk.
The table below will help you determine what needs to be filled in for each field:
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Field |
Description |
Formatting Comments |
|---|---|---|
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Inventory Type |
Operator Direct: Use for tour and activity products that link directly to the tour operator's website. Official: Use for attraction or point of interest products that link to the official website |
By default, Operator Direct is selected |
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Website Landing Page* |
The URL for the product page on your website. The page must be specific to the product and include a Book Now button linked to your booking engine |
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Website List View Page |
A list view page is typically a display of multiple activities or tours, providing a snapshot of available options. It allows potential customers to view and compare activities quickly, showcasing key information such as titles, descriptions, prices, and durations |
Only provide a list view page URL if the activity is prominently displayed. If the activity in question is in the bottom half of the list, it likely will not be used by Google |
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Highlights |
Enter phrases and keywords that describe the highlights of your tour. These highlights help potential customers discover and explore the top-rated things to do in a particular area |
The Highlights, Inclusions, Exclusions and Must Knows fields will not accept any special characters or formatting. You can only use a comma and space to separate each entry. For example admission, lunch, shuttle bus |
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Inclusions |
List what’s included in your product i.e. admission, meals, souvenirs |
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Exclusions |
List what’s not included in your product i.e. admission, meals, gratuities |
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Must Knows |
List any important information that the customer must be aware of before taking part in the activity |
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Categories* |
Labels to help Google accurately present your product when a user searches for an attraction or point of interest |
*At minimum you must indicate whether your tour is a:
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Fulfillment Type |
Select how customers can present their tickets as proof of purchase |
Select from |
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Images |
Add image URLs of attractions or special landmarks that are included in the activity. The image in your Zaui system will also be displayed in Google Things to do feeds. The best practice for images is to have them hosted on your website and use that as the URL |
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Related Points of Interest |
Add at least one relevant 'Point of Interest' to each of your activities. A point of interest is a popular location or landmark that is either specifically included in your activity or nearby a tour operation or may be encountered while on a tour. More on points of interest below. |
Select the correct address from the suggestions that pop up once you start typing the name of the POI |
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Advanced Settings |
Description |
Formatting Comments |
|
Google Profile Activity Address |
For those operating out of more than one physical location and have Google Business profiles for each location |
Input the exact address as listed in your Google Busines profile for the location that corresponds with the activity you are setting up |
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Languages |
List all the languages the product is offered in |
"en" is the typical standard and will be the default if this field is left blank |
Business Address:
An address is required to surface your tours on the Tour Operator module, including your Google Busines Profile page which appears on maps and in search results which include the names of your company. This field enables your tours to be matched to your business.
The address needs to precisely match that of your Google Business profile, including company name (System Title) and full address. To configure this information, go to Settings > Company Info. Double check that the information in the 'My Company Information' section exactly matches the information in your Google Business Profile.
If you operate out of more than one location, enter the exact address as listed in your Google Busines profile for the location that corresponds with the activity you are setting up into the Google Profile Activity Address field, located under Advanced on each Activity's Google Settings tab.
Related Points of Interest
Points of interest are required for the Experiences Booking module and optional for other modules.
We recommend adding at least one relevant POI regardless of your type of operation as there is no harm in adding points of interest in your local area as this gives you the chance of surfacing on an experiences module.
To add a point of interest, start typing to filter to the desired location.
For each point of interest you add, indicate whether admission is included or not included in the price of your tour.
- If your tour visits the point of interest in question, and the admission to enter it is included in the cost of your tour, OR the point of interest is free to visit (for example, a famous plaza, fountain or statue), indicate that admission is included.
- If your tour visits a point of interest that has a paid admission but the cost is not included in the price of your tour, indicate that admission is not included
Bookings & Payments
The best part of Google Things To do is that the guest is directed to YOUR website. This means that there is no special booking flow for guests who see your business on Google, they book directly through your booking engine portal connected to your website.
Once they’ve made the booking through your website, it will appear in your system as confirmed and paid for. No commission will be paid out, and no net rates or invoicing is required. If online booking notifications are enabled in Company Info settings, you will receive a booking notification.
Reporting
When possible, bookings received through this distribution channel will be attributed as Google Things to do. This will allow you to run reports to see how many of your customers are finding you via a Google Things to do interface.
One important aspect to keep in mind is that the source of the booking is carried from your website to the booking engine. For this reason, there are many different factors that can affect the accuracy of the booking source. These factors include the privacy settings of the customer, the browser type being used by the customer, switching from one device to another, etc.
Google Things to do Error Messages
For a list of potential errors that could come up and the best way to fix them, head over to Understanding Google Things to do Error Messages.
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