Google - Case Study

The Ask

Create a site to help educate hotel owners and managers how to benefit from using Google's free booking links and get the most out of Hotel Ads.

Project Overview

My Contributions

Hundreds of millions of travelers around the world search for hotels on Google. We worked with Google to create a site that would inform these users how to maximize Google’s free Business Profile and tap into the power of paid ads.

The site lays out the benefits of partnering with Google and provides step-by-step instructions for moving through the process. Finding a connectivity partner is at the heart of this experience, as it allows hotels to share their up to the minute data.

I joined the project team at Huge midway through the project to lead UX through additional rounds of discovery, usability testing and ultimately the redesign of key portions of the site. This work was primarily focused on the “Find a partner” experience.
‍
Deliverables and Tasks: Wireframe and visual design, site flows, prototype creation, presentations to key stakeholders, and design documentation

How We Got There

Below is an overview of the process used to create the digital user experience for the Google Travel Partners website. It starts with establishing empathy with the users. Once we have an understanding of who the user is we go deeper into learning about the unique experiences that they go through and how it shapes their needs. This is analyzed, broken into various flows that establish a clear path for the right solution. Finally, a design emerges that is based on an understanding of the needs of the user.

➊

Empathize

➋

Define

➌

Ideate / Prototype

➍

Design

➊ Empathize

Common Scenario

As part of our effort to build empathy for the user, brief storylines are constructed to represent common scenarios that the user might confront. The story below is a representative situation where a hotel manager takes most of the important steps in optimizing their web presence, but falls short by not taking the crucial steps of setting up with Google’s free booking links.

01 ⟶

New hotel web site launched



Our beautiful modern website is complete and optimized for search and we even set up a Business Profile with Google.

02 ⟶

Search for hotel performed



Let’s see where the site shows up when I do a search.

03 ⟶

Result not on Google Travel



The site is showing up but the rates don’t display.

04 ⟶

Connectivity partner
‍



Hello [Connectivity Partner] why am I not showing up on Google Travel?

Connected and all set
‍



Ohhh. I needed to set up my Google booking links. Now it works!

Testing

Prototype (Before)

The testing team at Huge conducted and moderated qualitative usability testing sessions with individuals using prototyped comps of the Travel Partners website. Usability testing provided insight about specific tasks that users performed, with the objective of understanding what they thought and how well they navigated through the flow. This helped to highlight both delights and pain points. Findings from this research was used to evaluate features, content, design and user experience of the interface.

The participants consisted of third-party connectivity partners and media buyers from ad agencies. Discussion guides were created for both of these audience types.

Key Insights

How did users interact with the wizard experience to find connectivity partners?
The prominence of this component at the top of the page conflicted with the primary goal of verifying that the target’s existing connectivity partner is integrated with Google.

What did users expect at the end of the wizard experience?
‍Users expected that completing the form would trigger a deluge of calls, meetings, and emails from prospective connectivity partner sales representatives which was undesirable.

Were the steps sequenced in a logical order?
‍The page hierarchy was not reflective of the steps most users wanted to take in order to accomplish their goals.

➌ Ideate / Prototype

Prototype

A new design was created that eliminated the wizard feature that had tested poorly and replaced it with a layout that better reflected the user intent. The new structure enabled users to quickly access the most important features – including the connectivity partner search tool. The search tool was further refined to filter results, enabling hotel owners and managers to more easily find the right partners for their unique needs.

Prototype (After)

➍ Design

The website design utilizes the elegantly simple Google aesthetic and balanced utility with vibrant touches of color and rich travel photography. The site was structured to bring the hotel management user on an easy to follow journey through what could otherwise be a complex process. Users could follow a linear path to learn everything they need to get started and work their way through properly setting up Google booking links for their hotel properties. Or, users could jump to just right section of the site that reflects where they are in the overall process.

UI Design