You know better than anyone that running a fishing charter is all about customer experience. That’s why your visibility on FishingBooker is heavily linked to what customers care about. In this article, we’ll explain each of the factors that influence this in detail. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll know how to get noticed and turn your listing into a booking magnet!
How customers see you on FishingBooker boils down to four things:
- Ranking high
- Inspiring trust: Verified reviews and verification
- Being easy to book: Instant Book and your location
- Taking it to the next level: Commission and Angler’s Choice
Click on the links above to watch videos explaining these factors. We’ll cover them all in more detail below.
Ranking High
Reliability Score
We exist to connect anglers to fishing guides everywhere. And just like you, we want this to be a memorable experience for all. That’s why a good track record of providing a reliable service will go a long way in putting you among the first captains customers will see.
The reliability score tracks how many trips you accept and carry out when the conditions allow. The higher your score, the higher your chances of ranking well and getting noticed. On the other hand, if you’re constantly declining and canceling trips due to things like inaccurate availability, your ranking will take a hit.
Don’t worry, though. Canceling due to unforeseen circumstances like bad weather doesn’t affect your reliability score or your visibility.
Your reliability score is one of the most important factors in determining your ranking, but there are others. We’ll cover how those influence your visibility in the chapters below. If you’d like to learn more about rankings in particular, check out our in-depth article.
Inspiring Trust
Rankings play a big part in how many people will see you, but there’s a lot more to it than that. In fact, customers don’t always book the number-one-ranked captains, so there are additional ways for you to stand out. One of these is showing customers that you’re trustworthy.
Positive Verified Reviews
Nothing says good service like a 5-star review. In fact, over 90% of online buyers say that they base their purchase decisions on them. For FishingBooker customers, reviews build trust and realistic expectations. That’s why we display the number of reviews you’ve collected right in the search results.
A collection of positive verified reviews don’t just tell the world how awesome you are – they also give you a healthy ranking boost. That’s why you should always remember to ask your customers to leave reviews after the trip. But don’t worry, we will too!
If you’ve just published your listing, you can invite your own customers to leave reviews to give yourself a running start. While you’re at it, you can also recommend that customers add their own photos to give you extra credibility.
Note that these “non-verified” reviews give your visibility a smaller ranking boost compared to verified ones. Still, they’re a neat way of showing that you have a track record of satisfied customers.
Being Fully Verified
We know that having to compete with illegitimate charter operators is frustrating! That’s why we worked hard to make sure that only legitimate fishing guides are listed on FishingBooker. This is possible thanks to what you know as verification.
To be visible on FishingBooker, every charter operator must submit their credentials. These serve to prove your identity, your guide certifications, and that your boat is safe to take customers on.
There are three levels of verification, and each influences your visibility on FishingBooker.
- Unverified – Invisible. You haven’t submitted your documents yet, so we’re not able to verify your identity or that you’re a legitimate charter operator. Your listing won’t have a badge and won’t be visible to customers until we can verify you.
If you haven’t verified yet, visit this page to see a step-by-step guide on how to do so.
- Basic Check – Visible with no ranking boost. You’ve provided us with your credentials, but a certain document is missing or has expired. You’ll still be visible to customers but you won’t receive the same ranking boost as a fully verified listing.
Don’t worry, as soon as one of your documents expires, we’ll let you know. Check your notifications to see which document you need to upload to become fully verified.
- Enhanced Check – Fully Verified with a ranking boost. You’ve uploaded all your documents – your listing boasts a green badge and receives a boost in ranking – hurray!
Being Easy to Book
If there’s one thing customers regularly point out, it’s how convenient it is to have a smooth booking process. Let’s face it, who likes to have to wait for their reservation to go through? That’s why one of the biggest things you can do for your visibility is to enable Instant Book.
Having Instant Book
Over 70% of trips on FishingBooker come through Instant Book. Customers care about having their reservation instantly confirmed, which is why listings with this feature get a dedicated badge, as well as a good boost in the rankings.
Note that you get an Instant Book ranking boost when customers are looking at dates that you’re available on, within your Instant Book notice period.
Half of all bookings come with less than 7 days notice. And one in three people will book a trip that’s less than three days away. Here’s how you can adjust your Instant Book notice period to give yourself a chance to land these customers!
Your Location
When customers search for charters in a certain location, they’re presented with all the available fishing guides that operate within a 30 mile radius. Some places are remote, and others get booked up fast, so it’s important that customers are able to find alternatives.
To present the most relevant options, our ranking algorithm favors listings that are precisely where customers want to go. The further listings are from the desired location, the less likely they are to rank on top. In other words, your listing can show up in results for nearby locations, but with a note that says how far away it is.
Still, a listing that’s a couple of miles away can sometimes rank above listings that are “right on the spot.” If your listing has Instant Book, a great reliability score, lots of verified reviews, and good commission, you could rank above a closer one that doesn’t have such strong ranking signals!
Taking It to The Next Level
The factors you just read about are essential for your listing’s visibility. If you want to kick things up a notch and get even more people to notice you, you should consider a couple more things.
Commission Percentage
As you might know, investing a higher commission can give you a noticeable ranking push. But that doesn’t make it the be-all and end-all of ranking. Building up the factors we previously mentioned will do a lot more for your visibility than just ramping up the commission percentage.
Here’s one way you can look at it: If you’ve already nailed all of the above, investing a higher commission can give your visibility an additional nudge. This works well if you’re operating in a competitive area, and you want to give yourself another advantage.
Last but not least, the commission isn’t set in stone. In fact, you can change it at any time, depending on your situation. Just know that changing the commission won’t affect the trips you’ve already accepted beforehand.
The Angler’s Choice Award
You know how we mentioned that grabbing customers’ attention isn’t always about rankings? Our Angler’s Choice Award highlights captains who go the extra mile for their customers. Winning the achievement enhances your listing with an exclusive badge that shows the stellar service customers can expect from you.
Keep checking this page to track your progress towards the next edition of the award!
More Eyes = More Trips
The benefit of improving your visibility on FishingBooker is pretty straightforward. The more people see your listing, the more trips you’ll ultimately get.
Build up your reliability and ranking by running the trips you commit to, and earn customers’ trust by getting verified and raking up your reviews. Get noticed by enabling Instant Book, and consider upping your commission to give yourself an extra boost. With a great booking record and happy customers, you could find yourself in the running for the Angler’s Choice award, which will get you even more bookings!
Got any questions about how to improve your visibility? Drop us a comment, we always like hearing from you!
