paid search tactics for travel advertisers
TRANSCRIPT
PAID SEARCH IN THE TRAVEL SECTOR
JIM BANKS
GLOBAL HEAD OF BIDDABLE MEDIA
CHEAPFLIGHTS
”
“3 Golden Rules for travel paid search
@jimbanks #FOS16
IF YOU RISK NOTHING..
• Always be testing hypothesis• Always seek out new betas• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
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@jimbanks #FOS16
BE A NINJA
• Don’t be obvious – Don’t name your Campaigns – “Top 10 keywords” unless you are throwing your competition a curve ball• Use the human factor – Man will win over machine,
every time.
@jimbanks #FOS16
@jimbanks #FOS16
ZIG VS. ZAG
• Don’t do something just because Google or Bing says so (NSS)• Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) can be great… or
horrible• Use dedicated PPC landing pages – Strip it down• Don’t just import Google to Bing and think you are done
@jimbanks #FOS16
@jimbanks #FOS16
THE ANOMALIES OF PAID SEARCH FOR TRAVEL• The biggest competitor for travel advertisers is Google• Typical best practise techniques for paid search don’t apply• The value of the “head” terms is huge• Most advertisers lose money – so having strong SEO is vital• Brand bidding is a pandemic• The halo effect of organic and paid together is greater in travel
than other sectors
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@jimbanks #FOS16
@jimbanks #FOS16
@jimbanks #FOS16
@jimbanks #FOS16
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Ethan Marcotte
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@jimbanks #FOS16
@jimbanks #FOS16
Jerry Dischler Google
HOW TRAVEL SEARCH USED TO BE…..
I want to go somewhere
Book tickets
TRAVEL SEARCH IN 2016….
Desire
Research
BookExperience
Depression
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SO WHICH OF THOSE 419 ARE THE MOMENTS THAT MATTER ?
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B2C OR B2B
• B2C typically 2-3 vacations a year• B2B typically 2-3 vacations a year & a number of
business trips• Both increasingly involve mobile as facilitators in
the decision making process
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NUMBER 1 AIM OF ALL TRAVEL ADVERTISERS
Reduce dependency on Google
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WHAT WORKS• Cross promotion – Flights to hotels, flights to car rental• App promotion – Universal App campaigns• Day-parting – 168 hours a week• Weather• Device modifiers• Location targeting• Form Factors – iPhone 4 vs. iPhone 6S• Value Track Parameters• Labels
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WHAT DOESN’T WORK
• Review extensions• Bid management tools• Extensions generally
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WHAT MIGHT WORK
• Comprehensive sitelinks• The human factor• Local knowledge• Campaign based activity
THE TROJAN HORSE
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MOBILE / APP STRATEGY
• More than average number of visits via mobile• Less friction to get to search results• Personalisation• Track activity cross-device - UID• NO dependency on search
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COOL THINGS• Ad customizers• DSA• Facebook to Google & Google to Facebook• Bing• Remarketing• Custom Audiences from List• Behavioral segmentation
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AD CUSTOMISERS
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DSA (DYNAMIC SEARCH ADS)
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CUSTOM LOOKALIKE AUDIENCES (TIERED OF COURSE)
SUMMARY
• Paid search in travel turns best practice on it’s head• It’s almost entirely moving towards apps and
mobile web• It’s becoming almost entirely pay to play
@jimbanks #FOS16
THANKS
[email protected]+1 347 674 5789@JIMBANKSHTTP://WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/JIMBANKS