Five Ways To Make Hotel Metasearch Ads Work Better For Your Hotel
Online travel agents have dominated metasearch sites because they have the money to pay for dominance. Everyone is paying for placement on any metasearch site so it is simple math to understand that the company with the most money gets top billing
The following shows that an understanding of how metasearch sites function can substitute for paying high costs and still produce a higher rate of conversion. These ideas level the playing field for small hotels so they can compete with OTAs.
Low rates work
You do not have the money to outbid the OTAs for placement in metasearch sites. The majority of conversions happen from the top three listings in metasearches. This result is helped by the fact that phones display results three per page.
One of the criteria for placement is room rates. You can beat the OTAs and everyone else by making your room rate the lowest. You have to keep your cost per click competitive with the OTAs or your low rates will never show up. The metasearch sites have a preference for making money for themselves.
You have to pay attention to what your direct competitors are doing because this will have an impact on your position in searches. You can do the job by making constant adjustment and refinements or you can use the help of an automated metasearch campaign management program.
The top spot question
The top spot in searches is not a guarantee of more conversions. People look at the top spot more than they convert on it. You are better off being second or third and spending your ad budget on the things that make people convert and stay with your brand.
All metasearch sites are different
Differences in algorithms and in costs are the primary difference in the way metasearch sites can be made to work for you. A general rule for all the sites is that an OTA commission structure is a better bang for your buck that a cost per click.
Top billing on TripAdvisor does not help you a lot because this site produces the fewest conversions even though more people look at it. Google has the highest costs but does produce a significantly higher conversion.
Trivago and Kayak show all your competitors on the same page. You have to make your hotel stand out to get people to look on these sites.
Tweaks can make a difference
All metasearch sites are constantly changing their physical appearance and the logic that drives placement. The changes are not made to keep you off balance. The changes have logic behind them in the site owner’s minds.
You have to look at each site that you use regularly and see what has changed. You have to change your presentation to adjust to the sites change to keep your position and costs in control.
Test and convert
You have to constantly test your campaigns on each metasearch site that you use. Being competitive is a matter of maintaining placement and offering a better deal than your direct competition. You have to try new things to make the most of your ad budget.
