What the Google is happening in website search
Website search has changed dramatically in the last few years and it's increasingly difficult to keep up with the many Google products and their impact on how and what you can find online. Kath explains what the MOM team maintain and monitor to make sure our clients get found!
Google Organic Search
In the good old days when you wanted to find somewhere to stay, you would open a search engine like Google and start typing. Then and still today the SERP (search engine results pages) that are returned in response to your query is greatly influenced by a process called SEO or Search Engine Optimisation. An effective SEO strategy needs to be carried out both on your website and via external sources and means the difference between being found online or being lost in cyberspace. In the early days of search it was possible to use all sorts of tricks to make a website rank for queries that were totally unrelated to the product or service provided. But, the core mission of Google is to give the user the results that they want and regular updates to the Google algorithm will penalise websites that try to be sneaky, so we only use what is called "white hat" SEO practices here at MOM.
Google Ads
Google has the altruistic mission statement, "to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” but fundamentally it is a business like any other and businesses need to make money. Organic search results were, and still are free for the user, so in October 2000 Google Adwords were launched as a way for businesses to access "the most technologically advanced features available, enabling any advertiser to quickly design a flexible program that best fits its online marketing goals and budget.”
From humble beginnings with 250 advertisers, Google Ads (rebranded from Adwords in 2018) generated over 350 billion interactions PER DAY and over USD116 billion in 2018. Google Ads use many of the same principles as SEO in terms of keyword queries but visibility is dependant on how many advertisers are competing for the same search terms and how much you are willing to pay. Google Ads campaigns predominately operate on a CPC (cost per click) basis and the most competitive ads appear at the top of the search page for the obvious reason of encouraging users to click on them. It is no coincidence that around the time we started to see a decline in both organic search and online booking conversions via property websites that Booking.com launched a Australian specific marketing strategy that included aggressive Google Ads campaign. The bottomless pit marketing budgets the online travel agents have is the primary reason why they have gained such traction in the Australian market.
Google Local 3 Pack
In 2006, Google released a new feature called One Box that was designed to be a useful tool for online users who wanted to quickly and effectively retrieve local business details from search results. Over the years, One Box became the Local 10 Pack and then 7 Pack, and since 2015 we have had what is referred to as the Google Snack Pack or Local 3 Pack. Coincidentally, 2015 was also the year the mobile search overtook desktop and it just so happens that 3 Pack listings fit perfectly to a mobile phone screen. Actually, it was not a coincidence at all, but another example of Google's ongoing ambition towards optimising the user experience. Once this feature started to appear at the top of the organic search results it became increasingly important to not only get your website to rank organically but also to appear in the top 3 Local results. So, along with our organic SEO practices and our Google Ads campaigns, we added what was Google Places and is now Google My Business listings to the must do list of website management. Google My Business creates star ratings based on reviews across multiple sites, shares images and video that can be uploaded by consumers or the property and holds your all import NAP (name, address, phone number) information which in turn generates your Google Map.
Google Hotels
This Google product has been around in one form or another since 2011 but in the last two years it has evolved to the point that it impacts on all other levels of search for accommodation providers and the results page display will vary greatly depending on the type of search you are doing.
If you do a generic accommodation search e.g. hotels+ a town, you will more than likely get the Local 4 Pack at the top of the search page which is unique to accommodation providers. This panel includes the search filters, " Top Choices", "Guest Favourites" and "Budget Options" , the star rating and features of the four featured properties and a map of the area you have searched with pricing pins for all available properties. In most instances for this type of search now, the Local 3 Pack does not appear.
If you search for a specific property, you will more than likely get two or three Google Ads at the top of the page, maybe one organic listing, a Google hotel pricing chart displaying historical and future rates and availability that clicks through to Google Hotels so that you can book via Google Hotel Ads and FINALLY organic search results. The panel on the right side of the search page is your Google My Business listing and also includes the Google meta search engine that also allows you to...wait for it... book via Google Hotels Ads! What are Google Hotel Ads you ask? Read on...
Google Hotel Ads
The "pricing" part of Google Hotels is where Google switches from a search engine to a "meta" search engine, using another search engine's data to produce its own results. Google Hotels Ads are similar to Google Ads in as much as advertisers pay Google to appear in search results BUT the advertisers are all booking engines rather than websites. This means that the online travel agents pay for Google to list them in your property knowledge panel and... you guessed it... you can pay for the same privilege too! You can have your own website appear as the "Official Website" and get direct bookings by paying a cost per acquisition (% of each booking made) commission to Google. Unfortunately, the process is not like Google Ads where anyone can create and manage their account and campaigns. For Google Hotels Ads you need to use a 3rd party connectivity partner or channel manager and... you guessed it... they are probably going to charge you as well. Sucks a big one, doesn't it? We approached one connectivity partner who wanted to charge 17% commission! When Kath queried what is the point when the OTA booking channels we would be competing against are charging us 12% or 15%, the answer was, "you get to OWN the guest when they book direct". Hmmmm...
The good news for most of the MOM clients is that our preferred PMS supplier, RMS, has become a Hotel Ads connectivity partner and Kath has been working with them on a pilot program to set up and test Google Hotel Ads campaigns. Like most geeky endeavours it has been quite a challenge and Google do not have a team of advisors at our beck and call to provide assistance, but we are making progress and hope to roll out the option to anyone who wants to participate before the Summer season kicks in.
Need more information or any of the above explained in further detail? Feel free to call us on 07 5343 3026 or send an enquiry here.