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Comparison sites often rank in the top positions for the most valuable keywords. This begs the question: is optimising for organic search still worth it when you can list flights, hotels, car rentals, etc. on the comparison sites that dominate the SERPs?
It’s a valid question when around half of such bookings are made on platforms like Booking.com. Of course, this would leave almost half of bookings on the table. Not to mention the fact that bookings outside of comparison sites are more profitable.
So, let’s weigh up the pros and cons of comparison sites vs organic search to figure out where travel brands should prioritise visibility.
Comparison sites play a big role in the booking cycle with 80% of travellers using them during the path to purchase – even if they book elsewhere.
The key benefits of comparison sites for travel brands are:
Comparison sites provide visibility on actionable platforms where many people book their trip essentials (flights, hotels, car rentals, etc.).
Aside from creating and managing your profiles, you don’t have to invest significant time, money or resources up-front – you simply pay a commission when customers complete a booking.
There are downsides to comparison sites and booking apps, though:
High commission rates are the obvious downside with comparison sites. When the average hotel invests 5% of its revenue into marketing, it’s clear that direct bookings are more profitable.
However, the biggest issue with indirect bookings is that you surrender the customer relationship. The booking is handled through a third party and you retain no customer data for retention campaigns.
Customer retention is the most important long-term growth driver for any business. Retention channels (email, SMS, loyalty schemes, etc.) cost a fraction of acquisition channels (paid advertising, social campaigns, etc.), let alone commission fees. With comparison sites, you forfeit customer data and your chances of retaining customers from indirect bookings greatly diminish.
When you combine this with the lack of control over pricing and emphasis on price competitiveness, overdependence on indirect bookings restricts your ability to grow as a business. Ultimately, you’re competing against the comparison sites and paying them for the privilege.
The key benefits of direct bookings resolve most of the issues with comparison sites:
Although you have to work harder for direct bookings, they’re generally more profitable, even after your marketing expenses. More importantly, though, retaining control over the customer experience (and customer data) fuels those all-important retention strategies.
Of course, there are downsides with direct bookings, too:
So, you have to invest more marketing budget upfront and put in more work to generate ROI from direct bookings. However, the payoffs from direct bookings are significant, especially once your retention campaigns start driving customer value and your brand name gains influence.
There is a risk that comparing direct bookings vs comparison sites suggests that travel brands need to choose between the two. This isn’t the case at all, though. Travel brands gain the most by striking a balance between direct and indirect bookings:
The strengths of direct and indirect bookings compensate for each other’s weaknesses. Also, keep in mind that you’re targeting different audiences via direct and indirect channels.
A 2023 Expedia report on the travel booking cycle found that 51% of travellers worldwide made at least one booking through a comparison site or app. However, people aren’t only using comparison sites for bookings. Globally, 80% use them for research and planning (86% in the UK), even if they book directly from a travel provider. So, visibility on comparison sites, as part of a multichannel strategy, helps drive bookings across all channels.
At the same time, you need multichannel visibility across organic search, local search, social media, etc. to maximise the benefits of listings on comparison sites.
Winning bookings outside of comparison sites is key for travel brands to maximise growth and reduce dependency on third parties. So, let’s look at the most important channels for rebalancing direct vs indirect bookings.
Social media is the top channel for travel inspiration and the perfect place to build brand awareness. Spark travel inspiration with social campaigns and put your brand front of mind for the booking stage of the customer cycle.
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Social isn’t only a discovery channel for inspiration anymore, either. Gen Z and Millennials are driving a new age of social search where they actively seek out travel ideas, destinations, things to do and places to eat along the way.
After social media, travel and destination websites are the next biggest sources of inspiration. Getting your brand featured on these websites expands your reach to new audiences. It also earns vital backlinks to boost your organic rankings, so you can compete against comparison sites and bigger rivals.
Network with valuable sites to publish content on their domains and integrate a digital PR strategy that encourages sites to write about you or reach out to you for your input.
Travellers spend weeks or months planning their trips. This opens up a lot of opportunities during the research and planning stages through long-tail keywords. As travellers figure out where they want to go and research the details of their next trip, they actively search for specific information.
They might want to know where the safest areas of a city are, what they can do with the kids or get a sense of whether the culinary scene meets their dirty requirements.
Google Travel is an all-in-one travel planning and booking tool. Users can explore destinations, book flights and hotels, and track prices to help them book their trip at the perfect time.
If flights or hotels are part of your travel offering, Google Travel is the perfect alternative to the major comparison sites, fully integrating with Google Search.
Aside from turning organic search into a travel booking system, Google puts travel brands ahead of comparison sites. Google Hotels and Google Flights both show lists of booking options (with price comparisons), but it puts you at the top of the list.
As a result, Google Travel is a valuable source of bookings, but it’s one of the few channels that you can use to drive both direct and indirect bookings.
Local SEO plays a key role throughout the travel booking cycle. Almost every query people type is either explicitly or implicitly local in nature. Even as people travel, they’re still looking for things to do, places to visit and experiences for a truly unforgettable trip.
Crucially, local SEO is highly actionable for travel brands – especially when you want to earn bookings outside of comparison sites. Travellers can find hotels, book rooms, buy tickets for museums, book tours and complete all kinds of travel purchases via local search.
With a complete Business Profile, you can drive traffic to your website, and phone enquiries, plus direct and indirect bookings.
Comparison sites are a valuable source of bookings for travel brands. They provide a low-effort channel and, despite the high commissions, they drive the majority of bookings for a growing number of companies.
The real downside with comparison sites isn’t so much the commissions, but the impact on retention. Without access to customer data, you can’t follow up bookings with retention campaigns or referral incentives. You also surrender a lot of control over the customer experience and comparison sites don’t have a particularly good reputation when it comes to customer support – something that could unfairly harm your brand reputation.
In 2022, travel brands averaged 66% of bookings from comparison sites vs 34% from their own website. By expanding multichannel visibility and increasing conversions outside comparison sites, brands can generate more profit from direct bookings and multiply customer value through retention, loyalty and referrals.
To win more direct bookings from organic search and other channels, call our team on 023 9283 0281 or send us your details below and we’ll call you. You can also check out our travel SEO experience here.
Dave is head of SEO at Vertical Leap. He joined in 2010 as an SEO specialist and prior to that worked with international companies delivering successful search marketing campaigns. Dave works with many of our largest customers spanning many household names and global brands such as P&O Cruises and Harvester. Outside of work, Dave previously spent many years providing charity work as a Sergeant under the Royal Air Force Reserves in the Air Cadets sharing his passion for aviation with young minds. He can often be found in the skies above the south coast enjoying his private pilot licence.
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Categories: SEO
Categories: Travel