Last week we welcomed back David Goldie of Mackerel Media to discuss the dominance of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in the Search Space.
So why is it that OTAs often rank above our own business when people search on our own brand name? Well…
- Deep pockets £ – they spend a lot of money on Google Adwords (365 days of the year)
- Superior online user experience (Booking.com for example use many persuasive design techniques that help people find their specific requirements quickly)
- Off-line marketing – people have become very familiar with brand names such as Expedia.com which operates across 30 countries in as many languages
Google trends shows us that search demand for ‘hotels in Edinburgh‘ has declined in the last 10 years, whilst searches for brands such as Laterooms.com and Tripadvisor.com has increased substantially.
What can we do to compete better in this space?
- Register with Google My Business (which provides enhanced local search listings free of charge)
- Explore adwords.google.com – it might not cost that much to bid on your own brand name (some keywords are as little as £0.40 per click)
- Offer something the OTAs don’t…breakfast included in the rate you offer? Some hotels charge up to £25.00 for breakfast alone!
- How much would it actually cost your hotel/business to offer a free bottle of wine on arrival?
In general, can you offer better value for money and potentially rank better in paid for or local search results?
To learn more contact us as @ETAG_UK to book a 1-2-1 surgery with our Digital Marketing Consultants.