BRANDED SEARCH CAMPAIGN:3 BEST PRACTICES TO BOOST DIRECT BOOKINGS

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A BRANDED SEARCH CAMPAIGN IS CRUCIAL FOR THE GROWTH OF YOUR HOTEL’S DIRECT BOOKING CHANNEL

Potential guests who Google your brand name have a high intent to book because they already made the destination research, and your hotel came up as an accommodation alternative.

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3 BEST PRACTICES FOR CREATING AND OPTIMIZING A BRANDED SEARCH CAMPAIGN• USE MATCH TYPE TO FIND THE RIGHT KEYWORDS • USE AD EXTENSIONS • CONNECT ADWORDS TO GOOGLE ANALYTICS

BEST PRACTICE #1: USE MATCH TYPE TO FIND THE RIGHT KEYWORDS

[EXACT] “PHRASE” +BROAD +MODIFIED BROAD

Google AdWords offers 4 keyword match types that define what search terms will trigger your ad

Exact match of your brand name – It will trigger your ad only when someone is searching for your exact hotel name.

Your Brand + terms Use the most common terms a potential guest may search for, in addition to your brand name: “Discounts” “Offers” “Reviews” “Phone” “City”

A blank Brand + learn what other modifying terms a prospective guest may use when searching for information about your hotel.

A Broad match keyword Alternative terms that a potential guest might use to search your brand name

Best Practice #1: Use Match Type To Find The Right Keywords

BEST PRACTICE #2: USE AD EXTENSIONS

Attach more relevant information to your ad, and thus provide a better experience to the potential guest while maximizing the

amount of clicks you receive from your branded search.

6 Types of Ad Extensions

Best Practice #2: Use Ad Extensions

Location ExtensionShow up on Google Maps when a nearby

location is searched

Sitelinks ExtensionInclude links to different areas of

your website

Call ExtensionAdd your phone number and pay

per call

Review ExtensionUse positive PR to feature on a

Review Extension

Callout ExtensionInclude additional

information

Structured Snipped ExtensionAllows you to highlight your amenities

and room types

BEST PRACTICE #3: CONNECT ADWORDS TO GOOGLE ANALYTICS

About 70% of the world’s top 10K websites use Google Analytics to analyze their site’s traffic

Google Analytics is a free tool that tracks website performance, analysis and ROI of advertising campaigns. It gives you tons of valuable information about your visitors.

Best Practice #3: Connect Adwords to Google Analytics

AUTOTAGGINGThis feature automatically inserts the UTM parameters in all the links that refer to your website from a Google AdWords campaign.

This allows effective tracking of all the traffic arriving to your website from your branded search campaign.

SUMMARY

Focus on a branded search campaign that maximizes direct booking traffic to your hotel website. By following these 3 best practices, you are taking a massive step toward mastering your digital direct booking strategy.

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