Did you know that 2023 marks the 23rd anniversary of Google Ads? 🤯
NB: This is an article from gcommerce
Ad revenue now contributes 80% of Alphabet’s revenue and last year that totaled around $54 billion. Over the past 20+ years Google paid search has become an almost guaranteed budget line item for pretty much every business that is looking to advertise, reach customers, and drive revenue.
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Chances are, your hotel has been a loyal customer of this ad type for years. But did you know there’s a type of Google search ad that is helping hotel’s drive 5%+ of total website revenue that can’t be accessed via the standard keyword focused Google paid search campaign type?
If you’ve been a loyal Google paid search advertiser all these years and you’re not running Google Hotel Ads via metasearch advertising then you’re losing out on a very large portion of the Google hotel search ecosystem. One that could be driving a substantial amount of direct revenue for your hotel. One that the OTAs have been using to STEAL MARKET SHARE the past 10+ years.
A Brief Overview of Google Hotel Ads
Did you know the first ideation of Google Hotel Ads technically launched back in 2010? Up until 2018, hotel inventory partners running these sponsored placements had to manage them in a completely separate platform from Google Ads. When Google moved Hotel Ads into the Google Ads platform in 2018, it made it easier for advertisers to manage alongside their standard keyword based paid search campaigns. The caveat though, is that in order to run these Google Hotel Ads placements the hotel advertiser still has to rely on a Google connectivity partner to feed rates/inventory into a separate campaign type.
To clarify, just because you are running Google paid search, doesn’t mean you are live on Google Hotel Ads.
How are Google Hotel Ads Different Than Google Paid Search Ads?
There are quite a number of differences between Google Hotel Ads and Google Paid Search Ads. Understanding these differences will help you navigate between the Google search ecosystem for hotels and set your hotel up for success by best utilizing these different campaign types.
- Google Hotel Ads require a direct feed to your hotel’s (or an OTA’s) rates and inventory
Unlike Google paid search campaigns, Google Hotel Ads require a direct feed to your hotel’s rates and inventory via your CRS or booking engine. A huge factor in hotel ads campaigns quality score comes down to the accuracy of the price in your feed to the price that is shown on the booking engine landing page. Since these rates and inventory fluctuate constantly based on your inventory and revenue management, it’s a requirement by Google that there is a feed in place to keep your campaigns updated with the latest rates and inventory information. You also must use a Google technology partner that offers the ability to connect your hotel’s rates and inventory to Google Ads. This list is limited but can include booking engine/CRS companies as well as technology providers such as WIHP and Derbysoft.
- Google Hotel Ads appear in different places in Google’s search ecosystem
Let’s look at some examples of where Google Hotel Ads and Google Paid Search Ads appear within Google Search.
Google Hotel Ads can be found under the knowledge panel in the main search engine results page (SERP), within Google’s travel planner and within Google Maps/Local Map Packs.
