In recent weeks Google has announced a number of tools to respond to user intent for mobile holiday research and booking.
This came alongside the not-so-surprising stats that mobile traffic to travel sites now accounts for 40 percent of users.
So what do the changes mean for the travel industry, and should travel companies be adapting SEO strategies any time soon?
Users will be able to filter hotels by price or rating, with longer searches catered for – for example ‘pet friendly hotels in London for less than £300 a night’.
Much like Google has been doing on desktop, the mobile travel results will also show deals – so if a hotel has dropped in price for the search result this will be highlighted.
The most powerful element of this change is the ability to track and receive alerts for airline price changes.
Using Google Now, users will be able to track ‘dramatic price increases and decreases’ in any chosen location and make a purchase based on the logic of price changes.
What is the benefit for travel companies?
In a nutshell it means travel companies can offer products, whether it be flights, hotels or even reviews, to users much quicker. A quicker research phase means a quicker purchase cycle, and increased revenue.
What’s more, users are increasingly turning to mobile, and micro moment searching, for answers.
Having the ability to take this research a step further, to see hotels or flights, creates a buy-in to the search, which travel companies can market to for long term sales.
So, what exactly is the benefit for Google?
Google should always be considered as the ‘littlefinger of the internet’ – everything it does has the ulterior motive of helping itself. Essentially, Google wants to users to use its platform for everything, as opposed to as a gateway for everything.
