Travel Search Engine Evolution 12/18/10

Search Engines are gateways.  Social Networking sites are decision drivers.

As bing and Google offer travel search services that make flight discovery more intuitive and funnel traffic directly to airline websites,  every vertical within the air travel industry will be affected.  Brands that understand the search marketing implications and that cater to every need of the online customer journey will thrive. This post looks at the implications of Bing Travel and Google powered flight metasearch.

Bing Travel

On bing a query like “flights to singapore” bring up a flight search module with a departure point pre-populated based on where I currently am (Melbourne, Australia.)  In the screenshot below:

1. Notice the distinct lack of any airline websites above the fold in either natural or paid results.  For this search, British Airways and Singapore Airlines make an appearance as the last two results on the page.
2. Notice the sheer volume of flight comparison website options and how the bing module stands out as the easiest option and most intuitive next step.

This demonstrates that airlines have poor SEO and lower paid search budgets versus flight comparison and travel retail websites.  Furthermore the bing module’s prominence takes attention away from the other results.

bing’s flight search results present you with multiple purchase options that I found typically drive you directly to the airlines website. For example, I was presented with two purchase options at exactly the same price:  One at Emirates.com and the other at Orbitz.  Personally, I am more likely to go straight to the airline’s website.

Search engine rankings (both natural and paid) can make or beak a travel retailer.

- WTM 2010 Industry Report

Through bing’s flight module tab pictured below, we can access more useful features like a flexible date search and Price Predictor (both currently for US routes only)

This initiatve demonstrates bing’s understanding of the online travel-customer journey. By partnering with Fodor’s Travel, Frommers and WCities they provide content for touch points from destination discovery through to product selection. My favourite feature is the Visual Search option which stimulates my imagination and gets me thinking about the possibilities.

What’s Missing?  User-generated content. There’s nothing more valuable than raw, unedited and genuine  reviews of destinations and airlines from my peers.  Gogobot is an example of how social networking helps drive decisions. Another options is to tap into the Skytrax reviews forum.

Tourists are increasingly demanding authentic experiences and are going the extra mile to find value for money; user-generated web content underpins this trend.
- VisitBritain.Org, Overseas Visitors to Britain: Understanding Trends, Attitudes and Characteristics

Google search results for the same query:

In the screenshot below,

1. Notice the greater prevalence of airline websites in the paid search listings, indicating better ROI from Google or perhaps a lack of testing on minor search engines for this geographical location.
2. Note that only 3 airline websites make it on to the first SERP with Tiger Airways, Jetstar and Singapore Airlines claiming fourth, sixth and eighth spots respectively. This suggests that Low Cost Carriers are paying more attention to SEO versus full service airlines.  More modern content management systems may also be giving them an edge.
3. Flight Centre is the only traditional travel agency to make an appearance.  They clearly understand the need for digital investment as demonstrated by their current social media specialist recruitment drive.  This will be one of the travel agencies that survives because they understand the role of digital in the customer journey.

The proliferation of sites like Kayak, Orbitz, Travelocity, and Hipmunk, which have empowered consumers to find their own fares and easily book their own flights, together with the rise of websites and apps that give travelers the information they need to plan their own itineraries, have changed the travel industry in drastic ways. The days of recruiting a travel agent to book flights, find hotels, and organize tours are on their way out–and already gone for many. - The Huffington Post

Through its proposed purchase of ITA, the software company behind travel website giants Kayak and Hotwire, it is inevitable that Google’s travel offering will improve in due course.

My Conclusions

1. Bing has a miniscule search market share in APAC but they do have first mover advantage in offering travel metasearch, and are constantly rolling out new innovations which could bolster their market share. Their offering is a taste of what Google is poised to launch, and they have game-changing market share in Singapore, Malaysia, India, Australia and New Zealand. Expect regional and non-english search engines to also capitalise on this travel metasearch trend.
2. In the short term, full service airlines should assess the ROI achieved by low cost carriers from SEO and use this to justify further investment.
3. Scrutinize analytics to identify the top referral sources of ticket sales and look specifically at how Bing’s travel module is affecting these referrals. Going forward, a reassessment of digital partnerships may be in order.
4. As search engines funnel traffic directly to airline websites, further investment may be required to provide consumer satisfaction at each step of the customer journey.  For instance, note the dramatic fall in customer satisfaction post-booking below.  This is an opportunity to better connect with customers.

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5. Consumer searches have drifted from purchase intent to  research-before-purchase, meaning they are less prone to clicking ads after the first search. (An eyeblaster report recommends 4 ad impressions for optimal banner ad ROI.)   This highlights the need for a multi-channel approach and measuring search marketing ROI accordingly:  Rather than just direct click-through sales, analysis of the customer’s entire click-path using a solution like Clicktale becomes a key optimisation asset.

6. Redefine what an online travel agent is.  Leverage affiliate programs to empower all internet publishers to be ‘travel agents.’ Currently, affiliate programs are utilized by Expedia, Kayak etc, but this is not an area airlines have traditionally explored.  With increasingly direct sales models, there is an opportunity here.

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