aimClear Search Marketing Blog

Kayak, Farecast, Mobissimo, and Sidestep represent a highly disruptive new breed. Travel specific meta-search engines facilitate real-time fare comparison from hundreds of travel “suppliers” (like airlines and hotel chains) rather than going through a single OTA (online travel agency) like Travelocity or Orbitz. This technology threatens OTAs in serious ways, among other reasons, because the final transaction is consummated on the supplier’s website, not the OTA. Suppliers are (of course) thrilled with this technology.Read the rest of this entry »

The king is dead, long live the king. The old SEO is new again. This session, “Those Who Do…Tell: Effective Travel SEM Case Studies, “reinforced what we all know to be true: There are NO shortcuts.

Effective travel search marketing means researching and testing available channels with optimized content. Test some more, measure conversion with modern analytics, and don’t be afraid to try something else.Read the rest of this entry »

Greetings from SMX Travel@PhoCusWright from sunny Orlando. The second of today’s sessions was moderated by Chris Sherman, Executive Editor, Search Engine Land. The focus was on respective benefits and tactics for SEO vs. PPC, case studies for pumping landing page conversion, the critical importance of direct brand searches, and the advantages of integrating online and offline sales messaging.

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Moderator: Chris Sherman, Executive Editor, Search Engine Land moderated. The speakers were Bill Tancer, General Manager, Global Research, Hitwise (loves data), James Lamberti, Senior Vice President, Search and Media, Comscore, and Lorraine Sileo, Vice President, Information Services, PhocusWright.

It’s clear that search marketing is no longer primarily a direct response form of media. Search marketers not factoring offline ROI in conversion tracking (at least by conjecture) are likely missing a large percentage of the calculation, especially in travel. Exacerbating the issue is that 31% of Internet users delete cookies on a regular basis. These are the offline conversion stats for the following online verticals for sales taking place within 60 days after the Initial Click: Computers 69%, Home and Garden 69%, Toys 61%, Travel 88%, Jewelry 57%, Books, 56%, and Software 55%.Read the rest of this entry »

Good morning from the inaugural edition of SMX Travel@PhoCusWright 2007 Orlando. This conference, piggy-backed on the acclaimed series of PhCusWright conferences, promises to become the definitive annual travel-themed search marketing exposition. The sun has barely risen over the picturesque Florida palms. Still the immaculate grounds of the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate are awash in orange light and the promise of an incredible day.Read the rest of this entry »