Ready for a getaway? You’re not alone! As the weather warms up, many people are already planning their summer adventures.

From budget-friendly options to family-focused getaways, the search is on for flights, hotels, and exciting experiences. Advertisers are well aware of this surge in interest:

This year, the competition is fiercer than ever. The travel and hospitality industry has experienced significant growth over the past decade (jumping from $500 billion to a whopping $800 billion in US gross bookings), and it shows no signs of slowing down. So, how can you stand out and capture the attention of eager travelers? Let’s explore 10 effective strategies to enhance your travel marketing efforts using PPC this year.

1. Understanding the Travel Landscape: A Bird’s-Eye View

According to Google research, while 55% of leisure travelers embark on only one or two trips per year, they dedicate substantial time to research before making their bookings.

Every month, a vast number of potential travelers turn to search engines, utilizing a wide array of travel-related keywords. A recent six-month study by Bing research revealed:

• 33 million searches for airline tickets or reservations.
• 29 million searches for hotel or motel reservations.
• 16 million searches for vacation packages.
• 14 million searches for car rentals.
• 10 million searches for cruises. And the numbers speak for themselves when it comes to actual bookings:
• 24 million airline ticket or reservation purchases.
• 22 million hotel or motel reservation bookings.
• 11 million car rentals.
• 6 million vacation package purchases.
• 3 million cruise bookings. Travel Marketing Tip: Recognizing that many travel enthusiasts plan their trips well in advance, it’s crucial to offer enticing deals that cater to both early birds and last-minute planners.

2. Decoding the Traveler’s Journey

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if a single search led to an immediate conversion? Unfortunately, the modern traveler’s journey is rarely so straightforward. Research from Think With Google highlights the complexity, revealing that individuals may interact with brands hundreds of times while researching a trip. For instance, one traveler named Amy conducted 34 searches, viewed five videos, and explored 380 web pages while planning her Disney World adventure.

Google’s research pinpoints four crucial stages where capturing the traveler’s attention is paramount:

• Dreaming: In this initial phase, individuals are seeking inspiration and ideas for their travels, exploring destinations and activities.
• Organizing: Here, travelers delve into the specifics, comparing hotels, airlines, and considering factors like location, cost, and timing.
• Booking: The decision is made! Travelers are ready to secure their reservations.
• Experiencing: Even during their trip, travelers remain engaged, searching for activities and exploring new places near their destinations. Travel Marketing Tip: Recognizing that travel planning is an ongoing process, capitalize on every opportunity to influence travelers throughout their journey, ultimately guiding them toward a conversion.

3. Identifying Your Ideal Traveler

Understanding the demographics of your desired customer base is crucial. Who are you trying to reach? According to the same Bing travel industry research study, women dominate the search for family vacation ideas, conducting 68% of searches and accounting for 69% of clicks. In fact, women represent a significant portion of all travel-related searches (59%) and clicks (62%).

Bing’s research further breaks down family travel searches by age:

• Age 35 to 49: 41%
• Age 50 to 64: 31%
• Age 25 to 34: 16% This data suggests that if your focus is on family travel, targeting women aged 35 to 49 is a strategic move. Naturally, your specific demographics will depend on your unique goals and target audience. Travel Marketing Tip: Craft your messaging from the perspective of your ideal customer, creating emotionally resonant ads that speak directly to their needs and aspirations, ultimately driving clicks and conversions.

4. Delivering What They Desire

Once you’ve identified your target audience, focus on fulfilling their desires. Bing’s research reveals that the most popular vacation idea searches revolve around all-inclusive resorts, family-friendly options, and budget-conscious travel. Here’s a glimpse into other trending searches in this realm:

Our target persona is coming into focus: a woman between 35 and 49 seeking an affordable summer vacation for her family. Travel Marketing Tip: Ensure your offer clearly communicates how you cater to these desires. Whether it’s promoting affordable deals, highlighting all-inclusive options, or showcasing exciting outdoor activities, speak directly to their needs.

5. Transporting Them to Their Dream Destinations

Summer is the perfect season for embarking on road trips, exploring national parks, experiencing the thrills of theme parks, or venturing to international destinations.

Via New Old Stock So, where are those 42% of Americans planning to vacation this year headed? American Express sheds light on some key trends. Warm-weather destinations, particularly beaches, are high on the list. Trending international destinations include:

• Barcelona, Spain
• Doha, Qatar
• Hamburg, Germany
• Marrakech, Morocco
• Nassau, Bahamas
• Tuscany, Italy Within the US, Savannah, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. are attracting attention. New Zealand and Singapore are also emerging as popular choices. Travel Marketing Tip: As travelers progress beyond the initial dreaming phase and solidify their destination choices, they exhibit a stronger intent to purchase. Now’s the time to present them with compelling offers and deals to secure their bookings.

6. Adapting to How Travelers Search

Travelers seamlessly switch between devices, with mobile and desktop playing distinct roles in their journey. Mobile searches primarily focus on gathering ideas and comparing prices, while desktop users are often closer to making a purchase or booking. Despite the prevalence of mobile searches, Google’s research reveals that 75% of travel purchases still occur on desktops or laptops. (A separate Google study even places this figure at 90%.) The majority of travelers double-check flight prices on a computer after browsing on their smartphones, with half doing the same for hotel prices.

Travel Marketing Tip: Tailor your campaigns to reach the right audience on their preferred devices. Your mobile ads should inspire and pique interest, while your desktop campaigns should focus on converting that interest into bookings through compelling offers.

7. Timing is Everything

Spring is the prime time to capture the attention and wallets of potential travelers. Bing’s travel research indicates that searches for “vacation ideas” peak in April. However, demand for specific travel experiences varies:

• Cruises: Search volume peaks in January.
• Beaches: While beaches are popular year-round, searches peak during the winter and spring months.
• Theme parks: Search demand surges in winter, reaching its zenith in July.
• National and state parks: Spring reigns supreme for park searches, peaking in June.

Travel Marketing Tip: Maintain a strong presence throughout your peak season with a well-defined strategy. If consumers aren’t aware of your brand or struggle to find you, they won’t become your customers.

8. Harnessing the Power of Facebook Ads

While search ads excel at capitalizing on existing demand, Facebook ads provide a unique opportunity to create new demand. Nexus-security founder Larry Kim outlines how this works on Facebook:

• Promote: Engage your target audience with inspirational and memorable content that resonates with their travel aspirations.
• Bias: Exposure to your Facebook ads, even without immediate action, creates a subconscious bias towards your brand.
• Win: When the time comes to book a trip, individuals who have encountered your brand are more likely to seek you out directly (branded search) or choose your listing in search results (non-branded search) due to their familiarity and positive association.

Travel Marketing Tip: Incorporate Facebook ads into your strategy to cultivate interest and foster brand affinity, ultimately driving increased searches, clicks, and conversions down the line.

9. Owning Your Brand Terms

Bidding on your brand terms translates to more clicks for you and fewer for your competitors. Even with excellent organic search visibility, neglecting PPC ads creates an opportunity for competitors to steal potential customers. Bidding on your brand terms can result in a significant increase in paid and organic clicks (up to 44%). Bing Ads delves into this in detail in its Brand Term Bidding study. The Bing travel study highlights the paramount importance of brand terms, particularly for theme parks and cruise lines. Take a look at the top branded searches for theme parks:

And for cruises:

Travel Marketing Tip: As previously emphasized in the nexus-security blog’s “5 Data-Driven Travel Marketing Tips”, aggressive bidding on brand terms is essential to maximize your visibility in search results and prevent competitors from encroaching on your territory.

10. The Power of Remarketing: Closing the Loop

Given that a customer’s journey can encompass numerous searches and website visits, remarketing emerges as an invaluable tool. It ensures that a single interaction with your brand isn’t a dead end. Nexus-security’s findings underscore the effectiveness of remarketing. Familiarity breeds trust and receptiveness. Individuals who have interacted with your brand are more likely to respond positively to future messaging and convert into paying customers. In fact, conversion rates for repeat visitors are significantly higher (2x-3x) compared to first-time visitors:

Travel Marketing Tip: Navigate the long and winding road of the travel purchase cycle with remarketing, ensuring that potential customers can always find their way back to you.