Brand protection is a crucial strategy for hotels that want to increase direct bookings and maximize revenue. With the rise of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) such as Booking.com and Expedia, many hotels find themselves in direct competition for bookings. These OTAs often use the hotel’s name (brand) in their Google Ads campaigns, attracting customers who might have booked directly through the hotel’s website. Implementing a brand protection strategy on Google Ads can help hotels capture these bookings, improve profit margins, and strengthen direct relationships with customers. In this article, we will explore in detail how brand protection works and how it can be used to increase hotel revenue.
What is Brand Protection?
Brand protection involves safeguarding the name and reputation of your brand online, preventing other entities, like OTAs, from capitalizing on the hotel’s name in their advertising campaigns. Specifically, on Google Ads, brand protection involves purchasing pay-per-click (PPC) ads using the hotel’s name as a keyword. This ensures that when potential customers search for the hotel’s name on Google, they find the hotel’s official website as the top sponsored result, rather than an OTA ad.
Why Do OTAs Use Hotel Names?
OTAs use the hotel’s name in their advertising campaigns for several reasons:
- Increase Visibility: Sponsored ads appear at the top of search results, increasing OTA visibility.
- Acquire Bookings: OTAs earn commissions on each booking made through their platform. Attracting customers specifically searching for a hotel can increase their bookings.
- Compete with the Official Website: Often, OTA websites appear before the official hotel websites in organic search results. By using sponsored ads, OTAs ensure their site is seen first, ahead of the official site.
Benefits of Brand Protection on Google Ads
Increase Direct Bookings
By purchasing PPC ads using your hotel’s name, you can significantly increase direct bookings. Direct bookings not only avoid OTA commissions but also allow the hotel to maintain a direct relationship with customers, enhancing loyalty and overall experience.
Improvement of Profit Margins
Bookings through OTAs incur commissions that can range from 15% to 30%. Direct bookings, on the other hand, have significantly lower costs, improving the profit margin for each reservation.
Control Over Customer Experience
When customers book directly through the hotel’s website, the hotel has greater control over the entire guest experience, from booking to check-out. This allows for a more personalized service and the ability to gather direct feedback from customers.
Strengthening the Brand
Brand protection helps strengthen the hotel’s brand by ensuring customers find the official website as the top result when searching for the hotel’s name. This increases the perception of reliability and professionalism of the brand.
How to Implement a Brand Protection Strategy on Google Ads
Keyword Research
The first step is to identify the keywords to target. These should include the hotel’s name, common variations, and combinations with terms like “hotel,” “booking,” and “rates.”
Creating Effective Ads
Ads should be clear, engaging, and provide a compelling reason to book directly through the official website. For example, you can include exclusive offers, special discounts, or additional benefits like free Wi-Fi or complimentary breakfast.
Optimizing the Landing Page
Ensure that the landing page for the ad is optimized for conversion. The page should be user-friendly, mobile-friendly, and provide all necessary information to complete the booking. A well-designed landing page can significantly increase the conversion rate.
Monitoring and Optimization
Use analytics tools to monitor the performance of the ads and make adjustments based on the data collected. Analyze metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), cost per click (CPC), and conversion rate to continuously optimize the campaign.
Budget and Bidding Strategy
Set an adequate budget for brand protection campaigns and use effective bidding strategies to ensure that the ads appear in the best positions without exceeding the budget. You can use automatic bidding strategies to optimize bids based on performance goals.
Best Practices for Brand Protection
Monitor the Competition
Keep an eye on OTA activities and competitors. Use monitoring tools to see how they are using your brand and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Update Ads Regularly
Regularly update your ads to keep interest and relevance high. Test different versions of text and offers to see which perform best.
Use Ad Extensions
Ad extensions, such as sitelinks, call extensions, and review extensions, can enhance the visibility and effectiveness of your ads. Using these extensions can provide additional information and incentives for potential customers.
Collaborate with a Google Ads Expert
If you’re not experienced with Google Ads, consider working with an expert or a specialized agency. A professional can help you create and optimize effective campaigns, maximizing your return on investment.