The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article:
July 2005, Volume 4, Issue 7

My Ally, My Enemy: SEM Advice for Online Travel Vendors

by Jake Jamieson, Algorithmic Team Leader, iProspect

In order to survive the fierce competition in the online travel marketplace, everyone in the travel industry seems to be in bed with everyone else. Airlines partner with cruise companies. Hotel chains team up with car rental services. And online travel agencies offer products and services from everyone. But your partners can also become your fiercest competitors in the search marketing arena, as everyone tries to rank highly in the natural search results on the same keyword phrases.

The creation of partnerships is no surprise. Online travel buyers are extremely savvy, shopping in multiple places to find the lowest prices. This means an affiliate or reseller strategy can bolster your bottom line by offering more channels for consumers to reach you. But the fact that your partners are targeting your branded terms means they could cannibalize the rankings for your site. In fact, it’s possible they could creep up on you in the rankings if they are SEO-savvy and you’re not, and possibly overtake you on your own keywords. So what do you do to protect your brand and make sure your affiliates and partners don’t outrank you on your own key search terms?

Monitor Who’s Ranking on Your Brand

You’ve got a list of competitors you traditionally keep an eye on, comparing their performance to yours on a variety of metrics. But if you’re only paying attention to what your competitors are doing, you could be missing out on the bigger picture while ten of your affiliates edge you out of the first page of rankings on your own brand. Make a list of your most important branded terms and periodically check to see who’s ranking on them and how they’re being targeted. This way you can adjust your own strategies and stay on top.

Keep Your Branding For Yourself

Branding can be incredibly important in online travel, where your name and reputation, along with your ability to offer the best service and lowest price, are key factors in getting consumers to convert. Remember, your brand is yours alone, and one big advantage is that it’s probably right there in your domain name, appearing in every URL. If your brand isn’t included in your domain, you may need to turn to other ways to ensure that your site is ranking on your terms. Check your Web analytics system to see which branded terms are driving the most traffic on your site, and contractually limit the number of affiliates that can target particularly valuable branded keyword phrases. Obviously this won’t keep other companies from achieving rankings on your terms, but it can give you an edge if you practice search engine optimization wisely.

Offer Your Customers Multiple Branded Landing Areas

In the recent Search Marketing Advisor article “Surviving the Thunderdome,” my colleague Caitlin Miller suggested that online retail sites offer their customers multiple “runways” on their websites. The same technique is vital for effective search marketing in the travel industry, but instead of targeting multiple products with one category, you’re trying to attach your brand to multiple non-branded keyword phrases. If your home page is the only place on your site that targets brand-related keywords, you’re limiting the ways you can attract online buyers to your site and your brand.

Target Branded and Non-Branded Keyword Phrases Simultaneously

One creative way to brand multiple pages is to optimize them for both branded and non-branded terms. Target “AutoCompanyName car rental” instead of just “car rental.” Optimize a page for “AirlineName flight reservations” instead of simply “flight reservations.” By combining intact non-branded keyword phrases with your branded terms, you can increase your chances of attracting people who are shopping for you by brand as well as people who aren’t familiar with you yet.

Affiliate and reseller programs are never going to go away in the travel industry, and they offer a multitude of benefits if executed wisely. Just make sure you’re actively competing for your branded keyword phrases and optimize your site wisely, and you’ll be able to reap the benefits of your partnerships without sacrificing your own search visibility.

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The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article: July 2005, Volume 4, Issue 7

My Ally, My Enemy: SEM Advice for Online Travel Vendors

The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article:
July 2005, Volume 4, Issue 7