Hotelmarketing recently announced findings based on a new report by Hitwise. It noted a rise in branded searches in query content for the travel sector. From the top 300 search terms sending visits to travel websites, the company found that more than three-quarters were from branded search terms such as “hilton hotels” or “expedia”.

Published: 19 Jun 2008

Hotelmarketing recently announced findings based on a new report by Hitwise. It noted a rise in branded searches in query content for the travel sector. From the top 300 search terms sending visits to travel websites, the company found that more than three-quarters were from branded search terms such as “hilton hotels” or “expedia”.

The largest chunk of branded searches were searches for inventory owners, such as airlines and hotels, and map websites, such as MapQuest and Google Maps. The share of visits to Travel websites from branded queries rose 6 percent in the past year indicating that travel consumers are increasingly brand loyal and that consumers are using search engines as navigational aids rather than to discover new websites.

At the same time Hitwise found a 12% decrease in generic searches, such as “driving directions” and “cheap airline tickets”, and a 26 percent decrease in searches for specific destinations, such as “disneyland” and “las vegas”, in the four weeks ending April 26, 2008.

Mapping websites and meta-search engines are seeing the biggest gains. Searches for map websites accounted for 32% of visits from Search Engines to Travel websites, up 13 percent year-on-year. Meta-search websites have experienced a 40 percent increase in Internet searches year-on-year (albeit from a low base).

EyeforTravel has been following the rise and fall of so-called meta search sites for some years and have noted a recent significant change in their business models. In line with changes in consumer search behaviour, many models no longer simply compare travel products based on price alone. Instead they incorporate multiple search options allowing consumers to base their decision making on more informed comparisons.

‘The fact that three out of four vacationers spread their online research across multiple websites -- with some visiting 10 or more -- points to the huge timesaving benefits that a truly full-featured online travel planning site can deliver," said Jim Quilty, Vice President of travel and tourism at Harris Interactive who conducted a survey earlier this year into US search habits.

Research by EyeforTravel found some hostility from travel suppliers and OTA’s, towards some of the new breed meta search models (or are they next generation intermediaries?) claiming that they simply add to the already lengthy purchasing path and contribute towards higher marketing costs in the form of extortionate PPC rates .

However as Yen Lee, Co-Founder and President, Uptake said at the Travolution Summit in May ‘Today’s web search paradigm does not work for social media and the semantic web {..} Google will only look for key search term related items. However there are many ways to the same search terms and Google leaves little room for interpretation.’

Many questions surrounding search and so-called meta search sites remain unanswered. Beatrice Tarka, Mobissimo, Yen Lee, UpTake, Ole Stouby, Travelmarket and Claus Weber, Kinkaa.de will be discussing the future of search at the CEO Search debate at EyeforTravel’s upcoming Sales & Marketing in Travel Summit Europe 2008, 14-15 October in Munich.

To find out more about the debate visit
http://events.eyefortravel.com/smeurope/onlinemarketing/agenda.asp for more information

You can find more information about the search findings in this article at http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/how_consumer_sea...
And more specifically about Hitwise http://weblogs.hitwise.com/us-heather-hopkins/2008/06/online_travel_cust...