What are Google Hotel Ads ?
If you are not already familiar with it, the Google Hotel Ads solution is one of the most popular metasearches used by hoteliers to attract travelers’ reservations. The solution is aimed at all types of establishments: hotels, hotel apartments, hotel residences, etc. Google Hotel Ads has been a part of the metasearch landscape for years, and has become an essential part of hotel marketing strategy.
What are Google Hotel Ads?
Google Hotel Ads is the metasearch solution that allows hotels to reference their official website rates on their Google Business Profile pages.
It allows you to display the price of your rooms to travelers who search for your hotel on Google. In effect, your Google Business Profile listing appears in Google results when a user types the name of your hotel, navigates using Google Maps with the hotels filter, or browses in the travel section from Google.
On this listing, Google offers the user various booking links for your hotel in the Google Hotel Ads section.
Google Hotel Ads campaigns are therefore not linked to keywords, but only to your Google My Business page.
This is what makes it a very useful solution for hoteliers – you will reach Internet users who are in the process of purchasing and who show a strong interest in your hotel.
This type of campaign lets you reach highly qualified traffic.
How can you use Google Hotel Ads to attract potential customers?
As we said above, Google Hotel Ads allows you to display your website’s rates on your Google Business Profile.
You must therefore set up Hotel Ads campaigns to attract qualified traffic to your hotel website. Once launched, the campaigns you run to display your official website rates will appear directly in the list of results displayed.
When you run campaigns for your establishment, your ads appear in two strategic places:
- The Business Profile (formerly Google My Business):
Nearly 90% of Google Hotel Ads traffic comes from the Local Universal listing section from the Google My Business page. So, this is obviously a strategic location to display your hotel.
Placing among the first 4 results to display is critical to generating more traffic. We also recommend that you have the best rate displayed on your hotel’s website, compared against other retailers.
- Google Maps:
The Map remains an important part of Google today, where users can type in your hotel name and see your establishment appear. Google Maps represents on average 10% of the traffic generated by Google Hotels Ads.
What types of bidding strategies are available on Google Hotel Ads?
Meta ads
Google Hotel Ads offers several auction models for different advertisers:
- Cost per click (CPC):
You have two options for activating bids: a fixed bid per night or a percentage of the price of your room.
Google also offers the Bid Multiplier, which allows you to refine your bidding strategy according to different parameters: the platform, length of stay, check-in date, etc.
On Google Hotel Ads you can also manage your auction settings by market (France, USA, Spain, Canada, etc.).
- Cost per acquisition (CPA):
This model allows you to manage your campaigns based solely on performance. There are 2 types of CPA on Google Hotel Ads:
- CPA on commission per conversion: allows you to manage your Google Hotel Ads campaigns based on performance. You set a commission amount with Google and the algorithm automatically adjusts your position based on your commission. As part of the CPA on the date of purchase, the commissions due are based on the date of the customer’s reservation.
- CPA on commission per stay: allows the hotelier to manage their performance-based Google Hotel Ads campaigns with Google billing based on the guest’s date of stay. This means that if a traveler books in November to stay at your hotel in January, you will be commissioned in January. This template allows you to report cancellations and no-shows to Google.
You can pair campaign typologies (CPC, CPA) between the different markets. It is thus possible to have markets in CPC and markets in CPA for the same hotel.
- Free Booking Links: In March 2021, Google launched Free Booking Links, which are completely free links.
This new option now represents between 15-16% of Google Hotel Ads traffic. However, the conversion rate of these free booking links is 60% lower.
Property Promotion Ads type:
Ⓒ Google
With Property Promotion Ads, you can show your hotel in the best positions on Google Maps. If your bid is high enough, you may appear on the first or second position on Google Maps, which could bring you significant traffic. The gain in visibility is significant and can take precedence over the ROAS.
You can choose to run campaigns on a CPC or CPA model, just like traditional Google Hotel Ads.
When to use Property Promotion Ads?
If you are a hotel looking for increased traffic to your destination. Property Promotion Ads can also be used for a new hotel looking for visibility. You can ensure the first position in a city for example.
Property Promotion Ads is a new type of ad allowing you to promote your hotel in the best positions. More specifically, you will have the possibility of increasing user interest in your establishment by displaying your hotel in the hotel search results.
When travelers click on one of these ads, they are directly redirected to the “sponsored” tab which contains your offer and no others.
These ads are also displayed on Google Maps and search results (the SERP) when a user searches for a hotel in a geographic area.
How does PPA work?
Your ads are displayed in the “hotel search” section on Google (on mobile and desktop). When a user enters a query, for example. “hotel New York,” they will see your ad displayed. Each page of results in this section can display two Property Promotion ads.
If your bid is high enough, you may appear on the first or second position on Google Maps, which could bring you significant traffic. The gain in visibility is significant and can take precedence over the ROAS.
On PPA, you can choose to run campaigns on a CPC or CPA model, just like on traditional Google Hotel Ads.
How can your hotel use PPA?
Ads are available to all advertisers worldwide, except in France .
To display PPA ads, you must meet several criteria:
- Have an active Hotel center account associated with at least one Google Ads account.
- Have an active landing page in Hotel center, or failing that, participate in Reserve with Google.
- Have an approved establishment image for advertisers.
When to use Property Promotion Ads?
If you are a hotel looking for increased traffic to your destination. Property Promotion ads can also be used for a new hotel looking for visibility. You can ensure the first position in a city, for example.
What are the advantages of Google Hotel Ads for a hotel?
You improve the visibility of your direct rates and increase your number of direct bookings.
With Google Hotel Ads you have control over your distribution strategy. You have multiple bidding models that offer flexibility and a return on investment. With Google Hotel Ads, you can promote your establishment on your own destination and reach Internet users who are actively looking for a hotel in your location. You will improve your establishment’s reputation among all Internet users looking for a hotel in your city.
With constant development based on traveler behavior, Google is continually updating its Google Hotel Ads solution with new features. Synergies between Google Ads and Google Hotel Ads are also in development. By offering an even more optimal experience for Internet users, Google is strengthening its position as a major player in hotel distribution.
You have therefore understood that Google Hotel Ads is essential for effectively distributing your establishment online. Not only do you reach a qualified audience because it generates interest in your hotel, but you also control your distribution costs.
If you would like to display your hotel on Google Hotel Ads, do not hesitate to contact our Google Partner Premier certified agency.