July 29, 2019 · Stuart Butler

Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast: Episode 118 – Breaking Down PPC And Email Trends From Google And Revinate

This episode is based on a vertical trends report produced by Google as well as Revinate’s latest email marketing trends study.
Also see our notes on last year’s study: https://www.travelboommarketing.com/blog/fuel-hotel-marketing-podcast-episode-98-takeaways-revinates-2018-global-hotel-email-marketing-report/
DOWNLOAD THE  2019 LEISURE TRAVEL STUDY: www.fueltravel.com/2019-leisure-tr…l-trends-study/

SHOW NOTES:
Google’s Vertical Trends
Google’s trend report is for Q1 of 2019 for hotel, motel and resort paid keywords.
 
Devices:

    • Overall, the number of search queries was down 1% compared to last year, with 60% of searches performed on a mobile phone.
    • Mobile queries have increased 15% YoY, and CTR increased 3% to 9.5%. Ad Depth is up 3% to 2.8 (why is this a red indicator??). CPC remained even, at $0.95
    • Desktop queries are down 19%, however CTR increased 8% to 8.1%. Ad Depth is up 46% to 2.4 (also red). CPC up 10% to $1.81
    • Tablet queries are down 8%, CTR increased 9% to 8.1%. Ad depth is down 3% to 3.2 (this is green). CPC up marginally, at 2% for $1.15

 

  • Takeaway: Mobile traffic continues to increase, is well over the majority of traffic, has the highest CTR, and is currently cheaper CPC than other devices.

 
 
Seasonality:

    • Q1 saw a slight dip in both queries and impressions vs. 2018, but was slightly above that of 2017
    • Clicks were higher than both 2017 and 2018, with traffic peaking in March
    • CPC steadily rose throughout the first quarter, passing over the CPC of 2018 in March. CPC remained below 2017 for all three months
    • CTR steadily rose throughout the quarter, and was above 2018 and 2017 for all three months
    • Ad Depth had a very slight decline from January to March. It was well above 2018 for all 3 months, but slightly below 2017
    • In the last 4 years, CPCs were in the range of $1.13-$1.26 and peaked in May.
    • Category searches have consistently peaked in July.
    • Google’s forecast for the next 2 months shows an expected high for queries during the week of 7/23 and high for CPC the week of 9/10 based on last year’s trends.

 

  • Takeaway: In spite of increased ad depth, CTR is up vs. last year, however, volume is down 

 
 
Revinate’s 2019 Hotel Email Marketing Benchmark Report
 
Why email?

  • Measureable
  • Personalized
  • Highest ROI (4X higher than other channels)
  • Millennials (will be 50% of world’s hotel guests, and lead the way in making purchasing decisions based on email)

 
Segmentation:

  • Open rate of emails sent to <5,000 recipients was 24% vs. 10% for >50K
  • CTR was 3% vs. 1%
  • Conversion rate was 0.3% vs. 0.07%

Sample math:
Hotel sends 1 email to 50K people with 0.07% CR = 3,500 reservations
Hotel sends 10 segmented emails to 5K people each with a 0.37% CR = 18,500 reservations
Takeaway: Don’t be overly concerned with the vanity metric of open rate, but DO be aware of the engagement/conversion rate of these segmented send. Highly engaged subscribers due to segmentation can send positive signals to Gmail, etc. that will help keep your messages out of the spam folders.
 
Automated Messages:

    • Automated booking modification and confirmation emails had a 72% open rate and 26% CTR
    • Welcome emails had a 50% open rate and 16% CTR
    • Pre-arrival emails had a 61% open rate and 30% CTR

 

  • OTA win back messages had a 34% open rate, 7% CTR, and 0.59% CR

 

  • Takeaway: Automation for confirmation, pre-arrival post-stays is a no-brainer. HOWEVER, these are not set it and forget it messages. They need to be audited, tested and updated as needed, especially pre-arrival messages that can be used to upsell and cross-sell based on inventory.

 
 
 
When to Send:

    • Study analyzed 32 million global reservations
    • 30% of reservations were made 0-6 days out
    • Day of week: In the US and Canada, Monday had best conversion rate, but Fridays had the best open rate (with next to last place for CR).
    • Time of day: 6PM for US and Canada with 23% open rate and 0.42% CR

 

  • Takeaway: Use your own data, and use Fuel eCRM to send to subscribers based on their individual habits.

 
 
Devices:
 

  • 41% of emails opened on a phone

 

    • 21 % via Webmail
    • 18% desktop
    • 11% tablet
    • 10% other (what else is there??)

 

  • Takeaway: Do we even need to say anything about this?

 
Find Revinate’s study here: https://www.revinate.com/benchmark/marketing/
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In The Newsaroos:     

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Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to @_travelboom or info@travelboommarketing.com.

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