TripAdvisor is setting the stage for a year full of changes in 2018. They launched a major new initiative at the very end of 2017 with Sponsored Positions and are now in the process of completely revamping their internal structures. Today we are going to discuss some of the most notable changes we are seeing and what may be on the horizon.
CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO START LISTENING.


If you like what you hear, please leave a comment below, share it with your friends, and also leave a review.
========================
SHOW NOTES:
Related article: https://www.travelboommarketing.com/blog/tripadvisor-hotel-sponsored-positions/
Sponsored Positions:
TripAdvisor has rolled out the entirely new Sponsored Positions for hotels in December 2017.  This is the first opportunity for hotels to actually bid on the position of their hotel on the destination page, effectively monetizing the the listings.

• What is sponsored positions?
• Are Sponsored Positions a Good Investment?
• Potential Goals
• Know  before you go
• Setup and implementation

Changes in the TripAdvisor C-Suite
https://skift.com/2018/01/09/exclusive-tripadvisor-reorganizes-business-units-to-bolster-performance/
TL;DR – Tripadvisor Hotels team was helping out with all other TripAdvisor Business Units (Restaurants, Vacation Rentals, Flights, Attractions and SmarterTravel) but they are restructuring to have a dedicated team for hotels and a profit and loss structure specific to hotels.
Wishes for 2018:

• Patrick Norton
  • My next goal is to maximize spend while guests are at our resorts. I would like a more effective tool for guests to purchase from ALL on-site vendors – Similar to Disney wristbands. The hope would be that it came with itemized reporting, allowing us to track guest vacation purchase trends and more effectively market to them the following year.

Listener Questions:
Question from Selim
Hello all,
I have been listening your podcast and find it very helpful. Thank you very much for all your input so far. I have 2 questions which I would like to hear your comments;

• If hotels want to reach bigger audiences, would you recommend Demand-side platforms to buy display locations? If SSP is any good you can tell of course but I guess SSP is no good for ad buyers. Hotels and agencies which want to promote on different countries and markets sometimes needs more than Facebook and Google Ads. Are DSPs an answer?
• What is the best way to track button clicks to online booking widget “book now” buttons and clickable telephone numbers on hotel page?
  • Event tracking in Google Analytics is your answer. By setting an event it will record every time someone clicks, even if they go to a page that is not on your site or go to a traditional URL (such as a tel: link) https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/6106716?hl=en
    What is even more important than just tracking the click to ensuring you can accurately attribute revenue.  This can be done by having the proper linker code in place on your booking engine. You can find more about this at Melissa’s article, “3 Steps to Ensure Your Booking Engine Tracks Correctly in Google Analytics”.  When it comes to phone tracking, take it a step farther by having a dedicated number for your site so you can record what actually happens on the phone, not just how often it rings.

========================

========================
In The Newaies
Review Extensions Going Away
https://searchengineland.com/google-sunsetting-adwords-review-extensions-289595
Google’s Search Market Eroding
http://adage.com/article/digital/amazon-apps-chew-google-s-search-market-share/311910/
oogle’s search market share has seen a decline each year from 88 percent in 2011 to 78 percent in 2016
========================
Follow Us on Twitter:
@_travelboom
@stuartbutler
@marketingmeisha
@makavanagh
@pdimaio
@pforiska

---

 

Submit your questions and topic ideas on Twitter to @_travelboom.