Google & Compete: Survey shows that consumers visit more than 17 travel websites and conduct more than 4 searches before booking a hotel.

We all know that online travel consumers conduct in-depth searches and research. A U.S. consumer survey report titled "Travel Industry Themes in the Fourth Quarter of 2012" released by Google and Compete pointed out that consumers visit an average of more than 17 travel websites and conduct more than 4 travel searches before booking a hotel.

Digital marketing solutions provider IgnitionOne pointed out in its survey report on the US and European markets that in this "circuitous" product purchase process, the information about the brand that visitors see before being converted into customers comes from natural search. Therefore, hotels focus on obtaining their brand keywords.

The "Digital IQ Index: Hotels" data released by digital marketing think tank L2 Think Tank and digital agency SapientNitro in December 2012 pointed out that among the natural search results on the homepage for global high-end hotel brand keywords, 46% of the results belong to hotel brand websites, rather than links to OTA websites or TripAdvisor, etc.

L2 Think Tank analyzed 57 brands in its survey report. For 24 of them, more than 50% of the results in the first page keyword search results related to their brands belong to their brand websites. It seems natural that the keyword search results for brands belong to brand websites, but many websites are competing fiercely for these keyword search results. Compared with other companies in the retail industry, hotel brands are more successful in obtaining first page keyword search results for their brands. Only specialty retailers and beauty brands have received more than 1/3 of the first page natural search results.

As Google continues to change its algorithm and OTAs and media companies merge, travel-related search results have become a highly competitive touchpoint in the customer purchase process. Hotel brands are working hard to respond to these changes by gaining more first-page keyword search results for their brands and attracting customers to book directly on their websites.