Our competitive world requires businesses to constantly be on the tip of their toes, promoting their products at all times and through various mediums.
Consequently, marketing is a year-round endeavor involving a holistic approach that includes using as many advertising formats as possible.
Online marketing is among the more significantly impacting publicity tactics nowadays, which, when done right, can lead to a noticeable rise in revenue.
However, within the scope of online marketing, there are several options available. It is essential for hotels, in particular, to invest in as many of these techniques, to test individual success rates while expanding their reach.
Metasearch Advertising is one such option that helps with an increase in direct hotel bookings and has a positive effect on the overall branding of your business.
Who is a Metasearch Service Provider?
Also known as “price comparison websites,” metasearch service providers are online platforms that allow customers to check the prices of the same hotel room across different listings.
Metasearch engines take listings directly from the hotel, through OTAs (Online Travel Agencies), and even via individual Travel Operators (TOs).
Who are some of the top Metasearch Service Providers?
While there are several big and small metasearch engines in the online market, the following tend to be the leaders. It is pertinent to note that while a few have excellent standing worldwide, others might be more popular in specific regions of the globe.
- Google Hotel Ads
- Skyscanner
- Kayak
- TripAdvisor
- Trivago
- Bing Ads
- Wego
- Hotels Combined
What is Metasearch Advertising
Metasearch advertising incorporates listing and marketing your hotel using online search engines that provide price comparison services to travelers. The crucial part to remember is that anyone can list your hotel rooms on a metasearch website as long as they have access to your room rates and availability.
How to advertise on a Metasearch Engine
In a broad sense, listing your hotel on a metasearch platform is like placing a listing advertisement. These comparison engines have seen tremendous growth over the past decade and are among the top searches whenever travelers want to make hotel bookings.
As a result, it is imperative to list your hotel on as many metasearch service providers as your budget allows.
However, each listing requires constant updates and can be tiresome to maintain, taking away time from running the hotel. Therefore, assigning this task to a hotel marketing agency that can handle the nitty-gritty of managing your listings professionally is often the best option.
How much does Metasearch Advertising cost?
The cost of advertising on metasearch engines primarily depends on the pricing format you select when listing on the platform.
There are three basic options available;
- CPC (Cost Per Click) – The CPC model includes paying the metasearch providers every time a customer clicks on your listing.
- CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) – When paying using a CPA model, you are charged a fixed percentage whenever a booking is made.
- Commission – If agreed upon the Commission model, the hotel pays the metasearch engine a percentage of the booking only after the stay is complete.
Importance of Metasearch Advertising
While listing your hotel on a metasearch engine has several benefits, there are two main reasons why it is downright essential.
For the main part, it is a spectacular marketing opportunity that one should not miss. At the same time, if you do not list your hotel, someone else, like an OTA, will. Therefore, you end up missing out on the possibility of direct hotel bookings.
10 Benefits of Metasearch Advertising
- Metasearch advertising leads to direct hotel bookings. The links on a metasearch engine lead to your hotel’s website, and customers book rooms directly through your platform. As a result, you increase revenue and get to retain all the guest data.
- Research shows that over 70% of travelers compare prices via metasearch comparison websites before making a final booking. Therefore, you can expand your reach to prospective and returning customers by being visible on such platforms. Moreover, many customers prefer to book directly with the hotel. They will only go with an OTA or TO if they do not see a listing by the hotel.
- Metasearch service providers pick up room prices from various locations, making it easy to monitor rate parity.
- Metasearch service providers use a bidding model to showcase your hotel as a top result on searches. However, they are still a medium through which you can make potential customers aware of your website, leading to possible direct bookings.
- In addition to listing prices of a particular hotel, metasearch engines also showcase “nearby hotels” as part of the search results. This is a brilliant opportunity to market to prospective customers who plan to stay in the area of your hotel.
- Metasearch advertising is versatile in its operations. So, you can switch between different payment models (CPA, CPC, and Commission) based on individual performance, your hotel’s marketing budget, and the time of the year.
- Metasearch service providers typically have sponsored advertising options. While a paid form of advertising, it helps expand the reach of your hotel and cements its brand quickly, often leading to more clicks and higher sales.
- One of the most important benefits of metasearch advertising is that it narrows your marketing to the target audience. In most cases, it is a traveler looking to book a hotel that browses through the platform. Thus, you know that the customer is genuine and looking to book a room soon.
- Another significant advantage of metasearch engines is that the listings are extensive and feature a mix of reviews, hotel policies, room rates, photos, and room descriptions. So, when a customer clicks, you know they are already sold on your property.
- An essential aspect to remember when implementing metasearch advertising is to make the booking process as simple as possible. Once the customer clicks on your hotel listing and lands on your website, room reservations should be instant and require minimum time and effort.
Managing Metasearch Advertising
It’s evident from above that missing out on metasearch advertising is a mistake no hotel, big or small, can afford to make. Considering that it involves several factors, working with a hotel marketing agency like ADIGITAL can help streamline this process.
As professionals, we not only manage your listings but also keep a check on rate parity. Moreover, we also offer full-service packages that include SEO website optimization, email marketing, social media management, and more to boost your hotel’s brand value and booking rate.
