The first online travel agency launched in 1996, Travelocity®
(a Sabre Holdings® company) pioneered the online travel market.
Travelocity gives consumers access to hundreds of airlines, thousands
of hotels and cruises, car rentals, and last-minute vacation packages.
With 40 million members, Travelocity is the sixth largest travel agency
in the United States, operating or powering websites in 5 languages
on 4 continents. It's also the exclusive travel booking provider for
America Online services, including AOL, AOL.com, Netscape, CompuServe,
as well as several of the Yahoo! U.S. and Canadian sites.
| "Google
AdWords enables us to tie keywords to airlines, to regions, and
to cruise or vacation verticals," Pingel says, "all of which are
very effective." |
Travelocity retains a number of marketing firms to
handle an array of online and offline campaigns, including the services
of Fort Worth-based Range Online Media (www.rangeonlinemedia.com). Range's
principals, Cheryle Pingel and Misty Locke, saw a need for Travelocity
to boost its online presence through search engine marketing –
not previously a high priority for the company – and approached
the Travelocity marketing team about doing so in late 2001.
"Hands down, search engine marketing is the most cost-effective direct
vehicle in the marketplace," Pingel said. "Companies wanting to grow
their Internet presence are restless with banner ads and other unproven
strategies. When a consumer is searching, we want to be sure that our
client's site and message are quickly available, effective, and invite
response."
Approach
Range Online began working with Google advertising
in early 2002. "We have been big proponents of Google since we started
our agency," says Pingel, "and it was the major part of our strategy
for Travelocity." Range Online quickly developed a keyword list based
on products and specials the site actually offered. (Previously, Travelocity's
search keywords included "camping," "B&B," and "cabins," none of which
accurately reflect the company's key audiences.) Pingel and Locke chose
keywords based on popular locations (Florida, Italy), seasonal offerings
(summer vacation, spring break), as well as events (honeymoon). "Google
AdWords enables us to tie keywords to airlines, to regions, and to cruise
or vacation verticals," Pingel says, "all of which are very effective."
Results "Range
definitely opened our eyes to the full power of Google's resources
and capabilities. Search engine marketing with Google will continue
to play a major role in our overarching marketing initiatives."
The first 90 days of Travelocity's ad campaign
with Google yielded a dramatic 32 percent increase in conversion. And
in the subsequent 3 months, conversion more than doubled again –
to an astonishing 71.5 percent. Over the course of 2002, Pingel reports
that Travelocity membership registration also grew by 7 million customers.
"We were thrilled," says Pingel, "especially because our client couldn't
believe they could see this much improvement in such a short time."
Locke says that Google AdWords also lowered the cost per booking dramatically.
"By targeting keywords and refining them based on results, Google gave
us more qualified leads – travelers ready to buy – which lowered
Travelocity's costs."
Karla Rowland
Senior Media Manager
Travelocity
"Range definitely opened our eyes to the full power of Google's resources
and capabilities," said Karla Rowland, Travelocity's senior media manager.
"Search engine marketing with Google will continue to play a major role
in our overarching marketing initiatives."
In monitoring traffic and trends, Locke said, "Our Google team was very
proactive. Whenever I became aware of a change we needed to make in keywords
or creative, a Google client service rep was on the phone with the same
thought." The account team tracked time zone, day of week, and every other
variable, and optimized or minimized as needed. "They really kept a close
eye on dollars spent for conversion, to meet our revenue goals for Travelocity,"
Locke said.
This year, she notes, Range won an 87 percent increase in its search marketing
budget - a vote of confidence by Travelocity for Range Online Media, and
for Google search advertising.
About Google Advertising
Google AdWords is currently used by
thousands of businesses worldwide
to gain new customers in a cost-effective
way. AdWords uses keywords to precisely target
ad delivery to web users seeking information about a particular product
or service. The program is based on cost-per-click (CPC) pricing, so
advertisers only pay when an ad is clicked on. Advertisers can take
advantage of an extremely broad distribution network, and choose the
level of support and spending appropriate for their business. For more
information, go to www.google.com/ads.
