Advertising in the Travel Industry: Google Ads 101
When it comes to digital advertising, Google Ads is a necessity for driving targeted traffic and generating leads. For travel businesses, implementing an effective evergreen Google Ads search campaign can serve as a consistent results driver. In this breakdown, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of creating an evergreen travel industry Google Ads campaign that will help your travel business thrive.
1. Start With Keyword Research:
Start by conducting thorough keyword research to identify relevant and high-performing keywords for your travel business. Consider including terms related to popular destinations, travel experiences, and specific offerings. Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner to learn more about search volume, competition level, and related keywords.
Pro tip: focus on long-tail keywords that identify specific traveler intent and align with your travel niche. For example, a travel business offering luxury experience-based travel within the United States might use long-tail keywords such as “luxury experiential trips in the USA,” “unique travel experiences,” and “bespoke adventure journeys.”
2. Develop Enticing Ad Copy:
Craft engaging ad copy that captures the attention of potential travelers. Highlight unique selling points, such as exclusive deals, exceptional customer service, or immersive experiences. Use compelling language, appealing visuals, and persuasive calls-to-action (CTAs) to guide users to click on your ads. Make sure to be intentional with your ad copy by including specific keywords, ensuring a strong correlation between the user’s search term and your ad text.
Pro tip: be as specific as possible to address the targeted keywords that users are searching for. For example, an adventure tourism business in Costa Rica might utilize copy such as “Unforgettable hiking experiences in the heart of Costa Rica,” or “Zip-line through Costa Rica’s rainforests for the ultimate adrenaline rush.”
3. Create Strategically Structured Campaigns and Ad Groups:
Organize your travel industry Google Ads campaigns and ad groups in a logical and strategic manner. Create separate campaigns for different travel offerings or destinations, allowing for better budget allocation and targeting. Within each campaign, structure your ad groups around specific themes or keywords that are related to one another. This helps to improve relevancy, performance, and campaign management by ensuring the ad fits what the traveler is searching for.
4. Utilize Ad Extensions:
Enhance the visibility and performance of your ads by utilizing ad extensions. These additional pieces of information can include sitelink extensions, call extensions, location extensions, and review extensions. Ad extensions not only provide useful information that potential travelers are often looking for, but also increase the overall real estate that your ad occupies in the search results. This can help with improving visibility and click-through rates!
5. Set Up Conversion Tracking:
Track the effectiveness of your travel industry Google Ads campaign by setting up conversion tracking. Set up conversion tracking events to measure specific actions on your website, such as bookings, inquiries, or newsletter sign-ups. By tracking conversions, you can measure your success, optimize your budget, and make data-driven decisions to improve your campaign’s performance.
Pro tip: connect your Google Ads account with Google Analytics to centralize all of your website and ads performance data.
6. Monitor, Adjust, and Optimize:
Regularly monitor the performance of your evergreen Google Ads campaign and analyze key metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and return on ad spend. Identify underperforming keywords, ad variations, or targeting settings and make data-driven optimizations to improve your overall ad campaign performance. In addition, try testing different landing pages and layouts to find the right combination between your ads and your website in order to maximize conversions!
Pro tip: make sure to utilize SEO best practices to combine the power of your Google Ads with organic rankings!
Conclusion: Google Ads For Travel Brands
Creating an effective evergreen Google Ads campaign for your travel business requires careful planning, execution, and ongoing optimization. By conducting thorough keyword research, crafting compelling ad copy, utilizing ad extensions, implementing conversion tracking, and consistently monitoring and optimizing your campaign, you can drive targeted traffic, increase conversions, and achieve sustainable success in the travel industry.
Looking for Google Ads support for your travel brand?
We provide marketing consulting and done-for-you Google Ads services for businesses in the travel and hospitality industry. Contact us to learn more.
