ROI-Centric Search Engine Marketing Services

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) has become the most popular online advertising format: nearly 47% of every online advertising dollar is spent on search engine marketing (IAB). SEM is an essential component of the hotel direct online channel strategy. Why is Search Engine Marketing (SEM) so Important?

HeBS Digital has unique SEM experience. HeBS Digital is a Google Adwords Qualified Company and has over 15 Google Qualified experts on staff. One of the early adopters of travel and hotel SEM, HeBS Digital’s SEM experts have been actively using and managing travel and hotel SEM and SEM client campaigns since 1997. Over the years HeBS has managed SEM campaigns for thousands of hotels, from large hotel brands to small boutique properties. This hotel SEM expertise translates into saving precious dollars for its clients.

HeBS’ Search Engine Marketing Services Include:

• Keyword research using latest technology and tools
• Market level and demand drivers keyword research
• Evaluate keyword terms by relevance, volume and cost
• Conceptualize SEM campaigns and Ad Groups based on hotel key customer segments and feeder markets
• Analyze quality of landing pages in coordination with our SEO services to optimize content as per best SEO practices
• Create compelling marketing messages and ad copy
• Coordinate campaigns with client
• Launch SEM campaigns on Google, Yahoo, and Bing
• Achieve high Quality Score of campaigns, utilizing best practices, relevant ad copy and optimized landing pages
• Launch geo-targeting campaigns to focus on feeder markets
• Launch mobile SEM campaigns

Our Business Approach:

• HeBS Digital begins its SEM services by studying our client’s business:
  • Customer segments (e.g. business travelers, meeting planners, wedding planners, group organizers, family travelers, etc.)
  • Feeder markets: what are the top ten feeder markets, both domestic and international
  • Seasonality: what are the seasonal behavior of the various customer segments and feeder markets
• HeBS Digital issues a proprietary hotel questionnaire
• Based on our analysis, typically we launch a minimum of 6-10 SEM campaigns per property, each one focused on a specific customer segment (e.g. business traveler, meetings, weddings, spa, etc), and a similar number of campaigns for each important feeder market (e.g. The UK, Brazil, Germany, etc.) This approach allows us to control SEM spend by customer segment and feeder market.
• Each of the property’s SEM campaigns is thematically structured with several ad groups, each with a different set of keyword terms and a different text/marketing message to target the various key customer segments and specific aspects of the hotel product.
• State-of-the-Art Technology is used to manage SEM Campaigns. HeBS Digital has been using Adobe Omniture’s SearchCenter since the introduction of this next-generation SEM management technology in 2006.
• All HeBS clients are given 24/7 access to their Adobe Omniture SearchCenter account where they can monitor—in real time—how their SEM campaigns are performing. Omniture SearchCenter helps HeBS Digital drive more hotel bookings, achieve higher ROIs and cut unqualified clicks/ad spend. SearchCenter also enables HeBS to provide reporting down to an incredibly granular level in order to give clients deeper insights into unresolved issues or how to maximize ROI and conversions. Here are only two of the advantages provided by Adobe Omniture SearchCenter: 1) Eliminates SEM waste – we typically save our clients between 25%-35% of SEM spend by eliminating unqualified or low-quality clicks, and 2) Stacking Reports identify the “true” originating keywords for every conversion.

Example of Ad Groups per Campaign:

• Official Hotel Name
• Business hotel (for business travelers)
• Meeting and conferences for meeting/event planners
• Fine Dining campaign
• Spa campaign
• Vacation-related Ad Group (for leisure travelers)
• Wedding for wedding planners
• Romance and honeymoons
• Local event-based SEM campaigns

A Word about Quality Scores:

Search Engines have a vested interest in providing the best search experience possible by providing the most pertinent information for each query. In order to incorporate this philosophy into SEM, Search Engines reward keywords that are highly relevant to the websites and penalize keywords that they perceive as extraneous or detrimental to the search process. This scoring system is referred to as a quality score and works simultaneously with the bidding process to determine the rank of paid ads. Keywords that are relevant to their ads and websites will cost less to bid on than keywords that have no correlation to the website. HeBS Digital’s effective SEM campaigns identify keywords that generate high quality scores and are the most cost efficient.

A Word about Customer Segmentation:

Our keyword development strategy accomplishes customer segmentation by incorporating the perception of the hotel by their clientele and the hotel itself in order to ensure that ads bring the most qualified traffic possible. We work closely with the hotel to identify the main focal points of the property and to develop comprehensive keyword categories that allows us to create tailored ad copy that sets us apart from your competitors. By understanding your customer segments, we can determine which landing page of the website is best suited for each keyword and therefore more likely to convert.

A Word About Geo-Targeting:

Working with the hotel and the website analytical system, we can identify the primary feeder markets for the properties. Feeder markets are areas that provide a large percentage of the bookings, and we can customize special campaigns that focus specifically within these markets and increase our share in these pivotal areas. These tailored ads can provide a boost to ROAS by avoiding spending money in areas that are less likely to convert. The key to success with an SEM campaign is correlating a comprehensive grasp of the hotels, what amenities make them unique and distinguishes them from their competitors, and an intimate knowledge of the target demographic. By finding the keywords that best bridge this gap, we can streamline the search process by directly targeting our ad efforts on your ideal audience.