Prepare for the Spring Travel Season with Tips, Tools and Downloadable Keyword Lists

It's the New Year and many people are ready for the warm weather to arrive. However, most of the US still has a couple months left of winter. What better way to escape the cold than planning a vacation? This thought occurs for many people and causes the travel industry to peak in the spring.

Last year, impressions increased over 50% from Q4 of 2008 to Q1 of 2009. Also, clicks were over 40% greater in the first quarter. There is an opportunity for travel advertisers to capture the increased volume.  

Source: Sample set of adCenter advertisers, October 2008-March 2009.

To prepare for fast approaching spring season, take the following items into consideration to boost your travel campaigns:

· Communicate deals through ad copy. Ad copy allows you to differentiate your ad from competitors by promoting your latest offers. Searchers are looking for travel deals and are more likely to click on your ad if they are communicated. Promoting your deals helps drive higher CTR and in turn, should improve conversions.

· Highlight loyalty programs. Travelers rely on loyalty programs to receive deals and discounts when planning a vacation. Forrester data shows 52% of all US online travelers actively use travel loyalty programs. And, business travelers are 25% more likely to belong to travel loyalty programs than leisure travelers. Expand your keyword list to include loyalty program keywords and highlight these programs through ad copy.

· Add spring keywords. Make sure that your keyword list includes spring-specific getaways that travelers are searching. Over the next several months, your account will receive an increase in searches on spring break vacations, cruises, beach destinations and romantic getaways (see attached keyword suggestions*). If you offer these types of getaways, expand your keyword list to generate additional volume to your site.

· Secure strong ad placement. Now that your keyword list is fully covered, implement aggressive bids to ensure that your ads are in strong positions. Maintaining a high position will help to capture the increased impression and click volume in the first quarter, and improve your overall CTR.

Leverage Microsoft adCenter reports to stay on top of your keyword and ad copy performance and make adjustments as needed. Also, utilize our keyword research and optimization tool: Microsoft Advertising Intelligence to expand and monetize your list of keywords.

Good luck optimizing for the spring travel season. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments section below or visit our forums.

*Keyword lists are not intended to be used "as is".  Please review the terms and only add those that are applicable to your products/services.  Failure to do so may result in editorial disapprovals, low conversion rates, or both.

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