Google's Auto-Complete Trick for Low-Cost Holiday Websites

Low cost holiday websites can benefit from the findings of a recently published study, based on Google’s ‘auto-complete’ feature, which gave insight into the most searched costs of items. Low cost holiday website managers can utilize this data at key points within the user journey (notably of researchers and buyers) to unlock new avenues for focus within organic search campaigns. The low cost holiday market, with increased competition and short-term targets, can benefit from analysing the most popular search trends.

The premise of how the research works is simple. A key phrase is searched with a noun replaced with a *.

Using the Idea Within the Research Phase

We have already covered the key phases of travel search, and the importance of its structure across multiple devices. Keyword research and analysis should be split between each phase – and using the auto complete trick is no different.

'Research' searches are key for the final sale as they mark the point where a user forms an opinion on a website, and embody the potential of converting there in the end.

The two examples below outline two potential initial searches by low cost holiday researchers who already have a location in mind.

Stage 1 and 2

These search variations show a difference in approach at different stages of research: Stage 1 (Country level) and Stage 2 (City level).

Stage 1 searchers are much earlier in the search cycle, in this case knowing a holiday to Italy is an option, but not knowing exactly what to visit and how, while keeping costs low. Stage 1 also highlights two different types of searchers – those looking for inexpensive cities and those looking for low cost transport. This trick makes it possible to distinguish two different elements in a research campaign, in order to capture traffic.

In the simplest terms this information encourages a certain type of low cost activity holiday-related content, in terms of building a campaign it allows for further research and approaches to highlighting information in Italy not often found elsewhere, even if this comes within product listings.

Marketing managers of low cost holiday websites must bear in mind that there is a flip side to approaching the research using autofill. This lies in the worst things users are searching and how these searches impact an SEO campaign. The example used below could point to elements of a website which turn users away, resulting in them leaving the brand in the research phase and ultimately never returning for the buying phase.

Beyond Stage 2 Research

Beyond the second stage of research, where users are actively searching within a destination to clarify a decision made, it is possible to expand the autofill basis further.

Low cost holiday providers can benefit particularly well here by targeting cost effective search phrases focused in particular areas.

This technique allows holiday providers to undertake the first step research, to be taken where users are beginning to think about the buying phase.

This can sometimes be expanded beyond services offered by a selling website. Involving the brand within this research phase allows for the cementing of products and branding.

It is a challenge to win users in the research stage, as a researcher may already be affiliated and loyal to another brand for purchasing, but capturing a broader audience in the research phase increases the potential size of the bottleneck in the buying phase.

Calls to action, lead generation and data gathering all allow for the initial bridging of the gap between researchers and buyers.

Utilising within the Buying Phase

Stage 3 research often overlaps into the buying phase – those looking for ‘affordable * Rome’ are likely to refine searches such as ‘cheap * to Rome’ or ‘best prices for * to Rome’. These are buying, high value terms, which work within the research phases. Pairing these terms with final optimisation at this stage of the process allows for even the smallest low cost holiday providers to compete with the larger scale, multi-national companies.

Using the latter example shows initial options for keyword targets, and shows potential buying terms. Previous research and the connection between the user and the brand within the research phase create a high possibility of completing a sale.

Using this Information to Utilise Different Stages of Sale

All of the information above is based on starting points for keywords, research phases and the final conversion stage. Pairing market data and long term strategy alongside this research to guide a user through the research and buying funnel is at the heart of a successful organic marketing campaign for low cost holiday providers.

At each stage, the types of search terms should be considered, as they are critical to the business – these phrases can be inter-changeable, depending on the targeted destinations.

Digital marketing managers must conduct a thorough search to discover trends that will benefit their business within the low cost holiday niche, and expand these searches within paid data, impression data and historic organic data across analytics to build up key phrases within each buying phase.

Polaris is an SEO agency based in London providing organic search marketing services to the travel industry.