‘Expedia’ has come out top as the most used keyword in internet searches for travelers planning a vacation.
Digital market intelligence company, SimilarWeb said the online travel giant’s name generated 32.7 million organic searches during January to November 2015, more than any other travel related phrase.
After Expedia, other brands that figured highly with Googlers included ‘Kayak,’ ‘American Airlines,’ ‘TripAdvisor,’ ‘South West Airlines,’ ‘United Airlines,’ ‘Airbnb,’ ‘Orbitz,’ and the more generic ‘Cheap Flights.’
The study said only 3% of traffic came via paid search results, such as a click-through from a sponsored listing.
"In any industry, organic searches are a major barometer of brand recognition and trust," said Pascal Cohen, SimilarWeb Insights Manager.
"In the travel industry this is particularly evident with many of the biggest online sites now front of mind whenever we book a trip. In an industry where more than 40% of travel companies generate traffic from search, companies not getting searched for are unlikely to generate bookings."
"Understanding the right keywords driving traffic to sites can make a major impact on a company’s success in this competitive market," Cohen added.
Generic travel related search words which figured highly included ‘Flight tracker,’ ‘restaurants near me,’ ‘vacation rentals’ and ‘plane tickets.’
