Online travel searching ‘becoming more difficult’

Many travel searchers on the internet have to employ longer and more detailed searches in order to find exactly what they want via search engines, according to research.

The findings show that the number of travel searchers having to type-in four or more keywords has more than doubled between July, 2005 and earlier this year.

Significantly, almost three quarters of searchers claimed that they could easily spot paid-for links and most said that they would not click on them. The increasing number of these paid-for links in the search results therefore makes it even more difficult to find particular sites listed on merit alone, according to internet technology company Geo-net Solutions which carried out the research.

The rapid growth in the number of travel-related websites combined with poorly designed travel sites and a massive increase in paid-for listings in search engines, has made it more difficult for consumers to find what they are looking for quickly and easily, the Darlington-based company says.

Geo-net’s research concluded that, while search engines have got much better at finding pages closely relevant to users’ queries, the travel industry has been slow to clearly differentiate its products to match the way in which users are actually searching for them. This is frustrating for travel consumers and costly for the industry. 

The company’s managing director Peter Bulloch said: “The time and effort a consumer has to spend on finding exactly what they want has become known as the ‘cost of search’. The goal of search engines – and online marketers alike – should be to reduce this ‘cost’ and make it easier and quicker for consumers to find what they’re looking for.

“Creating web pages which can’t be fully understood by search engines is the equivalent of locking the door on a high street store and asking customers to guess a password to get in.”

Geo-net has been developing software tools aimed at supporting online marketing strategies, which are now available to travel companies wanting to provide their customers with the best possible online service.

TravelSearcher, the first to be released, offers free-form text search on most types of travel website. It also captures data about users’ search habits by recording all the words they use in these queries in a database.

The software claims to captures the natural language people use in keyword strings by offering a, Google-like, free-form search box as opposed to the usual pre-formatted drop-down menu queries. Users can type in any words and the software will interpret those into a meaningful search query, just like Google does. Also, like Google, it understands and interprets misspellings in resort names, acronyms like SC or B&B and that “Thompsons” really means “Thomson”.

The small TravelSearcher window can be placed on websites allowing marketers to monitor changes in the nature of search strings being typed-in. Each successful, as well as unsuccessful, search can be recorded and analysed. This data can be used to dynamically enhance web pages for search engine optimisation, as well as for paid-placement marketing campaigns.

Bulloch said: “In the information-rich but time-poor world we now find ourselves, companies must adapt quickly to the changing search environment and the increasing demands of customers. I believe TravelSearcher is a quantum leap forward in on-site travel search technology and will hugely enhance the online travel industry for both the consumer and travel companies.”

Report by Phil Davies