Tabloola study of online travel trends uncovers optimum strategies for travel marketers

Wednesdays and Fridays found to be most effective days to promote travel content Continue reading →

Online content discovery and distribution platform Taboola has published insight into travel booking behaviour and what travel firms can do to attract more eyeballs.

The Global Trends in Native Advertising for Travel in 2018 report highlights trends and opportunities on the web for firms in the sector.

It looks at key findings in countries across the planet based on over eight billion impressions and over eight million clicks.

A key finding shows that Wednesdays and Fridays are the optimal days of the week to promote travel content.

It also found video campaigns with certain types of content are increasingly effective for travel advertisers.

The report includes in-depth data on specific countries and how people look to discover content and stories in the travel sector.

While content supply is high during traditional 9am to 3 pm business hours, consumer demand begins at 7 am and remains high until 5pm.

Taboola found that not only is video a better format for travel marketers, but that specific topics within the video drive viewability and completion rates.

Key country by country findings include:

• UK: Images at a distance generate a 285% higher click through rate (CTR) than close-up images. The worldwide CTR average is 65%;
• Australia: Images in colour generate a 100% higher CTR than those in black and white, compared to the worldwide average of 61% higher;
• Brazil: Travel marketers in Brazil running an article post-click should test driving to a video, as demand is very high and supply is very low;
• France: Sundays are the day with the highest potential, as demand for travel content is very high and supply is very low;
• Germany: Travel marketers running a campaign on desktop should consider testing mobile, as demand is similar to desktop but supply is less competitive;
• Mexico: Sundays are the day with the highest potential. Mexico ranks second for exposure to travel content with a 12.05% impression rate with a 0.14% CTR;
• Spain: – Spain had the most demand for travel content in 2017, with an average CTR of 0.15%. Demand for video is very high but supply is very low;
• US: Early mornings have the highest potential when travel content is in high demand and supply is low.

Adam Singolda, founder and chief executive of Taboola, said: “The most intuitive place to think about promoting travel opportunities is usually around search as that’s where there is a clear intent for consumers to look for travel.

“While this is still a very important thing to do, the travel vertical in search is a very mature business, and perhaps too late to try and win users’ attention.

“Our new insights demonstrate the importance of marketers preparing earlier in the year to engage new users with relevant and exciting travel content. This allows them to build relationships with those consumers so that they can communicate directly to them and make relevant and personalised offerings.”

More: Find the report here [External]