Travel companies buying clicks against other brand names on Google are racking up “untenable” costs in order to reach the search giant’s Quality Score. Travolution has learned some bidders are paying up to £2.50 a click on some brand names in order to reach qualified entry status and appear in sponsored links areas. The high…
Costs soar for brand bidding companies
Travel companies buying clicks against other brand names on Google are racking up “untenable” costs in order to reach the search giant’s Quality Score.
Travolution has learned some bidders are paying up to £2.50 a click on some brand names in order to reach qualified entry status and appear in sponsored links areas.
The high costs are understood to be beginning to put off companies from entering into a bidding war against rivals and other organisations.
However, a number of travel companies are still forging ahead with what many calling are “aggressive tactics” to pay their way into the minds of consumers looking for information on certain brands.
One search marketing agency boss suggested that despite some apparent cooling off by a few bidders, there has still been a “substantial” increase in the pay-per-click costs of major travel companies.
The shift has still led many who did not pay anything to Google to ensure they appeared against their brand name are now clocking up regular numbers of clicks for brand name searches.
Google will not comment on costs or any financials associated with the recent switch. Two of the companies which have been bidding intensely on other brand names did not return messages from Travolution.
Lastminute.com is understood to still be considering its legal position after threatening the search engine with action two weeks ago.
