Travel click-throughs are 61% higher on mobile, study finds

Click-through rates for travel searches on mobile are 61% higher than from conventional internet connections, research by performance marketing firm Efficient Frontier has found

Click-through rates for travel searches on mobile are 61% higher than from conventional internet connections, research by performance marketing firm Efficient Frontier has found.

However the picture is markedly different for conversion rates on mobile, which were found to be 49% lower than from fixed-line computers.

Efficient Frontier said the findings underline that most searches with an ‘intent to buy’ are carried out on consoles, but it still believes travel firms have an opportunity with mobile.

Jonathan Beeston, head of global marketing, said: “The opportunity for travel companies in mobile is growing significantly.

“Cost-per-click is around 65% lower on mobile, so it’s still good value for travel advertisers, and if you get the message right, the return is high.

“There’s a particularly strong opportunity for local advertisers such as restaurants, bars or attractions. Google’s research shows one in three mobile searches show local intent.”

The analysis found that click-through rates from a mobile phone are, on average, 5.82%, compared to 3.56% from a fixed-line internet connection.

Mobile search remains a fraction of fixed-line search, with just 4.2% of total searches, but travel companies are seeing better returns than other sectors.
Finance-related searches achieve just 0.08% conversion rate from mobile phones, and 0.31% from fixed-line computers.

Efficient Frontier calculated that mobile searches are now responsible for 6-7% of all search-generated traffic to travel sites, once the higher-click through rate is taken into account.

The study analysed mobile search data from major travel advertisers in the UK over a three-month period, indexing this against data from fixed-line searches.