Is Google Becoming Less Useful for Hotel Searches?
TLDR: A Vox Media survey shows that 42% of searchers believe that Google is becoming less useful. In other words, people aren’t finding what they expect quickly, or others are doing it better. While this may not be much of a surprise on the surface, it signals a larger shift toward other platforms and means of sourcing information. Does it upset your hotel marketing efforts, which for years have focused on search? Not entirely.
Google Usage is Trending Down
As we recently shared, Google’s slipping market share shows that the dominant search engine is starting to see real competition. The Vox survey of 2,000 internet users helps us understand the motivations behind these developments. In a helpful breakdown at SearchEngineLand, we learn that people are increasingly likely to turn to their community for information (55%) or use AI chatbots (61%). A full 66% say that the information they find on Google is unreliable.
Does this spell the end for Google? Hardly. Their own functionality improvements work surprisingly well and may win searchers back. But it suggests that hotels should adapt to capture more activity, and potential visitors who use other tools.
How Hotel Marketers Should Diversify Search
Because of Google’s dominance, it’s easy to overlook the many other platforms people use to find information. As we’ve shared before, people use Reddit like a search engine to find locals discussing destinations and hotels. Increasingly, AI can help sort through vacation itineraries and pick places to stay. Metasearch, like Trivago and KAYAK, capture their own share. And of course, don’t forget about Bing, the Microsoft default search engine, sometimes the only option on some business machines. That’s a lot of territory to cover.
Our advice for hotels right now is to work incrementally:
- Measure your footprint today. Evaluate inbound website traffic to your website and booking engine. What traffic sources drive visitors to these sites? Any surprises? Note significant volume from certain sources. They may pose opportunities for revenue growth.
- Consider your website. If your site content (or technical backbone) is not SEO optimized, or increasingly, AI optimized, direct traffic will suffer. Talk to an agency about ways that you can increase your visibility wherever web crawlers drive search results. Are the people reaching your sites converting? If not, consider your site UX, which may pose a barrier to people who are shopping. Your agency can recommend improvements that yield more direct revenue.
- Find organic opportunities. Are you missing from key conversations? If you run a premier resort on the Oregon coast, and you’re not mentioned even once in a Reddit thread about Pacific Northwest getaways, consider strategies for sharing content, giving advice, and joining threads where people are primed. Don’t get too promotional — this is a shared space.
- Revisit your paid strategy. Ask your agency if you’re leaving opportunities on the table in other paid search channels, or whether you might expect a ROI from pushing budget into places sending you traffic today. They might recommend ads that capitalize on this intent.
Google Isn’t Going Away… Yet
Changing user expectations, and the introduction of powerful new tools will absolutely carve away users from Google’s overwhelming share of internet search. But let’s not forget: Google was the original player in “usefulness.” The reason that this search engine became the go-to for so many people: it was the first to consider the relevance of page content via its PageRank algorithm. Remember: Before Google, the more keywords (typically rammed into the footer of the page), the higher the rank. Today, their own AI developments are becoming more and more reliable, with chatbot search coming very soon.
People may turn to other sources for research-based inquiries. But for maps and local information, and their audience data, it’s critical that hotels continue to invest in Google marketing, while reviewing opportunities in emerging channels. If you’re wondering how your marketing mix should break down, drop us a line. Our marketers bring years of experience driving measurable performance from emerging channels.