Ai Editorial: Google set for a bigger say in travel
First Published, 23rd February 2016
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Ai Editorial: It is worth assessing how Google is evaluating data about users, and also shaping up its product, especially for mobile, for a bigger say in travel booking path, writes Ai’s Ritesh Gupta
Mobile devices are now an integral part of us – they are our personal assistants, a source of entertainment, an ally that delivers information, and let us interact with others …we just can’t do without search, mobile sites and mobile apps.
Of course, we plan and book our trips, too. But travel is just one component of our mobile activity, and it isn’t as frequent as some of other activities.
So the point here is if I am being identified for what I all do on my mobile (for that matter even my PC, tablets etc.) - my behavior, my preferences, my location etc., can all of it be stitched together to help me in my next travel trip?
Can Google do it better than anyone else?
If yes, then Google is set to gain a lot.
Whenever I indulge in something or as Google says, micro-moments are being crafted. Then if my intent is understood in real-time Google would probably make me click on ad, click on a deep link to view a page within an app that describes a product offering etc.
But it’s not that easy.
Google recently assessed the complete Internet behavior, and in two months study found there could be 40000 digital moments (searching, watching video, visiting a website etc.) and 87% of moments were happening on mobile. And the attempt is to be relevant when any travel query is being searched for.
Data prowess + search
Google has advantages through services like Google Now, which can identify travel search moments and patterns of travel behavior, and build recommendations for products and services based on this insight.
It is worth assessing how Google is evaluating data about users, and also shaping up search algorithms to make the whole search relevant in real-time.
“Google can stitch unstructured behavioral data like social posts or searches together, providing context and determining intent. This data helps shape the audiences for its advertising network, ultimately enabling Google to only serve up the most relevant ads. While Google does not sell travel services directly to these audiences, it uses its insights to power its interactive marketing business,” says Boxever’s VP – Sales, Ultan O Brien.
O Brien explained that Google defined the customer journey to online purchase through Google Travel and broke it down into steps, channels and then ultimately micromoments. Identifying when someone is having one of these digital micro-moments means the potential to engage with them at the contextually right time with a relevant offer. He says, “As mobility continues to grow across devices and applications, these moments grow in importance when looking for the right time to engage individuals.”
Areas of improvements
Google is moving forward on several counts:
· Making search more meaningful - The span of “moments” or sessions on mobile is decreasing, so the purchase path is riddled with multitude of clues that are being left by a user. So say on a couple of occasions, I have searched for Maldives as a tourist destination. On another session, I am shopping for a passport cover. I am offered a chance to book a ticket to Maldives, I might be interested. This is where Google is also promising to do a lot of elegant work – apt blend of content presentation and page design. A user is going to be shown “bookable” prices, imagery, videos, text (related to weather, ratings etc.) in a way it helps in arriving at a decision. Google is promising to do all this with accuracy, and speed of a sub-second (say for comparing destinations in Asia for the same set of dates). Also, Google is coming up with its “Plan a Trip” feature – shows a price graph featuring available flights and hotels prices pre-computed in “lightening speed”. The core offering of comparing what is available at what price and for which destinations and dates is being improved.
· Cutting down on that one extra click: It needs to be highlighted that Google is also looking at cutting down on the possibility of an additional click. For example, if on Google Flights one is searching for flights, Google is also showing train connections in order to save on extra query. Also, within the “tips” feature, Google works in the background on running pro-active searches around checking dates, alternative airports and possibility of cheaper available upgrades to be more meaningful to the user.
· Conversion: From conversion perspective, Google is looking at being in control. As for the “Book on Google” functionality, the plan is ensure the conversion rate is sustained. The objective is to keep the user in the Google’s environment, rather directing to a 3rd party site. If a user is on a search product, say flights, and chooses an option then the user is going to reach a page hosted by Google, so that’s in the Google domain and it would be partner branded. So the impression one would get is, say, buy a travel product from the airline itself. Google believes being in its environment, logged into its account means the user is already comfortably placed. Behind the scenes, Google is passing on user information and credit card information via APIs directly to the partner. It’s the partner that takes the booking, sends confirmation email and manages the process thereafter.
Lufthansa was the first legacy carrier to which Google Flights offered its direct booking function. The two companies introduced the function ‘Book on Google’ for users in the U. S. in late 2015.
Impact on the rest of the industry
As for the concerns about the way Google paves way for leads through its products, travel advertisers have reportedly raised valid issues. How much of the search results that are being shown are “fair” and to what extent the same are being “controlled or influenced” by Google AdWords or Google Hotel Ads?
Google has maintained that this is not the case.
But one can’t deny intermediaries are being challenged more than ever.
Google is now making the most of available data about us (when we use its services), banking on analytics and blending it with Google’s search algorithm.
“Google’s integration of flight search is a having a large impact on meta-search. People seem to search for everything on Google, why not flights? By enabling organic flight search, they are attempting to displace travel aggregators like Skyscanner and Kayak. The same may happen for hotel and car rental sites, ultimately creating the go-to travel marketplace via organic search on google.com,” says Brien.
End-to-end experience
Suppliers like airlines spend money on building their platforms – mobile, PC website, apps etc.
If a player garners massive traffic, and also facilitates a booking within its own environment, then it’s going to make it tough for suppliers to make the most of their site.
O Brien says this would result in an end-to-end travel planning and purchasing experience.
He says one example is Google and Facebook combining the “Buy Now” button within their own frameworks—being able to make these purchases right through an organic search engine is a potentially a huge “distruptor” to how people search, plan and purchase travel products.
“Airlines are at risk of being positioned as “just logistics providers”,” says O Brien.
“Google’s speed makes it a formidable force: the intent of a searcher can be identified and alternative options can be provided much quicker than any airlines’ site can. Airlines need to find ways to provide more value-added services when searching, and reasons for travelers to book with them. Otherwise, they risk losing out to Google and open the $48b ancillary market to their advertising community in a much more immersive way,” stated O Brien.
To truly compete with both OTAs and the likes of Google, they need to consider the full view of traveller behavior and connect it to context.
It needs to be noted that are a number of providers trying to disrupt the travel search process by making shopping (search activities in particular) more natural and convenient, connecting across a variety of devices. Examples include Facebook M, Google Now, Lola, Amazon Echo, Amazon Alexa and more.
The multi-device focus requires creating a travel-planning workspace linked to your online identity that is available across multiple devices.
Hear industry experts about how airlines, OTAs and other travel companies can deliver a top-notch “Amazon-like” experience at the 10th Ancillary Merchandising Conference, scheduled to take place in Barcelona 21-22 April, 2016
www.AncillaryMerchandising.com
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