Travel websites enjoy record month
More UK consumers visited travel websites last month than ever before according to Hitwise.
The online competitive intelligence firm claims that just over 4% of all web visits were to travel sites during June.
According to Hitwise, the peak for travel sites is yet to come. Hitwise general manager Simon Chamberlain told TravelMole: “With usage of travel websites typically peaking in August, a repeat of the sort of increase seen last year would see around 5%, or one in 20 UK internet visits, going to the Travel sector.”
Search engines such as Google are increasingly taking a larger proportion of marketing spend from travel companies as they direct more traffic to the sites. According to Hitwise, the travel sector receives the highest proportion of visits from search engines, at 38%, more than sectors such as shopping and banking.
Mr Chamberlain told TravelMole: “Notwithstanding the brand recognition of companies like Lastminute, usage of search engines by customers as a way to inform themselves of travel options means that no company in this sector, big or small, can ignore search marketing as an essential element of their online marketing strategy.”
Consumers mostly search for brand names, which took six out of the ten top travel search terms, according to Hitwise. The top search term in June was ‘easyjet’, then ‘ryanair’, followed by ‘cheap flights’ and ‘British Airways’.
Report by Ginny McGrath
Ginny McGrath
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