Marketing Cape Cod Destinations using Search Engine Advertising

Search engines are an ideal advertising channel for tourism, offering more flexibility and immediacy than any other form of promotion. Search engine ads can be active within a day, and can target travelers any number of ways:

• Shoulder season: Advertising can be ramped-up during shoulder season when the weather is good, enticing travelers to go ahead and book that weekend. Conversely, ad spending can be reduced during periods when bookings are likely to be low, or when rooms have already been sold to capacity.
• Peak season: In a recent consumer survey, 88% of respondents planning to take a summer vacation this year have used or intend to use the Internet to research and purchase vacation arrangements. (Claria Corporation, Feedback Research Poll, August 2005.)
• Spontaneous weekends: Last-minute travelers to the Cape are mostly local travelers. Search advertising can be targeted by region, and can even be adjusted for driving distance to the Cape.
• Affluent travelers can be targeted down to the city level, and can be shown an ad message that emphasizes luxury accommodations over value.
• Competing with other destinations: Ad strategies can focus on capturing attention from other destinations. A New England resident looking for Seaworld might be tempted by an off-Cape whale watch.
• International travelers are a significant yet untapped market. In 14 of 18 countries surveyed, Internet searches have surpassed “referrals from friends/ family” and “visits to a travel agent’s office” as the #1 source for determining where to go on vacation (GMI Poll, July 2005).

NCC can build a search advertising campaign that attracts attention where and when you need it. Call us for a consultation.