Bigmouthmedia Search Engine News: /travel/

Bing swings into action with new results buttons

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 09:49:00 GMT

While Google's spending time getting more social with Plus, Bing's just announced it will incorporate 'Action Buttons' to allow users to perform a number of tasks directly from a search results page.

Writing on the Bing blog, Deepak Vijaywargi, programme manager for the search engine, said the buttons would allow searchers to get things done quicker on the web.

"Now when you search across seven popular categories - including airlines, couriers (e.g. FedEx), restaurants, banks, rental cars, software downloads and hotels - you will be presented with buttons for top actions on the site, that directly take you to the page where you can complete your task," Vijaywargi said.

The buttons continue on from Bing's 'decision engine' branding, which the program manager said had been represented in the past by the engine presenting users with 'deep links' they felt relevant to the search.

Vijaywargi also said the particular buttons would be specific to a user's query, and that Bing would use an algorithm to determine which buttons to display.

"Based on how people search, our algorithms now determine top actions and corresponding links in the site for a given category with high precision," he said. "For instance, with airlines the top 3 tasks are: check-in to a flight, check the status of a flight or book a flight.

"For software sites, if you are searching for a specific product you likely want to download it. For car rental agencies, you'd like to rent a car, find out locations or contact them."

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Facebook, Skyscanner serve up travel comparison tool

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:13:00 GMT

Facebook has added yet another string to its bow by embracing the travel market and signing a deal with Edinburgh-based flight comparison website Skyscanner.

750 million Facebook users worldwide will soon have access to the flight comparison tool, powered by Skyscanner and offering everything from instant quotes to live travel chat.

Users simply have to 'like' the Skyscanner page to start using the tool. Once a quote is created, users then have option to click through to the Skyscanner site, where they can book their chosen flight.

Bonamy Grimes, co-founder and product director at Skyscanner, described the versatility of the tool as one of the main factors in its success, and believes it fits in well with other applications on the social media site.

"Travel companies are starting to realise there is more to Facebook than collecting fans, and ours is the pioneering tool," he told the Scotsman.

Not only is new venture beneficial to users seeking a flight price comparison, but it is predicted Skyscanner could benefit from substantially increased revenue and increased traffic given Facebook's tremendous member count.

In other news, Facebook also plans to put cult comedy hit 'The Big Lebowski' up for rent on the site using the new Universal Social Theatre application, which streams movies online. Users can get a pass to watch the film anytime in a 48-hour span for 30 Facebook Credits, equivalent to US$3.00.

Similarly, Warner Bros has 'The Dark Knight' streaming on the social hub, whilst Paramount put 'Jackass' up for rent on the site.

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2010's "explosion in digital content consumption": Digital's Big Bang?

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:12:00 GMT

2010 witnessed a digital Big Bang moment says analyst comScore whose Digital Year in Review report showed e-commerce spending increased, demand for display advertising soared and digital content consumption 'exploded' across multiple platforms as we left the noughties and began the twenty-tens.

Reviewing how the digital landscape stateside has changed in just one year, comScore found consumers increasingly turned online to hunt bargains, with mobile and web users growing travel e-commerce spending to US$85.2 billion (a year-on-year sales increase of 6 per cent), while retail e-commerce spending soared to US$142.5 billion (a 10 per cent year-on-year growth).

Unsurprisingly, the analyst found that online display advertising boomed as retailers increasingly targeted web-using demographics, with over 4.9 trillion display ads having been delivered to US internet users during 2010, marking a 23 per cent year-on-year growth in stateside display ad impressions.

comScore's whitepaper also noted social networks largely drove the successful growth of display advertising during the past year, with Facebook and Co serving over one third (34 per cent) of display ads - more than web portals (17 per cent) and entertainment publishers (11 per cent) combined.

Meanwhile, 2010's exponential growth of mobile sales - which saw smart phone shipments outstrip PC shipments in a tech-first - saw increased multichannel consumer demand for digital content, apps, e-publications and videos.

"2010 was a very positive year for the digital media industry, highlighted by a strong rebound in e-commerce spending, significant innovation and increased demand for online advertising, and an explosion in digital content consumption across multiple platforms," comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said.

"As we embark on a promising 2011, marketers must have a sound understanding of the digital media landscape and how it is changing if they hope to capitalise on key trends that can drive their business into the future."

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Google strikes into travel search territory with software company acquiral

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:24:00 GMT

Search giant Google has waded in to the travel sector by acquiring ITA software, the designer of sophisticated programmes that track flight times and fares, it has been reported.

ITA Software is already employed by a number of internet travel services, including Orbitz and Google's search rival Bing Travel.

"What we're going to do is build new flight search tools that focus on end users," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt, maintaining that the company would honour "all existing agreements that ITA has with its partners."

The company paid $700 million (£460 million) for ITA Software, beating out proposals from Expedia and Kayak, big players in the sector in their own right. The acquirement by Google, however, could create a new - and sizeable - competitor in the industry.

Google, however, has explained that its purpose is not to sell airline tickets to the general public, but serve as an information resource.

"Their technology opens exciting possibilities for us to create new ways for users to more easily find flight information online, and we're looking forward to welcoming them to Google," Schmidt said.

Competitors have also chimed in with reservations about the deal, though not immediate.

"In the short term, it's not an issue, because Google said it's honouring existing agreements," a spokesman for Kayak told BBC News.

However, Robert Birge of Kayak said: "They have dominance on the general search side. When you couple that with ITA's airline relationships there is reason to be concerned."

The deal will likely undergo scrutiny in the offices of governmental regulators worldwide, as Google has recently undergone with numerous other ventures, most recently with their AdWords service in France.

The Massachusetts-based ITA Software was founded in 1996, and currently provides data feeds for many major online competitive travel search agents.

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April Fool's Hotelicopter takes off as new search engine

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:48:00 GMT

A charming, if a little elaborate, April fool's joke that fleeced the online community last week has just re-launched itself as a bona fide hotel search engine.

Images of the Soviet Mil V-12 Hotelicopter - touted as the world's first flying hotel - began circulating on the web last week as part of a clever viral campaign that caught the imagination of many in the travel media.

Cunningly netting hundreds of fans on its Facebook and Twitter pages, the campaign saw internal and exterior images of the flying hotel bounce around the internet to much 'oohing' and 'ahhing' and more than just a little consternation.

Certainly, the promotion seemed real enough - with just enough effort having been put in to plant the seed of doubt that it might not be a hoax. Indeed, the Hotelicopter website detailed: "The Hotelicopter features 18 luxuriously-appointed rooms for adrenaline junkies seeking a truly unique and memorable travel experience." They even went as far as to state the safety precautions of the craft: "Our vehicle meets or exceeds all safety, operating, and maintenance requirements outlined by the FAA in the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) relating to transport category rotorcraft." Accompanied by photos and mock-ups, it's little wonder some were sucked in.

The images, however, later proved to have been lifted from Yotel's website - the premium bijou airport hotel arm of the Yo! Company. The truth behind the lies revealed a clever joint marketing attack from Yotel and the new hotel search site Hotelicopter, which leads its logo with the tagline "elevate your search".

Jo Berrington, Yotel Marketing Director, told the Telegraph last week: "Although this is a joke maybe in the future it could become reality. We are looking to push the boundaries and make people think about what's possible".

The Yotel photos were a bit of a giveaway, agrees HotelChatter proving that the campaign had their backing from the get-go. Backs were seemingly getting scratched from all angles and while Yotel validated the concept as a promotion for their innovate outlook on accommodation solutions, not to mention consolidating their grasp of 21st century online marketing techniques, the real Hotelicopter managed to emerge fully vindicated and a genuine search engine.

The search engine provides a similar service to Kayak.com, Kasbah.com and Hotels.com in that it compares the hotel market offering individuals the chance to enter their preferences, view availability, read reviews and place bookings from the lowest price.

An analysis from TechCrunch concludes: "All in all, it seems to work well, but there just doesn't seem to be a whole lot distinguishing Hotelicopter from other sites like Kayak. That said, the people behind Hotelicopter clearly have a good sense of humor (and marketing), so they may be able to make a name for themselves in the crowded space."

So internet users duped by the campaign needn't feel overly abashed - if you were one of the many who attempted to book a room onboard, Hotelicopter won't be taking you on its maiden voyage this summer, but could help you book a holiday nonetheless.

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UK travel customers 'increasingly using search engines'

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:01:00 GMT

The internet is rapidly becoming the number one resource for consumers looking to travel, according to new research.

Figures produced by comScore and Google UK reveal that 20 million people in the UK used search engines to find travel information during the first quarter of 2007.

"Online research and more specifically search has become a critical first step for consumers considering purchases," stated Bob Ivins, executive vice president of European markets for comScore.

It was also found that British people are using search engines in more sophisticated ways to research and purchase travel, with customers taking nearly a month on average to go from their first search to performing a financial transaction.

According to the researchers, travel companies face a mounting challenge to retain online buyers as the "proliferation of competition" encourages consumers to shop around for good deals.

Buyers were found to favour generic product or destination search terms over branded ones when beginning their hunt for information, with 54 per cent entering such terms at the start of the process.

Additionally, many travel customers (over a third) were found to use a generic search term as their last before making a purchase.

Concerning the research, Mr Ivins stated: "By studying the entire online purchase path from first search to actual transaction, we are able to quantify the importance of that first search and subsequent searches and help marketers impact purchase decisions."

Figures released last year by comScore revealed that holiday and travel websites enjoyed considerable success in the UK over the summer, with lastminute.com being visited by 5.2 million users in July alone.

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A quarter of all searches end in a purchase

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:36:00 GMT

The Internet Advertising Bureau held its annual Engage conference in London this month, an event that brings together some of the world's most important figures in search engine marketing. One of the key figures at this year's Engage was Google UK MD, Matt Brittin, who delivered an insightful speech on "Keeping up with the Consumer."

In his presentation to the IAB, Matthew Brittin revealed that Google is now predicting the rise of 'cloud computing'. This means an end to storing information on individual local devices and the beginning of simply storing data online, so it can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

As well as this prediction, Brittin, Google's most senior employee in the United Kingdom, offered the audience some interesting facts. According to Brittin, 25% of all searches end in a purchase.

In addition, he revealed that 54% of searchers will use Google to identify other resources which can be used to find more products and services. A DoubleClick survey undertaken in the United States also found that 57% of women would use a search engine to find more detailed information before making an offline purchase.

Talking about the travel sector, Brittin noted that an average user would make 12 searches, visit 22 sites and take 29 days before they ultimately made their booking.

In the retail sector, it was noted that 55% of people would conclude that if they could not find a retailer's product on their website, it would probably not be available in the retailer's store either.

Essentially, Brittin stressed the importance of understanding how all of us engage with media, claiming that "we are only at the beginning of understanding the potential of the online world".

Other speakers at Engage 2007 included Randy Falco, AOL's Chairman and CEO, and Owen Van Natta, COO of Facebook.

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Flickr launches new map facility

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 04:01:00 GMT

Photo sharing website Flickr has today launched a new mapping service that allows users to search for pictures on the basis of their location and access related information.

The Yahoo!-owned website currently hosts billions of photos and receives around 40 million visits every month, and this latest feature offers a new way for users - particularly travellers - to look for relevant images, Reuters reports.

Flickr Places uses an existing map facility to identify photos based on the location in which they were taken, with over 100,000 searchable hotspots being made available and new features such as "hot tags" and photo streams now on display on the map's main page.

Accessible in eight languages in total - English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Korean and traditional Chinese - Flickr Places also includes special pages for certain destinations, containing information such as local weather data and maps.

"It's a new way to browse what is happening in the world," Kakul Srivastava, senior director of product management at Flickr, told Reuters.

The website saw its two billionth image - a photo of a gum tree in Australia - uploaded last week.

CNET News.com recently reported that Microsoft is set to build its own photo-sharing website after posting an advert for the role of project manager for "a next-generation photo and video-sharing service that will compete with Flickr, SmugMug and other photo web solutions".

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SearchBoth.com adds more search engines

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 03:25:00 GMT

SearchBoth.com has announced the launch of a number of new services available on its website.

Developed by entrepreneur Bobby Kalili and operated by InternetLabz.com, SearchBoth.com was originally intended to provide users with a means of looking things up on both Yahoo! and Google simultaneously.

Now, however, it has extended its service to include a further nine search engines, including Ask.com, MSN, DogPile, MetaCrawler, Alta Vista, LookSmart and WebSearch.

It has also added a feature which will allow users to search any two travel sites side by side, starting off with the top 12 such sites, including Hotels.com, Expedia, CheapTickets, SideStep, Kayak, Travelocity and HotWire.

SearchBoth.com works by placing two chosen websites next to each other on a split screen, thus making comparisons between the two sites efficient and simple.

The service currently offers a toolbar plugin for the FireFox web browser and is set to extend the same facility to Internet Explorer by the end of this month.

It is also planning to add video sharing site YouTube and its new competitor Hulu, once it has gained sufficient popularity.

Additionally, SearchBoth.com has unveiled the introduction of AT&T's YellowPages.com and Verizon's SuperPages.com on to its site.

Meanwhile, parent company InternetLabz.com has just announced it is to introduce a FreeYellowPages service, which will allow users to search for phone numbers and addresses quickly over AOL and MSN instant messenger.

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Google fails to dismiss American Airlines lawsuit

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 09:49:00 GMT

Attempts by Google to dismiss a lawsuit brought by American Airlines have been rejected by a federal court judge, Computerworld reports.

The US-based airline filed the lawsuit in August in an attempt to prevent competitors using its trademark to trigger their own advertising on Google.

Commenting on the decision, American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said: "We are pleased by the judge's order denying Google's motion to dismiss our claims.

"American would not have brought its lawsuit against Google if we did not believe in the merits of our claims and the court's order ... ensures that we will have an opportunity to develop and pursue those claims."

Meanwhile, Google expressed disappointment at the verdicts, saying it believed the American Airlines trademark suit "lacks merit".

A spokesman stated: "Google's trademark policy strikes a proper balance between trademark owners' interests and consumer choice and has been validated by prior court decision."

Earlier this year, the search engine successfully defended its practice of permitting advertisers to bid for keywords for trademarked items when American Blind & Wallpaper Factory dropped its four-year legal case.

The settlement, in which Google did not pay any money, was one of a series of lawsuits in which the company overcame objections to its trademark policy.

At the time, Eric Goldman, an assistant law professor at Santa Clara University, issued a warning to firms saying that the capitulation of American Blinds may serve as a reminder that it can be irrational to bring lawsuits over keywords.

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