Metasearch Defined: A List of Industry Terms for Travel Advertisers

Metasearch Industry Terms for Advertisers

On my first day at Koddi, I wondered if I would ever be able to grasp what seemed like an unending catalog of acronyms and unique terms that make up the metasearch vernacular. While the granularity of metasearch allows for some of the most in-depth and accurate reporting in the travel marketing space, as the industry continues to grow, so does the broad scope of terms used every day in metasearch reporting.

As metasearch continues to innovate and publishers roll out new technologies and capabilities, being able to speak the “meta language” becomes increasingly difficult without a solid foundation and understanding of key industry terms.

Metasearch Terms for Travel Advertisers

With early 2018 estimates predicting metasearch traffic to increase by nearly 40%, now is the perfect time to brush up on and enhance your metasearch vocabulary. Here’s an alphabetical list of some of the terms you may need to know:

A Metasearch and Travel Marketing Dictionary

ABW (Advanced Booking Window) – A biddable dimension allowing advertisers the ability to target users booking hotels within a period of time before the reservation begins.

ABV (Average Booking Value) – The average amount of revenue earned per each individual booking of a hotel

Above the Fold – A select number of designated ad slots that appear on the first page of a metasearch auction. Ads that are not listed in the first four ad slots are considered to be “below the fold”

AQS (Ad Quality Score) – A rating determined through a combination of quality of keywords featured in a PPC travel ad and the landing page experience of that ad.

Average Rank – Metric used to measure an advertisement’s average position in a Google auction; the average number of “preferred” ad slots across most publishers is four.

Bid – The amount an advertiser agrees to pay a publisher that determines where their ad is placed in the auction. Bids are placed with different currency that varies by publisher.

Beat – When an advertiser’s rate is lower than that of the other rates listed in an auction, “beating” the rates of competitors.

CPA (Cost per Acquisition or Action) – Amount an advertiser pays for a specified acquisition. For example, a sale, click, or form submit (e.g., contact information, loyalty program sign up, etc.)

CPC (Cost per Click) – CPC is the price an advertiser pays a publisher when an advertisement is clicked.

CPM (Cost per Thousand) – Cost per thousand impressions, often an easier way to manage cost for large campaigns

CTA (Call to Action) – An element of an advertisement designed to prompt an immediate response or encourage an immediate booking (book now button, etc.)

CTR (Click-through Rate) – The number of times a prospective buyer clicks on an advertisement divided by number of impressions. A strong CTR is a standard indicator of how an advertisement is being received by a target audience.

CUG (Closed User Group) Rate – A fenced rate targeting a specific group of users, typically organized by user behavior.

CVR (Conversion Rate) – The average number of bookings (or conversions) per click on an advertisement, represented as a percentage.

Device Type – A bid multiplier allowing advertisers the ability to target potential buyers across desktop, mobile, and tablet device types.

Impressions – The number of times an advertisement is shown in the auction

Impression Share – The number of impressions an ad has received divided by the estimated number of impressions that were available. Impression eligibility is based on a variety of factors, including quality scores, ad rank, bids, settings, and approval status.

Landing Page – The destination webpage a user lands on after clicking on a travel advertisement. Landing pages can be designed for the purpose of lead generation, or to direct the flow of traffic throughout a site.

LPS (Landing Page Score) – Landing Page Score is determined through a combination of four parts that make up the user experience on an advertisers landing page: quality of keywords and relevant content, transparency, and trustworthiness, ability to navigate the page, and length of time users stay on an advertiser’s site.

LOS (Length of Stay)– A bid multiplier allowing advertisers to target travelers with longer or shorter selected hotel stay lengths; the number of days selected to stay at a particular hotel.

Lose – When an advertiser’s hotel rate is higher than other rates in the auction, their rate is a “losing” rate and they are unlikely to receive bookings for that property.

Meet– When an advertiser’s hotel rate is the same as other rates in the auction, also known as parity.

Opportunities (Eligible Impressions) – Any time an advertisement has the potential to be seen in an auction, it receives an opportunity.

OTA (Online Travel Agency) – Online tools and platforms that allow travelers to book hotels, flights, rental cars, vacation packages.

Placement – Where a metasearch booking originates, sometimes referred to as “user country”.

Position Share – The average position an advertisement appears in a metasearch auction

Retargeting – A form of online advertising that uses a cookie to serve an ad to someone who has previously expressed interest in booking a hotel

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) – ROAS represents the amount of money earned per money invested on the corresponding advertising campaign

ROI (Return on Investment) – The profit generated from an advertisement divided by the cost of that advertisement.

RPC (Revenue per Click) – Metric used to determine how much revenue an advertisement is generating each time it is clicked on.

Supplier – Generally used to describe hotel chains directly participating in the auction.

We look forward to helping advertisers stay ahead of trends and continue to drive the industry and their campaigns forward. To stay updated on the metasearch industry and for more news from Koddi, subscribe to our blog.

Metasearch Industry Terms for Advertisers

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