Is bidding on your property’s branded keyword terms still a viable strategy?
11 experts shared their view
Some marketing experts claim that hoteliers should not be bidding on their branded keyword terms on Google (Ex. Luma Hotel New York, Luma Hotel NYC, Hotel Luma Times Square, etc.), since a multitude of other channels like social, content, various media channels, etc. are driving the actual demand for those branded Google searches for your hotel.
Others claim that as long as your hotel ranks #1 in organic search for your property's branded keyword terms, you don't have be paying for paid search and your marketing dollars could be used elsewhere with a higher ROI.
Yet, many hospitality marketing experts insist that there isn't a hotel on planet Earth that ranks #1 in organic search for ALL reiterations of its branded keyword terms and that the organic listings in the SERPs are being pushed down below the Sponsored listings - potential customers have to scroll down on their smartphones in order to see the organic listings.
In the same time, all the OTAs and their affiliates are bidding in Google Ads on all properties' branded keyword terms thus hijacking the hotel direct customers.
The question is, should hoteliers invest to "own" their branded keyword terms in Google Ads and paid search as a whole?
Why are we always trying to oppose one against the other in terms of online search? Organic search and paid search should be seen as a single, unified digital marketing strategy. They complement and amplify each other. Why?
- they have a shared goal: visibility, traffic, credibility and conversion amplified by AI personalisation,
- the data analysis synergy: it allows to focus only on the 'converting' terms and inform the SEO content actions. High performing organic pages should be used as landing pages for paid ads to reduce CPC and boost quality scores,
- aligned & consistent messaging and brand experience improving user journeys across touchpoints,
- better attribution and funnel optimization allowing smarter retargeting & remarketing opportunities,
OTA's are doing this already for years!
AI should be implemented by all Hospitality organisations making the SERP management way more effective and automated.
- smarter keyword targeting
- content creation & optimization, omnichannel
- better ad-management processes = lower cost
- predictive attribution modeling
- personalized UX
Move fast because the NextGen of blockchain & Quantum computing is already here.
The answer is rather straightforward: if somebody is bidding on your brand terms (OTAs and affiliates, for example), you are leaving clicks and bookings on the table if you do not: that additional spot in the SERP affects your conversion rates significantly.
If you decide against it, in the best case scenario you'll still get your booking at a higher cost, through a third party; in the worst case you just won't, as your prospects might opt for a different property promoted by the OTA they visited during this crucial phase of the conversion funnel, despite starting their search with your property's name in mind.
We are likely to see major changes to this flow as well, with the integration of AI summarization in search engines, but the need to defend your brand on any channel leading your customers to their room won't disappear overnight: today you're doing it with search advertising and metasearch, tomorrow you will have to tackle the direct integration of your inventory with all major AI search engines and agents - it's not going to get any easier.
Who searches your hotel by its official name? These are your past guests, people referred by friends and family, people influenced by word-of-mouth, people who have read positive reviews on social media or PR about the property.
What happens when travelers Google the name of your hotel? They see:
a) a number of Google Ads by the OTAs and their affiliates promoting the best rate for your hotel,
b) Google Hotel Ads (metasearch) again by OTAs and their affiliates, and
c) Organic listings of your OTA hotel page, ranking higher due to the OTA"s superior SEO.The organic listing of your property website, with its stale content and weak SEO, will appear way below the OTA listings, if at all. Travelers may book the hotel, but they book it via the OTAs
As a priority, hoteliers should implement the following:
- Google Ads: Hoteliers should own 100% of the searches of their branded keyword terms - this is 100% SOV (Share of voice) of the impressions.
- Google Hotel Ads: Hoteliers must participate in the free booking links and participate in the paid booking links in need periods.
- Organic Listings: Hoteliers must maintain a robust SEO strategy and own their branded keyword terms.
After all it is the name of your business. Surely that is important.
If one is going to be in business then one should be in it to win it. There is always competition and it needs to be faced head on. Otherwise, why not give up, close up and try another business.
Being first in organic is a great acheivement in itself, but if the aim of the game is direct business then we can't stop there. Marketing budgets of others aside, letting people have free reign on your front yard does not sound like a good business strategy.
Some customers want and like to book direct. Over time, I beleive this will increase with the shifting nature of the guest and a want to be directly connected with the provider. More bad experience stories when working through the middlemen, as we know.
The distribution network exists. It's there for a reason and to be taken advantage of. At the end of the day you need to look after yourself first and that includes making every effort to create a first choice opportunity whenever possible.
You can't win them all. But you can win some of them! Your way.
It’s an interesting debate and certainly makes you wonder whether bidding on branded keywords is still necessary in today’s digital environment since clients are becoming much savvier regarding OTAs vs Official Sites. But in my view, hoteliers should absolutely continue to invest in branded keyword campaigns.
- In today’s hyper-competitive landscape, leaving your brand name unguarded in search engine results is risky. The argument that branded keyword bidding is unnecessary, because demand is generated through other channels or because your property ranks #1 organically, overlooks a critical fact: if you're not bidding on your brand name, someone else will. If OTAs are heavily investing on these keywords, it's because they are high converting.
- OTAs aggressively target hotel brand names in paid search and often appear above the hotel’s own organic listing, despite the hotel’s SEO efforts. This practice, commonly referred to as brandjacking, allows them to intercept high-intent traffic from users searching for your hotel directly. While some users may be looking for the official site, many others won’t recognize the difference and will simply click the first result, often an OTA, and book there.
- Branded keywords are consistently the highest-converting terms in a hotel’s paid search strategy. Users searching for these terms are already in the decision-making phase. When that traffic is lost to an OTA, so is the opportunity for a direct booking, along with the chance to build a direct relationship with the guest and avoid hefty commission fees.
- Mobile behavior further complicates things. Paid listings dominate the top of search results, pushing organic links further down. Even if you’re ranking #1 organically, your listing may be buried below fold on a mobile screen, where most searches now happen.
Bidding on branded terms is more than just a marketing tactic; it’s a defensive move. It protects your direct booking channel, reinforces your brand’s visibility, and ensures a better return on your overall marketing efforts.
Success in e-commerce is all about visibility. All things being equal (and in reality they never are), more visibility equals more traffic which, irrespective of how bad you are at conversion, equals more revenue.
Paid search (if you do it right) gives you a guaranteed way to appear whenever potential customers search for your brand. Yes, you have to pay, but this is infinitely better than the praying you have to do if you rely solely on organic search engine optimisation. Organic search is fickle, so why take that chance when others are waiting to snatch that prospect away?
Paid search has now become a hygience factor - doing it might not generate many new customers, but the stink of not doing it will definitely lose you business.
I appreciate Max's perspective on the shifting landscape, especially as Gen AI Search begins to redefine how users engage with Google. While that future is on the horizon, we are still in a critical transition where traditional search behavior remains highly relevant.
I recommend that hoteliers focus on creating unique, branded content that strengthens organic rankings across all variations of their hotel name. Ranking in the top three organically is a strong indicator of effective content strategy, but it is no longer a guarantee of visibility, especially as sponsored ads increasingly dominate the top of mobile search results.
Meanwhile, hoteliers should continue investing in branded keyword campaigns on Google Ads, particularly when a hotel does not hold a strong organic position. It is not just about visibility; it is about protecting your brand and defending direct bookings from OTAs and competitors bidding on branded keywords.
The branded keyword bidding debate somewhat misses the bigger picture when we consider how AI-driven search is fundamentally reshaping visibility. Rather than scrolling through links (paid or organic), travelers are increasingly getting direct answers through AI-generated snippets. When someone asks, What's the best hotel near Times Square with big windows and modern design, AI might recommend just a few hotels – and if you're not on that short list, you simply don't exist to that traveler. This raises an important question: if fewer travelers are even seeing traditional search results pages, how will they discover your property? That's why hotels should think twice about heavily investing in lower-funnel tactics that target the small pool of people who already know about them, and instead prioritize demand-generating strategies that expand visibility at the top of the funnel.
This is a no-brainer.
If someone is brandjacking you (and if you're at least remotely relevant, someone is—be it an OTA, a metasearch arbitrageur, or a competitor), then brand protection on Google Ads (or Microsoft Ads, or metasearch ads...) isn't optional, it's foundational.
We're not talking about complex full-funnel strategies or creative-intensive campaigns. This is easy to set up, cheap to maintain, and consistently delivering single-digit CPAs with zero optimization effort.
It's the closest thing to plug-and-play performance marketing the industry has. And yet, some still debate it?
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Hell yes.
While bidding on your property's branded keywords in Google Ads is a necessary defence tactic against OTAs, it's important for hoteliers to step back and reconsider their long-term digital strategy.
Realistically, not all properties can outspend or outbid OTAs in the digital ad space. Competing directly with OTAs on brand often becomes costly and unsustainable—after all, the OTAs are best at handling high-budget, high-volume advertising. Instead of battling with OTAs, hotels should focus on a strategy highlighting their unique value.
A smarter approach is to let OTAs function as a powerful sales arm, bringing traffic and bookings to a hotel. At the same time, hoteliers should invest in building a distinctive brand presence by emphasising their property's key characteristics and USPs, with the hotel website reflecting these strengths. A well-crafted site enhances direct booking potential and complements OTA efforts by reinforcing a hotel brand's value proposition and giving potential guests a consistent brand experience, regardless of where they start their journey.
Is it still worthwhile to bid on your property's branded keyword terms?
While the dominance of traditional Google search could diminish, it will continue to play a major role in shaping travel decisions for the foreseeable future. To get the most out of your marketing investment and continue growing your brand.com presence, bidding on branded keywords remains a smart and effective approach.
In a crowded marketplace, visibility is everything. Even if a hotel appears as the top organic result for branded searches, paid ads often dominate the top of the page – especially on mobile – pushing organic listings further down. Since OTAs and their affiliates will undoubtedly continue to bid on hotels' branded keywords, not participating means that those clicks – and potential direct bookings – could be lost to competitors.
So even in a world where Google might lose some share to new conversational search alternatives, bidding on branded keyword terms remains a valuable strategy. It will continue to boost visibility, protect the hotel's brand, and drive more direct bookings – ultimately leading to a stronger ROI and further solidifying a hotel's position in the market.
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