So, what is the ‘Google Tax’?

Welcome to another edition of The Hotel Hype.

Today, we are going to dive into a topic I have seen pop up a few times recently…

The ‘Google Tax’.

Bear with me. It’s not as boring as it sounds…

The Google Tax Explained

A large portion of traffic that visits Google, clicks on an ad to go to a website.

Each click costs the advertiser a fee. That fee goes into Google’s pocket.

And that applies to all searches.

Even brand ones.

So, say someone has searched for the name of your hotel, to secure that top placement, you need to have a Search Ad to secure the top of the page.

Most people will click the ad. So you have paid to ensure someone gets to your website when they have clearly stated it is you they are interested in.

The argument is, should you have to pay so much to Google when it is crystal clear the user wants to get to you?

In short, I would agree that it seems unfair. But what choice do you have?

If you stop bidding on those terms, an OTA will likely start bidding on your terms, taking your traffic and bookings.

Even if your website organically ranks number 1, you will still lose out.

As if!

Take a look at this example below to see the issue.