• Search Engine Land
  • Sections
    • SEO
    • SEM
    • Local
    • Retail
    • Google
    • Bing
    • Social
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • Live
  • More
  • Events
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

Search Engine Land

Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • More
  • Newsletters
  • Home

Google removes ‘ads’ and ‘sponsored’ labels from flight search results

There will be no more referral fees from partners in flight search, as Google seeks to emphasize price and convenience in rankings.

Greg Sterling on January 23, 2020 at 7:11 am
  • More

Google says that this month it will “no longer charge partners for referral links on Google Flights.” As a result, the company is removing the “ads” and “sponsored” labels from Google Flights and the flights unit in Google search results.

Results ranked according to price and convenience. A Google spokesperson said in email that flight search results have been and will continue to be ranked on the basis of price and convenience (i.e., flight duration, number of stops, layovers, etc.). Google explained that compensation from airline and travel partners has historically not impacted rankings.

The “ads” and “sponsored” links were required because Google received booking referral fees from some airline partners. Failing to be transparent about this would have run afoul of FTC disclosure guidelines.

Ad labels will soon disappear. Below are two examples of the current ad labeling in Google search results and in Google Flights, which will soon go away.

‘Sponsored’ results for flight search on Google.com

‘Ads’ label in Google Flights

Disrupting established players. A decade ago Google acquired travel reservations platform ITA Software for roughly $700 million. At the time of the acquisition, then Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that the company wanted to deeply integrate the ITA software and data to create new and better travel search experiences.

Ten years later, after considerable experimentation and product iterations, Google is arguably delivering on that promise with richer hotel and flight search results and booking experiences. Google declined to provide data about travel usage or bookings, but said through a spokesperson that the company is “happy with user engagement on Google Flights.”

That’s having a concrete impact on incumbent online travel agencies such as Expedia, which now considers Google its biggest competitor. And TripAdvisor is “cutting hundreds of jobs” in response to Google competition, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Why we care. Spending on leisure and business travel is a more than $1 trillion market according to the U.S. Travel Association. And digital advertising in the travel vertical is now approaching $10 billion.

Google is aiming to capture more of those travel ad dollars, in part by making itself a preferred travel destination with better tools and content. For many travel marketers that means stepping up Google My Business participation. As a practical matter, it also means more paid search advertising for travel incumbents and most others in the vertical.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.



About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

Related Topics

GoogleGoogle AdsGoogle: Flight SearchGoogle: Travel Search

We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.
See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Lorem ipsum doler this is promo text about SMX events.

February 23, 2021: SMX Report

April 13, 2021: SMX Create

May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

October 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

December 17, 2021: SMX Code

Available On-Demand: SMX

×


Learn More About Our SMX Events

Discover actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges. Our next conference will be held:

MarTech 2021: March 16-17

MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

White Papers

  • 6 Powerful Ways Experience Analytics Can Help Your Business Now
  • Email Tune-Up: A 5-Point Inspection to Get Your Program in Gear
  • Digital Marketing Report Q4 2020: Benchmarks and Insights for 2021
  • Data SEO – The Next Big Adventure
  • Getting Started with Email Marketing Automation
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • How to Avoid the Digital Transformation Trap
  • How to Build a Marketing System of Record
  • Meet BIMI: The brand-boosting email security marketers must have for 2021
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

h
Receive daily search news and analysis.
Search Engine Land
Download the Search Engine Land App on iTunes Download the Search Engine Land App on Google Play

Channels

  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social

Our Events

  • SMX
  • MarTech

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • Search Marketing Expo
  • MarTech Conference

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff
  • Connect With Us

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Youtube
  • iOS App
  • Google Play

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok