Guest Blog - Google Conversion Tracking

Most vacation rental and hotel owners know the power of Google AdWords--those persistent little ads that border Google search pages. Getting in front of someone who is actively searching for accommodation in your area is a great way to capture bookings.

(If you haven't tried out AdWords yet and are curious, spend a little time with the AdWords Online Classroom to get up to speed: http://www.google.com/adwords/onlineclassroom/.)

So let's say you've started running AdWords. What's next? How do you know how much to spend? How do you know if your ads are working? Are people simply clicking on your ad and bowsing, or are your ads generating actual revenue?

The Bookt platform is a powerful tool here, and not just for documenting who comes to your site from where. You probably already know that Bookt captures all lead sources and displays them in your control panel:



What you may not know is that by adding a simple snippet of code, you can see exactly how much money you're earning from your Google AdWords campaign. How, you ask?

It's easy.

First, go into your Google Adwords account and click the tab that says "Reporting & Tools." From there, select "Conversions."



You'll be taken to a page where you can select "+ New Conversion." I named my conversion "Booking," and I set the value of the conversion to 1 (though you could put your average revenue per booking here, if you wanted).

Once this is set up, you'll be able to edit the settings and obtain the unique code Google automatically generates.



Copy this code.

Now, navigate to your Bookt control panel. You'll go to Customize > Website Setup.

From there, you'll see a field halfway down the page that says "Goolge Adwords Conversion Key." Paste your Google code there, click Save, and you're set!



Google will now be able to track every time someone not only clicks on your ad, but also goes through the booking process on your site.



You can see the number of conversions you're getting right on the Campaigns page in your Adwords account. The report above is a sample - it shows that in the last 2 weeks of December, these ads received 133 clicks and 1 conversion (booking). Hey, it's a start!

With better data we can all perform better as businesses. Fine-tuning ads based on what works and doesn't work helps a business appeal to its best customers. And ultimately, connecting with people seeking our hospitality is what online success is all about.



Rebecca R. operates Inhabit Vacations has been a Bookt Platform customer since June 2010