TripAdvisor Looks to Counter Google by Considering Loyalty Initiatives for First Time
Skift Take
A new loyalty program and a brand campaign to bolster direct traffic and user engagement are among the measures TripAdvisor is working on to counter the fact that Google is getting more stingy in providing free traffic. But TripAdvisor is also hoping — and anticipating — that U.S. regulators will step in.
TripAdvisor is contemplating the introduction of a loyalty program, and is taking steps to increase engagement from its members as part of a plan to counter the reduced free traffic the company got from Google in the second quarter.
Company officials called out the lower search engine optimization traffic from Google in the quarter that ended June 30 as one of the factors, along with "optimizing" its paid marketing spend and foreign currency fluctuations, behind a 7 percent revenue decline in TripAdvisor's hotels, media and platform segment.
Hotels, media and platform segment revenue in the second quarter was $254 million, a 7 percent decrease year-over-year.
TripAdvisor's selling and marketing costs fell 17 percent to $180 million in the second quarter, as the company emphasized profitability. In this hotels, media and platform segment, the largest portion of TripAdvisor's business, adjusted earnings leaped 27 percent to $108 million.
In prepared remarks, TripAdvisor state
