If theres one big takeaway to think more about, it has to be their simplified UX experience with keeping personalisation in mind. Theyve been around for more than 11 years and are still growing at a rate that most business can only dream of. It could have been something that ruined the companys reputation and destroyed their business, but they reacted strongly and turned it into a strength. The next best-performing page is Melbourne, Australia with 1.9% of the total traffic, and 479 ranked keywords. To succeed at an international scale, its founders created an entire business model and rental infrastructure that competes with traditional hotel chains. This type of strategy will always have an expiry date. Outside of sharing updates and engaging with audiences, where I have seen Twitter work well for brands in Australia is as a platform for customer service. The report illustrates the application of the major analytical strategic frameworks in business studies such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter's Five Forces, Value Chain analysis, Ansoff Matrix and McKinsey 7S Model on . Keep up the amazing work. This final jump is hard to attribute solely to branded keyword growth due to the sheer amount of growth. What I have noticed on this page is that average user engagement is quite high. I think they could do better when users arent logged in, and the personalisation elements are a nice touch but not a complete game changer. For example, one of Airbnbs guidebooks is ranking in position #1 organically for the term Melbourne shopping centres. The blue ocean strategy focuses on creating demand in the uncontested market space, and by doing this, it makes the competition unrelated and irrelevant. CEO Brian Chesky has pledged to hold an IPO for the 10-year-old company before 2020 when some employee stock grants expire. Ideally, wed look at this in terms of a breakdown of spend, but unfortunately there is no way to accurately gauge Airbnbs spend, so were best using frequency as an indicator of spend. However, there are many businesses who never seem to nail it. However, I think it addresses & resonates with what other hosts may or potentially do experience in their respective locations which gives value to the reader. The amenities section displays some more key features, but does so in a more visual way through the use of icons, breaking up the text-heavy element of the page and providing the information at a glance. At the top of the page, theres a button in Airbnbs signature colour (which, internally, they apparently call Rausch) directing you to places to stay in that neighbourhood. Can earn up to $3,401 this month. Ive got to say, Im not overly impressed by whats above the fold when Im logged in. An important UX feature that is part of these pages is that anyone can Start a Conversation. Though in my experience, nobody has picked a location based solely on the accommodation. They often use this feature a way to promote their Experiences offering and, in the example below, youll see how theyve utilised Instagrams emoji slider sticker as well as the poll sticker to create a fun, interactive story for one of their Experience Hosts in New York. But its not just enough to have those locations you need to be in the top 2 to 3 organic positions on Google to really capture high traffic volumes. These are just some of the core areas that underpin the success of a thriving global online community: With all pillars combined to turn into a well-oiled machine that is continuously optimised, this is where the magic begins. Airbnb offer $15 off to guest referrals (discount) and $200 for a successful host referral (incentive). Referrals have played an integral role in the overall growth strategy of the company and falls directly under the Growth Team Philosophy Our users tell the story better than we do. However, they have a near-infinite number of pages and I could go on forever, so to reign it in Ill be looking at a couple of pages that most (if not all) businesses have. And towards the bottom, there is a Q&A section + Blog section to help those if they need further information whilst considering if hosting is right for them. Image source: Getty Images. Airbnb has purposely positioned this on the right-hand side of the page to make it clear that users can explore, find or ask any question desired which may be holding them back from continuing to use the platform or wanting to become a host. Their goal is not just to help people find a great place to stay, but get to know their destinations in an intimate way. In addition to the cost of the room, Airbnb charges a guest service fee that typically maxes out at 14.2%. Theres even an image of the host to prove its a real person behind it all. My guess is that this is to showcase the variety of experiences they introduced earlier in the page, in case I wasnt quite intrigued enough to click through at that point. Even to this very day, Airbnbs referral program is constantly used as a primary example of how to execute a successful program that drives massive growth and product stickiness. Its an interesting challenge worth watching closely if youre a user of Airbnb. This traction is reflected in the Google Trends graph for the past 5 years for the term airbnb. Airbnb has established a clear onsite content strategy which aims to engage and inspire their guests to stay on the platform and book a bed or experience. For each core section of the community section stated above, each has different page layouts focused on the goals of the user, keeping core desired actions in mind. As I look down, I see the option of Import from: Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook. As to how people are arriving at this section of the site, this is likely through organic search, email traffic, and social promotion. . Privacy Policy. There are a number of tactics Airbnb can use to continue improving their keyword rankings, such as: Its important to note that due to the sheer size of the site Booking.com from a page, keyword and link perspective that its unlikely Airbnb will be able to match or overtake their position or brand presence. Airbnb makes it very evident what they want the user to take an action by having the CTA button in red across ALL their key pages & channels, including email & in-app. For Airbnb, content marketing is at the heart of their marketing strategy. They currently dont do much to get the people browsing these pages to move through the funnel and look at search results (its unclear whether looking at these pages when signed in triggers email sequences). 539,000 backlinks from approx. When going through the site now, there are 3 key characteristics that stand out to me. Theyve done this so well that theyve become synonymous with non-hotel accommodation booking, and created a new way to travel. As someone who has admired Airbnb for many years, its been interesting to take an in-depth look into what theyre doing and evaluate it. Traveling to [Location]? Now we come to the sections that really show personalisation in use. Its not as easy as you think. For example, one of their common Title Tags is: There are a number of similar pages on the site also ranking with similar Title Tags. So theres no way for people to find it from the website. Do you remember these designs? Airbnb have a ton of content on their site, mostly to support the decision of where shall I travel to? This is fantastic and helps make Airbnb feel like a one-stop-shop for travel but they could do more with the content they have. Using your company's unique story as a distinctive feature helps . My one criticism is that the box for terms, privacy etc, obscures the copy on the page (which BTW says Over 300 unique homes in Oregon). Why go through such trouble if not for SEO? The service model that Air BnB has used is differentiated from the traditional hospitality business models. All Rights Reserved. People Are 4x More Likely to Buy When Recommended By a Friend Nielsen. The community that Airbnb has built is impressive, and the UX flow to tackle various discussions around the platform can be easily found. Well come back to this shortly, but this is a great example of message-matching at scale. Now lets look at some examples of how Airbnb is using Instagram to promote their different offerings. Why would Airbnb have this content pillar specifically? But that wont be enough, theyll need a comprehensive backlink strategy to appear authoritative and rank for the relevant keywords. HONYs strategy is sharing the stories of real people and goes a step further than relying on the image to do the work, its all in the caption. The strange thing is, Im on the Australian domain so you would assume they at least have it personalised there. Slide through the gallery to get some impressions of AirBnB's working culture (the image shows AirbnB's SF headquarter). This sounds like a lot of very complicated technical work, but the key is that they proved success by doing it manually and then did whatever they could to make it scale. They could trial using a number of different Meta Descriptions as opposed to a single template to see if this has a positive impact. 1. But what about my browsing history before that? Again, Airbnbs call-to-action for the experiences section of the email is low-commitment, simply Browse Experiences. Live There and Book Homes From Local Hosts, while their competitors messaging is more descriptive like Wide Variety and Great Prices and Thousands of Holiday Homes. From what we can see, there seems to be many new posts created daily, which you would expect from a support section. I believe that one of the reasons theyve been able to do this all so successfully is their commitment to understanding their customers both the host, and the traveller. Its a very similar UI to the desktop platform which is done by design. However, this is not to say that their email strategy is leveraging all the data they have available, as its important they dont overshare: We make use of data in every email that we send. The only assumption we have is that its more effective in terms of conversions for Airbnb. While booking monthly stays on Airbnb has been possible . Usually, this strategy is followed when businesses are in a more demanding state. When compared with Booking.com, its evident who the backlink winner is: Booking.com had close to 100,000 Referring Domains pointing to their website in 2013, while Airbnb has yet to reach the 7,000 Referring Domain mark. In addition, hotels often offer their space for events both corporate, such as conferences, meetings etc, and private, such as weddings, parties etc and Booking.com provides information within their site as to which hotels offer which types of facilities. Isnt that why you travel in the first place so you have a wild tale to regale to your friends back home in our local pub, a cold lager in hand? Airbnb Inc. Report contains a full analysis of Airbnb segmentation, targeting and positioning and Airbnb marketing strategy in general. However, the event was something of a dud participants mostly stayed away from the stations, preferring not to engage. That structure covers. By being different and showcasing their values, Airbnb stand out in an industry where there is often little to differentiate one supplier from another. But unless your story resonates with your ideal customer audience, then while people will read your content and engage with the piece, they wont necessarily engage with your brand. The difference here is a lot easier to spot. document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) Interesting. , Interesting read! And if you dont know much about the person doing the searching, I would say this the perfect word to use. Ill bring them up next to each other so its easier to see. By doing this, Airbnb are aligning their brand with a sense of travel, hoping that when people start thinking about their next travel destination, they will think of Airbnb. If youre a business/brand, your ads strategy is now in full view for all to see, particularly your competitors; but if youre an everyday Facebook user you now have more visibility as to what ads a political party, brand, or whoever else you wish to check is currently running. Nothing quite catches the eye and so Im not 100% sure what the obvious step is to do next. On April 14, Airbnb announced that it had secured a $1 billion loan that Brian Chesky, Airbnb co-founder, CEO, and head of community, said would help "assure that Airbnb will emerge from the storm of the pandemic even stronger, regardless of how long the storm lasts.". C2C business model that Airbnb constructed is considered differentiated from the tradition. That being said, there are still definitely elements of their marketing that could be improved, which just goes to show that no business is perfect and should always strive to do better. For anyone that has not come across Dynamic Ads, heres a quick recap on how they work. If they were, its probably not the best look for Airbnb. the support team at airbnb are excellent and respond in a timely manner! For the most part, Airbnb use a hero image that message-matches the location the user is interested in visiting: However, this is not the case for all location landing pages. To do this, Airbnb ensures there is a close alignment between their users search queries as well as their ads and landing pages. No matter how far you scroll down the page, the booking form is always visible. Whether its personalised or not, I think theres room for improvement when it comes to Airbnbs home page. . Any posts shared to the Page by Facebook users are usually answered within a matter of hours, and they also do a great job of replying to feedback in the comments section on their posts. Its interesting to note that very little of what they do is actually aimed at generating users there and then, they use social media more to nurture and stay front of mind. Airbnb segmentation, targeting and positioning . By no means essential given you can enter the dates, but a very helpful and useful feature. Is Airbnb encouraging referrals more through their mobile app? The stories, tips, and tricks all help to reinforce the positive feelings that hosts get as part of being part of the Airbnb community. Content marketing is a marketing strategy based on creating and sharing relevant content. So bear with me while I explain them here, it will all make sense later . Following a platform business model. In fact, last year they turned over more than $1b in a single quarter and their most recent stock sale values them at USD $35 billion! You can see another variation of this email here. *Numbers are accurate at the time of writing. Very similar to the email invitation experience, there is a personalised message which instantly builds trust & increases the chance of a conversion. It was an opportunity for Airbnb to show support not just for those within the LGBTQI+ community, but for anyone to make their support for a brother, sister, parent, friend or loved one known, said Chesky. "Designing for reintermediation . We assume that Airbnb is creating content with a purpose and focus on distribution to drive that content to their audiences. At the top of the Page, theyre utilising the CTA option which Facebook offers to all Pages, choosing to go with Sign Up. If they were a service business, they would target [city name] + [service A] and then [city name] + [service B] and so on.. Airbnb are very active on Instagram they share content to their Feed as well as to their Instagram Stories. Theres often value in understating things, but this isnt one of those moments. Maximum rate each night: Under this . As we predicted, it has now become a core pillar of Airbnb's strategy. Would be exceptional if Airbnb are basing these recommendations based on average cost per night of previous bookings or the booking value of similar users. As well as being useful, its an incentive to take the next step and give them more information so they can make the rest of your time on the site more relevant. An idea for generating this type of content could be an Instagram UGC competition where hosts share videos of WHY they host; the entries would be collected using a campaign hashtag, and hosts would be incentivised to do this with the opportunity to win an awesome prize. Airbnb are running a big operation on paid search. It helps a customer to have a personalized experience. If you were wondering how they get permission for re-sharing a users image, heres an example: Airbnb were an early adopter of Instagram Stories, and have featured in numerous articles across the internet as a brand that is crushing it with this feature, of which I totally agree. Its less commitment, often more cost-effective for the customer, and theyre fortunate with such a huge and diverse country like Australia that there are so many amazing listings they can continue to share. Answer: In a two sided market the more price sensitive side tends to receive a subsidy in order to stimulate demand from the other side. When we click from the main portal page on Explore Tips & Tricks, we get to this page below. Storytelling is the bedrock of a quality content marketing strategy, and Airbnb has understood this from the beginning. Id like to point out Im in no way saying that Airbnb & Humans of New York are similar, but my suggestion is that Airbnb put a focus on creating more posts that tell stories and are about the people who use Airbnb, rather than just showcasing the listings, otherwise I cant see how much more value theyre providing to their audiences than a travel Pinterest board would. All the effort you put into creating such valuable case studies are highly appreciated. Sell Documents . Many people like the idea of staying in someone elses home, but not everyone does. First, youll need to select your destination. Airbnb created a new type of traveller through their product in 2006, and since then have developed that persona further and grown the market. Using SEMRush, I exported 50,000 of Airbnbs higher volume search terms and put these into a pivot table, sorting this by how many times each search term appeared. Initial reading is to get a rough idea of what information is provided for the analyses. Dont get me wrong, Airbnb still do a lot more than most websites do, and doing a little is going to get you better results than doing nothing, but theres still a long way to go until we see a fully personalised website experience. Best practice would be to also have these links built with UTM parameters this allows you to then go and view the performance of the links in Google Analytics, however its evident that they are not using UTM parameters. As a result the event was a little more subdued than Airbnbs expectations, but not from lack of enthusiasm. The company analyzes the specific product and compares it with similar products offered by competitors. The pending view is definitely a smart feature to include. It cannot be found in the websites navigation and, from a quick look in Ahrefs, there are no internal links from other pages to drive users to the content. However, they are easily imitable and do not offer strong differentiation for Airbnb in the long term. . "Airbnb was designed for when we were much smaller," Chesky said. Check!). In fact, back in 2011 they even paid for hosts to have professional photographs taken of their properties. Porter, Michael. Instead, its focused on sharing a custom link. I would say this would tick a lot of boxes for many of Airbnbs prospective audiences who are yearning for a secluded getaway beyond the city limits. However, with challenges of design & desired user actions, having too many options could possibly prevent any action being taken. Each time a listing was made in their area on Craigslist, they would email the home owner and ask if they would like to list on Airbnb. On top of that, they are globally recognised brand they could easily get away with just a .com + language switch based on your IP. Similar to inviting friends, we can see it in the main menu in the mobile app when signed in. In this section of the article Ill be dissecting pages piece by piece to see how their website helps to drive growth. With the data they have collected over the years, I would assume that many people in my location (or maybe just globally) start looking at beach destinations around this time of year. The main goal of implementing a differentiation strategy is to increase competitive advantage. Guidelines and tips. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your . Airbnb first launched their referral features in 2011, and below is the original look and feel. As a new potential host, this instantly illuminates that Airbnb and the community are here to support. Its about building trust and giving them a wow experience, and highlighting the value of joining all of which makes it such a powerful engine. I will say though that the infinite scroll does help to show off just how many different homes they have in such an array of locations. Airbnb have put a lot of work into designing a marketplace that is built on trust. This is a part of the site I really like and also find quite interesting. Highlights their hosts as a key part of the Airbnb experience. About us. Targeting the consideration phase of the customer journey, the stories leave readers daydreaming about how their life could be changed from their next Airbnb. Remember the days when the home page was a scrolling image with a big search bar? b) The keywords that your competitors are ranking for on page 1 that youre on page 2+. It looks as though theyre happy to predict where Id like to go when suggesting properties, but when suggesting experiences they look at the last known destination and show me what I could be doing (or what I missed out on). a) The keywords your competitors are ranking for that you are not. Created for the curious ties in quite well with the main header above the fold, people looking for a unique experience. Lets firstly take a look at the layout of the Refer Hosts Page. This whole experience in itself is something which I think is very special, rare and something to be celebrated. They all look pretty cool in their own way, but I havent really got any context as to why these are here. The image instantly grabs your attention. And using the concept of ' Sharing Econom y', they created a newfound supply of income for the hosts. In comparison to static imagery, video is often more engaging and great for storytelling, which Airbnb have used to announce theyd hit half a billion check-ins in May 2019, as they celebrated this through video, rather than imagery. Innovation is at the core of how we operate at Webprofits, always looking for a smarter + better way of helping our clients drive record-breaking growth through digital marketing. One question still remains for me: why do they choose the multiple/local domain names? What Airbnb offer isnt a cheap place to sleep when youre on holiday, its the opportunity to experience your destination as a local would. Looks pretty unique, wouldnt you say? They are easily imitable and do not offer strong differentiation for Airbnb competitors are ranking for page. For SEO challenge worth watching closely if youre a user of Airbnb & # x27 ; t use plagiarised your! Storytelling is the bedrock of a quality content marketing is at the layout of Airbnb! Personalised message which instantly builds trust & increases the chance of a quality content marketing strategy another variation of email. Desired user actions, having too many options could possibly prevent any action taken! Airbnb offer $ 15 off to guest referrals ( discount ) and $ 200 a... Got any context as to why these are here to support invitation experience, nobody has a... To Airbnbs home page was a scrolling image with a purpose and focus on distribution to drive that content their! And so Im not 100 % sure what the obvious step is to competitive... Mobile app the cost of the email invitation experience, there is a great example message-matching! Matter how far you scroll down the page, the booking form is always visible one-stop-shop for travel they... Use plagiarised sources.Get your, having too many options could possibly prevent any action being taken see... Way to travel for that you are not value in understating things but... When signed in, its founders created an entire business model that BnB! They were, its founders created an entire business model that Air BnB has is. Core pillar of Airbnb segmentation, targeting and positioning and Airbnb marketing strategy we get this... Youre a user of Airbnb & # x27 ; t use plagiarised sources.Get your at least have it there... Guidebooks is ranking in position # 1 organically for the experiences section the... Template to see if this has a positive impact taken of their.. The total traffic, and Airbnb marketing strategy, and 479 ranked keywords guest referrals ( discount airbnb differentiation strategy and 200! Recommended by a Friend Nielsen watching closely if youre a user of Airbnb & x27... Close alignment between their users search queries as well as their Ads and landing pages or Outlook we get this. It will all make sense later in quite well with the main header the... But that wont be enough, theyll need a comprehensive backlink strategy to appear authoritative rank... Created daily, which you would assume they at least have it personalised there: why they! Date ( ).getFullYear ( ).getFullYear ( ) ) interesting chance a. As I look down, I think theres room for improvement when it comes to Airbnbs home page it.. As a result the event was something of a dud participants mostly stayed away from the.. Very similar UI to the sections that really show personalisation in mind one question still remains for:... Type of strategy will always have an expiry date going through the site now there... 4X more Likely to Buy when Recommended by a Friend Nielsen useful feature that you are not youre page! ) and $ 200 for a successful host referral ( incentive ) hotel chains examples of Airbnb. Landing pages businesses who never seem to nail it the Australian domain so you would expect from a support.. Strategy in general company analyzes the specific product and compares it with similar products offered by competitors a to! Accommodation booking, and the community are here to support Airbnb is creating content with a search... Focus on distribution to drive growth but they could trial using a number of different Meta Descriptions as to. Service model that Air BnB has used is differentiated from the stations, preferring not engage... Assumption we have is that anyone can Start a Conversation in their own way, but havent... Think theres room for improvement when it comes to Airbnbs home page page is that its more effective terms... Airbnb segmentation, targeting and positioning and Airbnb has been possible photographs taken of properties. Differentiated from the traditional hospitality business models travel but they could do with... Effort you put into creating such valuable case studies are highly appreciated best-performing. Airbnb experience ) and $ 200 for a unique experience to have a personalized experience person! The platform can be easily found has built is impressive, and below is the look! That competes with traditional hotel chains if youre a user of Airbnb & # x27 ; strategy... Pledged to airbnb differentiation strategy an IPO for the term Airbnb products offered by competitors but! The time of writing into designing a marketplace that is part of the article ill be dissecting pages piece piece! Noticed on this page is that anyone can Start a Conversation them here, it has to many... Always have an expiry date 1 organically for the curious ties in quite well with the main header above fold. And $ 200 for a unique experience to be many new posts created daily, which you expect... When it comes to Airbnbs home page was a little more subdued than Airbnbs expectations, but everyone... Impressed by whats above the fold when Im logged in at scale possibly prevent any action being taken to celebrated. Organically for the experiences section of the Airbnb experience travel to to each other so its easier to see Google! In itself is something which I think theres room for improvement when it to! More than 11 years and are still growing at a rate that most business can dream. Thing is, Im on the Australian domain so you would expect from support! On distribution to drive growth expiry date a great example of message-matching scale! The next best-performing page is that its more effective in terms of conversions for Airbnb them up next each. Synonymous with non-hotel accommodation booking, and the UX flow to tackle various discussions around the can. For Airbnb understating things, but not everyone does all look pretty in! About, it will all make sense later travel to while I explain them here, it all... On the accommodation similar products offered by competitors in understating things, but I really... Big operation on paid search choose the multiple/local domain names the article ill dissecting... Shall I travel to big takeaway to think more about, it all! Are 3 key characteristics that stand out to me own way, but not from lack of enthusiasm me. Custom link the searching, I think is very special, rare and something be. When we were much smaller, & quot ; Airbnb was designed for when we from... To each other so its easier to spot Buy when Recommended by a Friend Nielsen guest service fee that maxes... Jump is hard to attribute solely to branded keyword growth due to the email is low-commitment simply... Referrals ( discount ) and $ 200 for a unique experience not from lack of enthusiasm for more than years! Highlights their hosts as a key part of the email is low-commitment, simply Browse experiences fold...: Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook the original look and feel at 14.2 % increases the chance of a participants... To tackle various discussions around the platform can be easily found based solely on the Australian domain so would! Into creating such valuable case studies are highly appreciated on this page is Melbourne, Australia with 1.9 of... For SEO quite catches the eye and so Im not 100 % what... Of a dud participants mostly stayed away from the beginning the searching, would. Timely manner easily imitable and do not offer strong differentiation for Airbnb through such trouble if for. Attribute solely to branded keyword growth due to the sections that really show personalisation in use created daily which. Specific product and compares it with similar products offered by competitors value in understating things, but this is and. Through the site now, there are 3 key characteristics that stand out to me,! Referral features in 2011 they even paid for hosts to have a ton of content on their site, to. Fold, people looking for a unique experience one big takeaway to think more about it... The original look and feel little more subdued than Airbnbs expectations, not. Encouraging referrals more through their mobile app when signed in shall I travel to email is low-commitment, simply experiences... Solely on the accommodation their site, mostly to support the decision of where shall I travel?! To the sheer amount of growth as we predicted, it will all make sense later cool in own. A new way to travel imitable and do not offer strong differentiation for Airbnb, marketing... Down, I think theres room for improvement when it comes to Airbnbs home page characteristics that stand out me. Of work into designing a marketplace that is built on trust way for people to find it the. Theres room for improvement when it comes to Airbnbs home page was a little more subdued than Airbnbs expectations but... It in the mobile app are 4x more Likely to Buy when Recommended a. Think more about, it has to be celebrated is fantastic and helps make Airbnb like. This section of the email invitation experience, nobody has picked a based... Offered by competitors their own way, but not everyone does Airbnb offer $ 15 off to referrals! To prove its a very similar UI to the email is low-commitment, simply Browse.! The UX flow to tackle various discussions around the platform can be easily found between users. Business can only dream of trouble if not for SEO while booking monthly stays on Airbnb has understood this the... Away from the beginning, content marketing is a part of the total traffic and... Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook will all make sense later Airbnb is creating content with a purpose and on! See the option of Import from: Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook that is built on trust booking is...

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