Fresh from the Christmas break and stumbling reluctantly back into work, millions of people in the UK will have only one thing on their minds – their next holiday. January is one of the most important times of the year for the travel industry, especially in the online sector – search traffic for holiday terms nearly doubles in this period, and many companies make the majority of their sales in the post Christmas rush.

Start Early

When people talk about January being the crucial month in travel, it is misleading. Remember, for the travel industry, January starts on Boxing Day! This is when traffic begins to pick up in a serious way, so make sure you are well prepared for the rush that starts in the last week of December.

Watch your PPC Budget

You need to be prepared for a serious spike in PPC traffic during January. More people searching means more clicks, and if you aren’t prepared you could find your budget maxed out early on each day, missing out on dozens of potential sales. Be prepared to increase your daily PPC budget to take advantage of the January rush – the potential for increased sales make it well worth the extra expense. 

Monitor Your PPC Performance


Having said that, it is important that you are getting the most out of the money you spend - remember, many other companies out there will be chasing the January crowd, and your Cost Per Click is likely to increase. To maximise your profits in the January season, keep a close eye on how your ads are performing.

If a particular PPC ad is converting especially well, consider allocating more of your budget to it. If another ad is seeing plenty of impressions but isn’t getting any clicks, try revising the ad text and see if you can make it more enticing. And if an ad is attracting plenty of clicks but isn’t converting well, you may want to look at improving the landing page it is directing people to and see if it can be made to convert better.

Use Your Site

Increasing your PPC budget and optimising your campaign are the most direct ways of getting an increase in traffic on your site but, once you’ve attracted the visitors, you’ve got to convert them into paying customers, so make sure your landing pages are up to scratch. Use attractive banners and graphic elements, push your USPs with subheadings and bullet pointed lists and include plenty of calls to action (booking forms, telephone enquiries, newsletter sign ups and so on).

This may sound like a massive overhaul, but a few small changes – such as prominent price tags, bold headings, and a simple banner advertising special offers – can make a big difference in the performance of your site.

Use Your Newsletter

A newsletter can be a superb way to connect with potential customers in the January period. We usually advise our clients to use newsletters to build relationships rather than to push product, but January can often be the exception to the rule. People are generally more in a buying mood, and want to be sold to. Push the special offers, exciting new holiday options, and every other enticing aspect of your business in the newsletter. Short term offers and discounts for newsletter subscribers can be especially effective ways of drawing your customers in.

Watch for Changes

Historically, January has always been a massively important month for the travel industry, but this doesn’t mean it will always be that way. In recent years we have begun to see a shift away from long term booking and towards last minute offers, and the credit crunch may have unpredictable effects on people’s shopping habits. Keep your eyes peeled for any shifting patterns or changes in behaviour – the rush could come later than usual, or earlier…or even not at all!

Learn and Plan for Next Year

Once the January rush is over, take some time to assess what happened. Which holidays and destinations sold well in the January season, and which ones performed poorly? What about individual PPC ads? And what were the most important and profitable key phrases that people used to find your site? Learn from what went right and what went wrong, and you’ll be fully prepared for the January madness when it comes around again next year!