Top 5 Hotel Website Analytics Trends for 2023
Not a day goes by that our roles in hotel marketing are not influenced by website analytics and tracking. While the move from Universal Analytics to GA4 is dominating a lot of the conversations, I want to step a bit further back from the day-to-day and look at some of the holistic changes that we expect to see.
Here are the trends and changes that may affect you and your hotel marketing strategy in 2023:
Privacy Regulations
Privacy regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA, are continuing to impact hotel website analytics. In response, web analytics platforms are introducing new features and tools to help website owners comply with these regulations; tools include more comprehensive cookie management systems (such as cookiebot), consent management with Google Tag Manager, data retention controls, and server-side tracking (this is a big one and we’ll have a post for you soon on that).
Recently, the government has re-introduced its proposed Data Protection and Digital Information (DPDI) Bill which aims to implement a ‘common-sense led’ approach to data protection and cut down on excessive and unnecessary paperwork. The bill will move us away from a ‘one-size fits all’ approach and hopefully, allow industry-specific implementations a lot clearer. Be sure to read up on this new proposed legislation because it will affect the data strategy at your hotel.
Increased Emphasis on First-Party Data
With the ongoing changes in privacy regulations, there is a growing emphasis on hotels collecting and analysing first-party data. First data is information that is collected directly from users by a company or organization that has a direct relationship with those users. This data is often collected through interactions with a hotel’s website, mobile app, or other digital touchpoints, and can include information such as website usage data, purchase history, and contact information.
Examples of first-party data include:
- User registration information, such as name, email address, and location
- Website usage data, such as pages visited, time spent on site, and clickstream data
- Purchase histories and transaction data, such as order details and payment information
- User feedback and survey data, such as ratings and reviews
Website owners are now focusing on building direct relationships with their users to gather more data about their behaviour and preferences, rather than leaning exclusively on third-party tech providers and SaaS solutions to do this all for them.
Rise of Customer Data Platforms (CDPs)
Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) are becoming more popular as a way to consolidate customer data from various sources, including website analytics, CRM systems, and marketing automation platforms. They are still very much in their infancy in hotels however they have real potential to allow hotel marketers to gain a holistic view of their guests and make more informed decisions. Some key advantages of using a CDP will be:
- Centralized Data Storage: A CDP can help hotels centralize their customer data from various sources, including website analytics, booking systems, social media, and email marketing platforms. This allows the hotel to have a complete view of their customers, their preferences, and their behaviors across different channels.
- Personalization: With a CDP, hotels can use customer data to create personalized experiences for their guests. For example, hotels can use data on a guest’s previous stays, preferences, and activities to make personalized recommendations on activities, room upgrades, or dining options.
- Marketing Automation: A CDP can help hotels automate their marketing efforts by using customer data to create targeted marketing campaigns. This includes email marketing campaigns, social media advertising, and other marketing channels.
- Guest Loyalty: A CDP can help hotels build guest loyalty by providing a personalized experience and offering relevant perks and benefits. By using customer data to understand guest preferences, hotels can offer personalized experiences that keep guests coming back.
- Data Privacy and Security: A CDP can also help hotels comply with data privacy regulations by providing a secure and centralized platform for customer data storage and management.
Voice Search
With the increasing use of voice assistants, website analytics may need to adapt to the unique search behaviour of voice search users. This could involve tracking different metrics, such as the length of voice search queries or the number of times a user repeats a search.
Some of the key areas we see it affecting tracking on a hotel website are as follows:
- Changes in Keyword Searches: With voice search, users tend to speak in longer, more conversational phrases and questions, as opposed to typing shorter, more specific keywords. This means that website tracking tools may need to adapt to capture these longer, more conversational queries in order to provide accurate data on search behaviour.
- Increased Mobile Usage: Voice search is often used on mobile devices, which means that website tracking tools may need to adapt to capture data from mobile users. This could include tracking mobile-specific metrics such as screen size, device type, and location.
- Changes in User Behaviour: Voice search can also impact user behaviour on websites, as users may ask for specific information or take different paths through the website than they would with traditional text-based search. Website tracking tools may need to adapt to capture these changes in user behaviour in order to provide accurate data on website usage.
- Importance of Featured Snippets: With voice search, users often receive responses in the form of featured snippets, which are concise summaries of information that appear at the top of search engine results pages. Website tracking tools may need to prioritize tracking the performance of featured snippets in order to provide insights into how users are interacting with search results.
Increasing Importance of Mobile Analytics
Mobile devices continue to be a dominant force in online browsing, and website analytics will need to continue to adapt to this trend. This includes tracking mobile-specific metrics such as app usage and mobile site speed. It is difficult to predict exactly where mobile analytics will go, but some trends we are seeing include:
- 5G Networks: The widespread adoption of 5G networks is likely to have an impact on mobile analytics, as it will enable faster data transfer and potentially new forms of data collection and analysis.
- Artificial Intelligence: The use of AI and machine learning in mobile analytics is expected to continue to grow, with more sophisticated tools for predictive analytics and personalized experiences becoming available.
- Mobile App Monetization: As mobile apps become more central to business strategies, mobile analytics will likely focus increasingly on metrics related to monetization, such as in-app purchases and mobile advertising.
- Wearables and IoT Devices: The increasing use of wearables and other IoT devices is likely to lead to new opportunities for mobile analytics, as these devices generate data that can be used to gain insights into user behaviour and preferences.
Conclusion
In conclusion, hotel website analytics will continue to evolve in response to changing privacy regulations, shifting user behaviour, and advances in technology. Hotel marketers should stay up-to-date with these changes and adapt their analytics strategies accordingly to ensure they are gathering accurate and relevant data.