How to Run Google Ads for Travel That Actually Convert

Ready to stop chasing clicks and start booking paying customers? This concise UK-focused guide shows how to use Google Ads for travel in a practical, measurement-first way. It explains how to link feeds, use the Actions Centre and build campaigns that target profitable bookings, not vanity metrics.

Powerful Digital Marketing brings over 30 years’ industry experience and advanced AI to planning, creative, bidding and measurement. That blend of expertise and data underpins the tested strategies here.

Hard figures matter: 64.6% of online users click paid listings, and nearly all clicks go to first-page results. This article grounds recommendations in those platform limits and real platform features so you scale without surprises.

Expect a step-by-step approach covering account linking, compliant campaign builds, bidding and budget phasing, keyword intent mapping, creative that converts UK travellers, and measurement tied to ROAS and business performance.

Why Google Ads matter for travel right now

Recent platform metrics show paid search remains the fastest path to high‑intent bookings. In the UK most users begin planning via search, and paid placements give brands a direct way to be found at that moment of intent.

Key data backs this: 64.6% of online users click paid listings and 99% engage first‑page results. That first‑page visibility correlates strongly with higher conversion rates across mobile and desktop.

Smart bidding plays a pivotal role. It raises bids in high‑demand regions, adapts to seasonality and captures last‑minute bookings while protecting budget during quiet windows.

Powerful Digital Marketing’s 30+ years in the sector, combined with AI modelling, turns traffic and clicks data into practical strategies. This supports budget allocation, creative testing and smarter bid strategies that reduce wasted spend.

The practical outcome: UK operators who act on these insights see stronger page engagement, more qualified users and improved return on ad spend, achieved by balancing reach and efficiency and tracking bookings, not just clicks.

Before you begin: prerequisites for high-converting campaigns

Before you spend a penny, check that your site turns interest into bookings. A great website with clear content and fast mobile performance is the foundation. Most users browse on phones, so pages must load quickly and be simple to navigate.

Website and booking readiness: mobile speed, UX, and seamless checkout

Ensure fast page load, compressed media and a stable mobile UX. These technical baselines cut bounce rates and improve Quality Score signals tied to user experience.

Make the booking process frictionless: show inventory, transparent pricing, minimal steps and trusted payment options. A seamless checkout lifts conversion and protects brand trust.

Setting up measurement and goals so conversions are trustworthy

Configure goals and enhanced conversions so bookings are reliably attributed across devices and sessions. Capture macro conversions (bookings) and micro conversions (quote requests, sign-ups) aligned to business value.

Validate tracking with test bookings and reconcile with the booking system. Use AI diagnostics to spot UX friction and prioritise fixes that improve conversion quickly.

Extras that matter: ensure landing page content matches ad promises, add schema markup for activities and reviews, set remarketing audiences from day one and establish ROAS and CPA baselines tied to contribution margin.

Connecting your activities feed: Actions Centre and Google Ads account linking

Linking the Actions Centre is quick but needs attention to avoid scale problems. Start by collecting the Actions Centre linking account ID from Configuration > Account and users. Keep the ID to hand before you open the ad management interface.

Step-by-step link process

In the ads account go to Tools > Data Manager > + Connect product and search ‘Things to do centre’ (now Actions Centre). Paste the linking ID and submit the request.

Then switch to Actions Centre, review the incoming request and approve or adjust sharing settings.

Choose full catalogue or a curated CSV

Decide between All services to share the entire catalogue or Only some services to upload a curated CSV. If you pick a CSV, download the template, edit the list of IDs and upload it via the provided flow.

CSV parsing reports the number of IDs and flags unrecognised product IDs; those are saved for later matching so you do not lose records.

Practical limits and governance

Note key limits: up to 10 linked accounts per Things to do account, 5,000 campaigns per centre account, 10,000 Travel campaigns per ads account, 20,000 ad groups per campaign and 20,000 activity groups per ad group. Plan grouping and naming to avoid hitting caps.

Tip: if a connectivity partner manages Actions Centre, ask them for their linking ID and have them approve the link. Schedule regular audits and enforce feed hygiene so activities map cleanly and targeting remains precise.

Building Travel campaigns the right way in Google Ads

Start campaigns with product-aligned feeds so each ad reaches the right booking intent. Create a campaign using "Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance", then select Travel campaigns and tick Activities. Pick the linked feed so adverts reflect live inventory and prices.

Selecting campaign type, budget and Maximise conversion value with target ROAS

Set a daily budget that matches margins and seasonal demand. Smart bidding will pace spend, but the budget still limits reach.

Choose Maximise conversion value and set a required target ROAS. This tells machine learning to chase the best revenue mix within your return constraints.

Target settings for UK travel: locations, dates and device/network controls

In Target settings pick precise UK locations, nation, region or city where offers sell best. Add campaign start and end dates aligned to British seasonality and campaign windows.

Do not enable Network or Devices expansion at launch. Keep those options off to retain control while baseline metrics stabilise.

Name the campaign and ad group clearly, then create the Activity group mapped to product tiers. Apply AI-informed bids and run target ROAS experiments rather than manual bid juggling to protect signal integrity.

Tip: ensure account-level billing and permissions are configured in the google ads account so changes are auditable and team actions are trackable.

Structuring ad groups and activity groups for precision and scale

Group inventory by commercial themes to keep relevance high at scale. Start with clear ad groups that map to customer intent, for example, top‑rated tours or premium packages. This makes bids and creatives easier to align.

Subdividing by activity criteria and enabling Automatic targeting

In the activity group column add subdivisions using supported criteria such as Activity ID or user rating. Although the feed includes country/territory, region and city fields, do not subdivide by those until the interface supports it, doing so causes errors in the process.

After selecting activities, choose Continue to edit bids and then Save. Change the status from Excluded to Automatic so the system can serve against those groupings and use AI signals to expand safely.

When to pause legacy Things to do campaigns during migration

Launch the new Travel campaign and validate serving across a short test window. Once ads are actively serving and reporting looks correct, pause legacy Things to do campaigns to consolidate delivery and avoid overlap.

Maintain an account migration checklist and change log that records group edits, list additions, bid changes and targeting updates. Review group coverage weekly and overlay remarketing lists to re‑engage users who viewed specific groups but did not book.

Google Ads for travel: keyword strategy and intent alignment

Begin by mapping queries to intent tiers. Informational phrases teach and qualify. Orienting queries compare options. Transactional terms signal readiness to book.

Prioritise long‑tail phrases, they account for most searches and often convert at higher rates. Use Keyword Planner to size demand, then layer SEMrush or Ahrefs to find content gaps that support the brand.

Balancing intent and protecting budget

Segment keywords into separate campaigns or tightly themed ad groups so relevance and landing pages align. This raises ad scores and reduces cost per click.

Keep a living list of negative terms from search terms reports. Exclude irrelevant queries (for example, job listings) to stop wasted spend and lower per click cost.

Execution and continuous learning for Google Ads for travel

• Allocate higher bids to transactional clusters while keeping orienting queries active to assist final decisions.

• Test match types and query expansions, watching conversion efficiency and per click economics.

• Use audience overlays, in‑market, affinity and remarketing, when intent alone is ambiguous.

• Document weekly learnings and fold them into creative, landing pages and budget choices to compound gains.

Final point: map each keyword to a dedicated landing page that provides the exact information users need, with a clear path to book. This shortens the funnel and improves measurable return.

Ad creative and landing pages that drive action

A compelling first impression on the ad and page shortens the path to purchase. Use AI-assisted creative testing combined with seasoned travel copywriting to keep tone on‑brand and boost engagement.

High-converting copy, extensions and banner best practices

Lead with a clear value proposition: location cues, price or limited availability and a strong CTA. Support headlines with sitelinks, callouts and price extensions to improve click likelihood.

Design banners with a single striking image, a legible headline and one CTA. Keep layouts uncluttered so mobile users see the message immediately.

88% of buyers read reviews; aim for 150+ reviews to strengthen credibility and SEO.

Landing page experience: relevance, speed, content and trust signals

Align every ad promise to the landing page to lift relevance and Quality Score. Above‑the‑fold clarity matters: show price, dates and the booking CTA without scrolling.

Optimise page speed and use scannable sections that answer key questions. Add reviews, third‑party badges and clear refund or guarantee information as trust signals.

Test methodically: iterate headlines, images and CTAs; measure impact on click and conversion at page level. Localise copy for UK audiences with seasonal hooks and familiar wording.

Ensure accessibility and visible contact routes, chat or phone, for complex bookings. Use rich media only when it does not hurt load speed, and feed winning creative back into keyword and audience work to compound gains.

Bidding, budget and seasonality: maximising ROAS for UK travel

Smart, phased spending captures peaks and monetises quieter shoulder periods. Blend decades of seasonal planning with AI bidding so your account raises bids when intent spikes and protects margin during slow weeks.

Using Smart Bidding in high-intent regions and last-minute windows

Smart Bidding automates higher bids in high‑interest regions, factors seasonality and targets last‑minute behaviour. Let it focus spend on likely converters while you set target ROAS by product tier to reflect true commercial return.

Allocating budget across peaks, off-peak deals and a retargeting reserve

Phase budget into peak months, summer, half‑term and Christmas markets, while keeping a reserve to capture late surges.

Keep a retargeting pot to re‑engage recent visitors without starving prospecting campaigns. Use bid simulations to spot where extra spend stops delivering incremental return and reallocate to stronger groups and regions.

Practical controls: monitor demand rate changes and adjust caps quickly, align bids to inventory and operations, and test offers in off‑peak periods to stimulate demand cost‑effectively. Always confirm profitability after fees and taxes before scaling spend across campaigns.

Measurement, Quality Score and optimisation loops

Measurement should be the backbone of every optimisation decision. Start with a short framework that ties metrics to business goals, then build a repeatable loop that uses data to change bids, creative and audiences.

Going beyond CTR and cost per click: ROAS, CPA and conversion rate

Define a core metrics set: ROAS, CPA and conversion rate alongside CTR. These numbers steer actions towards profit, not vanity.

Track cost per and revenue per segment to see which campaigns, audiences and devices deliver actual margin. Use dashboards to make trends obvious to the account team.

Improving Quality Score via relevance and landing page experience

Quality Score depends on CTR, ad relevance and landing page experience. Strong scores lower per click costs and lift position.

Quality Score hinges on CTR, relevance and the page experience; improve each and pay less for better placement.

Tighten keyword-to-ad copy match and ensure the landing page answers the query fast. Test responsibly and avoid claims that harm the brand.

Closing the loop with CRM data and remarketing lists

Sync CRM with your google ads account and use AI to unify ad and CRM data. This reveals downstream value like repeats and upsells and makes bidding smarter.

Implement enhanced conversions and server-side tracking to strengthen attribution. Refresh remarketing lists so creatives match user stage and intent.

Final step: set clear goals for lift tests, run weekly optimisation loops and document learnings so each cycle drives better commercial outcomes.

Conclusion

The path from search to booking is repeatable when the account, creative and measurement all align.

Launch linked Travel campaigns, pause legacy Things to do campaigns and respect account limits to avoid scale bottlenecks. Let Smart Bidding adapt bids to seasonality and last‑minute demand while you refine creative, keywords and landing page experience.

Keep a disciplined optimisation rhythm. Track users click behaviour, conversion rate and cost per outcome, not just impressions. Structure the google ads account and campaigns so teams can act fast and report clearly.

Powerful Digital Marketing combines 30+ years of sector experience with AI‑led planning to run this plan end‑to‑end in the UK. Implement, learn and iterate, turning google ads into a dependable growth engine for your travel business.