Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising For Holiday Parks
While social media can generate interest and engagement, PPC ads capture those actively searching to book a holiday.
PPC, especially through Google Ads, allows you to appear in front of potential guests right when they’re looking for options, making it a critical component of a holiday park’s marketing mix. Here’s how to make PPC work for you:
1. Google Search Ads – Bidding on High-Intent Keywords
Think about the keywords a potential visitor might type when planning a trip that your park could fulfill. Examples might be “holiday park in [Your Region]”, “best coastal caravan park UK”, “family camping site near London”, or “pet-friendly holiday park Devon”. These are high-intent searches – the user is likely looking to book. Using Google Ads, you can bid on these keywords so that your ad appears at the top of search results. Craft compelling ad copy that includes the keyword and a clear call-to-action. For example:
Luxury Cornwall Caravan Park – Book Now
5★ Coastal Park with Pool & Beach Access. Pet Friendly & Family Fun! Enjoy 20% Off Summer Stays – Reserve Today!
This ad title grabs the keyword “Cornwall caravan park” and the text highlights unique selling points (5★, coastal, pet friendly, discount). The display URL can be something like YourPark.com/Cornwall-Holiday to reinforce relevance.
Be prepared to allocate a budget; popular keywords can be competitive (e.g., “luxury caravan park UK” might have several advertisers). Start with a moderate daily budget and adjust based on results.
A typical Cost-Per-Click (CPC) in this niche might range around £0.80–£1.20, but it varies by region and season. Monitor your average CPC in Google Ads and ensure it’s sustainable relative to your conversion rate (if bookings are coming in, a £1 click is a good investment).
2. Dynamic Retargeting Display Ads & PMAX
Not everyone books on their first visit to your website. Maybe they browsed, checked availability, and left. PPC shines here through retargeting campaigns. You can use Google Display Network and Pmax to show banner ads to people who have visited your site or started a booking but didn’t complete it. Even better, set up dynamic retargeting – ads that automatically show the exact accommodation or dates the user viewed. For example, if John looked at the “Lakeview Lodge – Aug 5-10”, he might later see an ad on another site saying “Still interested in Lakeview Lodge? Come back and book your August escape!” with a lovely photo of that lodge. This personalised approach keeps your park top-of-mind and nudges warm leads to return. Retargeting is proven to improve conversion likelihood – studies show retargeted visitors are 43% more likely to convert than first-timers. It’s a gentle reminder that often yields that booking on the second or third touch. Make sure your ads have a clear call-to-action like “Book Now” or “Resume Your Booking” to make it easy for them to click back.
Performance Max for Retargeting:
PMax ingests your asset feed (high-res images, video tours, availability dates) and delivers dynamic ads across Search, Display, YouTube, and Discover—no separate retargeting campaigns needed.
Best Practices:
Rich Feed Quality: Include descriptive titles (“Lakeview Lodge – Sleeps 4”), top-quality images, and clear availability windows.
Audience Signals: Seed PMax with first-party lists (past bookers, newsletter subscribers) plus in-market travel segments to guide Google’s automation.
Distinct Conversion Goals: Set up separate conversions (e.g., “Completed Booking – Lakeview Lodge”) so PMax can optimize toward your highest-value actions.
CTAs & Creative Tips:
Always feature a clear call-to-action (“Book Now” or “Resume Your Booking”).
Use lifestyle imagery to re-ignite emotional interest and property shots to remind them what they loved.
Performance Max (PMax) remains its own campaign type — it is not simply another Display campaign — even though it will automatically serve ads into the Google Display Network (and all other Google channels) as part of its mix.
Separate Campaign Type: In both the Google Ads UI and API, PMax is listed alongside Search, Display, Shopping, etc., as its own “Performance Max” option
Includes Display Inventory: Unlike a standard Display campaign (which you manually configure for display-only inventory), PMax uses Google’s automation to bid across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Display Network — but you don’t get the granular “Display Network” settings you have in a dedicated Display campaign
So, PMax isn’t “now Display Network” — it’s still a distinct campaign type that includes display placements (among others) as part of its cross-channel optimization.
3. Smart Budget Allocation & Monitoring:
A good starting point for PPC budget is a 70/30 split between Search and Pmax networks. Search ads (the text ads on Google results) capture people actively searching, so they often convert better – hence the larger share. Display ads and PMax (including retargeting banners) are more about awareness and recapturing interest. Monitor your campaigns closely, especially in the first few months, as your campaigns optimise, you may find that PMax out performs search and you need to increase budget. Track metrics like Click-Through Rate (CTR) and Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) (how much ad spend on average leads to one booking). Suppose you start with a CPA target of say £80. If your Search campaign is bringing bookings at £90 each and Pmax at £50 each, you might reallocate more budget to Pmax or tweak the search terms or landing pages. The key is to optimise monthly: increase budget on campaigns or keywords that perform well (low CPA, high conversion) and pause or adjust those that underperform.
3. Smart Budget Allocation & Monitoring (Including PMax):
Allocating and rebalancing your budget across Search, Display/retargeting, and Performance Max is crucial.
When running PPC campaigns for holiday parks it is important to remember seasonality, and to set up campaigns for any promotions you might be running.
Key Metrics to Track:
CTR & Quality Score: Higher CTR lowers CPC over time.
Conversion Volume & CPA: Ensure each channel meets or beats your CPA targets before scaling.
4. Keyword Strategy & A/B Testing
PPC isn’t a “set it and forget it” game. Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to discover new keyword opportunities, especially long-tail phrases (e.g., “quiet campsite for kids Cornwall”). Long-tail keywords often have lower competition and cost, but can bring very qualified visitors. Add negative keywords as well (if you’re a high-end park, add “cheap” or “free camping” as negatives; if you have cabins but no tent camping, exclude “tent sites”, etc., to not pay for irrelevant clicks). Additionally, continuously A/B test your ad copy and even landing pages. Google allows you to run multiple ad variations – try different headlines (“Award-Winning Holiday Park” vs “Family Caravan Holidays in [County]”) or different value propositions (“Book 3 Nights, Get 4th Free” vs “Limited Summer Availability – Book Now”). See which gets a better CTR and conversion rate, then refine. Small improvements in ad copy can raise your CTR, which improves Quality Score and can actually lower your CPC over time for the same keywords, saving you money.
In summary, PPC advertising can drive highly targeted traffic to your booking page and deliver a steady stream of new guests, as long as you manage it actively. Keep an eye on seasonal trends too – e.g., ramp up budget in January when many people plan summer holidays, and consider pausing or reducing in off-peak months if searches drop. By aligning your PPC strategy with user intent and constantly optimizing, you’ll ensure strong ROI
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