Empowering Digital Growth: Accor's Strategic Partnership with Yext
Accor enhanced significantly its online presence, search query relevance and website conversion thanks to Yext.
of search queries coming from "non-branded" searches, and growing
increase in Listings impressions
Increase in website clicks
Accor, a global leader in the hospitality industry, has teamed up with Yext to boost its global presence across 110 countries, encompassing 5,400 hotels and 10,000 restaurants. This partnership has resulted in a remarkable 30%* increase in Listings impressions, a staggering +38% year-over-year growth in website clicks, and the ability to effectively position themselves for 56% of 'non-branded'** search queries, illustrating the immense potential of their digital collaboration.
Accor, faced the challenge of improving the digital visibility of its expansive ecosystem, spanning 5,400 hotels and 10,000 restaurants across 110 countries. As traveller preferences evolved, Accor needed to adapt its digital acquisition strategy to cater to changing search patterns. Factors such as proximity, local experiences, and sustainability became more prominent in search queries, necessitating a more sophisticated approach. Additionally, Accor aimed to strike a balance between paid and organic search strategies. With 15% of web searches being novel query types, Accor recognized the importance of refining its organic search strategy and harnessing automation to efficiently cover a wide range of relevant searches while optimizing costs.
In collaboration with Yext, Accor crafted a comprehensive digital strategy in line with its vision of Augmented Hospitality. Central to this strategy was "ALL- Accor Live Limitless," a loyalty program and online booking platform that unified Accor's brands, services, and partnerships. To bolster its digital presence and engage both members and non-members, Accor leveraged Yext's expertise. The Yext Content, also known as the knowledge graph, emerged as a crucial component of Accor's natural referencing strategy. This structured database organized information about Accor's brands, hotels, services, and more. By establishing cognitive connections between diverse data points, the knowledge graph enabled efficient responses to user queries. This approach not only elevated search engine visibility but also facilitated managing customer reviews and enhancing online reputation.
SEA is a sprint, SEO is a marathon. Both are essential and complementary. For a strong organic SEO strategy, Accor operates a ONE SEARCH vision.
The implementation of Yext's solutions, including the Listings product, yielded tangible improvements to Accor's digital acquisition endeavors. A remarkable 30% enhancement in the Listings's impressions since 2019 generating +38% year-over-year growth in website clicks, and enablement of an effective positioning on the 56% of search queries that were 'non-branded', showcased the success of the partnership. The capability to provide real-time updates during the pandemic about hotel statuses streamlined operations and diminished dependence on costly paid strategies.
Furthermore, Accor's collaboration with Yext extended to generating localized content. Over 100,000 landing pages were created in 18 languages within 6 months, catering to diverse audiences across various locations. This initiative translated into a noteworthy 109% increase in Pages impressions on Google, accompanied by a significant 103% surge in Google Search click-through rates within the first two years. The achievement of these activities underscored the potency of amalgamating human intelligence and AI, as Accor adeptly harnessed evolving search behaviors.
With Yext, the conversion rate of destination pages has doubled. We are capturing more qualified traffic; this is where market share gains are made in the face of competition and distribution alternatives. We are on solid foundations that require a ramp-up in content strategy and leveraging new opportunities to utilize content automation technologies, particularly with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence.
30% increase in Listings impressions in two years
38% year over year growth in website clicks (from Listings)
56% of search queries coming from "non-branded" searches, and growing
Doubled conversion rate for destination pages.
Deployment of 100,000 landing pages in 18 languages covering 3,000 destinations within 6 months.
Pages generated 109% more impressions on Google with a 103% click-through rate increase within the first two years.
Effortless display of real-time hotel status during the pandemic.
Decreased reliance on costly paid strategies.
Looking ahead, Accor and Yext envision a future characterized by innovative strategies that continue to push the boundaries of digital acquisition.
ALL.com has over half a million pages to manage and necessitates a prioritized content strategy that retains a user-centric approach on a grand scale. The One Search approach should leverage both human and artificial intelligence.
Anne-Laure Blondeau, Senior Director of Customer Success at Yext, concurred, highlighting the potential of AI to revolutionize content creation.
AI opens new perspectives for generating content that matches user queries with minimal human intervention. Deep Learning models like GPT-3.5 are adept at producing quality written content. At Yext, we are exploring the application of this model, much like in Yext Chat.
As Accor and Yext embark on this journey of innovation, their collaboration stands as a testament to the transformative power of combining technology and human ingenuity. With a shared commitment to enhancing user experiences, Accor's vision of "One Search" will continue to evolve, drawing strength from AI-powered insights and human creativity.
*Sep '21 - Aug '22 vs. Sep '20 - Aug '21
**Non-branded means a generic search which does not include a brand name.
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