Online media company Cheapflights.com has introduced a first-of-its-kind Partner Portal that gives its advertising partners immediate access to campaign performance data, enabling them to track the view and click-through rates of offers published on Cheapflights.com. The Cheapflights Partner Portal is unique in the travel industry. No other travel search company offers this type of online tracking tool for advertising partners.
Cheapflights.com is a leading, independent travel price search and comparison site, publishing the most diverse range of flight deals and featuring the widest selection of travel companies that sell them. The Web site lists nearly one million low-cost airfare deals from hundreds of travel brands, including Priceline, Travelocity, Expedia, Spirit Airlines, American Airlines, WestJet and bookairlinetickets.com - offering consumers a collection of low-cost airfare options not available elsewhere.
"The Cheapflights Partner Portal enables me to immediately track which offers are being viewed and which are generating clicks," said Tim Steele, marketing director for bookairlinetickets.com. "It's a terrific tool that helps me calibrate my advertising strategy and mix of offers to maximize my overall campaign performance and deliver the best possible ROI," he said.
Developed with extensive feedback from Cheapflights' advertisers, the Partner Portal delivers a user-friendly interface and flexible reporting options. Nearly all of Cheapflights' advertising partners currently use the Partner Portal, which was introduced in October and updated with additional functionality in December. Future enhancements to the Cheapflights Partner Portal are planned in 2007.
Cheapflights' Partner Portal offers tremendous benefits over a 'manual' advertising tracking process. In a completely manual process, advertisers call the company they advertise with to request performance data, which is then compiled by a company employee. This process is more ad hoc and less efficient than the automated Web interface provided by Cheapflights' Partner Portal, which provides daily updates at the click of a mouse.
"We take pride in our partner-friendly business model. In fact, we make it our business to help our advertising partners get the most out of doing business with us," said Michael Bennett, Cheapflights' US general manager. "The Partner Portal demonstrates Cheapflights' commitment to continually develop innovative products to meet the dynamic needs and evolving demands of the travel industry," he said.
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How it Works
The Partner Portal is completely Web-based. There is no need to download applications to your computer. This means it is completely accessible from any Internet-connected computer.
After signing on as an advertising partner, advertisers receive the Partner Portal Web address and a unique partner login account.
After Cheapflights ensures that the partner is comfortable with the portal navigation and functionality, partners are free to access their campaign information as often as they like, via the simple log-in process.
Data can be viewed in a variety of ways, enabling advertisers flexible reporting options - from a very top-level view to a very detailed view.
For more information about the Partner Portal, contact Cheapflights at 617-830-3000 or at US-advertise@cheapflights.com.
About Cheapflights.com
Cheapflights.com, the US operation of Cheapflights, Ltd. - the UK's leading price search and comparison site - is a leading, independent travel price search and comparison site, publishing the most diverse range of flight deals and featuring the widest selection of travel companies that sell them. The Web site lists nearly one million low-cost airfare deals from consolidators, travel agencies, destination specialists and airlines - both low-cost and traditional. Cheapflights.com does not directly sell any travel products.
By partnering with hundreds of travel brands, including Priceline, Spirit Airlines, Travelocity, Lufthansa, MyLowfare.com and WestJet, Cheapflights.com offers travelers great airfare deals from over 400 departure points to over 700 destinations worldwide - including exclusive airfare deals that travelers won't find anywhere else. Cheapflights' independent status makes it a popular starting point not only for finding great airfare deals, but also for timely travel industry news.
Founded in London in 1996, Cheapflights Ltd., operating the Web site www.cheapflights.co.uk, pioneered the travel search category and quickly grew to become the leading travel search Web site in the UK. The first independent online price search and comparison portal for travel deals, Cheapflights Ltd. also pioneered the Travel Search Engine (TSE) concept and was the first travel site to introduce a pay-per-click (PPC) model for advertisers.
Building on its UK success, Cheapflights Ltd. expanded into the U.S. in June 2003, where it has been profitable since day one, and currently serves 2.5 million unique users per month. A leading online measurement company, Hitwise, ranks Cheapflights.com thirteenth among top US travel sites. For more information about Cheapflights, visit www.cheapflights.com.
