Martin
Founder, strategy and audits
Writes every audit and takes every first call. On your account from day one, running growth for SMEs since 2010.
SEM for Things to Do
Google Ads for Things to Do Operators
A visitor with a free afternoon wants an answer now. Paid search shows your tour, ticket or timed experience at the exact moment they ask, and sends them to a page where booking takes a minute. We shape it around your capacity and your season, and we do not promise bookings or a fixed cost per sale.
For attractions, tours and experience venues that want paying guests on specific days, with budget that follows open seats and tracking for every call and booking.
How paid search works for experiences
Context from how your customers search, compare and book.
Paid search suits experiences because intent sits close to the purchase. Someone typing tours today or kids activities this weekend has a date in mind and a group to fit in. The ad has a short window to show the experience, the price and a way to book.
The hard part is that demand moves daily. A sunny Saturday fills every slot, while a wet Tuesday leaves seats empty. Campaigns need to push harder when you have room and ease off when a departure is sold out, or you pay for clicks you cannot serve.
Marketplaces bid on the same broad terms, so clicks are not cheap on the most general searches. Specific phrases that name your tour type, your venue or your part of town usually convert better and cost less, and they stop you paying for visitors who only wanted something free.
Group and party requests behave differently from single tickets. They come by phone more often, take a day or two to decide and are worth more. They need their own campaign, call tracking and a quick reply, while last-minute ticket buyers need a booking page that works on a phone.
Who this paid search suits
groups Customer segments
- person Tour operators with fixed departures, such as boat trips, bus tours and walking tours
- person Escape rooms, workshops and play spaces selling timed slots that are wasted if empty
- person Seasonal outdoor attractions that need a surge of visits around school breaks and holidays
- person Venues hosting birthday parties, team days and school trips that want group requests
psychology What drives their decision
- check_circle Ads that state price, length and next available time
- check_circle Budget that rises with open seats and pauses when a slot sells out
- check_circle Landing pages that load fast and show booking times first
- check_circle Phone calls and bookings measured, not just clicks
How we deliver SEM
A clear, repeatable process built around how things to do customers search and decide.
1
Capacity and offer review
We start with your slots, group limits, peak and quiet days and margin per ticket. This shows what a booking is worth and how many visitors you can serve, so budget limits match real capacity instead of guesswork.
2
Keywords and campaign structure
Keywords are the phrases people type. We build separate campaigns for same-day searches, weekend planning, rainy day ideas, group outings and phrases that name your experience. Keeping them apart lets you fund the valuable ones first and see which produce tickets.
3
Ads, extra links and landing pages
Ads carry the price, length and a booking button, with extra links for tickets, group requests and directions. Each ad sends visitors to the matching experience page, not a general home page, so the date picker is the first thing they see.
4
Schedule and weather rules
We set ad times around when people decide: mornings for same-day plans and evenings before weekends. When a forecast turns, we shift budget between indoor and outdoor offers, and pause sold-out departures so spend stays useful.
5
Weekly tuning and monthly review
Each week we remove wasted searches, such as job seekers and free-only terms, and move money toward what produced bookings. Each month you get a short report showing spend, bookings, calls and group requests, with advice on what to change.
query_stats
What Things to Do SEM includes
Reach people who are ready to book on Google, without paying for clicks that never turn into customers
- check_circle Campaign build for each experience
- check_circle Ad copy with price and times
- check_circle Booking and call tracking
- check_circle Weekly tuning of searches and budget
- check_circle Monthly report with clear advice
What you can expect
- verified Paid visits arrive on the days and times you have seats to fill
- verified Group and party requests get their own campaign and a faster reply path
- verified Spend stops on sold-out departures and irrelevant searches
- verified You see the cost of each completed booking, not only each click
- verified Rainy day and sunny day offers switch on when conditions change
- verified Budget plans follow your season instead of staying flat all year
Deliverables you receive
inventory_2 Campaigns split by same-day, weekend, group and exact-experience searches for each tour or venue
inventory_2 Ads written with price, length, next available time and a clear booking button
inventory_2 Location settings covering your catchment area and the towns and hotels where visitors stay
inventory_2 Negative keyword lists (phrases that block irrelevant clicks) covering jobs, free-only searches and unrelated activities
inventory_2 Call tracking and booking tracking that count paid ticket sales, calls and group requests
inventory_2 Seasonal budget plan tied to school breaks, holiday weekends and your quiet months
Technical approach
The mechanics behind SEM for things to do, explained plainly.
Conversion tracking on the booking path
We record each step of checkout, from choosing a date to payment, and send the value of completed tickets back to the ad account. This lets the system favour searches that lead to paid bookings, not just clicks.
Ad scheduling and capacity pauses
Ads run on the hours and days that fit your departures. Where your booking tool shows availability, we pause or reduce ads for sold-out times. Where it does not, we use a simple weekly capacity sheet your team updates.
Location and call setup
We target the area people will travel from and add hotel towns for visitors, excluding places too far to reach. Phone numbers on ads are tracked, and call hours are set so calls arrive when someone can answer.
Marketing from $500 USD a month
Month to month, no commitment. One fee covers the pages, the search and ad work and the tracking. Ad spend is separate and stays in your own accounts.
Starting at
$500 USD per month
Free to cancel with 1 month's notice. Tell us what you sell and where. We come back with what the first month would fix.
Get a Free AuditWhat $500 a month covers
Pages
IncludedPages built around the searches your buyers actually type.
Search and ads
IncludedSearch and ads aimed at people ready to inquire.
Tracking
IncludedCalls, forms and bookings tagged to the search, ad or page behind them.
What to expect from Google Ads
Paid search can send visitors quickly, but the early weeks are for learning which searches actually book. Budget decisions come from your data, not from a template.
Days 1 to 14
Account setup, tracking checks and first campaigns for your strongest experiences. We test the booking path on a phone and confirm that completed sales and calls are recorded before real spend ramps up.
Weeks 3 to 8
We trim wasted searches, rewrite weaker ads and split budget by day and experience. You begin to see which searches fill seats and which only browse, and we adjust for the next busy period.
Months 3 to 6 and beyond
Campaigns grow around proven searches and the season. We plan budget ahead of school breaks and holidays, with results depending on competition, weather and your availability. No fixed number of bookings is promised.
Other Things to Do marketing services
search SEO for Things to Do arrow_forward ads_click Meta Ads for Things to Do arrow_forward web Web Design for Things to Do arrow_forward monitoring Analytics for Things to Do arrow_forward handshake CRM Integration for Things to Do arrow_forward psychology AI Optimization for Things to Do arrow_forward
Our team
The same people on the audit and on the work
Martin writes every audit and takes the first call. The same team stays on the account. 160+ businesses since 2010.
Yoana
Social and app development
Shapes social strategy and builds practical app experiences that turn attention into action.
Mike
SEO
Owns technical, local and content SEO so the right buyers find you when demand is highest.
Robert
Paid media
Plans and manages paid search and social campaigns around qualified leads.
Elmer
Analytics
Connects tracking, attribution and reporting so decisions are based on revenue-quality data.
Dino
Design
Creates clear brand and conversion-focused design across landing pages, campaigns and product experiences.
Certified and experienced
Certified where it matters. Accountable for the outcome.
Verified platform knowledge, 25+ years of hands-on experience, and an operating track record since 2010.
Google AdsCertified
✓Google AnalyticsCertified
✓Google Tag ManagerCertified
✓Operating since 2010Proven experience
✓Frequently Asked Questions
How much should an attraction spend on Google Ads? expand_more
It depends on your ticket value, capacity and competition. We start with a modest budget on your best experiences, then raise it where bookings prove worth it. Things to do searches get busy in peak season, so we plan spend around your calendar.
Can ads fill quiet midweek days? expand_more
Often they help, by targeting people who can come then, such as visitors on longer stays and local families during school breaks. Midweek things to do searches are lighter, so we run midweek offers as separate ads and see what they produce. Results are not promised, and the offer has to be worth the trip.
Will we pay for clicks from people who wanted something free? expand_more
Some, yes, but we cut most of it. We block phrases like free things to do and cheap deals where they do not fit your price, and we review search terms weekly. A fully free searcher is unlikely to buy a ticket.
Should we bid on our own name? expand_more
Usually yes, at low cost, because marketplaces and rivals can bid on it too. It protects the visitor who already knows you. We report it separately so it does not make general things to do ads look better than they are.
What if a tour sells out? expand_more
Ads for that departure should stop or slow, so you do not pay for visitors you cannot serve. We link this to your booking tool where possible. Otherwise we use a weekly capacity update from your team.
Do you handle calls from group bookings? expand_more
Calls are tracked and the source is recorded, and your staff answer them. We can set ad hours so calls arrive when someone is free. Quotes, deposits and acceptance of group requests stay with you.
How do we know the ads are working? expand_more
We measure completed bookings, phone calls and group requests against spend, month by month. We also compare with your own records of tickets sold, so the report matches what happened at the gate for your things to do business.
Ready to get more from Things to Do SEM?
Get a free audit and we will show you where you are losing inquiries today.
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