BACKGROUND: Reassure web users on source market THE DEVICE: Using display URL THE RESULTS: Better click-through-rate and conversion results with the new ads

1. July 2014
BACKGROUND
AIR FRANCE TESTS THE IMPACT OF THE
DISPLAY URL IN ITS GOOGLE ADS
REASSURE WEB USERS ON SOURCE MARKET
In South American countries, many sites use a .com derivative domain, such as .com.mx for Mexico, .com.ar for
Argentina, etc. As a European airline, Air France would like to reassure web users from South America by improving
the way it communicates the source market within its ads.
While Google's rules are quite strict when it comes to the ad itself (brand protection, the use of special characters,
number of characters, etc.), the same does not hold true of the display URL.
The display URL appears in the ad to clearly show web users which page they will be redirected to should they click
on the link. This is different than the destination URL, which corresponds to the exact Internet address of the page to
which a user is redirected upon clicking. While the destination URL and the display URL don't necessarily have to be
identical, they should however contain the same domain name.
THE DEVICE
USING DISPLAY URL
Keyade proposes using the display URL as a means of communicating the source market within the ad. So for
example, the URL displayed in Mexico, which previously would have been shown as www.airfrance.com.mx, would
become mexico.airfrance.com.mx.
Keyade conducted a trial run to assess the impact of the new display URL on ad performance. For one month, two
identical ads (other than the display URL) were published in equal measure. The test was carried out in four Central
and South American countries: Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina.

2. THE RESULTS
AIR FRANCE TESTS THE IMPACT OF THE
DISPLAY URL IN ITS GOOGLE ADS
BETTER CLICK-THROUGH-RATE AND CONVERSION RESULTS WITH THE NEW ADS
The results clearly highlighted the added value of using the display URL. On average across all the countries tested,
the click-through rate on new ads was 35% higher than the old ads, with a positive impact on the CPC rate, which
decreased by an average of 23%. As for the conversion rate, the number of reservations and revenue more than
doubled, on average, during the trial period. Air France confirmed the positive impact of the new display URL on the
behavior of web users.
Keyade carried out similar tests with other advertisers under different circumstances (promoting a new brand,
defensive competitive strategy, etc.) with equally positive results.
+35%
Nathalie Feyte
Head of Search
CLICKTHROUGH RATE ON ADS
WITH THE NEW DISPLAY URL
The display URL trial proposed by Keyade resulted in
incremental improvements in traffic and sales in South
America. We are pleased with Keyade's initiative, which
demonstrates once more that good performance comes from
paying attention to detail.
Air France is the second largest airline in Europe, with 75.8 million passengers in 2013. The airline serves 253 destinations in 105 countries.
With a turnover of 25.5 billion euros in 2011, it is one of the leading French companies on the internet.
Keyade is an independent company specializing in performance-based online media acquisition (Keyade Agency), and its conversion using dedicated
technologies and services (Madmetrics). Launched in 2006, Keyade now operates in over 80 countries from its offices in Paris, France, and Dubai, UAE. Its
client portfolio includes OLX, Meetic/Match.com, Air France, Jumeirah, Redoute and Voyages-SNCF.
In 2011 Keyade received capital investments from entrepreneurs Marc Simoncini (Meetic, iFrance) through his Jaïna fund, and Fabrice Grinda (Zingy, OLX).
Headquarters: Keyade, 8 rue du Sentier, 75002 Paris, France
Simplified joint-stock company (SAS) with a capital of 49,481 Euros, registered with the Trade and Commerce Register of Paris under number B 490 339
207—CNIL (National Commission for Information Technology and Privacy) no. 1244457
www.keyade.com / contact@keyade.com / +33 (0) 1.44.79.38.13