Viagogo has suffered a serious decline in users since Google banned it from paid-for searches for allegedly breaching advertising rules.
In July, the search engine giant announced a global suspension of Viagogo’s advertising account in what was described as a “landmark moment” for the ticketing industry.
According to figures obtained from analytics service SimilarWeb, traffic to Viagogo’s UK site has dropped 80% – from 4.5 million visitors per month to 820,000 – and by 70% on its global site – from 15.3m to 4.5m monthly users – in the almost three months since Google banned the site from paying to appear at the top of search results.
“Google is a key part of any company’s advertising mix and the suspension has certainly seen a decline in traffic from this source. However, as a global business we employ multiple marketing methods, to ensure we can reach the widest global audience effectively. This has allowed us to manage any impact of the suspension on the overall business, whilst we are working with Google to resolve their concerns and be reinstated. Viagogo has long enjoyed a close working relationship with Google and we are in discussions presently to resolve the suspension.”
reads a statement issued by Viagogo.
“Google is a key part of any company’s advertising mix and the suspension has certainly seen a decline in traffic from this source”
According to a 2017 IQ report, secondary ticketing sites such as Viagogo were paying up to 15 times more than promoters to appear at the top of Google’s sponsored search listings.
The move to bar the site from Google’s paid-for search results was widely welcomed by the industry with promoter Kilimanjaro Live, UK Music and anti-tout campaign groups FanFair Alliance and Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing among those to show support for the decision.
Viagogo has faced a number of court orders and lawsuits around the world. Most recently, New Zealand’s Commerce Commission was granted permission to pursue a temporary injunction against the site.
In September, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority decided to halt legal proceedings against the secondary site, in a move that concerned anti-tout groups.
Source: iq-mag.net
Photo source: theticketingbusiness.com
