Although Google hasn’t stated exactly how it will incorporate this new software and information into it’s search service, it claims that it will “…create a new, easier way for users to find better flight information online, which should encourage more users to make their flight purchases online.” It says the move is pro-consumer, and will benefit passengers, airlines and online travel agencies, and will ultimately drive more potential customers to the airlines and travel agencies’ websites.

Google also has an advantage in this area as it is a highly trusted site, and this could encourage people who were previously reluctant to book online due to trust issues with smaller sites, take the plunge.

Many travel industry insiders, however, are worried that this will give Google too much power and could give them too much influence over the industry, though Google is still honoring existing agreements that ITA has with it’s partners.

In the future, it is possible that Google may decide to sell flight tickets directly, which would pose a considerable threat to it’s competitors, and increase the need for them to bolster their online activities, and visibility, through traditional SEO techniques like link building.

Google’s foray into the travel market is long overdue in the eyes of some, and Microsoft already has it’s own Bing travel search service.

Experian Hitwise, used by SEO specialists as a source of search data and analysis, has been monitoring the top 20 “downstream” industries from Google since 2006, where it already noticed that travel was one major area that Google had not branched into. A list of the top 20 downstream industries for June 2010, available from the Hitwise website, shows that Google has involvement in almost all of them, barring travel.

Google is the number one source of traffic to travel agencies accounting for 15% of upstream clicks in June, and accounting for a huge 32% of all upstream clicks to destination and accommodation websites.

These figures clearly highlight the ongoing importance of an effective SEO campaign, using techniques like employing a link building service via a digital agency, to ensure that travel firms maximize their positions in search engine results. No online travel company can seriously expect to succeed without it.