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In the competitive world of short stay and Airbnb management, particularly in Hoabrt, establishing a strong and consistent digital presence is really important.
Jules and Jase from Retreats Tasmania recognised the need to enhance the online visibility of their business, as well as desire to appeal and attract a broader audience.
Partnering with Wakeford Digital, the focus was set on two pivotal stages:
In this case study, we explore how a considered digital approach can significantly impact the short stay accommodation sector, even in a specialised market like Tasmania.
Retreats Tasmania is a key player in the short-stay property and Airbnb management market in Hobart and Southern Tasmania, catering to property managers and owners.
With a heavy reliance on its online presence to attract clients, it was crucial for them to rank well on search engines and provide valuable and informative content to potential customers.
Retreats Tasmania's online visibility was not reflective of the quality of services provided.
As a summary, the challenges included:
With this in mind, primary goal of the SEO Hobart campaign was clear: elevate Retreats Tasmania's online presence, improve rankings for primary and secondary keywords, drive more organic traffic, and ultimately increase inquiries and bookings.
While improving the SEO of the Hobart based business was the primary focus of the project, the Retreats Tasmania 'Game Plan' encompassed, appropriately so, a more holistic approach.
Concentrating top level SEO efforts (i.e. implementing meta titles/descriptions) on a website that lacks a coherent structure, is slow to load, lacks indepth content etc. would be a waste of time - and particularly important for small businesses, a waste of money.
Thus, the first stage focussed on improving the foundation of Retreats Tasmania's online presence - the website - to then extend upon this.
The first step in Retreats Tasmania's digital transformation was a thorough redevelopment of their existing website.
Along with the content strategy, the aim was to create a visually appealing and informative online hub that accurately represented both the quality and diversity of their short stay accommodation offerings.
Visual Enhancement
The redesign focused on creating a more professional look and feel to the website, that better resonated with the brand's identity and attracting potential customers.
In particular, this included updating the homepage to include some bigger visuals - but using text and feature boxes carefully to help guide visitors through the website and to achieve the goals they may have.
You'll notice the use of icons and imagery, along with a text hierarchy (i.e. headings start bigger and bolder and break down), are a few strategies to help break up blocks of text.
Service Page Expansion
Previously limited to minimal descriptions, the new service pages were developed to be comprehensive, providing in-depth information about each accommodation offering - but also be much more heavily SEO optimised.
This started from a structural standpoint - instead of just jumping straight in, a strategy of a service overview page leading to the three services helped provide a more appropriate breakdown.
From a very top level, the service pages feature optimised on page SEO content - better headings, meta titles and meta descriptions.
Key headings (i.e. why a professional listing is important, what's included in our services etc.) also help answer additional questions which a) gets more relevant content on the page and b) reduces the need for potential clients to get in touch and ask questions.
This is further complimented by our expansion of the FAQ and testimonials pages.
User Experience
Navigation and usability were also key considerations, ensuring that visitors could easily find and interact with the content they sought.
Creating a clear and consistent menu mean that navigating to the important areas of the website are easy.
Something that can also be overlooked in a website process is 'what are the goals of the business (not just visitors) and how can a website achieve this?'.
In this instance, we want the website to collect leads and enquiries - thus implemented the highlighted 'Enquire Now' button in the menu, as well as use of a large feature call to action at the bottom of each page.
Alongside the website redevelop, a robust SEO strategy was implemented to enhance the online visibility of Retreats Tasmania.
In summary, this focussed on analysing the existing state of play, expanding on existing content then developing new content to compliment the overall efforts.
Competitor Analysis and Keyword Research
We started by conducted an in-depth study of relevant competitors to understand which keywords drove traffic to their sites and the type of content resonating with the target audience.
Using tools like Ahrefs and Google Search Console, we then identified a range of keywords potential customers used to search for services offered by Retreats Tasmania.
Identifying primary and secondary keywords to target really helped keep the direction clear and formed the foundation of the SEO strategy.
Technical SEO Enhancements
On-page elements such as headings, titles, and meta descriptions were optimised, based on the analysis and keyword research, to improve search engine performance and user engagement.
This also included expanding on the content length and breadth on the primary pages - being the homepage, about page and services pages.
Content Optimisation and Expansion
With solid foundation in place, we shifted our focus to content, targeting low-hanging fruit before zeroing in on primary keywords.
We created longer-form, highly SEO targeted content around less competitive but relevant search terms.
This was achieved through developing a blog posting strategy (i.e. 6-10 blog posts targeting specific keywords) and consistently publishing these.
These blog posts help let search engines and visitors know that the Retreats Tasmania website is regularly up to date and is also becoming the authority in the field of short stay property management in Hobart - and in turn, to move it up the search engine rankings.
Google Business Profile and Social Media
To further disseminate the new content, the SEO campaign also included regular posting on the Retreats Tasmania Google Business Profile - while we encouraged the in-house social media team to also share the optimised blog posts on Facebook and Instagram.
We're pleased to share that the initial digital marketing campaign with Retreats Tasmania has been a success - not only due to some clever planning but also the ability to expand on strategy to achieve measurable outcomes.
What does this mean?
Well, the results reflect the improved user experience achieved through the redeveloped website and increased visibility.
Thanks to the considered website design and off the back of a targeted SEO campaign, this has ultimately lead to significant business growth.
Some key highlights include:
Improved Keyword Ranking: The number of keywords the site ranked for expanded significantly by 1,660% (big number, we know, but it was a small base to start with). Primary and secondary keywords saw substantial improvements in their rankings.
Website Performance: Clicks and impressions to the Retreats Tasmania website increased notably, as evidenced by Google Search Console data. The website also witnessed a substantial increase in contacts, highlighting the trust and value it offered to visitors.
Organic Traffic: Organic traffic saw an increase by 266%, with the number of keywords the site ranked for expanding impressively. The acquisition of local and national directory listings contributed to this growth.
Organic Traffic Share: Previously, organic traffic was the lowest contributor of visits to the Retreats Tasmania website - which we increased to being the number one driver after the first SEO campaign. There was a 300% increase in share of traffic coming from organic search.
The tangible results of our efforts were evident in the increase in leads and inquiries through the website - with Retreats Tasmania seeing considerable growth in enquiries since the implementation of the digital marketing campaign.
The digital marketing campaign for Retreats Tasmania markedly improved its online presence, leading to increased inquiries and better engagement.
The collaboration between Retreats Tasmania and Wakeford Digital led to a significant enhancement of the brand's digital presence.
The new website, with its improved visuals and detailed service pages, provided a more comprehensive and engaging platform for visitors and coupled with the effective SEO strategy, the project led to improved search rankings, increased traffic, and a stronger digital footprint in the competitive tourism market.
This case study exemplifies the impact of a well-executed digital strategy in the short stay accommodation industry, demonstrating how a thoughtful approach to website design and SEO can lead to substantial improvements in online presence and business growth.
What does the future hold? We're currently on the next step of the Retreats Tasmania game plan - which involves 'doubling down' on these successes, aiming to further improve keyword rankings and continue the momentum of growth.
We say a huge thanks to Jase and Jules for the opportunity and look forward to continuing to work with the Retreats Tasmania team.
Get in touch with Wakeford Digital today to discuss your digital marketing goals.
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