website SEOWebsite Traffic
Background and Challenges
An event venue connected to a hotel in New York City struggled to capture market share. Despite having a premium location and offerings, the venue was being overlooked by potential clients. The standalone website, which served as the primary digital presence for this venue, was seeing minimal traffic and conversions.
To address this challenge, Cogwheel Marketing developed an integrated strategy combining Paid Search campaigns and SEO optimization. The goal was to increase web traffic, improve search engine rankings, and drive actionable conversions through form submissions and phone calls.
Campaign Research and Strategy
Launched in March 2024, the campaign was designed to align with their limited marketing budget of $9,000 per year ($750 monthly). While this budget wasn’t enough to dominate impression share, we maximized impact through careful research and execution. Key actions included:
1. Keyword Selection for Paid Search
- Identified high-value keywords based on relevance, search volume, and cost-per-click (CPC) averages to ensure maximum efficiency.
- Focused on targeting users who are actively searching for event venues in Manhattan.
2. Bid Strategy Optimization
- Launched with a Maximize Clicks strategy to drive initial web traffic.
- Transitioned to a Maximize Conversions strategy as ad performance improved, prioritizing form submissions and phone calls as key conversions.
3. SEO Optimization
- Conducted an 8-month SEO project focusing on technical audits, keyword strategy, on-page optimization, and backlink development.
- Addressed key website challenges to increase organic visibility and performance.
Results: Paid Search Campaign Performance
The Paid Search campaign quickly became the primary driver of traffic to this event venue’s website, achieving impressive results with a modest budget:
- Impressions: 52,000
- Clicks: 3,200
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): 6.2%
- Cost-Per-Click (CPC): $1.32
- Website Users: 2,300+
- Sessions: 4,700
- Form Submissions: 24
- Phone Calls: 26
With a focused keyword strategy and efficient bidding, Cogwheel Marketing successfully generated conversions and increased visibility without exceeding the limited monthly budget.
Results: SEO Optimization Success
The 8-month SEO project delivered a significant boost in organic search rankings and visibility:
- Keyword Growth: From 89 keywords to 164 keywords across primary pages (84% increase).
- Top-10 Keywords: Improved from 7 to 9 keywords in top-10 search positions (29% increase).
These optimizations not only improved organic traffic but also positioned them more prominently for users searching for event venues in the competitive Manhattan market.
Overall Impact: Channel Shift and Lead Generation
Between March 2024 and September 2024, Cogwheel Marketing’s integrated campaign successfully delivered on its goals:
- Form Submissions: 24
- Phone Calls: 26
- Total Users: 2,300+
- Sessions: 4,700
- Year-Over-Year (YOY) Inbound Lead Growth: 36.4% increase
Through a combination of Paid Search and SEO, this New York Event Venue experienced a measurable boost in web traffic, inbound leads, and overall conversions, demonstrating the power of a focused and strategic integrated marketing campaign.
Key Takeaways
- A limited budget can drive significant results when paired with well-researched keywords and targeted bidding strategies.
- SEO optimization remains a powerful tool for improving long-term visibility and keyword rankings.
- An integrated approach, combining Paid Search and SEO, can effectively combat visibility challenges and drive tangible results for event venues.
By focusing on both paid and organic channels, we provided this event venue with a scalable solution that drove conversions, elevated its market presence, and positioned the venue for future growth.
Cogwheel Marketing™️ is a full service digital marketing agency specializing in branded hotels, first leveraging brand systems then coupling that with supplemental strategies to maximize total online presence. Their reporting and business intelligence tool, Cogwheel Analytics, aggregates data from multiple sources to allow companies to identify trends and opportunities in their online presence. Our defined processes ensure the best positioning for your hotel against the competitive set and against other hotels of the same brand. Let us work with your sales and revenue management teams to identify and close the gaps and target your ideal guests.
Stephanie Smith
Founder and Digital Matriarch
+1 540 239 1052
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