Bush Ways Safaris (BWS) is a Botswana-based tour operator specializing in remote, adventure camping to some of the best wildlife destinations in Africa. They also manage seven lodges and offer a range of custom safari tours, helicopter flights and fly-in safari options. Nearly all of their bookings come from the European market and their agent network.
They reached out to us because they wanted to increase direct bookings, and open new markets, particularly in North America. Despite being a top provider in this niche, awareness was poor of both the company and the types of tours they were offering.
The BWS website was built on a poor CMS, had technical issues and did not differentiate them from the myriad of safari outfitters out there. There were no strong CTAs, the website journey was confusing and branding inconsistent. If they wanted to sell direct, it needed a lot of work.
The old site lacked video and did not clearly differentiate BWS from its competitors.
The old site was text-heavy, maps were hard to read and ‘information architecture’ was lacking.
Building the Foundation
We began doing ideal client interviews with past guests and also talking to some of the agents that have been selling their tours for years. We learned that their ‘wilderness experience’ was unique, particularly the camping safaris they were offering. We also discovered the safari vehicles they are using are custom-built and the best in the industry. The guests who chose BWS were more adventurous than typical safari goers and preferred adventure over fancy lodges, and we created some new personas to reflect this.
Further, we learned that Botswana has several unique advantages over other countries in Africa for safaris, yet the perception among prospective guests was that Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa were better destinations. Our goal was twofold, to position Botswana as the best place to do a safari and build the BWS brand as the best way to do it there.
Growth Tactics
We decided to build a new website from the ground up rather than trying to rework the current site. We made sure the site was easy to navigate, highly visual with strong imagery and video throughout, and had an intuitive website journey that got visitors to the right place and encouraged them to fill out a booking form and sign up to the BWS mailing list. High-quality custom maps were created showing safari routes and destinations. We improved branding and created custom graphics around the ‘safari vehicle’ which is unique to BWS and the baobab tree which is strongly identified with Botswana.
Immersive video and strong photography was used throughout the new website.
Key points of differentiation were prominently displayed on the home page.
An effort was made to position Botswana as the best destination in Africa for safaris, which runs counter to public perception.
Content and graphics were created that featured Bush Ways’ unique safari vehicles, as well as the baobab tree, which is synonymous with Botswana.
The BWS blog was on a different URL, which is poor for SEO, so we moved all the posts to the main site, and set up redirects to improve rankings. Further, we did deep keyword research and built a tourism SEO strategy into the foundation of the new site.
A limited Google Ads budget was run to further define BWS audiences and prepare campaigns for the upcoming booking seasons.
The Results
An increase in direct booking enquiries began almost immediately from launch due to the SEO work, Google Ads and the improved conversion-ready website. As we build on the foundation, we expect strong growth in direct bookings as BWS enters new markets.