When we began working with At The Water’s Edge Adventures (AWE), a new kayaking tour outfitter on Northern Vancouver Island, in mid-February, our job was to grow bookings in a very competitive market against several well-established operators. Only a few weeks in, COVID hit, and operations were shuttered. But owner Wesley Gibson was committed to staying the course, so we developed a new marketing strategy.
In normal years, the majority of bookings would come from US and overseas guests, something not possible as borders were closing. We immediately began aligning the product and messaging to COVID, with a new pivot to the local market, and private-only ‘bring-your-bubble’ tours, should the BC government begin allowing local travel. The majority of the competitors in this space offer ‘glamping’ style products with large mixed groups, base camps, hot tubs and use of covered power boats to shuttle guests around. All of these amenities now became disadvantages to AWE’s self-propelled, private, nature-based trips, so we emphasized this in our messaging, while stressing the importance of spending time in nature for mental health.
Building a Foundation
As a brand new business, AWE had no site traffic and virtually no Google rankings. On top of that, there were numerous website issues and suspended Google accounts, left by the previous developer. Our first job was to fix the website and unlock accounts.
With no budget for paid ads or PPC, our goal was to increase traffic and bookings with SEO. We created new long-form, highly authoritative blog content and optimized AWE’s online channels for the BC market. We also began outreach to the local and regional DMOs to build relationships with key contacts and to secure valuable online tourism listings. As a result of this outreach, AWE was invited to take part in a social media campaign and contest with Vancouver Island North Tourism and other local businesses, to further boost awareness of the new brand.
When BC’s Phase 3 reopening began in early June, AWE was the first operator on the water and was well positioned to take advantage of the BC market. We built a review funnel and further optimized AWE’s Tripadvisor and Google My Business pages.
With a focus on storytelling, we created several media-ready pitches and invited a high-calibre group of local journalists on a press trip we designed to further build awareness. The FAM trip yielded articles in The Washington Post, BC Magazine and its email newsletter, Destination Canada’s blog, top outdoor blogs and several more articles and press coverage are slated for the coming months and into next year.
High Domain Authority backlinks from press to boost SEO and awareness.
The Results
The press generated buzz, and increased site traffic and awareness of the AWE brand. Combined with the tourism SEO work we had been doing, AWE’s Google rankings began to improve dramatically, and several of AWE’s most important pages, including their ‘rentals’ and ‘outfitting’ pages are now in the top five Page One search results. Their ‘kayaking tours’ have reached the coveted Google My Business 3-pack.
As a result of our work, AWE is now competing successfully with its far larger and more established competitors, and booked out for the remainder of the summer. All of this was accomplished without any paid ads or PPC.
Wes Gibson
Lead Guide and Owner, At The Water’s Edge Adventures
“The phone has been ringing off the hook!”