Consumer website successfully linking visitors with travel deals
To the editor:
The newly designed consumer website for The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel is in its sixth month, and statistics show dramatic increases in consumer clicks. Travelers are using the site more and more to plan their visits to our destination, and one thing is very clear: They are looking for a good deal.
When the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau launched the new site in September, we emphasized a value-driven message. That’s why visitors have five ways to access information about deals straight from the homepage. This focus paid off with a 163 percent increase in views on the deals page.
Significant statistical increases include:
– A 26 percent increase in visits to the site
– A 59 percent increase in page views
– A 26 percent increase in the number of pages visited while on the site including:
— Shopping up 85 percent
— Weddings up 71 percent
— Events up 68 percent
Directly related to the number of deals highlighted on the site is another important statistic. Nearly 150,000 users clicked through to one of our partners’ websites. Therein lies the beauty of our new site. Properties, attractions, restaurants and other travel-related partners have free and easy access to update their presence on the destination website. Partners who offer deals and other dynamic content are getting the attention of visitors, and that translates to more referrals.
Another statistic illustrates this point. The amount of time visitors spent on the site actually decreased by 6 percent. That means users found what they wanted more quickly and clicked through to a partner site sooner.
I’m excited about the benefits of the new website to both our destination and our partners. Now that we know it’s working, I encourage you all to get the most out of the site for the benefit of your business. We’ve found anecdotally that the businesses that understand what the website can do for them, and update it with the appropriate content, are the ones that are getting the most benefit. So let us help you.
Katie Meckley in our marketing department is available to sit down with you one-on-one to teach you how to maximize your exposure. It’s not hard and it’s not time consuming, and your business and our destination will benefit from the effort. Call or email Katie today at 338-3500 or kmeckley@leegov.com.
Tamara Pigott
Lee VCB Executive Director