Part 1: The Brief
Spinnaker Resorts, a well-established vacation ownership brand with destinations across Hilton Head, Branson, and Ormond Beach, partnered with us to increase their online visibility and direct bookings through organic search.
Their core goal was to rank at the top of Google and Bing for key travel-related terms including:
- Resort vacations in Hilton Head, Branson, and Florida
- Timeshare vacation ownership
- Family resort getaways
- Specific branded property searches
- Seasonal travel experiences (e.g., “fall vacations Hilton Head”)
Spinnaker also wanted to grow visibility in Google’s ecosystem, beyond just standard search results. That included:
- Page 1 organic rankings
- Google Local 3-Pack placements for resort property searches
- Enhanced visibility in Google Maps
- Optimization of each resort’s Google Business Profile
The challenge was increasing rankings and bookings in a highly competitive travel industry dominated by OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) and massive national brands.
Part 2: Strategy & Execution
Hemera / NewOptim delivered a full-scale SEO strategy tailored for the travel and resort sector, with a strong focus on local visibility, intent-driven keywords, and direct bookings.
- Keyword Research & Resort Mapping
We built detailed keyword clusters around each destination and property type:
- “Hilton Head resort vacations”
- “Branson family resort”
- “Florida beachfront resorts”
- “Spinnaker timeshare reviews”
- “best vacation ownership programs”
- On-Page SEO Optimization
- Reworked key landing pages for destination-specific targeting
- Optimized metadata, headers, alt-text, and internal linking
- Created dedicated pages for seasonal packages, resort features, and vacation ownership benefits
- Google Business Profile Optimization
- Claimed and optimized Google Business Profiles for each resort location
- Added photos, services, amenities, and consistent NAP info
- Structured listings to highlight booking links and resort experiences
- Local SEO Enhancements
- Built and cleaned citations across local directories
- Created resort-specific content to rank in Google’s Local 3-Pack and Google Maps
- Focused on regional intent queries like:
- “resorts near Hilton Head beach”
- “family vacation Branson MO”
- Content Strategy
- Blog posts, travel guides, and FAQs published around trending topics:
- “Best time to visit Hilton Head”
- “Top family activities in Branson”
- “Why choose a timeshare resort?”
- Content positioned Spinnaker as an authority in vacation planning
- Technical SEO
- Enhanced mobile speed and usability
- Implemented structured data (resorts, reviews, locations)
- Improved crawl depth and internal link flow
Part 3: Deliverables & Results
Spinnaker Resorts saw measurable, compounding results from their SEO investment:
– Top Organic Rankings
- Page 1 rankings on Google and Bing for high-value terms:
- “Hilton Head family resort”
- “Branson vacation packages”
- “Spinnaker resort timeshare”
- “resorts near Daytona Beach”
– Local Pack & Google Maps Placement
- Multiple resort locations now consistently appear in the Google Local 3-Pack
- Optimized Google Maps visibility increased mobile click-throughs and directions requests
– Google Business Profile Wins
- Increased calls, bookings, and website visits directly from Google Business listings
- Branded search queries (e.g., “Spinnaker Hilton Head”) now dominate the top of results
– Organic Traffic Up 131%
- Significant increases in site visits from organic and local search
- Visitors now engage longer, view more pages, and convert at higher rates
– Direct Booking Leads Up 98%
- More visitors are skipping OTAs and booking directly through the website, thanks to high-ranking property pages and seasonal content
– Revenue Impact
- Improved organic visibility and direct conversions reduced reliance on paid ads and third-party travel platforms, increasing profit per booking
Conclusion
By focusing on search intent, regional targeting, and Google ecosystem dominance, Spinnaker Resorts now enjoys top-tier visibility—and bookings—from travelers actively planning their next vacation.
Want to attract more direct bookings like Spinnaker Resorts? Let Hemera/NewOptim craft a search strategy that works.
