Pushing the limits of digital for New Zealand’s eco-tourism leader.

Rotorua Canopy Tours are game changers in New Zealand zipline tours, running spectacular experiences through an ancient Rotorua forest. James had a vision to harness the power of digital to sell the Canopy Tours product, and approached us in 2014 to make this a reality.

Since then, we’ve helped Canopy to push the boundaries with what’s possible in the online space. At the root of this as been a cutting edge digital strategy. From online acquisition to content marketing, user testing and programmatic advertising, Canopy Tours are one of the few operators making the most of technology – and the results speak for themselves.

Search-optimized storytelling to dominate Google rankings

Rewind to 2014, when few operators understood the value in regular content creation. Search-optimized blogs drive value in two areas: They tell a broader story for the user and help them to address barriers to travel, but done right, they also help your site become more visible to Google. This was one of the first areas that we worked on for Canopy Tours – pinpointing blog topic opportunities in Google, crafting engaging content, then monitoring search ranking changes to measure improvements.

Organic search ranking growth for SEO is one of the key pillars of a digital strategy; yielding best results when it’s treated as a BAU marketing activity.

Website optimization as an ongoing process

Craft and launch a new website – tick! But the project shouldn’t end there. A savvy operator is constantly testing, refining and optimizing their online presence, website included. We undertake regular live user testing for Canopy Tours, where live users are filmed navigating the site and following a list of instructions.

The result of this? Website decisions made on actual user data and experiences, not assumptions – with both conversion and engagement rates that are well above industry standard.

Paid media that’s a cut above

Anybody can run a couple of AdWords campaign and some retargeting activity – these days, that’s the norm. We help Canopy Tours weave together a combination of data-driven display activity, retargeting, segmented Facebook ads, YouTube brand building and more for an approach to Paid Media that’s holistic. Each platform is complementary, with different campaigns paused and started based on things like time of year and domestic/international targeting.

A strategy that’s data-driven, results-led

The beauty of digital is that everything is measurable, and the opportunities for data collection are limitless. Each and every one of Canopy’s campaigns are tested, refined and tested again – which landing page drives better engagement? Which photo appeals most to a mother of two from Auckland? Do users prefer the 10 second or 20 second Facebook ad?

It is this attention to detail that helps Canopy’s digital activity cut through the noise to speak to the audience segments that are most likely to convert.

Rotorua Canopy Tours have benefitted from a clear, concise online tourism strategy, which has ensured the company makes the most of the tourism industry’s changing distribution landscape.