Van Isle Marina
The Client
One of the largest full-service marinas in British Columbia, Van Isle Marina has been a boating institution in Sidney BC for over 60 years. They offer everything that both local and visiting boat owners could want, including moorage and hook-ups, fuel, boating supplies, amenities for visitors and yacht sales and service.
The Challenge
Although IdeaZone built and has managed Van Isle Marina’s website, another company was in charge of digital marketing and it was in the course of meeting marina management about the website that we found out all was not well with their digital marketing campaign.
Van Isle Marina management was frustrated with digital marketing campaigns that were not getting results, despite the cost. Their search engine results were stagnant, and the marketing company wasn’t sending any reports to explain the lack of performance. The final stroke against the former company came when marina management stumbled across some of their own online ads, posted without prior approval. Not only were they posted without permission, management considered the ads to be completely off brand.
Van Isle Marina
The Solution
As their website provider and manager, I knew that digital marketing had an important role to play in their online presence. We discussed digital marketing at length and I assured them that it was a viable option for them if done properly. They agreed to enter into a trial agreement with IdeaZone if we spent time with them to understand their branding and content strategy. They also insisted that nothing be released to the public until vetted and approved by them. We were happy to oblige.
IdeaZone launched a digital marketing campaign that included:
- Keyword and competitive analysis
- On-page search engine optimization (SEO) with the addition of a number of keyword-rich landing pages
- Google Ads campaign
- Optimization of their Google Business account
- Citations campaign + backlink strategy
- Review solicitation campaign
- Blog content strategy with copywriting service
The Results
Van Isle Marina now has a consistent brand presence across their website, social media, and digital marketing presence. Since working with IdeaZone, they have seen a 498% increase in site traffic, with over 500 unique site visits per day. This Internet activity has translated into growth in marina activity, including yacht sales. Consequently, IdeaZone has recently launched a second marketing campaign focusing on Yacht sales, not only on Vancouver Island but across BC.
