Case Study›Destination Queenstown

Destination Queenstown

How Smart SEO Fixes Helped Destination Queenstown Improve Visibility and Rank for the Right Keywords

March 2025

The Partner

Destination Queenstown (DQ) is the Regional Tourism Organisation responsible for both destination marketing and destination management. Working closely with local businesses and industry partners, DQ is responsible for marketing Queenstown as a visitor destination, both domestically and internationally. DQ's role involves creating destination preference, shaping demand, and helping holiday planners explore the best that Queenstown has to offer.

Data Story Services

Search Engine Optimisation

48.5%

Surge in general overall visibility

11%

Increase in average monthly organic traffic

5.88

Average position for ski-related keywords, improved from 9.75

The Challenge

Destination Queenstown had good rankings across its key audience segments. But there was an opportunity to further optimise its content and strategies to capture untapped markets and enhance member engagement.

For Destination Queenstown (DQ), the challenge is multi-faceted. It aims to drive more organic traffic to the website ensuring all partners gain visibility. At the same time, it must promote Queenstown as a top holiday destination, with a focus on regenerative tourism and attract "high contributing" visitors, people who stay longer, do more and care for the environment. DQ needs to appeal to a diverse range of visitor types: outdoor enthusiasts, adrenaline seekers, foodies, luxury travellers, and family vacationers. DQ must maintain seasonally relevant content that attracts the right audience at the right time.

Our Approach

We covered a number of areas with our SEO strategy. For this case study, we've zeroed in on the Winter/Ski segment.

Keyword Research and Analysis

Our goal was to enhance organic visibility and drive conversions across all ski segments. We started with extensive keyword research and competitor analysis, digging into keywords related to winter and skiing from competitor sites and Destination Queenstown's own data. We categorised these keywords by audience and search intent: informational, navigational, and commercial investigation. While Queenstown already ranked well for high-volume keywords, we spotted opportunities to optimise specific terms and close content gaps. We identified ski-related keywords as key drivers of high-intent traffic, particularly for Winter Lovers and Ski Enthusiasts. To capture these audiences at different stages of their booking journey, we worked with DQ to craft content that answered their questions, from choosing Queenstown over other ski spots to booking accommodation and rentals.

Content Enhancements

The winter segment featured keywords where the site already ranked well but had room for improvement. We focused on optimising terms where the site ranked 10th or lower, targeting high-volume, low-difficulty keywords to boost rankings and capture more organic traffic. We recognised an opportunity to leverage Queenstown's high demand compared to other NZ ski destinations. By creating helpful comparative content, like articles contrasting skiing experiences across regions, we aimed to capture broader search interest. We fine-tuned navigational pages across the site by updating H1s and H2s to align with the highest-volume queries, designed to improve search visibility and click-through rates for pages that were already performing well.

Targeted Content Creation

We helped DQ to craft specific content tailored to key audience segments, including beginners, families, and backcountry enthusiasts. This content is SEO-optimised with targeted keywords to meet the unique needs and interests of each segment.

The Results

Our keyword rankings across all segments saw substantial gains.

General overall visibility surged by 48.5%. The ski segment showed significant improvement, with visibility soaring by 20% from 2022 to 2023. The average position for ski-related keywords improved dramatically, improving by 3.8 places, and has maintained a strong position in 2024. General overall visibility also surged by 48.5% and remained strong in 2024, reflecting sustained improvement. We also saw a significant boost in average monthly organic traffic, with an 11% increase from June 2022 to June 2024, highlighting the lasting impact of our SEO efforts. These results underscore the power of a targeted, data-driven SEO strategy, driving sustainable growth and enhancing Queenstown's overall digital presence.

Key Takeaways

A strategic, long-term SEO approach yields sustainable results

SEO is not a quick fix but a long-term investment. By focusing on targeted, data-driven strategies, you can achieve significant and lasting improvements in visibility, traffic, and keyword rankings, as demonstrated by our steady gains over the two-year period.

Optimising for high-impact keywords drives meaningful growth

Prioritising high-volume, low-difficulty keywords and enhancing content for these terms can significantly boost your site's performance. Our targeted efforts in the ski segment, for example, led to a dramatic improvement in rankings and visibility, proving the value of strategic keyword focus.

Monitoring and adapting are crucial to maintaining SEO success

SEO is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and adaptation. By regularly assessing keyword performance and making necessary adjustments, we were able to sustain the visibility and traffic gains achieved early in the strategy, ensuring long-term success.

Segment-specific strategies can enhance overall site performance

Tailoring your SEO strategy to different segments of your site, like we did with the ski and winter content, allows for more precise optimisation. This approach can help capture a broader audience and boost overall site performance, as each segment's success contributes to the site's collective strength.

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