Case Study›Destination Queenstown

Destination Queenstown

How a UX Audit Unlocked Clarity and Conversion Opportunities for Queenstown’s Visitor Website

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 markets 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

Analytics & TrackingConversion Rate OptimisationSearch Engine OptimisationWebsite Development

26%

Increase in primary conversion

Increase on engagement rate

153%

Increase in search impressions

The Challenge

Destination Queenstown faced the challenge of serving diverse user needs within a single comprehensive website. With a wide range of content for different audience segments, averages were misleading, making it difficult to optimise user experience effectively. Previous efforts provided a broad approach but had room for more precise targeting. SEO was critical: without it, the site would struggle to meet its objectives. Every design update needed to be SEO-led: concise, scannable, and highly functional. Search remains the backbone of planning and booking. Navigation was slowing users down. Shifting from category-based browsing to a 'job to be done' approach made it far easier for visitors to find what they needed. The Listings and Things to Do pages held the greatest opportunity, as these sections had the most potential for engagement and conversion improvements.

Our Approach

We segmented key audiences, including trip planners, accommodation seekers, food lovers, and adventure enthusiasts, each with distinct objectives. For each segment, we hypothesised specific improvements, prioritising conversion rate optimisation (CRO). SEO played a critical role in this strategy, alongside UX improvements targeted toward the most valuable sections, such as Things to Do and Listings pages. We prioritised actionable SEO strategies and restructured pages based on audience-specific hypotheses and conversion opportunities.

Preparing for the future of search

AI-driven platforms such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini are reshaping search behaviour, so the content strategy needed to evolve. That meant creating in-depth, well-structured content with strong internal linking and schema, helping these platforms recognise Destination Queenstown as an authoritative source.

Things to Do

After the homepage, the /things-to-do page was the second most viewed page on the site. We recommended redesigning the page to present the product information well, including changing from tiles to smart cards and adding a dropdown design to filter by location (one of the top used filters in the listing block).

Listings

Over 50% of member referrals came from listing pages, a large portion from organic. We recommended adding an accordion structure to the page, implementing better design hierarchy for all contact sections, emphasising booking direct, and better utilising the Trip Advisor feedback.

The Results

We saw significant results from the recommended changes.

The primary conversion rate increased by 26%, indicating that visitors were more effectively guided to complete desired actions, such as bookings or enquiries. Engagement rates rose by 4%, demonstrating improved interaction with key content areas and user journeys tailored to specific audience segments. Engagement duration improved by 11%, reflecting higher-quality content and better-aligned navigation, encouraging users to spend more meaningful time exploring. Organic search impressions surged by 153%, significantly expanding visibility and brand reach. Despite this growth, organic traffic remained steady due to rising zero-click search behaviours, where users find answers directly within search engine results, underscoring the critical need for highly authoritative, structured content.

Key Takeaways

Audience segmentation drives precise optimisation

Audience segmentation allows precise optimisations and prevents misleading aggregate metrics. Analysing user behaviour by segment provides clarity on drop-off points and where the user journey can be optimised. Unlike most businesses, an RTO is marketing to broad audiences, so a systematic approach is needed to ensure we optimise for all journeys.

Prioritise high-engagement sections for CRO

Listings and specific high-engagement sections should be prioritised for ongoing CRO initiatives due to their significant impact potential. People are dreaming, planning and booking their visits. By providing more actionable information we can better serve audiences. Things like price, seasonality, availability, family friendliness and more allow people to make more informed decisions.

AI-driven search is changing the rules

Google and AI-driven search tools increasingly provide answers directly on the results page, reducing the need for users to visit a website. While overall visibility has grown, capturing high-intent traffic now requires a more strategic approach. The days of ranking well and expecting clicks are fading; sites need to earn engagement through structured, authoritative content that AI and search engines deem valuable enough to surface.

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