Case Study - Raft1's Digital Transformation

Our Approach 

Step 1: Research (The Key Ingredient)

Raft1 primarily attracts adventure enthusiasts, along with families, corporate teams, and solo travelers. We crafted detailed personas for these key segments, focusing on their specific needs and preferences for online rafting adventure bookings.

Using these personas, we developed a Customer Journey Map (CJM) for Raft1. This map covers the journey from first website visit to post-rafting engagement, detailing customer actions, emotions, and challenges. It also identifies key touchpoints and suggests tech, design, and marketing improvements.

We conducted a thorough content audit to address outdated information, content duplication, and SEO issues, including keyword cannibalization. Our goal was to update the content to better suit each customer segment, thus enhancing SEO and user experience.

Our extensive update in content and design was aimed at not only attracting visitors to Raft1's website but also ensuring they remain engaged, reflecting the brand's adventurous spirit.

Step 2 UI & UX 

The original design of Raft1's website was not up to modern UX standards, leading to difficulties in locating information and completing bookings. To address this, we developed new themes for both desktop and mobile use.

• We focused on redesigning Raft1's landing pages. This redesign included adding detailed sections about the rafting experience, specifically highlighting what guests can enjoy in the middle and upper sections of the rafting journey. This approach aimed to give users a clear and captivating preview of the diverse adventures Raft1 offers.

• We also noticed a significant oversight: the Lodging Booking pages lacked Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons, a crucial element for converting visitors into customers.

• Additionally, our analysis revealed that the website lacked a parent page for Horseback Riding, a key service offered by Raft1. This absence was a missed opportunity to showcase one of their main attractions.

Step 3 Content

Following the comprehensive website Content audit, we tackled the content aspect of Raft1's website, focusing on uniqueness, relevance, and visual appeal.

• We restructured the content flow across the website, ensuring a logical and intuitive navigation path for users. This involved grouping related content, simplifying navigation menus, and creating a more seamless storyline that guides the user from initial interest to booking their adventure.

The content on essential pages like Safety Guides, Groups, and Directions was outdated. We updated these sections with current, user-friendly information, adding interactive elements like FAQs and safety tips to improve user engagement and understanding.

• We noticed an overload of text on key pages, especially the lodging page, which overshadowed the visually appealing aspect of outdoor adventures. Our solution was to trim down the text, making it crisp yet informative, thereby enhancing the visual experience of the webpage.

Step 4 SEO optimization 

Following our comprehensive approach, we turned our attention to enhancing Raft1's website SEO, focusing on accuracy, technical soundness, and effective content.

We found out that the website didn't have important keywords related to its location. So, we added keywords about Tennessee and the Ocoee River to the content. This way, we aimed to attract people looking for rafting adventures in this region, making the website show up more in local search results.

In our technical review, we found key issues like no robots.txt files and missing canonical tags. By fixing these, we made the website more search-engine-friendly, helping it rank better in search results. This was a vital move to improve the site's online presence.

We tackled the problem of keyword cannibalization, where different pages were fighting for the same keywords. Our solution was to update the website's content, making sure each page had its own unique keywords. This stopped the pages from competing against each other and made their goals clearer, improving the site's overall SEO.

Results

The culmination of our Data-Driven Redesign and Growth Marketing initiatives has yielded compelling results for Raft1's digital presence. Following the implementation of our tailored strategies, Raft1 witnessed a remarkable surge in website engagement, with a notable increase in user interaction and prolonged session durations. The meticulous content restructuring and intuitive website navigation have resulted in a substantial decline in bounce rates, signifying visitors' enhanced interest and satisfaction with the platform.

Moreover, the strategic integration of SEO optimization techniques has propelled Raft1's website to prominent positions in search engine rankings, significantly amplifying its visibility among adventure enthusiasts seeking thrilling experiences on the Ocoee River. These combined efforts have not only attracted a broader audience but have also remarkably improved conversion rates, translating website visitors into delighted customers, and fostering a loyal base of adventure-seekers eager to explore the exhilarating rafting experiences Raft1 offers in the picturesque landscapes of Southern Tennessee.