Digital Marketing

The VGPS digital team surpassed goals in all categories in 2023 utilizing new GA4 metrics. VGPS metrics changed when Google switched from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). This resulted in 2023 serving as the baseline year for our GA4 metrics. With this change, VGPS is able to see more detailed insights into user behavior, helping to steer decisions for the website. It also helps us better understand the customer journey, from the first interaction to conversion. 

Users and Sessions ended at 107% and 108% of annual goal respectively. We ended the year with high engagement metrics with 628,614 partner referrals, 11,546 visitor guide downloads, and 18,146 e-newsletter sign-ups.  

A majority of users (1,545,481) and sessions (1,943,763) came from mobile throughout the year. Per a study from Statistica, desktop conversions are consistently reaching 1-2% higher than conversions on mobile. However, for Greater Palm Springs, qualified sessions have performed above this average by a 7% difference with ~324,400 qualified sessions on desktop, and ~300,900 qualified sessions on mobile in 2023. 

Other highlights include: 

• Organic search was the largest source of traffic in 2023 and made up ~33% of all sessions followed by paid search that made up ~29% of all sessions.
   
• Users: The number of users reached 2,504,188, exceeding the GA4 goal of 2,347,383.
   
• Sessions: Total sessions reached 3,201,586, surpassing the goal of 2,963,132.
   
• Highly Engaged Sessions: VGPS achieved 1,379,646 highly engaged sessions, exceeding the goal of 1,149,672. 
   
• Qualified Sessions: Qualified sessions saw a significant increase, reaching 651,638, far exceeding the goal of 255,446. 
   
• Consumer E-Newsletter: The VGPS digital team introduced an updated version of the e-newsletter template in 2023 as well as A/B tests for subject lines and content. Consumer sends averaged an open rate of 45.31% with a clickthrough rate of 3.4%, well above the industry average of 29.3% and 1.7% respectively. 
   
• Campaign Landing Pages:  In 2023, the spring and fall What Will You Find campaign page totaled over 110K sessions and aided in approximately 4,200 partner referrals. The Summer Travel page resulted in 98K sessions and 3,579 partner referrals.  
   
• VGPS Website: Exciting updates were implemented in 2023: The VGPS digital team collaborated with website host Simpleview to unveil a navigation overhaul, aimed at improving overall traffic. The optimized navigation not only enhances the website's aesthetics but also ensures a smoother and more user-friendly browsing experience. Notable additions to the navigation include a language button at the top to facilitate language preferences and a more prominent display of social icons for seamless connectivity. 
   
• VGPS Blogs: Additionally, a fresh and dynamic blog design was created and launched in November. This revamped layout elevates the blog experience, making it more engaging and easily navigable. In 2023, 156 blogs were created and/or updated. The top-5 highest performing blogs of 2023 include: ​
  • Hot Water Guide to Desert Hot Springs 
  • Top Things to Do in Greater Palm Springs 
  • Downtown Palm Springs Guide 
  • Hiking in Greater Palm Springs 
  • Day Passes to Soak in Hot Springs