DIGITAL ANALYTICS

From January 1–February 28, 2023, website users increased by 3% YOY for a total of 443,575. The increase is largely due to a 7.61% increase in organic search. Although small in volume, organic video brought in ~3,400 users to the website this month. Many organic sessions came from the Events page, Events This Week, and Hiking & Trails in Greater Palm Springs. 

In January and February, there were 388,823 engaged sessions with an engagement rate of 67.79%. Paid search landing pages include Things to Do on the home page and What Will You Find, which drove the highest engagement. In February, Google organic drove the highest conversions by 44.38% for the website.

Leisure marketing campaigns supported by the VGPS website include What Will You Find, Oasis of Art, and Signature Events. The team is also reviewing top organic landing pages to optimize the content seasonally.

Awareness campaigns included the Benefits of Tourism, Workforce Development, and Remote Work.

From January through February, 18 blogs were published on the Visit Greater Palm Springs website.

1. January in Greater Palm Springs
2. Luscious Mocktail Libations in Greater Palm Springs
3. The 10 Most Beautiful Hikes in Greater Palm Springs
4. Thriftology: A Thrifting Gem
5. Tru Self Care Boutique and True Awakening Studio: Holistic Healing
6. Fun and Romantic Date Ideas in Greater Palm Springs
7. Your Official Modernism Week 2023 Guide
8. Celebrate the Big Game Day in Greater Palm Springs
9. Celebrate Black History Month in Greater Palm Springs
10. Celebrate Valentine’s Day 2023 in Greater Palm Springs
11. Day Passes to Soak in the Hot Springs
12. February in Greater Palm Springs
13. Delicias Mexican Cuisine
14. Annual Native American Cultural Events
15. Bike Palm Springs
16. Wabi Sabi Japan Living
17. Where to Brunch in Palm Springs and Beyond
18. 2023 BNP Paribas Open Preview

Email Updates
January's email performed strongly for both consumer and dineGPS. The consumer newsletter had a 47.6% open rate and a 6.38% click rate. For dineGPS, there was a 44.6% open rate and 11% click-to-open rate.

In February, VGPS saw a slight increase in metrics for the consumer newsletter, with a 51.9% open rate and 7.03% click rate. These outperformed industry standard benchmarks of a 27.78% open rate and 2.42% click rate.

CRO Testing
To continue to improve site conversion, testing was performed on a coupon widget layout listing for the Getaway Offers page in preparation for the Spring Getaway campaign. The test resulted in a 67% improvement in coupon clicks, and VGPS moved forward with the variant. Another test is currently in process on the What Will You Find landing page, with results shared in the coming weeks. 

UK Page
VGPS is working with media agency FINN Partners on launching a new marketing strategy in the U.K. with ads linking to a new landing page dedicated to inspiring travel from abroad. 

Looking Ahead
The VGPS digital team created 30 variations of the Time to Fly dynamic landing page promoting nonstop flights to PSP. Updates are also being made for Restaurant Week, and creating signature event-specific content to support partners.

VGPS alongside agency, Simpleview, is working on an overhaul that will update the aesthetic of the navigation with the goal of improving traffic as users will better be able to search through the optimized navigation.

Below are dashboards showing our year-to-date total website traffic, engagement, and conversion rates.