Escape Haven: 136% growth in non-branded organic traffic

Overview

Escape Haven is a women's yoga and wellness retreat in Bali, combining luxury accommodation and small classes with a broader programme of treatments and activities. Its offering included Ayurvedic treatments, massage, nutrition assessments, spa sessions, surfing and meditation, alongside two 90-minute yoga classes each day and access to nearby yoga shalas.

At the time of the campaign, Escape Haven had been named the best luxury wellness retreat globally in the 2017 World Luxury Hotel Awards and reported eight consecutive years at number one on TripAdvisor.

The Challenge

Escape Haven asked Digital Squad to audit its existing SEO campaign and develop a strategy for the competitive luxury yoga retreat market. An international audience required a search roadmap across multiple markets, with targets to increase annual organic traffic and bookings by 20% each.

Our Strategy

Prioritise valuable international searches

We researched keywords, competitor rankings and backlink strategies, assessed purchase intent across short- and long-tail searches, and audited the site's technical setup and architecture.

SEMrush search-volume and estimated cost-per-click data helped identify valuable keywords. Historical Google Ads data added evidence about which searches generated enquiries and direct bookings.

Support conversion and repeat engagement

Segmented remarketing audiences received HTML5 display ads to re-engage previous visitors. We also installed Facebook's Customer Chat plugin to make messaging easier and support website conversion.

The Results

Traffic and qualified demand

• 136% growth in non-branded organic traffic over 12 months.
• 144% growth in qualified leads, comparing August 2018 with August 2019.
• Estimated monthly organic traffic increased from 274 in July 2018 to approximately 1,100 in August 2019.

Search visibility across three markets

The campaign built visibility for 25 high-value keywords across New Zealand, Australia and the United States. For the 24 target keywords detailed in the results, campaign reporting recorded:

• Improved rankings for 22 of the 24 target keywords.
• First-page rankings for 18 of the 24 target keywords.
• First-position rankings for four high-value keywords.
• An average position of 9.88 across the 24 target keywords.

Capacity to meet demand

During the reported year to date, Escape Haven operated at more than 98% occupancy. The business increased capacity by more than 300%, acquiring five villas over the preceding 18 months, and launched sister company The Palm Tree House to accommodate additional demand.