Alaskan Fishing Lodge: SEO & PPC Case Study

An Alaskan fishing lodge was only filling about 30% of their seasonal availability when they came to us. Through aggressive Google Ads, comprehensive SEO, and visual-first site optimization, we drove them to fully booked seasons and a 2-3 year reservation backlog.

Services Used:
PPC, SEO

Project Overview

An Alaskan fishing lodge on Admiralty Island offering fishing charters and an all-inclusive lodge experience. They host guests during a 7-8 month season, depending on weather.

The Challenge

When the client came to us, only about 30% of their availability was being filled. They needed help getting more visitors to the lodge and filling far more of their available time slots.
Alaskan Fishing Lodge: SEO & PPC Case Study - challenge
Alaskan Fishing Lodge: SEO & PPC Case Study - approach

Our Approach

We went very heavy with Google Ads and paired it with a generous SEO campaign to grow organic traffic. We also focused on the visual side of the website to showcase how amazing their services were and why guests would want to travel to visit. We targeted anyone who would be interested in visiting because we learned that people who saw the website were very likely to convert, given how compelling the experience looked.

  • Google Ads: Aggressive paid search investment to capture buyers actively researching Alaskan fishing trips and lodge stays.
  • SEO Campaign: Comprehensive organic strategy to grow visibility for lodge, charter, and Alaska fishing-related searches.
  • Visual Storytelling: Site optimizations centered on visuals – showing off the lodge, the fishing, and the experience to drive conversions.
  • Audience Targeting: Broad and intent-based targeting since site visitors converted at a high rate once they saw the experience.

Results

We drove a high volume of qualified traffic to the website, and after the first year they were fully booked through that year and had over 50% of the next season already booked. After the second year of working with us, they were fully booked for three consecutive seasons. They were taking reservations 2-3 years in advance to keep up with demand.

30% to 100%

Booked capacity in year one of the campaign

3 Seasons

Fully booked years out from working with us

2-3 Years

Lead time on reservations to keep up with demand

Takeaway

For a destination experience with a tight operating window, a heavy paid media push paired with strong SEO and visual storytelling can transform booking patterns. We went from a 30% booked lodge to a multi-year waiting list – and then strategically shifted spend toward SEO to lower acquisition costs while sustaining demand.

What’s Next?

After seeing a huge increase in visits and watching the Google Ads perform exceptionally well, we scaled back ad spend and shifted budget toward SEO. That way, the client isn’t paying per click but can keep growing organic traffic. The client was overjoyed with this strategy because it allowed them to save money while still maintaining steady business.