1st Place Design :: Case Study - Travelinsure.com.au

Study: Travelinsure.com.au

Travelinsure is a small business that provides quality travel insurance for Australians heading overseas and International travelers visiting Australia. Budget backpacker and business insurance products are also available. With an increasing number of travelers now using search engines to organise their plans, it is vital for Travelinsure to have maximum exposure on 'travel insurance' related searches.

In should be noted that Travelinsure had been a previous client of 1st Place Design's. While Travelinsure.com.au had experienced good results at the time, the owner felt that by paying more money for SEO, they would get even better results. After 18 months of trial and error with other companies, Travelinsure.com.au returned to 1st Place Design and has since experienced a steady growth rate. This is an interesting case study, as it involves a web site that had already experienced years of SEO when we started.

In our initial review we found that the website was using design elements that hindered major search engines, particularly Google which accounts for around 85% of searches made in Australia. The main areas of concern were the java menu (which is unreadable to Google) and the lack of text being used on the home page. In addition, the web site also required page titles, navigational links and file names to be balanced for the keywords that were being targeted on search engines.

To maximise Travelinsure.com.au's exposure on search engines, 1st Place Design implemented a comprehensive and focused optimisation strategy. This included exchanging the java menu to search engine friendly format, allowing Google to read the links within the menu. Fresh text was added to the home page, which included a balance of the keyword targets for the campaign. The page title for the home page and other pages on the site were also amended to use more optimal wording for search engines. A strategic selection of navigational links were also changed and balanced using target keywords. File names were amended throughout the site to match corresponding link text. 1st Place Design also established a program focused on building a strong network of 'industry-related' links into the Travelinsure.com.au web site. Checks were made on a weekly basis to monitor the health and growth of the network. 1st Place Design produced a progress report on a monthly basis. The report offered complete transparency with a 12 month history of results. By combining the monthly search traffic figures with a position report our team were also able to pinpoint areas of the Travelinsure.com.au web site that could be changed to quickly increase search traffic for related keyword searches.

* Within 6 months there was a significant increase in targeted search results with new visitors increasing by 110%.

* After 12 months new visitors increased by 200% which was attributed to achieving an increased number of top 10 search results.

* In this 12 month period, Travelinsure.com.au climbed into several top 5 positions on Google for relevant competitive search terms. For example the site currently boasts a number 1 ranking on Google for the words "international travel insurance" and "covermore holiday insurance".

"I decided to return to 1st Place Design because I think they provide better value for money than other SEO companies I have experienced. When I left 1st Place Design 18 months ago, I thought it may be a matter of 'you-get-what-you-pay-for'. I was prepared to pay more for SEO, believing it would be reflected in the results achieved. This was not the case. After being around the SEO traps and dealing with companies that had come highly recommended, I was disappointed to find that they had not produced any worthwhile results and charged a lot more for their service. Since my return to 1st Place Design, I have enjoyed the very honest service they provide. They have achieved great results for a very reasonable fee. I would not hesitate in recommending their company to anyone."
Hans Went
Director
Travelinsure.com.au
Travel Insure