Research/E-commerce Strategies

E-COMMERCE

TravelSD.com Enhancements
The E-commerce team will be rolling out a new section within Travelsd.com that allows South Dakota vacationers to share their experience through online Travel Diaries, Photos and Videos. In addition to the community section, a few of the other additions to Travelsd.com consist of the Trip Planner Tour Guide, Send to a Friend, Video Player and a new Publication Request Form.
 

Web site Optimization
The South Dakota Office of Tourism will be optimizing Travelsd.com using keyword research. This research consists of analyzing search terms used most frequently by consumers through search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Ask and MSN. In addition to the content optimization, we will be testing our site for usability and making changes as needed. 
 

Online Marketing
Banner ads will once again be a part of our Web marketing efforts this fall. We will have banner ads listed on PheasantCountry.com, Sportsman Channel, Kayak.com, SideStep.com and Comcast Cable. In addition to the banner ads, we will be adding an extensive PPC effort on search engines such as Google.com, Yahoo.com and Yahoo.Travel.com
 

View Banner Ads
 

Travelsmart E-newsletter
The Travelsmart E-newsletter will undergo some changes this fall. We will be giving it a fresh new design and will be segmenting our reader list by interests. This will allow us to give relevant information to those who request it and include topics which our readers have expressed an interest.

 

RESEARCH

Visitor Relationship Management Project
Continued progress to the VRM project will be made this fall to better understand the demographics, lifestyle and media attributes of our visitors. This, along with the knowledge of where these individuals are located, is an invaluable resource that will allow us to spend our marketing dollars more effectively.
 

Statewide Intercept Study
The research teams from the Office of Tourism and Lawrence and Schiller combined efforts to develop an aggressive Intercept Study that took place June - August 2007. This study consisted of interviewing 1,500 visitors at various locations throughout the state, such as: national parks, restaurants, B&B's, hotels, attractions, museums and events. Conducting an Intercept Study that captures many different types of attractions and locations will give the Office of Tourism and the tourism industry a better understanding of the South Dakota visitor.
 

Campaign Effectiveness
The research team will be an invaluable resource as they incorporate research from previous studies, focus groups, surveys and historical campaign data into the development of  all of our marketing efforts. They will also be keeping a close eye on the effectiveness of our marketing throughout the shoulder season so adjustments can be made if needed.