Auberge du Soleil’s Sun Rises With Search

An acclaimed Napa Valley Restaurant, Hotel, and Spa, Auberge du Soleil’s 2011 redesign shined from a search-visibility standpoint. During the first year of the launch, Auberge du Soleil enjoyed the highest-ever levels of natural search traffic, with huge increases in referrals from Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

This year:

• Bounce Rate Improved (went down): 18.42%
• Time on Site: +8.49%
• Pages / Visit: +10.52%

At Launch:

*• 25% INCREASE *in organic traffic (average) during its first year.

• 17% INCREASE in organic traffic (average) during first month.

In particular, Auberge saw increased prominence on non-branded search terms as a result of an improved focus on long-tail keywords. As website content was enhanced and optimized, a broader range of holistic, long-tail terms emerged as a key driver of search-engine traffic.

A critical component of the FINE site was creating an online presence that wasn’t just search friendly, but search optimized. Although we can’t give away every secret of our specialized approach to Auberge, FINE always pays attention to a variety of best practices. These include things like:

• Website Architecture: FINE creates website architectures and internal linking structures that made it easier for engines to not only discover pages, but more likely for pages to get indexed – and at a higher position.
• Website Keywords: Keywords are carefully researched against core specialties and offerings, and then holistically incorporated throughout website content.
• Redesign Discovery: FINE carefully updates links, redirects page, and employs a variety of strategies to not only help maintain website positions after a redesign – but ideally to increase traffic even more.
• Analytics Insights: From measuring organic traffic to looking at online conversions, FINE helps clients understand the “before and after” of website performance – as well as next steps to improve visibility even more.

A perfect example of design working in tandem with SEO, the 2011 Auberge du Soleil website was crafted not only to attract more traffic, but to retain and convert the additional traffic that it receives. Just as their property and service have set the standard for Napa hospitality, Auberge has become a beacon of impeccable search visibility and design in hospitality websites.