# New York Harbor Tours: +203% traffic, +134% revenue from a COVID-safe content strategy

NYC tourism was mid-recovery. We built a COVID-safe activities content cluster that pulled ranked keywords to 2,792, grew organic traffic from 10,572 to 32,136 users, and lifted organic revenue 134% in 2021.

**Stack:** WordPress, SEO tooling, Google Ads, GA, content cluster
**Time:** Apr 2018 to ongoing, 2021 results reported
**Output:** COVID-safe content cluster, SEO program, paid media
**Shipped:** 2018, ongoing

## Headline results.

- **+203% organic traffic.** 10,572 to 32,136 users.
- **+134% revenue from organic.** Year over year, 2021.
- **2,792 keywords ranked.** Top-3 grew 940 to 2,510 (+167%).
- **2,733 organic sessions** to a single COVID-safe landing page.

## Context: a NYC tour operator recovering during COVID.

New York Harbor Tours is a small-group and private charter boat company operating in New York City. When COVID reshaped the NYC tourism market, travelers coming back to the city had new priorities. Outdoor. Small groups. Distanced. Harbor tours already fit the pattern. The search intent for that pattern was expanding fast and nobody had built the content to capture it yet.

## The approach: a COVID-safe activities content cluster.

We leaned into the exact intent travelers were typing in during recovery.

- **COVID-safe activities content cluster.** A tightly linked cluster of content answering the search queries around outdoor, small-group, and distanced activities in NYC. Each piece internal-linked to the relevant tour and booking pages.
- **SEO program.** Keyword research and on-page optimization aimed at both the COVID-safe cluster and core tour and charter terms.
- **Google Ads management.** Paid program kept surgical on high-intent tour and charter queries during peak booking windows.
- **Ongoing iteration.** Proactive monthly tests and new content pieces as the search landscape evolved.

## What we shipped.

- A COVID-safe NYC activities content cluster on the site.
- On-page SEO across every priority tour and booking page.
- Active Google Ads management on booking-intent queries.
- Monthly reporting tied to revenue and booking growth.

## Results detail.

Data: Google Analytics Universal, 2021 calendar year unless noted.

- Total organic keywords ranked: **2,792**
- Top-3 keywords (940 to 2,510): **+167%**
- Organic traffic (10,572 to 32,136 users): **+203%**
- Revenue from organic search: **+134%**
- New users: **+257.59%**
- Sessions: **+203.97%**
- Transactions: **+96.43%**
- Organic sessions to a single COVID-safe landing page: **2,733**

Metrics sourced from Winston Digital's 2022 case studies deck and verified against Google Analytics reports at the time of engagement. Prior reporting on this page referenced the Winston Digital portfolio and Clutch profile for the broader 2018+ engagement arc.

## Why this engagement worked.

Right content at the right moment. The COVID-safe activities cluster mapped directly to how travelers were searching during recovery. A single landing page in that cluster pulled 2,733 organic sessions on its own. Paired with a surgical paid program on booking-intent terms, the program captured the full recovery curve as it happened.

## Related

- [Search Engine Optimization: how we run organic programs](/services/seo/)
- [Paid Media: tight, high-intent Google Ads programs](/services/paid-media/)
- [Content Creation: topic clusters that map to real search intent](/services/content-creation/)