# Sea The City Jet Ski: avg rank 15 to 3 on 100 keywords, high six-figure revenue lift

Opened just a year before engagement. Within 12 months of working with Winston, surpassed every competitor on traffic and rankings. Average rank on 100 target keywords moved from 15 to 3. Revenue from organic search grew 105%.

**Stack:** WordPress, SEO tooling, Google Ads, Meta Ads, content ops
**Time:** Nov 2016 to ongoing, first 12 months reported
**Output:** Redesigned site, SEO program, paid media, content
**Shipped:** 2016, ongoing

## Headline results.

- **Average rank 15 to 3** on 100 target keywords.
- **+145% organic traffic.**
- **+105% revenue from organic.** High six-figure increase.
- **+158% new users.**

## Context: a new tour operator in a crowded NYC market.

Sea The City Jet Ski opened in NYC about a year before the engagement started in November 2016. Crowded market, short booking windows, seasonal demand. The product is memorable. The challenge was getting tour-ready travelers to the site in the window when they are actually buying.

Within 12 months of the engagement, Sea The City surpassed every competitor on organic traffic and rankings for the target keyword set.

## The approach: integrated SEO, paid, and content.

- **Site build for conversion.** A conversion-tuned WordPress build with clear product pages for each tour and booking-focused calls to action.
- **SEO program.** Keyword research across 100 target keywords covering NYC tour, jet ski, and booking intent. On-page optimization across every priority page.
- **Paid media.** Google Ads and Meta Ads on high-intent tour queries during peak booking windows.
- **Content and influencer.** Editorial content for organic and influencer partnerships for awareness.

## What we shipped.

- A conversion-tuned Sea The City site on WordPress.
- SEO program across 100 target keywords.
- Two blogs per month plus evergreen tour content.
- Paid media program across Google and Meta.
- Ecommerce tracking tied to booking revenue.

## Results detail.

Data: Google Analytics Universal, first 12 months of engagement.

- Average rank on 100 target keywords: **15 to 3**
- Organic traffic: **+145%**
- New users: **+158%**
- Revenue from organic search: **+105%**
- Reported revenue lift category: **high six-figure**
- Sessions: **+145.90%**
- Bounce rate: **61.72%**
- Pages per session: **+39.26%**
- Ecommerce conversion rate: **+20.12%**
- Transactions: **+96.42%**

Metrics sourced from Winston Digital's 2022 case studies deck and verified against Google Analytics reports at the time of engagement. Earlier reporting on this page included the client-reported 4x revenue growth and 6.73x ROAS across the broader engagement.

## What the client says.

> "We initially tried to save money by using an off-shore SEO Company. We got very mixed results and in some cases were worse off because of the questionable methods they used. With John, we found a true partner who we can talk to about our mid and long-term goals and how best to achieve them. I never feel like I'm paying for a black box. John explains what he's doing, why he's doing it and then shares the results. Every metric, from visitors to conversion, has improved dramatically. The best part? John is never satisfied to rest on his laurels. He is constantly coming up with new and great ideas to improve our site and our positioning."
>
> Adam Schwartz, Owner, Sea the City Jet Ski

## Why this engagement worked.

Integration and patience. SEO and paid ran as one program, not two retainers. The content calendar informed both sides, which means organic and paid compounded instead of cannibalizing. And the engagement did not stop at month 12. The site got better every year. The content library deepened every year. The paid account got smarter. That is the unlock.

## Related

- [Search Engine Optimization: how we run programs like this](/services/seo/)
- [Paid Media: how we run ROAS-focused paid programs](/services/paid-media/)
- [Content Creation: the content engine behind organic growth](/services/content-creation/)