The Yan at Broadrayne is a Lake District hospitality business made up of three arms: The Yan Bistro with Rooms, two glamping pods, and three holiday cottages at Broadrayne Farm. I began working with the family business in March 2019 – shortly before they opened in July – to implement an SEO and PPC strategy across their three websites.
SEO & PPC Strategy
As The Yan was a new business, the aim of the SEO and PPC strategy was to raise awareness and drive bookings. Formerly the Grasmere Youth Hostel – budget accommodation with bunk rooms – it needed repositioning as a new and exciting hospitality business. The Yan was to be put on the Lake District map as the place to go for quality short breaks and delicious seasonal food with stunning views of the fells.
With three fresh websites, the SEO work began from scratch and involved keyword research and targeting, content expansion, internal linking and image optimisation. Off-site, their Google Business Listing was optimised, and a significant amount of work was done to recommend and build relevant backlinks from high quality sites and outsourced PR.
While work was being done to provide excellent SEO foundations for the websites, Google Ads were also implemented. Without a yet-established business, a PPC campaign was vital to reach new and relevant audiences quickly and effectively. The ads campaign complemented the SEO’s longer-term effects and was streamlined to drive relevant traffic that convert to bookings.
Covid and Pivoting the Business
Like many others, The Yan suffered a huge blow when the Covid pandemic hit and the accommodation and bistro was forced to close. This was particularly difficult for a brand new business that had been trading for less than a year.
However, the team was determined to make a success of things, regardless of the challenges. They pivoted the business and began providing delicious delivery, takeaway and “cook at home” meals. When their accommodation was once again allowed to safely reopen, they were on the map and their popularity only increased.
Caption: Despite challenges around Covid, The Yan’s website saw an upward trend of traffic throughout restrictions
Results
Thanks to successful link building in collaboration with excellent PR support, The Yan has appeared in a number of high-profile publications and articles, including:
- The Sunday Times: 100 Top British Hotels
- The Telegraph: Best Hotels in the Lake District
- TheGuardian: Five of the UK’s Best New Hotels for Foodies
- The UK’s Top 50 Boutique Hotels
Mentions in established and reputable publications like these are excellent for SEO. The articles drive traffic and indicate to Google the quality of the Yan’s websites.
The business also currently ranks well for a number of high-volume keywords, including at number one for grasmere bistro and grasmere glamping, and number four for boutique hotel grasmere.
In 2022, the websites received over 100,000 visitors combined. Bookings in 2023 are strong, with many dates already reserved throughout the year and the business is about to launch a new website.
Charlotte has been working with us for a few years, since the conception of our business, helping us to build an incredible online presence meaning we no longer need to use OTAs for our online bookings. Not only that, she helped us diversify our brand through Covid, aiding to its success and our survival through such a tricky time in hospitality.
We cannot recommend her highly enough. Her monthly reports are detailed and true, she is quick to help with our queries, understands how we are as a brand and the directions we wish to take, and comes up with some great ideas on how to improve.
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