Case Studies

Sandoval County Tourism
Site Showcases Sandoval County Destinations, Boosting Web Traffic and Simplifying In-House Management

Sandoval County, spanning 3,000 square miles in north central New Mexico, offers something for everyone. From bustling Rio Rancho and Bernalillo to the serene Jemez Mountains, Sandoval County boasts unique shopping and dining, outdoor adventure among spectacular beauty, and a rich history and culture. Attractions like Bandelier National Monument, Jemez Springs and the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta draw thousands of visitors from around the world each year.

Web Development Needs

Tourism is vital to the Sandoval County economy, which benefits from gross receipts and lodging tax proceeds. Though the county is home to many of the state's most beautiful and historic attractions, Sandoval has been lesser known than its neighbors, Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

With travelers increasingly using the Internet to plan their trips, Sandoval identified the web as a marketing avenue it could leverage further. Though the county had a website, it did little to attract and assist visitors in discovering all that Sandoval has to offer. Also, managed by an external vendor, the previous site cost the county $6,000-7,000 a year for maintenance and updates provided by the vendor.

The Evolution Solution

Sandoval's advertising agency recommended Evolution Web Development to design a new site for the county's tourism efforts. With expertise in effective site design and elements that enhance the user experience, Evolution could create a site that would complement the county's other marketing materials and offer more value to visitors. Plus, Evolution's innovative content management control panel would empower Sandoval to make its own site changes.

Working closely with Sandoval County, Evolution built an attractive site with a number of features that add value and simplify use for visitors. Main links on the home page guide visitors to their areas of interest, such as Outdoors, History/Culture, Food/Lodging or a calendar of events. Right on the home page, visitors can request a copy of the Sandoval County Visitors Guide. When they select the icon of the guide's cover, a short form pops up to collect their mailing and email addresses.

Beyond giving Sandoval the information it needs to deliver the guides, the form provides valuable information about where visitors are located, allowing the department to adjust its marketing efforts accordingly.

A Richer, More Interactive User Experience

Similarly, Sandoval also gains insight about site visitors with a newly added Trip Planner, an addition that benefits both the county and guests. Visitors quickly create their accounts online, providing a few details about themselves. As they look through the site, they can click on a "Trip Planner" icon that adds information from that page to their trip planners. From the Calendar, they can bring all events for a specific timeframe into the Trip Planner. When done, visitors can view the planner as a whole, print it and even email it to friends who might be joining them.

With the Trip Planner, visitors are encouraged to explore the full range of county attractions and perhaps expand the length and breadth of the trip. "Instead of just seeing Bandelier, visitors can make their trip so much more," explained Amy Griffin, Tourism Specialist. "Most don't know what is here, so with the planner, they can find other things to plan a day or whole trip."

Additionally, a photo gallery truly highlights the county's many attractions, from stunning sunsets and rock canyons to ancient Indian dwellings. Site visitors can add comments to photos or email photos to friends with the "Send postcard to a friend" feature.

Instant, In-House Site Updates

For the department, simple site management has transformed the process of keeping the site updated. To make any site changes, Griffin logs into the content management panel to edit the featured events on the home page, as well as page titles, photos and content. With simple tools for updating the content on any page of the site at any time, the county can easily keep the site current while reducing site maintenance costs.
"The content manager makes it much easier to keep the site current," Griffin said. "It's as easy as filling in the blanks. We can put new information on there immediately, without having to call and wait on an outside firm."

Griffin also easily tracks site traffic with reporting, looking at monthly statistics on site use that include number of visitors, as well as what pages people viewed. The county can use that information to improve the site and allocate marketing funds to promotion in specific geographic areas.

Throughout the Web development process, and moving forward, Evolution's professionalism, knowledge and responsiveness contributed to a successful site.

"Evolution is on the cutting edge," said Donna Wylie, Director of Tourism and Economic Development for Sandoval County. "They brought fresh ideas, like the Travel Planner, that put us ahead of other sites like ours. Their excellent guidance and suggestions created a clear, concise, easy-to-navigate site. I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to work with professionals like this. It makes us better at our jobs."

Results: Increasing Site Traffic While Lowering Costs

Since the new site went live, site traffic has increased 60 percent thanks to the site's ease of use and attractiveness, and the county's additional promotion of the site. Sandoval tourism staff can quickly update site content on their own—contributing to an annual savings of about $6,000-7,000. And, with the ability to update in-house, the site remains more current. Site visitors take advantage of unique features like the trip planner and photo gallery to learn more about the county, which helps them plan richer, more memorable trips.