Your Margaret River Region consumer website is now live.
The brand new consumer website is now live at www.margaretriver.com, with www.geographebay.com scheduled to be redirected to this domain shortly.
The focus of the development has been to reflect the new Your Margaret River Region brand and to provide an improved user experience. The website has been re-designed from the ground up, in response to consumer search habits and features rich content, stunning imagery, booking capability and a responsive platform to make it user friendly no matter the device.
We hope you like the new site and that you agree it’s a vast improvement on the previous destination websites! The website team is currently focussed on testing and addressing functionality issues, so thanks for your patience while we work through these. One of the great things about the website is that it’s incredibly flexible, so we look forward to working with our members to continually improve it. We have taken on board all feedback from members that we’ve received so far, and we’ll also be sharing a feedback form in your next member newsletter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did you choose margaretriver.com and not geographebay.com or yourmargaretriverregion.com?
The current margaretriver.com receives more than 1 million sessions each year. As over 80% of the current traffic is organic (i.e from people searching in Google etc), and a change to our URL would have likely resulted in a loss of traffic. Geographebay.com will soon be redirected to margaretriver.com, with the process scheduled for completion by the end of July. Each page on geographebay.com, including the home page, will redirect to the relevant page on www.margaretriver.com.
How does the new website promote the entire region?
The website focuses on the key experiences available across the region, as well as highlighting each of the towns and what they have to offer. Maps, guides and itineraries also help to encourage visitors to disperse throughout the region.
How does the website reflect the new brand?
The navigation menus reflect the key regional experiences identified in the Brand Blueprint for Your Margaret River Region. The design, including colours and fonts, has also been aligned with the branding style guide.
What is the focus of the new website?
The new website emphasises authentic, experiential content from local writers to engage visitors and tell the story of Your Margaret River Region. Effectively we are moving away from the static ‘brochure’ model and focusing on fresh, dynamic content to provide genuine insights into the destination. This will, in turn, build trust with the visitor and inspire them to choose the region for their next holiday.
What are the other key features of the new site?
• The new website will be mobile responsive, which means the display will adapt to any mobile device including smart phones and tablets, enhancing the user experience.
• There is a strong focus on the use of large, high quality images and videos from local photographers, which capture the authenticity and diversity of the region.
• The website will become more of an interactive platform, allowing visitors to engage with us, ask questions and leave comments.
• Events have a greater prominence on the new website, including landing pages for iconic regional events and a comprehensive calendar to help you promote your events.
Are we still using Bookeasy as the booking engine?
Yes, and we will continue to work closely with Bookeasy to improve the booking experience.
How is my business showcased on the new website?
Greater emphasis has been placed on images on your operator page, and high traffic pages such as the accommodation landing page will soon be broken down by category to help visitors find the specific experience they are looking for. Your operator page is also mobile responsive.
Do I need to update anything on my operator page on Bookeasy?
This is an exciting opportunity to ensure your content and images are fresh and up to date. We recommend that your images are landscape oriented, and a minimum of 800 pixels wide. Our team will also be putting together a cheat sheet for operators, with tips on how to update your Bookeasy console to maximise your webpage so keep any eye out for this in the coming weeks.
Can I still buy advertising, has this changed?
The new advertising opportunities will be more flexible and will allow your business to promote specific special offers. We’ll be providing information about these before the end of July.