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OUR WORK — CASE STUDY · KENAI RIVER DRIFTERS LODGE

ORGANIC TRAFFIC UP 40–65%, YEAR OVER YEAR

An all-inclusive Alaska fishing lodge on the Kenai River, competing in one of the most crowded outdoor markets in the country. Every month of 2026 beat the same month of 2025 — and the lodge sits on page one for the Kenai terms travelers use when they’re ready to book.

ORGANIC TRAFFIC +40–65% YOY
“KENAI RIVER FISHING PACKAGES” #1
MOST SEARCH-DRIVEN CONVERSIONS IN OUR PORTFOLIO
SOURCES: GA4 + AHREFS

THE STARTING POINT

THE MOST CROWDED WATER THERE IS

Kenai River Drifters Lodge runs all-inclusive fishing trips on the Kenai River in Cooper Landing, Alaska. The lodge itself has never been the question. The challenge is the market: “Alaska fishing lodge” is one of the most competitive search categories in the outdoor world — crowded with national booking sites, tourism boards, and dozens of established lodges all fighting for the same travelers.

Winning in that market is not about one lucky ranking. It’s about building a site Google trusts across a whole cluster of related searches — from broad trip planning down to the exact “book a Kenai lodge” queries that convert.

WHAT WE DID

THE STRATEGY

01 BUILT THE SITE AROUND HOW ANGLERS PLAN

Dedicated pages for the things travelers actually search and book: fishing packages, salmon fishing trips, guided charters, river rafting, and the Cooper Landing area itself.

02 TARGETED INTENT CLUSTERS, NOT KEYWORDS

Each page targets a real cluster of intent rather than a single keyword — which is what lets a site pull traffic from hundreds of related searches instead of a handful.

03 OWNED THE LOCAL TERMS FIRST

The Kenai lodge, charter, and package searches carry the booking intent. Win those first, then work the broad national terms from a position of strength.

04 MEASURED EVERYTHING, ADJUSTED AGAINST RESULTS

Google Analytics 4 on traffic and conversions, continuous Ahrefs rank tracking on keywords — so the strategy answers to real numbers, not hunches.

WHAT HAPPENED

FROM THE LOGBOOK

+40–65%

ORGANIC TRAFFIC, YEAR OVER YEAR

Every month of 2026 came in well above the same month of 2025.

LARGEST

ORGANIC FOOTPRINT IN OUR PORTFOLIO

The biggest organic audience of any lodge or charter we work with.

MOST

SEARCH-DRIVEN CONVERSIONS

The contact and booking-inquiry actions that turn a visitor into a trip.

ORGANIC USERS, 2025 VS 2026

HOVER OR TAB ACROSS THE MONTHS

PALE = 2025 · EMBER = 2026 · JANUARY THROUGH JUNE

Every number here is real — monthly organic users pulled straight from Google Analytics 4, organic search only.

PAGE ONE WHERE IT COUNTS

CONTINUOUS AHREFS RANK TRACKING

These are the searches a traveler makes when they’re choosing a lodge, not just daydreaming about Alaska — and the lodge shows up at the top for them:

#1 KENAI RIVER FISHING PACKAGES

#3 KENAI PENINSULA FISHING LODGES

#3 KENAI FISHING LODGE

#3 KENAI RIVER FISHING CHARTER

#4 KENAI RIVER FISHING CHARTER

#5 KENAI FISHING

“[Client quote goes here — swap this line in when the captain’s words come through.]”

— KENAI RIVER DRIFTERS LODGE · COOPER LANDING, ALASKA

THE HONEST PICTURE

TWO THINGS WORTH BEING STRAIGHT ABOUT

The national terms are a longer game

The broad “Alaska fishing trip” searches are far more competitive than the local Kenai terms, and they’re the terms most affected by Google’s AI Overviews. That’s the frontier we’re still working — a long game against national booking platforms.

A traffic-and-leads story, not a revenue figure

The lodge’s inquiries and bookings largely happen through direct contact, not a tracked online checkout. The honest headline is the audience and the lead volume — both the largest in our portfolio.

How we measured this: organic traffic and year-over-year growth come from Google Analytics 4, organic search only. Keyword positions come from continuous Ahrefs rank tracking. No ranking guarantees, no inflated numbers, no cherry-picking. Results reflect one client’s outcomes over a specific period and are not a guarantee of future performance.

MORE GUIDES WHO DID THE WORK

KEEP READING

27 TRIPS BOOKED ONLINE IN SIX WEEKS

A charter site rebuilt in April, online booking added in May — and a season that changed…

ALL OUR WORK, IN ONE PLACE

Sites we’ve built for guides, charters, and lodges — and the numbers behind them…

SEE THE WORK

WANT YOUR WATER ON PAGE ONE?

Tell us what’s going on with your bookings. We’ll give you a straight answer about whether we can help — even if the answer is no.

LET’S TALK
Or call +1 (252) 253-3990‬ — you’ll get a person, not a funnel.