CASE STUDY

Thornton Aircraft Company Tripled Organic Traffic
in Under 3 Months, 7X in 6 Months

Getting traffic to your website is important and valuable. It takes a number of factors to move the needle, and it seems even harder for a small business without a team of SEO & PPC professionals to figure it all out.

About Thornton Aircraft

Since 1984, Thornton Aircraft Company (TAC) has provided a wide variety of services to the aircraft industry. As an FAA Certified Repair Station, the company offers aircraft maintenance and avionics services for a wide range of corporate/business aircraft. Thornton Aircraft prides itself in providing the highest quality maintenance services in the aviation industry at competitive rates. Located at Van Nuys Airport, one of the busiest airports in the US, Thornton also sources aircraft parts and offers aviation management services.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

Transform the Company Website into a Real Lead Generation Source, Not a Brochure

Thornton Aircraft launched a new business website in October 2018. A local design firm created the site, with eye-catching images of corporate jets and the Thornton hangar. The site was hosted using AWS from Webapper Services.

In the spring of 2020, Thornton Aircraft decided to pursue digital marketing to win new corporate aircraft clients. Thornton reached out to Webapper for recommendations, and Webapper created a five-stage framework to build traffic and improve lead generation.

SOLUTION

Site Audit, Market Analysis, SEO, Analytics, Campaigns

Site Audit

The goal of the initial site audit was to find problems and opportunities in the existing site. It became apparent that the site wasn’t designed or built to harness organic search visitors. No sitemaps were registered with search engines and pages lacked any on-page search engine optimization techniques. Another key issue, mobile responsiveness, needed attention – many pilots look for information via mobile phone when traveling.

Market Analysis

Going back to the drawing board, Webapper worked with Thornton Aircraft to develop ideal customer personas. Webapper outlined value propositions suitable for the target audience. In addition, Webapper researched how competitors were approaching the market.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Once the problems were exposed, Webapper’s team created a plan of attack to address SEO issues. First, Webapper rebuilt the site using a dynamic content management system (WordPress), facilitating easier management of content and adaptation to patterns going forward. Next, Webapper worked with Thornton on keyword research, seeking opportunities specific to the Southern California aviation market. Interestingly, a few critical keywords – topics completely omitted in the original website – came to the forefront. Then Webapper addressed sitewide SEO issues, like the outdated, unsubmitted sitemap. Copy was migrated from the old website into the new website, including improved value propositions, better site architecture, and proper on-page SEO techniques. Each page focuses on a particular keyword, especially for the local market.

Analytics

Using Google Analytics and goal-tracking, Webapper enabled a metrics framework. Monitoring traffic, once something no one knew about, is now a habit. Each month, Thornton can review a custom dashboard showing their key performance metrics around visitors, sessions, pageviews, bounce rate, time on site, and goal conversions.

Campaigns

Webapper and Thornton designed an outreach plan, including email marketing and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. Each campaign leads users to a targeted landing page based on emails or keywords. New ideas are generated from inquiries and other searches used to find the site.

RESULTS

The initial marketing campaign took three months. In the first month, the site was rebuilt, launching after the third week. Interestingly, traffic dipped in the first month (not related to the project), so the bump in the subsequent months was that much more impressive. As the data indicates, in the first full month after launch, organic search, pageviews, and sessions all rose dramatically. And in the next month, they continued growing.

But growth didn’t stop after three months… The combination of PPC campaigns, email marketing, and additional SEO-targeted site pages grew traffic even further. After six months, the site set all-time highs for organic traffic, site visitors, new site visitors, sessions, and pageviews. Organic traffic (SEO), visitors, and pageviews all 10x-ed since the site launched. Yes, OVER TEN TIMES as much in each category.

Don’t Just Take Our Word for It….