Water Sports & Recreation Company

A Water Sports Operator Losing Bookings to Competitors on Google

The client — a water sports and recreation company offering swim tours, private boat rides, and group charters — had no presence on Google. Their bookings relied entirely on walk-ins, referrals, and OTA platforms that charged heavy commissions on every transaction.

They needed a Google Ads strategy that could capture travelers actively searching for water activities, convert them into direct bookings, and scale across Google's full advertising network — not just search results.

• Zero Google Ads presence — invisible to high-intent searchers
• Over-reliance on commission-heavy OTA platforms eating into margins
• No tracking infrastructure to measure which campaigns drove bookings
• Competing against established local operators with years of ad history
• Seasonal demand required smart budget pacing — not flat monthly spend

Search + Performance Max — A Full-Funnel Campaign Built for Bookings

We built two complementary campaigns from scratch. The Search campaign targeted high-intent keywords — travelers actively searching for boat tours, swim activities, and private charters — with tightly structured ad groups, ad copy that led with the unique experience, and direct links to the booking engine.

The Performance Max campaign complemented Search by expanding reach across Google Maps, YouTube, Gmail, and Display — capturing upper-funnel travelers still in the discovery phase. Together, the two campaigns formed a complete funnel: Search to capture demand, PMax to build it.

• Full Google Ads account setup and campaign architecture from scratch
• Separate Search ad groups by activity type — swim tours, boat rides, private charters
• High-intent keyword targeting with negative keyword exclusions to eliminate wasted spend
• Performance Max campaign with visual assets across all Google channels
• Conversion tracking tied directly to the booking system (Peek Pro)
• Budget pacing strategy aligned to peak seasons and weather patterns

Bookings Flowing In Across Every Google Channel

The dual-campaign setup gave the client visibility across Google's entire ecosystem — from the moment a traveler typed "boat tour near me" into Google Search, to the moment they encountered a visual ad on YouTube or Google Maps. The Peek Pro booking dashboard showed a measurable increase in direct bookings within weeks of launch.

By shifting volume from OTA platforms to direct Google Ads bookings, the client significantly reduced per-booking commission costs while building an owned customer acquisition channel that compounds over time. Campaign performance data is protected under NDA.