Tapping the source: Generating revenue from your website

If you work within the destination marketing industry, you already know that resources are under more pressure than ever before. But you also probably know that your destination website might just hold the key to unlocking a rich source of income.

In these straitened times, monetising your digital assets makes perfect sense. But if you’re not quite sure where to start, let these top tips — taken from our recent Revenue Generation eBook — be your guide to a future of growth and prosperity.
 

From ROI to CPC: Understanding the value of investment

Regardless of the configuration of your organisation — whether you’re a local visitor economy partnership (LVEP), a destination marketing organisation (DMO), or a community interest company (CIC) — when it comes to making the most of your digital assets, the challenge is always to prove the value that any potential investment would add to your offering. Whether you want to run a marketing campaign or are seeking to boost your membership, your stakeholders (or your members) want to know if the money that is spent on these endeavours will achieve the desired results (i.e., an increase in bookings, visits, or revenue). This is return on investment (ROI).

In the world of digital marketing, ROI is comparable to widely understood metrics such as clicks, Google AdWords, and social media boosted ads. But how do you provide a measurement of this in a format that is easily understood by your members and stakeholders? By smartly deploying yet another metric, cost per click (CPC).
 

CPC and why it matters

Widely used in digital advertising, CPC is well understood by marketers within the sector. But translating it into a concept that is easily understood by your members or stakeholders — something that demonstrates to them precisely why they should spend their budget with you — is crucial to your success.

But why does this figure matter? CPC can help advertisers gauge how much they are spending per individual interaction. As our eBook sets out, it’s also worth knowing that CPC can vary both by keyword and across industries. For example — according to the Wordstream Google Ads Benchmark Report 2024 — the global cost per click for the travel industry was £1.48.

There is a direct correlation between CPC and ROI, with a lower cost per click equating to a more efficient return on investment. In the world of destination marketing, DMOs (or LVEPs or CICs) can show value by comparing their CPC to other platforms, like Google Ads.
 

Tracking ROI with integrated tools

As we explore in our eBook, showing ROI is one thing; tracking it is something else entirely. The Simpleview platform features an integrated tool, one designed to work in harmony with your wider membership or partnership structure. With our tiered packages, destinations can control and enhance the exposure they receive, with more views, impressions, and referrals ultimately leading to more growth.
 

A strong digital presence and the many ways to monetise

As an entity within the destination marketing industry, you want your website to have a firmly established digital presence. Why? Put simply, established sites have strong Google Authority (i.e., a solid ranking within the engine’s search results), a point that serves as a powerful vector for referrals. Referrals equal hot leads — visitors who are interested in what you are advertising — business that is then passed along via clicks, emails, or social media views.

But in order to build a solid commercial proposition — presenting your organisation and its advertised offer as the solution to fill a specific need — you must identify and carefully price your commercial packages and membership rates. As we explore in our eBook, there are multiple ways to do this — including by relying on the insight offered by Simpleview — but ultimately, you want a well-structured, data-backed commercial model to build trust, drive renewals, and increase revenue.

Yet commercial packages aren’t your only option when it comes to enhancing your income stream; look closely at your site to monetise other digital assets. From advertising and user-generated content (UGC), to benefitting from passive income and forging strategic partnerships, there is a whole world of ways to make more money from your site. Indeed, with just a little thought, creativity, and care, the path to a more prosperous tomorrow begins today.