SIDNEY — More than 1,300 web sessions were recorded for the month of March by the Sidney Visitors Bureau.
Jeff Raibel, director, presented the report during the May meeting of the board of trustees.
In March, there were 1,390 web sessions up 500 from the 890 web sessions in 2014. There were 1,200 unique users compared to 807 unique users in 2014. There were 2,692 page views also an increase from the 2,070 page views in 2014. There were 349 Facebook views down from the 523 views in 2014. The time on site averaged 1 minute 32 seconds, compated to the 1 minute 55 second average time on site in 2014.
In April there were 1,491 web sessions compared to 1,026 web sessions in 2014. There were 1,272 unique users up from the 883 unique users in 2014. There were 2,925 page views compared to 2,264 page views in 2014. There were 665 Facebook views doubled that of 2014 when there were 323 views. The time on site averaged 1 minute 37 seconds, slightly down from the 1 minute-54 second average time on site in 2014.
In March, the Sidney Visitors Bureau sent information to five individuals interested in learning more about this area after visiting the website or seeing ads in the Discover Ohio Travel Planner, Midwest Living Magazine, Country Living Magazine and the Madden Media Regional Newspaper Insert. There were 44 reader response requests were fulfilled for the same period in 2014.
In April, information was sent to 278 individuals interested in learning more about this area after visiting the website or seeing ads in the same publications. Three reader response requests were fulfilled for the same period in 2014.
Advertising and promotion pledged event support for the 2015 Bensar Mayfest Soccer Classic as a gold level sponsor. According to organizers, 140 teams from three states are expected to participate in this year’s tournament with an estimated economic impact of $815,000.
It also pledged support for the Ohio Jersey Breeders Association annual show and sale at the Shelby County Fairgrounds on Memorial Day weekend.
The board discussed collaborating with the Days Inn – Sidney Conference Center to host the 2017 Ohio Rural Letter Carriers Association Conference (ORLCA) in Sidney. The conference would bring approximately 150 visitors to this area for a three-day conference. The Days Inn and the Sidney Visitors Bureau will present the merits of hosting the conference in Sidney to the ORLCA 2015 conference in June.
Advertising and promotion also:
• Updated the Sites & Attractions section of the web site to include a link to the Shelby County Fair nonfair events calendar.
• Submitted a press release on outdoor activities to OhioTraveler.com for publication in the May 1 e-newsletter circulated to 150,000 subscribers. In addition, this press release will be sent to 950 regional radio, television, newspaper, magazine and e-magazine media outlets.
• Finalized a search engine marketing campaign with Madden Media to attract a higher volume of traffic to the Sidney Visitors Bureau website. This key word search plan is guaranteed to generate 4,000 additional visits to the SVB site in four months.
• Finalized the commercial message that will air on an upcoming episode of “Brushpile Fishing.” This particular episode will be shot at Lake Loramie State Park and is sponsored by the Sidney Visitors Bureau. “Brushpile Fishing” is produced by NKTelco and broadcast to more than 8 million households on both cable television and via the Internet.
