Google Ads management for Southern Spirit excursions: from click to real contact

Southern Spirit Lago Argentino operates cruises to the Perito Moreno glacier as a concessionaire of Los Glaciares National Park. Anyone planning a trip to Patagonia researches for weeks before deciding.

In this business the passenger asks before booking, and does it through whatever channel is at hand: a call, a message, a request for directions to the port. Optimizing against a single conversion action leaves out almost all the real intent.

Demand also arrives from different markets, with search and pricing logics that do not match.

• Split conversion: the interest signal shows up in calls, messages and location queries, not in one button.
• Mixed markets: local and international demand competed for the same budget with the same message.
• Quality over volume: adding clicks from an audience that does not travel raises cost without getting closer to a booking.

Without measuring every signal, the account looks like it performs worse than it does and gets optimized against the wrong number.

We rebuilt measurement around how this audience actually makes contact, and segmented the structure by campaign type and market so each demand competes on its own budget.

The work was not raising spend but improving what each click buys and capturing intent where it actually happens.

Measuring every intent signal

• Tracking of tour bookings, click to call, conversations started and interactions with the local business listing.
• Including requests for directions to the embarkation port, which in this business anticipate a visit.
• Account linked to the analytics property to attribute post click behavior.

Structure by campaign type and market

• Performance Max as the main engine, covering Google's full inventory.
• Search by product and market, separating demand from Argentina and Chile from neighboring markets.
• Display for remarketing on visitors who did not book.

Continuous optimization

• Work on the quality of purchased traffic to lift CTR.
• Budget allocation adjusted across campaigns and markets based on observed performance.
• Tracking of the journey from ad to contact or booking.

Architecture and technology

• Google Ads with Performance Max, Search segmented by product and market, and Display remarketing.
• Multiple conversion tracking and linkage with the analytics property.

Learn more about SEM campaign management.

The account improved both the quality of the traffic it buys and the share of that traffic that ends up contacting the operator.

Starting point

• CTR of 2.99% and conversion rate of 16.9%.
• Measurement concentrated on a single action, with real intent unrecorded.

Results

• CTR improved 55%, from 2.99% to 4.64%.
• Conversion rate improved 40%, from 16.9% to 23.7%.
• 196 direct contact actions: 87 click to call, 62 conversations started and 47 tour bookings.
• 359,834 impressions and 12,422 clicks accumulated.
• More than 2,200 interactions with the local business listing, including 260 requests for directions to the port.

Strategic impact

• The account is optimized against real intent rather than the one action that was easy to measure.
• Separating markets allows different messages and budgets for different demands.