How Discover Lehigh Valley Used Growth Marketing to Build Authority, Drive Meetings Business, and Prepare for a Website Launch
Discover how Discover Lehigh Valley strengthened organic authority, expanded meetings visibility, and drove measurable growth through coordinated content, SEO/GEO, and targeted paid campaigns ahead of its Summer 2025 website launch.
Before launching a new Tempest-built website in Summer 2025, Discover Lehigh Valley partnered with Tempest to strengthen organic authority, elevate signature experiences, and grow meetings business through coordinated content, SEO/GEO, and paid media campaigns.
1.04M
Organic Visits
739K
Paid Sessions
49K
Planner Visits
Building the Foundation Before Launch
In 2024, Discover Lehigh Valley engaged Tempest to lay the groundwork for a future website redesign. Rather than waiting for a new platform to drive results, the strategy focused on strengthening performance immediately through coordinated content development, search optimization (including GEO), and paid initiatives.
Signature attraction guides were developed and refined for Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, Crayola Experience, and Lehigh Valley Zoo, while marquee event pages such as Musikfest and Christkindlmarkt were consistently optimized and updated. These efforts were designed not only to capture demand, but to establish Discover Lehigh Valley as the authoritative source for these experiences across search and emerging AI-driven discovery platforms.
Seasonal paid search campaigns supported both leisure and meetings audiences, driving qualified traffic to priority pages while reinforcing visibility in competitive regional markets.
A Focused Push to Grow Meetings Business
Growing meetings and group business was a key objective. As part of the broader website initiative, Tempest helped establish a defined planners hub to serve as a centralized, conversion-focused resource for meeting professionals
A small percentage of total media investment was allocated to meetings-focused campaigns, leveraging Search and Performance Max with CPA targeting. Regional geo-targeting prioritized key feeder markets across the NY Tri-State area and surrounding metros. Messaging emphasized Lehigh Valley’s prime location near Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and New York City, along with its modern amenities, historic charm, and unique meeting spaces.
Measurable Impact Across Organic and Paid Channels
Content and SEO/GEO efforts generated 1.04 million organic visits in the first year of the partnership, strengthening Discover Lehigh Valley’s authority across search. The destination earned more than 200 AI citations, including 135 placements within Google AI Overviews, reflecting strong visibility in emerging generative search environments.
Paid initiatives delivered 739,000 sessions, accounting for 15% of total website traffic. Engagement for paid visits reached 70%, 38% above the site average, while campaigns drove 229,000 partner referrals and 60 newsletter signups.
Meetings-focused campaigns generated nearly 50,000 planner visits, resulting in 10 RFP submissions, over 12,000 partner referrals, and a 31% percent key event rate, demonstrating meaningful traction among qualified group audiences.
A Stronger Runway to Launch
By the time the new Tempest-built website launched in Summer 2025, Discover Lehigh Valley was positioned for success. Organic authority was strengthened, high-performing content aligned with future information architecture plans, and paid campaigns had already proven their ability to drive both leisure and meetings impact.
The result was not simply a website launch, but the continuation of a coordinated digital strategy built to support long-term visibility, partner value, and destination growth.
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