mlp-tile-2022-E07-Metaverse-Destination-Desktop

Rise n’ shine, readers!&nbsp;Today we learned that T<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/taco-bell-redefines-the-future-of-love-with-metaverse-wedding-package-301612179.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aco Bell is taking their wedding services to the Metaverse</a>. A lucky couple will have their very own Metaverse destination wedding clad with exclusive NFT wearables and custom&nbsp;everything. We can already&nbsp;hear the virtual wedding bells ringing...❤️



More importantly, here is this week’s top news:



<ul><li><a href="https://blog.google/products/search/more-content-by-people-for-people-in-search/">Google announces new search updates, putting emphasis on “content for people, by people”</a></li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/ecommerce/write-high-quality-product-reviews">Google's newest review algorithm update is designed to reward reviews that share in-depth research rather than surface-level information</a></li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="https://keys.nyfw.com/">Afterpay releases designer NFTs for New York Fashion Week</a></li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/doritos-transforms-triangles-all-around-us-invites-fans-on-an-epic-hunt-via-new-triangle-tracker-program-301611222.html">Doritos sets consumers on a nationwide hunt for triangles in ode to chip’s shape via Snapchat custom lense</a></li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/blog/ecommerce-ad-formats-convert-viewers-shoppers">TikTok launched a commerce solution called Shopping Ads that includes three new advertising formats: Video Shopping Ads, Catalog Listing Ads, and Live Shopping Ads.</a></li></ul>



Until next time, The Birch River Team

BIRCH BYTES - Google Takes Aim AI Copywriters

BIRCH BYTES &#8211; Google Takes Aim AI Copywriters

Google announces new search updates, putting emphasis on “content for people, by people”

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Loyalty-Loop@2x

Starting and running an escape room can be a daunting task. Not only do you need to design puzzles and devise a theme, but you also need to make sure that you are consistently attracting new customers to keep your rooms booked up. 



That's where a solid escape room marketing plan comes in. 



The right marketing strategy will help you reach your target audience and ensure that your escape room is profitable and consistent!



Lately, we have been finding a lot of success in the escape room niche - so much so that we have been able to create a systemized escape room marketing plan that guarantees bookings. (We offer our clients a 5x guarantee on ROAS and we have never had to refund anyone)



We launched this marketing plan for an escape room located in a city with as few as 70,000 people with success. And while PPC is only a portion of this plan our clients send us emails like this when we implement this escape room marketing plan for them.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ezgif-2-924f097fa3-1024x440.jpeg" alt="Escape Room Marketing Plan Client Testimonial" class="wp-image-27084"/></figure>



We even brought the system to the <a href="https://www.roomescapeshow.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2022 Transworld Escape Room Conference!</a>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG_2425-1024x905.jpg" alt="Birch River Design Group in a Booth at Escape Room Conference Transworld 2022" class="wp-image-26991"/><figcaption>Birch River Design Group at 2022 Transworld Escape Room Conference as the "Escape Room Marketing Agency"!</figcaption></figure>



Let's get into our escape Room marketing plan! We have broken down the system into its more basic pieces, resulting in what we call “The Loyalty Loop.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Loyalty-Loop@2x-1024x622.png" alt="The Escape Room Marketing Plan - The Loyalty Loop" class="wp-image-27079"/></figure>



We understand that escape rooms can have a potentially limited amount of replay value once a customer has gone through every room in your shop. That’s why it’s so important to gain fresh new bookings, then leverage those bookings into new customers.



Let’s break it down.



<h2>Step 1: Get New Customers</h2>



New customers are the lifeblood of escape rooms. When you have a guaranteed source of new bookings, you have enough to start building your Loyalty Loop.



The best place to find this guaranteed source of new customers is to step in front of a person when they are doing things on the internet that tell us they want to play an escape room. 



Every time someone searches on Google for a search term with high intent of booking an escape room, we want to have your booking page readily available to them. We can do this using <a href="https://birchriverdg.com/brdg-column/escape-rooms-google-ads-roi">Google Ads</a>.



Google Ads has a "simple" mode that will walk you through creating some ads - but we would highly recommend taking a class if you are going to be feeding Google Ads your own money. 



What really sets Google Ads from more traditional marketing is that we can measure how much money is earned for every dollar spent. On the Google Ads dashboard, we can literally see how much money has been earned compared to how much money has been spent. 



Having a steady flow of new escape room bookings is absolutely key to a strong escape room marketing plan. Here at Birch River Design Group, we have perfected our <a href="https://birchriverdg.com/services/google-ads-agency">Google Ads strategy</a> over multiple Escape Room locations across the country. 



The following image shows the results of a Google Ads campaign in California. We spent $3,630 to obtain 315 bookings($41,600 Revenue). That's an 11x ROAS.



 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2-1-1024x231.png" alt="Escape Room Google Ads Marketing Plan Numbers" class="wp-image-27075" width="650" height="146" title="2"/></figure>



Update July 2022 with even more of our Google Ads results:



10x ROAS... $1,680 spent -&gt; $16,800 revenue earned (113 bookings)



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-15-at-10.52.14-AM-2-1024x340.png" alt="" class="wp-image-27185"/></figure>



7.4x ROAS... $1,310 spent -&gt; $9,700 revenue earned (87 bookings)



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-15-at-10.53.42-AM-2-1024x339.png" alt="" class="wp-image-27186"/></figure>



11x ROAS... $2,130 spent -&gt; $24,000 revenue earned (149 bookings)



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-15-at-10.49.31-AM-2-1024x341.png" alt="" class="wp-image-27187"/></figure>



8x ROAS... $1,980 spent -&gt; $17,400 revenue earned (116 bookings)



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-15-at-10.47.08-AM-2-1024x339.png" alt="" class="wp-image-27188"/></figure>



<a href="https://escaperoommarketingagency.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2.png"></a>



<h2>Step 2: Follow Up Immediately for the 5 Star Review to Improve Google Business Rankings</h2>



Now that you have in place a system that will consistently generate new bookings, it’s time to start leveraging those bookings into better SEO with an immediate post-experience follow-up system.



Google Business reviews are absolutely huge for SEO and recommendation engine results. The more 5-star reviews you have on Google Business the more often your escape room will show up. The best way to get more reviews is to ask every single person who completes an escape room experience to review you.



Once the group escapes a system should be in place to text message or email the group with a picture, leaderboard, and&nbsp;easy links to review platforms like <a href="https://www.google.com/business/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Business</a>.



The follow-up makes your experience more well-rounded and more memorable and most importantly makes it easy for the group to review you. 



Since your Google Business profile will show up on mobile/desktop searches AND Google Maps it's important to feed the system the most important metric of them all - 5 star reviews. When you are consistently getting 5-star reviews, numbers like this are fairly consistent:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-03-at-6.39.07-PM-1024x650.png" alt="" class="wp-image-27089"/><figcaption>Escape Room Google Business Data</figcaption></figure>



We suggest using an escape Room-focused system like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.escapekit.co/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EscapeKit.co</a> to automate your follow-ups. 



<h2>Step 3: Stay Top of Mind With Email Marketing</h2>



We have discussed getting new customers and then immediately asking for 5-star reviews on Google Business to boost your SEO. The next step in this marketing plan is to implement a system that keeps your escape room top of mind indefinitely. 



That system is weekly <a href="https://birchriverdg.com/services/email-marketing">email marketing</a>. 



When email marketing comes up there are some common, immediate reactions we see all the time.



“We don’t want to annoy our list” “We don’t want to seem&nbsp; spammy” “They have already done all of our rooms, so we shouldn’t bother them”



Well, I am here to tell you that email marketing not only works but creates new business like crazy! A DMA study shows that for every $1 spent on email marketing you can expect a return of $42 (<a href="https://dma.org.uk/uploads/misc/marketers-email-tracker-2019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">source</a>).



We can personally attest that email marketing makes a large difference for escape rooms.



Stay top of mind with your customer list. Even if they are not planning on booking this weekend, your past clients are your biggest source of referrals. Don't let them forget about you! 



Share ongoing specials and deals to urge repeat business. 



Here are some of our escape room marketing emails and how they performed



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PPC_Email-Marketing-1.jpg" alt="Escape Room Marketing Email Example with 46% Open Rate" class="wp-image-27093"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PPC_Email-Marketing-2.jpg" alt="Escape Room Marketing Email Example with 31% Open Rate" class="wp-image-27094"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PPC_Email-Marketing-3.jpg" alt="Escape Room Marketing Email Example with 28% Open Rate" class="wp-image-27095"/></figure>







<h2>Step 4: Enjoy the Referrals</h2>



When you stay in touch with your customer database and provide an incredible post-experience follow-up system, people will start talking about you. After they talk about you, they will Google you and do some investigations.&nbsp;



Lucky for you, you have been accumulating 5-star reviews and excellent Google Placements. All of that reinforcement will have that referral booking a room in no time, and now they are part of your Loyalty Loop!&nbsp;



Here are some statistics from the ORGANIC side of Google Business.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screenshot-2022-02-01-141139.png" alt="Escape Room Google Business Listings on Map and Search" class="wp-image-27076" title="Screenshot 2022-02-01 141139"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screenshot-2022-02-01-141125.png" alt="Escape Room Google Business Actions Data" class="wp-image-27077" title="Screenshot 2022-02-01 141125"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screenshot-2022-02-01-141241.png" alt="Escape Room Google Business" class="wp-image-27078" title="Screenshot 2022-02-01 141241"/></figure>



<h2>This System Works</h2>



We are so confident in our system that if you let us implement it and we don’t achieve a return of 5x on your ad by the end of the second month - we’ll refund you not only our fee but the ad money too! 



Seriously - just on the Google Ads side if you don't get back $5 in revenue for every $1 you put into your ad spend we refund everything. 



If you feel like you could be doing more for your escape room marketing, we would love to connect with you! 



Growing escape rooms is not only our passion - but our expertise!



<div id="om-oyvlkqgofozjtcf77srw-holder"></div>



P.S. If you are interested in seeing some more information about the complete escape room marketing package we offer - check out this video where Connor Bearse goes into more detail! 



<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KVXyVe8B-M4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

[2022] The Ultimate Escape Room Marketing Plan

Our marketing plan for escape room businesses looking to attract new customers and increase sales every month.

Screen-Shot-2022-08-03-at-6.47.08-PM

The Top 12 Escape Room Marketing Ideas for More Bookings

These marketing tips will help escape rooms boost their bottom line with some new ideas for escape room marketing campaigns.

Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.30.06-PM

As an Escape Room business owner, you know your target market is important. But who is your target market? And, how do you convert them into customers? This blog post will answer those questions and give you some tips to help you reach your target market.



We will cover the two target markets every escape room needs to understand and what strategies are used to turn them into paying customers. The two target markets are:



<ul><li>High Intent Escapers</li><li>People Looking For Things To Do</li></ul>



We utilize two marketing strategies to convert these target markets into bookings!



<h2>Target Market #1: High Intent Escapers</h2>



The escape room industry is vast and shows no signs of slowing down. This has created a lot of people who are always looking for escape rooms to complete.



This target market is all about showing up at the right time when these folks decide they want to complete an escape room.



<h3>Best Escape Room Marketing Strategies To Attract This Audience</h3>



Let's dive into the strategies and channels we utilize to convert high-intent escapers into paying customers.



These channels and strategies are about converting your geographic region's demand into bookings!



<h4>Google Ads</h4>



The channel we always suggest every escape room start with is <a href="https://ads.google.com/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Ads</a>. It's essentially the phone book of marketing channels.



Whenever someone types anything remotely high intent into Google, your escape room should show up. You can achieve this over time with SEO (we will cover that below), but Google Ads can effectively be tuned to generate an incredible return.



Here is an escape room in Phoenix that we help run. Just three of our campaigns have passed a quarter million in conversion value with ROAS well above 9x.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.27.17-PM.png" alt="Escape Room Google Ads Data" class="wp-image-27452"/></figure>



For escape rooms, Google Ads is the essential tool for driving bookings.



These campaigns can provide valuable data to help you improve your marketing strategy. For example, we can see who else is bidding on the keywords in your area, which lets us understand what kind of marketing push your competitors are doing.



This data can be extremely valuable in helping you fine-tune your marketing approach to maximize results.



<h4>High Intent Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Ads</h4>



Traditionally, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/business" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Meta (formerly Facebook) advertising </a>is considered a passive channel. Until May of 2022, we have consistently utilized Meta ads as an awareness platform, but we have recently seen an incredible return on ad spend with our high-intent audience.



Conversion Meta ads are incredibly profitable for this audience, and we highly recommend utilizing the Meta platform right now.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.19.52-PM.png" alt="Facebook and Instagram Escape Room Advertising Data" class="wp-image-27447"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.22.45-PM.png" alt="" class="wp-image-27450"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.22.57-PM.png" alt="" class="wp-image-27451"/></figure>



&nbsp;



<h4><a href="https://www.google.com/business/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Business</a></h4>



The high intent capture king! Google Business (formerly Google My Business) shows up when this audience searches for escape rooms!



Google Business is essential for Escape Room businesses for a number of reasons.



First, it helps to improve visibility in search results. When potential customers search for escape room businesses in their area, a listing on Google Business can help your business to stand out.



Second, it allows you to provide accurate and up-to-date information about your business, such as your opening hours, contact details, and directions. This is especially important for escape rooms that are located in hard-to-find places.



Third, Google Business reviews can give your business some much-needed social proof. Positive reviews can help to build trust and credibility with potential customers.



In the screenshot below you can see that Google places an entire map and Google Business listings above the "first" organic search!



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-23-at-12.57.27-PM-1024x867.png" alt="Escape Room Google Business Example" class="wp-image-27213"/></figure>



Google Business offers several features that can be useful for businesses, such as the ability to create a virtual tour or upload photos. It's incredible how much engagement Google drives to this platform when properly set up.



Here are some Google Business data from an escape room we work with for you to benchmark your room against:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.11.26-PM.png" alt="Escape Room Google Business Profile Interactions" class="wp-image-27444"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.11.38-PM.png" alt="Escape Room Google Business Platform and Device Breakdown" class="wp-image-27443"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.11.51-PM.png" alt="Google Business Escape Room Search Keyword Breakdown" class="wp-image-27442"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screenshot-2022-02-01-141139.png" alt="Escape Room Google Business Search Versus Maps Listings" class="wp-image-27076"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screenshot-2022-02-01-141125.png" alt="Escape Room Google Business Customer Actions" class="wp-image-27077"/></figure>



<h4>SEO</h4>



To capture this high intent target market, it's essential to ensure your website is optimized for search engines. This means that your website will show up higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), capturing the searcher even when your Google Ads budget is out for the day.



One of the best ways to optimize your website for search engines is to include keywords and phrases relevant to your business in your website content. You can also use keyword-rich titles and descriptions for your webpages and make sure that your website is linked to other websites with high authority.



SEO is so important for escape room businesses. When you optimize your website, Google can deliver it to the right people at the right time. If the information on your website is misconfigured, then Google can't match you with the high intent target audience.



Some more data from an escape room we work with:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.13.14-PM.png" alt="Escape Room SEO Results" class="wp-image-27441"/></figure>



<h2>Target Market #2: People Looking For Things To Do</h2>



We often hear from escape room owners that they wish they could step in front of people who are searching for adjacent industries or activities and convince them to come to try an escape room. That group of people they are describing is our second target market.



We call this target market the "People Looking For Things To Do" group.



These folks are lower intent and looking for something their friend group or family can do over the weekend.



This market is a bit colder, and just throwing your website in front of them is ineffective. A slightly more technical escape room marketing strategy is needed.



<h3>Best Escape Room Marketing Strategies To Attract This Audience</h3>



We need to implement a slightly more technical strategy to convert this audience.



The official term is an "Omnichannel" strategy. That's a fancy way of saying we will use multiple advertising channels and techniques to "warm" up a customer before converting them. We will do this with an awareness campaign, email opt-ins, re-marketing, and email marketing.



These strategies also build your email list, making your business more valuable if you choose to sell your business down the road.



<h4>Omnichannel Escape Room Marketing Strategy</h4>



Pictured below is a representation of the omnichannel escape room marketing strategy and how all the channels play into each other. Let's break down a few pieces of this strategy below.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.30.06-PM-871x1024.png" alt="Escape Room Marketing Strategy Diagram" class="wp-image-27453"/></figure>



<h5>Escape room awareness campaign with email capture</h5>



The first part of this strategy is all about advertising to a broad but geographically specific audience with something that will make people in this initial audience who are looking for things to do "raise their hand" or click.



In the strategy pictured above, we are advertising an article called "The 5 Best Halloween Activities in OC".



Our escape room will be the #1 choice, naturally! That's not to say this will be overly pushy, though. It will be a neutral introduction and will include other activities to do. After a few seconds, a pop-up will display an offer for a discount code in exchange for their email address.



"Minus well get the discount now in case we choose to do this later" is what they think to themselves as they give up their email.



Email automation is used to send them the coupon code, and then we initiate the "excite email series."



<h5>The excite email series</h5>



Now that we have their email address, we will set them up to receive three more follow-up emails that we call the "excite email series."



Over the next three weeks, they will receive an email reminding them about the escape room and how incredible it is… oh, and don't forget about the coupon!



After the automation is complete, they will be placed onto the regular weekly email marketing, so we always stay top of mind.



<h5>Escape room re-marketing ads</h5>



Have you ever investigated a product, and then that brand or product followed you for a little bit? That is exactly what we are going to do to this audience.



That person told us they are looking for things to do this fall - now, let's stay top of mind even if they didn't give up their email address.



This strategy utilizes re-marketing advertising from Meta and Google Display networks to follow this audience and increase the brand touch points.



Re-marketing ads are an invaluable tool when trying to convert the "things to do" target market.



--



We can confidently outline these two target markets and show the results in each channel because we are running these campaigns today in escape rooms across the country.



We are so confident in our strategies and tactics that our base package has a 5x ROAS guarantee. We set up these strategies and make $5 for every $1 you put into the ads, or we refund every cent out of your pocket.



If you feel like you could be doing more for your escape room marketing, we would love to connect with you! 



Growing escape rooms is not only our passion - but our expertise!



<div id="om-oyvlkqgofozjtcf77srw-holder">&nbsp;</div>



&nbsp;

The Target Market for Escape Rooms and How to Convert Them

The target markets every escape room owner needs to know and what strategies are used to turn them into paying customers.

Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.11.51-PM

As an escape room owner, you know that one of the keys to success is attracting new customers. And in today's digital world, that means ensuring your escape room is well-optimized for search engines. 



After all, if potential customers can't find your escape room when they do a search, they're likely to book with one of your competitors.



That's where SEO comes in. By following some best practices for SEO (search engine optimization), you can make sure your escape room appears at the top of the search results whenever someone searches for "escape room near me." And that can mean more bookings, and more revenue, for your business.



So what are some of the best ways to optimize your escape room for SEO? Read on to find out.



<h2>1. Do Keyword Research</h2>



One of the most important things you can do to optimize your escape room website for SEO is to carefully select the keywords you want to target. These are the words and phrases that potential customers are using when they do a search. For example, if someone is looking for an escape room in Atlanta, they might type "Atlanta escape room" into a search engine.



To find out which keywords are most popular, you can use a tool like <a href="https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Ads Keyword Planner</a> or <a href="https://moz.com/explorer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moz Keyword Explorer</a>. 



It's important when looking for keywords to keep in mind their search volume. It will be easier to rank for lower search volume keywords but will obviously have less traffic. 



In our tool, <a href="https://agencyanalytics.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Agency Analytics</a>, we can look at predicted search volume for an escape room we are targeting, which lets us decide on the right keywords to work towards.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-20-at-11.28.14-AM-1024x778.png" alt="SEO Tool that tracks the rank of our escape room and the search volume of the keywords we are going after" class="wp-image-27544"/></figure>



Once you have a list of potential keywords, take a look at how difficult it would be to rank for each one by doing a quick google search. 



If there are already a lot of other websites competing for that keyword and the search volume is low... it might not be worth going after that keyword! Or it might be so high value that it is essential you invest into ranking for it. 



<h2>2. Setup &amp; Optimize Google Business</h2>



When it comes to SEO no other account is more important to set up than <a href="https://www.google.com/business/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Business</a>. 



Google Business is the business profile that pops up on <a href="https://www.google.com/maps" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Maps</a> and Google Searches that shows reviews, hours, and more about a business. The thing to understand is that it ranks separately from your website and has its own set of keywords that will make it show up. 



For escape rooms, you need to complete the setup and make sure that you are using your keywords descriptively. 



When done so correctly, your escape room will show up when potential customers are typing in really high-intent searches.



Here are the keyword results for an escape room we work with:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.11.51-PM.png" alt="Google Business Keyword Results for Escape Rooms" class="wp-image-27442"/></figure>



Not only is Google Business important for SEO - it will actually outrank your own website! 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/IMG_0553-473x1024.png" alt="Escape Room Google Business SEO Example" class="wp-image-27211"/></figure>



When working on your escape room's SEO, do not forget to give the proper attention to Google Business. 



<h2>3. Create Compelling Content</h2>



Once you've selected the keywords you want to target, it's time to start creating content that includes those keywords. That could mean writing blog posts about topics like "The Top 10 Best Escape Rooms in Atlanta" or "How to Choose the Right Escape Room for Your Group." 



Whatever topic you choose, make sure it's something that will be interesting and useful for your target audience.



If you're not an experienced writer yourself, don't worry – there are plenty of freelance writers who would be happy to help you create content for your website. 



Just be sure to give them direction on which keywords (step one) to target so they can help you get the results you're looking for.



<h2>4. Optimize Your Webpages for SEO</h2>



In addition to creating keyword-rich content, there are also a few other things you can do to make sure your website is as optimized as possible:



Optimize Page Titles Use descriptive page titles that include your target keywords. 



Images Have Alt Tags Include images and videos on your website – and make sure to use keyword-rich alternative title tags in the HTML. This lets search engines "read" images. 



Optimize Site Structure Be sure that your site structure makes sense for humans and for robots. Each layer down in your site structure has meaning. Don't put a blog on the highest level alongside your room pages. 



When your site structure is done well, your website will also expand on Google search results. More real estate on the search page means more clicks and bookings. 



Here is an example of site links on an escape room:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-20-at-11.45.31-AM-1024x502.png" alt="Escape Room site links example on Google Search" class="wp-image-27546"/></figure>



Use Internal Links Linking from one page on your website to another helps improve your website's crawling and indexing.



Page Speed Matters Google recently rolled out an update to their search engine algorithm that prioritizes page experience in a competitive search. Make sure you do not lose out on competitive searches because your website is not loading well.



<h2>5. Promote Your Content</h2>



Finally, once you have strong content on your website, make sure people actually see it by promoting it through your email list, social media channels, and other online platforms. 



Search engines can take a little time to get your content ranking, so in the meantime, you can utilize the content you made for your other marketing channels! 



The more people who see it, the more likely it is that some of them will click through to your website – and maybe even book an escape room!



<h2>6. Track Your Escape Room SEO With Google Search Console</h2>



Google offers a first-party website called <a href="https://search.google.com/search-console/about" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Search Console</a> that allows you to see the real data on which keywords are leading directly to your website. 



Best of all, when you set up this account not only do you get to track your results, but it also instantly improves your SEO by signaling to Google that you are the owner of this website and are looking to improve your escape room's SEO.



Over time you can review the data and make better decisions about your SEO strategy, as well as find new keywords that you might not have thought of! 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-20-at-11.46.53-AM-900x1024.png" alt="Google Search Console for Escape Rooms" class="wp-image-27547"/></figure>



<h2>Conclusion</h2>



If you want to take your escape room business to the next level, consider optimizing it for SEO. 



By following the tips in this article, you can start to rank higher on search engine results pages and bring more traffic to your website. 



So what are you waiting for? Start optimizing your escape room today!



If you feel like you could be doing more for your escape room marketing, we would love to connect with you! 



Growing escape rooms is not only our passion - but our expertise!



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SEO Best Practices For Escape Rooms

SEO strategies and steps for how you can get more traffic to your escape room website and make more money!

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Update: This article has been updated with additional Google Ads Data for July, 2022 at the bottom



With the US cautiously on the path of returning to normal and small businesses still struggling, only those that do not require close interactions or are capable of operating outdoors are starting to see a glimmer of hope.



Escape Rooms don’t fall into either of these categories.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Escape Rooms are not top of mind as “Pandemic Safe.” Even with a mandatory mask rule, social distancing is extremely difficult in these circumstances.



If you are an owner of an Escape Games store and worried right now, fear not! Despite the gloomy picture we’ve painted, the escape rooms market is alive and profitable right now. How do we know this? We’re currently scaling an escape room business right now with an incredible return on ad spend with expectations that it will only get better as we exit the pandemic.



*Please see our update below for July 2022 for even better results



The following image is a screenshot from a Google Ads account for an Escape Room business from March 31st, 2021 to April 30th, 2021 that we manage. A conversion is only recorded when someone puts in their credit card and pays 100% of the escape room cost in advance. We spent $1,370.00 in ad spend for a return of $7,002.00 in revenue.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Screen-Shot-2021-05-03-at-2.29.28-PM.png" alt="Google Ads ROAS for Escape Rooms" class="wp-image-26347"/></figure>



In the month of April 2021, we managed to bring in a 5x ROAS for an escape room brick-and-mortar business. The pandemic is still hampering businesses, (800 cases per day during this month), but the return on ad spend is there and getting better as time moves on.



<h2>The Strategy: </h2>



Google search ads, a well-built/fast website, and a modern booking system.



Google ads is not for the faint of heart. This particular account we recovered from an agency that had absolutely no interest in putting the client first - so there was a lot of refactoring work to be done. When we took over this account, ads were being delivered in India! Our lead Paid Media Analyst, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-dieball-5bb739165">Jake Dieball</a>, was able to adapt the campaigns to avoid any wasted spending through the years of experience Birch River brings to the table.



The website that the Google Ads was pointing to was also loading incredibly slowly, affecting the Google Ads auction score. We were able to bring the hosting in-house, save our client money, and improve our Google Ads performance because of how much we cut down on loading times. (Website issues started going away too when the website lives on a server that is maintained well!)



Finally, we worked with our client to migrate the booking software from <a href="https://www.bookeo.com/">Bookeo</a> to <a href="https://resova.com/">Resova</a>. While Bookeo does have e-commerce tracking that integrates with Google Ads – the user experience and sophistication on Bookeo were outdated and oftentimes incomplete. Not only did the switch away from Bookeo have the aforementioned benefits, but the monthly cost was also reduced!



After some <a href="https://tagmanager.google.com/">Google Tag Manager</a> magic, we are now sending the revenue of every Google Ads attributed sale back to <a href="https://ads.google.com/">Google Ads</a>. Google Ads now is able to use their <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9065075?hl=en">machine learning to optimize</a> for the dollar amount of conversion - not only the number of conversions. This also created a picture-perfect data set for our team to optimize the campaigns manually and prove our ROI to the client.



<h2>Let's Scale Your Escape Rooms Business</h2>



While we cannot compete directly in the same market as our current client – if you own an Escape Games brick-and-mortar business, we would love to help you out with proven tactics that create an ROI. This is not guesswork anymore – we are running the strategy right now during a pandemic. 



Enter your escape room website and email address below to let us know you're interested, and we'll reach out right away! 



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Update September 15th, 2022 - 



This post focused on our Google Ads campaign - but Social campaigns (even after iOS 14.5) are performing with an incredible ROAS lately. Here is our Facebook and Instagram performance for one of our escape rooms:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-15-at-1.19.52-PM.png" alt="Facebook and Instagram Advertising Results" class="wp-image-27447"/></figure>



Update August, 2022 - 



As we have expanded our services across the nation we have only been able to improve our escape room strategy. Here are our Google Ads results for our escape rooms for July 2022. We have also outlined exactly how we leverage these results in our <a href="https://birchriverdg.com/brdg-column/escape-room-marketing-plan">escape room marketing plan outline</a>. 



10x ROAS... $1,680 spent -&gt; $16,800 revenue earned (113 bookings)



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-15-at-10.52.14-AM-1-1024x340.png" alt="July 2022 Escape Room Google Ads Data - 10x ROAS... $1,680 spent -&gt; $16,800 revenue earned (113 bookings)" class="wp-image-27178"/></figure>



7.4x ROAS... $1,310 spent -&gt; $9,700 revenue earned (87 bookings)



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-15-at-10.53.42-AM-1-1024x339.png" alt="July 2022 Escape Room Google Ads Data - 7.4x ROAS... $1,310 spent -&gt; $9,700 revenue earned (87 bookings)" class="wp-image-27179"/></figure>



11x ROAS... $2,130 spent -&gt; $24,000 revenue earned (149 bookings)



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-15-at-10.49.31-AM-1-1024x341.png" alt="July 2022 Escape Room Google Ads Data - 11x ROAS... $2,130 spent -&gt; $24,000 revenue earned (149 bookings)" class="wp-image-27180"/></figure>



8x ROAS... $1,980 spent -&gt; $17,400 revenue earned (116 bookings)



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cms.birchriverdg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-15-at-10.47.08-AM-1-1024x339.png" alt="July 2022 Escape Room Google Ads Data - 8x ROAS... $1,980 spent -&gt; $17,400 revenue earned (116 bookings)" class="wp-image-27181"/></figure>



<h2></h2>

Escape Rooms Google Ads ROI

Google Ads and social ROAS for the Escape Room brick and mortar business. The pandemic is not slowing us down right now!

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