local events traffic growth
Fox Cities Magazine
Details
About the Project
Fox Cities Magazine is a local news and lifestyle publication serving readers across the Fox Cities area. With a large website full of articles, guides, local stories, events, and dining content, the magazine partnered with Stellar Blue to increase website traffic, improve visibility in search, and help more readers find the pages most important to the business: the local events calendar and restaurant-focused dining content.
The goal was not just to bring in more visitors, but to attract people who were actively looking for things to do, places to eat, and ways to stay connected with the local community.
Search Engine Optimization
Client Pain Points
Fox Cities Magazine had strong content, but the size and variety of the website made it harder for the most valuable pages to stand out.
- The website covered many different topics, which meant the magazine was competing in search results with local businesses, tourism sites, restaurants, event listings, and other news publications.
- Traffic and visibility had dropped on two of the most important areas of the site: local events and dining.
- The annual dining guide needed to reach more people who were searching for restaurant recommendations in the area.
- The events calendar had strong community value, but needed more visibility so readers could find events and subscribe for updates.
- The team also needed help understanding sudden traffic changes, including a major boost from Google’s mobile Discover feature.
Stellar Blue’s Solution
Stellar Blue focused on making Fox Cities Magazine’s strongest local content easier to find, easier to understand, and more appealing to people already searching for nearby events and restaurants.
- Studied real website behavior: The team reviewed Fox Cities Magazine’s search and website analytics through tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to identify where people were finding the site, where visibility had dropped, and which pages had the most opportunity.
- Strengthened local search language: Keywords were added strategically to align with what local readers were actually searching for, especially around Appleton events, weekend activities, restaurants, and dining.
- Prioritized high-value pages: The events calendar and dining-related pages received focused attention because they directly supported the magazine’s goals for traffic, engagement, and subscriber growth.
- Helped interpret traffic spikes: When one bridal article received major exposure through Google’s mobile Discover feature, Stellar Blue helped the team understand what happened and how future articles could be shaped to improve their chances of similar visibility.
Project Results
The Stellar Blue Impact
Stellar Blue helped Fox Cities Magazine focus its search strategy around the content that mattered most: local events and dining. Instead of chasing broad traffic, the team strengthened visibility for readers who were already looking for things to do and places to eat in the Fox Cities area.
The project also gave the client clearer insight into how people were discovering their content, including what future articles could learn from strong mobile Discover performance. Overall, the work created a more intentional path for attracting local readers and supporting long-term subscriber growth.
Combined Clicks increased by
Variations of “events in Appleton this weekend” saw a combined 488.9% increase in clicks.
Let’s Start Your Project
If your website has valuable content that is not getting the attention it deserves, Stellar Blue can help turn that opportunity into measurable growth. From search strategy to analytics insights, we help organizations connect their best content with the people already looking for it.