Case Study: Base Mountain Sports
Driving peak-season performance in a down market
Client: Base Mountain Sports, a ski and snowboard rental company with storefronts in Colorado's top mountain towns. Besides rentals, they sell high-end gear and apparel for skiers, snowboarders and outdoor fans. Known for friendly local service and well-tuned equipment, Base serves thousands of visitors each season, from first-timers to seasoned pros.
Season: Winter 2024 to 2025
Locations: Avon, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Vail, Colorado
Services: SEO, Google Ads management, website strategy, content marketing, e-commerce ads
"Demand Beacon has been great to work with. In our first year we saw exponential growth in our digital campaigns. We are excited to see what the future holds for our online advertising working with Jess and her team!"
Colter Barnett, Owner, Base Mountain Sports
The challenge
Base Mountain Sports went into the 2024 to 2025 season with:
- An outdated website that added friction to the rental booking flow
- Google Ads campaigns that weren't delivering a return
- A tough economy: an election year, with high-net-worth travelers being more careful with their spending
The strategy
We built and ran a full-funnel digital plan.
1. Website changes for conversions
We worked with Base's designer and developer to launch a redesigned site with a cleaner booking experience that supported mobile users and cut down on abandoned bookings.
2. SEO and content
- Updated existing blog content and published new high-intent articles
- Google Search impressions grew 50% season over season
3. Google Ads rebuild and retail expansion
We rebuilt Google Ads for ski and snowboard rentals:
- 260% more conversions
- 807% return on ad spend
- $40 lower cost per conversion
- 11% conversion rate
Late in the season we launched Shopping ads for gear and apparel. In a competitive, discount-heavy market:
- Retail sales grew 259%
- Retail ads returned 424% on ad spend
The outcome
Base Mountain Sports grew across rentals and retail in a season when many shops were bracing for a decline.
- +50% Google Search impressions
- +260% rental conversions
- 807% return on ad spend for rentals
- +259% retail sales
- 424% return on ad spend for retail ads
Base needed more than clicks. With a cleaner booking flow, better organic visibility and Google Ads built around revenue, they grew across the board, and the early retail results set them up for a bigger next season.