Idaho Potato Commission revamps website

The Idaho Potato Commission has revamped its website, with the new design featuring new campaigns and enhanced recipe categorization by diet.

“The IPC’s website is the powerhouse that supports all the organization’s digital programs,” Jamie Bowen, marketing director, said in a news release. 

“We know the three leading factors that drive website traffic are design, ease of use and content. We want to visually engage every visitor the second they land on our page, provide riveting, easy-to-access content that whets their appetite for more and creates a desire to come back regularly.”

The new website uses search engine optimization measures to ensure it is always meeting visitors’ needs, according to the release.
The latest traffic figures show that, in the past 12 months, there were more than 1.5 million visitors to the website, representing a 16% increase in traffic over a year ago and a 43% increase overall over two years, according to the release. 

More importantly, the release said visitors to the website are staying for close to two minutes. According to  insights by the Crazy Egg a website optimization company, 15 seconds is the average time spent on a website.

While visiting the IPC website, a total of 2.47 million pages were recorded this year and new users increased by 12.34%.

The release said the most recent upgrades to the website include:

• Refreshed design: The design boasts a brighter, more contemporary look that better reflects the beauty of Idaho;
• Diet identifier: The most visited section of website is the recipe database containing more than 1,700 recipes. The release said consumers are able to search for recipes that meet the criteria for 10 different diets, including Whole 30, Mediterranean, vegan, DASH, low sodium, flexitarian, gluten-free, dairy-free and heart-healthy;
• New campaigns: The IPC promotes many of its marketing campaigns on the home page of the website (the second most-visited page) and recently launched a recipe campaign called Around the World in 80 Recipes that generated 29,424 page views;
• Meet the growers: This monthly shout-out to Idaho potato growers started as a social media campaign and has evolved into a permanent marketing program people look forward to every month, according to the release.

Other website features the IPC says have gained popularity over the past 12 months are: 

• Spuddy Buddy Chat Bot: When logged into the website, an interactive chat bot featuring IPC mascot Spuddy Buddy pops up. Last year 10,000 people asked Spuddy a question;
• Online store: If you’re looking for Idaho potato swag from t-shirts to potato peelers to cutting boards, the IPC has those options. Last year total sales on the site increased by 11%, according to the release;
• Retail and foodservice one-pagers: Concise, precise and visually appealing, the one-pagers are easy to download and print or share digitally;
• Influencers: The IPC works with an impressive group of influencers. Look for their videos and posts featured throughout the website and on the IPC’s social media channels.