Cass County Fair

July 1, 2025–Aug 2, 2025 vs previous period.

VanDenBerg Web + Creative partnered with the Cass County Fair, a community event in Cassopolis, Michigan, to develop a modern and user-friendly WordPress website. The project focused on improving the site’s mobile compatibility and search engine optimization (SEO). The solution included a new site structure, custom forms, and full analytics and search console setup to provide clear performance insights.

Challenge & Goals

The Cass County Fair’s existing website contained a wealth of information but was difficult to navigate and needed modernization to improve mobile compatibility and user experience. The organizers wanted a partner to develop a fast, mobile-friendly website with an easy-to-update content management system, allowing them to manage content internally while having access to professional support. The primary goals were to improve search visibility, provide easy access to event details and forms, and facilitate ticket purchases.

After:

Our Solution

Platform and information architecture

The project involved building a brand-new WordPress website to ensure flexibility and future scalability. The new site outline was designed to provide clear and easy access to key information. The structure includes dedicated pages for fair information, a grandstand events schedule, and an auction. This new architecture directly addressed the client’s challenge of a difficult-to-navigate website.

Design and user experience

The new website was designed to be modern, mobile-friendly, and to have fast load times for an optimal user experience. The report data shows that 85.4% of all website sessions were on mobile devices, confirming that the new design successfully met the needs of the fair’s audience. The new layout provides clear pathways to key information such as the fair schedule, which became one of the most-viewed pages on the site.

Integrations, analytics, and search engine optimization

A comprehensive SEO strategy was implemented from the start, including optimized pages to improve Google search rankings and sitemaps submitted to both Google and Bing. This was supported by the integration of Google Analytics, Search Console, and Data Studio for ongoing website performance tracking and monthly reporting. Custom forms were created to automate and digitize fair-related processes, while email collection was integrated to support future marketing efforts.

Results

During the period from July 1, 2025, to August 2, 2025, the new website experienced significant growth in key performance indicators compared to the previous period. Total users surged by 505.0%, with engaged sessions increasing by 681.2%. The SEO strategy demonstrated exceptional effectiveness, with organic search contributing to a remarkable 809.6% increase in traffic. This high-quality traffic resulted in a 4.6% increase in engagement rate and a 28.4% increase in engagement time. The event count also saw a significant rise of 713.5%. Users are finding the fair through specific searches such as ‘Cass County Fair 2025,’ ‘Cass County Fair Schedule,’ and ‘TNT Demolition Derby,’ which were among the top search terms. The most visited pages were the homepage, fair schedule, and grandstand events, indicating that users are successfully navigating to the most important information.

Client Feedback

“Cass County Fair made the decision to redesign their website last fall. We met with Rebecca in January via a phone conference. She explained everything to us, the step by step, prices, everything. After the conference call, the committee decided to make the recommendation to the board that we use VanDenBerg Web. The board approved.

We started working with Amber, she was amazing. Very knowledgeable, answered all of our questions and was a gem to work with. Once the site was up, she and Rebecca went thru the training that we needed. They also reminded us, that they would always be there if we needed them.“

 

– Zelda Cloud, Committee Member

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