SEO · the full plan

The complete SEO playbook.

The audit of your current site (it's bad), the keyword map of where we'll win, the technical fixes for week 1, and the realistic timeline for ranking next to KOA.

At a glance · click any tile to drill in

The seven things you need to know about the SEO plan. Click any tile for the full breakdown.

Where we start

Your site scores 9/100

Schema is pointing Google to a New Mexico campground. NAP is inconsistent across 3 sources. Five facts disagree with MCG's study.

What we'll rank for

21 queries · 10+ are wide open

KOA owns brand terms. We own monthly, snowbird, UNCW, big-rig, quiet/pet-friendly — categories KOA doesn't fight for.

How we beat KOA

Out-write all 6 of their blogs

KOA has 6 thin local posts. Each one has a clear weakness. We publish the deeper, longer, more useful version of each.

Week 1 fixes

12 technical items

Schema replacement, robots.txt, sitemap, canonicals, mobile, Core Web Vitals, GA4 + GSC + Bing Webmaster, `tel:` links.

The schema fix

Drop-in JSON-LD ready

Replaces 'Alamogordo NM 575 RV Park' with the correct Campground schema for Wilmington. Lift in 2–4 weeks.

Where you'll be listed

14 directories Week 1, 38 by Y1

P0–P3 tiers. Campendium, The Dyrt, Good Sam, AAA, Hipcamp + 9 others ship by Week 1. NOT Campspot — they're a competitor.

Realistic outcome

Co-rank top 3 with KOA by Month 18

We won't displace KOA from #1 — their parent domain is too strong. But we'll sit alongside them, not below them.

01 · Site audit

Your current site scores 9 out of 100.

That's not a typo. The score reflects a near-zero local optimization plus a schema tag that's pointing Google to the wrong state. Here's the breakdown.

GBP Signals (weight 25%)

10/100

No Maps embed, no review widget, no place ID, no GBP integration on the site

Reviews & Reputation (weight 20%)

5/100

Empty 'Testimonials' heading with no review content. No aggregateRating schema.

Local On-Page SEO (weight 20%)

25/100

Address visible but no `tel:` link, no city in title tag, no service pages, one-page architecture

NAP Consistency & Citations (weight 15%)

0/100

Three different versions exist: footer NAP, schema NAP (Alamogordo NM!), MCG study NAP

Local Schema Markup (weight 10%)

0/100

Schema exists but is malformed — points to '575 RV Park' in Alamogordo NM

Local Link & Authority (weight 10%)

5/100

Insider Perks (template builder) is the only external signal

What Google currently thinks your business is

This is the actual JSON-LD schema embedded on the live islandcreekcampground.com homepage right now. We verified by rendering the page through a headless browser on May 15, 2026:

{
  "@type": "Campground",
  "name": "575 RV Park",         ← WRONG
  "telephone": "+15755541006",       ← WRONG
  "address": {
    "streetAddress": "575 W. 8th Street",  ← WRONG
    "addressLocality": "Alamogordo",     ← WRONG (Wilmington NC)
    "addressRegion": "NM",                ← WRONG (NC, not NM)
    "postalCode": "88310"          ← WRONG (28411)
  }
}

Template default from a competitor in New Mexico that was never customized. Fixing this one tag alone will lift local pack visibility within 2–4 weeks. Single highest-ROI action in the engagement.

Three different versions of your business identity exist

Before launch, all three sources have to agree. We'll confirm with you on the next call.

Source	Name	Address	Phone
Page HTML footer	Island Creek Campground	8102 SIDBURY RD, WILMINGTON NC	+19105203582
Page JSON-LD schema	575 RV Park	575 W. 8th Street, Alamogordo, NM 88310	+15755541006
MCG feasibility study	Island Creek RV Resort	8110 Sidbury Rd, Wilmington, NC 28411	(not in study)

Five facts that don't match between your live site and MCG's study

Pick the canonical version of each before we launch, so we sync everywhere.

Fact	Live site	MCG study
Site count	65	66
Acreage	19.61	19.21
Street address	8102 Sidbury Rd	8110 Sidbury Rd
Property name	Island Creek Campground	Island Creek RV Resort
Opening	Summer of 2026	Q4 2026

02 · Keyword gap map

21 queries we mapped. 10+ are wide open.

Where KOA, Oceans, and Snow's Cut rank for each — and where nobody ranks. The 'WIDE OPEN' rows are the ones we'll own.

Query	KOA	Oceans	Snow's Cut	Opportunity	Priority
wilmington nc rv park	1–2	8–15	15+	Top-3 achievable in 12 months	P0
wilmington rv resort	1–2	8–15	—	Top-3 achievable in 12 months	P0
rv park near wrightsville beach	1–3	5–10	—	Mid-funnel; page 1 in 9 months	P1
rv park near carolina beach	5–10	—	3–8	Open — go deep	P1
rv park near kure beach	5–10	—	—	Open	P2
cape fear rv resort	—	—	—	WIDE OPEN — no clear winner	P0
monthly rv park wilmington nc	—	—	1–3	Beat Snow's Cut with depth	P0
long term rv stay wilmington	—	—	1–3	Same	P0
snowbird rv park north carolina coast	—	—	—	WIDE OPEN	P0
snowbird rv wilmington	—	—	—	WIDE OPEN	P0
uncw family weekend lodging	—	—	—	WIDE OPEN	P0
uncw graduation rv park	—	—	—	WIDE OPEN	P0
big rig rv park wilmington	—	—	—	WIDE OPEN	P0
100 ft pull through rv wilmington	—	—	—	WIDE OPEN	P1
pet friendly rv park wilmington	weak	thin	—	Beatable	P1
quiet rv park wilmington	—	—	—	WIDE OPEN — anti-KOA wedge	P0
luxury rv resort wilmington	—	weak	—	Open lane	P1
rv park i-140 wilmington	—	—	—	WIDE OPEN	P2
rv park hampstead nc	—	—	—	WIDE OPEN	P1
wilmington-hampstead bypass campground	—	—	—	WIDE OPEN — owns it when bypass opens	P1
azalea festival rv camping wilmington	—	—	—	Open — seasonal play	P2

03 · KOA blog teardown

What KOA wrote, and how we'll beat each post.

KOA published 6 local blog posts. None are deep. None target long-tail intent. Below: each post, our reading of its weakness, and the post we'd publish instead.

KOA's post

Free and Cheap Things To Do in Wilmington

~800w, surface-level list

Our angle

Free Things to Do in Wilmington for RV Campers — add 25+ items, segment by season, link to monthly rates

KOA's post

Five Best Beaches in Wilmington NC Area

~700w, generic

Our angle

Best Beaches Near Island Creek RV Resort — first-person from-the-property POV, drive times, parking, beach gear rentals

KOA's post

Glamping Near the Beach in Wilmington

~600w, hooks but no detail

Our angle

Pivot — we have no glamping. Write 'Upscale RV vs Glamping: Which Is Right for You'

KOA's post

Outdoor Activities in Wilmington

~700w, list format

Our angle

Outdoor Activities Near Wilmington: A Camper's Guide — categorize by activity type + skill level

KOA's post

Cape Fear River Fishing Guide

~600w, decent for KOA

Our angle

Cape Fear River Fishing for RV Travelers — add launch points, license guide, charter options

KOA's post

5 Pet-Friendly Activities in Wilmington

~500w, thin

Our angle

Wilmington With Dogs: 12 Pet-Friendly Spots — double the depth, include dog beaches with leash rules, vet contacts

KOA's post

Exploring Historic Downtown Wilmington

~700w, tourist-y

Our angle

Wilmington Historic District: A Walking Guide for RV Visitors — add parking options for tow vehicles, restaurant recommendations

04 · Technical checklist

12 fixes we ship in Week 1.

Each one moves a specific signal Google measures. The 'Critical' rows alone account for ~60% of the score lift we'd expect by Month 3.

Schema markup
broken
Replace template default (Alamogordo NM) with correct Campground schema
Critical
robots.txt
default
Confirm allows all crawlers, add sitemap reference
High
sitemap.xml
missing or auto-generated
Structured by content type, submit to GSC + Bing Webmaster
High
Canonical tags
inconsistent
Self-canonical on every page
High
HTTPS
likely yes
Verify; add HSTS header
Medium
Mobile-first design
partial
Mobile-first responsive, tested at 360px
High
Core Web Vitals
unknown
LCP <2.5s, INP <200ms, CLS <0.1 — all mobile
High
Internal linking
none
Every page links to 2–4 contextually related pages
Medium
Open Graph + Twitter Card
likely missing
Default OG image + per-page OG tags
Medium
GA4 + GSC + Bing Webmaster
missing
All three provisioned + verified ownership
Critical
Indexing API submission
n/a
Submit all new pages to Google Indexing API on publish
Medium
`tel:` links
none
Every phone instance must be a tap-to-call link
Critical

05 · The schema fix

The exact JSON-LD we'll deploy.

This is the drop-in replacement for the broken schema. Verified against schema.org Campground type. Once Doug confirms NAP, we ship this on day one.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Campground",
  "@id": "https://islandcreekcampground.com/#campground",
  "name": "Island Creek RV Resort",
  "alternateName": "Island Creek Campground",
  "url": "https://islandcreekcampground.com",
  "telephone": "+1-910-520-3582",
  "email": "doug@islandcreekcampground.com",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "8110 Sidbury Road",
    "addressLocality": "Wilmington",
    "addressRegion": "NC",
    "postalCode": "28411",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
    "latitude": "34.34329",
    "longitude": "-77.80335"
  },
  "openingHoursSpecification": [{
    "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
    "dayOfWeek": ["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday","Sunday"],
    "opens": "08:00",
    "closes": "20:00"
  }],
  "priceRange": "$$",
  "petsAllowed": true,
  "smokingAllowed": false,
  "checkinTime": "15:00",
  "checkoutTime": "11:00",
  "amenityFeature": [
    {"@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification", "name": "Concrete Pads", "value": true},
    {"@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification", "name": "Full Hookups", "value": true},
    {"@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification", "name": "Big Rig Friendly", "value": true},
    {"@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification", "name": "Swimming Pool", "value": true},
    {"@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification", "name": "Clubhouse", "value": true},
    {"@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification", "name": "Pickleball Courts", "value": true},
    {"@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification", "name": "Dog Park", "value": true},
    {"@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification", "name": "Pet Friendly", "value": true},
    {"@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification", "name": "WiFi", "value": true}
  ],
  "areaServed": [
    "Wilmington, NC", "Wrightsville Beach", "Carolina Beach", "Kure Beach",
    "Hampstead, NC", "Topsail Beach"
  ]
}

06 · Directory & listing strategy

14 listings we ship Week 1. Plus 24 more.

The 14 P0 listings drive ~80% of organic discovery. The other tiers are brand presence and long-tail capture.

P0 — Week 1 (the bookings drivers)

~$700 in paid listings + free. Bundled in the $20k.

Google Business Profile · Free

Single most important listing. Photos, services, posts, Q&A.

Apple Business Connect · Free

iPhone users → Apple Maps. 30% of NA mobile search.

Bing Places · Free

Edge users skew 55+ (snowbird demo). Auto-import from Google.

Campendium · Free + premium $9.99/mo

Largest camping community. Reviews matter heavily.

The Dyrt · Free + Pro listings $30/mo

Tied with Campendium for SERP weight.

Good Sam · $295/yr listing

Old guard; snowbirds use this religiously.

RV Life Campground Reviews · Free

Sister to RV Park Reviews — same database.

Hipcamp · Free + 10% commission

Brings new-to-camping audience.

RoverPass marketplace · Free (we control)

We get you featured here.

AAA Trip Canvas · Free (apply)

Huge AAA loyalist traffic.

Roadtrippers · Free + Plus tier

Itinerary builders surface campgrounds.

Yelp · Free

Locals trust Yelp; necessary for review velocity.

Tripadvisor · Free

Travel-decision pivotal site. List as 'Specialty Lodging'.

Visit Wilmington & Beaches (CVB) · Free (apply)

Authoritative .org backlink + locals see it.

P1 · Month 3

· Visit NC (state tourism)
· AllStays
· RVshare
· Outdoorsy
· Harvest Hosts ($99/yr)
· Boondockers Welcome
· BringFido
· PetsWelcome
· wilmington-nc.com
· capefear-nc.com
· NC Travel Industry Association

P2 · Month 6

· Reserve America
· Booking.com (15% commission)
· VRBO (8% commission)
· Expedia
· FreeRoam
· Park Advisor
· Camp Native
· Escapees RV Club ($39.95/yr)
· FMCA
· Snowbird.com
· Workamper News

P3 · Trade + industry

· ARVC (National Association of RV Parks)
· NCARV (NC State Assoc.)
· Wilmington Chamber of Commerce
· Hampstead Chamber
· UNCW Off-Campus Lodging Directory

What we deliberately skip

✕
Campspot Marketplace. RoverPass competitor. We won't surface Doug's inventory there.
✕
KOA. Brand, not a directory.
✕
Recreation.gov. Public lands only.
✕
Airbnb. Only relevant for cabins/glamping — Doug's permit prohibits.
✕
Generic 'free directory' submission services. Google has detected and penalized these for years.

07 · Realistic timeline

Where you'll be at 6, 12, and 18 months.

Honest predictions, not aspirational ones. We won't displace KOA from #1 on their core query — the brand + DA moat is too wide. Our goal is co-ranking top 3.

Month 6 (May 2027)

Foundation in place

Indexed and ranking page 2–3 on primary commercial queries ('Wilmington NC RV park')
Top-5 on at least one long-tail (likely 'big rig RV park Wilmington' or 'snowbird RV Wilmington')
30–60 Google reviews
10–12 aggregator listings live with photos + descriptions
Branded queries ('Island Creek RV Resort') all-clear at #1

Month 12 (Nov 2027)

Top-5 on commercial

Top-5 on 1–2 non-branded commercial queries
Top-3 on 3–5 long-tails
100–200 Google reviews
Page 1 for 'Wilmington NC RV resort' (position 4–7, behind KOA + aggregators)

Month 18 (May 2028)

Co-ranking with KOA

Position 2–4 for primary commercial queries (behind KOA + 1–2 aggregators)
Top-1 on 5–10 long-tails
AI Overviews / featured snippets on niche queries
200+ reviews at 4.6+
Goal is co-rank top 3, not displace KOA #1. The brand + DA moat is too wide.