Working as a PR consultant in a SEO agency, I get sent requests from journalists on a daily basis. These requests for stories, products or just general information can often result in fantastic (linked) coverage for our clients on high-profile websites such as Handbag.com and Guardian.co.uk but recently I've noticed more and more requests coming in from, shall we say, less traditional media outlets... Retailers! In the past few weeks alone, I've spotted Boden seeking contributions for its 'new community blog' and Dune looking for 'fabulous products, across all luxury lifestyle sectors for placement in the Dune Loves grid'. It's refreshing to see - because at long last it means that fashion retailers are recognising that in such competitive online selling spaces, product alone is simply not enough to bring traffic to your website, engage shoppers and convince them to buy. Product alone won't keep them coming back either. But quality content will. Take a look at...

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A brief history of link buying From the very beginning of the web links have had an inherent value, driving visits and raising awareness to increase revenue and deliver improved branding. It's only been in the Age of Google that their true impact on search engine rankings has been better understood. Simply put, links (and particularly targeted anchor text links) can have a major impact on rankings. It's no surprise that a marketplace for links emerged with those sites with deep enough pockets paying to artificially boost their presence on search engines. Google quickly realised that the level playing field it had created could be 'gamed' by buying links en masse via trading sites or by dealing directly, so it changed its quality guidelines to advise against buying links, reserving the right to penalise those blatantly selling or buying. It also began proactively discounting the value of obviously bought links and its web spam team focused on improving the algorithm to reduce...

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When you’re talking with your friends, the last thing you’d expect or even want, is for a stranger to come and interrupt you mid sentence by shouting about how great they are. If they did want to join in with your conversation, their best tactic would be hang round in similar places as you, become familiar with your interests and wait for the right moment to politely introduce themselves. Next they should ask a few questions about you and most importantly LISTEN so they can start to understand your likes and dislikes. Then you probably wouldn’t mind if they started offering useful related stories and information in the flow of the conversation. How about they then used all the information they had learnt and threw a party – where the food and music were exactly to your taste. You’d probably go. And you’d probably bring your like minded mates with you. And during the party you’d also probably be happy to listen to the host with an open mind about what they have to...

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I think you spend far too much time worrying about Google’s algorithm. Not you personally but search professionals generally. Even Google thinks you spend far too much time worrying. "One piece of advice I give to SEO masters is, don't chase after Google's algorithm, chase after your best interpretation of what users want, because that's what Google's chasing after." The above quote is courtesy of Google's Matt Cutts and it's obvious stuff really. Google has something like a 90% share of the UK search market and it would very much like to maintain and even improve on this because, simply put, advertisers follow their customers (and have to pay for the privilege). It's good, old-fashioned economics in action. And it's a good, old-fashioned onsite content opportunity that you can take advantage of. Serving up the results that deliver the compelling and useful content that people want is what will protect and amplify Google's power. And those businesses...

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The recently reported news that the Office of Fair Trading is looking to prosecute companies who pay bloggers for positive coverage of their products makes interesting news for all of us at Propellernet. Why would anyone offering quality content need to pay for coverage? Our approach has always been to develop content that offers genuine value to our target media, be that amateur bloggers, professional bloggers, or standard online media.  The fact that we use search personas and that we’re specialists in the travel and retail sectors means that we know the key media contacts well and we’re able to determine which sites are right for our clients’ target audience quickly and easily.   From there we use various inputs to determine what content will prove valuable both to our clients’ target audience and to the media that we’re targeting. The result of this approach is that we value good relations with all our key contacts from bloggers to journalists (regularly...

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Ok, so web content is nothing new; people have been creating new content (good and bad) since the birth of the web. But creating exciting, relevant content for your website... now that is a completely different kettle of fish! In the first instalment of ‘Get Creative in 2011’ we gave an introduction to what it is to produce great content for your website. We also discussed ways of using ‘Design SEO’ to benefit your online audience and produce the best content to boost your search possibilities. In part two, we will discuss why the production of smart, creative and well designed content is SO damn important to your brand and how you can squeeze every last drop from it. Read the rest of this entry...

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With the celebrations of the 1st of January now behind us and with a wealth of ideas for ‘what will be new in 2011’ stated - it is now time to do something big and yes, a little bit clever. Perhaps not as daunting as some would have you believe. Creating new exciting & well designed pieces of content can make all the difference to your search positions. In this blog post I will highlight some great ways of combining graphic design with SEO, a technique that has been used to great acclaim and success in my work with Propellernet. We call it Design SEO and it should change the way you think about content. Read the rest of this entry...

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Let’s face it - social media is a huge topic in the online universe, with posts created every second offering opinions on trending topics or commenting on the latest news.  But can social media really make a difference to the bottom line for travel companies?   According to econsultancy.com, 70% of all bloggers are organically talking about brands on their own blog, which of course is worth its weight in gold with regards to SEO development.  With  an authoritative, relevant blogger producing great content about your brand, you gain free brand awareness and possibly additional traffic to your site. Read the rest of this entry...

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With an estimated value of £17.8 billion, online sales accounted for 6.7% of retail sales in the UK in 2009 (Mintel 2010). Today, as online shopping is evolving, retailers that have expanded or completely moved online are seeing a healthy growth in their revenue. With market leaders such as M&S and Next increasing their margins through their multichannel strategy and visible online presence, it is safe to say that e-commerce is become a  key revenue driver for brands. As online sales figures continue to grow, fashion brands really need to focus on their digital marketing strategy and realise that  if they don't, they will lose money! Read the rest of this entry...

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It’s coming to the end of the academic year and I’ve got results on my mind, so when a colleague forwarded to me a copy of Conductor’s report on Natural Search Trends of the Internet Retailer 500 Q2/2010 (full of statistics and grades) I immediately got excited. You can get your copy of the report here. It’s well worth picking up and certainly contains some food for thought (and much that I agree with) but parts of it left me baffled, particularly its grading system. Read the rest of this entry...

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