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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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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I firmly believe that we will look back at Christmas 2010 as the moment mobile went from a really interesting topic to a serious tactic within all retailers' marketing mix, and what better way to assist retailers in the build up to Christmas than to put together a mobile wish list. Now what a present that is! Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration but below are my top 10 tips and considerations for mobile: 1. Don't think for too long! Mobile is still heavily in the planning stage and everyone seems to be talking about theories rather than proven conclusions. This has lead to many retailers waiting to see what happens with mobile before taking the plunge themselves. Read the rest of this entry...

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Go back 10 years and search results on Google were vastly different to what they are today. Gone are the days of page after page of bland text; instead searchers are now bombarded with an assortment of results - from news to maps, images and videos. Google refers to this as "universal search" as it combines their separate search tools to provide improved results for searches. However, universal search is just the tip of the iceberg with regards to maximising your brand’s exposure within the search results. Whilst not all options may be relevant to your brand, there are many which are easy to implement and allow you to increase visibility and traffic (whilst helping to bury your competitors further down the page). Read the rest of this entry...

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When we started looking into the world of video-SEO at the beginning of this year, we came across a number of technologies which we knew would allow us to get really creative and generate some great results for our clients. One of the most exciting technologies was hotspotting; the creation of an interactive, clickable layer on a video which allows viewers to interact with what they are seeing. We loved it because it fitted nicely with our SEO-PR ethos- that is, developing creative ways to gain links and selling these creative ideas in to the media from a PR perspective- and complimented the existing work we were doing for our retail clients. Westfield London shopping centre was one of these clients and footage of the ‘Greatest Fashion Show on Earth’ event struck us as the perfect opportunity to create our first hotspotted video. By creating a virtual front row, we could bring the excitement of a catwalk show to life for fashion fans who could not attend the fabulous event...

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This month Propellernet will be exhibiting at Internet World from 27th – 29th April, where we are set to challenge people’s perceptions of Online PR. Our team will be sharing some of its valuable SEO, creative link development and online PR expertise with Internet World visitors, on-stand and at two talks by members of the team. We will invite people to ‘explore the vast galaxy of SEO-PR’ and challenge visitors on their perceptions of Online PR. Read the rest of this entry...

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Outrage and then heated debate reverberated around Propellernet Towers yesterday when our daily news scanning found a story in the Metro generated by A&M University in Texas, about the University’s research on the effectiveness of brainstorms. The story claims that people get their best ideas when sitting quietly on their own and that brainstorms are counter productive. What rot! As Creative Director at Propellernet, reading the story fair made my blood boil and I felt compelled to answer these broad brush and ill considered claims! Brainstorming with a team is one of the most valuable methods we use to come up with the fresh and exciting ideas we do for clients and if they are prepared for, facilitated properly and focused, deliver creative yet realistic and achievable results. I absolutely accept that people’s brains are wired differently. Some of the team here are ‘creative perculators’ going away from a brainstorm still brimming with ideas and developing...

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