Case study: Hobbs London SEO success
In our latest case study to highlight excellence in marketing practice, we turn the spotlight on the SEO work of Hobbs London and their agency Mediavision. Together they were winners of the 2016 CIM Marketing Excellence Awards for Digital SEO.
About Hobbs
Women’s fashion and footwear brand Hobbs opened its first shop in Hampstead, London in 1981. Since then it’s become a global brand and British design standard known for feminine tailored styles. The company operates shops across the UK and concessions overseas. With in-house designs that reflect high-end designer style, the Hobbs brand represents affordable luxury.
The challenge
Hobbs wanted to reassert its position in the highly competitive marketplace for women’s fashion through its search strategy. Specifically, the brand wanted to increase online traffic to its e-commerce website through Search Engine Optimisation. It tasked Mediavision with uplifting traffic by 30%.
The SEO campaign
Mediavision’s SEO and PR campaign activity stemmed from a thorough understanding of the Hobbs brand, its products and its online capabilities.
The agency researched search trends by product groups and assessed current performance to discover that the brand was only ranked for 12% of its target search phrases. It also reviewed the technical infrastructure, and worked alongside the developers, DesignUK, to prioritise urgent improvements and get the most from the existing set-up. The next step of SEO development involved working in tandem with the e-commerce team at Hobbs. A new landing page strategy was implemented and whatever could be optimised was optimised!
In addition to helping the brand become better positioned when potential customers searched online, the project included an online PR campaign to support link-building. The campaign targeted both influential bloggers and traditional fashion media.
The outcome
The campaign delivered growth for Hobbs that was above target (with seasonality factored in) within four months:
- 85% Increase in organic (non-brand) traffic
- 91% Increase in non-brand revenue
After ten months, the position had improved further:
- 300% improved ranking visibility
- 161% increase in organic (non-brand) traffic
- 228% growth in non-brand revenue above the seasonal baseline
PR activity resulted in product placement in fashion the fashion press with links to Hobbs achieved from Grazia, Marie Claire, Glamour, Stylist, and MSN Fashion. By building the link profile of the Hobbs e-commerce website with links from relevant and trusted fashion commentators, the campaign improved Hobbs position in the search rankings, bringing yet more traffic to the site.
Case studies from other 2016 award winners
EventsTag and Nike social media campaign for public engagement at race events
Canal & River Trust public education campaign to stop people feeding bread to ducks
The Senet Group integrated marketing communications to promote responsible gambling
2017 Awards
This month sees the announcement of the 2017 CIM Marketing Excellence Awards winners. We wish the best of luck to all the London CIM members taking part in these national awards. Here’s hoping Londoners are amongst the winners claiming their accolades at the awards night on 27 April 2017 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane. If you’d like to be part of this glittering evening you can book an individual seat or host a table of colleagues and clients.
CIM training in search marketing
Should you wish to develop your own search prowess there’s a range of courses available in London.
Advanced search engine marketing on 4-5 July 2017. CPD 14 hours.
Advanced SEO training on 19 May and 16 August 2017. CPD 7 hours.
Search engine marketing introductory level course on 24 May and 26 July 2017. CPD 7 hours.
SEM - advanced PPC advertising on 2 May and 7 August 2017.
Remember CIM members are entitled to 10% training discount on non-member prices, exclusive of VAT.