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Why is Content Important for SEO?

by SEO

Content Executive, Emma Stretton, explains why you need more than just keywords if you want to rank.

SEO is not just keywords

There was a time when you could come up with 57 synonyms for ‘washing machine’ and have your appliance business fly up the SERPs. That was back when search engines were rudimentary at best but, as with everything, when we know better, we do better; and keyword stuffing is just another sorry search engine tale millennials laugh about. 

Nowadays, it isn’t enough to shoehorn single keywords into on-page content or write a blog filled with spam links. Not only does Google update their algorithms regularly to weed out such behaviour, but the way we use the internet has changed too.

Organic search and our behaviour

Data from SEO website AHRefs, shows that of the 1.9 billion keywords in the AHrefs database, 92% of them get ten searches per month or less. Which basically means that people aren’t simply searching for the most obvious phrases anymore, they’re talking to search engines like a friend and asking them for very fine tuned, specific information. Think about it, in 2006 when the internet was burgeoning, it was enough that we could look for, and find, ‘shoes’ just by typing into a search bar. Now, with mobile technology, GPRS and a tech savvy generation, we think nothing of asking for ‘size 4 black western boots’ (or whichever shoe style takes your fancy). We can even use voice search to essentially have a conversation with our search engines, and can narrow down our dinner choices as close to home as we want.

Google Updates

Nowadays, it’s more important than ever to make sure the content you provide gives real value to the people looking for it. In 2013, Google ran the ‘Hummingbird update’ which is known as the semantic update. It figured out that when someone searches for something, there could be various meanings behind that search. So, to go back to our earlier example of the shoes, someone searching for ‘black western boots’ could just as well want to know about the history of them as much as wanting to buy a pair. The Hummingbird update allowed for this nuance and started crawling websites not just for the most obvious keywords but for the content that could be closest to what the searcher wanted. Yeah, it blows our minds a bit too.

Several more updates, improved technology and conversational search have now made Google’s processes even tighter. There are roughly 40,000 search queries per second; that’s a lot of people wanting to know a lot of things, and search engines want to return the best results. If you’re creating content for your website, it needs to signal expertise, authority and trust; which means writing for humans and human behaviour, not what you think Google wants to hear.

Think content, not crawling

People want to take in information that genuinely helps them and that they can believe in. They want to be engaged and informed, and not bored. No one wants 15 versions of the same word shouted at them and in a world that thrives on a faster pace, you’ve got to get to the point. We can’t teach you how to write the perfect copy (although we could do it for you), but here’s a few hints and tips we try to live by:

  1. Remember that content ranks – don’t get caught up in keyword hype. That’s why we wrote this article, to remind you that Google wants quality not quantity.

  1. Get to the point – Readers tend to skim read content if it’s overfacing. Say what you need to say in as few words as possible. Then reread it and take out some more.

  1. Think about your E-A-T – Expertise, authority and trust are huge factors for ranking. Make sure your content hits these cornerstones. Basically, don’t just spout a load of nonsense for the sake of making content, because search engines will know.

  1. Do your research – make sure what you’re actually saying is factually correct, and that the keywords you do use are relevant.

  1. Do you enjoy reading it? When we’ve finished a piece we go back over it and see if we actually enjoyed reading it. Even the less exciting topics, when well written, should hold your attention. 

Often, marketers get bogged down with how to ‘write for search engines’, when really, it’s quite simple; content that serves the user well, serves search engines well. Ultimately, search engines want to give their users the best experience when they use their platform, so if they type in “history of black western boots” and land on your well-researched guide to black western boots, featuring a detailed timeline, pictures, sources and even quotes from cowboys through out history trailblazing the benefits of boots, then the reader has everything they need. And a happy reader = a happy Google. So, focus on content that offers value and Google will do the rest.

 

 

Want more SEO tips? Then check out these blogs

6 Reasons Why Your Website NEEDS A Blog

Voice search: the future of SERPs?

Case Study: How we earnt 121 links for one Digital PR campaign

by Digital PR & Outreach tips

Overview

The client: Patient Claim Line 

The campaign: Survey data uncovers how NHS delays are affecting Brits 

The results:

  • 127 pieces of coverage    
  • 121 links    
  • Average DR 56.67

Background and objectives

Patient Claim Line is the UK’s highest-rated medical negligence Solicitors, who currently deal with one in 10 of all medical negligence claims in England and Wales.

They needed a PR campaign to earn them coverage in UK publications, in turn generating links to their website to improve it’s authority. We were particularly focused on gaining links from new domains to broaden their link profile and improve their overall SEO.

In terms of the content of the campaign, we had four main aims:

  1. Create content related to the medical negligence field which the client can back up with their legal expertise
  2. Collect new and informative data that could used by journalists, and is relevant and therefore usable for months to come
  3. Ensure that the content is helpful to the British public and is sensitive to the current climate and difficult times within the medical sphere
  4. Make sure that the content can be reworked to have a number of different angles, and therefore can appeal to medical, national and regional publications

Strategy

After brainstorming and researching current topics related to medical negligence, we decided to delve into a subject that had gained some media discussion but was lacking hard statistics –   the effect of NHS delays on the British public over the past twelve months. 

To source new and reliable data, we worked with a survey provider to collect information on how patients feel like the pandemic has impacted or delayed their NHS treatment.

We analysed the data from a national perspective, as well as split regionally to see which areas of the UK were impacted more than others.

A survey report was created detailing all of the findings including regional splits, and also offered legal advice from Patient Claim Line’s experts on patient rights if their treatment has been delayed. This informative guide was published on Patient Claim Line’s website as a useful hub for journalists to refer back to. 

That’s the beauty of this content – it will be of use to journalists for months to come because it isn’t too time sensitive.

The content

We found some brilliant statistics that we knew journalists would love, including: 

  • Half of Brits have had their medical treatment delayed by the NHS since the pandemic started and 45% have seen their condition get worse as a result.
  • Almost a third of the population have opted to delay their own medical treatment since the pandemic started
  • Half of those who delayed their own treatment have also seen their condition worsen
  • 53% delayed their treatment due to fears of catching COVID, followed by 52% who don’t want to put a strain on the NHS
  • 78% of the UK appreciate the NHS more than they did before the pandemic


We created multiple press releases with different angles to target journalists in a variety of fields. We also coupled the data with expert comments from Patient Claim Line to make the content more helpful to the reader if they’ve been affected by NHS delays.

The results

The results were fantastic.

We achieved 127 pieces of coverage from predominantly new domains for the client. 121 of the pieces of coverage included a link back to the website, and these links were from sites with an average DR of 56.67 (compared to the client’s current DR of 27).

Some examples of the variety of coverage include:

The content was extremely relevant to the Patient Claim Line, helpful to the reader and even brought in leads through the website of those looking to make a medical negligence claim. We smashed all of our objectives, and the client was thrilled.

Check out another one of our client case studies in our blog ‘Backlinks and Brainteasers: a marriage made in SEO’ or find out more about linkbuiling on our Digital PR services page.

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How are British fast fashion retailers building links to their websites?

by Digital PR & Outreach tipsSEO

Good SEO is crucial for fast fashion retailers. 

Many are based solely online meaning that getting traffic to the website is the only way to make sales. And with lockdown further fueling an eCommerce revolution, it’s more important than ever to rank well on Google to steer customers towards your website. 

In the SEO world, it’s undisputed that building high-quality links to your site is a proven way to improve your website’s position in the search engine results (read more on this here). It’s also widely accepted that the best way to earn links is through online PR, more commonly referred to as Digital PR.

So how are fast fashion retailers earning high-quality links? We investigated four online-only brands to get the lowdown.

The four brands investigated are: 

  • In The Style
  • Missguided
  • Boohoo
  • Sosander 

Product placement is key 

Fast fashion brands have one huge benefit when it comes to link building – the product. Ecommerce stores have the opportunity to offer product reviews and feature in gift guides, both of which are published frequently in online newspapers, magazines and blogs alike.

What are the benefits of link building through product placements?

The benefits of landing product placements are threefold:

  1. They get your product and brand seen by a focused audience which can lead to sales.
  2. They usually only cost the amount of product being gifted to the publication.
  3. A link is guaranteed. Journalists know that readers want to click through the article to buy the product they’ve just been sold. 


*Link Building Tip: When pushing out products to journalists, be sure to send them everything they need in your initial email. This includes correct pricing, timescales on deals, and hi-res images in a Dropbox link.

Gift guides 

Gift guides are a fast fashion retailer’s bread and butter. They are easy for brands to capitalise on and they’re predictable. Retailers should have gift guides prepared for all annual buying holidays – Christmas, Father’s Day, festival season, you name it. 

*Link Building Tip: Create a PR calendar for the year to make sure you’re capitalising on key retail dates. 

As fast fashion retailers can quickly turn around new products in light of seasonal events, it makes it even easier for them to provide relevant products to journalists. We saw this trend in many fast fashion retailers – for example, In The Style who landed coverage in numerous seasonal gift guides for their Halloween pyjamas (Source).

Fast fashion brands can also quickly and easily create new ranges to target different audiences and use this as a way to generate links. For example, Boohoo launched a maternity range which opened up opportunities to gain links from completely new domains in a new industry – parenting publications (Source). 

*Link Building Fact: Getting links from domains that you haven’t ranked on before is excellent for your website’s rankings. Your website will rank better if you have one link per website on a variety of websites, rather than lots of links from three select websites.

Tapping into popular culture 

When it comes to link building, you need to know about popular culture trends as soon as they’re on the rise and use them to your advantage. Journalists will want to weigh in on them to create current and shareable content – so if you can provide them with a new angle on a trend, you’ve hit the jackpot.

Fast fashion retailers use this technique, and use it well. 

One successful example was from Missguided. They saw memes about “jeans and a nice top” becoming the default answer when women ask each other what they’re wearing, and used this to create a new product page for the phenomenon (Source).

The brilliant thing about this link building stunt was the simplicity. All it needed was a category page built into the site, but made waves in the media as it put a new twist on a viral trend.

*Link Building Tip: Social media is a great place to find rising trends. Particularly keep an eye out for anything that you can tie your product into (think H&M and Joe Black’s Drag Race dress  – if you know, you know).

TV, specifically Netflix, is also a very newsworthy topic that fast fashion retailers use to promote their products. For example, when the hit show Emily In Paris sparked discussion about her impressive wardrobe, In The Style were quick to promote clothes to replicate her looks (Source).  

Deals for days 

Outreaching deals, particularly around Black Friday, is a staple link building technique for fast fashion retailers.

Customers are hungry for deals, and journalists are keen to provide. Therefore it’s crucial to get your discounts seen and included in round-ups which will earn some great links. We have seen this mirrored across all fast fashion and eCommerce businesses (Source), and more so each year as the demand for amazing deals around Black Friday increases.

PR stunts

PR stunts are a high-risk, high-reward technique for gaining press coverage. 

We know that fast fashion retailers can turn around a product quickly, and Boohoo used this to their advantage when creating miniature Christmas wreaths for your nipples. This stunt successfully coupled sex with a seasonal slant to create a product that earnt them a lot of links (Source). 

The expression doesn’t lie – sex sells. 

Celebrity promotions

Many media outlets have a team of journalists dedicated to reporting on celebrity news.

Fast fashion retailers capitalise on this demand for celebrity news in two ways:

1. Celebrity partnerships
Launching a clothing line with a celebrity will not only lead to sales from fans, but earn lots of media attention about the launch – including those important links. In The Style introducing an edit with a Love Island star is a perfect example of this, and one which is very on-brand for their customers (Source). 

2. Steal their style
Retailers can capitalise on press coverage of celebrities’ fabulous outfits by offering suggestions to journalists of how to steal their style – whether that’s with the exact piece of clothing or a duplicate. Sosander has mastered this technique incredibly well, focusing on celebs who are aspirational to their demographic, such as Holly Willoughby, Amanda Holden and Kate Middleton (Source).

Karma-based link building

Gaining links as a result of promoting your company’s charitable work is called karma-based link building. 

Fast fashion retailers don’t always have the best reputation when it comes to corporate responsibility. Therefore charity partnerships and products which fundraise will earn you some positive press whilst giving back. For example, Boohoo released a hoodie with all proceeds from the sale donated to Manchester Foundation Trust Charity’s NHS Staff Appeal (Source) which earned them some positive press and great links.

However fast fashion retailers must tread carefully. On the contrary, Boohoo was slammed for their “For the future campaign” (Source) which many argued contradicted their business model and got press coverage for all the wrong reasons. 

Conclusions

From our investigation, it’s clear that fast fashion retailer’s link building strategies have a heavy product focus. This is no surprise given the threefold benefits listed earlier, as well as the fact that these brands can have new and topical products made up for PR purposes at the drop of a hat. Though not all companies have this at their disposal, there are still many techniques here that can inspire link building strategies for eCommerce clients of all natures.

For more inspiration, check out our blog post ‘Backlinks and Brainteasers: a marriage made in SEO’ about one of our top-performing Christmas campaigns. 

manchester marketing agency

Why We Love Being A Manchester SEO Agency

by Cedarwood Digital NewsSEO

Our Director, Amanda Walls, set up Cedarwood Digital after working in digital marketing for several years. Having created training courses for Google and training thousands of individuals through Facebook’s Digital Skills Program, she knows more about SEO than most people know about themselves. After travelling all over the world, Amanda tied her flag to Manchester’s mast and decided to start her own digital marketing company.

A different SEO agency

It’s the norm nowadays to have account managers who are assigned to individual clients. Common belief is that they tie things up neatly and ensure one point of contact. But what if the norm isn’t necessarily the best way? 

At Cedarwood, we take a unique, hands-on approach. Every team member works with every client and gets to know them as a person, not an account number – becoming an extension of your in-house team. So, if your DPR needs a push, you speak to our PR expert, and if you’re interested in Google Ads, our PPC whizz is at the end of the phone (or video chat). No matter where you’re located, we’re here to help. Our clients are based all over the UK and we build personal, lasting relationships with every client. It’s what sets Cedarwood apart.

We’re based in Linley House, in the heart of Manchester

Where We Work

Our office is located well and truly in the heart of the city – just seconds from the Palace Theatre, and minutes from St Peter’s Square. We share a building with other SMEs which brings a strong sense of community and people bringing in their dogs is also an unexpected perk. Amanda chose Clockwise in Manchester because it’s the right mix of work and play, and gives us the space we need to be creative and focus on growing.

Manchester also plays host to several digital marketing award ceremonies. We’re proud to have been finalists in many of them, including The Northern Digital Awards. Obviously there’s friendly rivalry and we find a bit of competition is a great motivator, but it’s also great to be able to celebrate the achievements of the numerous digital marketing agencies in Manchester.  There are over 200 in fact, and the city’s thriving business scene makes it a real hub for marketers. There’s always a networking event to attend or industry talk to learn from. It’s a bustling city known for its vibrant culture and we can’t forget the impressive number of choices for after-work drinks. 

Our team comes from the North, the South and even Australia but we all agree that Manchester’s booming SEO sector offers the perfect place for us.

A kitchenette in the Clockwise office

The growth of e-commerce and the turn towards a much more digital world makes working in SEO and digital marketing challenging but exciting. We never want to rest on our laurels and being in the cut and thrust of a thriving city, in an industry that continues to grow, is more than worth the early morning tram ride and occasional rainy day.

Find out more about our team on our About Us page and have a look at what our Manchester based SEO Services can do for you.

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Backlinks and Brainteasers: a marriage made in SEO

by Digital PR & Outreach tipsLink Building

Cedarwood’s resident Digital PR expert Alex Fisher talks to Emma Stretton about the power of puzzles in earning links.

Most people know that SEO often means keywords. Backlinks, on the other hand, are a slightly lesser-known buzzword and, yet, they’re an incredibly important way to increase your website’s search engine rankings. Backlinks are when another website, preferably a tried and trusted one links back to your website. They essentially tell search engines your website is one worth going to.

Who?

Building genuine links into a website is a great way to improve the overall authority of the site. Having websites with a high domain rating direct users to your site indicates to search engines that your website is also trustworthy and will increase the authority of your website. In turn, this will improve your website’s rankings. A website’s authority is one of the key factors that Google considers when ranking websites, so the more authority your website has the better chance it has to climb up the SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages).

Let’s look at how we’ve used this recently for one of our clients: Rimmers Music. When Christmas kicked in we thought it would be a great time to grab some extra coverage and use the opportunity to build links into the Rimmers Music site. Backlinks aren’t always game, set and match and we knew we needed some attention-seeking content that would definitely get Rimmers Music noticed.

What?

After an unusual year, the run up to Christmas 2020 needed some festive cheer and light heartedness. With that in mind, we decided to create a Brainteaser based on Christmas carolling (because it was for a music shop – see what we did there)?! Journalists and publications benefit from brainteasers because they’re shareable, they keep people on the page and they bring light to balance the shade.

Why?

The Rimmers Music brainteaser was a big picture full of people singing Christmas carols. The idea was that you had to spot the one little boy with his hands over his ears refusing to take part. We tied the concept in with data found by Rimmers Music the previous year, which uncovered that a quarter of Brits won’t open the door to a Christmas caroller. This gave the press release more weight and more for publications to work with. The end result was for websites to include an article about the brainteaser with a link to Rimmers Music. Whilst we do want to secure those all-important backlinks, we are also aiming to get as much coverage as we can. Getting your client seen on major websites with hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, of readers is a result in itself.

The Results

  • 86 pieces of coverage
  • 39 backlinks
  • Average Domain Rating – 63

We don’t like to brag (well maybe a little) but it did the trick. The Rimmers Music brainteaser resulted in 86 pieces of coverage and 39 backlinks. Incredibly, one article alone led to 1000 new users clicking on the link and heading to the Rimmers Music website. Most sites ran the story early on in December but some picked it up later, providing additional coverage. It was the Christmas gift that kept on giving.

Backlinks signal to search engines that a website can be trusted. They’re a bit like a good friend recommending a restaurant; you’re more likely to go there if you were sent by someone you trust. Not to mention, the more people shouting about your service, the more likely this is to convert into sales. Getting into a search engine’s good books might not sound that exciting but finding new ways to get noticed and creating content that lands is what SEO experts (like us) thrive on.

If you want to get a bit more into the nitty gritty of backlinks you can read more in our blog ‘Why Are Links Important for SEO?’ or find out more about linkbuiling on our Digital PR services page.

 

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Improve Email Response Rate: Small Changes That Make A Big Difference

by Digital PR & Outreach tips

Many PRs spend hours, weeks and even months putting their heart and soul into their latest content. However, great content can sometimes be let down by a poor pitch. 

Pitching to a journalist shouldn’t be where your content strategy fails!

We have compiled a list of our top tried and tested tips that will increase both open and response rate and ultimately land coverage in your desired publications. 

How To Improve Email Open Rate

  • A clear subject line
  • A summarised introduction
  • Personalisation
  • Reduce attachment size

How To Improve Email Response Rate

  • Be direct with your request
  • Conduct research before sending your email
  • Ensure that you follow up
  • Be clear
  • Keep it short and sweet!

How To Improve Open Rate

Ensure your subject line is clear

Subject lines are CRUCIAL! 

It’s really important to show a journalist that your email is relevant to them and their audience. Make this clear within your subject line by summarising your key points in one snappy sentence. It is also useful to state what kind of story you are pitching, whether it’s a case study or some new, juicy data.

Be sure to write your subject line in the style of the desired publication. Some publications, such as The Sun, like sensationalised headlines, whereas business publications for example, prefer the more professional angles. 

Here are a few examples:

NEW DATA: 1 in 3 Brits won’t invite vegans to Christmas dinner, survey finds

RE: Garden furniture review – holiday at home this summer

See the Dog-tor: could prescription pups end lockdown loneliness?

It is nice to have punny and punchy subject lines, however, this is not always necessary. Sometimes being clear and straight to the point will do the trick. 

Summarise! Summarise! Summarise!

Summarise your pitch within the first sentence of your email – and keep it short. Journalists are often strapped for time and can get hundreds of emails a day, so make their job a little easier for them.

Condensing a whole press release or email into one line can sometimes be tricky, so try to imagine that you are speaking to a friend and summarising a project that you are working on at work – this should help. 

Personalise your emails

An oldie but goldie! Make each email personal to the recipient. It’s so easy to spot a mass-churned out email that doesn’t have any personalisation. Ensure your email has the target journalist’s name on it and potentially reference their publication or recent work that they have done which is relevant to your pitch.

For example…

Reduce attachment size

Be careful with attachments, as big documents within an email can get your message stuck in spam filters. If you need to send over additional content such as images, include a Dropbox link where the journalists can download these items themselves. You can also include a link to your website that has all the info the journalist needs, as this also gives them an incentive to link to your site.

How To Improve Response Rate

Being direct with your request

Be direct! Make sure that you ask direct questions.

Here are some examples of classic lines that can easily be converted to more direct questions:

“Let me know if you’re interested” and “Let me know what you think” can be easily converted to “What do you think?”

“Let me know as soon as possible” can be converted to “Please let me know by Friday at 4 pm”

As recommended in Martin, Goldstein and Cialdini in “The small BIG: small changes that spark big influence”, people are more encouraged to fulfil a request when they have engaged in some sort of commitment to it. This can be achieved by asking journalists a few extra specific questions about how they plan on fulfilling your request…something that requires more than a “yes” answer. 

For example, try asking the journalist to let you know ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘when’ they will publish the content from your press release.

Research is essential

PRs can sometimes fall into the trap of thinking the more contacts they send their pitch to, the better – but this simply isn’t the case. Do your research for your mailing list; the number one complaint that journalists have about PRs is that they send them irrelevant pitches.

A well thought out, targeted email will have a much better open and engagement rate than a blanket email that is spammed to the masses. If you want to improve your open rate and get journalists to engage with your content, then do your research. 

We would recommend picking 10 publications you want to target and find the best contact at those publications.

Consider a few things:

  • Who has recently written about the topic that your story relates to? This is key – if a journalist wrote an article about your topic a year ago and haven’t done a piece since then, find a better contact. 
  • The tone of voice. If your topic is broad, then there may be a few different journos that cover it, so pick a journalist whose tone of voice and style matches the content you’re sending out. For example, if your story teases about an error on a TV show, you may need a journalist that has a more satirical approach, or if your piece is about the latest must-have fashion item, then you’ll want to target a journo with more serious sartorial credentials.

Here are two examples that show how ample research before a release can really benefit the pitch.

Example one:

We recently sent out a brainteaser to just two journalists. This may seem like too small of a media list however, we had done our research and these contacts were extremely targeted. In the end, we got great coverage in 14 publications off the back of these targeted choices.

Example two:

The above press release worked well for us because the journalist we pitched to mainly writes about Coronation Street, so having ‘Corrie’ in the subject line was key here. 

The timing of this pitch was also great: there was a big debate on social media and in the press about an incident that had happened on Coronation Street. We acted fast to get this release out, focusing on the fact that people were in fact concentrating on the wrong mishap and explaining the real issue from a legal standpoint.

This was great for our client as they could also show off their expertise in the field. A win-win. 

Overall the piece gained 42 pieces of coverage including Express, Star, MSN and many regional publications. 

Send a follow up email

If you’re not already sending follow-up emails then you are missing a trick! This is a simple way to gain a response. When you do follow up, try to put a twist on your initial email. Adding in a little extra info, or tying the story in with a topical event, gives you more of a reason to chase the journalist.

A general rule is to follow up the next week and then again if there are any updates in the story, so keep an eye on the news and recent trends for any reasons to follow up. 

  • Do you have a graphic that can be reformatted in other ways?
  • Do you have hi-res images that you can send over?
  • Do you have samples to offer? Use samples/gifts to your advantage here to reiterate that they are available, this will always catch the journalist’s eye.

Be clear

Make your intentions clear. If your number one target of your content campaign is to get links, then let the journalist know this in the pitch so they know what you’re expecting.

A simple “If you’d like to use this story, please credit this story with a link to [client website]” is enough to make your goals transparent.

This saves both you and the journalist time, as they know what you want before they take the story and prevents you from having to chase for links that the journo wasn’t aware they needed to include.

Keep it short and sweet

Journalists are short on time, remember. So giving your story a concise, succinct pitch demonstrates to the journalist that it has a clear angle and they can decide straight away whether they want it or not. If you can’t sum up your story in a short email pitch (less than 300 words) then it’s not ready to go out. Try sticking to 3-4 lines, or even better, bullet points to summarise the most important topics. 

If you found this blog useful for improving your email response rate then head to our blog to check out more.

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6 Reasons Why Your Website NEEDS A Blog

by SEO

In a recent marketing survey, 52% of respondents agreed that blogging is their most critical content marketing tactic (Hub Spot).

“But, why is blogging so important?” I hear you ask. Sit tight while we convince you why you should start a blog immediately.

Why are blogs important for your website?

  • To increase the SEO of your website
  • To highlight your expertise
  • To give your company a voice
  • To engage with your audience
  • To provide long-term results
  • To outperform paid advertising

1. Increase the SEO of your website

Google loves content that helps its users find what they’re looking for. So, by creating blogs on topics that your target customer is interested in, you can drive traffic back to your website through search rankings. 

Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website than those who don’t (Hub Spot). Plus, the more useful and valuable your content is, the more likely people are to share it within their own content or social media channels.

2. Highlight your expertise

Let’s be honest, it’s pretty easy for anyone with an internet connection to set up a website these days. So why should your target customer buy from you? Because you have a wealth of authoritative, well-written content on your blog that showcases your expertise (amongst other awesome trust signals).

Consumers rarely make a purchase instantly. 53% of consumers consume 3-5 pieces of media before making a purchase or speaking to someone from that company (EliseDopson). Customers want to shop with credible, authoritative businesses online that they know they can trust with their money – so don’t make it hard for them. Tell them why you’re the best. Or better, show them with great content.

3. To give your company a voice

As business guru, Seth Godin, once said “People do not buy goods & services. They buy relations, stories & magic.” And with consumer trust wavering, it’s more important than ever to get real with your customers.

Blogs are a great way to show the human element of your business and the thoughts, feelings and stories of the people behind your brand. Be authentic, honest and strip back the corporate jargon. Show your customers the people that their custom impacts.

4. Engage with your audience

Speak your customer’s language! Show them that your company is interested in the topics they’re interested in, you know their concerns, you understand them. All through great blog content. 

Engagement isn’t just about social media. Open up the comments on your blog, ask readers direct questions or even publish customer reviews or opinion pieces to create conversation and a community with your customers.

5. Blogging has long-term results…

Companies with blogs produce an average of 67% more leads monthly than companies that don’t blog (DemandMetric). Blogs are not just a one-off, they are a long-term strategy that continually provides value to your consumers.

6. … and can beat paid advertising

70% of people would rather learn about a company through articles rather than advertisements (DemandMetric). Blogs are a trustworthy source of information for consumers that acts as free advertising for your company.

Oh, and one more thing…

Did we mention that its FREE?!

Many businesses don’t realise that they often have the skills, expertise and customer understanding to produce high-quality blogs in-house. All it takes is investing in a little bit of time. But if you want to speed up the process, then a marketing agency can give you direction on which are the best topics to write about, keywords to include and even produce the content for you in the tone of voice of your business.

If you have any questions regarding creating the perfect blog, then get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

Father-and-son

How to Balance Business with Fatherhood

by Digital PR & Outreach tipsLink Building

To mark Father’s Day, our Digital PR Executive Alex recently worked with our clients and selection of small business to shed light on how entrepreneurs balance their careers and family life. Six leading businessmen from across the UK shared their advice with us on maintaining a healthy work-life balance, as well as the things they wished they’d known when they launched their careers.

The interview was featured on Fleximize’s small business blog – you can read the original here.

From making more family time in lockdown to switching off and separating business life from home life, the six businessmen shed light on the best ways to balance home and work life.

Maintaining a pressurized job whilst spending enough time with the kids can be difficult at the best of times – and it’s something that dads simply don’t get enough credit for. With Father’s Day on the horizon and many working dads juggling their career and kids in lockdown, five British entrepreneurial fathers have shared their experiences of trying to find the perfect work-life balance.  

The working fathers have shared their triumphs and mistakes, along with advice they’d tell their younger selves. The relatable pearls of wisdom are a must-read for working parents or first-time dads. 


Danny Toffel

Founder & CEO of Watches2U International | Father to two daughters (14 & 16) | Surrey-based

What’s the biggest challenge of juggling your job with fatherhood? 

I’ve always struggled to switch off from work. At my worst, I didn’t take a day off for seven years straight, including Christmas Day, meaning that my relationship with my kids suffered. Even when I’m out of the office, it’s all too easy to log on and do a little extra work at home or quickly check emails during family time.

How did you handle or overcome this? 

Once I realized how much I’d missed of my kids growing up, I actively invested in improving my work/life balance. I’ve found that it’s crucial to mentally clock out of work where possible so that I can be fully present with my family. I try to leave my job at the office. 

What advice would you give to someone who has recently become a father and also has a high profile job to maintain? 

Start as you mean to go on in terms of the time you spend with your family versus work. It’s easy to slip into bad habits but extremely difficult to get out of them. As cliche as it sounds, you will never get the children’s younger years back. 


Christian Beadell

Head of Medical Negligence at Patient Claim Line | Father to four sons (11, 13, 15, 18) & one daughter (7) | Manchester-based 

What’s the biggest challenge of juggling your job with fatherhood? 

After our second child was born, we took the decision to minimize the amount of time they would spend with childminders or in afterschool clubs – despite the fact that my wife also has a busy, pressured job which involves a long commute. For me, it was really important to be there for them at the school gate or sports field and not for them to miss out in any way.

How did you handle or overcome this?

I have made some calculated career decisions to work flexible hours where needed or pursue roles that restrict the demands on my time. I have worked at smaller law firms with a family feel and this has stood me in good stead, enabling me to have a challenging and rewarding career but also to be there for my children.

What advice would you give to someone who has recently become a father and also has a high profile job to maintain?

Decide what is important to you. You will not get the time back with your children and whilst some employers may say they are family friendly, not all are. When you have a partner that works also, get used to compromising early on! 


Frederic de Ryckman de Betz

CEO of Attic Self Storage Company | Father to two sons (8) | London-based 

What’s the biggest challenge of juggling your job with fatherhood? 

At first, it was a constant sense of guilt. When I was at home, I felt guilty for not being at work. When I was at work, I felt guilty for not being at home. More recently, it’s trying to find time for myself in and amongst all the madness.

How did you handle or overcome this? 

I sacrificed my own time, and learned to live with the guilt. Over time, I realized that many in my team faced similar challenges, and that by sharing our experiences and encouraging each other to make time for our families, it got easier. 

What advice would you give to someone who has recently become a father and also has a high profile job to maintain? 

Be open about your challenges, and ask your team for their help, support and advice. You’re not alone, and being a father is something to be proud of. You can’t wind the clock back so ask yourself: how do you want to be remembered as a father? 


Lee Simpson

PR Consultant at Fourth Day | Father to one daughter (2) & one son (5) | Manchester-based 

What’s the biggest challenge of juggling your job with fatherhood? 

Trying to do everything to the best of your ability is constantly challenging. As any parent will tell you, often you have to accept that you just can’t. 

What advice would you give to someone who has recently become a father and also has a high profile job to maintain? 

During lockdown when we, as families, are all spending so much time together, try to remember to dedicate some time every day to your kids away from homeschool. It could be doing a jigsaw together, fighting with lightsabers or building a den in the woods.

Whatever it is, I think it’s important children know you have time for them no matter what, and not time spent telling them to get on with work or screaming at them to eat vegetables. It sounds so simple but I hope I will remember this after the lockdown and always make sure I make time for them. 

What do you think has been the best part of working from home during lockdown?

Despite all its hardships and the obvious nightmares relating to Covid-19, I hope we will look back on this period fondly and remember trying to laugh our way through it. I complain relentlessly about it but I’m sure part of me will miss having children jumping on the bed next to where I’m working every day. 


Peter Rigby

Legal Department Head at Fletchers Serious Injury | Father of two daughters (2, 12) & three sons (5, 8, 9) | Southport-based 

What are some challenges you have faced whilst working from home around the family?

One challenge has been finding a way to change my mindset from work to home as there is no natural break at the end of each day. That is why it has become so important to put technology to one side for family time.

What do you think has been the best part of working from home during lockdown?

It has given me more time with the children and I feel I have gotten to know their personalities and needs better. I certainly feel closer to them as a parent.

Have you learnt anything from self-isolation/working from home in the past few months?

I have learned how important it is to have time away from screens. My children would comfortably sit in front of a screen for hours on end. Some screen time is ok, but they also need to use their imagination and make their own fun in the garden, with toys or with arts and crafts.


Manav Thapar

Managing Director at Loveraw | Father to one daughter (4) & one son (1) | Altrincham-based 

What have you found to be the biggest challenge about juggling your job with fatherhood?

Feeling guilty when I’m working instead of spending time with the kids. Owning a business is like having another child that needs just as much attention and care, and no matter which one you spend time with, you feel like you’re neglecting the others. Managing that balance is something I’ve always tried to work on.

How did you handle or overcome this obstacle?

We try to involve the kids as much as possible by bringing them to the office and making sure they know how the business affects them and us as a family. When I plan my week, I start with family time and schedule around that. If you focus on what’s most important to you first, you can always build around it.

What advice would you give to someone who has recently become a father and also has a high-profile job to maintain?

Take advantage of every second your baby sleeps by trying to get as much work done as possible. If you’re lucky enough to have a team, aim to delegate as much as you can, and plan your days well. I know exactly where all my time is being spent – right down to the minute.

Digital-PR-Vector

Is Digital PR Valuable? And How Is It Measured?

by Digital PR & Outreach tipshome pageLink Building

When it comes to planning and budgeting for a new campaign, analysing the success of previous campaigns is paramount. Therefore, knowing the monetary value of coverage is hugely beneficial, providing teams with the ability to make informed decisions and allocate spend accordingly.

We have put together a small guide featuring one simple tool that can be utilised to extract the monetary value of your PR.

Why Are Links Important For SEO

Why are links important for SEO, and how can I get them?

by Digital PR & Outreach tipshome pageLink BuildingSEO

If you’re in the digital marketing world, you’ve undoubtedly heard that getting backlinks from other websites is crucial for SEO. It’s important to utilise anything that can help to boost your website’s search ranking, so we’ll shed some light on why links are so important and teach you how to build them yourself.

Why are links important for SEO?

Building backlinks to your website (getting other websites to link back to yours) sends out a trust signal to Google that your website has good authority, and therefore should be ranked higher. However, this depends on the type and quality of the website that posts the link. Essentially, if a quality website which Google trusts links back to your site, Google determines that you too are a quality website, so should be ranked higher. You can work out the quality of a website by checking its domain rating on websites such as Ahrefs or Moz: the higher score the better.

However, Google can also penalise for backlinks which it sees as unnatural. For example, spamming forums, creating tonnes of directory listings, paying bloggers on fiver to link to your website are unnatural ways to build links, which in turn will lower your position on Google. It is far better for SEO to secure a few strong links a month than to build hundreds of low-quality backlinks in a short space of time.

Hence, you should always ensure that links have a natural connection to your business, which you can achieve with the following techniques.

Brand reclamation

 

It’s always great exposure when a publisher features your brand in their article, though sometimes they will mention a brand without linking back to the brand’s website. Whilst this can be frustrating, it’s easy to maximise this opportunity and secure a link from a high-quality website. Most of the hard work has already been done because a journalist has already noticed and written about your brand. Simply drop them an email thanking them for featuring your business and request a link to your website be added to the page in case their readers want to find out more.

Tracking brand mentions online is very easy to set up so that you don’t miss these opportunities. There are several web-monitoring tools that help you do this, such as Google Alerts (free), Ahrefs alerts and Gorkana. Some publications may have editorial policies not to include external links, but it’s always best to email and check.

Media tools

 

Now that GDPR is in place, media databases with opted-in contact details of journalists are more important than ever for sourcing good quality PR opportunities and contacts. There are a variety of tools you can pay for, as well as free databases that scrape public email addresses from across the web.

One relatively cost-effective way to find feature opportunities is through journalist alerts. These are email alerts that journalists send out to source contacts or information for the features that they are writing. You can then respond to queries that are relevant to your brand, offering information, images, product reviews or quotes. Not only do these tools allow you to effectively build links in a natural way, but they also allow you to develop relationships with key journalists in your market without the need of a pricey media database. Building your own database of journalists that you have successfully worked with makes it easier to work with them again in the future, as you can either contact them with valuable content or they may contact you with relevant upcoming features to you.

Local links

 

Big-budget content campaigns can bring in a lot of high quality links, but exploring your local link opportunities can also be a good cost-effective way to build links on a smaller scale. Investigate whether you have any current connections that you could source a link from. Is your Managing Director an alumni of a prestigious university? If so, perhaps they could make a donation or share their business expertise on their website. Is there a local charity you could work with? Or a local group linked to your industry? Explore current connections that your staff and management have to see if there are any natural links that could be secured by sending an email.

Competitor analysis

 

If a key competitor outranks you for several of your keywords, performing an analysis of where their links are coming from is a great way to see what kind of outreach work they are undertaking. Tools such as Ahrefs enable you to identify which publications your competitors are receiving links from, as well as spark ideas for potential outreach content.

Are there any high quality review websites that your competitor has a link on? If they do and your brand doesn’t, then this can be an area to explore. Do they have any links from high quality bloggers? Again, if they do then you can contact the blogger who wrote the article to introduce your brand and highlight what you can offer them, should they be planning any articles which you could contribute to.


Cedarwood Digital: a year in review

Cedarwood Digital: a year in review

by Cedarwood Digital News

As 2018 draws to a close, we at Cedarwood are reflecting on what has been our most successful year to date. For both ourselves as a company, and for our clients, we have achieved exceptional business growth and development, and generally have a lot to shout about!

New client wins & successes

This year we have taken on a range of new and exciting clients, including the international brand design consultancy Elmwood and Ovo, the UK’s leading positive energy supplier. Our PPC campaigns have seen great success, increasing transactions for Casa Bella Furniture by 51.66% and revenue by 41.41% in the year period. Aided by the introduction of the new display campaign, we also accomplished increasing paid traffic for Patient Claim Line by 465.89%.

Always striving to stay current with marketing techniques, we were quick to utilize Google’s new creation of “Smart Shopping” which was introduced in the second half of the year. This has already seen great success, bringing in impressive revenue at 800% Return On Ad Spend for Hayes since its introduction in July. Our Smart Shopping campaign for Casa Bella also brought a fruitful 900% ROAS.

This year Cedarwood have continued to build strong media relationships, which we hope to maintain and evolve further in 2019. Through tactical content and outreach techniques we have secured numerous features for Hayes Garden World in high profile publications, including The Telegraph, The Independent, and The Daily Mail. Our link strategy has proven effective, and we have secured prime time TV coverage for key products, increasing brand visibility and relevance.

       

The Cedarwood team

In November, we were delighted to attend the Northern Ecommerce Awards. It was an honour to be involved and to have our progress recognised, as we were shortlisted for the Small Agency of The Year award for 2018. We were also thrilled to expand the Cedarwood family, and welcome three new members of the team – Anna, Ed and Alex. Each of them have brought their own unique skills and expertise, making our marketing abilities even stronger and more diverse. A bigger and better team calls for a bigger and better office space, so 2018 also involved upgrading the Cedarwood HQ and relocating to a shiny new office space.

The Cedarwood Digital team has continued to grow this year 

 

Finally, our managing director Amanda has done some impressive work with Google Digital Garage this year. Providing training courses to marketers across the North West, she is sharing her invaluable expertise across the region, and doing Cedarwood Digital proud.

We would like to say a huge thank you to the whole team and to our wonderful clients who have made 2018 a sparkling and successful year for Cedarwood. Here’s to an even brighter 2019!