MediaVision ; We’ve been nominated by UK #SearchAwards for our work on @DickiesStore! http://t.co/qZAfRzzNcG pic.twitter.com/FSKoP3rTCa
— Will Corry (@slievemore) October 13, 2014
DickiesStore – Integrated Case Study
A transformation toward creative campaign led SEO was inspired by the realisation that the days were numbered for traditional SEO tactics. Creative campaigns require integration across all channels from Social to Digital PR. With our integrated approach we have achieved great success for a number of our long term clients.
About DickiesStore
DickiesStore.co.uk is the official online distributor of Dickies branded workwear and accessories in the UK. The Dickies brand has a rich history, established in 1922 as a small family run business evolving into a multinational corporation delivering a diverse range of quality workwear clothing.
Brief
Having enjoyed top positions in SERPs for several years running, DickiesStore competitors were now making inroads and were claiming some prime rankings. We needed not just an evolution but a transformation of the underlying SEO strategy in play to reverse the slide.
Strategy: Lifestyle Brand vs Work Clothes
The strategy was to “Build the Brand” through content and social channels and this resulted in several campaign led initiatives that integrated onsite content, social media and outreach opportunities.
The website performed well but was totally product oriented. Integration of content and social media was needed on more than just the product level. The concept of a blog had been floated (and launched) a few years back and it failed to gain traction and had been abandoned and this needed to be revived. Likewise, the Facebook page was simply a collection of product related info.
The core of the strategy was to develop active social media participation and community engagement in our content. Audience analysis showed our personas to be active on Facebook, making this our primary channel. Engagement was driven through product give-aways and interesting lifestyle related posts featured on the DickiesStore blog.
The Website
DickiesStore.co.uk needed a revamp to update the look and layout. The goal was to improve user interaction and conversion rate. We also needed a platform for the lifestyle centric content and to this end the blog was revived and re-styled. Additionally, campaign centric landing pages have been created on the main site around particular campaigns and lifestyle activities.
From a conversion perspective, emphasis was placed on user reviews and key USPs. Navigation was also simplified and product videos added to product pages.
Campaign Led
The integrated approach meant that concepts had to be developed into campaigns that would then span all channels. A good example is the dog walking concept where we found that a lot of Dickies gear is ideally suited to people walking their pets, whether it be rain gear, jackets, boots, wellies or hi-vis clothing, the Dickies range has some great products. This was developed into a content marketing concept. To begin, a bespoke landing page was created to feature the selected range of products.
For outreach we actively sought out dog sanctuaries and shelters and offered to promote their cause through blog posts on the Dickies website, also integrating this into email shots. We also run outreach to advocates on popular pet forums and blogs and offer products from the Dickies range for them to give away to their audience.
The theme has been consistently integrated into the social media channels as we develop the various stories.
The Social Plan
The main goal of the social media plan was to increase brand awareness and credibility by building and nurturing an online community. The content was steered away from products and towards lifestyle. The aim is to show how Dickies products are part of everyday life and the discussions are about activities rather than products.
Posts include a good variety of general interest posts as well as give-aways, competitions, reviews and opinion polls.
The Facebook fan base was initially 2k and during the course of 6 months we were able to quadruple that number to over 8 000 likes. Naturally engagement and reach increased significantly during this period of growth and as a result we saw an increase in both traffic to the website and social assisted conversions. Facebook is now one of the top 5 referral traffic sources.
Blogging & Content
The blog is now utilised as the hub for the majority of the content that is being shared through the social channels and aims to engage, entertain and educate the DickiesStore audience. We also offer to promote clients and good causes via the blog which again resonates with our audience.
There was a strong drive to broaden topics away from workwear and more towards events and genuine topics of interest to the community.
Digital PR & Outreach
A number of content based Digital PR and outreach campaigns have been rolled out during the last 6 months. One particularly successful campaign was born from an archive of vintages. It focused on the “Evolution of the Dickies Brand”, and the imagery was of interest to various communities such as vintage advertising, vintage clothing, and general historic interest. A number of content pieces and press releases were created to reach out to industry related platforms, publications and blogs to assist with the promotion of the “Dickies Brand Evolution” campaign.
Relationships were built with various individuals and publications, and a number of successful placements were achieved.
Result:
Our target for the year was 15% growth on 2012 figures, and by the first quarter of the year we spotted signs of trouble. At the current rate we needed a drastic improvement to hit that target. In the months following the creation and roll out of the integrated digital marketing approach, we have seen fantastic recovery and results! By November, their busiest month, we were trending 44% above the previous years’ visits figure, and 53% above the 2012 revenue figure!
Engagement with the brand through social media and the blog has shown extremely healthy growth with traffic numbers increasing consistently. Rankings have recovered and have exceeded previous highs. Referral traffic from our newly created partnerships has also contributed to all-time highs in traffic (and revenue) from the website.
As a result, conversions and revenue have soared. Online sales targets had been set at 15% growth on 2012. Comparing visits to the same period in 2012 we have seen a 29% average increase. Transactions are up 36% even though conversion rate has only increased by 5%.
November achieved 44% growth in visits and revenue smashed projected targets at 53. In fact, the month of November has seen the highest revenue ever generated for the Dickies online store.
Most satisfying was that we reclaimed number 1 ranking position for the highest volume head phrase in the industry, ”workwear” and also claimed number 1 spot for “Dickies”, outranking the official Dickies European site as well as the US parent site, something we had never achieved before.
Read more: http://www.mediavisioninteractive.com/case-studies/dickies-store-seo/#ixzz3G2h4zFcD
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