TOP FOR 'TOYS'

Overview

For the past five years Woolworths has placed increased focus on multi-channel retailing (MCR), incorporating web, phone, and in-store ordering. Its MCR sales now account for five per cent of company business, which can spike to as much as 10 per cent during key periods such as Christmas.

Woolworths appointed iCrossing in March 2006 to help it develop a natural search strategy to support its MCR business and website. In just over a year, the campaign had increased the retailer’s online conversions by 87 per cent, and monthly website visits by 83 per cent. In addition, the Woolworths website is now consistently ranking number two for ‘toys’ on Google UK, which is a phenomenal achievement in such a highly competitive marketplace.

Objectives

As a general high street retailer, it was important for Woolworths to increase its visibility with the major search engines for the Toys and Stationery and Garden and Outdoor categories of its website.

Appearing high-up in natural search rankings for the ‘toys’ search term was a number one priority, and more recently, the campaign has broadened its focus to a wider range of product terms.

A further overall objective was to increase traffic to the Woolworths website, and boost the volume of online sales.

Solution

The campaign began with an extensive audit of the search terms that Woolworths should be associated with, which included competitor analysis to identify new opportunities. Toys were identified as a key area for the retailer, to help it compete with leading toy retailers such as Hamleys, Toys R Us and Argos. 

Technical optimisation of the Woolworths website involved complex URL structures to improve the ‘spiderability’ of the site, enabling it to be indexed by the major search engines correctly. In addition, page titles and headings were tailored, and content was added throughout the site to incorporate the key product terms that had been identified in the audit.

Over the past six months iCrossing has been refining the terms that Woolworths should be visible for in line with their key sale products online, and has optimised the site for a list of 200 keywords. This has been supported by a link acquisition campaign to increase the link equity associated with the Woolworths site for key terms such as ‘toys’, ‘garden furniture’ and ‘outdoor toys’.

Results

Since working with iCrossing, Woolworths has achieved the number two ranking on Google UK for searches on ‘toys’, bringing it directly beneath Toys R Us. In addition, it is now ranked third for ‘garden furniture’ and fourth for ‘outdoor toys’.

The campaign has delivered further impressive results:

• Natural search delivered 36 per cent of overall site traffic during June 2006, and 50 per cent in June 2007
• During this period monthly visits increased by 83 per cent, monthly conversions increased by 87 per cent and overall value increased by 102 per cent.

Working together

Mark Batty, online marketing manager for Woolworths, comments: “SEO offers the best marketing channel for ROI, so long as you have a search agency that is up to the task.

“Getting to the top of Google’s natural search results for ‘toys’ and staying there is incredibly difficult, and seeing Woolworths consistently ranked at number two is a fantastic achievement. More and more customers are doing their research online and through search engines such as Google, and so it’s important for us to be front of mind.

“Natural search is such a specialised business, and we totally rely on iCrossing  for our strategy and implementation. It’s a long-term focus, and we are confident that the results will only get stronger and stronger.”

Carla Malone, account manager at iCrossing, adds: “Woolworths is a strong brand, but as a general retailer it was struggling to appear high-up for specific and highly competitive retail search terms. A strong natural search strategy was called for, and with Woolworths’ support, we’ve been able to deliver phenomenal long-term results in little more than a year. The campaign has generated outstanding ROI for Woolworths.”

About Woolworths

Woolworths Group plc is principally a UK retailer focused on the home, family and entertainment.

Woolworths offers its customers value-for-money on an extended range of products. It is built around the well known Woolworths brand which is represented in towns and cities throughout the UK.