RetailT
echnology
For Shop Direct, finding quality content
is not an issue. Hornby said it has been the Shop Direct strategy for some time now to engage with customers beyond its product offering and make use of promotional content, like photo shoots, elsewhere than in its product listings and catalogues. “We share behind-the-scenes content
with bloggers that are ranked highly, for example,” he added, “which also has marketing and press relations benefits. We have quite a focus on the written word, while we’re also very active in re-targeting and displays areas. And we work with other partners to produce more graphically driven content. The choice we have as a retailer is to just sell product or to try and create an overall shopping experience the customer enjoys. This builds brand advocacy between us and the customer.” With a clear policy around written
content in place, Shop Direct works closely the content and technology specialists at Quill to build brand value and engagement with its customers and a wider global,
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digital audience. “We don’t see ourselves as publisher,” Hornby commented. “But we do see the benefits of publishing written content, so have worked with Quill from the beginning.” The company also creates category
specific content, which has a benefit in terms of SEO for specific pages and also in improving its horizontal indexing. In the first instance it generated around 5,000 pieces of content, which Hornby said was very successful, as it helped to improve the indexing on category pages and boosted generic traffic. He reported: “Quill has challenged us
a partner and we’ve had lots of success, significantly increasing the numbers of articles we publish. We couldn’t reach that scale without a high quality, core strategy that is focused on the UK domestic market. Quill is very good at understanding the tone of voice we want to achieve and matching our requirements to a writer.” The technology platform Quill has developed to manage its clients’ content
and document workflows also provides key advantages. Hornby said there are categories including short blogs, product reviews and ‘How To’ guides that provides the retailer with a “smart and systematic” way of finding the content needed. “Using the Quill tool means keyword checks are automated, giving the brand manager time to concentrate on approvals, the quality of the content and its tone.” The work with Quill has benefitted
Shop Direct’s SEO success. “If it wasn’t for Quill, there are certain elements of the Google updates that we wouldn’t have found as easy to keep up with.” The company also uses the Quill
platform to report on the number of pieces of content generated and the system’s category descriptor tool to import and match product information in its e-commerce engine. “Everything we do is designed to make our sites ‘sticky hubs,’” Hornby concluded. “And Quill certainly has key role to play by supporting a major pillar of that overall digital strategy.”
Winter 2014 51
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