2012 Silver Best use of search, natural or paid-for

Client Barclays

How did the campaign make a difference? The Barclays Business Banking SEO campaign demonstrates the effectiveness of engaging content to boost natural search rankings and dramatically increase conversion (252% increase) and traffic (116% increase).

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? The Barclays website was previously focused on product-specific content (business bank accounts), but it was decided to increase research phase content, to attract and help customers through different stages of their information-gathering and buying cycle, and boost Barclays' natural search rankings. The data strategy included quantitative linguistic profiling, to understand how business banking customers search for related banking products and services, and the language used at various stages of the information-gathering and buying cycle. A map of demand in the business banking sector was produced. Dedicated Twitter profiles and LinkedIn groups were used to promote Barclays’ business banking seminars, as well as engage with attendees before, during and after these events, and encourage social sharing of related content. To drive ongoing engagement these seminars were recorded, webcasted and hosted on Barclays' site and dedicated Twitter profiles and LinkedIn groups, to encourage link sharing.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? There was a change of focus for content: new business advice content (such as How to write a business plan) was created, while existing content was made more visible and accessible, with improved sign-postings and a new home page section on seminars, the webcast library, skills training and workshops. Existing content and language were refreshed and optimised with key search phrases to further improve rankings. The Take One Small Step competition was also launched (giving business owners the chance to win £50,000 to invest in a new business idea), to improve rankings against key search terms, encourage inbound links and increase user engagement on social media. Cross-linking was used on that competition’s microsite to drive visitors to related content, adding value, generating positive sentiment and educating them about the Barclays business offering.

Results Non-brand traffic is one of the most telling indicators of successful natural search campaigns; this campaign continues to deliver increases in non-brand traffic: between May 2011 and May 2012 this rose by 116%. The newly-incorporated search terms helped drive traffic and were key in helping Barclays dominate the top 10 Google positions for phrases like ‘business banking seminars’. The subsequent 252% rise in conversion rates shows how valuable the content is, and its role in increasing engagement and generating positive brand sentiment.

Team Dave Hooper, Mark Raymond, Randip Dhesi, Emily Hollis