June 10, 2019

Lighting Direct

Lighting Direct first appeared back in June 2000 and very quickly became regarded as one of the best consumer lighting suppliers on the web. In 2010, Lighting Direct was purchased by award winning B2B lighting specialists, Lyco Group.

The Challenge

Lighting Direct approached Browser Media to help maximise the effectiveness of its online marketing, with an overarching goal of increasing revenue through non-paid channels.

Given the competitive nature of the online lighting market which is dominated largely by household names and global retailers, it was crucial to adopt a joined-up approach that not only considered SEO but also increased brand awareness to support longer-term growth targets.

We didn’t just want to get people to the site, we wanted to keep them coming back time and time again.

“Working with a fast-paced pure play such as Lighting Direct has been a challenging yet rewarding experience. Above all else, the project has highlighted the importance of building brand awareness in competitive e-commerce markets; in a world where users naturally gravitate towards names they know and trust, and where price and shipping times are key conversion drivers, the value of product expertise, good customer service, and genuinely helpful content should not be underestimated.”- Matt Batterham, Account Director, Browser Media

The Strategy

Our approach consisted of three key elements:

On-page SEO:

  • Thorough technical audit and ongoing support
  • In-depth keyword research to identify the most relevant search terms and potential content themes
  • Refresh of existing key landing pages
  • Suggestions for new landing pages

Online PR / Link Building:

  • Developed a year-round marketing plan consisting of key calendar dates, industry events, and forward feature lists for relevant B2C publications
  • Built relationships with industry bloggers and journalists and provided regular commentary and content to support lighting and home decor features
  • Undertook research to identify consumer lighting habits, including a piece on make-up lighting that was featured in Metro, Mail Online, and a host of authoritative beauty & lifestyle blogs
  • Created regular advice-led articles for the Lighting Direct blog to attract and persuade users

Social Media:

  • Analysis of existing channels to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth
  • Influencer analysis and engagement
  • Developed strategy to reflect wider content marketing initiatives, with the goal of increasing the number of active followers
  • Created a new Instagram account that grew to 1,000+ followers in approx 12 months
  • Encouraged users to share their purchases and mention Lighting Direct in posts, resulting in a regular stream of user-generated content

Our joined-up approach ensured assets were maximised across all channels. For example, a piece of consumer research that was primarily used for a link building campaign was also utilised across email, social media, landing pages, and PPC.

The Results

2016 YoY:

  • Organic traffic up 116 per cent
  • Organic revenue up 119 per cent
  • Social media assisted conversions up 83 per cent
  • Social media assisted conversion value up 81 per cent
  • Domain Authority growth 33 per cent 

As well as driving more revenue from organic channels, the work undertaken has increased Lighting Direct’s brand awareness more generally, as highlighted by the continued growth of social media channels and continued engagement from new users.

“An incredibly effective, integrated digital agency that provides a level of service and expertise across a fast-moving discipline which is second to none. And who are just great fun to work with.” – Kathryn Middleton, Head of Brand & Marketing, Lyco Group