Dan Mahoney

🎁🎉 Q4 Ecommerce Growth 🎉🎁 We are already ranking position 2 for a transactional 201K peak trading UK search volume term for a gifting brand we started working with 90 days ago. Beating high authority retail giants Marks and Spencer and Fortnum & Mason. **This is not the first time we have done this postion 1 for this term is a brand we worked with two years ago.** Before working with us, the company an established e-commerce gifting brand had been working with an SEO for the past 2 years and was not getting much movement - for this term back in June the brand was Page 2, and July growth into 9 during the first month of engagement and now we are position 2. NB: As you will see from the image accompanying the post we have moved from 43-13 and 13-6 for two terms with a current volume of 50K per month (outside peak). Massive gains are being made. This growth in such a short time frame is a testament to the head of ecommerce putting faith in us, with a small internal resource massive shift from the POLARIS | SEO & Content Agency team to work on not just optimisation, content creation, new wireframes and addressing legacy technical issues holding the site back. We are bold, and we do sometimes suggest hard-to-swallow changes - but everything is data-backed (or based on years of e-commerce experience) we back ourselves, put the hard yards in and this is why we get these results so quickly. SEO campaigns are underpinned by passion, proactivity and clear strategic direction working on impactful areas to maximise exposure. This is how we get these results, time and time again. Big thanks to Sam Marlow working dilligently to deliver the campaign strategy with the client to get this traction. Safe to say, we have only scratched the surface, the peak index can be volatile and fluxes daily. We have briefed the team with a whole new Q4 strategy still to deploy to ensure we "stay sticky" during this peak for these queries - plus move further on a 300K term we are currently position 4. Data reference: SE Ranking - 2024 compare by dates 09 July - 07 October

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365 days of connecting brands with their customers IRL with Spacefor, while growing DEPARTMENT LTD 22% YOY. It's been a busy year with plenty of wins, challenges, lessons and observations. Some key insights and 'truths' from this journey: - Focus & energy are more important than time - Plan effectively and create routines - Delegate more - Say no - Make unconventional decisions - Include people on a journey 'Need to explore further' - an outtake from my weekly highlights back in May 2021 - is how it all began.

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This is why I shied away from mainstream media journalism in my career choices. The only way traditional press can garner the clicks to pay the bills is with divisive, sensationalist press. For a start the undertone of racism here is grossly apparent. Beyond that, these are young people on the verge of a massive tournament with huge pressure. If any of these 'writers' can tell me how tearing them down, ramping up the strain and brutalising them is going to help them win, I'd be delighted to hear it? I loved the Beckham doc for so many reasons, not least the absolute two fingers up he gave when booed and hated but it's clear all these years it still affects him. This attitude filters to the terraces, then the leagues, then grass roots and then to kids. The FA is desperately trying to stamp out racism, homophobia and pressure from parents ruining kids experiences of sport. And then it reaches locker rooms, then classrooms and then offices and then we wonder why we have a male mental health crisis. I have a 14 year old son who has played football his whole life. Loves training, hates competing because of this sort of attitude. The things those boys call each other on the pitch. With the justification 'well, that's football, you can't change it'. It's mens mental health month. If you really want to improve the appallingly high death rate from suicide in this country start here. We really need to hold our press to higher account. If you want to see our national teams win, support them, wholeheartedly and condemn this type of lazy, reductive reporting.

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In today's digital landscape, crafting a compelling B2B buyer's journey is no longer optional – it's fundamental for success. Social media empowers suppliers to guide their customers seamlessly from initial awareness to post-purchase fulfilment, fostering trust and loyalty at every touchpoint. Delve into the key stages of the B2B buyer's journey, exploring how Jewel Ads can optimise each step. We'll cover methods for generating brand awareness through targeted promotion, fostering engagement through interactive content and social listening, and, ultimately, guiding buyers towards informed purchasing decisions. By harnessing the power of Jewel Ads, suppliers can craft a buyer's journey that fosters trust, increases engagement, and ultimately drives growth. So, are you ready to unlock the potential?

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What makes We Are Seed Digital different? 🚀 We are ran by two previous brand owners with over 20 years ecommerce experience 🚀 We don’t insist on fixed term retainers and rigid working relationships 🚀 We understand an agency relationship needs to be reactive and have flexibility 🚀 We understand what it takes to be profitable and this is reflected on every single thing we do 🚀 We build long term relationships by being innovative, hard working and honest When you opt to work with an agency it’s not just a service you pay for. It’s an extension of your team, your culture and in reality it can be pivitol on the future of your brand. Alternatively an agency isn’t for everybody. Some brands would 100% be better off investing their budget into other areas for growth or enhancing their own skillset to push things internally. We can help you here too. Drop me a message if you think we can support your brand today 🙏🏼 #ecommerce #agency #brandowners #marketing #profit #growth

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I'm hoping I can get some feedback from those of you who work client side in eCommerce. My view is that we are emerging from the bottom of a cycle in eCommerce in the UK, largely driven by the economy. We are likely to have a new government in place early July. What is going to be important to you as an eCommerce leader? Deploying new tech you might have been wanting to use? Keeping spend tight? Putting more into marketing? Understanding attribution? New marketing channels? Something else? If I can get some ideas I'll turn it into a poll Tagging the mighty: Lesley Gregory David Thompson-Jones Laura Keir Dan Beckles

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CPMs down 4% today 🤔 Now that the Election is over, the cost of delivering your ads to your potential customers might have just got 4% cheaper… This is data from tens of thousands of Triple Whale integrated Shopify stores, your CPMs might look a little different What does this mean for our brands? … Not a whole lot! It’s just interesting Day to day changes in CPM of 4% are actually totally normal, and a lot of the time we actually prefer to pay more for delivery, clicks from Facebook & Instagram users that are more likely to buy. You could get really cheap ad delivery (and clicks) if you only served your ads in India, but unfortunately your sales would take a hit. This is a little reminder that while efficiency is important, the goal is growth (Not CPM, CPC, CPA or ROAS)

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👏 What is Next doing?? Gotta bloody hand it to Next—a UK brand that really seems to have its head screwed on from those days of heavy catalogues to this day... While Asos and Boohoo are wrestling with slipping sales we hear, Next is out here smashing it online, especially overseas. Their focus on full-price sales abroad shows just how crucial a solid digital game is right now. Next says the increase of full-price sales, with a 4.4 percent increase over the past half year, without specifying exact amounts. Basically shows that full-price sales in Next stores have declined, but they have grown online. I’ve always followed them since their days of massive huge heavy 🏋️‍♂️catalogues, but this is smart, they’ve been expanding their digital reach well beyond the UK, with huge success in international markets with full price sales via online platforms. It’s a real reminder that if you’re not adapting and pushing those boundaries in ecommerce, you’re gonna get left behind. They are seemingly innovating the way they grow. Article: https://lnkd.in/eNSkiPyY #UKRetail #EcommerceWins #DigitalGrowth #RetailTrends #OnlineStrategy

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Extremely proud to announce SECRET SALES won Best Retail and eCommerce Campaign last night at the #performancemarketingawards with Jack Felstead. ALOT of work has gone into creating one of the best PPC accounts in the market these last few years with incredible work from our extremely agile, talented team (with some new innovation this year being lead by Matt Nuttall - another key reason for the success these past few years). Want to know how? Without giving too much away, in short we have managed to combat CPCs & arbitrage across PMAX, created systematic stock/product set management within the account and quick test/learn frameworks that unlocked us optimise to SKU level profit. A quick thanks to Shoptimised and ProfitMetrics.io on the roles they have played and the indirect impact on brand mix anchors via Steven Lammertink's business Cirqle. There's a lot of 'academic best practice' on LinkedIn at the moment and being able to cut through the S*** and create detailed plans that have an actual commercial impact (vs look nice on a slide) has been key to us. A huge moment not just for the business leading in how to approach digital marketing but one personally for me that I've always wanted to win. A huge thank you to the wider team here to making it a reality. Since I couldn't make it in person - I had AI image replicate what could of been (got a bit carried away on the image myself and this system really does not know what a chihuahua or sausage dog is so only dusti the cavapoo made the cut)! European search awards next!!

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My responsibilities are changing a bit at work, and my new focus has been on getting people to the website to buy products ultimately. Our team had some great ideas to get the help we needed in our targeting and overall digital marketing, which has made a world of difference. Our Black Friday sale has been blowing up this past week, and only a few small changes made a big difference. This video is the creative I put together for one of our ads, but our marketing experts have been targeting it so well. #DigitalMarketingStrategy #CreativeOutdoorMarketing #OutdoorAdventures #DigitalCampaigns #InnovativeMarketingStrategy #OutdoorSportsMarketing

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2025 ad prediction - Quick, scripted UGC isn’t going to cut it this year (and what to do instead) Like a lot of people I’ve spent quite a bit of time on social media over this holiday period (what else can you physically do when you’re lying on the sofa in a food coma?) All the inevitable ads I saw on Instagram got me thinking about the ad creative that will win in 2025. My takeaway; scripted UGC just isn’t going to cut it. Here’s what will: Find real people who love your brand: Find creators who understand the problems your audience is facing. The authenticity and relatability of the content is going to be worth a lot more than the size of the following. Someone emphatically pretending to love your product (and mispronouncing your product name in the process) is going to be sniffed out by customers from a mile away. Help creators understand your brand and goals: Have real conversations with the people marketing your products. They should be aware of why the brand exists, the exact problem that you solve, as well as what makes your solution the best on the market. Just sending a simple brief / script isn’t enough. Focus on influencer whitelisting: Long term partnerships with regular deliverables are crucial. The sheer amount of paid content out there means people need to see their favourite influencer talk about a product multiple times to believe it, so build that trust with regular content covering different angles. Use what works and run it as an ad through the influencer’s page, and don’t forget to run your in-house creative to their audience as well.

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As a marketer we long to change customer behaviour, it’s like the holy grail. My Christmas hat is doffed to the Elf on the shelf marketers who have managed to create an empire that galvanises parents into new action and behaviours for the majority of December. Theres merch, cartoons, elf accessories…. Not to mention the bloody things themselves. In schools there’s kids bragging rights over what each elf got up to. At the school gates there’s parental hatred aimed at the entire operation yet a frenetic sense of impotence about being able to stop Operation Elf #WeCantStopNow So to those that were suckered into Elf wars, bless you and bravo - you got through it. To the smugs that haven’t been sucked in yet…. There’s still time, I only got caught this year. To the CMO at Elf HQ, bravo, well played. Merry Christmas y’all. ___________________________________ Hi 👋 I'm Michelle, award-winning CMO and Marketing Consultant, let’s talk if you need some serious marketing muscle to grow your business! Marketing, Brand, Leadership, Strategy, Coaching and Board Advisory are all my thing, if you want to hear more make sure you follow me and double click the 🔔 on my profile! #PinkUmbrella #ElfOnTheShelf

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This week's updates in eCommerce 🛍️ ▪️ Frasers Group has snapped up South African sportswear retailer Holdsport Group for an undisclosed sum on the same day it took a £3m stake in British brand Marks Electrical Group plc. ▪️ Gymshark has launched an innovation lab to find ‘game-changing solutions’ and is on the hunt for exciting start-ups to join the programme. ▪️ JD Sports Fashion has completed its €520 million acquisition of COURIR, a market leader in sneakers in France. Courir has 323 stores in France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Luxembourg, as well as 36 shops which trade under franchise agreements in north west Africa, the middle east and French overseas territories. ▪️ Marks and Spencer is to slash prices in its overseas stores in a bid to boost international business. The business noted that one of its Singapore stores was around a third more expensive than its rivals. ▪️ MediaMarktSaturn are bringing retail media to physical shops. The electronics retailer wants to attract advertisers with in-store ads. Retail media sales in Europe are projected to grow from €13.8bn in 2024 to €17.7bn in 2025. ▪️ H&M Group has announced it will terminate its Monki chain. Almost all of its shops will close, the few others will be turned into Weekday stores. The two brands will also merge online. ▪️ Discount premium marketplace SECRET SALES has acquired H&M’s fashion outlet Afound, as it continues its European expansion into the Nordics. ▪️ eyewa, the growing Middle Eastern eyewear retailer, plans a massive expansion in 2025 after securing $100m in Series C funding round. ▪️ DIY giant Kingfisher plc has tightened its full-year profit guidance after sales remained flat in the three months to October 2024 at £3.2bn on a constant currency basis. ▪️ Dr. Martens plc has swung to a half-year loss after seeing sales slump and warned of a year-end currency hit to profits. The brand reported pre-tax losses of £28.7 million for the six months to 29 September as revenues fell -18%. ▪️ Lulu Retail, following its record IPO, has announced a 6.1 % YoY revenue growth to $1.86 billion in Q3 this year. The UAE remained Lulu’s biggest market and saw strong revenue growth of 7.5% during the quarter. ▪️ The Very Group's pre-tax losses widened as first quarter sales slipped -5%. The retailer reported its loss before tax had increased to £22.9m in the 13 weeks to 28 September,. The group noted that the market remains “challenging” but that it expects to see a “strengthening of the profitability of our business in FY25”. ▪️ LOOKFANTASTIC.COM expects its beauty AI tool to generate a spike in sales over Black Friday as it has seen a surge in users since its launch last year.  The AI tool uses a quiz on shoppers to determine the customer preference on foundation type while recommending a perfect shade. Happy Black Friday and Cyber weekend everyone, if you're in retail/eCom wishing you all the best for a successful weekend 🖤 #eCommerce #news

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Brands / agencies - the most amazing email for me to open would read "We've got £1k / £5k / £20k and really want you involved, can we talk about what you could deliver for that within this project?". Recently I'm finding that brands are approaching me with loads of lovely & elaborate ideas with a detailed scope before they've worked out how much they want to spend on delivering them. On three occasions this year it's ended up being a big waste of time, and with one in particular it was pretty hard to pick myself up afterwards. When you quote for a detailed job and the client finally tells you they think actually you are worth 20% of this amount - well it's hard. For that one it was quick turnaround, I'd cancelled personal plans, I'd even batch cooked as it was going to take so many hours for so many days to make the deadline. Eventually I was ghosted. All professional illustrators / artists / photographers / designers I know are not in this to get rich. We want to do brilliant work that is really successful for clients, and we want to be paid an amount that is appropriate to the value of the work. We are always happy to negotiate and sometimes the fee can be met by making license shorter. https://lnkd.in/ex3GNdqq I hope that with the change of government (fingers crossed) that it will release budgets, I'd love to get some fantastic new projects. Please see my website for more examples of my work. (Please note that my live illustration fee at events is a fixed price) https://lnkd.in/eGpV2m73

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Huge Sales Potential for Home Furnishing Brands & The Power of SEO ️ How do the top home furnishing brands magically appear at potential customers' fingertips? The answer is simple: they've taken charge of their online visibility with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), putting their brand in front of the right audience at the right time. Imagine your website as a virtual storefront strategically positioned to attract your target audience. By implementing and refining your SEO tactics, you can proactively increase your online visibility, attract qualified customers, and convert those clicks into sales. Here's a sneak peek at the power of SEO for home furnishing brands: 1. Targeted Traffic: Attract potential customers actively searching for the kind of furniture and décor you offer. 2. Enhanced Brand Credibility: High search ranking positions you as an industry authority. 3. Measurable Results: Track website traffic and conversions to gauge your SEO success. Ready to tap into the true potential of your online presence? Comment below with your biggest challenge in attracting customers online! #homefurnishings #SEO #onlinemarketing #digitalmarketing #interiordesign #furniture #homedecor #growyourbusiness #businesssupport

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“There’s no point in scanning my card; I don’t get any benefits” 🤥 “It’s a waste of time; they don’t do anything with it anyway.”🫠 During my time at John Lewis, I constantly hear customers this!!! Many customers feel UNDERVALUED by the brands they stay loyal to, with 83% reporting a lack of emotional connection with the brands they engage with. ❤️‍🩹 To solve this issue, brands NEED to use AI and DATA. 🤖 WHY? This emotional disconnect isn’t just an isolated issue—it speaks to a broader challenge for brands: How do we create MEANINGFUL connections with our customers beyond the transactional side of loyalty? The key lies in personalisation. We need to maximise AI and data to: ✅ Offer tailored promotions ✅ Use predictive analysis to anticipate customer needs ✅ Segment audiences more effectively to target them with the right message ✅ Implement AI chatbots for instant, personalised engagement The future of loyalty is tech-driven. The more we use data to create relevant and timely experiences, the more we can bridge the emotional gap between consumers and brands. It’s not just about discounts or offers—it’s about building TRUST, VALUE, and CONNECTION. 🔑 #CustomerLoyalty #AI #DataDriven #MarketingInnovation #TechForGood #BrandEngagement #marketingtech

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This is so poor of Shopify (& or Shopify Digital Solution). HANX is a serious company, helping women navigate sexual health, menopause, contraception and female sexual empowerment. What on earn would make you, via an algorithm no doubt, stop brilliant companies like Hanx (founded by two women, one of which is a trained and practicing doctor and gynaecologist) by removing their ability to trade efficiently. See LinkedIn below from Farah K. who informs us that you have just decided to STOP the company Hanx, giving them 6 days notice, that they will no longer be able to use your payments facility. This is a wonderful small company founded by Farah K. and Sarah Welsh doing brilliant things for our society and women. They make access to sexual health products for women more available. They are also a educational company as well - research backed medical knowledge and proper support for women. Women find it hard enough to raise funding to scale and this sort of behaviour by big companies it totally unacceptable. Moving payments providers will make this companies costs potentially much higher and could put them out of business. You are a powerful company, making decisions often via algorithms, and for me such decisions re @Hanx makes no sense and is utterly unacceptable. I for one will not recommend anyone use Shopify. Debbie Wosskow, OBE WB Directors UK and Women on Boards UK PLEASE CAN EVERYONE who sees this this post re share it (not just like it). I do hope Shopify will change their bonkers algorithmic decision!

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