How HEMA's SEO Strategy Won the Friends of Search Award

How did you prepare yourself and your case for your participation in the Friends of Search Awards?

Winning the Friends of Search Awards was a goal we set to accomplish as a team and is a personal career goal I set for myself to one day achieve. So when we got the opportunity to build and present our unique case, we made sure the case study, pitch and presentation reflected how we do SEO at HEMA and what it has brought us.

Initially we gathered the needed data and information in close collaboration with our social agency team5pm. We have a close and continuous collaboration with them, where we already documented a lot of information and insights along the way. So gathering everything was quite an easy process.

In the weeks heading towards the pitch we made sure our pitch was convincing and reflected our HEMA tone-of-voice and DNA. As HEMA is a big household name in The Netherlands we wanted to make sure we inspired the audience, share how we do (video) SEO and why our unique approach gave us such overwhelming results. Just like with Video SEO, our story had to compeel to the audience. 

How did you experience presenting your case at Friends of Search and ultimately winning the Award?

Ultimately winning the award felt like such a joyful moment for us. Presenting our project and sharing our approach and results was a rewarding experience, that really felt like giving back to the SEO-community. We put in quite a lot of time in creating a balanced presentation that is interesting to listen to and keeps you excited, and from the responses and conversations we got afterwards, I think we pulled it off.

What did winning the award ultimately bring to you? On a personal level, but also within your organization.

Like I mentioned before, winning the Friends of Search Awards for SEO is something we’ve always wanted to accomplish. We consider it to be the biggest price for SEO in The Netherlands, as you get to present your project to both national and international SEO’s. It’s a wonderful reward for the hard work the entire team put into the project, and at the same time it’s a great compliment that we are a market leader with this case. We not only put HEMA’s visibility in the spotlight, but also our whole Social and SEO team which helps us to achieve more internally.

Do you have tips and tricks for ambitious SEO/PPC specialists and companies participating in the Awards this year?

Make sure you have a unique story that puts you ahead of the rest. Especially in a changing and challenging world like SEO, it is important to keep innovating and use new insights and ways to reach your audience. In addition, I also very much believe in the way you convey your story. A powerful case does not only consist of good content or fancy slides, but mostly consists of a leading story and what it has ultimately brought you.

Enter this year’s Awards

If you are passionate about innovation and driving meaningful change in search, we encourage you to participate in this year’s Friends of Search Awards. It’s an incredible opportunity to showcase your work, share your story with industry leaders, and gain recognition for the impact you’re making. Take the chance to inspire others and celebrate your achievements! Deadline is January 31^st. Click this link for more information.

Bob Younge

Contentspecialist