Published by olivia.wright@dontpanicprojects.com
Published Date 27.06.2023 
At Climbing Trees, we are absolutely thrilled to have been shortlisted, not once, twice, but three times at the Global Search Awards. Our nominations include:
- Best UK SEO Campaign
- Most Innovative Campaign (SEO): Small
- Best Use of Search – Finance (SEO): Small
To be recognised with these nominations is a tremendous honour. It reinforces our position as a leading digital marketing agency and validates our commitment to delivering outstanding results. We are grateful for the opportunity to showcase our work and compete alongside the best in the industry.
Who we are
Founded in 2011, we are a digital marketing agency based in Essex, specialising in search, social, and programmatic advertising. Our passionate team of 16 experts excel in paid media and SEO, utilising cutting-edge technology to grow digital brands, all while making a positive impact in the world.
In the realm of paid media marketing, our team excels in platforms such as Microsoft Ads, Shopping Ads, Display Ads, Google Ads, and Google Ad Grants. We also harness the power of Amazon, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok to maximise our clients’ advertising success. We also specialise in organic search marketing, which includes on-page SEO, technical SEO audits, site migration, SEO link building, online PR, and SEO copywriting.
Beyond our everyday client work, we are determined to make a positive impact on the planet. Over the past two years, we have implemented initiatives to minimise our carbon footprint and promote sustainability within the digital marketing industry. Some of our recent achievements include:
- Awarded B-Corp accreditation
- Planted 260,000 Trees partnerships with Ecologi and Tree Nation to date
- Use 100% renewable energy at the office
We are also on a path to becoming Net Zero by 2030 and aim to plant one million trees!
Now, let’s dive into the campaign that has earned us these prestigious nominations.
Our Campaign
We teamed up with Avanti Travel Insurance to embark on an ambitious 18-month SEO campaign that aimed to secure and maintain page 1 rankings, enhancing their organic visibility and enabling them to compete with major players in the market and to offer travel insurance for all.
The results of our research indicated that there were areas for improvement in terms of brand trust, authority, backlinks, and keyword rankings. Research also revealed that individuals seeking a reliable insurance company exhibit a high level of trust in NHS websites, something that hadn’t been considered previously and provided an excellent starting point to expand Avanti’s’ reach.
The first focus of the campaign was an outreach programme which targeted every NHS Trust in the UK to secure backlinks from their websites to Avanti’s homepage. Then, to strengthen their position within their sector, we also focused on acquiring links from travel, finance, and insurance-related blogs. Our team proactively contacted 600 UK-based blogs aligned with these themes, resulting in 150 acquired links that strengthened Avanti’s position.
Within just 12 weeks, Avanti became the smallest brand in the market to consistently rank on page 1 for two highly competitive search terms. The impact was extraordinary, with an 8,126% uplift in ‘Travel insurance’ search term traffic, a 4% increase in the share of voice, a 1,700% boost in overall keyword traffic, and a remarkable 1,690% increase in conversions. Similarly, for the search term ‘Holiday insurance,’ with an average of 150,000 total monthly UK searches, Avanti achieved a commendable position 6.
This campaign shattered industry norms, showcasing substantial growth potential, and proving that page 1 organic SEO rankings are attainable for smaller brands. Our success was dependent on the support of the NHS, as establishing backlinks with them is notoriously difficult due to their bureaucratic and hard-to-access realm of the organisation.
The successful campaign led to an extended partnership between us and Avanti!
Founder of Climbing Trees, Alex Holliman, comments “We’re all delighted and excited to be nominated for three Global Search Awards. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication every single member of the team has contributed. Acquiring backlinks with the NHS was unexplored territory, and certainly a unique challenge for our team, however, they went above and beyond to achieve success. These nominations not only reflect our success but also validate our commitment to innovation and excellence.”
We eagerly anticipate the awards ceremony and look forward to celebrating with our industry peers.
Dave Clough, Group SEO Manager, Avanti said: “We’re delighted to hear that Climbing Trees work with Avanti has been nominated for 3x awards at this year’s Global Search Awards! It’s every bit deserving, and we’re excited to hear the results.”
