Driving +272% Organic Growth for a British Music Icon

The challenge

HMV has been Britain’s most cherished music retailer since 1921, establishing itself as the go-to for CDs, technology, and media. In recent years, HMV has reinvented itself, becoming a symbol of media nostalgia and community for gamers, audiophiles, and film enthusiasts alike.

After over a century in business, HMV has adapted to serve modern consumers – expanding into gaming, technology, films, and pop culture collectibles. Now diversified, the brand required a digital presence to match. 

HMV sought increased organic visibility, stronger category-level results, and a search presence worthy of its legacy. Our goal was clear: attract traffic to key product categories and transform organic search into a major revenue driver.

Our approach

To tackle this challenge, we implemented a three-stage SEO strategy, applying best practices across HMV’s digital platform to unlock incremental growth and traffic. 

Technical consultancy

We established a robust technical foundation to support the broader SEO strategy through Meta optimization for new and existing categories, along with migration support for site changes. Our consultancy remains ongoing, monitoring site architecture, page speed, UX, and indexability.

Targeted category content

Product categories such as Technology, Music, Pop Culture, and Film-TV were identified as growth opportunities. To improve traffic and rankings, our journalism-grade Content team created 60 pages filled with relevant, engaging E-E-A-T content and incorporated target keywords.

Securing domain authority 

We developed targeted links focusing on primary categories including Technology (turntables, vinyl, & headphones) to position HMV as a source of quality information. SEO and industry insights helped us engage influencers from these niches and produce content highly relevant to the brand, bloggers, and their audiences. 

The results

Throughout our partnership, we achieved significant outcomes for HMV, enabling this iconic brand to surpass key competitors and enhance rankings across principal categories. Our SEO campaign effectively increased HMV’s web traffic and visibility, strengthening its digital presence and laying groundwork for ongoing growth.