UK online retail sales rise as blog links increase

• 31 per cent of bloggers linking to e-tail sites link to fashion brands

• 1,000 bloggers link to eCommerce in the UK every day

• Top twenty most popular brands amongst bloggers

ONS figures show that UK online retail sales grew by 22.5 per cent this August compared to last year, to an average of £579.6 million a week. In the same period, the number of bloggers that linked to e-commerce sites in the UK grew by 6.8 per cent on the previous year with 28,178 links last month according to blog indexing company Twingly.

Blogs play a major role in driving traffic to online retailers with 1,000 blog links to e-tailers in the UK every day. Research from Twingly shows that fashion e-tailers are the most linked to, after mass merchants such as amazon.co.uk. Almost a third of bloggers linking to e-tail sites link to fashion sites, with 118,042 blog links to the sector in the past year.

This year saw the British Fashion Council launch a new blogger accreditation strategy following the rapid rise in numbers of bloggers registering to attend the event. The projected number of bloggers applying to attend September 2014 is expected to exceed 3,000 applications.

Twingly, one of the world’s largest blog data mining companies, which provides the data for companies including Radian6 and Netvibes, is launching a new product in the UK that encourages bloggers to link to e-tail sites. The Twingly blog box displays blog posts that link to products on a site’s page and provide reciprocal links. The tool also enable e-tailers to monitor and analyse which blogs are linking to their site and products.

Richard Woodbridge, COO & Head of Marketing at Nelly.com said: “Blogger relations is an integral part of our Marketing strategy. Having a tool, such as Twinlgy Blog Box, that encourages bloggers to link to our site and products increases SEO and provides an incentive to a larger number of bloggers.”

Siân To, lifestyle blogger and founder of blogging conference Cybher said: “As the popularity of blogging continues to soar, it's more important than ever for brands to establish relationships with the right blogger ambassadors. They are customers, advocates, and lovers of your brand who are already promoting you in an authentic, legitimate voice. Their influence is powerful and far-reaching.  A tool to monitor and manage those relationships effectively is long overdue.”

Peter Blaha, CEO of Twingly said: “The power and impact of social media as a marketing channel is widely recognised and as blogs are the most influential, a solid blogger relations strategy is essential for eCommerce sites. The new Twingly Blog Manager tool enables e-tailers not only to monitor and manage the bloggers that currently link to them but also to attract more. Increasing links not only drives SEO for eCommerce sites but also enhances marketing of products through blogs.”

The research carried out by Twingly shows the top 20 most popular brands among bloggers:

1. Nike

2. Louis Vuitton

3. Ugg

4. Gucci

5. Chanel

6. Burberry

7. Michael Kors

8. Prada

9. Christian Louboutin

10. Hermes

11. Mulberry

12. Ralph Lauren

13. Adidas

14. Jimmy Choo

15. Dior

16. Marc Jacobs

17. Bottega Veneta

18. H&M

19. Zara

20. Fendi