New report ranks online performances of leading OP businesses

Following a 1% increase in their visibility over the past year, Staples remains top of the market, a new report has revealed.

The Office Supplier Insight Report, produced by digital marketing specialists Inside Online, ranks 48 of the leading websites within this competitive market according to their online performance. The annual study reveals the successes and shortcomings of each website, highlighting where there is room for improvement.

Other stand-out results from visibility include:

• UK Office Direct [219%] and Euroffice [165%] recorded the most significant increases among the top 10 while Office Team [41%] moved into 9th spot from 13th

• Six of the top 10 saw a rise in their visibility year-on-year

• Post Office Shop [43%], Office Stationery [37%] and Fraser’s Office [41%] saw considerable drops on their previous year as Office Express fell out of the top 10 due to a 26% decrease compared to 2016

Ryman tops the overall social chart despite being third for both brand searches per month and owned social scores, led by the Post Office.

The top five social scorers:

• Lyreco is the top performer with 74,000 monthly searches

• Viking Direct came second as Office Depot, and Commercial rounded out the top five for searches per month

• The Post Office dominates owned social scores with Staples, Ryman, Viking and Choice Stationery making up the top five

The social score considers followers and engaged conversations on all major social platforms.

Lyreco has the highest brand search with 74,000; however, this hasn’t translated to their owned social score [10], which explains why they rank only fifth overall.

Similarly, however, Commercial and Office Supplies had high brand searches [each 22,000] but recorded an owned score of below 5, while Euroffice recorded 12,100 against an owned score of 14 and Caboodle 3,600 against 0.

Links have always been an important ranking factor and can make all the difference to how far up a brand appears on Google. Consistently gaining new high-quality links can be great for business; however, high-link volumes without the quality could spell trouble ahead.

Ryman tops the link charts with an impressive average number of high-quality links, with their ‘Back to School’ quiz, which gained almost 300 unique links. They also had success through a revision survey which was covered by national and regional media. Surveys are a fantastic way to build links, offering new to outreach possibilities.

There are several sites with ‘high-quality, low-volume’ links; these KN Office Supplies, Zen Office, ACS, BOS 4 You and Citrus Office Solutions.

Conversely, there are also sites with ‘low-quality, high-volume’ links, such as Paperstone, Office Stationery, UK Office Direct, Euroffice and Office Team. Consistently gaining a high quantity of low-authority links highlights an urgent need to address your off-site reputation.

Gemma Curtis, Inbound Content Marketer at Inside Online, said: “There has been some considerable visibility wins in the Office Supplies market this year, mainly from Ryman, UK Office Direct and Euroffice.

“Ryman impressed us in other vital areas, too. They’re ranking in first place for the highest opportunity keyword, ‘stationery’. They are also topping the social chart with extremely impressive feeds featuring competitions and topical posts that invite users to engage. We also loved their ‘Back to School Quiz’, which gained almost 300 unique links.

“With great content confirmed as a key driver for Google’s algorithm, brands should continue focusing on enriched page copy, link-worthy content, and exciting social feeds to gain those high rankings.”