Digital Digest
Your monthly peek behind the digital curtain.
The Digital Digest is our monthly internal update covering all things digital at IronmongeryDirect. From PPC and SEO performance to upcoming projects, platform changes, and the latest digital trends, this deck keeps you in the loop, highlights team wins, and gives a glimpse of what’s next on our digital roadmap.
Digital Performance
Data is king!
What happened in December?
December marked the expected seasonal wind-down in demand, and our results reflect. Rather than switching activity off completely, we took a more strategic, demand-led approach, allowing campaigns to scale back naturally in line with customer intent. This meant we saw a short-term dip in efficiency, but this was an intentional trade-off. The benefit of this approach is already clear, performance has rebounded immediately as we enter the new year, without the usual lag caused by pausing and restarting activity. By staying active and controlled through December, we protected campaign learning, maintained market presence, and set ourselves up for a much stronger start to January.
December PPC Performance Overview – The Headlines
December reflected a planned and controlled pullback in paid activity as demand softened towards the festive period. What stood out?
- Spend was deliberately reduced (-16% MoM) as festive demand eased, following a controlled, demand-led approach rather than switching activity off.
- ROAS dipped short term (-7% MoM), an expected and accepted trade-off from maintaining presence and campaign learning through December.
- Performance remains strong YoY, with revenue up 25%, and momentum has already rebounded as we enter the new year.
January validated our December strategy, with performance rebounding quickly as demand returned and campaigns continued without the disruption typically caused by switching activity off.
What Happened across Web?
December followed expected seasonal patterns, with lower traffic but better-quality visits. Strong conversion rates helped offset volume declines, and year-on-year growth shows the site continues to perform well despite tracking changes and softer AOVs.Key takeaways:
- Sessions dropped sharply MoM (-46%), expected after the November peak.
- Conversion rate increased significantly MoM (+45%), showing stronger intent from remaining traffic.
- AOV fell MoM (-8%), softening total revenue.
- Revenue declined MoM (-31%), driven primarily by lower traffic volumes.
SEO Update – December in Focus
December was a seasonally softer month for organic revenue, but an encouraging one for quality, intent, and visibility. Structural work carried out throughout Q4 was rewarded during the December Core Update, with strong improvements in visibility, conversion rate, and non-brand growth heading into 2026. The Headlines:
- Non-branded clicks up +23.8% YoY, reinforcing progress toward long-term demand growth.
- Organic conversion rate increased +19.7% PoP to 3.8%, indicating higher-intent traffic despite lower volumes.
- Google organic visibility increased +13.2% during the December Core Update.
- Product and category CVR and AOV both improved significantly, offsetting some of the seasonal demand drop.
Wins!
- Sliding Door Gear restructure launched on 11 December with all redirects successfully implemented.
- Hinges, seals and intumescents restructure fully scoped and briefed, on track for January launch.
- Mobile navigation and internal linking fixes continue to pay off, contributing to sustained visibility gains.
Organic Visibility – The Search Landscape
- Visibility Index increased from 1.807 to 2.045 (+13.2%), following the December Core Update.
- Google appears to have rewarded recent technical fixes and category restructuring, validating the Q4 SEO roadmap.
- Competitor visibility was mixed, with Ironmongery Direct maintaining a clear advantage throughout the update period.
- AI Overviews are increasingly surfacing Ironmongery Direct content, boosting impressions and brand presence even where clicks are suppressed.
Key Activity December
Site links review and updates. Updating destination pages.
New search campaign set live for Sockets & Switches
PMAX testing ongoing - new Zombies campaign testing
Hinges, seals and intumescents restructuring and briefed.
Sliding door gear restructure completion and redirect implementation.
Finalised commercial content process and deadlines.
Development Roadmap
NERD ALERT
In December, good progress was made on our roadmap, with several being completed:
- Navigation update – Sliding door gear
- Marketing Preference centre live
- Foundit PLP L3 test live – Showing negative results so paused it. Making some changes so will go live again in Jan.
- Foundit own brands test live – No results to share just yet
- Filter redesign on PLP test – Showing negative results but could be because it's clashing with the Foundit test. Will tweak and continue to monitor in Jan.
- Star rating Test – Live, currently showing positive results on PDP but negative on PLP, will continue to monitor
- Prismic blog section and brand pages live
- Christmas delivery messaging live
- Emarsys web extend – code added to allow marketing to send more segmented emails
- Trade Xtra – Pay with Trade Xtra highlighted at checkout
- Trade Xtra exit intent survey live
- Aurora platform improvements – Now CC can see customer baskets and update customer marketing preference
Looking forward to January...
- New PDP – Pushed due to testing and code freeze
- Foundit PLP Back button test go live
- Fredhopper go live – after fixes and testing
- Future backend project – simplified back end for site speed and stability. Product and PDP sections.
- Trade Xtra - add statements to account section live
- Credit safe rules – Auto-hold trade orders if they exceed a threshold after a set time period or place more than 1 order on the same day
- Prevent hazardous and flight-restricted items from being ordered to offshore locations
- Own brand products additional image – ready to go live but missed code freeze cut off so will go live in Jan.
- New CC dashboard go live.
- One click social login – Start work on a project that could potentially improve customer account creations. Will take a couple months deliver as it's being worked on along-side other projects.
- CRO Tests – PLP L1 and L2 and search page, improve top part of page to bring products up
- Product reviews on PDP - date hidden if over two years old
- Recommended products at checkout will be updated from 2 to 4
Digital News
Things we think are interesting right now :)
Each month, we want to share some broader digital marketing news, things we think are interesting, and things we want to be looking at as our strategy evolves. If there are any specifc topics you would like us to cover, please feel free to drop us a note :) Click the next arrow by each story to reveal the next!
Why copywriting is the new superpower in 2026
YouTube is no longer optional for SEO in the age of AI Overviews
Top 10 Google Ads mistakes to avoid in 2026
Shoutouts!
Let’s Google review the situation...
"Excellent customer service and after sales. Very fast deliveries." - Bill Hogg
FIN
Now, did you find this useful, informative? We are always happy to see feedback and ways we can communicate our activity across the business. Feel free to email us with any thoughts.
PPC Glossary Impressions – The number of times your ad is shown on a search engine results page. CTR (Click-Through Rate) – The percentage of people who clicked your ad after seeing it. Calculated as clicks ÷ impressions. CPC (Cost per Click) – The average amount paid for each click on your ad. Spend – The total amount spent on PPC advertising.. Conversion Rate (CVR) – The percentage of clicks that turned into conversions. Calculated as conversions ÷ clicks. ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) – Revenue generated for every £1 spent on PPC. A ROAS of 5 means £5 revenue for every £1 spent.
Impression Share (IS) – The percentage of times your ad was shown out of the total available impressions. Negative Keywords – Keywords you exclude to stop ads showing on irrelevant searches. Attribution – The method of crediting conversions to clicks or channels (e.g. first click, last click, data-driven).
Why copywriting is the new superpower in 2026
AI didn’t kill copywriting. It killed low-grade informational SEO. Persuasion, positioning, and clarity now matter more than traffic volume.
For the last few years, copywriting has been quietly written off.
Not with outrage. Not with ceremony.
Just sidelined. Replaced. Automated.
Words – the core material of SEO, landing pages, ads, and persuasion – were demoted during the traffic rush and later the AI gold rush.
Full Article
YouTube is no longer optional for SEO in the age of AI Overviews
As search shifts to AI-driven answers, YouTube is becoming key source material. Brands that underinvest in video risk losing visibility.Getting found in all the right places has always meant being early to the next major shift in search.
Full Article
Top 10 Google Ads mistakes to avoid in 2026
Optimise your PPC campaigns by tackling issues like inconsistent tracking, old negative keywords, blind reliance on AI, and more.
Google Ads is constantly changing and evolving. With these changes come fresh mistakes PPC advertisers make in optimising and managing their campaigns.
This article breaks down the most common mistakes of 2026 so you can avoid repeating them this year.
Full Article
Organic Glossary? 1. Algorithm The system search engines use to rank web pages in search results. 2. Backlink A link from another website to your site. High-quality backlinks help improve rankings. 3. Bounce Rate The percentage of users who leave a site after viewing only one page. 4. Canonical Tag A bit of code that tells search engines which version of a page is the "main" one to avoid duplicate content issues. 5. Crawling When search engines scan a website’s content.
SEO Vs PPC
Overtime we should be aiming to improve our visibility organically so we are less reliant on PPC driving users to the site. With the correct approach we can look to save budget over time on those keywords we start to rank for organically. This is where SEO and PPC can work in tandem to drive growth!
As well as our ongoing projects such as the Aurora Dashboard, Next.js 14 Upgrade and SEO Improvements.
And other smaller non-roadmap items!
Digital Digest - December
David Ward
Created on January 12, 2026
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Transcript
Digital Digest
Your monthly peek behind the digital curtain.
The Digital Digest is our monthly internal update covering all things digital at IronmongeryDirect. From PPC and SEO performance to upcoming projects, platform changes, and the latest digital trends, this deck keeps you in the loop, highlights team wins, and gives a glimpse of what’s next on our digital roadmap.
Digital Performance
Data is king!
What happened in December?
December marked the expected seasonal wind-down in demand, and our results reflect. Rather than switching activity off completely, we took a more strategic, demand-led approach, allowing campaigns to scale back naturally in line with customer intent. This meant we saw a short-term dip in efficiency, but this was an intentional trade-off. The benefit of this approach is already clear, performance has rebounded immediately as we enter the new year, without the usual lag caused by pausing and restarting activity. By staying active and controlled through December, we protected campaign learning, maintained market presence, and set ourselves up for a much stronger start to January.
December PPC Performance Overview – The Headlines
December reflected a planned and controlled pullback in paid activity as demand softened towards the festive period. What stood out?
- Spend was deliberately reduced (-16% MoM) as festive demand eased, following a controlled, demand-led approach rather than switching activity off.
- ROAS dipped short term (-7% MoM), an expected and accepted trade-off from maintaining presence and campaign learning through December.
- Performance remains strong YoY, with revenue up 25%, and momentum has already rebounded as we enter the new year.
January validated our December strategy, with performance rebounding quickly as demand returned and campaigns continued without the disruption typically caused by switching activity off.What Happened across Web?
December followed expected seasonal patterns, with lower traffic but better-quality visits. Strong conversion rates helped offset volume declines, and year-on-year growth shows the site continues to perform well despite tracking changes and softer AOVs.Key takeaways:
SEO Update – December in Focus
December was a seasonally softer month for organic revenue, but an encouraging one for quality, intent, and visibility. Structural work carried out throughout Q4 was rewarded during the December Core Update, with strong improvements in visibility, conversion rate, and non-brand growth heading into 2026. The Headlines:
- Non-branded clicks up +23.8% YoY, reinforcing progress toward long-term demand growth.
- Organic conversion rate increased +19.7% PoP to 3.8%, indicating higher-intent traffic despite lower volumes.
- Google organic visibility increased +13.2% during the December Core Update.
- Product and category CVR and AOV both improved significantly, offsetting some of the seasonal demand drop.
Wins!Organic Visibility – The Search Landscape
Key Activity December
Site links review and updates. Updating destination pages.
New search campaign set live for Sockets & Switches
PMAX testing ongoing - new Zombies campaign testing
Hinges, seals and intumescents restructuring and briefed.
Sliding door gear restructure completion and redirect implementation.
Finalised commercial content process and deadlines.
Development Roadmap
NERD ALERT
In December, good progress was made on our roadmap, with several being completed:
Looking forward to January...
Digital News
Things we think are interesting right now :)
Each month, we want to share some broader digital marketing news, things we think are interesting, and things we want to be looking at as our strategy evolves. If there are any specifc topics you would like us to cover, please feel free to drop us a note :) Click the next arrow by each story to reveal the next!
Why copywriting is the new superpower in 2026
YouTube is no longer optional for SEO in the age of AI Overviews
Top 10 Google Ads mistakes to avoid in 2026
Shoutouts!
Let’s Google review the situation...
"Excellent customer service and after sales. Very fast deliveries." - Bill Hogg
FIN
Now, did you find this useful, informative? We are always happy to see feedback and ways we can communicate our activity across the business. Feel free to email us with any thoughts.
PPC Glossary Impressions – The number of times your ad is shown on a search engine results page. CTR (Click-Through Rate) – The percentage of people who clicked your ad after seeing it. Calculated as clicks ÷ impressions. CPC (Cost per Click) – The average amount paid for each click on your ad. Spend – The total amount spent on PPC advertising.. Conversion Rate (CVR) – The percentage of clicks that turned into conversions. Calculated as conversions ÷ clicks. ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) – Revenue generated for every £1 spent on PPC. A ROAS of 5 means £5 revenue for every £1 spent.
Impression Share (IS) – The percentage of times your ad was shown out of the total available impressions. Negative Keywords – Keywords you exclude to stop ads showing on irrelevant searches. Attribution – The method of crediting conversions to clicks or channels (e.g. first click, last click, data-driven).
Why copywriting is the new superpower in 2026
AI didn’t kill copywriting. It killed low-grade informational SEO. Persuasion, positioning, and clarity now matter more than traffic volume. For the last few years, copywriting has been quietly written off. Not with outrage. Not with ceremony. Just sidelined. Replaced. Automated. Words – the core material of SEO, landing pages, ads, and persuasion – were demoted during the traffic rush and later the AI gold rush.
Full Article
YouTube is no longer optional for SEO in the age of AI Overviews
As search shifts to AI-driven answers, YouTube is becoming key source material. Brands that underinvest in video risk losing visibility.Getting found in all the right places has always meant being early to the next major shift in search.
Full Article
Top 10 Google Ads mistakes to avoid in 2026
Optimise your PPC campaigns by tackling issues like inconsistent tracking, old negative keywords, blind reliance on AI, and more. Google Ads is constantly changing and evolving. With these changes come fresh mistakes PPC advertisers make in optimising and managing their campaigns. This article breaks down the most common mistakes of 2026 so you can avoid repeating them this year.
Full Article
Organic Glossary? 1. Algorithm The system search engines use to rank web pages in search results. 2. Backlink A link from another website to your site. High-quality backlinks help improve rankings. 3. Bounce Rate The percentage of users who leave a site after viewing only one page. 4. Canonical Tag A bit of code that tells search engines which version of a page is the "main" one to avoid duplicate content issues. 5. Crawling When search engines scan a website’s content.
SEO Vs PPC
Overtime we should be aiming to improve our visibility organically so we are less reliant on PPC driving users to the site. With the correct approach we can look to save budget over time on those keywords we start to rank for organically. This is where SEO and PPC can work in tandem to drive growth!
As well as our ongoing projects such as the Aurora Dashboard, Next.js 14 Upgrade and SEO Improvements. And other smaller non-roadmap items!