Laura Thomas Linens. An Update from a Start-up Business.
By following this blog you’ve probably gathered that Laura Thomas Linens is now UK based. It has been an interesting ride moving the business from one country to another. Moving an online business should be a simple thing. After all your online right? Wrong! Being an online based business without a brick and mortar base can mean a few things.
Firstly Google. Whenever a site goes live the Google Bots will trail that site but won’t page rank it for six months. In simple terms, the new site will not appear under any search terms that have been typed into the Google browser. This is due to the amount of dodgy sites that come and go within this time. This period is known as ‘being in the sandpit’. Laura Thomas Linens.com was hosted in New Zealand and even though still in start-up, had over come the ‘sandpit’ period for Google.co.nz and had been ranked (and continually trailed) by the google robots for verification and authentication. Found under search terms ‘organic linens’ and ‘bed linen new zealand’ on page two, sales were generated through google search terms. A great result for a company only 18 months old.
When a website is hosted in the country of origin this significantly assists with the load time of the images. It was for this reason that I decided to move hosts for Laura Thomas Linens from New Zealand to the UK. Before doing so loading the site from the UK was too slow. So a new UK host was organised and it was back to the ‘Sandpit’ LTL and there has been a wait to be ranked for Google.co.uk. September will see LTL rise out of the sandpit and feature officially on a google page with the relevant search terms. It’s an exciting time.
Secondly Public Relations. A company in start-up is always hard work. To get sales growing and to continually pushing the brand and ethos as well as promoting the products or services is a full time effort. I like to work on a one to one basis with the media building up rapport, connecting with like minded creatives and learning what I can from them as well as working on a win win basis. Like life, giving is very important when promoting a business.
So with give and take marketing on my mind, Laura Thomas Linens is having a major and ongoing UK PR focus. I have been incredibly lucky recently to work with some amazing people from some fantastically inspiring blogs and companies. Have a peek below…
Annie Kruse
Stylejuicer.com
Annie interviewed me for her ‘People to Watch’ feature. What a stylishly lovely lady she is! Influence your inspiration with Annie’s dapper and rather classy blog here: Stylejuicer.com
Tiffany Riley-Grant
Curate and Display
Tiffany loved the ethos behind Laura Thomas Linens and the organic, raw and non-mass produced products that I stock. She is an amazing stylist and photographer. Devour her incredible blog here: Curate & Display.
Holly Becker
Decor 8
If your into inspirational home and interior blogs you’ll know Holly’s amazing blog. Decor 8 is a stunning site by Expat American living in Germany, Holly. She kindly added my Laura Thomas Soy Candles to her Greatly shop – what an honour I can assure you!
Peep her style here: Decor 8
Alina Isaev
The Fairytale Pretty Picture
Alina’s blog is a visual library full of articles that will teach you something about something! Enjoy here: The Fairytale Pretty Picture.
Jeska Hearne
Lobster and Swan
Jeska’s amazing blog is one you’ll get lost in as well as inspiration from. Her recent article featured Laura Thomas Linens along side images from My Scandinavian Home and The White Company – an honour and a half! Catch her style here: Lobster and Swan
(on right) Laura Thomas Linens, Organic Collection, Stockholm Stitch Housewife Pillowcases £20. Shop here.
(top right hand corner) Laura Thomas Linens, Organic Collection, Stockholm Stitch Housewife Pillowcases £20 and Oxford Pillowcases £24. Shop here. (Last two images via Lobster and Swan)