Thinking Like a Marketer: How We Turned SEO Into BBC & Guardian Headlines
Most SEO gurus won’t tell you this…
But the biggest “SEO cheat code” isn’t a tool, a hack, or an AI script.
It’s thinking like a marketer.
Technical SEO makes sure you’re discoverable and removes technical limitations to growth, but it’s not going to be the ingredient that makes your brand omnipresent across multiple channels in the search journey.
And nothing proves that more than what happened with Thor’s Trees – a local tree care client for whom we turned a single blog post into national media coverage on BBC News, The Guardian, The Independent, Yahoo, MSN and more.
Why Traditional SEO Approaches Would Have Missed This
If we’d approached this from the angle of a more traditional SEO model, we may have had outcomes like:
- Waited days or even weeks to publish a blog post
- Optimised it for a handful of keywords
- Hit publish and hoped for the best
Instead, we combined SEO best practice with marketing instincts, and that’s what transformed a single blog into a national talking point.
Who Are Thor’s Trees?
Thor’s Trees is a London-based tree care business specialising in pruning, removal, and maintenance.
They’re great at what they do but before this, their online visibility was mostly local search. Strong Google Maps rankings, local service pages, and some blog content.
They didn’t have national brand recognition and they weren’t a “media darling” by default. Which makes this win even more powerful. It tends to be much easier to win national coverage for bigger brands with a reputation – just a small news update will garner attention.
It takes a highly reactive, adaptable and flexible approach to win this kind of coverage for smaller businesses.
The News Story That Caught Our Attention
One morning, a breaking news story hit:
An ancient oak tree, protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) was illegally cut down on private land, sparking local outrage.
Here’s why it caught our attention:
- It was hyper relevant to Thor’s Trees’ industry
- It had a human interest angle – people care deeply about local green spaces
- We had a client who was an authority in this area, and the inline conversation hadn’t yet included an expert
A marketer sees it and thinks: “This is our moment. How can we leverage?”
The Marketing-Led SEO Playbook (Step-by-Step)
1. Move Fast
Within one hour of spotting the story:
- Wrote a detailed blog post explaining what had happened, why it mattered, and what the arborist’s professional view was.
- Ensured it answered questions people would actually be Googling that day.
2. SEO Technical Layer
- Added NewsArticle schema to signal to Google that this was a timely, newsworthy piece.
- Requested fast indexing in Search Console.
3. The PR Mindset
Instead of stopping at “publish and wait,” we:
- Crafted a journalist-friendly headline and intro that gave context and credibility.
- Identified journalists already covering the story and sent them the blog as an expert source.
- Positioned Thor’s Trees as the first arborist to publicly comment.
4. Multi-Channel Amplification
While the blog was being indexed, we:
- Posted short-form video from the scene to social platforms.
- Shared the blog in relevant Facebook community groups.
- Used LinkedIn to tag relevant industry bodies and journalists.
- Advised Thor’s Trees to film a first-person commentary at the location of the removed trees and publish it on YouTube, adding emotional and visual power.
The Results: Local Blog → National News
Within 48 hours:
- BBC News interviewed Thor’s Trees for the story.
- The Guardian linked directly to the blog post, citing it as the original source.
- Coverage snowballed into The Independent, The Observer, Yahoo, MSN and more.
- The blog earned a rich snippet for the trending query.
- Ahrefs showed a significant spike in referring domains and DR.
Why This Worked
We didn’t just “optimise for Google” — we optimised for people, platforms, and press.
Key factors:
- Speed – published in under an hour while the story was peaking.
- Angle – gave journalists a fresh expert voice, not a rehash of the newswire.
- Distribution – SEO + PR + social = maximum surface area for discovery.
- Authority Signals – schema markup, original commentary, and location-based proof content.
Lessons You Can Apply
This isn’t just a fluke. Any brand can replicate elements of this process:Build a Rapid Content Workflow
- Have templates for news/blog posts ready.
- Pre-assign roles so you can move from spotting → publishing in hours, not days.
Think Like a Journalist
- Ask: What’s the human or public interest hook?
- Provide facts, quotes, and angles that reporters can lift directly.
Layer Your Channels
- SEO gets you found.
- PR gets you cited.
- Social amplifies reach beyond search.
Measure More Than Rankings
- Track brand search volume
- Monitor backlinks and referring domains
- Watch for media mentions
The Takeaway
SEO made the blog discoverable.
Marketing made it irresistible.
If we’d only focused on keyword targeting and technical health, Thor’s Trees might have ranked for a few days. By combining search strategy with PR instincts, we turned a local arborist into a nationally-quoted expert.
And that’s the real “cheat code”: think like a marketer, execute like an SEO.
