How Martin Lewis Drives Massive Traffic—and What SEOs Can Learn

I've been in SEO and online marketing for over 20 years and I'm here to share the wealth of knowledge , hints and tips I've amassed over that time . Hello and welcome back to SEO is not that hard . It's me here , ed Dawson , as usual , and today I'm going to be talking about a guy called Martin Lewis .

Okay , if you don't know who he is , I will explain as we go along . And it all comes from last night , when I was just sat at home . And you know you do occasionally you flick through your you know , through your stats , your analytics , to see how your sites are doing , and I just noticed that I was seeing a big spike in traffic across three

of my sites last night . One's focused on mobile phones , broadband and energy . These are all UK based sites and , yeah , traffic had all of a sudden across , across all three , doubled around about 8.30pm and I was like this is weird , what's going on ?

I mean it's not unusual sometimes to see traffic spike on one or the other , one of them for a particular reason , maybe something in the news or maybe a broadband supply has gone down , something like that . But to see it across all three sites was really really .

I started looking into it because , as you do when those things happen , I was thinking you know , have I been hacked ? Have I been scraped ? Has someone managed to footprint it ? Now what's going on ? Couldn't see anything unusual . The traffic looks genuine coming from Google . I just couldn't get it .

And then about half an hour later I realized this guy , martin Lewis . Now he has a TV program in the UK and his programs are all about consumer finance , how to save money on your utilities , and things like that . And he'd done a TV program all about how to get better deals . It's a new year . He calls it his bill buster how to get better deals .

It's a new year . He calls it his bill buster how to save money on all your bills . And he'd been talking about mobile phone bills , broadband bills and energy bills . And he had driven a whole load of traffic to Google , a whole load of people going to Google and searching on these topics . And it's amazing , you know he has this .

Martin Lewis has this uncanny ability to drive consumer behavior almost instantly and it's amazing , you know he has this . Martin lewis has this uncanny ability to drive consumer behavior almost instantly , and it's not just me .

There will be plenty of other affiliate marketers and site owners who have noticed a surge in traffic whenever he mentions a topic they cover and it's a testament to the sheer influence this guy has . So , for those of you outside the uk , you know , or if you've been living in a rock in the uk , you know martin lewis .

He's the man behind moneysavingexpertcom and he's often referred to as the uk's consumer champion or money saving expert .

Now , he originally started moneysavingexpertcom back in 2003 with what he claims was just 100 pounds and he built it into a loyal following by sharing free , practical advice on saving money and eventually he sold this site for tens of million pounds I think it was 87 million , plus 60 million in performance bonuses to MoneySupermarketcom , who are one of the biggest

price compression websites in the UK . But he's still heavily involved in the site . He's still the face of that site .

He's involved in consumer advocacy charities course , presenting his tv show , because he originally was a financial journalist before he got into web , before he got into affiliate stuff now his tv shows , they they have millions of viewers because people genuinely trust him .

And from affiliate or an online marketing angle , this is where it's really fascinating , because when he talks , people act . They don't just watch passively , they go online , they search , they click , they buy . And if you've got any kind of offer that's aligned with the topics he's discussing , at any time you will see traffic come in .

So what's the secret , you know , to his influence ? How does he manage to have , um , this ability to drive such phenomenal traffic and trust ? Well , here's a few things that stand out right . First of all , he's got a very consumer first approach . So he's not just flogging random products . He's not just trying to get people to click on links .

What he is really focused on how , to , how an offer or a deal benefits the consumer . Now , that kind of authenticity that builds trust , because he's not just going for what serves him best , he's trying to genuinely find what serves the consumer best . Second , he's very transparent .

So on moneyofsavingexpertcom , he openly discloses how the site makes money through affiliate deals and advertising , but he keeps the editorial and the commercial size of the site separate . So he will be honest about which links will earn the money which won't , and they never base any advice on what's going to make them the most money .

So this openness fosters credibility with people . Thirdly , his he uses very plain language content . So you know , for a lot of people financial topics can be very confusing , very boring , but he tries to break them down into actionable steps with relatable stories . So he'll do things like , say , hey , meet Jane .

Here's how she switched her broadband and saved £120 in a year . You could do the same in 10 minutes . And those real life kind of examples resonate deeply with people . So he's not just talking about um hypotheticals , he actually does that ability to turn it into people's stories and that what .

That's what makes other people feel , oh well , if that person can do it , so could I . And fourthly , he repeats himself a lot . Okay , he the repetition and reinforcement . So you'll hear him talking about energy switching , broadband deals and credit card tips over and over and over again .

And now you might think this is repetitive and to some people it might find it completely repetitive , but this is how he built a recognizable brand and he helped new audiences catch up with tried and tested strategies . So a lot of what he's been saying he's just been saying for years and years and years and years .

He does update it when legislation changes , when things change , but generally he's got a very small repertoire that he talks about . But he just talks about it again and again and again and that gets through it . That repetition gets into people's heads . So what are the lessons that we can draw from this ? I'm not saying we're all going to go out there

and suddenly make you know eight , seven million pound sites that we can sell and all this you know . But there's definitely things we can learn from him because he's very , very good at what he does . So here's the kind of things I think that we should take from what he does . So , firstly , he always goes for quality content over quick sales .

So prioritize genuine , helpful advice . So if you're writing about broadband , compare real user experiences , offer practical tips and be transparent about pros and cons of each deal . So consumers will reward you with loyalty . If you're honest with them , they'll trust you as being honest and they will then convert . Secondly , you want to build authority and trust .

So with any kind of advice , trust is the currency . Martin Lewis has spent years building a reputation for honest guidance . Okay , so as affiliates , we should aim to become the go-to sources in whatever niche you're working in , offering more than just promotional fluff . You want to . You want to build the authority , build that trust .

Thirdly , storytelling and this is one where I feel I could do so much better . But anyway , if you look at his stuff , you'll see , you'll notice that he always includes case studies , personal stories . It's not just you can say 50 pound here or 20 pound there . It's look how clear , not 50 pound off a monthly bill .

Here's how you can too , and having stories helps people place themselves in the same scenario and see how they could do it . Fourth is consistency . Martin's content is consistent and frequently updated . This is crucial for seo too , but it's also crucial for consumer , because they want to see up-to-date deals . They want to see up-to-date advice .

So while , as I said , you know he repeats himself a lot , but when things change like , say , the process for how you change broadband suppliers changed a lot over 20 years . Change like , say , the process for how you change broadband supplier has changed a lot over 20 years , but the general advice on changing to save money is the same as 20 years ago .

It's just the how you , how you go about this . The move has changed . He updates his content about how you can move supplier and gives people the pitfalls , the problems , the downfalls amongst each different way of doing it , but he keeps it up to date and is consistent in his message .

Okay , let's tie this back to seo , because , after all , you know , this is a serious , not that hard . So what can we take out of this seo wise ? Well , now , this this applies to , obviously , any content martin lewis creates .

But if you've got a similar kind of person in your industry , they might not be as big as martin lewis is in the uk when it comes to finance , but you might have in your industry someone , an influencer , who drives um , drives the narrative . Okay , in whatever it is the you're working with , how can we look at this into ? Invest here ? What ?

What best practices should we consider ? So obviously , leverage relevant keywords . You know , if you know , that that mart Martin is discussing broadband or energy , make sure that you've got basic on-page SEOs aligned with these terms . You're not going to drive broadband traffic if you're not talking about broadband , obviously . Secondly , create pillar content .

So this is why I've always talked about content , about writing in-depth guides on your topics . So not just quick top five deals pages , that kind of thing , but the evergreen kind of content I've talked about in previous episodes that you keep updating . This is what's going to position you as the authority . Okay , this is your top authority piece .

Capitalise on timeliness , on the timely buzz that's generated . So , if Martin's show airs on tuesday night , consider having special you know social media posts or blog entries ready to go . Okay , if you've got affiliate links for relevant , for a relevant deal , and share it .

You know at this time , you know people are going to be searching at the moment on these things . And , longer term , build your eat , your or your eat . So your experienceAT , so your Experienced , expertise , authority and Trust . We know Google is looking for EEAT .

So , provide credentials , link to actual sources , be transparent about affiliations , all the kind of things that will build trust . Look at things like that . So , finally , I just want to talk about how we can replicate the kind of success that martin has . Okay , now .

Okay , I'm not suggesting we're going to get to have our own tv show getting the kind of level of traffic he has , but there's certain things that he's doing anyone can do . Okay , you don't have to have a massive audience to do this , but you can engage your audience better if you follow the , if you follow these , these tips , okay .

So , first of all , engage your Use your newsletters , your social media short videos , anything you can , to engage and listen , to talk to your audience , answer questions , address their pain points . It goes back to what I've always said answering people's questions is the key to success here . Secondly , always focus on genuine value .

So provide deals or tips that truly help . If you , if you become known within your industry as a person who always has the best advice , the best research , your audience will grow . Use the human touch . Thirdly , don't be afraid to share user success stories or your own personal experiences . Okay , that's exactly what makes my in style so effective .

The fourth stay relevant . Keep up to date with your industry changes , new deals , policy shifts , that kind of thing . You know , if an energy regulator changes the rules or broadband provider comes out with a huge discount , you need to share these things as soon as possible . Time , and this is really key .

So I did say that was less than we're going to talk about , but I've just realized there's something else , and that's obviously there are some Pitfalls account that we need to sort of avoid . Okay , so just before you can run out and do everything . Think about these potential pitfalls , okay . First of all , overpromoting .

If all you do is push affiliate deals the highest paid ones without regard for quality , this is where you'll lose credibility . So don't overpromote things just because they're good for you . Be very careful about that . Secondly , neglecting to be transparent .

So if your audience feels that you're misleading them or finds out you're not upfront with your affiliations , then your trust can plummet and you do not want to lose that trust . Trust's really hard to gain . The last thing you want to do is give that trust up . And thirdly , stale content . You know up . And thirdly , stale content . You know deals come and go .

Content needs to be kept up to date as things change . So you know if you're including outdated um deals that it's just going to really frustrate your audience . You don't want to do that again because that will just tank your trust and tank your SEO . So I hope that was useful . You you know a guy like Martin Lewis .

He has got an entire production team , a massive on-air platform . It's very hard to replicate and get his level of success , but the core lessons apply to anyone . You know the stuff that he does isn't actually rocket science .

It's taken him well over 20 years to get to where he has , but it's he's not doing anything overly clever , he's just being very consistent and sticking to his principles and the standards that he's set and it's worked incredibly well for him . So these kind of things you can also do . You may not get to his level very few people will but it's not going hurt .

There's nothing that he does that is going to hurt what could improve your engagement with your audience and then in the long run , how you monetize and the financial success you'll get from it . So yeah , thanks for listening in and until next time , keep optimizing , stay curious and remember SEO is not that hard when you understand the basics . Thanks for listening .

It means a lot to me . This is where I get to remind you where you can connect with me and my seo tools and services . You can find links to all the links I mentioned here in the show notes . Just remember , with all these places where I use my name , that ed is spelled with two d's . You can find me on linkedin and blue sky .

Just search for ed dawson . On both you can record a voice question to get answered on the podcast . The link is in the show notes . You can try our seo intelligence platform keywords people use at keywords people usecom , where we can help you discover the questions and keywords people are asking online .

Post those questions and keywords into related groups so you know what content you need to build topical authority . And , finally , connect your Google Search Console account for your sites so we can crawl and understand your actual content , find what keywords you rank for and then help you optimise and continually refine your content .

Targeted , personalised advice to keep your traffic growing . If you're interested in learning more about me personally or looking for dedicated consulting advice , then visit wwweddawsoncom . Bye for now and see you in the next episode of SEO is Not that Hard .