Loom Digital is proud to announce that we have been named as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Development™.
New for this year, the UK’s Best Workplaces for Development List recognises companies making employee development a key part of their culture. Our inclusion on this exclusive list officially acknowledges our commitment to development and employee growth.
Over the past 15 years, we have introduced numerous new ways to solidify our commitment to employee development, including a no one-size-fits-all approach to progression.
Nikki Ellison, owner of Loom Digital, said, “We’re so pleased to have been listed 23rd out of 100 in the small business list for Development 2025! We’ve always believed that investing in our team is key for pushing us forward as an agency.”
This award is our second from Great Place To Work over the past year, as we also featured in the UK’s Best Workplaces™ 2025 list, revealed earlier this year.
We’re so proud of this achievement, and look forward to building on our culture and employee satisfaction in the upcoming year!
2024 is now truly underway – and so are Google’s attempts to avoid further legal challenges from the EU regarding how it uses user data. After January’s update on consent management for those serving ads, the next step is a crackdown on advertisers and pushing the adoption of Consent Mode V2.
Consent Mode V2 was introduced in November 2023 as the update to Google’s initial version of consent mode. The first version of consent mode prevents Google from tracking pixels (tags) firing until the user gives consent. It also offered a general model for advertisers to estimate conversions for those users who haven’t consented.
Consent Mode V2 works differently. Rather than not firing Google tags until the user has consented, Google tags’ behaviour now changes, depending on the user’s consent status. This means that tags for users who haven’t consented do not set cookies or share identifying information used for personalised marketing. However, marketers are able to get a better understanding of their site’s overall performance than they would with the previous version.
Many advertisers will have seen the threat of suspensions and inability to use Google Ads’ remarketing capabilities if they do not start sending consent signals alongside their tracking hits. Google Ads accounts have shown warning messages to users with a deadline of March 6th 2024.
Either version of consent mode can be used to send consent signals, but the additional benefits of having more detailed conversion modelling provide marketers with a better understanding of site and channel performance. You’re also given more data for Google Ad platforms that can help optimise campaigns.
There are two things advertisers will need to do to become compliant. Advertisers need to make sure that they obtain consent from users when tracking them on a website or app. They’ll also need to make sure that they seek consent and send that consent data to Google when uploading offline data – something they’ve been able to do since October 2023 if they’re using the Google Ads API v15 or newer.
At Loom, we’ve been making sure our clients have been using consent mode even before the latest updates. For those who are reluctant to start using it solely for the measurement benefits, Google’s warnings will definitely be the last push to ensure that it’s implemented.
These changes are happening concurrently with the phasing out of third-party cookies. Most notably, Google Chrome is phasing out third-party cookies by the end of the year, potentially as early as Q3. However, I’d be hesitant to believe any Google commitments on phasing out cookies, given that in 2021 they said they’d look to phase them out in mid to late 2023.
Third-party cookies, unlike first-party cookies, are ones that are set and can be read by another site, meaning they’re used for personalised marketing purposes. Without the use of personalised advertising capabilities that rely on third-party cookies, marketers will have to increase their first-party data collection, and use this data to target audiences that they may have previously looked to reach by relying on third-party cookies. First-party data can be collected through various methods like gated content, newsletter sign-ups or loyalty programs. These all require the user to submit personal information, such as an email address, which can then be passed to an Ad platform (if the user has given consent to do so) for marketing purposes.
Written by: Lukas Beeler, Data & Analytics at Loom Digital
Loom Digital will be hosting weekly digital marketing surgeries throughout September, providing free advice to businesses in Bristol.
“We know it’s not an easy environment for businesses at the moment, and we’d like to do our bit to give back to the Bristol business community.” Karen Pearce, Director
Every Friday morning in September, Loom will be opening their doors at Temple Studios to marketing managers and business owners in Bristol and surrounding areas who would like advice on anything related to digital marketing strategy, PPC, SEO and content. The surgeries are delivered on a 1-2-1 basis and will last one hour. All information shared in the surgery will be kept confidential and participants will leave with tangible takeaways to supercharge their digital marketing.
The surgeries are ideal for marketing managers or business owners looking for forward-thinking digital marketing advice. Each surgery will be tailored to your business, below are a few examples of topics businesses might like to discuss::
There are a limited number of slots and appointments are first come first served. To find out more and to request a slot please visit https://www.loomdigital.co.uk/bristol-digital-surgery/
This year Loom Digital celebrated 14 years as a Bristol digital marketing agency. Starting off as a niche search agency, over the years Loom has grown their remit to cover SEO, content marketing, Google Ads, Meta advertising, LinkedIn advertising, digital strategy, data and analytics.
As we celebrate our 14th birthday this week, we’re looking back on 2023 to date. As always, we’ve been doing everything we can to help our clients thrive and survive in the current economic climate. We’ve helped clients launch new products and services, expand into new markets and to new audiences. We’ve also adjusted work and media spend to suit changing price points and profit margins. We pride ourselves on being with our clients through thick and thin, and 2023 has been no different.
Our clients have seen some great successes in 2023. In many instances we’ve helped clients to exceed target ROI and hit KPIs, showing that businesses are still thriving in today’s climate. Our managed Google media spend is up 80% year on year – a testament to our team and their ability to keep delivering strong results. To learn more about recent successes, see our case studies here.
It’s been a strong start to the year for Loom, too. We’ve had six new businesses join our client portfolio, We’ve achieved some fantastic accreditations and our team continues to expand. And while we’re also adapting to current circumstances, we’ll continue to work hard and help our clients get through even the toughest of challenges.
A big thank you to all our loyal clients and our extremely capable team, who have made all of this possible. Below, we take a look at some of the key changes in 2023 and reflect on the progress we’ve made.
We’re delighted to be working with a number of new clients this year. From gardening and cooking to education and kitchenware, we’ve teamed up with a variety of B2B and B2C businesses in 2023, which include:
Representing a diverse range of industries, we’ve already helped them get closer to their business goals with our digital marketing strategies.
And it’s not just new clients. This year we’ve also had three new digital marketing experts join the team; Tegan, Hugh and Daniel.
Our new additions have already been invaluable in ensuring Loom delivers the best possible service to our clients, and we’re delighted to have them onboard.
As well as returning from maternity leave myself, we’ve also welcomed Tommy back from parental leave. He’s dived back into work and is already making us wonder how we survived without him.
“After a few months off to spend time with my little girl, I was so excited to return in February. Nikki and the team did an incredible job whilst I was off. It’s not been an easy climate in which to run a business over the past year, and I’m really proud of how committed the team are to clients and their success. Whilst we love celebrating strong results with clients, we also pride ourselves on being able to navigate through the tricky times with them.” Karen Pearce
2023 also saw a milestone Loomiversary for Tom Spooner, marking ten years as part of the team! Since joining Loom back in 2013, he’s made an undeniably huge impact on Loom, creating and implementing market-leading digital marketing strategies . Anyone who has had the pleasure of working with Tom knows the level of thought, understanding and strategic input he has on accounts. A real marketing force and we’re proud to have him.
“It’s been a genuine pleasure to mark a decade at Loom and reflect on the evolution of our industry and Loom as an agency. I firmly believe that we’re currently delivering the best service to our clients with an incredibly talented team. I’m immensely proud to be a part of Loom and look forward to helping existing and future clients overcome challenges to succeed.” Tom Spooner
It’s always nice for achievements to be recognised. We’re proud to have three new accreditations this year for our performance and employment practices.
As always, we couldn’t have achieved any of these without our clients and team. We provide all the support we can and are grateful for those who support us. We’re 14 years young and we still have clients from day one.
“It’s been a great start to 2023 at Loom. We’re so proud to now be awarded the Great Place to Work accreditation, as well as being part of the Google Employment Charter South West. Both accreditations are a testament to the culture, values and team here at Loom. We’re always looking for ways to make it an even better place to work and have lots more planned for our 15th year.” Vicky Hockley
As our team continues to expand, we needed a new office to accommodate everyone. Fortunately, we didn’t need to move far. We’re now on the second floor of Temple Studios, located just by Temple Meads station in the heart of Bristol, meaning we’re still easily accessible for both our clients and team members travelling from further afield.
Each quarter we book an evening as a social for the Loom team. In March, we took part in a pottery evening hosted by local potters Pottymouth Workshop at The Star and Dove pub in Totterdown. While we might not be quite ready for The Great Pottery Throw Down, everyone enjoyed the opportunity to get together as a team and take their handiwork home with them.
In June, we went on a glamping trip to the Wye Valley. After canoeing down the river Wye, the team took part in guided foraging lessons and farm tours and played games at the campsite, with refreshments provided by a mobile pizza oven and cocktail bar.
The weather can make or break a camping trip, and fortunately, we were blessed with sunshine (which also helped dry out the occupants of a capsized canoe). It was a great opportunity for everyone to relax and bond, and for our new Loomies to meet the rest of the team.
Keep up with life at Loom by following us on Instagram.
Our Illoominate initiative aims to deliver digital skills to the next generation of professionals in Bristol. As part of this, we have advised charities on how to improve their digital marketing strategy through Media Trust and also offered work experience internships at Loom for all ages.
This year, we’ve already welcomed two Loom interns, Tyler and Jazmine, who were given an introduction to digital marketing at Loom and did a great job getting stuck in with some tasks set by the team. Find out how they both got on here and here.
As well as dealing with tougher circumstances, there have also been some huge changes to the digital marketing industry in 2023. Notably, the transition from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has meant a huge amount of work collecting as much data as possible and ensuring the transition went smoothly for our clients. We have invested in GA4 training for all our Loomies and have supported this with regular sessions for personal development and team knowledge shares, ensuring we were well prepared to guide our clients through this process.
Find out more about GA4 in our guide.
At the tailend of 2022, Google updated their Quality Rater Guidelines, expanding the concept of E-A-T (‘Expertise, Authority and Trust’) to include ‘Experience’. This update was designed to tackle poor-quality content, which, of course, wasn’t a problem for clients using Loom’s SEO and Content services! With AI tools and boilerplate content quite common on the web, it makes sense that Google made this change to promote valuable content written for users, rather than search.
Find out more about the EEAT update in our blog.
Speaking of AI, the rise of artificial intelligence continues to make waves in the industry, as content generation becomes more sophisticated and accessible. We explored what it can offer and its limitations but concluded it’s no match yet for the skills, expertise and human touch of the Loom content team.
Given the challenges our clients have faced this past year, it’s more important than ever to keep on top of the latest marketing trends in order to help our clients adapt. We’ve been pivoting our work to accommodate both industry developments and the external factors businesses are currently facing, creating intricate strategies that build and maintain strong online visibility.
To stay up to date with the ever-changing digital marketing industry, explore our Insights section.
It’s not easy running a business right now. With so many challenges to navigate, 2023 hasn’t been the easiest year for everyone. Saying that, we’re here for our clients every step of the way and are proud to be sharing our journey with them.
We’re delighted with all that we’ve achieved this year and look forward to seeing what the next one brings. We’d like to give another big thank you to our clients, partners and our team for all that they’ve done to make 2023 such a success.
“We’re really proud of what our team has achieved in our 14th year, doing what they can for our clients and taking our strategies from strength to strength. Our next year is all about focusing on building a more purposeful-led agency, and understanding how we can embrace machine learning to achieve even more for our clients and build on the successes of this year.” Nikki Ellison
If you’d like to find out more about our digital marketing services, whether that’s PPC & Biddable or SEO and Content, then browse our website or get in touch today.
As the year draws to a close, we’re celebrating a strong 12-month performance. Seven new team members have joined us, as we’ve undertaken 22 new client projects in 2022 – including work for LITELOK, Western Global and Knightsbridge School. We’ve also been awarded Best Use of Search for Retail/eCommerce (PPC) for work with Infinity Motorcycles at November’s UK Search Awards. In total, our 18-strong team has managed £4.5m media spend over the last year.
With new recruits across all disciplines, this year also saw us introduce a Graduate Programme for the first time. With support from mentors and the rest of the specialist team, the two new graduates will gain advanced qualifications and kickstart their careers in the digital marketing world.
Loom Digital’s seven new team members are:
Originally from Italy, Marco has worked in both countries and has managed digital accounts in different languages. With two Masters degrees in digital marketing and SEO, he is passionate about the growth opportunity well executed SEO strategy can bring. Jack is experienced in working across global accounts in a range of sectors. With a focus on technical SEO and its alignment with PPC, he is keen to apply his learning to clients at Loom Digital.
PPC & Biddable specialist, Dan, is fascinated in building campaigns that understand both the needs of clients and customers. He’s worked at tech startups and larger firms and is focused on creating stand-out ads that are relevant, timely and impactful.
Meanwhile Charlotte has been in the industry for eight years and has specialised in PPC & Biddable roles for three of those. She’s worked in-house for sectors including ecommerce and hospitality. Having cut his teeth in agencies in Bristol and Bath, Alex has had a fruitful career in PPC & Biddable, including a standout campaign for a homeware brand, which he grew to over a six-figure monthly revenue.
Meanwhile graduates Tamas and Harry have already hit the ground running. Mihaly has a first class degree from the University of the West of England and has interned at digital marketing agencies, while Pearson carried out a year in the industry during his Bournemouth University course.
“It’s truly been a strong year for Loom”, commented Nikki Ellison, founder of Loom Digital.
“Our team has grown in strength and depth, and we’re particularly excited to have the structure in place to support emerging talent with our Graduate Scheme. It’s been a busy year, with a wealth of new projects with media spend to match, but the team have delivered across all areas and the recent UK Search Awards win has capped off our year perfectly. There’s a lot to look forward to in 2023.”
Loom Digital scores 9/10 in the global agency ratings The Drum Recommends, entirely voted for by clients.
As we reach 13 years in business this summer, Loom Digital is celebrating its best ever half-year financial performance. Our Bristol-based digital agency has scooped 11 new clients in the past six months, including LITELOK – the brand behind the world’s lightest bike locks; fuel storage solutions company, Western Global; and summer school provider, Summer Boarding Courses (part of Dukes Education).
Loom has recently received an impressive score of 9/10 from clients in The Drum Recommends international agency rating scheme and has delivered a total ROAS of 735% with over £5m in sales for their eCommerce clients 2022 to date. Later this year, we will be supporting all clients with the adoption of Google Analytics 4 (GA4) as Universal Analytics is sunsetted on 1 July 2023.
“New clients have joined us because of our proven track record and our brilliant team, who are dedicated, experienced and talented. Client success and a strong, trusted team go hand-in-hand. Although we’re growing, we’re also incredibly proud of our staff retention, with 50% of the team being with us for over five years,” comments Nikki Ellison, founder of Loom.
Loom has upweighted our PPC and biddable offering in 2022 with the appointment of Dan Waller, boosted SEO expertise with Marco Morelli and Jack McGivern joining, and are currently recruiting for future digital talent. Although operating a flat structure, Loom is also committed to welcoming and nurturing talented people who are new to digital.
With increased competition in the industry, areas such as client experience and employee culture are increasingly the things that set agencies apart.
Here at Loom we’ve relaunched our employee benefits, introducing a more flexible approach to these by offering a wide range of monthly benefits the team can choose from. Each employee can decide between health and dental cover; gym membership, yoga classes; monthly massages; Audible or Headspace subscriptions.
All 16 team members are also offered professional coaching via MoreHappi, the one-to-one online workplace coaching company. All benefit from peer-to-peer support, including being given a budget to buy up to four gifts a year (sourced from local, independent shops) to say thank you to colleagues that have gone above and beyond.
“We are committed to providing a healthy, happy and progressive workplace, with our office as a hub but also welcoming a hybrid approach, depending on each team member’s circumstances. We’re 100% transparent and our new [perks package] and ongoing coaching also means everyone can find their purpose and grow in all aspects of their lives,” adds Vicky Hockley, People & Growth at Loom.
For full benefits, please visit Loom’s careers page here.
This April, at Loom Digital we have celebrated the end of a fruitful Q1, after new hires, new clients and completion of our structural and behavioural evolution. Called “Project Stitch”, we began revisiting our foundations earlier this year and we made the decision to do away with job titles and embrace a flat structure, to better service clients and empower our team.
The business has upweighted our biddable media (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads) and biddable social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest) offerings, as demand in the market grows. This is reflected in two of the new hires, as Jacob Zurawski, an experienced PPC and biddable media specialist, joins from Shift Active Media and Matt Cooper, also a PPC and biddable media specialist, joins from Atelier Studios. Meanwhile, with three years’ digital experience under her belt, Ellen Stone is our newest digital marketing specialist, previously working at C3.
We have also welcomed a wide range of new clients, including Event Store; Havebike; Play Away; Sew Over It and Smithson Gallery. Now in our 12th year, we continue to make business’s online investments work harder.
Based in Temple Studios in the heart of Bristol, with the team currently working from home due to Covid, Loom is co-owned by the original founder, Nicola Ellison, and Karen Pearce.
Pearce comments, “Our new business structure (as rolled out under ‘Project Stitch) allows our team to take ownership of their careers, have more opportunity for personal growth and shape. It is also the catalyst for ensuring that all of our clients continue to receive the service we’re renowned for.”
“We’re delighted to start the year on a high, after uncertainty across the industry this time last year. After steering our clients through the pandemic, we’re well set up to help businesses maximise their digital channels, and it’s also great to be helping such a wide range of companies who are new to Loom. Biddable media management has been particularly in demand and requires specialist skillsets. We need to employ and nurture the brightest digital talent and in Jacob, Matt and Ellen we’ve been able to welcome three stars”.
If you’re looking to supercharge your digital marketing, please get in touch with us for a no obligation consultation.
Loom Digital has won the Business Services category at the 2020 Bristol Life Awards.
Competing against ten other Bristol-based businesses, Loom impressed the judges enough to take the trophy. The judges were looking for “demonstrations of the efficiency and effectiveness, repeat business and recommendations, growth and/or positive results in the past year” along with demonstrations about “what makes our service a cut above the rest.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2020’s Bristol Life Awards ceremony was hosted online, so the winners were announced via a virtual award ceremony on Thursday the 17th September.
Loom’s entry focused on their 2019 rebrand, their 30% YOY revenue growth and their excellent client retention over the last 12 months.
The judges said, “It’s milestone 10th anniversary brought with it a creative rebrand, and Loom was born. What followed was a 30% revenue growth and remarkable client retention. Going from strength to strength.”
Nikki Ellison, Director and Founder of Loom Digital, said, “I am so thrilled that we’ve won the Business Services category at this year’s Bristol Life Awards! 2020 has certainly presented new challenges for everyone, and last night’s Bristol Life Awards helped celebrate the great work going on in this incredible city. We’re very lucky to be a part of this very supportive business community.”
Loom Digital is extremely proud to announce that they’ve been shortlisted for a prestigious Drum Search Award.
Now in their 3rd successful year, the Drum Search Awards recognise and celebrate excellence and innovation in the search marketing sphere, with entrants spanning a wide range of sectors from travel and tourism to healthcare and pharma. Appearing alongside a number of talented UK agencies and teams is a huge privilege.
Loom’s nomination is for the “Best integrated SEO and PPC campaign”, and celebrates the work they’ve done on launching their client, Permagard, into the competitive green roof sector.
The aim of the project was to create a strong organic presence for green roof search terms, alongside generating online sales through biddable media activity, as well as phone and email leads that the Permagard team could convert offline.
To achieve these aims, Loom planned an integrated SEO and biddable media strategy in January 2019 ready to be launched in April to capitalise on the peak in green roofing search terms. Green roof content was strategically created, optimised and integrated into the Permagard site, alongside paid campaigns using Google Search and Shopping, and Facebook Ads.
The integration of organic and paid search and social activity was a huge success, allowing Permagard to break into the green roofing search space and achieve formidable results.
Bristol digital marketing experts, Loom Digital, have been shortlisted for a 2020 UK Biddable Media Award.
The agency has been shortlisted for the “Best Integrated Biddable Campaign” category, celebrating the work they’ve done for their Bristol-based client, Lifetime Training
The award entry highlighted the results of the integrated biddable media campaign ran by the agency’s expert PPC & Biddable Media team. The campaign used Google Ads, Bing Ads and Facebook Ads strategically in order to drive significantly more sales and more conversions for Lifetime.
Tommy Pearson, Head of PPC at Loom Digital said, “We’re thrilled to have been shortlisted for the Best Integrated Biddable Campaign for our work with Lifetime Training. The results have been fantastic, and it’s always great for our work to be acknowledged by our peers in the Biddable Media industry. It also gives us reason to shout about our innovative approach to integrated digital marketing!. We only started working with Lifetime Training in April last year, so the results demonstrate the immediate impact the campaigns have made in the first 9 months.”
The UK Biddable Media Awards celebrate and reward the expertise, talent and achievements of the UK Biddable Media industry. The awards feature a variety of categories which highlight the different and innovative ways digital agencies and professionals use paid search and social media advertising to achieve results.
The award winners will be announced on Thursday 19th March.
About Loom
Loom is an integrated digital marketing agency founded in 2009 and still independently co-owned and owner-managed. Based in Temple Studios in Bristol, the 13-strong team has south west-based clients including Cheltenham College, ForrestBrown, Permagard, Create Your Nest, Safe Options and Spoke & Stringer.
Instagram: @loomdigitalagency
Twitter: @loomdigital
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