#SmallBusinessThatRocks: London Inc.
Did you know that our city is the home of the largest controlled circulation magazine in Southwestern Ontario? “Controlled circulation magazine” is a fancy term usually reserved for trade publications, but the magazine in question is probably very familiar to all SlyFox clients and followers. It’s London Inc., and we’re very glad to have them in our family!
London Inc. is a magazine about and for the local business community. Like us, they are committed to the local businesses of the Forest City and beyond. This is why the SlyFox team was so excited to work with them in enhancing their website. Any way we can team up with a #SmallBusinessThatRocks that helps other #SmallBusinessesThatRocks is great!
What Is London Inc.?
London Inc. is our area’s premier business magazine and an institution among the small business community. Published ten times a year, the magazine takes a lively, intelligent look at our city’s entrepreneurial culture and spirit. It has a pretty impressive pedigree behind it: 12,000 copies go directly to businesses and business offices across London and Southwestern Ontario.
London Inc. highlights all kinds of business news that affects businesses in the city, and by focusing on this part of the landscape, the magazine has provided excellent behind-the-scenes coverage. They’ve chronicled companies on the move, put faces to faceless events, and highlighted how small businesses have adapted to the pressures of the pandemic. “If it makes money or takes money,” as London Inc. says, this magazine will cover it for their readers in entertaining yet informative ways!
What has helped this publication thrive in an era of diminished local journalism is the recognition that “business people are more than just job titles.” They’re well-rounded, plugged into the community, and deeply invested in what’s going on outside their doors, too. London Inc.’s success comes from writing and highlighting stories in ways that reflect these characteristics. As long-time readers of London Inc., the SlyFox team was incredibly excited to help bring them to a wider audience!
What SlyFox Did For London Inc.
Like many other clients, London Inc. came to us for improved search engine optimization. SlyFox performed a slight design upgrade for them, but the main focus of this project was SEO. This involved reorganizing content to fit the appropriate taxonomies and subcategories, rebuilding hashtags, and extensive on and off-page strategies (citations, keyword diversity, metadata, etc.) that enhanced the user experience and assisted the site’s rankings.
We also moved the site to a mobile-optimized theme called Accelerated Mobile Page, or AMP. AMP is an industry-standard for news media, and it helps pages load faster while using less data. This is one way we’re helping London Inc. reach new audiences; soon, we will introduce gated memberships for its most loyal readers!
Local business coverage is a noble pursuit, but it’s amazing how London Inc. turned this into an incredibly successful model. The connection between this publication and SlyFox doesn’t only have us excited – it has us feeling honoured to be helping this #SmallBusinessThatRocks!
