EP370: Multi-Brand Retail - How The Sports Edit Uses Content to Compete in SEO and GEO, With Ecommerce Manager Sara Davis

<p><strong>How The Sports Edit competes as a multi-brand retailer: SEO, content strategy &amp; experimentation.</strong></p><p>In this episode, James chats with Sarah Davis, ecommerce manager at The Sports Edit, a multi-brand sportswear retailer. </p><p>They’re in an interesting position. In search, they’re up against their own parent company Marks &amp; Spencer (which they can never beat for domain authority), the D2C sites of the brands they sell and third party marketplaces. And they run experimentation without a dedicated CRO team.</p><p>Here are three reasons why you should listen:</p><p><em><strong>Competing in search against bigger domains.</strong></em><strong> </strong></p><p>Sarah explains how they focus on where they’re different: exclusive brands, stronger ranges such as running, and specialist comparison content. That thinking also shapes how they’re approaching GEO and visibility in LLMs.</p><p><em><strong>How to run experimentation without a big team or budget.</strong></em><strong> </strong></p><p>A small team scaled up testing after changing their tech stack. Sarah makes the point that testing matters more, not less, when dev budget is tight. She also explains where test ideas come from and how they’re prioritised.</p><p><em><strong>Being honest about tech choices.</strong></em></p><p>Why they moved from Optimizely (which they used via M&amp;S) to Visually, plus the AI-native PIM and AI tools they’re watching. She’s open about what’s still unsolved, like keeping content up to date.</p><p><strong>Key discussion points:</strong></p><p><em>The multi-brand role.</em> Be the expert source and the one-stop shop for advice and a curated range. Stay on top of price. Make post-purchase service seamless.</p><p><em>The content problem.</em> Shoe models update every year, so comparison content needs regular upkeep. Sarah’s candid that they’re good at launch content but haven’t cracked maintenance yet. AI is one area they’re exploring to help.</p><p><em>Organic strategy.</em> Working with SEO agency Novos, they focus on unique brands, range strengths like running, and product and brand comparisons. Sarah’s team also runs sport strategy across M&amp;S.</p><p><em>How the two sites split.</em> The Sports Edit is the performance channel (top-end running shoes and high-performance apparel), while M&amp;S is more commercial. Higher-priced products need richer content, so video, FAQs and page layout all matter more.</p><p><em>Personas and content.</em> An exp