If you want to increase sales of your products to consumers, there are many ways to do it. One is to market them better, including better use of search engine optimisation (SEO) in your content. Another is to change the product itself. A third is to combine these two measures.

That brings us to the hottest and most controversial topic of our time: the decision by confectionary firm Mars Wrigley to release a limited edition tub of Celebrations without the mini Bounty bars.

This may be one of the great feats of marketing history, or perhaps a calamity. On the one hand, it may make some people who love a Bounty less likely to buy a tub. On the other, it will have the reverse effect on some buyers, not least the 39 per cent Mars Wrigley said wanted the coconut-based bars out.

Unsurprisingly, media coverage has been extensive. The Metro News welcomed the move, calling the Bounty a “crime against chocolate”, whereas the Daily Mirror quoted another piece of research suggesting the least popular item in the tub was actually the Milky Way. Up in Scotland, the Daily Record was less sure, so it covered the story by conducting its own reader poll on the decision. 

Firms seeking SEO services in Yorkshire may wonder what this might have to do with optimised content on a website, rather than the chocolate-coated content of a Celebrations tub.

The answer, of course, is that by carrying out such a move, Mars Wrigley can generate a lot of publicity that can easily be linked to keywords. In this case, ‘Bounty’ and ‘Celebrations’ are sure to be searched for heavily. 

Moreover, by timing the move at this time of year, the company is helping to ensure many people buy a tub as a Christmas present before the limited edition period ends on December 18^th.

Moreover, this move is not just a great marketing move by Mars Wrigley. The limited edition tubs will only be available from Tesco pop-up stores, meaning the retailer can also benefit from this partnership. This, in turn, will be an effective way of getting people through their doors and therefore more likely to buy other festive items they have in stock. 

That means, for example, ‘Tesco’ will emerge as a keyword in searches for content, not least as people seek the nearest store where they can get their coconut-free tubs. 

If your firm has a similar idea, you too could publicise the way it has altered a product, with that being a keyword people might search for, alongside any store-specific partnership for selling it.

Needless to say, this will work most effectively for larger brands with well-known products, as a wider number of people will have encountered them and thus any kind of public debate via everything from newspaper polls to social media chat will help keep the issue in mid, itself a great marketing move.  

There may also be limits on which products this kind of step can be taken with. Clearly, one cannot remove a vital component from a product as a ‘novelty’ step. But when it comes to items like food, or, for instance, toys that might include limited edition colour schemes, emphasising the difference and creating keywords based on what has been added or removed can be a great marketing move.