Who AM I

Ecommerce Consultant & Former Head of Ecommerce at Aphrodite Clothing

From Graphic Designer to Head of Ecommerce to Independent Consultant

with over 15 years of experience scaling online retail businesses across SEO, paid marketing, email and conversion optimisation.

I spent 14 years growing Aphrodite Clothing from an under £1m independent retailer into a multi-million pound ecommerce business acquired by Frasers Group in 2024.

Today, I work with ecommerce businesses across the UK, helping them increase traffic, improve performance and scale revenue through clear, data-driven strategies.

THE APHRODITE STORY

From Content Creator to Head of Ecommerce

I joined Aphrodite Clothing in 2008 as a content creator, writing product descriptions, editing photography, and building early SEO strategies. Over 13 years, I worked my way up to Head of Ecommerce, reporting directly to the owners (Duncan and Andrew McKenzie) and managing a team of 30+ staff.

What I helped build at Aphrodite:

Scaled annual revenue from under £1m to over £5m
Managed ecommerce operations across SEO, Google Ads, email marketing, affiliate partnerships, and marketplaces
Achieved first-page Google rankings for high-volume, competitive search terms, competing directly against the brands themselves, END., Mr Porter, and Flannels
Built and managed a team of 30+ across dispatch, photography, content, SEO, and customer service
Managed Magento platform customisation, third-party integrations, and site performance optimisation

The outcome:

Aphrodite was acquired by Frasers Group in 2024 as a profitable, growing business, not a distressed sale. The McKenzie family trusted me to help manage something acquisition-worthy, and I delivered.

This experience forms the foundation of my ecommerce consultancy today.

WHAT I'VE ACHIEVED SINCE GOING FREELANCE

BUILDING A CONSULTANCY THAT DELIVERS RESULTS

Since August 2024, I’ve worked with menswear / womenswear retailers, wellness brands, and startups but the primary experience has been on independent designer menswear retailers who want to scale without losing their identity.

RAGAZZI CLOTHING

180% revenue growth in 12 months
Increased ROAS whilst removing branded keyword terms from Google Shopping
Email Flow revenue 400% increase
Organic traffic +140% year-on-year
Uncovered affiliates that were unethically claiming sales

HIDDEN HIDEOUT

PREMIUM MENSWEAR STARTUP

Planned & built their Shopify store from scratch
Implemented custom logic for newsletter subscribers
Launched successfully and secured permanent retail space in Braehead Shopping Centre
Now expanding through 2026 with seasonal lookbooks and brand collaborations

THE TANNING SHOP

WELLNESS BRAND, NATIONAL

Optimised 100+ location pages for local SEO
Achieved first-page rankings for high-volume searches in multiple UK cities
Built out Red Light Therapy content
Currently on hold through Winter 2025 and I'll likely return mid 2026

Experience in fashion and high-consideration ecommerce

What 15 years in ecommerce teaches you

Different customers buy in different ways

Some will research every detail before purchasing. Others are driven by brand perception, urgency or social proof. Your SEO, paid marketing and email strategy should reflect how your audience actually makes decisions, not how a template says they should.

Traffic without intent is wasted spend

Driving more traffic doesn’t always mean more revenue. Targeting broad, generic keywords often attracts the wrong audience and reduces profitability. The focus should be on high-intent searches, qualified traffic and channels that bring in customers who are ready to buy — not just browse.

You can’t outspend competitors, but you can outmanoeuvre them

Most independent ecommerce businesses can’t compete with larger brands on budget. But they can compete on:

SEO strategy
customer experience
email marketing
brand positioning

A smarter, more focused approach can outperform a bigger budget applied poorly.

Brand and product positioning matters more than most realise

Customers don’t just buy products, they buy into brands.

Understanding how your products are perceived, how they’re searched for, and how they should be presented is key to improving both conversion rates and long-term growth.

PLATFORM SKILLS

WHAT I DO AND HOW I DO IT

I’m an ecommerce consultant with 15+ years of hands-on experience across Shopify, Magento and WordPress/WooCommerce.

My work spans multiple disciplines, but everything is focused on one thing: improving traffic, conversion rates and revenue.

Analytics & Reporting

I use data to understand what’s working, what isn’t, and where the biggest opportunities are.

GA4 setup and custom reporting
Google Search Console analysis
Dashboard creation for business owners
Customer behaviour and funnel analysis

Ecommerce SEO & Organic Growth

I help ecommerce businesses improve visibility and attract high-intent traffic from search.

Keyword research and content strategy
Technical audits (site speed, crawlability, indexation)
On-page SEO improvements for product and category pages
Link building and digital PR
Local SEO for multi-location retailers

Platform & Ecommerce Optimisation

I work across major ecommerce platforms to improve performance, usability and scalability.

Shopify store optimisation and builds
Magento ecommerce management and customisation
WordPress / WooCommerce development support
Third-party integrations and performance improvements

But what matters more than technical skills is understanding the strategy behind them.

Knowing when to prioritise SEO over paid media, when to invest in email over acquisition, and how to balance short-term revenue with long-term growth is what actually drives results.

That level of judgement comes from 15+ years of hands-on ecommerce experience, not from following templates or relying on tools alone.

About Me