LIFT is a grants scheme run by Norfolk County Council and funded by the European Social Fund that helps people build their skills and find work, and supports local businesses in offering work trials. Our new website promotes the programme and makes it easy for applicants to find the information they need. Another “intelligent website design”.
Bigfork Ltd
01603 513080
The Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) team at Tudor Lodge are pleased to announce that we are working with SPF Private Clients (https://spf.co.uk/), who have recently celebrated their 20th birthday. SPF were born out of Savills Property Finance and underwent a management buyout and an exciting rebrand.
Our team have been working closely with SPF on their online presence, discoverability and their brand exposure to a far-reaching target audience. SPF Private Clients provide 4 distinct areas of expertise and service which are: mortgages, insurance, wealth management and commercial finance. Each of these areas are broken down by SPF into verticals that are marketed to their client base and customers.
Unlike typical brokerages and financial services providers, SPF are able to arrange the best solutions for each case and client on a case by case basis. This means that clients of SPF are afforded world-class expertise, high levels of service and exclusive products across the relevant markets. SPF have however had their fair share of challenges online and this is one of the reasons why they have brought in our team.
Having rebranded in the last decade, SPF have seen the need to build a new online brand presence and as part of this target a number of new and previously ranked terms. This is in addition to the desired improvements they continue to seek for their site.
Starting Points
Starting on SPF’s website allowed us to discover that a number of SEO basics had not been fully or properly implemented from past work on the site. This included the following factors, all of which are crucial SEO ranking factors:
– Meta Data
– H Title Use
– Schema
– Backlinking
– Site Speed and Response Times
We have and continue to address all of these points on an ongoing basis. Their previous meta data was not properly optimised with meta titles being too long or duplicated across the site and meta descriptions being absent altogether. We therefore cleaned up all of their meta data, insuring every page has its own data and unique offering. This has already seen various positive shifts on Google Search Results.
SPF were also not making proper and optimised use of their H titles. H titles are a critical SEO ranking factor as they tell Google what the on-page content is about and what is to come. As with the meta data, we have fine-tuned and optimised all of their H titles, paying particular attention to their H1 titles (as these are afforded the highest priority.)
Schema has also been fully rolled out across the site and this allows search engines to better ‘understand’ what is on each website page and the context.
SPF enjoy a strong presence in the media and they have a number of high value and strong backlinks. This includes many links from the likes of world-renowned industry bodies, new outlets and industry experts. However, many of these have not provided SPF with the correctly optimised backlink and so we have commenced a reclamation, reaching out and reclaiming these links for SPF’s online benefit.
We have also worked with SPF’s existing developers on the speed of the website which is important for user experience as well as mobile and tablet use. This has seen the site jump to more than 70% site speed across all platforms.
The Results
Although this project is in its early stages and there is still much more work to come, SPF have already seen numerous high competition phrases reach the lofty heights of page 1 of Google. This includes the likes of ‘private finance,’ ‘residential mortgages’ and others. Building on this progress and that of the work to come, we are looking forward to building a strong, fruitful and successful partnership with SPF Private Clients for the future.
Are your HR processes and systems compliant?
Norfolk Chamber member Human Capital Department – the people management and development experts in East Angia – have released a free questionnaire which enables companies to verify whether or not they are complaint with the varous rules and regulations relating to people management and development.
Once the questionnaire has been completed human capital department are able to produce a short report which uses a trafic light system – red, amber or green – to highlight any areas of possible concern.
“The people management and development space is highly regulated and continuously changing – recent examples include General Data Protection Regulations [GDPR] and Supreme Court Ruling that makes Employment Tribunal Fees unlawful – and it is difficult for organisations to stay on top of these changes, especially if they do not have a specialist personnel manager in-house.” said Peter Lawrence, Director and Founder of Human Capital Department.
Human Capital Department can help by providing this simple questionnaire and free report and by providing guidance on any areas which the report identifys as [amber or red] of being of concern.
For more information contact:
Tel. 01553 609968
info@humancapitaldept.com
www.humancapitaldept.com
We are very excited to announce that the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and development teams at Tudor Lodge Consultants are working with the Southdown Gun Club to improve their online presence and positioning on Google Search. An award-winning gun club and shooting school, the Southdown Gun Club are a very unique client with exciting products on offer.
In addition to their West Sussex shooting club and school, they also have a well-renowned shop known as the ‘Gun Room’ which sells all of the necessary and desired additions for amateur and professional shooters. Southdown Gun Club offer a variety of shooting experiences which includes clay pigeon shooting, skeet shooting, target shooting and some truly unique day experiences such as archery and axe throwing.
However, they approached the team at Tudor Lodge Consultants with the problem that as the premier shooting ground of West Sussex, not enough people and customers have been finding their website and engaging with their offerings. We have therefore devised a comprehensive SEO and technical website strategy which together are already showing signs of progress and the huge potential of the Gun Club and its adjoining shop’s website.
The Challenges Faced
The Southdown Gun Club website, being built on WordPress has a huge degree of potential. However, although the site’s appearance and feel are very good, serving customers superbly, the technical aspects of the website need much work. The website was not being properly crawled and ranked by Google and other search engines and therefore, the Southdown Gun Club were not enjoying the fruits of their success and the huge opportunities for customers to find them.
Moreover, the site was not configured to run and be engaged with via mobile and tablet devices, a now crucial Google ranking factor. The website has also traditionally not been targeting potential and prospective customers by targeting keyword and relevant brand and generic search terms.
What We Are Doing
As a result of the challenges faced by Southdown Gun Club, our team have been working to improve a variety of aspects of the site and its online offerings including:
– How the site is crawled by Google
– Site speed
– Mobile functionality
– Targeting of specifically relevant keywords and search terms
– Improved user experience and user journeys
– Improved site architecture
We initially had a detailed consultation with the client and have now devised their keyword strategy after performing in-depth keyword research and analysis. We have used this information and data to help with our initiation of the implementation of the website’s meta data. The meta data is one of the most important factors for Google as it allows pages and their content to be read, ranked and properly ‘understood,’ allowing for better rankings and positions online.
We have also been working with the development team to improve site speed, which is on the up. Southdown Gun Club are currently enjoying site speeds of 71% for mobile and 95% for desktop. This is a very important factor as it allows easy navigation and better user journeys throughout the site.
Further to this, we are also performing a full audit of images on the site, compressing those that are too large to further increase the site’s speed. Whilst the Southdown Gun Club have an adequate link profile, we have also been required to remove an array of toxic links from the backlink profile of the website and we will be working on an improved and logical strategy of building strong, relevant and clean links that point to the Southdown Gun Club website; acting as a strong trust signal for Google and other search engines of the relevant and importance of the website.
Southdown Gun Club have already at this early stage seen their website achieve top 5 positions on Google for the competitive terms of ‘gun clubs’ and ‘gun club,’ some of the most competitive and most popular search terms in the industry.
We are looking forward to building on the progress and positive outlook for the Southdown Gun Club, takin their site to the lofty heights of Google’s page 1 for further terms.
We are very excited to be able to showcase our IT services and solutions within a brand new website.
The Breakwater team worked closely with local design agency, Solid Block, to create a site that clearly outlined how we support clients and their IT systems; delivering greater value from the technology they invest in and providing long-term business growth.
Our approach to delivering IT is to focus on clients’ specific requirements and the results they want to achieve – increased productivity, reduced risk, seamless scalability.
Within our new website we reveal the core components that are the building blocks for future growth. ‘A Platform to Power your Business’ is essentially a secure system that forms the basis of a client’s IT network. We have taken our collective knowledge and experience to provide IT support based on a shared, and tried and tested, understanding of which solutions work well together. Every component we recommend has a deliberate place and purpose and is proactively managed to ensure systems run smoothly.
By outsourcing your IT services to Breakwater, you receive essential solutions as standard – including backup, anti-virus, email security, device maintenance and licensing compliance. We also offer consultative and specialist project work, innovative backup and disaster recovery, cloud solutions, telecoms and CCTV services.
We hope you enjoy taking a look around our new site and learning more about the way in which IT can power your business – keep an eye out for our rather addictive new game and see if you can top the leaderboard!
Attleborough based renewable heating expert Finn Geotherm, has been shortlisted in four categories in the prestigious National ACR & Heat Pump Awards.
The sought-after National ACR & Heat Pump Awards celebrate excellence in innovation, projects, installations and environmental successes in the air conditioning and refrigeration and heat pump industries. They bring together manufacturers, end users, distributors, heating engineers, ACR contractors and consultants from across the country.
Finn Geotherm has been shortlisted in four categories:
Guy Ransom, commercial director at Finn Geotherm, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been shortlisted for four awards in the National ACR & Heat Pump Awards, which recognise the country’s most significant heating companies and projects. We are particularly over the moon to have been shortlisted twice for the district heating project at Flagship, which is both a testament to the forward-thinking strategic approach of Flagship and the hard work and skill of the team at Finn Geotherm in delivering the best possible solution for the organisation and its tenants. We thoroughly enjoyed working together on this project and hope we can soon be celebrating its success together too!”
Winners of the National ACR & Heat Pump Awards will be announced on 18th January 2018 at a black tie event in Liverpool.
For more details on both of the projects which have been shortlisted, see https://finn-geotherm.co.uk/case-studies/. For information on ground and air source heat pumps and Finn Geotherm, visit www.finn-geotherm.co.uk.
Enterprise-Level Print Security and Easy On-Site Service Multilayered, enterprise-level print security, including HDD overwrite and data encryption, secures critical business information. Authentication The X3280 Series supports authentication through 802.1x, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Lightweight Direct Access Protocol (LDAP) and Kerberos technologis, along with network use authentication at the control panel Job Protection Protect print jobs with secure print, encrypted scanning, digital signatures and job logs. Hard Disk Protection Safeguard the hard disk with encryption and overwrite capabilities. Network Security / Protocols Secure your company network and protocols through protocol and port disablement, IP and MAC address filtering, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS) and other network security technologies.
Independent guide to the legal profession, The Legal 500, released their results for 2017 today, with increased rankings and continued praise for Leathes Prior. A rundown of the key highlights from the latest edition is provided below. Our Corporate and Commercial Team is praised as “one of the region’s most respected teams”. The firm is noted to have grown our Intellectual Property practice with the addition of Richard Turner and Alex Saunders “further strengthening contentious and advisory capability for technology and franchising clients.” The work our teams undertake for charities is highlighted with one charity client saying “At Leathes Prior, ‘the service is of the highest standard’ and the firm’s ‘efficient and quick service makes it extremely easy to work with’.” Clients also praised Corporate Partner Paul Warman for his work in this area, saying “he is always available and provides answers very promptly, showing a good understanding of clients’ structure and methodology”. The Commercial Property Team is praised for the breadth of work they cover, with the considerable experience of the team members highlighted. The firm’s Wills, Estates & Powers of Attorney Team is applauded as the guide highlights that “STEP-accredited William Riley acts as executor for numerous high-value and complex estates and serves as a professional deputy for many individuals. Partner Tessa Bonser is now a qualified member of STEP and leads the firm’s trusts work. Associate Barrie Barker, who has more than 30 years’ experience in private client matters, focuses on wills and estate administration. Solicitor Claire Woolliscroft mainly handles Court of Protection matters.” The firm’s growing expertise in agriculture was featured, as the guide goes on to outline the firm’s “longstanding reputation as a key adviser to land-owning and agricultural clients on tax, trusts and estates matters. Leathes Prior’s specialist team ‘compares very well with the main competition in Norfolk’. The team focuses on contentious probate, property litigation and agricultural disputes and is led by litigator Darren Bowen who is ‘incisive, clear-thinking and a strong advocate for his clients, but always open to practical ideas for settlement’. He is assisted by solicitors Sabina Haag and Calum Paterson, who are praised for their efficiency and technical expertise.” The guide continues “In Darren Bowen the firm has a highly skilled property litigator who is respected by surveyors, land agents, landed estates and counsel. Solicitor Sabina Haag specialises in landlord and tenant disputes involving dilapidations claims, forfeiture proceedings and commercial rent arrears. She also handles matters concerning timeshare properties.” The guide continued, highlighting the wider Litigation & Dispute Resolution Team to state “team head Mike Barlow and solicitor Polly Langford form a credible team handling a wide range of high-value commercial matters. Partner David Richards, who has a particular specialism in contentious construction matters, frequently advises contractors and employers on high-value commercial disputes.” The firm’s specialist debt collector service is praised as the guide details “Leathes Prior has long been considered one of the market leaders in debt recovery and is able to handle not only straightforward bulk claims, but also complex matters involving niche areas of law. Litigators David Richards, Darren Bowen and Mike Barlow are highly respected. Associates Polly Langford and Ina Beurich are also recommended, as is credit control manager Dawn Lossau.” The firm’s increasing expertise in education is featured, as it “draws on the strengths of an experienced, multidisciplinary team to advise many of the largest schools and universities in the region. Widely respected Associate Polly Langford specialises in both commercial litigation and education law.” The guide also highlights the firm’s insolvency offering outlining that “Leathes Prior has a niche practice that specialises in bankruptcy annulments, in which it acts not only for clients in East Anglia, but also across the UK. The firm pools its expertise in employment, regulatory and property law to advise local IPs and individuals on corporate and personal insolvency. Solicitor Ina Beurich leads the team and ‘provides excellent service’.” Clients of the firm’s Employment Team have said that it “treats every client and every problem individually and takes the time to listen and learn about each client in order to give relevant, practical and correct advice”. The feedback further provides that “Dan Chapman has a stellar reputation in the county and leads a team of four in which associate and ‘extremely able advocate’ Gareth Stevens is ‘particularly good at making clients feel at ease and coming up with solutions they can understand and move forward with'”. Partner Sarah Appleton and Associate Harriet Howes are also recommended. Our Sports Team is highlighted as the guide states the team “extends beyond the firm’s regional presence and offers a national service through Full Contact. The team, led by head of employment Dan Chapman, is extremely busy in both football and motorsport matters”. The firm’s Family Team, led by Partner Alisdair Douglas, is said to deliver “exemplary service and clear and accurate advice”. Associate Simon Willis is described as “superb – he is always clear, on time and makes clients feel valued”. The guide also notes the team to include Chartered Legal Executive Laura Savage and Solicitor Carla Morphett. The firm’s Regulation & Defence Team is praised, in particular the team’s expertise in health and safety and fraud. The guide notes that the team is “active across the UK in business defence, crime and traffic-related matters. Solicitor Tej Thakkar is widely experienced in Magistrates and Crown Courts, including the designated serious fraud centre at Southwark Crown Court.” The guide continues “Leathes Prior handles a wide range of privately funded criminal defence work and is known for its ‘flexible and cost-efficient approach’. Tim Cary is ‘very switched on’.” The firm is delighted with another year of excellent results from the research.
Lex 100 is the ‘student guide to the UK’s premier law firms’ showing the highest scoring firms in thirteen categories, as rated by their own trainees. The researchers send online surveys to the UK’s largest law firms and this year, Lex 100 collated over 3,000 completed surveys, which provided them with a particularly robust sample to analyse. At Leathes Prior we are proud to announce our results from Lex 100, where we have been classed as award “winners” in seven out of the thirteen categories. Each year law firms are assessed in different categories, and in comparison to other national firms, we are top in the following: Social life 95.7 1st in UK Living up to expectations 92.8 2nd in UK Work/life balance 92.8 2nd in UK Friendliness of firm 95.7 3rd in UK Job satisfaction 88.5 4th in UK Client contact 91.4 6th in UK Stress level 78.5 7th in UK The Lex 100 survey and results are not only important for those considering options of future Training Contracts, but also offer an excellent opportunity for trainees to tell us what we are doing well and what we could do better. Dan Chapman, Partner and the Training Principal responsible for the recruitment and training of our trainee solicitors, commented “It is very pleasing to receive these good rankings. We have long since considered our approach to both trainee recruitment and training to be innovative and the envy of many other firms, but to receive some validation of that is excellent. Training future solicitors is a fundamental part of our business plan and many of our Partners came through this process – only in May this year did we promote yet another former trainee solicitor to the ranks of Partner, in Tessa Bonser.” For more information on our results, visit the Lex 100 website.
Spire Solicitors LLP is showing continued growth from its original formation in 2013, by appointing a new Partner within its Corporate and Commercial Team in Norwich.
Matthew Downing joins Spire having led the Corporate and Commercial Team in Cambridge at one of the region’s largest law firms. He brings with him a wealth of experience in advising clients through corporate finance transactions, typically in respect of selling their business or acquiring new businesses. Matthew has lots of experience in advising in respect of owner managed and family businesses. He has a particular interest in the manufacturing sector and has advised numerous clients in this and various other sectors in recent years.
Matthew has a good understanding of the franchise sector and advising on the sale or acquisition of existing franchise businesses. In addition, Matthew also advises regularly on general commercial contract and shareholder arrangements.
Following his appointment, Matthew commented: “I am delighted to be joining Spire and to be back in Norwich where I have spent most of my legal career. It is an exciting time for the firm which is experiencing strong growth across all areas of its services and is now seeing the benefits of key investments in the business and its infrastructure in recent years”.
Roger Margand, Head of the Corporate and Commercial Team at Spire added “We are really pleased to have Matthew join us. He brings with him heaps of corporate experience which will only strengthen our existing corporate and commercial offering”.
After the successful merger of Hood Vores & Allwood Solicitors, Greenland Houchen Pomeroy Solicitors and Overbury Steward & Eaton Solicitors in 2013, Spire now represents one of the largest, and most progressive legal firms in Norfolk, with a presence of 8 offices across the county and over 150 employees. With this latest addition and further growth plans, Spire will only reach new levels, as it looks to tailor its offerings further for the best and most comprehensive offering in the local market place.
James Knight, CEO and Partner commented: “This is an exciting time for all involved in the business. As a united team, we’ve grown from strength-to-strength, solidifying our service offering, as well as increasing the number of strategic Partners and specialist staff joining the business, to which, I am delighted Matthew is joining our team and vision”.
James continued: “The next months are the most exciting for us as with the organic growth attained since 2013, we’re able to continue this with the acquisition of our core team members to continue to flourish in their fields of expertise, complementing our business and enhancing our commitment to Norfolk“.
Spire Solicitors LLP offers specialist legal knowledge in all services. A true Norfolk business from the beginning, its doors are open across all 8 offices for approachable expert advice, on every matter.
Please direct all press enquiries to:
Kristian Tangen-Sorgendal Marketing Manager Spire Solicitors LLP E: Kristian.tangen-sorgendal@spiresolicitors.co.uk
Apprenticeships Information Evening
Thursday 9th November, 4.45pm – 6pm
Following previous successful events Wymondham College are once again organising an evening for students and parents in years 10 – 13 to find out about apprenticeship opportunities in the area.
It is anticipated that between 80 – 100 parents/students will attend the event, which will include an ‘Introduction to Apprenticeships’ talk from Apprentices Norfolk.
The College are looking for local businesses, who are looking to recruit apprentices, to take a stand to promote their opportunities at this event. For more information and to book your stand, please contact Liz Edwards on email: futures@wymondhamcollege.org
Pure brought together Personal Assistants (PAs) from across the region for a breakfast seminar focussed on providing top tips on managing stress and improving wellbeing.
The seminar, held on Thursday 5 October at Pure’s Cambridge office in Histon, included guest speaker Louise Lloyd. As a wellbeing coach with over 15 years’ experience, Louise led an interactive session for the 14 attendees which looked at challenges around wellbeing, how stress impacts on people and provided practical tips for everyday working life.
Louise explained: “The challenges of keeping up with the pace of everyday life can take its toll on our health and wellbeing. Stress can rob us of leading joyful, fulfilled lives and can lead us to live in a constant fight or flight mode where the continual stress response can eventually lead to ill health. That’s why learning how to manage our own energy and wellbeing is vital in maintaining wellbeing and long-term resilience in life.”
Viktoriya Vladimirova, recruitment consultant at Pure, organised the event. She added: “Our office support recruitment teams work with PAs every day and we know that this role is an essential lynchpin in any organisation. Our aim is to provide regular events dedicated to the PAs in our region and to support them in extending their professional networks, learning new things and sharing experiences. Because the nature of a PA’s role means they are often juggling many things at once, the topic of stress and wellbeing, and the opportunity to provide practical tips and advice, seemed extremely apt for our latest event. Plus, PAs are usually in a very central role within a business, which means they are also well placed to pass these tips on to their colleagues, benefiting the overall wellbeing of their workplace as well.”
The event covered simple and effective relaxation techniques, the benefits and application of Mindfulness and overall tips on learning to manage stress for both immediate and long-term benefits.
For more information about future PA events hosted by Pure contact Viktoriya Vladimirova on Viktoriya.vladimirova@prs.uk.com