Here at HeadRed we’re doing our best to fight the credit crunch and our recent efforts have been rewarded with the commissioning of two new lucrative contracts.

The Northamptonshire Complementary Education Learning Platform is a new project devised by the Education Sector of Northamptonshire County Council. Its aim is to provide better communication between young people, teaching staff, parents and the wider community using the Internet.

The learning platform, which comprises a new website and intranet, will enable staff and young people to collaborate in shared areas, communicate their ideas and store their own materials in personal “e-portfolios”.

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Ward & Rider are a highly regarded law firm in Coventry. For over 50 years they’ve supplied their customers with quality legal services across a wide range of disciplines.

We’ve recently been contracted with revamping Ward & Rider’s corporate branding, providing them with a new website as well as a whole range of printed materials. They have also signed up to one of our tailored SEO contracts to ensure their new site remains successful long into the future.

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Both of these new projects illustrate perfectly how working in the online industry can bring you together with a diverse range of different organisations. We don’t work to any industry or market boundaries.

Our solutions are available, usable and effective to all companies, whether public or private sector.

If I had to cite one thing in the online industry that sparks the most debate then it would have to be SEO. In a recent article from e-consultancy they highlight three of the most common SEO debates currently raging over a water-cooler near you.

1. SEO vs. PPC
Clients often ask “which is better – SEO or PPC?” – A question that has created countless arguments and opinions. Fortunately, most industry experts have now realised that both have their pros and cons but a combination of both is best for long-term visibility.

Black Hat vs. White Hat
Surprising though it may be, despite a large portion of evidence against it some people still leap to the defence of unethical SEO. How these people can argue against hundreds of PhDs employed by the leading search engines is beyond me.

Fortunately though there has been a rise in the number of high-profile companies dropping out of search results for unethical optimisation tactics. The resultant impact of these cases means fewer and fewer clients are turning to Black Hat SEO for instant results and are keen to pursue healthier, long-term White Hat optimization.

3. SEO Has No Future vs. Oh Yes it Does
As redundant debates go this has to be the pick of the lot. Anybody who suggests SEO has no future in the modern, online marketplace is completely blinkered to the benefits it can offer. Strangely enough, the people who insist it has no future always seem to be the people who define SEO as the unfair manipulation of search engines.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. SEO is not manipulation; it is honing, toning and refining a website.

These people do not fully understand the industry and the huge amount of work that goes into decent white hat optimisation. Fortunately, this debate will die off as the world in general gains a greater understanding of exactly what search optimisation means. Black hat may have no future but decent SEO is a massively important aspect of online marketing.

(Source: E-Consultancy 30th Sep 2008)

Some 73% of web users have left websites because of annoying ads, recent research has revealed. An annual study of consumer attitudes to online ads revealed the number of people driven to leaving a site because of intrusive or annoying ads grew 46% year on year.

The study also found 59% of web users have stopped visiting a website altogether because of intrusive or irrelevant advertising.

Ads with loud noises, pop-ups covering web content and ads that were tricky to close, minimise or click away from were the most annoying.

Back in August we reported on the rapidly growing decline of banner ads and pop-ups. It seems many brands are making the mistake of going into online advertising with the same mindset as offline. Online advertising needs to be more subtle and less invasive otherwise the company’s brand image could be severely tarnished.

If you need advice or assistance with your online presence then why not give us a call and arrange an initial consultation with James, our SEO Guru.

Lightspeed Research recently surveyed 1,000 UK panelists to understand how they use search engines and found that the majority of respondents are very reliant on them.

Even if they already know the name of the company they’re looking for, 83% will still use a search engine to find its website. Only 17% would try guessing the company web address and type it directly into a browser.

The overwhelming majority of respondents click on organic search results rather than sponsored links – 92% say they look at organic results first and 93% say these are the most relevant.

With so many people using search engines, allocating budget to search marketing is certainly an effective use of funds. Here at HeadRed we understand the value of organic optimisation and can help you capture a large amount of potential new business.

Read more about our SEO service.

Half of UK internet users have never clicked on a banner ad, according to recent research. A whopping 50.2% said that banner ads turn them cold, whilst only 6% said they click on banner ads several times a month.

The research revealed more bad news for advertisers as other forms of display advertising were also shunned by internet users. Pop-up ads were found to be even less popular than banner ads. Nearly seven out of ten people (69%) said they had never clicked on a pop-up.

Indeed, experts aren’t surprised by these statistics with many feeling that internet advertising should be more about awareness than direct response. To this end SEO takes on an even greater importance, ensuring visibility of your site above your major competitors.

If direct response advertising is proving so incredibly unpopular then organic optimisation can be seen as a more acceptable, cost-efficient and effective way of reaching your customers.

For those of you who look forward to Jim’s SEO column every month I have some sad news – the column has been cancelled.

However, the good news is that Jim’s been given his own monthly newsletter so now you get even more column inches for your dollar!

Last week the 1st edition of the HeadRed SEO newsletter was published, packed full of client highlights, industry news and general SEO chatter.

If you missed it you can check out the online version here.