Ward and Rider are an experienced, Coventry-based solicitors who specialise in personal injury, divorce and employment. Based in Coventry for their entire 61 year history, the company have developed an ongoing reputation for quality and excellence and for providing individuals and their families with a legal service that they can trust.

HeadRed designed and built the new website for Ward and Rider, which was launched to the public this past month.The website provides a first class platform for all of Ward and Rider’s main service offerings and presents clear paths to relevant information to optimise the user experience.

In addition to the website, we also provide Ward and Rider with ongoing email marketing services, search engine optimisation and graphic design.

Visit the site at: http://www.wardandrider.com

This past Thursday I was a guest on BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire. I spoke as part of a feature called “Going for a Song” on the Mark Powlett show.

The feature, which runs daily on Mark’s show, connects with local businesses and in exchange for a song request asks that a member of staff leave the office early.

I talked to Mark about HeadRed’s past, present and future and decided to send James, our SEO Guru, home early for all his good work. In exchange Mark played my requested song “Mr Blue Sky” by the Electric Light Orchestra.

I must say that the show itself was great fun to be involved with. Mark and Sarah, his producer, were very welcoming and a real pleasure to talk to.

For those interested, Thursday’s show can still be found on BBC iPlayer, but hurry as I’m only on there for one more day!

Following an involved pitch process pallet distribution heavyweight, Palletline, have commissioned HeadRed as their new technology partner.

Hands were shaken on the prestigious contract earlier this year and work will begin immediately on transforming Palletline’s online presence and realising the vast potential the web can offer their business.

The unique nature of the Palletline member network provides the company with significant synergistic benefits and added value for their customers. The new website for Palletline, scheduled to be delivered in Q1 2009, will make full use of these benefits and will be seen as the benchmark against which all other pallet networks measure themselves.

In addition we will be providing ongoing support, consultancy and online marketing for Palletline in the form of email newsletters, search engine optimisation (SEO) and pay-per-click advertising (PPC).

If Palletline wish to be seen as the market leader in the pallet distribution industry it is imperative that they be seen to use the most up-to-date technologies. HeadRed will work alongside Palletline to recommend, implement and measure the introduction of such technologies across their website, internal systems and social networks.

Palletline General Manager, Nikki Dawson, was excited about the coming together and optimistic that the relationship will bring about a significant improvement in the company’s online business:

“HeadRed is the true technology partner we have been looking for. They have already successfully integrated into the Palletline team and are making a significant contribution to our ongoing web strategy.

Working with HeadRed will enable us to create an industry leading website which will add deliver tangible benefits within a short space of time.”

Raebrooke are a specialist recruiter for the FMCG and Food Manufacturing sector. With over 15 years’ experience Raebrooke provides recruitment across all disciplines from Graduate to board level appointments.

HeadRed’s work for Raebrooke included the provision of a new corporate image, the design and development of a new vacancy-searchable website, plus ongoing SEO as well as a complementary stationery suite to ensure offline brand consistency.

For a taste of what we delivered take a look at their new website.

It was originally announced in June but has faced anti-trust objections.

Yahoo said in a statement it was disappointed that Google had decided not to fight for the deal in court. However, Google said it would not allow the prospect of a legal battle to distract it from its core mission.

Now that the Google deal has fallen through, Yahoo may find itself having to try to do another deal with Microsoft, although Microsoft has publicly said it is no longer interested.

(Source: BBC Technology News, 5/11/2008)

Exhibit 3 Sixty are an exhibition stand design and construction company with over 25 years personal experience. Their website includes comprehensive information pertaining to their full range of services, which includes the design, construction and logistics for both modular and custom exhibition stands.

Site features include an image gallery for displaying portfolio work, an online quote function where potential customers can receive a tailored estimate for their exhibition requirements, plus the integration of our highly acclaimed Content Management System (CMS) for Exhibit 3 Sixty to control all site content.

The client have also signed up to a HeadRed SEO contract for aggressively promoting the site in Google and all other major search engines.

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CV One is a unique company in Britain, combining the twin functions of managing Coventry’s city centre and promoting the city and its surrounding Warwickshire region as an attractive place in which to invest, work, live and to visit.

Their “Create your Coventry” project is a new venture aimed at providing a real-life view of Coventry and people’s experiences within the local area. The website, which was designed and built by HeadRed, will work as an active blog for an array of Coventrians allowing them to share their own unique stories and experiences.

Furthermore, the campaign is actively seeking new subjects who are willing to join the Coventry family. If you think your stories of life in the local area are interesting and you’d like to be involved then get in touch with the Create your Coventry team now.

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.

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)

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.

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.