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”.
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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.
The Brancaster House team temporarily traded tax efficiency for turbo slides as we took on the Inflatable 5K at the Norfolk Showground, raising money for Priscilla Bacon Hospice.
As independent financial advisers in Norfolk, we’re used to helping people navigate long-term plans, but nothing prepared us for the short-term shock of being launched headfirst into an oversized bouncy tunnel at 8.30am on a Saturday. Still, whether you’re managing market volatility or unexpected air-filled obstacles, resilience (and teamwork) always pays off.
We’ve long been proud supporters of Priscilla Bacon Hospice. If you haven’t seen it yet, we wrote about exactly why here:
Taking part in the Inflatable 5K brought those reasons to life:
Team unity: Much like pension planning, inflatable obstacle courses require strategy, encouragement and sometimes pushing someone (gently) in the right direction.
Community spirit: As a financial planning firm in Norwich, we’re committed to supporting the people and causes that make Norfolk special.
Real impact: Every bounce, wobble and dramatic fall contributed to raising funds for vital end-of-life care.
Whether you’re facing financial uncertainty or an inflatable slide that’s far steeper than it looked online, having the right support makes all the difference.
At Brancaster House Financial Planning, that’s what we’re here for; helping individuals and families across Norfolk feel more confident, more secure and more prepared for the future.
If you’re looking for:
Financial advice in Norwich
An independent financial adviser / advisor in Norfolk
Or simply someone to help you understand your pensions, investments or retirement options…
We’d love to help…and no bouncy castle required.
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.
Leathes Prior’s Charity of the Year, OPEN Youth Trust has successfully submitted an entry to this year’s Aviva Community Fund for a minibus to support their outreach team. The 15-seater, second-hand minibus with diabled access will be used to collect young people, in and around Norfolk from schools and Youth clubs so that they can avail of all the activities and classes at OPEN. OPEN Youth Trust was established in 2006 to give young people in Norfolk the life skills and confidence to maximise their potential. They now make a positive difference to the lives of over 4,500 young people each year through their drop-in youth hub in the city centre, workshops, gym, dance studio and climbing wall. OPEN offer volunteering and mentoring workshops designed to get young people work ready and to help them to get to grips with the day to day challenges of independent living. The service is free of charge to young people and funded through their commercial activities. However, young people in rural areas of Norfolk are somewhat isolated and can miss out on the opportunities OPEN provides to get out and about, make friends and develop new activities and passions. OPEN want to be able to engage with these young people and offer them somewhere to go, someone to talk to, and something to do. However, Norfolk is a rural and sparsely populated county and it remains difficult to engage young people in geographically isolated areas. Transport links are poor in most of the county and, often, young people aged between 11-19 cannot afford public transport. Those who have physical disabilities can face further challenges. Gaining funds for the minibus would mean that OPEN can make the trip to the young people and pick them up outside of school hours, allowing them full access to their services before taking them home safely in the evening. This would have a dramatic and positive effect on the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable young people across our county. This is what one young person said to OPEN Youth Trust to describe how he feels about wanting to get to OPEN and his struggles due to the lack of public transport: “I would LOVE to be able to go to OPEN in the evenings. They do really cool stuff, it is great fun and loads of my Norwich friends go there. I really feel like I am missing out but I have no way of actually getting there, so please vote for OPEN and make this happen so that I can join my friends”. OPEN has successfully got through stage one in the bidding process which is now open to the public to vote. Voting is easy; just follow this link register an email address or login with your Facebook account and cast your votes – you have until midday 21st November 2017.
Active Norfolk’s Wrap Up and Step Out walking challenge is back this year to encourage you and your colleagues to reduce stress, improve wellbeing and get active by heading out for a walk this November.
Not only are we privileged enough to live in one of the most naturally beautiful parts of the world here in Norfolk, but now just by going out and exploring it, Active Norfolk is giving you the chance to win a host of wonderful prizes by logging your activity and sending in your photographs.
Whether your walk consists of a lunchtime stroll around town, a weekend ramble through the forest or a hike along coastal clifftops, you could be in with a chance of winning the prizes, including Osprey Daysacks, Klean Kanteen drinks bottles and cinema vouchers, simply by putting one foot in front of the other.
Plus, an additional weekly prize is up for grabs throughout November for the best photos from your walks that capture the beauty of Norfolk in autumn.
It’s completely free to get involved, just visit https://www.workplacechallenge.org.uk/activenorfolk for more information.
The quality of service we provide is also assured – we are a member of the Chamber of Commerce and our consultants are individual members of the Chartered Insitute of Personnel and Development [CIPD], which is our quality mark and means we are qualified to guide employers to ensure that they adhere to rules and regulations and apply best practice recruitment and selection processes and procedures.
We go the extra mile, as well as conducting the initial pre-screening interviews and providing a short-list of suitable candidates, we can sit in on recruitment interviews if required, and can take up references to complete the process.
Once you have the right person on board we can also advise on Induction and Performance Management ensuring things go smoothly from day one.
Contact: Tel. 01553 609968 / 07469 744363
Email [email protected]
www.humancapitaldept.com
Bruno Peek’s remarkable life as a national and international Pageantmaster over more than 30 years has been brought to life in a colourful and illustrative new website from TMS Media.
It follows one of the Norfolk man’s proudest and most spectacular moments as he inspired and coordinated the lighting of more than 4,200 beacons around the world on June 4th 2012 in celebration of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Bruno had the honour of passing the Jubilee Crystal Diamond to The Queen that night to enable her to light the National beacon at the end of the BBC concert, watched by a TV audience of millions.
But the website, masterminded by TMS Media in Great Yarmouth, captures his story right back to his first key commission in 1981 when he organised Operation Sea Fire, a chain of 90 beacon fires lit around our coast to launch Maritime England for the English Tourist Board.
Since then he has guided pageants and events across the country and in Europe and Sri Lanka and is keen that all his experience and expertise should be channelled into future projects.
For the last 12 years TMS art director Nick Marshall has been chronicling those events and that personal profile of Bruno’s life forms the basis of the website. In recent years, he was a key figure in The Fly a Flag for Our Armed Forces initiative and the Great Poppy Party Weekend.
“The website simply tells an online audience who I am and what I can do – and it is something I want to continue doing to involve as many people as possible in some of the most significant and important occasions across Britain or abroad,” said Bruno, who lives in Gorleston.
TMS managing director Steve Scott added: “People are sometimes surprised that Bruno hits the headlines so often. But that is because he has spent decades at the helm of headline-hitting events which encourage thousands of people to join in and enjoy national celebrations.”
Visit: www.brunopeek.co.uk
Norwich firm of solicitors, Leathes Prior, have sponsored Jack Coxall, a teenager from Frettenham, for his sponsored 130-mile bike ride on 1 & 2 September 2012 from Norwich to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Jack suffered serious injuries to his pancreas and spleen in December 2009 and was in Great Ormond Street Hospital for six weeks. As a result of ongoing complications he is now unable to pursue his preferred career in the army and missed a substantial amount of school.
Dave Richards, the personal injury solicitor at Leathes Prior acting for Jack, is particularly impressed that he has come so far. “Jack really has made exceptional progress since I took on his case. I would not have believed that he would go on to do a 130-mile bike ride when I first heard about what happened, but it really is a credit to him and to Great Ormond Street Hospital, and it’s great that he’s decided to give back like this”.
Whilst Jack was lying in Great Ormond Street Hospital, he said to himself that once he recovered he would raise money for the hospital itself, as a way of giving something back. He has since endured a long recovery process but is now confident that he can complete the journey.
His mother, Samantha Coxall, is naturally very nervous for Jack, but at the same time has expressed how proud she is of him, after everything he has been through.
To sponsor Jack, visit www.justgiving.com/JackJourney
Amid renewed calls for more housing to be urgently built across the country, Flagship Group is aiming to provide more homes for people in need in Norfolk.
The housing provider across the East of England has submitted plans to Breckland Council this week for a further 49 homes and public open space in Great Ellingham.
The properties off Attleborough Road would be in addition to the 39 homes and public open space provision granted planning consent in 2016 on land immediately adjacent. These works are anticipated to commence before next summer.
The new application includes a mix of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses and bungalows with 60% for sale and 40% affordable housing. The affordable housing will be owned and managed by Flagship and will include a proportion of shared ownership properties to assist first time buyers on to the housing ladder.
The proposal will help Breckland Council meet the current shortfall in its five-year land supply, which is a requirement of the National Planning Policy Framework. In July, Breckland announced it is unable to demonstrate a five-year land supply, with calculations ranging between 2.4 – 4.6 years.
Tony Tann, Managing Director of Flagship Homes (Development) said: “It’s great news for Flagship to be undertaking its first mixed tenure development in Breckland, enabling us to provide new homes for people in need. With recent announcements indicating that 300,000 homes need to be built each year across the UK, we’re glad we can help to meet the housing shortage. I therefore hope this will be one of many new developments we can take forward across the region in the coming years.”
We hate bad WiFi. It really annoys us, especially when we have been working on an installation all day, check into the hotel for the night and the WiFi doesn’t work. We always book a hotel on the basis that there is WiFi but its always a hit or miss experience.
That’s why we’ve been busy developing our https://www.wifiassure.com
A district heating project installed by Attleborough-based Finn Geotherm has won a prestigious industry trophy at the national Heating & Ventilating Review (HVR) Awards 2017. The installation undertaken for housing association Flagship Group has been crowned Sustainable Project of the Year.
The HVR Awards 2017 celebrate innovation in the building services sector. The awards recognise and reward companies across the country that demonstrate excellence in their field, outstanding technology or exceptional customer service and true innovation in the way they operate or in what they produce.
The Sustainable Project of the Year Award was presented to Finn Geotherm for its ground source heat pump system, which is delivering domestic heating and hot water for 30 flats at Orchard Close in Watton, Norfolk. The first domestic heating scheme for communal use in the East of England, it will cut Flagship customers’ heating bills by two thirds, creating annual savings of hundreds of pounds. In addition, it enables Flagship to dramatically reduce its maintenance costs and CO2 emissions. The project is expected to be the first of many for the housing association, with Flagship hoping to roll out other ground source heat pump systems to other customers as part of its plan to create more affordable and environmentally friendly homes.
Guy Ransom, commercial director of Finn Geotherm, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this award for our project at Flagship. District heating offers housing associations such as Flagship a fantastic opportunity not only to dramatically reduce the cost of heating for their customers but also to have a significant impact on the organisation’s carbon emissions and green credentials. Using heat pumps in this way should be the future of heating for every housing association and we’re very pleased to be recognised for enabling Flagship to become one of the first to really harness the potential of district heating.”
Matt Smith, Compliance Manager at Flagship, said: “To win this award is fantastic news. We have worked hard to get the scheme up and running, so to be recognised in this way is a great achievement for everyone involved. We are continually trying to improve the service we offer our customers while at the same time reduce our carbon footprint, and the system in Watton has allowed us to do both.”
For more information on ground and air source heat pumps and details on Finn Geotherm, visit www.finn-geotherm.co.uk.