Back in 2017, the Designer Websites team created a new, mobile-friendly site for specialist medical accountants Sandison Easson.

Sandison Easson were very impressed with the service we provided, and this year, they presented us with a new challenge: create a site that will help NHS consultants to calculate their deemed pension input for tax purposes.

NHS Annual Allowance Calculator >>

In actual fact, Sandison Easson already had a tool in place for this purpose - what they needed was a well-optimised, user-friendly website to house it.

And so we created www.nhsannualallowance.co.uk, a great-looking site that perfectly fulfils the brief we were given. The website, which launched earlier today, is:

• Clear and easy to use
• Mobile friendly
• Optimised for search

Do you have a web project that could benefit from our expertise? Contact Designer Websites today to discuss your requirements!

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A&L Scrap Car Dealers, the new addition to A&L Vehicle Recycling, is a family-run scrap car dealership located in the heart of Barry, South Wales. With more than 10 years’ experience within the scrap car and recycling industry, A&L provides professional and reliable services that their customers within the local and surrounding areas can trust. A&L’s business has been developed throughout the years on the excellent recommendations of their loyal customers in both scrap car and scrap metal services. However, without an established online presence apart from a few listings in local directories, A&L weren’t fully able to reach a wide range of customers that could elevate their business to the next level. That’s where we came in!

How did we help?

A&L approached the team here at Designer Websites as they were looking to build the online presence that the company desperately needed. Having been without a website, potential customers were having to find information on the company and the services that they provided via directory listings or through the business’ Facebook page, both of which contained scarce details. We were tasked with creating a functional website that delivered the important information about the company and the services that they offered as well as integrating a quote system that potential customers could use to discover the value of their car if they were looking to scrap it.

As A&L had no previous website, our design, SEO and development team had to work from scratch to deliver what was needed. As a result, comprehensive keyword research was conducted in order to identify industry-specific search terms, so that pages could be designed and created to include optimised copy and SEO. This enabled A&L to better capture online searchers and rank highly within search engine results. Once the design and copywriting were complete, we created the unique quote system that allowed users to input their car’s registration number and receive a free, no-obligation quote for the value of their car. This was developed in-house with every step of the process carefully curated, including a postcode lookup, which helps populate address fields. The quote system has been integrated with https://ukvehicledata.co.uk/pricing in order for accurate and reliable vehicle data to be pulled and displayed to the user.

We are proud to announce that the new A&L Scrap Car Dealers website is now live and can be viewed here!

If you are interested in having an existing site re-designed or having a new, bespoke site developed for your business, then please feel free to get in touch with the Designer Websites team below.

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It’s long been said that “content is king” in the modern world of online marketing. It’s no secret – Bill Gates famously made that statement way back in 1996.

Since then, it’s become a facepalm-inducing catchphrase for high-ranking bigwigs the world over, right up there with other classic business BS like “low-hanging fruit”, “moving the needle” and “peeling the onion”.

However, unlike the needle-moving, onion-peeling fruit-grabbers of the world, the “content is king” mantra is actually backed by some pretty solid substance.

Quality content that’s both informative and engaging is a winner on all levels: increasing leads, enhancing brand awareness and strengthening customer relationships, ultimately boosting revenue as a result.

That being said, if content is king, then quality writers are akin to royal advisors, entrusted with providing the king with a healthy supply of quality insight, accurate information and razor-sharp wit.

However, quality writers are hard to find – especially ones that are more gooder!

As such, companies often take one of two routes: hiring in-house writers or drafting in external ringers through outsourcing. Both offer their own pros and cons, but which is better?

Differences Between In-House and Outsourcing

While both options ultimately offer the same end-result, the fundamental difference between the two is as follows.

Outsourcing involves hiring a third-party that’s independent of the business to provide content for your company. Meanwhile, in-house production (aka insourcing) involves a dedicated team or specified individuals on staff who are assigned to the task of writing content.

Depending on your company’s approach to content marketing, you may be more familiar with one than the other; however, it’s well worth getting acquainted with both. You never know when you may need to flip the script and rely on the road less travelled.

Benefits of In-House Content

 Perhaps the biggest benefit of having an on-site team of content staff is their loyalty and connection to the company. An employed team of contributors that are a genuine part of the brand will likely care far more about the company than a team of non-partisan outsiders.

This affinity for the brand often results in a relationship that’s inimitable in an agency setting, leading the workers to be more motivated to positively contribute as a result. This contribution can also be incentivised further by the possibility of rewards, bonuses or even potential promotion.

Meanwhile, a team of on-site staff will also have an in-depth knowledge of your company goals, values and services, effectively streamlining the whole content creating process – from briefing to proofing – while also providing a better level of content contextualisation.

Additionally, a team of on-site workers will answer to one boss and be both governable and supervised, undistracted by other clients’ demands and deadlines. If you need some content done by a certain time, no other tasks will take precedent over yours.

That being said, hiring staff that are inexperienced or underqualified in the pursuit of saving money can be a fruitless labour that does more damage than good. If you are going to invest in an in-house team, don’t cut corners and hire the best candidate, not the cheapest.

Benefits of Outsourcing Content

While in-house content can be great for familiarity, outsourcing can be the perfect way to provide a fresh perspective from someone outside of the office bubble. This can often result in new and exciting ideas, a novel approach and a fresh tone of voice that is both engaging and notably different from an in-house team.

Meanwhile, outsourcing also provides you with a team of widely experienced professionals that don’t need any training, coaching or development. From a budgetary POV, this can be extremely useful; not only does it give you access to an entire team of on-demand professionals but it also allows you to fluctuate the workload depending on budget constraints.

Speaking of budget, outsourcing can also be a great option for those companies working to tighter purse strings, that may not have the financial resources to hire full-time content staff. Meanwhile, some businesses may not require such a high volume of content to necessitate a dedicated staff member or team, making outsourcing a cost-effective alternative.

However, while it can be more financially beneficial for businesses that don’t require a high-frequency of work, the phrase “if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys” is also very applicable here. While it’s always important not to overpay, content writing is very much a business where you get what you pay for and this is one area you won’t want to penny-pinch.

Best of Both Worlds

Even if you do opt for the in-house approach, you may find yourself in a situation where additional workload, unforeseen tasks and looming deadlines can see you snowed under in no time. Should this be the case, outsourcing can be a great safety net to have.

A blended approach can be extremely useful, offering the best of both worlds. As such, it may be worth having a trustworthy source in mind for third-party content, should busy periods warrant an extra pair of hands.

What’s more, a cocktail of in-house/outsourced content can be a truly symbiotic relationship that serves to boost both methods. External content can motivate in-house staff and vice versa, creating a healthy competition of sorts.

After all, as they say, you’re only as good as your competition and it’s a lot easier to run fast when you’re being chased. Creating an environment where you’re not restricted to one option can be the perfect sweet spot for a thriving creative environment.

For more information on content sourcing or content services from Designer Websites, why not drop us a line today? Call now on 01446 339050 or get in touch online using the button below.

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Wading through the muddy waters of Lake Google can be a troublesome task at the best of times, particularly when it comes to SEO.

Regular algorithm changes habitually move the digital goal posts, making the ability to adapt and react a vital part of the job for any self-respecting online marketing with an eye for SEO.

Naturally, the sheer volume of competition makes it difficult to swim to the surface of the SERP rankings, leaving you to jockey for position in an extremely crowded pool.

While it can be tempting to take shortcuts, the purest approach is often the one that has the longest lasting effects and they don’t come much purer than White Hat SEO.

So, dust off your ivory caps, mount that high horse and head for the moral high ground, as we take a look at the ins and outs of White Hat SEO.

What is White Hat SEO?

If you read our last blog on Black Hat SEO techniques, you should know all about what not to do and which SEO tactics to avoid. From keyword stuffing to invisible text, it’s a dark art and one that can also be pretty risky.

This underhanded approach of manipulative methods and sneaky shortcuts will only work for so long before you inevitably get found out. The resulting penalty can see your site plummet down the search rankings and possibly even banished from the SERPs altogether.

On the other hand, there is White Hat SEO. The Ying to the Black Hat’s Yang, White Hat SEO offers Google-approved SEO strategies that play by SEO rules and regulations. White Hat SEO tactics are the best way to create an ethical online listing that isn’t in danger of falling out of favour.

Examples of White Hat SEO Techniques

Now we’ve identified what White Hat SEO is, it’s only fair that we paint a full, snowy picture to completely illustrate its squeaky-clean, albino goodness.

To help keep your SEO plan righteous, virtuous and, most importantly, effective, here are a few examples to keep you on the White Hat straight and narrow.

Keyword Research

Like any job, doing your homework before you jump in can reap many rewards and SEO is no different. Modern KW technology makes it relatively simple to identify a laundry list of keywords for you to sprinkle within your content in order to keep it ranking and relevant.

However, it’s important not to go overboard. There’s a fine line between keyword inclusion and keyword stuffing, and overuse of keywords could see the former become the latter with seamless ease.

Additionally, try not to choose keywords that are hugely competitive. The greater the demand, the less likely you are to rank. Instead, target long-tail keywords for a better chance of hitting the jackpot.

Quality Content

In the world of SEO, content is truly is king and quality content will rule the roost long after it’s first penned (especially if its evergreen). As such, creating well-written content that’s readable and engaging is one of the most effective White Hat SEO techniques there is.

While it can be time-consuming, providing original content that is relevant and useful to your site visitors can translate into serious results. The top 10 blog listings on Google typically comprise of 2000 to 4000 words, so don’t be afraid to dive deep into the subject matter.

Creating unique content about topics you fully understand and have expert insight to can help establish you as an authority on the subject, making your content both original and sharable. Which leads us nicely to…

Link Building

Backlinks are Google’s main indicator of which site page is most reliable and relevant to the search term, and therefore most worthy of a high SERP listing. As a rule of thumb, the more backlinks a page has, the higher it will rank on Google.

Backlinks can be gained ethically by writing testimonials, guest blogging and creating partnerships with other sites. Meanwhile, creating original, authoritative content that’s sharable is also a great way to organically bolster your backlinks.

Business Listing

In its never-ending quest to provide increasingly accurate results, Google also takes into account the location of a business when displaying SERPs. This can particularly helpful for those looking for local services.

For example, a Brummy on the hunt for a restaurant in Birmingham probably isn’t going to be interested in a steakhouse in Birmingham, Alabama. As such, Google weeds out the irrelevant and reports back with the most applicable geographical results.

Adding a Google My Business (GMB) listing for your company is a great White Hat technique in ensuring local SEO. Meanwhile, it could also attract additional traffic through Google Maps’ “near me” function – a tool used by 82% of overall smartphone users (rising to 92% for Millennials) according to figures published by Uberall.

For more information on White Hat SEO techniques and how to avoid Black Hat SEO, drop us a line on 01446 339050. Alternatively, drop us an email using the button below.

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Any business owner or content provider will be well aware of the importance of SEO when it comes to online visibility. The better the SEO, the stronger your page will be in terms of SERP rankings.

However, like any arduous process, there are always going to be those who seek out shortcuts in the hopes of getting from A to B quicker and with as little effort as possible.

Welcome to the world of “Black Hat SEO” – the black market of page ranking; the seedy underbelly of content manipulation; where businesses go to achieve digital dominance by any means necessary.

If you’re thinking of going rogue and donning a black hat in your quest for SEO supremacy, you may want to think again. It isn’t without its risks and short-term gain could very easily result in long-term heartache.

What is Black Hat SEO?

In the halcyon days of the western cowboy movies, the heroes and the villains were commonly distinguishable by their choice of headwear. For the purpose of black and white cinematography, the colours of choice were logically monochrome: the good guys wore white, while the bad guys wore black.

So, perennial silver screen hero, John Wayne, would typically be found sporting a milky Stetson, while someone like Lee Marvin would don an inky, villainous crown. For a more recent example, see Christian Bale and Russell Crowe in 3:10 to Yuma (FYI: top film!).

From an SEO standpoint, the same rules apply: “white hat SEO” ethically relies on human audience behaviour as opposed to the search engine’s, while “black hat SEO” focuses on manipulating the search engine and breaking the rules, all while showing two fingers to search engine guidelines.

Examples of Black Hat SEO

The dark arts of Black Hat SEO come in many forms, from the glaringly obvious to downright devious. Here are a few examples of the most common offences and how to spot them.

Spam Comments

If you’ve ever read a blog or online article with a comments section at the base, chances are that you’ve come across comments comprising of nonsensical fluff that’s completely irrelevant to the preceding post.

The comments section is a veritable playground for Black Hat SEO tacticians and typically filled with more spam than a war-time lunchbox.

While this was somewhat effective in the mid-2000s – resulting in follow links and flowing pagerank to your site for the priestly sum of zero – this process has since been found out, making the minimal benefits hardly worth the bother.

The net is now largely wise to these tactics and spam comments now offer no follow links, while many websites have removed the ability to embed comment content altogether.

Nevertheless, playing the law of averages, the more spam comments of this nature, the more referral traffic you can expect to receive, albeit of a questionable nature of varying quality.

Duplicate Content

Content created in a copy/paste manner can be used to deliberately manipulate search engine rankings in order to generate more traffic to a chosen site. While this can not only negatively impact the user experience, it can also detrimentally affect the original site.

Search engines universally prefer unique content to duplicated text and typically won’t show multiple forms of the same content in the SERP. As such, twin copy replicated elsewhere can become problematic and leave certain pages omitted from the results page.

Duplicated content can confuse the search engine, making it difficult for it to know which result is more relevant to a given search. In turn, this can have an adverse effect on ranking and a knock-on effect on traffic as a result, while it can also dilute link equity as well.

Keyword Stuffing

As the name suggests, keyword stuffing is the process of overcramming certain buzzwords and phrases into your page in order to maximise its visibility for those particular terms.

While, on the surface, this may seem logical, it can quickly degenerate into a smorgasbord of spam that not only seems unnatural but, at times, can become almost unreadable.

Spamtastic copy often makes little sense and, needless to say, is not user-friendly, negatively affecting your user experience, tarnishing your credibility and ruining the professional presentation of your site.

Invisible Text

Perhaps the sneakiest of all the examples on this page, invisible text takes keyword stuffing to another level.

This method uses coloured text on an identically coloured background, camouflaging it from visible view.

As a result, the site still ranks for the chosen keywords present in the hidden copy, yet the text remains unseen to the site visitor.

Black Hat SEO Tactics to Avoid

Naturally, Black Hat SEO tactics aren’t without their risks. Playing against the rules is essentially playing with fire when it comes to your website ranking. While you may get away with for a while, it’s only a matter of time before you face a serious burn.

Black Hat tactics can result in notable damage to your page’s long-term performance, while repeated offences can see your site banned from certain search engines entirely (although this punishment is admittedly quite rare).

More typical ramifications commonly result in a site receiving a serious demotion in the search rankings, nullifying the Black Hat tactics in one fell swoop. Meanwhile, the risk of digital banishment is an ever-present danger if you repeatedly stray to the dark side.

To avoid your Black Hat strategy turning into Black List misery, we recommend steering clear of these short-term fixes and instead focusing your time and efforts on conventional White Hat methods that don’t draw the ire of the SERP police.

For more information on Black Hat SEO tactics and the effects of unethical SEO, drop us a line today on 01446 339050. Alternatively, get in touch using the button below and find out more about how we can help you achieve SEO results the right way.

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