Latest News from Intendance

Twitter: valuable memos or linguistic litter?

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:11:22 PDT

Social networking sites and professional organisations make odd bed fellows, but everyone seems to be at it these days, if you'll excuse the pun. Recent news coverage of the wife of the next head of MI6, Sir John Mawer, and her indiscreet Facebook activities are proof of this. But while revelations about his choice of swimwear are not likely to endanger national security, revealing his London address was foolish. There's a lesson here for professional firms; don't say or show anything on these sites that you wouldn't want to be made public.

So while some networking sites like LinkedIn have a clearer purpose and a more exclusive reputation, what is the business case for using more frivolous social sites like Facebook and Twitter? Is it more a case of faceless corporations trying to look youthful and cool, or can these sites help promote firms in tough economic times?

Twitter is an interesting phenomenon, one that seems to sate our desire for instant communication, and the need to be - or at least feel - connected in our increasingly atomised society. Business dealings have always been augmented by our social drive; it is no coincidence that those with persuasive networking skills and a certain bonhomie often do well in business.

Sharing information - or extracting it from others - to create or strengthen working relationships is the aim. So maybe Twitter is simply an online extension of the business lunch or the post-work pint. For time-poor professionals with expertise and an opinion to share or signpost, (lose the pointless posts…lovely day, walking to work) perhaps Twitter can help to keep clients closer. At least the 140 character restriction means that people have to keep it snappy.

And of course, Intendance have begun tweeting…so follow details on our latest events, publications or just our general thoughts on web trends here

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Get inside the online mind with the 'Fast Fifty' survey

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:04:12 PDT

The second part of this year's Fast Fifty report is out now, revealing some interesting opinions and comments on legal sector web strategy. Like previous years, but specially adapted to keep up with current trends, The Inside Story sets out the results of our unique survey of those responsible for the same solicitors' websites we reviewed in Part One of our renowned Fast Fifty report.

The idea behind this survey is to balance what we see from our role as external auditers, with what is going on inside firms. The outside world view inevitably reflects, to a certain degree, the state of affairs in-house. By asking law firm web teams to tell us their side of the story, we can better understand what we see as websites reviewers.

Budgets, strategies, technologies, internal politics and innovations are all covered in this detailed report. Responses remain anonymous and are aggregated so individuals can't be identified, but we do sub-divide respondents into recognised groupings to ensure we don't compare apples with pears. Some interesting results have come out of the research, from the effects of the current recession to views on the use of websites for mobile access. All is revealed in the report!

For anyone involved in professional services websites, this research gives a unique insight into the facts and figures behind winning websites - valuable information that we believe is not available anywhere else.

Click here for more about the Fast Fifty report.

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Out now: top 50 law firms revealed

Tue, 05 May 2009 08:59:16 PDT

The only legal sector benchmarking exercise to rank the best 50 law firm websites is out now. Buy Intendance's annual 'Fast Fifty' report and find out how well your firm's website stands up against the best...and see how your closest competitors fare as well. The report includes analysis of the results (based on the 88 criteria used covering the four website categories of Content, Usability, Design and Marketing), an interview with the manager of the winning site, and special sections on two key areas of legal website development: graduate recruitment and online services.

Fast Fifty and Chambers Top 30 - results and reports out now

Sat, 02 May 2009 05:56:24 PDT

Now bottles and fuzzy heads have been cleared after Wednesday night's website awards party, I hope the winners of the Fast Fifty - Clyde & Co - and the chambers Top 30 - No5 Chambers - can congratulate themselves after the recognition they received. Commiserations to those finalists who went home empty-handed, but I hope you are consoled by the knowledge that the competition was particularly tough this year. The 'air gaps' at the top were incredibly close in some cases.

You'll find everything you want to know - including how to buy the reports - on the dedicated awards pages, but if you can't find what you are looking for please get in touch. We've ensured the reports are very competitively priced so that you get the best possible value out of them.

We�re holding a series of seminars in London next month � and Birmingham, to be confirmed. More about these events here.

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Website winners announced - 29th April 09

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:26:28 PDT

As bottles and fuzzy heads are cleared after last night's website awards party, the winners of the Fast Fifty - Clyde & Co - and the chambers Top 30 - No5 Chambers - can congratulate themselves after the recognition they received. Commiserations to those finalists who went home empty-handed, but we hope you are consoled by the knowledge that the competition was particularly tough this year.

You'll find everything you want to know - including how to buy the reports - on the dedicated awards pages, but if you can't find what you are looking for please get in touch.

We�re holding a series of seminars in London next month � and Birmingham, to be confirmed. More about these events here.

Fast Fifty and Chambers awards: the final countdown

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:53:04 PDT

With just three days to go until the website awards ceremony, we are in the final stages of preparation before representatives of the shortlisted firms and chambers, as well as guests from many other sectors, gather in London to celebrate website excellence.

We have the usual awards for the best overall websites and the law firm categories of Content, Usability, Design and Marketing, but this year we have added two extra categories: Best UK Graduate website and Best Online Services section.

Both additional categories reflect the considerable effort firms have invested in these dedicated website sections. Even in an employers' market the best talent has to be wooed, and in these competitive times keeping clients close - and attracting new ones - is achieved by adding value wherever possible. Online Services do just this.

So good luck to all those shortlisted. We'll publish the names of the award winners on Thursday morning, to end the suspense. We have two Fast Fifty seminars (London and Birmingham) and a Chambers seminar (London) scheduled in May, at which the results and best practice findings will be discussed. Details of these events will be advertised on our events page very soon.

The Fast Fifty and Chambers reports will be available for sale later this week, but if you are keen to clear that April budget as soon as possible and would like to pre-order, please click here for information about buying the reports

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Mobile web...does size matter?

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:21:34 PDT

Mobile web connectivity is wonderfully liberating, but like any technology in relative infancy, its limitations can be frustrating. Imagine the scene. You�re in a cab on the way to an important meeting. You know the client�s office is just off Regent Street, but which end? So you check the company�s website on your BlackBerry. Except you can�t find their contact details, never mind download a map. And if you could it would look like an ant�s maze. Now the cabbie�s lost, so you take up the chase on foot. But your heart sinks when the shop numbers are odd not even and in single figures not three. The block you want is at the Piccadilly end, not the Oxford Circus end. Now you�re late, hot and flustered. If it wasn�t for your New Year�s resolution to single-handedly save the Amazon you would have printed one off in the office. Damn the environment! Damn technology!

Exact figures for mobile internet usage are hard to come by, and they are changing all the time. However, in 2008 a report from Continental Research claimed there were approximately 7.5 million mobile internet users in the UK. This is already a significant number, and as the technology - wireless connection, screen size and quality, browser-based software etc � improves, those using their phones to access the web, watch videos/TV, and listen to music will only increase. So are those involved in web development, from marketing managers to agency designers, prepared for this move to a �micro� world? Of course, micro will not replace macro, but it is becoming a viable user need, and should be addressed.

One major law firm, Wragge & Co, has recently launched a mobile version of its website � www.wragge.mobi. This is a significant development in a sector that too often regards technology with suspicion. When I �test drove� the site on my mobile with the above example in mind, I found the site to be highly usable. It was quick to download, easy to navigate, concise, and content had been prioritised according to the special demands of portable web access. I found Wragge�s contact details in no time, and managed to download a map which showed the exact location of the London office. I arrived at my fictional meeting calm and on time. Top marks to Wragge.

Conversely, I tried a couple of other major law firms on the same mobile and had great difficulty simply finding their contact details, let alone downloading a map. The websites swamped the screen and there were problems downloading all the content. I was left frustrated and with a rapidly escalating fictional cab fare.

While this example is designed to illustrate a point, there are serious issues surrounding the incompatibility of mobile access and websites stacked high with features and design gizmos. Though technology has added significantly to online capability and made websites highly interactive, the constraints of accessing the web on the move devalue this functionality. In this case, one size definitely does not fit all devices. When it comes to holding the web in your palm, businesses that want to service their clients properly must plan ahead, and either adapt their current sites for smaller screens, or develop special sites for mobile access. Don�t give potential clients � even if they are disorganised � an excuse to get lost…literally.

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Montessori's new integrated website goes live

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:30:44 PDT

Intendance is proud to announce that Montessori's new website has gone live. This major website design and development project was handled from the start by Intendance, and involved integrating all the different areas of the Montessori organisation into one functional new site. In addition to this, our developers built a separate database and will continue to manage the site with a particular emphasis on search engine optimisation.

The design team updated the Montessori logo so it was consistent across all areas of the organisation. They took inspiration for the new design from the school's unique teaching methods.

The site is powered by our cost-effective content management system, MySource Matrix, which allows staff to control their own site with little or no training.

Special features include:

Forum for MSA members
Online shop for montessori products, magazine subscriptions etc
Extensive schools database and search facility
Ability to submit a job advert and advertise online and search for jobs
Magazine archive area

Fast Fifty 2009 shortlists announced

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:13:47 PDT

Intendance is proud to announce the shortlists for the 2009 'Fast Fifty' legal website awards, and the chambers best website award. As well as the usual awards for each website category - content, usability, design and marketing - this year the law firm awards include best online services section and best graduate recruitment microsite.

For more details on the shortlists, go to our research section

Fast Fifty and chambers website shortlists out now

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:55:36 PDT

We've just reached a major stage in the run up to the 2009 Intendance website awards: the release of the shortlisted firms and chambers. You can see who's featured on the eight different lists on the Fast Fifty section of our website.

Those who know the awards from previous years will spot significant two differences in this year's lists. Firstly, we've added in an award for the best chambers website and secondly, we've added a new law firm award category for the best online services offering.

I'll write more about the awards in my next blog, but let me congratulate all firms who made into the Fast Fifty this year. By selecting our sample only on the basis of merit (and not turnover growth) we have raised the bar considerably. Only the best fifty out of the UK top 100 were put forward for full assessment, so the competition for winning places has been tight.

All will be revealed at the awards ceremony on 29^th April, and then in print the next day.

For more information, please contact the research team at Intendance.

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Web 2.0 why use it?

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:21:33 PDT

In the current economic climate, when organisations are faced with tighter marketing budgets, they are starting to think �outside the box� and consider alternative marketing solutions such as the one offered by web 2.0 technology (blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, social networking sites). But is this an effective way to drive productive traffic - or just a must-have gizmo?

A study by marketingExperiments.com shows �a 12 months study in Social Media Optimisation (SMO) generates a 1.427% (and counting) better ROI than Paid Search�. Click on this link to learn more: www.marketingexperiments.com/ppc-seo-optimization/social-media-optimized.html

First off, resist the temptation to start mass publishing your content online, as this will only lead you to being branded as a �social media junkie�. It�s much better to do a bit of research first.

The main purpose is link building. It�s about making it easy for your existing visitors to �share� the content already on your website by presenting them with some options. A simple way to get started is to follow these steps:

Add RSS Feeds (especially on latest news, events, podcasts & publications pages).
Include a Del.icio.us/Digg this/Facebook button (there are many more bookmarking sites to choose from; these are only a few examples).
Put a LinkedIn URL on partners biog/profile pages (also worth putting on your email signature).
Add your events to a LinkedIn event Calendar.
Consider Blogging (adds a bit of personality to your website and gives you the opportunity to cross-reference).
Incorporate community functionalities of third-party sites such as the Flickr photo galleries and slides or the YouTube video. Just remember to add keywords and a link to your website.

If you look at it another way it is almost like your website visitors are like bees spreading pollen from flower to flower!

Please note that because you put content on a webpage it does not ensure lots of hits; the quality of the content is paramount. Remember that people tend to �scan read� content on the web, so make it easy for people to get the important points. Also don�t forget always to link back to your website.

If you�d like help determining which Web 2.0 technologies are most appropriate for your website audience, please contact one of the Intendance team.

Suggestions for further reading:

Web 2.0, bottom line for legal profession � Intendace Research

Web 2.0 � the new email? � Intendance Research

What makes good website content � Intendance Research

RSS Feed - Intendance Research

Videos that explain web 2.0 tools on the Internet:

RSS Feed

Social Bookmarking sites

Blogs

Online Photo sharing

Wikipedia

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The Intendance "Fast Fifty" new, improved formula!

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:11:39 PDT

This year's Fast Fifty report will be published in the last week of April as usual, but in a departure from previous years we have selected our report sample only on the strength of the firm�s website. In previous years we used turnover growth to identify our fifty firms before looking at their websites, which inevitably meant that some very good websites had to be excluded.

So it�s all change this year and our research team has been busy pouring over the UK top 100 websites to identify the 50 best. We�ll reveal more as we move towards the big announcements at our invitation-only awards party on 29^th April, but we now have our �50� websites to score in more detail.

Recognising that barristers� websites have come a long way too, we�re also reviewing the top 30 chambers� websites to identify the best one.

Keep your eye on the Intendance website for more news…

James Tuke

James.tuke@intendance.com

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The Intendance "Fast Fifty" is with us again.

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:12:50 PDT

Eight years on and the Intendance Fast Fifty report goes strong. We started benchmarking law firm websites back in 2002 when solicitors could manage with a pretty basic website to remain up to date.

The view from 2009 is certainly more sophisticated, but the same principle of well-presented, good quality content that is easy to find still holds. We've moved a long way in terms of what content management technology can do and the means of content delivery are getting much more interesting, but we still check that the basics have been covered. Mobile access, RSS feeds, Podcasts and vodcasts all feature these days, but it�s as important as ever to ensure essential information such as the firm�s contact details readily available. It�s surprising how often such prosaic details get overlooked.

So this year we have raised the bar once more to identify the best law firm websites. We�ll be telling you more as we go along, so please keep your eye on the Intendance website for development. We�re reviewing chambers� websites too this year, in recognition of the efforts the Bar is putting into effective online communication.

James Tuke

James.tuke@intendance.com

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2009 Fast Fifty awards party to be held on Wednesday 29th April

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:25:27 PDT

Following the success of last year�s �Fast Fifty� awards, we are delighted to announce that this year�s invitation-only party to celebrate the best legal websites for both law firms and chambers will be held on the evening of Wednesday April 29^th2009. The venue will be in central London.

We are pleased to announce that this year�s awards will be presented by Conservative MP Ed Vaizey. With his legal background and current role as Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, Ed is a fitting addition to the awards ceremony.

Further information on the Fast Fifty report can be found in our research section

How URL Structure Affects Search Rankings

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 05:58:21 PDT

We have recently had a number of clients asking different questions relating to URL structure. How do issues such as top level domain extensions, keywords in URLs, and underscores affect your search engine rankings?

To address these issues, we have researched the opinions of experts such as Google's Matt Cutt, perused countless blogs on search engine forums, and done a large quantity of searches ourselves to determine just how important these factors are in obtaining the highest search rankings possible.

Underscores versus dashes in URLs

This is quite an old debate, the first mention we found was 2005. At the moment, best practice for new websites is to use dashes to separate keywords in URLs. However, for existing websites where underscores are used, there is no real reason to change thousands of web pages to meet the recommended guidelines. Google recommends simply leaving the existing URLs as they are, since they are constantly improving and in time there will be less distinction between underscores and dashes. As you can see from the example below, in a search for "water parks UK", the search results highlight the underscored words on the results page.

We tried other searches, and found that, overall, each word in the underscored file name is indexed separately and highlighted in search queries.

Top Level Domain Extensions

Is it better to have a .com extension, or a .co.uk extension? If your company is solely UK based, and your users may type "UK" in as part of any search query, then having a .co.uk extension may actually benefit you. You can see in the above example, when we queried "water parks UK" that the UK in the domain extension is highlighted. Using the same search query, Quaywest and Sandcastle are in the third and fourth positions in the results.

They do not include the word UK in their title tag or meta description, yet they are still ranked in the top ten search results. "UK" is highlighted in the domain extension, and while we are confident it is also in the page content, this is a good indication of how relevant the .co.uk domain extension can be to the search engines.

Using Keywords in your URLs

You can get a marginal boost to your search rankings by including keywords in your URLs, just as long as you stick to the recommended three to five. It should be included in your strategy if possible, since those keywords can give you up to a 20% increase in your overall rankings. By including them in your URL, for example:

http://www.mywebsite.co.uk/keyword-keyword-keyword.html

it will help with your anchor text. Search engines look for text in links, and as long as you have a good search optimisation strategy in place, this is just the icing on the cake so to speak.

Overall, what matters most, is that your entire SEO strategy takes into account the most important factors such as content, meta data, and linking strategies. URL structure, while it does play a part in the mix, is not nearly as important as landing page content for key phrases or page titles.

If you feel your search strategy is not in line with your competition, contact us for a free SEO consultation.

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