Waikato Business News October/November 2022

More documents

Recommendations

Info

16 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 Transport specialists appointed Specialists are on board to help build a business case which will define Cambridge’s transport infrastructure for the next 30 years. Waipā District Council has appointed Invise as lead consultants for the Cambridge Connections project. Council has allocated $300,000 for the project and work has gathered pace Artist's impression Artist's impression since the adoption of the Waipā Transport Strategy in May this year. That strategy formally confirmed the need for a third bridge in Cambridge. Invise, an infrastructure advisory company, has already led the Cambridge Connections Stakeholder Group in its first workshop. The group includes elected councillors and Cambridge Community Board members plus iwi representatives. It also includes those with a direct impact on the transport system including Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, the heavy freight industry, passenger transport planning experts and others. bayleys.co.nz/commercial Artist's impression Retail opportunities at Union Square Cnr Anglesea and Hood Streets, Hamilton Central • Retail offerings starting from 50sqm up (approx) with occupancy beginning 2023 • Beautifully designed and strategically located in Hamilton's CBD • Union Square envisions a complimentary mix of retail, cafes, and restaurants plus a wellness centre Join the neighbourhood with over 2,500 people working above bayleys.co.nz/2312891 Expressions of Interest (unless sold prior) 96 Ulster Street, Hamilton Rebecca Bruce 021 063 5165 rebecca.bruce@bayleys.co.nz Chris Beasleigh 021 597 856 chris.beasleigh@bayleys.co.nz SUCCESS REALTY LIMITED, BAYLEYS, LICENSED REAA 2008 BAYLEYS REAL ESTATE LTD, AUCKLAND CENTRAL, LICENSED REAA 2008 Group manager service delivery Dawn Inglis said the first Cambridge Connections workshop drove home the complexity of the project and laid out the requirements of a Waka Kotahi NZTA business case. That business case will be essential to securing a 51 per cent government subsidy for a third bridge in Cambridge. Without it, the full cost of the bridge would have to come from ratepayers across the district, she says. “However, this project is not just about a bridge. It’s about how to build the best possible transport network for Cambridge, taking into account existing Master Plumbers take a bow The Waikato Master Plumbers awards’ night is the pinnacle event each year and attracts interest from all over the greater Waikato. Close to 200 people attended, including Hamilton’s Mayor Paula Southgate and other dignitaries for a night of black tie, dinner and awards’ celebration. Celebrating the best in the industry, the awards are one of the largest events run by Waikato Master Plumbers. Alongside the award winners, the night also recognised apprentices gaining their New Zealand registration certificates - a very important milestone in their journey in the industry. The major award was won by J T Carter Plumbing based in Te Aroha and Hamilton taking out the Waikato Master Plumber of the Year for 2022. This award recognises a Master Plumbers’ member who clearly demonstrates business acumen and drive for success. The recipient exemplifies the highest levels of professionalism and service. infrastructure, climate change and the changing needs of a growing population.” The Cambridge Connections business case will be complete by June next year. Implications will be considered as part of the council’s 2024-2034 10-year plan. This award recognises a Master Plumbers’ member who clearly demonstrate business acumen and drive for success. The top apprentice award went to James Roberts from Good Buggers Plumbing. James graduated with awesome results in plumbing and gas fitting. He was identified as a real team player – helping his classmates when they were struggling. Lance Cuff from Hamilton City Council was recognised with the Outstanding Services to the Industry Award. A well-deserved award for all the hard work that building inspector Lance has put into the Waikato Plumbing Dawn Inglis industry. The personal growth and development award went to Jared Iti. In 2021 he achieved a National Waka Ama title and qualified to paddle at the world champs - showing true grit and determination in his chosen sport. More recently Jared was part of the men’s gold winning team. The Industry Excellence award went to Julena Phillips from J T Carter Plumbing. One of many things Julena has achieved is the development of a social media campaign through JT Carters for customers to nominate a deserving family to receive a free bathroom make over. JT Carters are currently working with the family to surprise the worthy candidate. Procuta Associates Urban + Architecture CAMBRIDGE POLICE HUB Contact us 07 839 6521 www.pauaarchitects.co.nz
Google’s Latest Algorithm Changes and What It Means for 2023 In 2022 Google made several algorithm changes with how it ranks websites in search results. Their latest big adjustment, called “The Helpful Content Update”, sends a clear signal for what will affect rankings in 2023 and beyond. Having your website rank highly in Google can have a significant impact on your business. However, what is required to get a website ranked well is constantly adjusting. The Helpful Content Update With the “Helpful Content Update” Google’s stated goal was to, “ensure people see more original, helpful content written by people, for people, in search results.” Sounds fantastic, but what did it mean for the average sparky or plumber trying to grow a profitable business? A simple explanation is that Google wants to see content on your site that answers the questions your customers are often asking – and to do it in the most accurate and informative way possible. Think of the kind of answers you give to people when you're on the phone with them or standing on their porch giving them a quote for work. That’s the content Google is keen to show in their search results. Accordingly, they tweaked their algorithm to start rewarding businesses who clearly demonstrated that they are trustworthy experts with well-established authority in their field. What happened as a result? For many businesses, not much at all. Google’s 2022 updates appear to be taking a long-term view. If you were already publishing content in which you had clear expertise that related to search queries, you’re in a good space. Your rankings are likely to have improved a little. But many businesses who were trying to rank high in Google by paying for backlinks through overseas agencies felt the hammer come down. This is because most paid link-building schemes use lots of short articles that don’t really say much. In other words, they aren’t very helpful. And having an SEO strategy that doesn’t include content on your site is not going to work well going forward. So, Google was cleaning house and removing the junk. Where did that leave small business in New Zealand? By people, for people Google’s stated goal was to, “ensure people see more original, helpful content written by people, for people, in search results.” The key here is not to try and improve your ranking by tricking Googles search bots, but to simply write real content about real questions for real people. When creating content for your site, Google suggests you ask yourself a few questions: 1. Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if it came directly from you? 2. Does your content clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge (for example, expertise that comes from having actually used a product or service, or visiting a place)? 3. After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal? If your team or SEO agency is already doing this, you don’t need to worry too much. But if your SEO strategy doesn’t include content, it’s time to revisit it. Go the extra mile How original does it have to be? Most blogs out there say more or less the same thing as their competitors. Every plumber has a blog about how to choose a plumber, when to call an emergency plumber, and how to unclog a drain. You can do better. THE DIGITAL WORLD BY JOSH MOORE Josh Moore is the head marketing fanatic at Duoplus, a Hamilton-based digital marketing agency that helps clients get more leads and sales through online marketing. www.duoplus.nz WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 17 Our advice would be to write articles that stand out from the rest: • Make sure your content adds value to your readers – you want them to leave satisfied. • Add something unique to your content that differentiates you from your competitors and makes your offering more compelling – make them want to call you. • Tell stories of people you have helped to clearly demonstrates that your products or services are awesome – so they see you as the expert who can help them. Understand the intersection of their why and your why Think about why people are searching for the keywords you want to target. And then find where that intersects with why you want people to visit your site. • Are they doing research about a product and want to know the pros and cons? • Do they want to know which brand is the most affordable, or has the best performance, or looks the nicest? • Perhaps they are simply looking to see who offers the best deal on a product they have already decided to purchase. Write content that addresses their why and be sure to remember your why in the process. It’s not just about getting traffic to your site; it’s about turning that traffic into potential customers. So, answer genuine questions with your content and plan how this content can lead readers to become a customer. If you forget this step, you could write a lot of content that gets a decent amount of traffic, but doesn’t produce any new customers. Crafting a content strategy Writing helpful content isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. For many marketing managers and business owners, taking time to write detailed content will draw you away from where you are most needed in the business. But this doesn’t mean you need to give up on having strong Google rankings. Just make sure that the staff or SEO agency assigned to the work has an intentional plan for developing clear and helpful content on your site. Rich opportunity here in world-class Waikato Along with investment in world-class infrastructure that enables the Waikato to host a wide variety of exciting and economically important events, the region is seeing the ongoing development of experiences and facilities geared not only to attract visitors but also appeal to mighty locals. An integral part of strategic planning for future growth is ensuring the Waikato’s tourism and tourism-related sectors continue to thrive and therefore provide ongoing economic and social benefits across our communities. As well as ensuring the experiences we offer will be the sort that our future manuhiri (guests) seek, it’s also vital we invest and build so we are not caught short in the future and have the basics in place, such as enough beds for our visitors. In terms of guestrooms, a report prepared for Hamilton City Council detailing the economic impact of the city’s accommodation shortage revealed that by just next year a further 160 hotel rooms and serviced apartments will be needed in the city, and a further 850 rooms by 2033. The report notes that more than half of Hamilton’s motel rooms are currently off the market for use for emergency housing – and that lack of accommodation in the city means facilities like Claudelands Conference & Exhibition Centre lose business. While our mighty Waikato region has room for growth, this must be managed carefully so we keep supply ahead of demand and avoid any boom and bust which would be to the detriment of our region and our people. Although tourism, like other sectors, faces headwinds such as rising construction and labour costs, together with labour shortages, forward planning and investment is essential – and it’s exciting too. Hamilton & Waikato Tourism works to a strategic destination management plan, teaming with our councils and economic development agency Te Waka, plus a range of sector organisations and central Government, to deliver the best for our region, both right now and in the future. I want to take this opportunity to highlight some of the many diverse developments underway now, some due for completion before the Christmas break. First-off, the investment and work being undertaken by owner Tainui Group Holdings at the ibis Hamilton Tainui Hotel is to be resoundingly applauded. TELLING WAIKATO’S STORY BY NICOLA GREENWELL Interim General Manager, Hamilton & Waikato Tourism The 126-room ibis was one of three managed isolation facilities in the city during the Covid-19 pandemic. The three-month $8 million redesign and refurbishment is due for completion in early December. Amongst local businesses involved is Designwell, a Hamilton-based team with expertise in interiors and architecture. Coming up at Hamilton Zoo is a new entry precinct that connects with the adjacent Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park. Hamilton City Council owns and operates both and says the vision in linking the two is to create a visitor-friendly conservation zone. Honouring the Waikato’s connection with the land and mana whenua was front of mind for designers working on the $15 million refurbishment of the terminal building at Hamilton Airport. Along with earthquake strengthening work, improved passenger and departure areas including dedicated workspaces and a new café, the refreshed terminal showcases the Waikato Māori culture with several art installations already in place and further to come before the official opening early next month. Waikato Regional Airport, which operates Hamilton Airport, called on Māori design specialists, Eugene Kara (Ngati Koroki Kahukura) and Norm Te Hira (Ngati Haua), to advise on the cultural aspects of the refurbishment. Ōtorohanga Kiwi House and Bird Park has celebrated its 50th birthday with a number of forward-thinking developments underway. Right now, the excitement is all about 3,000 giant wētā eggs that are about to hatch in a breeding programme pioneered by the park’s scientists. This summer visitors to the park will be able to take a backof-house tour to learn about the ongoing breeding programmes being undertaken there, including for the rare and endangered giant wētā. Also in the behind the scenes tour will be the chance to see how the park trains its birds to assist in the monitoring of their health. In other developments that will eventually see a total rebuild of the acclaimed kiwi house and bird park over the next few years, a new nocturnal house experience and visitor facility will be built. These will be certified as ‘living buildings’ by the International Living Futures Institute and constructed of materials that are either recycled or free of 90-plus percent of the chemicals identified on the internationally recognised Red List as being harmful. The final stage of the 65km Ngāruawāhia-Lake Karapiro Te Awa Great River Ride – the Hamilton-Tamahere section – is nearing completion and scheduled to open next month Work is also progressing at pace for the new Waikato Regional Theatre, scheduled to open in June 2024. Located overlooking the Waikato River at the South End of Victoria Street on the site of the old Hamilton Hotel, the world-class performing arts centre complex will include elements of the heritage building. With one of the largest populations of Pacific Islands people outside Auckland, the Waikato will shortly see the completion of the first ever pan-Pacific hub in the country, the K’aute Pasifika Village. Being constructed opposite the FMG Waikato Stadium on what was the Hamilton Bowling Centre, the hub is the result of determined effort by K’aute Pasifika over the past two decades. Community and cultural events will take place in the distinctive traditionally inspired fale building facing Seddon Road, while health, wellbeing, childcare and early learning services will be located in the village development immediately behind it. There is indeed rich opportunity here in the mighty Waikato – right now with these developments and others around the region, and in the future.
Page 1 and 2: OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 VOLUME 30 ISS
Page 3 and 4: WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, OCTOBER/NOVE
Page 5 and 6: User experience experts helped Hami
Page 7 and 8: Pacifika director breaking new grou
Page 9 and 10: Chamber welcomes new board member T
Page 11 and 12: Business awards celebrate success,
Page 13 and 14: 13 X-TRAIL ST-L FROM $39,990 +ORC*
Page 15: Five-page plan or back of an envelo
Page 19 and 20: WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, OCTOBER/NOVE
Page 22 and 23: 22 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, OCTOBER/N
Page 24 and 25: 24 CONFRENCE AND EVENTS WAIKATO BUS
Page 36: “To achieve what Fosters did, wit

Waikato Business News October/November 2022

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?