Did you know Leeds is the largest centre for financial and business services outside London? Did you also know that more than 300 recruitment agencies now operate in Leeds? Or perhaps you weren’t aware that Leeds City Region has a workforce of 1.9 million and a business base of over 106,000 companies, collectively generating five percent of England’s total economic output?

Our point? Leeds is a thriving business community, the commercial hub of the North, a truly inspiring entrepreneurial city.

Playing such a vital role in the UK’s commercial and economic landscape, the savviest of businesses are keen to be associated with the pulsating city of Leeds. It’s the businesses that are void of such an admirable association that run the risk of being commercially left behind.

In short, a business in West Yorkshire without a Leeds business address, could be being unnecessarily held back.

We say ‘unnecessarily’ because almost every business can benefit from a credible business address, such as a Leeds’ postcode, thanks to the unique opportunities virtual offices create.

Whilst Leeds’ business community might be flying, those entrepreneurs, small business owners, freelancers and SMEs without a professional address could be seriously missing out.

An SEO no-no

You might not think a physical address would affect Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), after all what’s great about the internet is that it creates a globalised, boundary-free world, right?

Not exactly!

As Work Webb Net notes, search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing actually use the address a business has on their website to provide their results to people that make search queries to find a service or product.

“When your website is void of a physical address, you don’t have much chance of being found online for your services. Basically it’s a big SEO no-no,” writes Work Webb Net.

Consequently, a business working remotely from a home office in a secluded village in the Yorkshire Dales could be seriously missing out if they don’t have a lucrative business address present on their website.

Professionalism

Having a business address in a city like Leeds creates a professional impression for comapnies of any shape, size or form. By contrast, a business with a home address, a P.O. Box, or no address at all, crafts a significantly less professional impression and could even be viewed as being an organisation that is dodgy, unreliable and unprofessional.   

How would you go about choosing a virtual office? Would you do a quick Google search and go with the first result, or would price be the main factor to influence your decision?

You may not realise it, but many of your business contacts, colleagues and associates are making use of virtual offices.

If you don’t have a lot to spend on fixed office premises and in fact, you don’t actually need a dedicated office space just yet, a virtual office could be the ideal solution.

With countless amenities on your doorstep, convenient transportation and a buoyant hustle and bustle that gets you ‘in the mood’ for work, the benefits of city centre working have long been established and exploited. But did you know more and more firms and working professionals are now seeking office space on the outskirts of a city?

According to a report in Property Wire, office take up across the biggest six regional office markets in the UK, including Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Bristol, increased by at least 30% in 2014. 

As demand for office markets outside London looks set to continue, where is more beneficial for modern firms and professional workers to conduct their working day – is it better to have an office in the city centre or the outskirts? 

Remember, remember the fifth of November gunpowder treason and plot.

Bonfire Night is almost upon us and there is a smouldering glow of excitement gathering in the air.