Firstly, something which is not common knowledge and often needs to be explained, is that – it is not easy to be a dominant website in Google.

Just because you:

A.      want to appear at the top of Google, for a specific keyword, and

B.      have a website

…does not mean Google will reward you with a position near the top of it’s rankings.

Additionally, just because you have developed a new website and are very happy with it, it doesn’t mean Google will look at your new website and change it’s rankings immediately or at all. You may not see a difference in your ranking for weeks or months.

Google is smart, cautious and a spurned lover.

Ever since search engines first emerged on the internet, there those who were trying to take advantage of them and their rankings. In the early days search engines were cluttered with irrelevant spammy results which took users to websites which would not help them in their search. These websites would be cluttered with porn, advertisements or simply more links to other pages on the internet. This form of search engine trickery was dubbed “Black Hat”.

To read more about what Google does and doesn’t like, and is therefore considered “Black Hat”, click here.

Google’s algorithm (the fancy word for how it sorts out who should be listed where in it’s search results) has been an ever changing piece of logic which is constantly monitoring millions of websites and their billions of links in order to decide who should reign supreme at the top of their searches.

There are many things the algorithm looks at (far too many to mention here, in fact I just read a 600 page book on the topic) but one thing is for sure; Google doesn’t make changes to it’s results based on a whim. A website which pops up over night will almost never receive much attention from Google, and if it did receive attention it would more likely come in the form of a closer look to see if there were “Black Hat” tactics at play.

If you want your website to be a solid performer in Google search results it takes a lot of time and effort, not to mention a quality website with interesting and worthwhile content. Most websites which are successful in Google have been around for a long time, years not months, and have thousands of links from other websites pointing at them, assuring Google that the site has a lot to offer.

Some clients have complained that they aren’t performing well in Google despite having the ‘magic keywords’ on their page(s). What they are referring to is called Meta Keywords and/or Meta Description. These are blocks of code which tell search engines more about your website pages.

Meta Tags used to be quite important to a website’s performance in search engines, however, now they are only a small ingredient (one of dozens) that goes towards a website’s ranking.

So all this information is great, but what do you do next?

If you have loads of cash and the willingness to spend it then you can employ an SEO company who will optimise your website. Now assuming your website already has all of the bits and pieces it should have for search engines, these SEO companies will direct the bulk of their attention to ‘off-site optimisation”. Which in layman’s terms means;  “getting heaps of other websites and blogs to link to you”.

‘Off-site optimisation’ is probably the biggest factor that will have an impact on your performance in Google. Most SEO companies will do a really good job too, however, their services often come with a price tag that amounts to thousands of dollars per year and if after a number of years you decide to no longer employ their services, then you will lose the benefit of the work they had done for you.

This is their business model, and there is nothing wrong with that.

However, if you don’t want to be beholden to an SEO company what I recommend is to spend a lot of time building your content, and adding to it frequently. Get yourself a good content management system which allows you to update your website whenever you choose and start building content that other people want to read.

Many websites which perform well in Google aren’t there because they have employed SEO companies, rather they are there because they have extremely valuable content which inspires their readers to link to them.

So go out and make your website worth visiting. Don’t just make a brochure with your name and address on it. If you want to sit at the top of Google searches then make sure people aren’t disappointed when they click on the link and visit your website.

Through a combination of experience, feedback and new technologies we have continued to strive for a better product. Something that can offer more to you, the client, but at the same time become easier and more intuitive to use. We have also looked to incorporate new modules and functionality to add to the library of tasks The Admin Site can help you with.

Behind the scenes there have been many changes to help make The Admin Site run faster and smoother than the older version, however, what we’re excited about are some of the great new plug-ins we have available in version 2.0.

Some of the great new features available are…

New Online Store
Spike has developed their own online store which can quickly and easily be customised to your businesses requirements. The store can connect to a variety of payment gateways including the world renowned PayPal or Camtech gateways. Ask us how our store can be tailored to your businesses.

HTML Newsletter Management Version 4
Many of you have a version of the HTML email / newsletter on your system. Each version of the HTML email / newsletter comes with increased filtering options, record keeping and reporting.

Brand New Photos Galleries
Our new photo galleries make use of the funky new jQuery technology which allows your website’s visitors to easily view hundreds of photos at terrific resolution while navigating easily between the photos.

The Admin Site Version 2.0 allows you to easily upload multiple photos, add comments as well as edit, hide or delete individual or groups of images. You are also able to categorise all of your images into albums and galleries.

You can view an example of the galleries at http://au.blueseptember.org/blue_september_photo_albums.php.

Product Image Zoom
This is a terrific little application which allows your clients to easily zoom in on smaller images in order to see the detail of the product. All you need to do is upload a small image and a large image via The Admin Site and the rest is done for you.

You can view an example of the Product Image Zoom at http://www.pca.org.au/results09/sx/awards/Best-of-Show-Award-3.php

New Video Galleries
Many of you have had the need for video on your website over time, now we have a great application which allows you to either upload your own videos, or grab a video from YouTube and put it into you website. You can have as many videos as you like, listed in a play list which is easy for your website’s visitors to click and view.

We’ve made use of this technology in our new video tutorials which many of you would already be using. We can of course ‘skin’ the player and playlist so that it fits perfectly into your website’s look and feel.

Video Tutorials
With the latest version of The Admin Site comes video tutorials. The video tutorials are never longer than five minutes in duration are aimed at showing your how to quickly and easily use The Admin Site. You are also able to request the creation of a video should you require it.

Improved Search Engine Optimisation
With version 2 of The Admin Site comes the ability for you to control even more aspects of your website which effect your performance in search engines such as Google.

On top of these great new additions to The Admin Site, Spike WebDesign has also been doing a lot of work developing software which helps to streamline our clients’ workflow. If you have tasks which are taking up a lot of your time or repeatedly costing you money, talk to us about how we can automate these tasks and free up your time to focus on more important areas of your business.

Tiny Toes Ballet is a Sydney ballet school specialising in Children’s ballet and Dance for Kids. Due to being a children’s dance school and wanting to position themselves in the ‘ballet for kids’ market, Tiny Toes Ballet and MWC Media decided there should be a playful feel to the website. They wanted some moving elements that would make the page interesting without taking away from the main content or making the overall user experience complicated.

Each page of the website features a fading photo gallery depicting shots of children from the school. The photos communicate brilliantly how engaged the children are and are clearly having a terrific time.

The Tiny Toes Ballet website was built using a combination of HTML, Flash, xml, jQuery and tradition JavaScript. You can view the site at http://www.tinytoesballet.com.au/.

Specs For Less required a website that would allow them to showcase their huge range of Designer Frames, Fashion Frames, Standard Frames and Budget Frames as well as allow customers to customise their purchases and decide whether they required just the frames or also wanted to purchase lenses.

The Specs For Less website is powered by Spike WebDesign’s proprietary content management system, The Admin Site. Through the use of The Admin Site Specs For Less have control over:

• Frame and lens management
• Postage pricing management
• HTML Emails to a database of subscribed members
• Member management
• Gift Voucher Creation and Management
• Control over all page content

The shopping cart for Specs For Less is integrated with PayPayl. As a world leader in online payment gateways it was decided that PayPal was the best option for when the site first launched.

We also needed to allow for the entry of customer prescriptions. Lenses are very specific and personalised; therefore, if a customer chooses to buy a frame with lenses they will not be able to complete the purchasing process without filling out their prescription form. Specs For Less is dedicated to ensuring their customers get the best possible lens for their eyes.

Finally, we installed our search engine optimisation strategies and backend software to ensure Specs For Less got off to the right start by performing well in search engines such as Google.

If you have any questions about the new Specs For Less website or would like an online store or a similar website please send us an email. You can reach us through our contact page, http://www.spikewebdesign.com.au/contact-us.php.

The agents at North West Homes, James Abell and Angela Denny, wanted a web presence that would allow them to communicate with the clientele and provide easy access to their information.

Two important briefs for their website was that it was first clean and easy to view and secondly that it matched their reputation for quality and service.

The North West Homes website is powered by Spike WebDesign’s proprietary content management system, The Admin Site. Through the use of The Admin Site North West Homes have control over:

• All written content on their website
• Agent / Staff member creation and management
• New items creation and management
• Links creation and management

North West Property also required a number of forms throughout their website which enables their clientele to request ‘Free Market Appraisals’, create their own ‘Wish List’ and a standard ‘Contact Us’ form.

Finally, we installed our search engine optimisation strategies and backend software to ensure North West Homes got off to the right start by performing well in search engines such as Google.

If you have any questions about the new North West Homes website or would like an online store or a similar website please send us an email. You can reach us through our contact page, http://www.spikewebdesign.com.au/contact-us.php.