The brochure we designed for Cody Camps has finally been printed, and it looks spectacular! These pictures don't really do it justice, but scroll down for a link to the PDF version.
You can download a PDF copy of the Cody brochure or visit the Cody website, also designed by 829 Studios.
In simple terms, strategic planning is the process of developing an organization-wide strategy that can be executed over the course of a long period of time (usually between one and five years). A strategic plan reaches much further than a business or marketing plan; a business plan may focus only on a particular product or service, while a marketing plan may only focus on the promotion and sales of a business or product.
While there are dozens of strategic planning methodologies and philosophies, the following are the most common and general:
1. Goals-Based Strategic Planning
Defines goals that the organization will work to achieve, the strategies for achieving them, and who at the company is responsible for driving results.
2. Issues-Based Strategic Planning
Defines issues the company is facing (or is projected to face) and how the company will effectively address them.
3. Organic Strategic Planning
First determines the organization's core values, then defines an action plan for promoting them and developing a culture, products, and services around them.
Regardless of the strategic planning philosophy or methodology, execution is typically where many plans fall apart. Because a strategic plan is an inherently long-term exercise, it often takes a backseat to more immediate problems, projects, or tasks facing the organization.
RapidInfluence, a company that specializes in strategic plan implementation, recommends three steps to quickly implement a strategic plan:
1. Define an Initiative
Decide on an initiative (product launch, market exit strategy), describe it, add key start and completion dates, and define financial measures and expectations.
2. Group Key Elements
Group action items together so they can be easily shared and reviewed. Assign key items to particular teams or individuals.
3. Add the Action Items
Create a detailed list of the action items and tasks it will take to achieve the goals of the plan. Assign items to relevant people or teams, and measure progress at regularly scheduled intervals.
Strategic plan development and implementation are core competencies of our team at 829 Studios. Whether it's business planning, marketing, or online initiatives, please send us a message if we can help your organization effectively implement a strategic plan.
Our new 829 Studios website has been featured in Creattica's Best of CSS gallery! This marks the third website designed by 829 Studios to be featured in the gallery - Choice Camps and Wilderness House were both featured in the past.
Clients often come to us wondering why their website isn't appearing at the top of Google or Yahoo! search results (and why, in some cases, their site doesn't appear in search results at all). Below is a list of common reasons why sites don't rank highly on the major search engines, and some remedies for resolving the issues.
Search engines gravitate towards high-quality content - text, pictures, videos, and other media that are relevant and up-to-date. Depending on your industry, you may need to generate a great deal of content to compete for top placement in search results. Moreover, the quality of that content has to be high; duplicate text copied or slightly modified from other sites won't help your cause. Content should be short, precise, well-written, and frequently updated.
It's also important to make sure your content can be read and indexed by search engines. If your text is contained within an image or Flash file, search engines will be unable to read and index it. You should never construct a site entirely out of images or Flash because your content will never fully be indexed.
The web has evolved a great deal over the past few years, and so has the way that websites are built. Back in the 90's and early 00's, many websites were constructed using different technologies, platforms, and methodologies than those that are commonly used today. Luckily, a set of standard coding practices has been widely promoted and refined over the past few years. Unfortunately, if your site was not constructed using standards-compliant coding, it may not be indexable by the major search engines.
Unless you have a strong familiarity with coding for the web, the average business owner probably has no idea whether or not their website is properly constructed. Moreover, the unfortunate truth is that there are many web developers out there who don't use standards-compliant coding and best practices when building new websites. It takes a highly reputable professional to look at the way your site is coded and make sure it's search engine friendly. We often find that clients who have hired students, freelancers, overseas contractors, or low-cost firms get victimized by poor coding. The cost of building a website with a professional may be more expensive in the short-term, but in the long term I guarantee you will spend more money fixing the work of an amateur.
An inbound link is a link to your website from another site on the web. Links from other websites are essentially treated as a 'vote of confidence' by major search engines. It's important to build inbound links from high-value sites with similar content to yours. The more links that point to your website, the more votes you have, and the higher you will rank on search results.
It's important to note that not all inbound links are created equal. A link to your site from the homepage of the New York Times carries much more weight than a link from a random blog. Also, some links can count negatively; for example, if a known hacker website is linking to your homepage, it may hurt your rank rather than help it.
The following is a short checklist of small but important optimization components that can have a big impact on your rank:
Sites that are built off of templates or are purchased for a monthly fee from content management providers are often culprits of providing sites that have no search engine value. These sites are usually constructed in a way that makes it easy for business owners to update their content, but extremely difficult for search engines to read it. Moreover, when using subscription-based content management systems, the content is often hosted on a URL or database separate from your website, meaning even if it was indexed, your site wouldn't get the credit for it.
There are many content management systems like WordPress and Drupal that are easy to use and can be installed directly on your home server. These are infinitely more effective than subscription-based management systems.
You should treat your website like a member of your sales team - make sure it can be found, it's presentable, and is highly effective at driving business. I strongly recommend investing in an audit of your website with an established consultant who can point out any areas for improvement. And, don't forget, if all else fails, you can always buy your way to the top with an effective search engine marketing campaign.