While all the designers here at ireckon keep up to date with the latest design trends and styles, we also focus on what the customer wants and focus on designing a website around the customer’s brand and image first and the latest trends second, and I think this is one of the attributes that makes ireckon stand out above the rest.

When we start a new project the first step we take in the design process is to get as much marketing material, logos etc as possible from the client and then look at how we can build a modern website for their brand. 

This makes designing even more exciting for me as it means that I'm not just designing another website that follows the latest trends but a website that is an extension of the client’s brand and image. 

Types of Search Penalties

There are two main types of punishments that a search engine may impose, and it is important to differentiate between them.

Being Banned means your site is removed from the index completely. This is reasonably rare - and in fact many people who think they've been banned are actually still in the index. It is reasonably easy to tell whether you have been banned by Google - assuming your site was in the index to begin with, search Google for site:yourdomain.com.au. If you get any results, your site has not been banned.

Being Penalised means having your rank reduced. Unless you have not been carrying out regular rank reporting, determining this type of penalty (and the extent of it) can be difficult. If you've noticed a drop in the rankings of some of your key phrases it doesn't necessarily mean that your site has been penalised. Rankings change, sites drop (and often rise again) - it's all part of the way the search engines work. However, if you have noticed a significant drop in your rankings, across all phrases - particularly if all rankings seem to have dropped by a similar amount (e.g. dropped 40 positions - or 4 pages), there is a reasonable chance that your site has been penalised.

Further information about some different types of penalties that may be imposed by Search Engines can be found at :

• Over Over Optimisation Penalty (OOP)
• Google -950 Penalty
• Google Minus 30 Penalty
  

There are also a number of reasonably high profile sites which appear to have been hit with penalties over the last few years - apparently for the use of black hat techniques.

• Flight Centre Cloaking
  
• BMW Cloaking results in Google Ban
• Found Agency penalised for "Black Hat" techniques
  

Because of the speculative nature of penalties, not everything that's perceived to be a penalty necessarily is. The "Duplicate Content Penalty", although it may have a net effect of poor rankings for your site, is unlikely to be a penalty as such, more a failure to ascribe value to content on your site if the same content appears elsewhere. See the Duplicate Content Penalty Myth.

Look out for more posts in The Black Hat Series... The 3rd post entitled "Search Engine Guidlines - Why Should I care ?" will review some of the guidlelines outlined by the major search engines, and discuss the pros and cons of following them, and the 4th post - "Help !! my website has been penalised - What Can I Do ?" will look at what options you have if your site has been penalised or banned.

Black Hat vs White Hat

I have currently been working on a Flash project that has definitely given me a challenge. Flash allows you to do such a variety of things, it is impossible to know how to do absolutely everything. Flash also allows several different ways to achieve the same result. Using purely action script (while it may take longer initially) usually produces a smoother result and it gives a much smaller file size! It is also good to use action script when working with larger projects, as other Flash options, such as tweening can become messy and hard to follow as the project grows. This is especially important if there are going to be other people working on the project, who need to be able to understand what the file does.

Now for actually creating the project. It is amazing that no matter how large a project is, it can become perfectly manageable when broken up into several smaller sections. This may seem glaringly obvious, but I have never realised this as much as I have with this particular project. By focusing on one smaller section at a time, I found that those seemingly large and unmanageable tasks were soon completed. I have been working on completing so many small tasks, that when I finally stepped back and took an overall look at the project, I realised that those large tasks I found daunting in the beginning, had actually been completed without me even really realising it.

That's not to say it was completely problem free, but Flash has a detailed help section that documents most functions, as well as providing example code, which comes in very handy. And when it comes to the logic in the code, it is amazing how much it helps to jot it out with pen and paper, or to work on something else for a while and come back and look at it with fresh eyes. However, there are some bugs within Flash can make you pull your hair out. An example of this was a piece of action script that had absolutely no reason not to work. It just did not make sense. After thinking I must have gone mental, I got so desperate that I copied my whole file and pasted it into a new Flash document. It worked perfectly. There are a several issues like this with Flash that just can not be explained (well not by myself, anyway).

So now the Flash project is at the stage where it has become exciting instead of daunting. The whole project is finally coming together with just several small, manageable, tasks remaining.

The CD arrived promptly, was well branded and came with some print material about the company – good start. As I listened to the CD – I found more than a few contradictions in what I was being told. 

Firstly – I had ordered a CD that had promised to give me the Secrets to a Successful Website. The very first thing I heard – was that I was going to learn the Secrets to Making My Website Make Money. Now – I see a fundamental difference between these 2 statements. 

Not all websites are created with the aim of making money. Take the Mamre Association for example – we created a website that would provide many useful functions for them – none of which involve purchasing or ordering, in fact no money changes hands at all. If someone from the Mamre Association had ordered this CD, they would have switched off within seconds. 

I then listened to The Voice tell me that I needed to define my target market. Valid point, I thought to myself – although if you need to be told to define your target market – you are probably not at the stage where you should be investing in a website. 

Some great advice followed. I was asked what sort of business processes could be automated. Yes – this is extremely important for any business. If you can spend less time on tasks that CAN be done with little or none of your own involvement – you have more time to focus on the tasks that require your time and attention – and ultimately – the tasks that make a real difference to what you can achieve. The goal is to automate your processes – while ensuring that they are still working for you. When the cracks show – people will notice. I was told that ‘this style of email is an example of automating your business processes’. Now although there was an option for me to learn about these secrets by receiving an email and downloading the audio file – I opted for the CD – delivered by Post. This automated process has failed.

Next secret – how to use my website as an effective sales tool. I’m slowly getting over the fact that these secrets are about making my website make money – and not about it being successful – and it pops up again. I agree to turn my inner cynic off – and roll with it. The Voice goes on to tell me about ‘asking for a response from my customer’ I call this – a call to action; encouraging users to interact with my website and follow through with an action that I want them to. Now this action could be making a purchase – don’t get me wrong – but it could also be entering into a competition, leaving contact details, signing up to receive my newsletter, providing an opinion on a particular topic etc. 

The Voice goes on to tell me about how some businesses invest in a website because they think they SHOULD have one. And that as a result they end up spending money on a site that does nothing for them. I agree – although The Voice has moved on to talking about offering value to increase revenue – and I’m still thinking about how many websites are unsuccessful as a result of poor planning. Decide what you want your website to do – it’s pretty simple – and then decide on actions for how you will achieve your goals, and decide how you will measure the success of your website. 

I’m now told to integrate my website with my overall marketing. Correct! In the late ‘80s a fresh-faced Kevin Costner starred in Field of Dreams. He was told – ‘if you build it – they will come’. He built it - they came. If you build a website – they will not just come – people need to know it exists – either through knowing the url (through your offline marketing), or through a search. 

This brings me to my major issue. The Voice tells me that the next best way to promote my website (aside from offline promotion) is using Google AdWords. I have no issue with Google AdWords – I think it can be an extremely effective way of promoting online presence. The Voice tells me he is not a fan of submitting websites to search engines, and that because of the amount of websites out there – top positions in results pages are changing so frequently that even Superman couldn’t keep up. According to The Voice, the best way to advertise on search engines – is using an AdWords Campaign. I then looked at the print material that came with my CD, and the words Search Engine Optimisation were staring back at me. 

Search Engine Optimisation is not a one time only then you’re number one in Google type exercise – it’s ongoing – and as the Search Engines are continually changing the algorithms and rules they use to rank websites in their organic listings, the websites themselves need to evolve and their owners or developers need to spend time and effort to see results. Andy – our Chief of Search can do it – and he’s not Superman (although he is very good at what he does), he doesn’t even have a cape. Just because Search Engine Optimisation may not be easy, it takes time and high rankings cannot be guaranteed – the rewards are too high to not bother trying. 

I’ve had time now to think about the secrets I was given – for making my website make money – and I’ve come up with some thoughts. 

Keep your aim to have a successful website. Set your goals, and measure your website against them to determine its success. The secret to that success? Choose a good developer. 

A good developer will offer their professional advice as to what are the best ways for you to achieve your goals on the web. They will learn about your business and encourage you to define what your goals are, offer their solutions and ideas, and develop a website that works for you. No two websites are the same, no two website owners are the same – why should a developers approach to any number of projects be the same?

Australia has long been considered by some to be a "Wild West" of the SEO world - largely because the SEM market Downunder is relatively immature in comparison to the US or even UK markets. It wasn't so long ago, that simply having a website in Australia was enough to be found on page one on search engine results. These days website owners are recognising that to rank well, and to compete for page 1 positions, optimisation is critical.

One of the final sessions at the conference involved Danny and Rand reviewing a couple of websites with a plan to offer advice as to how they could be better optimised. As a part of the analysis Danny & Rand (very entertainingly) stumbled across a third party site that was using a very "Wild West" technique known as "cloaking". Cloaking involves providing different content to search engine spiders, than that which is served to the normal site visitor (via a browser).

Cloaking is a technique frowned upon by Google (and other search engines) and clearly warned against in their webmaster guidelines. Unfortunately for this particular site, Adam Lasnik (from the Google anti spam team), happened to also be on the panel for this session - the whole subdomain was delisted, and disappeared completely from Google search result listings within 24 hrs.

Using spammy (or black hat) techniques is unfortunately not that unusual, but what is particularly scary about this case, is that the site in question belongs to one of Australia’s most well recognised brands. This begs the question - Why would such a well known company use such a dodgy technique ? I think that the answer to this is pretty straightforward - simple ignorance.

I don't believe that the company intentionally set out to deceive the search engines. There was actually some logic behind what they were trying to achieve - the page was largely image based, and the cloaked content was simply text that appeared within the images. However, the technique they (or more accurately their technical advisers) chose to use, happened to conflict with Google’s page guidelines. Given the very public forum that "outed" the site, Google had little choice but to take action.

I've subsequently done a little detective work - and have identified a whole swag of other sites and pages using the exact same ill conceived idea. I believe that the high profile delisting, has probably given many of these sites a wakeup call, and they are scrambling to try and resolve the problem - before they too are delisted.

Ireckon we see Education as a very important part in our role as Professional Search Engine Optimisers. Teaching our clients the best way to optimise their sites, as well as why they should do it is important.

This event has highlighted to me, that knowing what to do is maybe not enough. Knowing what not to do may be just as important - particularly for business owners who are self taught or are following the technical advice of so-called specialists.

I have therefore decided to publish a series of posts describing some of the more common spammy or "black hat" optimisation techniques. Some of these techniques may have had some positive impact in rankings in the past - but these days are more likely to result in pages or even entire sites being "banned".

In this series I intend providing an overview of these techniques - what they are trying to achieve - how to identify them - but not necessarily how to apply them. Initially I intend covering some of the more blatant black hat tricks such as - Hidden Text, Keyword Stuffing, Doorway Pages, Link Farming, and of course Cloaking. If there are any specific techniques you would like me to include, please leave a comment.

The amount of times this has happened throughout my years as a web designer is certainly many and from a designer's perspective (well from my own experiences at least) it creates an immediate designers block. This is not to say that a great result won't be achieved in the end, it just means it is much harder to arrive there.

One of the most important ingredients in a businesses brand identity is your logo. This is the building block of your image. All your advertising tools from websites to brochures to ads etc. will naturally flow from your logo. Let's also not forget that this is what a business will fundamentally be recognized by. If I was to mention companies such as Apple, Ford Motors or Coca Cola you would immediately be able to visualize their logo, this hasn't happened through sloppy logo design.

Business owners need to understand the importance of their logo and that it can affect how customers perceive the business.

When creating a website with a great logo the whole design process will flow nicely, it all just comes together naturally. A great looking logo means a great looking site.

Soon after I started with ireckon and we were talking about systemizing the business, I was shown a great example of the degree to which you can systemize a process.

It’s an action plan for How to Make Coffee, found in Michael Gerber’s book The E Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. Just click on the link to have a look at the plan. From expected results to standards to be met, the plan covers everything a coffee-drinking E-Myth Worldwide employee needs to know about how and when to make coffee.

Have we gone to that degree at ireckon? Not quite, but we’ve gone a long way to putting systems in place that help guide our staff to do their jobs properly.

A perfect example is how to answer the telephone. At ireckon we have a ‘standard’ for how you answer the phone. Firstly, it MUST be answered within 3 rings. Then those of you who ring should always be greeted with, “Good morning/afternoon, ireckon it’s {your name}.” On each desk we have laminated instructions on how to answer the phone and the most appropriate words to respond with (and those not to use). It has helped all of us and ensures answering the telephone is an easy task.

So what should be systemized? Basically anything that needs to be done more than once! From creating templated documents, to how to answer the telephone, through to when to send accounts, or how to make a sale, a system should be put in place for it all.

Of course our systems are by no means complete and we are constantly reviewing and creating new ones as roles expand, but by having them, they have definitely helped me when I’ve had to step into other people’s roles to cover holiday leave.

Ireckon every business should look to systemizing. It’s amazing how much easier it is to complete your role – as long as you follow them of course!

After studying Multimedia full time for three years at Griffith University and graduating with a Bachelors degree, I was finally ready to start my IT career. I applied at a couple of local Internet companies with a lightweight CV that really only contained past University projects. With no other previous experience within the industry as an employee other than 4 weeks of work experience, I was struggling to get call backs on my applications. Lucky for me, there was one place that was willing to give me a chance, and it turned out to be the only chance I needed.

I have worked at Ireckon for little more than one year now and I can easily say that I have learnt more in that time than in three years of University. Not just about designing websites, but also about business techniques, project management, client liaison, SEO, marketing, and much more. People say that you learn something new everyday, well in this industry, I think its more than just one thing. After just one year I don't just update websites, I also work on large scale projects, provide training to clients on our Content Management Systems, give support on a lot of ARK related customer queries, and I still enjoy it.

The Internet Service business is a fast changing one and sometimes it's hard to keep up, you are almost forced to learn something new everyday and that's one of the things I love about doing what I do. However, with all this being said I'm not proposing that University didn't teach me anything. I don't think I could have picked a better course that would get me more ready for what I'm doing now, but unfortunately it's a fact that is often overlooked by employers.

So if you are looking to recruit and a resume lands in your in-box from a University graduate, don't judge it too much by its cover. Give that person a chance with at least an interview or a phone call so that you can get to know them on a personal level as well as a professional one. Who knows, they might just appear to be more than what's on paper.

Of course, 20/20 hindsight is a wonderful thing and I now understand what they were on about. When you are just mucking about programming at home or for uni you are likely to be the only person to ever look at the code and you know what it does so its never a problem.

However, once you start working as a professional programmer you are suddenly in a position where you have to update or maintain other people's code and its then that you suddenly realise the importance of coding standards.

Obviously, 'coding standards' is a bit of a misnomer as they are not usually standard across the entire industry but, as long as an organisation has coding standards and its programmers largely stick to them it certainly makes it a lot easier to read and understand code then it would if everyone just churned out their own special brand of gelatinous blob which passed for code.

So, next time you are getting your hands dirty and doing some coding please try to keep in mind the following guidelines:

• Use comments to explain what the code is doing, especially for complex operations
• Indent your code so that the scope of the code is clear. When indenting you can choose to use either tabs or spaces but, whichever you choose, ensure that you remain consistent
• Use meaningful variable and function names that concisely describe the variable or function's purpose
• Use functions and methods to avoid repeating similar blocks of code over and over