Location 1: A good place to start is in your own backyard. Make sure that you business is on Google maps (Link) You will need to have a Google account, so once you set one up, go into your account and spend some time filling out the online form. It’s very important to use the kind of keywords that prospective leads would use to find your business and services on a Google search.
This SEO tip works very well because when ever someone does a local search (i.e. Web Design Boronia) Google uses it’s map feature to list all the local services in that area. This can lift you above all the competition without spending one single Adword dollar.
You could also ask happy customers to leave feedback on the review page. This may push your listing higher within the location list.

Location 2: Geotags! Ok this is a new one on me, but we are currently testing it out and results are positive. It seems to work in the same way as Google maps, by giving search engines your global position. You will probably get better organic rankings for localized search requests. The theory being that a search for ‘web design’ by someone located in Boronia, will show the same kind of results as ‘web design boronia’. You can get your ‘GeoTags’ from this website by typing in your address.

Location 3: Putting a location within a webpage heading is an easy, yet very effective way to tell Google and potential customers that the information on a page is relevant to their local search. As an example: if I want to sell more ‘Widgets‘ to customers in ‘Boronia‘ then I would firstly add content to the page that refers to Widgets in Boronia and then name the page something like ‘Widgets for all your widget needs in Boronia’.
Now when someone in Boronia searches for local widget or Widgets Boronia, Google will put your Widgets page before your competitors page that talks about Widgets in Victoria.

Google is like a monster oil tanker that takes a very long time to change direction, so don’t expect instant results. You should take a snap shot of where you are on Google today. Test and measure times can be as long as 6 weeks to take effect.

So I wanted to make the Avalanche 404 page a little bit more entertaining and amusing, to avoid the usual negative reaction of hitting the 404 wall. If you ever find yourself on our 404 page, then please let me know what you were looking for. I have box under my desk full of lost and found items, you never know, it maybe in there.

I’ve been meaning to fix this page for a very long while… It’s that leaky plumbers tap syndrome. But the refreshing Xmas holidays has left me with energy spare at the end of the day to do a little house work.
Well, not actually house work, Pete is still in charge of the studio vacuum cleaner and I avoid the office washing up as much as I can.

Rooted by one of the nation’s founding principles, We Are All Workers hits the road with nine seminal screenings proving that everybody’s work is equally important. True to form, each screening will be in the location where the film was shot or set.

Inspired by the spirit of the American worker, the Alamo Drafthouse and Levi’s® have curated an eclectic line up that ranges from the the birth of the oil nation in Paul Thomas Anderson’s THERE WILL BE BLOOD to the futuristic corporate nightmare of Paul Verhoven’s ROBOCOP. Championship contenders are crowned and humbled as Sylvester Stallone embarks on an an epic ROCKY-THON on the Liberty Steps, while Marlon Brando is washed-up ON THE WATERFRONT of the New Jersey docks. Law breakers are saluted as DIRTY HARRY takes to San Francisco’s Washington Square Park, Quentin Tarantino with JACKIE BROWN (schedule permitting), and Chicago’s finest, THE BLUES BROTHERS tear their musical mission from God across the country. Closing out the Roadshow is the the defining immigrant worker story of THE GODFATHER: PART II which will screen from the rooftops and chimney stacks of New York’s Little Italy.

And this is a new poster for The American. George Clooney stars in the title role of this suspense thriller, filmed on location in Italy.

Should you Fire your Website?

So you employed a sales person who just isn’t bringing in the deals you were expecting, maybe they don’t always arrive on time or their appearance just seemed a little….. er… downbeat…. you would have something to tell them, wouldn’t you?
Maybe they are hard to find, even when you looked in all the usual places. Going to their home address, you discover that what they had to say was just a bit dull or even worse, there was a coming soon sign in the window…… well you would fire them…. wouldn’t you?

Your website is often the first point of contact with clients or customers. It needs to represent the very best aspects of your brand, product or service.
Take an objective, unbiased, good hard look at your website and imagine that it’s a person, an employee.

So how did that go? what would you say about your choice of representative? See any similarities to the person in this introduction?

Perhaps you chose your web designer based on price not experience. You wouldn’t hire a top sales person without first looking at their CV and results with other businesses…. would you?
It’s always a good idea to take time to look over a designers previous work and ask many questions about each project. At Avalanche Creative, we offer a free 45min consultation to make sure that both parties are equally happy to have a long term working relationship.

Just like a great employee, your website is a long term commitment that needs to change and grow with your business, so you need to find a creative partner that understands your business almost as much as you do.

“We’re a bit like a great recruitment agency who go out of their way to find you that perfect key member of staff and then continue to train them so you get the very best from them” – Andy Warrington – Creative Director

A well designed and constructed website, works harder and longer than any staff member, at a fraction of the annual cost. Your initial investment needs to be adjusted, directed, updated and developed regularly to get the most back for it, Just like any good sales team.

So…. are you ready to fire your website?

Angie was born in 2002 and comes from Honduras, her favourite subject at school is Mathematics. We would love to post her photo up on our blog, but for privacy and security reasons ‘World Vision’ don’t allow it. So you’ll have to take my word for it when I tell you how pretty and bright she is.

We plan to keep updating this post with her progress as and when we get information from her village. Sponsoring a ‘World Vision’ child is easy and hugely rewarding for everyone involved.

The great guys at Surface Interiors helped us design and build an awesome tabe for the studio. Working in conjunction with Andy at Avalanche, Tony and the team from Surface Interiors created a custom piece for us in record time!

I was inspired by ‘The TARDIS’ from that great TV series ‘Doctor Who’. I was brought up with the likes of John Pertwee running around the TARDIS work station, saving toe world from the Dalek invasion. The shape and form seem to work for him, so I based the studio desk arrangement around the same central communication hub concept.

Built in our corporate colours (orange of course), the table is designed to be communal and makes it so much easier for us to communicate to each other about projects. It’s so easy to share ideas and notes in this setup, it’s great! It also allows the studio to grow in size as we can now fit in more people into the same space.

It looks really impressive in real life, so why not pop down and check it out (and get to know us!)

** We’re also recreating the Surface Interiors site to make it SEO compatible and friendly, as well as building in a CMS system for the guys so they can easily update their website whenever they complete a new project. Stay tuned, we’ll keep you updated.

A bit dramatic perhaps but loads of fun, memorable and a great way to introduce our team and what we do.

*psst! We’re growing this year and adding a few more team members! Stay tuned*

To view in all its glory, you will need a pair of 3D (red green) cellophane glasses.

If you’re interested in seeing one in the flesh, please contact us and we’ll send one out!

Avalanche has partnered with illustrator Nick Diggory to create a charity website for young Connor Maclean. Connor has an amazing story. Diagnosed with V.A.T.E.R. syndrome and Crohns Disease since birth, he’s undergone over 40 operations in his 10-year life. Still, you’d never know it from that bright smile and positive attitude. This website is really a platform for him to share his story, thoughts and his inspirational zest for life.

Client: Connor Maclean • Design: Andy • Coding: John • Illustration: Nick • info@avalanchecreative.com.au