At BitWise, we pride ourselves in being the premier web development firm in Indiana.  We don't build all of our Websites with a Content Management System, but only when the client's needs require one. 

Last year we began developing Websites, when necessary, with a content management system platform built by internationally recognizable Kentico CMS for ASP.NET. We have tried many different content management systems over the years and this one has proven in a short amount of time to be one of the best out there.  It's very easy to use for the end-user, our clients, and is relatively painless to work with for our Web developers from a coding standpoint.

We recently launched a new Website for The Farmers Bank using the Kentico CMS platform and the Website ranked in the Top 10 Kentico Websites developed in February!  This is a great honor to receive for only having been developing Websites with the Kentico CMS for less than a year. 

We are proud to receive this status for our Web development efforts here in Indianapolis and it just goes to show that Indiana is producing more than just corn and soybeans.  There are numerous companies based in Central Indiana that are receiving awards left and right for technological advancements and forward thinking. 

Even if our "Top 10" award seems like no big deal, it is a big deal to those of us around the BitWise offices...it reaffirms to us that the work product we are delivering is still top quality and it gives us the satisfaction of knowing that our client is going to benefit greatly from the Website or application we developed for them. 

Of course we like to think our deliverables are quality but it's always better to know that other people think it's good too - other people's opinions matter way more than our own.  Thank you Kentico and thank you Farmers Bank!

With Internet usage up by almost 133% in North America since the dawn of the new millennium and almost three quarters of all Americans using the internet on a regular basis it is no doubt that the Web has come to be a mainstay of how we conduct life and business.  With the way Websites and Internet based applications have exploded over the last decade and a half, the world has not seen advancement in the wealth and ease of access to information like ever before.  There also seems to be nothing that indicates that the Internet will digress from its current growth patterns.  Its impact on businesses will continue to be greater than anything we have seen, certainly since, if not surpassing the Industrial Revolution.

What is most interesting is how the internet has and will affect businesses and organizations.  It already has greatly impacted the way we do business on a daily basis.  For instance, this morning the internet at our office was down for about an hour and we all sat there at our desks wondering what we were going to do to keep busy!  We even made comments about what people did before the Internet as if nothing was ever accomplished before it!

Our businesses depend on it; our social lives thrive on it; even our governments and infrastructure depend on the ability to transfer information and data rapidly.  The real question lies in what the Internet will bring in the future.  How will Web technology affect hospitals 10 years from now?  How will manufacturing companies be using Web applications to improve production or increase efficiencies within their processes?

I read an article the other day in Inc. Magazine that talked about a whole new wave of businesses that will emerge from the development of electric vehicles.  Many of the needs surrounding the facilitation of such will require Web based applications to make it practical if not even feasible.  They talked about a vast ecosystem of “connected cars.”  Don’t think the Internet will have a huge part to play in that?  Think again.  As we become more and more dependent on technology, our reliance on Web applications will become increasingly relevant. 

We have decided to base our business model around the growth and proliferation of Web based applications and database driven Website development because we believe that the Internet will continue to make an ever growing impact on the way the world does business.  We are more than just a Web design and development company; we want to take Websites to a whole new level with rich, data-driven applications.

My question for you is, “How will the Internet affect your business and what are you doing to prepare for that now?”  Don’t get caught behind the 8-ball; you must begin thinking, planning, and strategizing around Web technology today – the success of your business and livelihood will depend on it!

I attended the MBO 2009 conference yesterday hosted by Jim Brown and the search engine marketing gurus, EverEffect.  There were some really great speakers and topics tailored around the integration of marketing and technology and with over 200 people in attendance, it was a great event all around!  Some of the topics included:

    * External SEO: Google’s Most Heavily Weighted Aspect by Slingshot SEO’s Jeremy Dearringer;
    * Proving and Improving ROI in Paid Search by EverEffect’s Jim Brown
    * 8 Steps to Squeeze More Out of Your Marketing Leads by Right On Interactive’s Troy Burk
    * The Business Case for Twitter by SilverSquare’s Raquel Richardson
    * The Legal Landscape of Corporate Blogging by Alerding Castor Hewitt’s David Castor
    * Among many others!

The event was a great collaborative effort by many different companies from Indianapolis and abroad but if I had to pick just one thing I learned from yesterday’s conference it would be the session put on by Jeremy Dearringer of Slingshot SEO.  His speech on driving organic SEO traffic to your Website through obtaining links back to your site was invaluable.

There are lots of ways to get links back to your site.  Some of them are more valuable than others and some of them could get you major boosts and some could even hurt you.  The best thing to do is to examine your specific situation and come up with a program that works for your business with the time and resources available to you.  For example, as a Website development firm in Indianapolis, we have the opportunity to get tons of high quality links back to our Website through our client’s Websites.  I knew that backlinks were huge for SEO purposes, but Jeremy’s talk opened my eyes to how much SEO benefit we are missing out on when links back to our Website are not included in the design and implementation of our client’s Websites, with obvious granted permission from the client.  This is a great opportunity to not only bolster our own SEO efforts but to help our clients SEO efforts too by including links to our clients sites on our own Website.

Thank you Mr. Dearringer for the reminder that “Google’s Most Heavily Weighted Aspect” is backlinks… I am inclined to heed your advice.  Why wouldn’t I believe someone who studies this stuff day-in and day-out?

My take-away from this lesson: focus on getting lots of good, quality links back to your Website and watch your Google rankings soar!