I love taking tests. Sounds weird, I know, but I love learning, and tests are a quick way for me to discover what I don’t know and immediately pinpoints an area or two that I can improve on. And I found a website SEO tool that tests your website and gives you a grade. Sandstorm Design got 99/100!

When it comes to SEO and marketing your website, the high level concepts don’t often change (write strong original content, continue to add to that content, attract quality links, etc). What does change are all the new things you can do to increase your odds that people will come back to your website and promote your content, which in turn drives more traffic. Of all the website SEO tools, I like Website Grader. (and no, they didn’t pay for that link). When I find a tool I like, I share it. And what I like most is that Website Grader put together in a very organized fashion what they look for in the analysis, what you can do to improve your website, and if you want more help, where to go. And it’s free.

Zak recently emailed me an article about why bronze medalists are happier than those who win silver, with a small note that read “reminded me of you”. I didn’t even have to read the article to know what he meant. I hate the B+, the second place, the silver, the most defeating words from a potential client, “We really struggled with this decision, the two companies we narrowed down to were so great…” you know the rest. You get the B+, the 89%, the race through your head if there was anything else you could have done, had a stronger pitch, shown more expertise, presented a more cohesive plan, a better demo, etc.

For years we have been working on going for the gold, striving to make that emotional connection, and helping our clients do the same. Strategic marketing and strong branding can’t necessarily help silver medalists, but it can help companies who are tired of hearing from their sales team that a competitor just won their business, again. With strong positioning, a consistent brand, and a strategic message, marketing can bring a brand to life, clearly demonstrate added value, and in the end, be that one “gut” feeling that makes your company win the gold (over and over again). Ready to start training for that gold medal?

Welcome David Powers, Senior Interactive Web Developer - the newest addition to the Sandstorm Design user experience and technology team! We are so excited to have David driving our interactive web development with his unique skill set of flash and flex application development, database development, php, ajax and his X factor – SEO optimization! And even better than that – David is a professional piano player and musical genius.

Welcome David. We can’t wait to work with you.

Hello world! Sandstorm Design is starting the year off right and our Chicago office is hiring! Our ideal candidate is a senior level interactive web developer with flash, flex, php, jquery, ajax, and database skills. After you have all that, we want to hear about what else you have up your sleeve? Do you dabble in facebook applications? Mobile apps? Are you interested in what Adobe is doing with Cold Fusion? Or do you prefer to edit video in your spare time?

At Sandstorm, you have the job you are hired for, and then you have your X factor.Whatever your X factor is, we want to hear about it! The senior interactive web developer we are looking for must be brilliant, innovative and fearless. I know it may seem like we’re asking for the world, but we’re asking the world to find us our senior developer.

Interested in applying? Contact us and send us your resume, sample urls, and your X factor.

Are you an overachiever? Sandstorm Design is hiring! Our interactive agency in Chicago is seeking a part-time Interactive Copywriter to join our team with an entrepreneurial spirit :) We want to hear from you!

Candidates must have a minimum of 2 years of Interactive Copywriting experience in an agency environment, with a heavy background in SEO copywriting. We are looking specifically for web sites, articles, press releases, e-newsletters, and blog entries that really capture the personality of the client you were doing the copywriting for. (We don’t need you to have any CSS or html skills as we have a web development team on staff.) If you have link building experience, that’s a plus!

Our dream candidate for this job is a quick and sharp copywriter, with exceptional writing skills and attention to detail who understands SEO and internet marketing. A copywriter who is ambitious, driven and a self-starter to come up with your own ideas, conduct your own marketing research, and be comfortable researching new SEO opportunities. Your deadlines will be your responsibility in our fast-paced environment.

To apply for this copywriting job, please submit resume, hourly rate, writing samples/urls and hours you are available to jobs@sandstormdesign.com. Resumes without interactive copywriting samples will not be considered. Please NO phone calls. If you have any questions, please comment to this post and we will respond for all to see.

We are starting 2010 with a bang by being featured in the business section of today’s Chicago Tribune. The article, “Small Businesses See Good Omens for 2010,” talks to small business owners anticipating new opportunities and significant growth in the coming year. In addition to a few key quotes, the Tribune also took a photo of us in the office during construction. I love that during this “economic time,” the news is printing stories of hope, optimism, and growth. And I am honored to be a part of that story. Thank you Ann Meyer for such a great article!

It was a fun morning waking up to a series of emails from friends and family that had seen the paper before I did. And the best phone call was from my grandparents (ages 87 and 88) who not only had a copy for themselves, but asked all their neighbors for theirs so now they have a collection of their “famous granddaughter.” I have an incredible family, and am so grateful that my grandparents have not only seen the birth of my two children, but the growth of Sandstorm as well. My grandma asked me today what we do at Sandstorm, so I explained that we build web sites and interactive web applications, then gave her an example of what an interactive web application is. After a few silent moments, she finally said “so you work on computers?”

Sometimes at Sandstorm your day at the office is nothing like your job description. Here’s a few people that have contributed in big ways this week. I really appreciate that all of these things got done without a hitch. (deep sigh of pure appreciation for your random talents and strengths)

- Thank you Alma for stuffing, sorting, organizing our mailing list, buying stamps and mailing all of our holiday cards. And an extra thanks for going to IKEA with a fever and cold so we could get our furniture delivered this week!
- Thank you Zachary for building all of our IKEA furniture.
- Thank you Jon for moving all of the heavy bookshelves across the office floor.

I am positive that I miss opportunities to thank people every day, but I will work on that as a new year’s resolution :)

Our big reveal – Sandstorm Design has officially expanded. We took down the plastic barrier to reveal our new addition. IKEA delivered all of our furniture, so I can imagine we’ll have small teams building out the desks, tables, and chairs all day. Our current space is still cluttered, but we’ll work all week on organizing our chaos. It’s a proud day here at Sandstorm as our interactive/user experience/marketing/web design agency expands our footprint! (Clearly we’re still working out what adjective best describes us. We struggle just like our clients.)

The blue huddle room that you can see lit up is what we call our ‘fish bowl’ because of the large amount of windows and the deep blue interior. By tomorrow we should have our table and chairs in there ready for some official Sandstorming (i.e. our marketing term for brainstorming)! If Zachary is around, I am sure he’ll take more photos. He has been our photo journalist on this rehab adventure.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a half day! The Chicago Tribune was here to shoot some photos of the office for an upcoming story in January, and the painters are finishing up some of the trim. They got some great shots of our sweeping plastic drape and cluttered space. We’ve got the holiday shopping spirit and are doing some group online shopping at IKEA to get new desks, conference room tables, and chairs. Our plan is to take down the curtain on Monday to do our formal unveil of the new addition, and of course we’ll have photos!

We’re taking a half day today to start the holiday weekend early, so Merry Christmas everyone!