Name of your website?Our Kids Go to School
Your name?
Jim Huinink
Your Location (city, etc)
Mississauga
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Our Kids provides a comprehensive listing of private schools, independent schools and boarding schools from across Canada, along with an advice guide to choosing a school. We also cover day and summer camps in a section of our site called Our Kids Go to Camp.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
The website was originally looked upon as an online component of our annual magazine.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
The website was launched in 1999 and it has always been an online listing of Canadian private schools, boarding schools and day camps.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
The name tries to carry the notion that the wellbeing of children is the responsibility of all Canadian adults.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
Our website is one of the oldest on the web on the subject of Canadian private schools. This is part of the reason for its hihg ranking in google.ca for such terms as "Montessori schools," "private schools," and "boarding schools." We also have a close relationship with bodies like the Canadian Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Canadian Educational Standards Institute (CESI).
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
Our eventual goal is to increase our international presence so that we are the number one resource across many international languages for people looking to educate their children in a Canadian private school.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
The company has had steady growth over the last decade.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
We would probably add more community elements and we might translate the site into every language in the world.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Yes, we have so far.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
We have managed our growth very well, we think, and there have been few headaches thus far.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Taking on the international market of searches for private schools and boarding schools.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Search engine optimisation. Offline advertising through our magazine, carried by the Globe and Mail.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
Websites are deceptively simple looking but they are just as complicated as magazine publishing.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
Our Kids has been operating since 1999. We plan on keeping it up infinitely.
What else can you tell us?
I, Jim Huinink, have served as a website editor for over six years now. I have only been working here for a few months. I have seen very few companies that have been able to so smartly combine an online presence with a print magazine.
What is your website address?
Our Kids Go to School
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