Why do I need to blog? Not only are you establishing a relationship with your readers and prospective clients, you are positioning yourself as a leader or expert in your industry! 

Turn your knowledge and purpose into expertise status
Web users are not looking for your website, they are looking for answers to a problem they are having.  You are the expert in your industry, right? Share your expertise with the world. Help your visitors find a solution to the problem they are having. Start blogging today!

Also, according to a recent survey by HubSpot, 57% of companies using blogs reported that they acquired customers from leads generated directly from their blog. They go on to find that businesses are now in the minority if they do not blog. From 2009 to 2011 the percentage of businesses with a blog grew from 48% to 65%.

Develop an online presence through your blog
Show your readers that there is a human behind your blog. Show your passion about what you do and when you do, the words flow effortlessly, from the heart.  Include an “About” page on your blog website that has information about you, the author and a picture or a 60-second infomercial video of you.  See my previous blog “Use Video for your website.”

Search Engines
 Be consistent with your blog. Google and the other search engines LOVE fresh, new content and they index websites that are updated on a regular basis. Therefore, Google recommends blogging at least once a week if not more and try to use at least 180 words or more in your blog but no more than 500-700.

Promote your blog and increase your traffic (SEO = Search Engine Optimization)
If you start blogging on regular basis, don’t get discouraged if your visitors are not commenting on your blog posts. Let your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and the world know about your blog.   Ask them to read and post comments on your blog and remember, don’t forget to reply to their comments.   This is how you establish a rapport and relationship with your customers and prospective clients. Blogging is all about building a community. The larger your community, the larger your readership.

After your blog/website is created, search engines need to know it exists. Submit your main blog website address (URL) to the big three search engines to ensure it is indexed properly.

• Google: http://www.google.com/submityourcontent/
• Bing: https://ssl.bing.com/webmaster/SubmitSitePage.aspx
• Yahoo: http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit

You can also add your business listing to several online resources:  http://getlisted.org/

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I am always looking for  ways to keep my WordPress website free of hackers and spammers.  Of course, it’s important to keep a backup copy of your website as well.  I ran across this  a very informative, resource filled web site and blog post by Daniels Mekšs @ 1stwebdesigner.com. Take the time to  read the blog post, bulletproof your website and follow the advice of Daniels Mekss.

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35 Security Plugins to Make Your WordPress Bulletproof

WordPress is the most popular blogging platform today. It’s being used by thousands of people all around the world. But because of the popularity, it’s getting more attention by hackers and spammers too. WordPress is very secure by itself, but there’s never too much ascertainable.

For simple users,who don’t code a lot, plugins is the best way to secure your blog. They’re free, easily usable and safe. This post assembles 35 best plugins to make your blog bulletproof. They’re each devised for different purposes, so you will get the best protection from each field.

Continue reading  more at: http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/wordpress/security-plugins-wordpress-bulletproof/

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A WordPress Plugin (also known as a widget) is a program, or a set of one or more functions, written in the PHP scripting language, that adds a specific set of features or services to the WordPress weblog.  Plugins can be seamlessly integrated with the weblog using access points and methods provided by the WordPress Plugin Application Program Interface (API).

Other terms used to describe widgets include: gadget, badge, module, capsule, snippet, mini and flake. These add some content to that page that is not static. Some types include photo galleries, random quotes, RSS feeds, and recent posts, among many others.

Plugins can extend WordPress to do almost anything you can imagine and really customize the look of your website. In the directory you can find, download, rate, and comment on all the best plugins the WordPress community has to offer.  http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/

Here is a list of must-have plugins. Most of the plugins are free. 

• Akismet:  Install and set up immediately as Akismet checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not.
• All in One SEO Pack: WordPress SEO plugin to automatically optimize your WordPress blog for Search Engines.
• BAAP Mobile Version:  easily convert your website to be compatible with mobile phones
• BuddyPress: Social networking in a box. Build a social network for your company, school, sports team or niche community. ($$)
• bbPress: bbPress is forum software with a twist from the creators of WordPress
• Fast Secure Contact Form: Installs a functioning contact form for your “Contact Us” page
• Google Analyticator:  (requires a Google Analytics #)  Adds the necessary JavaScript code to enable Google Analytics. Includes widgets for Analytics data display
• Google XML Sitemaps v3 for qTranslate:  This plugin will generate a special XML sitemap which will help search engines to better index your blog.
• Hotfix: Provides unofficial fixes for selected WordPress bugs, so you don’t have to wait for the next WordPress core release.
• Jetpack by WordPress.com:  Supercharge your WordPress site with powerful features previously only available to WordPress.com users.
• MailChimp Widget:  Allows your email subscribers to subscribe/opt-in to your newsletter
• Mollom (instead of Akismet): A plugin that brings the power of Mollom to WordPress and makes your website spam free and free of hackers!
• Share and Follow: Add Share Icons, Follow Links, Facebook Like, Twitter Tweet and other buttons in the way you want. Simple & adaptable social networking.
• Tumblr Importer: Import posts from a Tumblr blog.
• Widget Logic: This plugin allows you to customize your sidebars. Once installed, refer to the authors website of this really cool plugin.
• WordPress Firewall 2: This WordPress plugin monitors web requests to identify and stop the most obvious attacks from hackers.
• WordPress Google +1 Button: Advanced Plugin, Includes Redirection
• WordPress Related Posts: WordPress Related Posts Plugin will generate a related posts via WordPress tags, and add the related posts to feed.
• Wufoo Shortcode Plugin:
• WP Super Cache: A very fast caching engine for WordPress that produces static html files.
• Yoast Bread Crumbs:  visitors to your website should know where they are at all times.  Intalling breadcrumbs will let them know.

How do I install a plugin?  Click here to read more…… (link to new blog post)

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It is well known that people are more likely to buy from a site where there is a short video presentation of the business owner. This is a simple way for the visitors to connect and experience a trust for the website and business.

Just recently, I did an analysis of how my clients found me: 85% of my male clients found me online through an organic search using Google or Yahoo. I always ask each client why they called and/or decided to work with me as their web designer and online marketing strategist, every single one of them said that they made their decision based on the video I have on my website ( you can watch it below). They felt a connection with me as they watched my 60-second infomercial. This goes to show you how powerful a personalized video can make with your website visitor.

Having a video on your website is an easy way for customers to learn about what the website has to offer. Having video is a more convenient way for customers to learn about products and services than it is for them to read about it. Customers like it so much in fact that according to MetaCafe, having a video on a website can retain the attention of visitors ten times longer than a website without video (metacafe.com).

Another suggestion, make sure that all video and audio can be controlled by the user, so that it doesn’t start up without the visitor pushing on a play-button.

Every business should have a video or video series on the home page of their website. Create a 30, 60 or 90 second infomercial using a flip camera, iPhone/Smart Phone, camera, or video camera. Keep it short and simple! Follow one simple rule – use a tripod!  Having video on your website not only allows you to advertise on your website, but also on popular video sites like:

• Youtube                           http://www.youtube.com
• MetaCafe                           http://www.metacafe.com/
• DailyMotion.com                  http://www.dailymotion.com/us
• MetaCafe.com
                  http://vimeo.com
• TubeMogul.com
                  http://www.tubemogul.com
• BlipTV.com
                           http://blip.tv
• Vimeo.com                           http://vimeo.com

Here is a video I created using my Sony Bloggie (similar to a Flip camera). The video is less than 2 minutes but it has proven to be extremely effective! My 11-year-old son shot the video – it took another five minutes to upload it to YouTube. Easy!!

What resources do you use to add video to your website? Please feel free to share!

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How Can Article Directories Help my Site?
Anyone with a website knows that the key to success lies in the amount of traffic it gets. To get more traffic your site needs to appear high up in the search results, with all of the major search engines. You can always build a great site and make sure to have quality SEO content which is picked up easily by the search engines but this is not enough. You can rest assure that there are plenty of other sites with great quality content and the same services and products. So what should you do to advance your site? One of the major SEO strategies for more traffic is called “backlinks.” Backlinks are links placed in other sites and they point to yours.

When you place an article in a directory online with links to your site you reap two major benefits:

1) People who read the articles will click on the links and come to visit your site.
2) Search engines, like Google, crawl the article directories and see the links. The fact that other serious sites points to yours is very good for a higher page rank which means that you can reach a higher position in the search results.

There are over 40,000 article directories on the Internet. Here are just a few:

Www.freearticlesubmission.org
Ezinearticles.com
www.free-press-release.com

http://www.pr.com/

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/

www.prfree.com/

http://www.przoom.com/

www.openexchange.com

http://service.prweb.com/pricing/

Articlesalley.com
A1articles.com
goArticles.com
Article city.com
Articlesnatch.com
Articlesbase.com
www.goarticles.com
www.free-press-release.com

http://www.pr.com/

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/

www.prfree.com/

http://www.przoom.com/

www.openexchange.com

http://service.prweb.com/pricing/

Be sure to check out this website! This website provides a list of directories and how they rank with Google! http://www.vretoolbar.com/articles/directories.php

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With frequent email campaigns, you can keep your business top-of-mind with subscribers and drive them to your website or company blog, ultimately increasing the chances of a sale.

Here are several choices for Email Marketing.

MailChimp.com {FREE for the first 2,000 email addresses}
VerticalResponse.com {FREE for non-profit organizations}
AWeber.com
ConstantContact.com
iContact.com
1ShoppingCart.com
Infusionsoft.com

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How to Select a Web Host
Once you’ve registered your domain name, it’s time to choose a web host. A web host is a business that rents out the server space on which you store all of your website’s files.  Look for a web host that’s backed by a reliable corporation with a good reputation for customer service . For instance, it’s probably safer to use Blue Host, Hostmonster, or  GoDaddy.com than a small host (ma and pa) you don’t know or are not familiar with.

If you are paying more than $10 a month for hosting, you are paying way too much!   I am currently hosting 10-15 domain names and I pay only $4.99 a month with Blue Host. 

Hosting Features

Before signing a contract, make sure you understand the hosting features available to you:

• Shared vs. dedicated hosting: With shared hosting plan, your site shares space with other sites on a server, whereas with a dedicated server plan, a server is reserved exclusively for your website. Shared hosting plans are less costly but may make your web pages load more slowly. Unless your site attracts thousands of users per day, though, shared hosting should suffice.
• Disk space: This is the amount of space your site can take up on your rented server. Exactly how much disk space you need depends on the number of pages you expect your site to contain and what types of files you plan to offer users.  For instance, images and audio files take up much more space than text files. Opt for a host that offer at least 3 gigabytes (GB) of storage space.
• Data transfer: Also known as bandwidth. this is the amount of data you can transfer from your site to other computers in a given month. Be sure to choose a plan with data transfer limits of at least 100GB per month.
• POP/SMTP access:  This type of email protocol allows you to use email addresses with your site’s domain (You@yoursite.com).  Most hosts let you use a web-based version of your site’s email for free. If you’d like to download and manage your email on your local desktop, PC, though, be sure your web host offers POP/SMTP access.

Other Hosting Features to Consider

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The first step to register your domain name through a domain name registrar. Once you’ve registered and paid for a domain name, you own it, which means you have the exclusive right to use that domain name for a specified period of time and renew it once that term expires. Domain name registration is usually effective for a year at a time.

Selecting a Registrar

There are many registrars to choose from. The factors to consider when choosing one are accreditation and cost:

Accreditation: Only use a registar listed on the Internet Corporation for Assigned names and Numbers (ICANN) website located at www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html

Cost: Though some registrars charge up to $40-$60 per month, avoid paying no more than $10 per year to register your domain name. Among the most reliabel and cheapest accredited registrars is Go Daddy (www.godaddy.com).

Choosing a Domain Name
Before allowing you to register a domain name, registrars will check to make sure it’s not already registered. To find out whether uou domain name available, visit www.whois.net.

When selecting a name:

• Choose as brief a name as possible.
• Avoid using hyphens, which users can forget easily.
• If names you prefer are all taken, try pluralizing the name, adding “the” to the beginning of the name, or coining an original term.

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The Benefits of Clean Web Design

Clean websites have become very popular thanks to all of their special benefits.

A clean and minimalistic look signals professionalism and this is why people prefer the simple styles over the merry-go-round themes. Today web designers have tools to build interactive playgrounds and shopping centers without much effort. The true skills lie in understanding how to give over a message through a design that supports the site and information in a pleasant and professional way.

The Purpose of Web Design
When the web designers were introduced to Flash and other tools, many became like children with the new possibilities. Numerous sites with sounds and animations went online and while they might have been popular by some most found it annoying to enter a site that was noisy and full of blinking lights. Since then it has become obvious that a regular user will simply close the site if there is a lot of noise and distraction no matter how important the information on the page is. This has forced web designers to focus on the purpose of the design, namely to create an inviting site and this can only be done through clean web design. 

Prestige or True Evaluation
Every professional web designer has a soft spot for new innovations and cool methods for building sites and there is a certain prestige that comes with this job. A skilled designer must have some room for creativity but the end result will only be a success when the web developer knows how to listen and truly evaluate what the client is looking for. If prestige dictates a cool metallic gray with neon navigational buttons but the site is meant for a flower shop the design misses the purpose. The designer must sit down and discuss with the client what the site is going to express and then base the color scheme and layout according to this. This is what clean web design is all about.

How You Will be Perceived
It cannot be stressed enough that your website is your visit card to the world. This is how you will be perceived and if your message drowns in clattery design you lost the chance to make an impact. With clean web design your message gets center stage. Effects for functionality are still there but only for the visitors to enjoy them. Without the effects and animations that take a lot of space, the site will load faster and that is one of the biggest benefits of clean web design! People will stay and learn more because the site is fast and easy to navigate.

If the site is easy and smooth, this is also how you, your business, service and products will be perceived and that is the kind of marketing you don’t want to forgo!

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Article directories are excellent tools for quality link building for your website. Their influence and value for businesses online have been known and understood for many years. However, to advance your site through article directories you must understand what type of articles to add to them and you should also pick the best type of directory for your purpose. The Google update referred to as Google Panda changed the dynamics of online directories and this is also something to understand before you make them part of your SEO strategy.

How Can Article Directories Help my Site?
Anyone with a website knows that the key to success lies in the amount of traffic it gets. To get more traffic your site needs to appear high up in the search results, with all of the major search engines. You can always build a great site and make sure to have quality SEO content which is picked up easily by the search engines but this is not enough. You can rest assure that there are plenty of other sites with great quality content and the same services and products. So what should you do to advance your site? One of the major SEO strategies for more traffic is called “backlinks.” Backlinks are links placed in other sites and they point to yours.

When you place an article in a directory online with links to your site you reap two major benefits:

1)    People who read the articles will click on the links and come to visit your site.
2)    Search engines, like Google, crawl the article directories and see the links. The fact that other serious sites points to yours is very good for a higher page rank which means that you can reach a higher position in the search results.

Advantages of Article Directories
An article with links to your website, placed in an article directory, will continue to draw new traffic to your site, through the methods described above, for as long as you let it stay in the directory. The major article directories are big and get millions of hits each day and this is something to take advantage of. For an example, if you have a site for baby products you will certainly get traffic from Google for this subject. An article directory will also have a section for baby related material and this section will be a lot larger than your site. Therefore it gets higher priority in the search results. This lets you use your article to fish from the big crowd that comes to the directory daily.

The Google Panda Update
People used to insert all sorts of junk into article directories just to get links to their sites for a better page rank with Google. Google decided to do something about this by developing their Google Panda which can weed out the high quality content from the spam. When the Google Panda came into effect many article directories took a serious blow and even went out of business. People said that the great days of the article directories as SEO strategy had come to an end. This is not true! The serious directories have changed their rules so that only high quality content will appear. This means that you can advance your site nicely through article directories if you stick to quality!

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