Test Your Contact Forms Often

This week I was looking for a new landscaping company to cut and trim my grass. I went to a couple of their websites and filled out the contact form then clicked “send”. What happened next is why I am writing this blog.

The forms (on two different sites) returned an error page which meant that they was broken. It made me think, “how long have these forms been broken and how much business have these companies lost because of this?”. Personally, I try to test the contact forms a few times a month for each one of my clients. But, if you are a business owner, you should test it weekly. Think about if you never got that big client that you currently have. That would be infuriating. Continue reading →

Using Content to Improve Ranking

The basic theory to using content for search engine optimization is that while writing unique and relevant articles for your blog or back pages, you not only provide information to inquisitive readers, but you also give search engines more of your keywords to latch onto.

Writing informative content about your subject matter will automatically fill your site with your coveted keywords for a search engine to gobble up. If you sell fidget spinners for instance, you will be including the word fidget spinner in your content repeatedly whether you want to or not. It is impossible to write an article about your product and not include the main focus word. But you will also be including qualifying words, ie, words that usually go hand in hand with your product. Continue reading →

How to Fix This Message in WordPress: Fatal error: Out of memory

This is the dreaded message many WordPress website owners have received over the last few years. But, for those who have seen it before and have dealt with it, it is no big deal. It is just more of an annoying hassle than anything else.

For whatever reason the default memory limit for WordPress is just 32MB. If you build out your site in any substantial way you will exceed this. So, you actually have to hack your own website to increase this limit to allow your site to continue functioning. The reason I say hack your own site is because many times the WordPress functionality is totally incapacitated because of the error. Continue reading →

History of Pay Per Click Fraud

Back when I first started in this business in the very early 2000’s pay-per-click advertising was in its infancy. The sector was overrun with wanna be search engines, fly by night search engines and very few reputable search engines. Search engine optimization was not really an actual thing yet so paying per click was the most viable option. But you had to beware of where you spent your money.

Back then many search engines would claim they supplied search results for Google, MSN and Yahoo but there was no proof that they actually did. The big search companies like those I have just mentioned often times farmed out their paid clicks and split the revenue with the supplier. Continue reading →

Inbound Linking Dos and Don’ts

(Before I even get started, if you are wondering about the grammatical correctness of the title, then this link is for you.)

Having links to your website is good for search ranking. The links are especially valuable when they are coming from sites with relevant content. The idea Google had when adding this to the algorithms all those years ago, is that whenever sites link to you it shows that there is something valuable on your site. It is looked at as a reference or source.

If you are a small business, it is hard to get sites to link to you in this way and some sites will even charge you for linking (even though Google discourages this). One way to build inbound linking is to go to blogs of similar companies and leave a comment. This part can get a little tricky however. When you enter your name as “valued keyword” and link to your site, many blog managers will see that as a spam comment and delete you, even if you leave good relevant comments. Some will approve your comment and you are good to go. But, it is estimated that only 1 out of 5 of these comments gets approved. Continue reading →

SSL Certificate is a Must for Your Site Immediately

With 90% of all internet searches done using Google and 50-60% of all internet users using Google Chrome as their browser of choice, it is imperative to optimize your site to their specifications. Google is always tweaking and changing their search algorithms to better improve the user’s experience. Most recently, Google has made it clear they want all websites to have an SSL certificate.

This certificate is a virtual certification that is installed on the server by the host that shows that the site is secure. In reality, it is just one small piece of security that may add to the visitor’s web safety (or at least feeling of safety). A secure website has less chance of being hacked through contact forms and other scripts running on the site. Continue reading →

Website Ranking and WordPress Plug-Ins

In the late two thousand teens the complexity of what actually composes a website has grown. Now, websites are made up of several key ingredients, all put together and served to the viewer. Google is aware of the way WordPress (or any other CMS for that matter) works and have changed their algorithms over time to adjust to them. The main factors that Google cares about when it comes to WordPress sites are site speed and site security.

Speed

If a website is loaded down with plug-ins and advertisements and takes over 5 seconds to fully load, you can bet that Google will punish it. Continue reading →

Organic vs. Pay Per Click

If you have spent any time trying to promote your site then you know the meaning of these two words. But just in case you don’t here is a quick primer: Organic traffic is clicks that come from the regular search results in the main body of the page. Pay Per Click traffic is the traffic that comes from the “sponsored” section of the search results.

Fifteen years ago you could really get your bang for your buck with pay-per-click advertising. You could get clicks for as little as .10 -.25 cents. The main drawback to the method of getting traffic was that there was a large amount of click fraud perpetrated by the pay-per-click companies themselves as well as your competitors. Even the well-regarded Google was a part of this terrible practice and had to settle a $90 million lawsuit. Continue reading →

WordPress Settings SEO Advice

Search engines have to make sure that they run an easy to navigate portal that helps their users find what they are looking for with minimal clutter. For that reason they have limits on everything do with site descriptions.

Of course you want to be able to stuff as many of your keywords into a title or headline as possible. But you may be hurting your site rather than helping it. Google has a general rule of 60 characters for a page title. That sounds like plenty right? Well, it is not when you take into account that they also list your site/blog title next to every page title in the Google results. And that site title counts against your 60 characters. Continue reading →

Local: Don’t Miss These Great Melbourne, FL Events

Brevard County FL events and activities With events for all happening in and around Melbourne, FL, you can expect to find something that is suited more towards your needs and likes. When visiting the area, this list provides a little something extra for you to check out. Don’t forget to grab something out of the ordinary to eat!

Brevard County Farmer’s Market

If you want to shop for those fresh ingredients for all of your recipes, the Brevard County Farmer’s Market has them all and more. Held on every Thursday of the week from 3 to 6PM, you can expect to see a lot of farmer’s selling their finest ingredients to those that come out. Located at the Wickham Park, they’re excited to see you there! Continue reading →

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