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samedi 12 novembre 2016

11 Email Marketing Mistakes WordPress Users Must Avoid

Thinking about building an email list? Beginner’s often end up making email marketing mistakes that are detrimental to their business. In this article, we will share 11 email marketing mistakes that all WordPress users must avoid.

Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

1. Using WordPress to Run an Email List or Newsletter

WordPress is a robust platform with built-in capability to send email notifications. However, it was not designed to send out email newsletters.

There are plenty of WordPress plugins that allow you to send out newsletter without signing up for an email marketing service. Using such a plugin to build your email list is a terrible idea.

First, your WordPress hosting provider would consider this as a misuse of their terms and service. These mail servers are often poorly configured, have strict limits, and cannot send all your emails at once.

Almost all users who start out with a WordPress plugin or an email script, end up signing up with a proper email marketing service. The switch affects their existing subscribers as many email service providers will ask them to opt-in again.

If you haven’t already done so, then it is time to signup with a reputable email service provider like Constant Contact, AWeber, etc. This will ensure that you don’t lose any email address and that your emails always land into user’s inbox.

For more on this topic, take a look at our article on why you should never use WordPress to send newsletter emails.

2. Confusing Blog Subscription Tools with an Email List

Confusing email list with blog subscription tools

Another common misconception among WordPress users is confusing blog subscription tools with an email list.

Plugins like JetPack or services like Feedburner allow your users to receive blog posts via email. However, this is not really an email list.

You cannot send out private email newsletters to your users with these tools.

You do not own your contacts list.

There are no contact-management, advanced analytics, or any other features

You cannot effectively use such tools to capture more email subscribers

For more on this topic, you may want to see our guide on how to switch from JetPack subscription to MailChimp, Aweber, etc.

3. Not Starting Email List Building Right Away

Missing out by not starting early

Many small businesses and bloggers don’t realize how important it is to use email marketing. They keep adding new content and reach out to audiences on social media, while ignoring the most cost effective marketing tool at their disposal.

Almost 75% visitors coming to your website from search engines will never come back again. Building an email list allows you to reach out to your users, bring them back, and boost your sales.

If you haven’t already started building your email list, then check out our article about why you should start building your email list right away.

4. Not Using a Lead Generation Software

Lead generation

Many users complain that their email list is not growing fast enough or that users are not signing up at all. Some users rely purely on guess work on what would work on their site.

You need to use a lead generation software like OptinMonster to quickly grow your email list. OptinMonster helps you convert abandoning website visitors into email subscribers. See our case study of how we increased our email subscribers by 600% using OptinMonster.

5. Using only a Single Sign up Form

Many bloggers and small business owners just place a signup form on their website and then forget about it. Your users have a shorter attention span, and unless you are a celebrity, most users will probably not even notice your signup form.

You will need to improve your lead generation by placing multiple optin forms at strategic locations. Using OptinMonster, you can use smart popups, slide in forms, after post optins, and many more ways to make your email signup forms more noticeable.

6. Using Too Many Optins and Ruining User Experience

Confusing users with too many choices

While using multiple optins boosts your email signups, using too many optins can have an adverse effect as well. You need to find a balance between a reasonable number of optins and good user experience.

For example, using a popup form, slide in optin, welcome gate, together on the same page can annoy your users. Bad user experience not only discourages users from browsing your website, it can also have a negative effect on your sales and SEO.

We recommend having a combination of a static form (sidebar or inline) and a dynamic form (slide-in, welcome gate, or popup).

7. Not Improving Lead Generation with Testing and Research

Using blind guesses instead of testing and research

Often users turn on a sign up form and then leave it to be.

Without proper strategy and testing, your growth will be stagnant.

You need to regularly check which optins are working on your website and run A/B tests to see how you can improve.

8. Not Using RSS to Email Subscription

RSS to email subscription

Collecting email addresses alone is not going to do anything for your business, unless you use it to engage with your users. You need to send emails to your users and stay in touch with them.

Connecting your blog’s RSS feed to your email list allows you to send email to your users whenever there is a new post on your blog.

It helps users check out new content and learn about your business / services. It also helps you build brand recognition among your users.

For detailed instructions, see our tutorial on how to add email subscription to your WordPress blog.

9. Buying an Email List

Buying an email list is undoubtedly the worst thing you can do to kill your whole email marketing. Those email lists are not real and even if some addresses are real, those people don’t know you and never signed up for receiving emails from you.

You will be sending unsolicited email and risking your brand name to be included into spam filters. You can be banned or penalized by your email service provider. Most importantly, you will be spending a lot more money to get very little response.

10. Ignoring Google Analytics to Boost Signups

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is the treasure trove of useful data that helps you make informed decisions. Many site owners aren’t aware of how they can use this information to build their email list.

If you haven’t yet installed it, then check out our guide on how to install Google Analytics in WordPress. After that follow our guide on how to use Google Analytics to understand how to analyze reports.

More experienced users can jump directly to this guide on how to use Google Analytics to discover ideas for lead magnets.

11. Sending Too Many Emails

We mentioned earlier that not sending enough emails can be a big mistake. Sending too many emails can be equally destructive.

Your users should know how many emails they should expect to receive when they signup. Many sites, including WPBeginner, allow users to choose from weekly, monthly, or daily emails.

If you are not segmenting your list like that, then you will need to find out the balance between a healthy email frequency and an annoying one.

We hope this article helped you learn about the most common mistakes WordPress users make while building their email list. You may also want to see our list of 10 WordPress plugins that will quickly help you get more traffic.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 11 Email Marketing Mistakes WordPress Users Must Avoid appeared first on WPBeginner.

20 Grammar Mistakes and How to Fix Them

alt="20 Grammar Mistakes and How to Fix Them" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/writing--500x266_c.jpg" />

id="floatright">alt="Grammar Guides" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/0507-4.jpg" />

Most online marketing advice focuses on the content of your message: your vocabulary, what information you should include, and how to communicate with your clients and customers. What is just as important, and often overlooked, is how you communicate those messages: namely, your grammar. Presentation has just as much impact on your readers as the content itself, and bad grammar will not help your company’s reputation. Here are 20 of the most common grammar mistakes, and how to fix them.

1. They’re/their/there

These three words are confusing, because in spoken English they sound exactly the same, however they have very different meanings. They’re is a contraction of they and are: “They’re going to the cinema”. Their refers to ownership: “They lost their ball”. There refers to a place: “Jill was standing over there”.

2. Your/you’re

Like the trio they’re, their and there, your and you’re are homonyms, meaning they sound the same but have different meanings. Your is the possessive form of “you”, meaning it implies ownership: “Your grammar is improving”. You’re is similar to they’re: it’s a contraction of you and are: “You’re looking very well today”.

3. Apostrophes

Apostrophes are one of the most misused elements of grammar, however they are easy to get right once you know the rules. Most apostrophes appear in two situations: when indicating a possessive, and when indicating missing letters. An example of a possessive is: “Doreen’s house is lovely,” or “The dog’s bone had disappeared”. Apostrophes that indicate missing letters are found in “you’re” and “they’re” as above, and in words like “don’t” and “can’t”.

4. Its/it’s

The difference between “its” and “it’s” is an exception to the apostrophe rules above, and it’s easy to confuse them. “Its” indicates a possessive: “The dog had eaten its bone”, while “it’s” is used in place of “it is”: “It’s getting windy outside”.

5. Then/than

Then and than sound similar and only differ by one letter. Then has multiple meanings, and can refer to time: “Back then, things were different”, “Then, I went to the store”; or a result: “If you go now then you won’t be back in time for dinner.” Than is used in comparisons: “I’m taller than you”.

6. Which/that

“That” is always used to introduce necessary information, while “which” is used after a comma to introduce extra information that could be left out without changing the meaning of a sentence. For example “People that enjoy books read a lot” suggests that not everybody reads a lot – just people who like books. In the sentence “My pen, which is green, is my trusty companion”, the important information is that the pen is the writer’s trusty companion: the fact that it is green is an additional detail.

7. Effect/affect

Effect is a noun: “The effect of this dreadful news was too much for him to bear”, while affect is a verb: “The news affected him in a way he could not bear”.

8. May/might

May implies permission, while might suggests a possibility. “We may go to the movies” means we’re allowed to go to the movies, while “We might go to the movies” implies that film-watching is a possibility.

9. Lose/loose

One letter makes all the difference, as demonstrated by lose and loose. “Lose” is a verb meaning to have misplaced or ceased to have something “I lose my keys every day”, while “loose” has two meanings. As an adjective (a describing word), it means not firmly fixed in place, and as a verb it means to set free: “His clothes had a loose fit”, “Loose the dragons!”

10. Principal/principle

It’s easy to get principal and principle the wrong way around. “Principle” is a noun, and is a fundamental law or opinion. “Principal” can be a noun or a verb and has many different meanings. A Principal is someone who runs a school, while “her principal interest” describes the interest that is most important to her.

11. Farther/further

“Farther” describes literal distance (remember it contains the word “far”), while “further” describes abstract or metaphorical distance. So if you were in a meeting, you might say “Before we go any further, I want to agree some ground rules”, while if you were on a hike, you might ask “How much farther before the next stop?”

12. Could of/could have

This is an easy one: it is always could have, as “could of” doesn’t exist. The same principle applies to “should have” and “would have”.

13. Try and/try to

This rule is also simple: “try to” is always correct, while “try and” is always incorrect.

14. Who/whom

Knowing when to use “who” and “whom” correctly requires some technical grammar knowledge. In short, you use “who” when the person you’re referring to is the subject of a sentence, and “whom” when they are the object. The subject of a sentence is the person or thing who is doing the action, and the object is the person or thing receiving the action or having it done to them. Therefore, “Who am I?” is correct, as is “To whom do I address this letter?”

15. Me vs. I

Whether to use “me” or “I” in a sentence also depends on the subject and object. We use “I” when we are the subject, and “me” when we are the object. For example, “Joe and I went to the cinema” is correct, because, if Joe were removed from the equation, we would say “I went to the cinema”, rather than “me went to the cinema”. Equally, “Samantha told Joe and me to go to the cinema” is also correct, because Samantha is now the subject of the sentence, and “Joe and me” is the object. If Joe were removed from the equation again, the sentence would read “Samantha told me to go to the cinema”.

16. Practise/Practice

Practise is a verb (a doing word), while practice is a noun (a thing). One way to remember which is which is that practice – the noun – ends in “ice”, which is also a noun. For example “She was practising her yoga postures”, “Her yoga practice was going well”.

17. Different than/Different from

Different from is always correct, as the word “different” is used to evoke a distinction between two things. Therefore, you always need to use “from”, in a similar way to “separate from”. For example, “My job at Macy’s was different from my role at Borders.”

18. Lay/Lie

Lay and lie are commonly confused, and you need to understand the grammar behind these two words to use them correctly. The verb “to lay” is a transitive verb. This means it needs to go with a direct subject, and one or more objects. In this context, “lay” is the present tense, and “laid” is the past tense. An example would be “I lay the book down on the chair”, where the object is the book.

“To lie” is an intransitive verb. The present tense is “lie” and the past tense is “lay”, which is what makes these two verbs so confusing. Intransitive verbs don’t need an object, for example “I lay down”, or “The river lies between 18th Avenue and 20th Street”. In these sentences, there is no object directly following the verb “lie”.

19. Alot/a lot

“Alot” isn’t a real word. Instead “a lot” as two separate words is always correct.

20. Whether/if

Whether and if don’t mean the same thing, and are used in different contexts. Whether is used when you’re talking about a situation with two or more alternatives, whereas if is correct when describing a condition with no alternatives. For example, “I don’t know whether it will rain today” is correct, as is “I’ll only stay in at the weekend if it rains”.

Page 24 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

10 Worst Website Design Mistakes

alt="10 Worst Website Design Mistakes" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/three-year-old-2-500x232_c.jpg" />

Whether you took courses at the local community college, having been designing sites for years, or are an amateur learning as you go, there are some things every web designer should avoid if he wants visitors to enjoy spending time on his site. You’ve probably heard the term “sticky” in reference to a website. This simply means a site where the visitor wants to stick around–a site that stays with the browser and which she bookmarks and frequents. There are so many elements that go into making a site sticky that it is a whole other topic. However, there are definitely some web design mistakes that can make a site one that visitors want to run away from. Here are the design no-no’s that you should avoid.

Jarring Colors

Colors that are so bright they hurt your eyes or colors that clash with one another can make a site visitor want to run away from a web page. When planning the theme of your website, try to choose colors that complement one another. Yellow rarely works as a main color, although it can look good as an accent. Using every color of the rainbow is rarely a good idea either.

Site Title: Moradito

width="750px" class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/too-bright.jpg" alt="Bad Design Examples" />

class="meteor-icon" style="font-size:12px !important;">
class="icon-angle-right" style="color:inherit !important;">
Link: rel="nofollow" href="http://moradito.com.ar/">http://moradito.com.ar/

This site uses nearly every color imaginable in a puzzle-type pattern. The only way to describe it is ugly.

Too Many Graphics

If you clutter your webpage with graphics, two different things occur. First, the page becomes so busy that visitors may be unsure where to click or what they want to look at first. Second, if a browser has a slower Internet connection, the page may take too long to load. After 30 seconds, most people will leave and move on to another site. We’re living in an age where everything is immediate. If you don’t grab the customer’s attention in the first few seconds, you risk losing her altogether.

Site Title: Pine-Sol

width="750px" class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/too-busy.jpg" alt="Bad Design Examples" />

class="meteor-icon" style="font-size:12px !important;">
class="icon-angle-right" style="color:inherit !important;">
Link: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.pinesol.com/">http://www.pinesol.com/

This site has so many graphics that it just looks cluttered. On top of the numerous graphics, the images move around all over the page, so even if the visitor wanted to click on one of the images, she would have to chase them with her mouse.

Slow Load Time

Does your website load so slowly that the visitor has time to go grab a cup of coffee and a donut before coming back? Adding too many elements, such as flash, sound, tons of high resolution graphics, or java scripts, can cause a site to load slower and slower. Keep in mind that while most of your visitors will have high-speed, there are still rural customers who will be on dial-up and unable to access your site if it loads too slowly.

Site Title: The Museum of Me

width="750px" class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/slow-to-load.jpg" alt="Bad Design Examples" />

class="meteor-icon" style="font-size:12px !important;">
class="icon-angle-right" style="color:inherit !important;">
Link: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.intel.com/museumofme/en_US/r/index.htm">http://www.intel.com/museumofme/en_US/r/index.htm

The flash on this website causes it to load very slowly. On top of that, there is not a readily visible link to skip the flash. Browsers with slower download speeds will find this site so cumbersome to load that they will likely exit out of the site and never return.

Too Much Advertising

Content websites and blogs make money off advertising instead of from selling products. However, where many website owners fail is by adding so much advertising that the visitor can’t tell the difference between content and ads. If the visitor has to search to find the article or the remainder of an article, then there is too much advertising on the page. One or two ads placed to the site are best. More than that and you risk annoying your browsers. In fact, in a rel="nofollow" href="corp.upstreamsystems.com/upstreams-research-reveals-one-in-five-online-americans-would-stop-using-a-companys-product-or-service-if-subjected-to-too-much-digital-advertising">digital advertising report conducted by Upstream and YouGov in 2012, they found that about 20% of consumers said that if a company advertised too much, they would never use that company again.

Site Title: Hemmy.net

width="750px" class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/too-many-ads.jpg" alt="Bad Design Examples" />

class="meteor-icon" style="font-size:12px !important;">
class="icon-angle-right" style="color:inherit !important;">
Link: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.hemmy.net/">http://www.hemmy.net/

On several pages of this website, the entire viewing area at the top of the page is about 90% ads of different sorts. To get to the content of the page, one must scroll down. Even there, there is additional advertising scattered throughout. It is so distracting that it is hard to focus on the site.

Amateur Photo Editing

Nothing screams amateur louder than an image that hasn’t been edited properly. Websites with this type of issue might have cut out images with fuzzy borders, auto-corrected colors that look off, poor layering techniques that make it obvious that two pictures were spliced together or strange resized proportions.

Site Title: Peter’s Buses

width="750px" class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/amateur-photo-editing.jpg" alt="Bad Design Examples" />

class="meteor-icon" style="font-size:12px !important;">
class="icon-angle-right" style="color:inherit !important;">
Link: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.petersbuss.se/">http://www.petersbuss.se/

There are several problems with the graphics on this page. First, there is the bus with a white instead of transparent background that is just plunked down on the page and looks amateurish. The two photos to the right are also problematic as they’ve been stretched and resized without ratios being maintained. The photos look off and the people in the one on the right appear so stretched out that they could be giants in the land of Lilliput.

Designs a Three Year Old Could Create

If your website looks like you opened Microsoft Word, created a piece of Word Art and threw the site up on the Internet, then you might want to rethink your design elements. While simplicity is a welcome relief from some of the busier sites, if you go too simple, you risk your site looking juvenile and cheap.

Site Title: Cyber D-Sign Clan

width="750px" class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/three-year-old.jpg" alt="Bad Design Examples" />

width="750px" class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/three-year-old-2.jpg" alt="Bad Design Examples" />

class="meteor-icon" style="font-size:12px !important;">
class="icon-angle-right" style="color:inherit !important;">
Link: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.cyberdsignclan.com">http://www.cyberdsignclan.com

This design is so simple that it will be immediately recognizable as a basic Microsoft pattern background and Word Art. The designer hasn’t even changed the colors of the words from the standard design MS starts with. On top of that, a pop-up page tries to load. This might be overlooked if the design was better once you skip the intro and click through to the main page. However, the design of the linked page (below) is just as disappointing.

Poor Navigation

Even if a website has a visually appealing design, visitors can grow frustrated and leave over poor navigation. For example, sites without a clear link or with so many items that it is hard to decide where to go. One problem that many website owners face is a small site suddenly growing larger. Navigation that worked when the site had five pages simply won’t work when the site has 500 pages. Look at how the site can be reworked and restructured into categories and sub-categories so that visitors will understand exactly where to go for what they want. It is also smart to add a search box.

Site Title: LawnSignDirectory.com

width="750px" class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/navigation.jpg" alt="Bad Design Examples" />

class="meteor-icon" style="font-size:12px !important;">
class="icon-angle-right" style="color:inherit !important;">
Link: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.lawnsigndirectory.com/">http://www.lawnsigndirectory.com/

The visitor expects a searchable direction for their area, but instead there are dozens of links listed down the left side of the page, ads on the right, and a few featured businesses. This site could benefit from a revamp of the organizational structure, so that visitors can easily find the resources they are hunting for.

Text Issues

Web designers who use a busy background and then pick a text color that doesn’t offer enough contrast make their web pages unreadable. If a visitor’s eyes hurt after reading one article, why would she stick around to read more pages of your site? If you must choose a busy background, at least place a box, layer, or content table with a solid background and choose a text color that is opposite. Try to avoid gray on gray, but choose white on dark red, black on light pink, etc.

Words that overlap one another are also difficult to read as are paragraphs that are partially overlaying graphics and partially on a solid background.

Site Title: Bermuda Triangle

width="750px" class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/text-issues.jpg" alt="Bad Design Examples" />

class="meteor-icon" style="font-size:12px !important;">
class="icon-angle-right" style="color:inherit !important;">
Link: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bermuda-triangle.org/">http://www.bermuda-triangle.org/

Not only are there contrast issues on this site, but the text overlaps other texts, making it nearly impossible to read.

Typos

Nothing screams unprofessional more than glaring typos and grammar issues. Although no one is perfect, you can attempt to come close. Ask friends and family to look over your pages and help you find these errors, or hire a professional editor to proof your pages. The example below is just for fun. This is not a real web design company, but a tongue-in-cheek look at how unprofessional some companies appear.

Site Title: Web Tek Rocks

width="750px" class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/typos.jpg" alt="Bad Design Examples" />

class="meteor-icon" style="font-size:12px !important;">
class="icon-angle-right" style="color:inherit !important;">
Link: rel="nofollow" href="http://webtekrocks.com">http://webtekrocks.com

One typo can be overlooked, but this site shows how some shady sites are full of errors. For a company that wants to help you put your site on the web, they’d probably be better served spending some time correcting the issues on their own site before building yours. “Special” is spelled S-P-E-C-A-I-L; “expertise” is spelled “experteze”; They offer to “help put youselves” online; “We can built your site faster than anyone!”

So Bad That You Can’t Explain It

Some websites are just intrinsically bad in design. Sometimes it isn’t one thing that makes the site painful to your eyes, but almost everything on the site. There may be a combination of ugly colors, poor navigation and other items. Fortunately, these sites are rare, but viewing them can help you know what not to do when you design your site.

Site Title: The Afterlife

width="750px" class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2012/so-bad.jpg" alt="Bad Design Examples" />

class="meteor-icon" style="font-size:12px !important;">
class="icon-angle-right" style="color:inherit !important;">
Link: rel="nofollow" href="http://heaven.internetarchaeology.org/heaven.html#bottom">http://heaven.internetarchaeology.org/heaven.html#bottom

This site is so horrible that it’s hard to describe. First, anyone who is prone to seizures should stay away from this site, because it is likely to trigger a seizure in even a non-seizure prone person. The site scrolls, is filled with animated and flashing graphics. On top of that, the graphics are not appealing for the most part, ending with a baby in bandana playing the guitar. Visit if you dare.

Page 24 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

Do You Make These 7 Mistakes When Blogging?

alt="Do You Make These 7 Mistakes When Blogging?" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/blogging1-500x573_c.jpg" />

In our 21st century digital age, starting a blog is quick and easy. Anyone can do it. This is a good thing, because it creates the ability for anyone to easily get his voice out there. However, it also means that you might be new to blogging or may have picked up bad habits that you’re not even aware of. When someone lands on your blog, you have mere seconds to grab their attention and keep them there. Fixing these mistakes can mean the difference between someone who returns to your site again and again and someone who moves on and never returns.

The competition is fierce. Copywriter and marketing guru Henneke Duistermaat states on href="http://www.copyblogger.com/common-blogging-mistakes/" target="_blank">Copyblogger:

“We live in a world full of cheap information. At the push of a button we can get our eyes on far more ideas, blog posts, and news stories than we could ever possibly consume.”

Indeed, we do exist in a world where just about any information you could want or need is at your fingertips. If one site doesn’t offer it in the way the reader likes, he simply moves on to the next choice in his search engine results. Mixing the following mistakes from your blog can up your chances that he’ll stick around your site for a few minutes and possibly even order something.

7 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1 – Not Creating Landing Pages

href="http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/11/22/are-you-making-this-big-mistake-when-selling-online/" target="_blank">Jeff Bullas believes there is one big mistake that bloggers make and that is not creating landing pages to collect visitor info.

“Once you have their email and their name you can start to engage with your prospect. That means building credibility and trust over time. This can be done by providing a stream of free and valuable content.”

Bullas makes an excellent point. If you’re going to spent your advertising dollars trying to get new people to come to your site, don’t you want a way to contact that person in the future? There are a couple of ways you can get them to your site and also encourage them to share their information.

Offer something free in exchange for their e-mail.
Run a contest that they can enter with their e-mail.
Offer a free newsletter that provides free valuable information only to subscribers.
Offer a book in installments via e-mail that is related to your product or service.
Offer a discount on their first order if they sign up for your newsletter.

One example of a company that does this well is href="http://www.limogesjewelry.com/" target="_blank">Limoges Jewelry. They advertise heavily on Facebook and via AdSense. When you click on one of their ads and hit their landing page, you’ll be invited to sign up for their newsletter to receive news and discounts and 20% off your order today. The incentive to sign up is to get that immediate 20% discount. They then send out one or two e-mails each week offering a discount, free shipping or letting you know about specials they are running. This is a good example of how they are using advertising to send visitors to a landing page, gather information and keep in contact for future sales.

Think outside the box. In Jerry Low’s href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/inbound-marketing/boost-conversion-rates/" target="_blank">20 Ways to Boost Website Conversion Rates, he recommends creating an interactive landing page to get site visitors involved in your site immediately.

Mistake #2 – Making Common Grammar Mistakes

No one expects you to be perfect. Minor typos and errors will be overlooked by readers. However, some grammar purists will cringe and possibly even leave your site over consist misuse of the English language and basic grammar that you should know. In addition, Google may see your site as lower quality and your site’s rank could take a hit in the search engine results.

Ginny Soskey takes a look at href="http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/common-grammar-mistakes-list" target="_blank">15 Common Grammar Mistakes We All Need to Stop Making.

“Words and phrases that sound fine in your head or spoken out loud can suddenly look like gibberish when written down — that is, if you’ve realized that you made a mistake in the first place.”

She suggests reading articles like hers and other tips on how to avoid common grammar mistakes. You may also want to bookmark the href="https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/" target="_blank">Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) so you can look up any grammar issues you are uncertain about. Some basic errors include:

Their/There/They’re – “Their” is possessive and indicates belong to. “There” indicates location. “They’re” is an abbreviation for “they are”.
Lose/Loose – This is a common error that will drive any English teacher who visits your site absolutely insane. “Lose” means to misplace or to not know where something it. “Loose” means not tight.
To/Too – “Too” means more than enough of something. I ate too much, for example.

These are just a few of the common errors people make when writing. Add a little time into your weekly schedule to learn grammar and improve your writing and the payoff will be seen in the quality of your articles.

Mistake #3 – Regurgitating Content from Others

style="text-align: center;">class="aligncenter wp-image-6929" alt="Different types of blogging platforms" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/umbrellas.jpg" width="750" srcset="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/umbrellas.jpg 740w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/umbrellas-150x150.jpg 150w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/umbrellas-300x300.jpg 300w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/umbrellas-130x130.jpg 130w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" />

Originality is important.

Even if you’re putting together a list like this one and pulling in views from experts, your list should be different than anyone else’s and should offer some insider information, personal examples and content that can’t be found anywhere else.

“More than anything else, what really matters about your blog is that it represents you and is genuinely unique. While you still need to attune your messaging to what people want to read, whatever you write must be infused with your unique take and style.” – href="http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Common-Beginner-Blogger-Mistakes" target="_blank">wikiHow

This means that your first step is to do your research. Take a look at what content is already out there. What is missing from that content that readers might want to know? How can you add to it? Give it a different spin?

Also, use your own unique voice while writing. It should be almost as though the reader is sitting across from you over a cup of coffee and you’re sharing a story with her. Lay out the article in a way that makes sense for the storytelling process and use your own unique words and thoughts.

Mistake #4 – Not Being Mobile Friendly

id="attachment_7545" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright">href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/blogging-tips/do-you-make-these-7-mistakes-when-blogging/attachment/blogging-4/" rel="attachment wp-att-7545">class="size-full wp-image-7545" alt="blogging" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/blogging1.jpg" width="300" height="344" srcset="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/blogging1.jpg 300w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/blogging1-261x300.jpg 261w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />class="wp-caption-text">Photo Credit: href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sepblog/3634843977/">Search Engine People Blog

Is your blog mobile friendly and do your articles make sense for mobile readers? In a recent article, href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/seo/top-lessons-you-can-learn-from-googles-new-hummingbird-algorithm-changes/" target="_blank">Top Lessons you Can Learn from Google’s New Hummingbird Algorithm Changes, I talked about the fact that you need to “make your site mobile friendly. It stands to reason with the new focus on tablets and smart phones that Google will change their algorithm to look at sites that are friendly to these mobile devices.”

According to the href="http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/February/Pew-Internet-Mobile.aspx" target="_blank">Pew Research Center, “As of May 2013, 63% of adult cell owners use their phones to go online.” The same report also offers the statistic that people are now accessing the Internet from mobile devices about 40% of the time.

With those statistics and the fact that the numbers are almost certain to grow as mobile devices get smarter, faster and data less expensive, it only makes sense that bloggers should make sure their material is mobile friendly by:

Adding mobile friendly options on the backend of the blog (make it easy to access text only versions).
Writing content with headlines that grab attention.
Breaking content into manageable pieces that can be read in short spurts between appointments or during commute time.

Mistake #5 – Not Keeping Your Blog Updated

Let’s face it. Entrepreneurs are busy people. I’ve been guilty myself of not updating my blog at times when I know I should. If you’re set up good quality content, your traffic may not even drop noticeably. However, if you want to stay in good graces with your readers, you’ll want to post at least once a week or so.

In Jerry Low’s article href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/blogging-tips/how-to-write-great-content-per-week-consistently/">How To Write (At Least) One Great Content Per Week Consistently, he suggests keeping a catalog of interesting titles on hand so you can grab an idea and run with it quickly and easily. If you use WordPress for your blog, one of the best features is that you can schedule posts ahead.

If you’re so busy with other things that you simply don’t have time to write blog posts, consider hiring a writer to manage this for you. If your blog grows to the point that you have several writers, you may need to promote one as your editor to go over the blog posts for typos or other errors. Remember that quality is key. So, whether you are writing the articles yourself or you are hiring other writers to produce the content for you, you’ll want to be sure each and every piece is edited and the best quality possible.

Mistake #6 – Writing Off-Topic

Another mistake that some bloggers make is adding pieces outside of their niche topic. Let’s say you have site called House Cleaning 101. You might have articles on natural cleaners to us, how to make up a spring cleaning list, the best way to get a stain out of clothing, how to get the shine back in your linoleum floor. Then, one day, your puppy does something cute and you think you’ll add a note about how to pick the best puppy for your family.

You’re right. This is a cute topic and all those adorable pictures of your puppy are sure to be a hit with your readers. The problem? Readers coming to your site want to know how to clean, not how to pick out a puppy.

If it is a topic you simply must write, then consider pitching it as a guest post on another site. Those who read your profile description and want to read more articles by you will understand that your blog link is about house cleaning and articles there will be as well written as your puppy article but will be about housecleaning. This might seem like a nit picky point, but readers are fickle. They will love your blog one day and find a new one the next. If you don’t give them what they want, spot on, then they can and will move on without looking back.

Mistake #7 – Not Backing Up Your Blog

You’re trucking right along, posting content every other day, gaining traffic to your site, when someone hacks into the blog and puts up an add about why people should go to chicken fights. Your server is supposed to keep backups but they are all corrupted and your files on your current site are beyond repair. You had better hope you have at least a somewhat recent backup of your blog.

style="text-align: center;">href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/blogging-tips/do-you-make-these-7-mistakes-when-blogging/attachment/backup-screenshot/" rel="attachment wp-att-7542">class="size-large wp-image-7542 aligncenter border" alt="backup wordpress" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/backup-screenshot-750x516.png" width="750" height="516" srcset="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/backup-screenshot-750x516.png 750w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/backup-screenshot-300x206.png 300w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/backup-screenshot.png 1090w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" />

A good habit to get into is backing up your blog on a specific day of each week or month. If you only post once a week, backing up once a month is okay. If you post more often, you might want to back up weekly. Here is what you should do to backup your blog:

Go to your Control Panel and backup the database.
Go to FTP and transfer all your files in your blog folder (all wp- files), images and php files.
Install a backup plugin, such as href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/backupwordpress/" target="_blank">BackUpWordPress to automatically backup your site, but do not rely on only this to save you in the case of an emergency. Do regular manual backups as listed above, too.

Page 16 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a Website Host

alt="5 Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a Website Host" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/web-hosting-mistakes-500x334_c.jpg" />

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, your website makes up at least part of your income and when there are website hosting issues, it can impact your bottom line. There is nothing worse than a website hosting company that goes down without warning or explanation, takes forever to rectify problems, fails to secure your site or overcharges for extras.

Dixie Vogel wrote on href="http://goodkarmahost.com/topics/advice/the-biggest-mistake-in-choosing-a-web-host-how-to-avoid-it/" target="_blank">Good Karma Host blog:

You’re buying the service. The quality of service will make or break your hosting experience. Buying service is an entirely different purchase than buying a commodity.

Vogel is correct. With “unlimited” hosting plans, the cost of similar services is negligible these days. However, how these services are ran can make or break your website.

5 Web Hosting Shoppers Mistakes to Avoid

1. Not Checking Hosting Reviews

You’ve landed on the website for a hosting company and their packages sound like a dream – almost too good to be true. This should serve as your first red flag, but even if the deals seem to line up with what other hosting companies have to offer, you should always check reviews.

href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-reviews/">WHSR offers honest web host reviews. Unlike some of the other reviews you’ll find around the Internet, they are written by technical writers who have first-hand experience with that particular hosting company. You have to be really cautious about where you get your reviews, because some hosting companies fill the Internet with fake positive reviews. It can be difficult to know what is real and what is an advertisement from the company itself.

When checking reviews, watch for red flag items like:

Complaints about customer service
Complaints about down time
Recent complaints that seem to be in a cluster (this can signal a server overload caused by growth pains)
Complaints about viruses and other security problems

The best terms to use when searching are “complaints against XYZ hosting company” and “blog post review of XYZ hosting company”. More than likely, you’ll quickly spot those reviews that are written by the company or that are a paid review and be able to weed those out from the rest of the reviews.

2. Not Looking at Restrictions

Some web hosting companies are tricky. They will post that you get “unlimited” whatever in big, bold letters, but when you dig a bit deeper, you’ll find out what “unlimited” really means.

In his article href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/web-hosting-guides/is-unlimited-hosting-a-good-deal/">Is Unlimited Hosting a Good Deal, Jerry Low says:

In reality, unlimited hosting is, always, limited.
Think about the limitation in our physical world – it is simply impossible to have unlimited semiconductor to build unlimited RAM and CPU; it is impossible to offer unlimited bandwidth when we have limited cables transmitting data around the globe.

In the very fine print, you may find information on how much bandwidth and space you can actually use before the web hosting company will throttle you. This is important information to have, because if your site already uses something close to these limits, you could find yourself suddenly without a host or your site could be shut down for an unspecified amount of time.

Other restrictions to watch out for:

No multiple POP accounts (href="http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Few-Mistakes-to-Avoid-When-Choosing-Cheapest-Web-Hosting&id=7527058" target="_blank">Marv Dryer)
No SSH
You can’t add statistics
No installation of your own software (some security limitations are understandable, but most Open Source software should be on the okay to install list)

Restrictions may not be listed on the sign-up page. Ask questions to be sure you can operate your site the way you want. If you use a shopping cart, is this allowed? Will you be able to use SSH?

3. Choosing Free Space or a Host that Offers Free Space

If you’re just starting out, it might be tempting to utilize some of the servers that offer a small amount of free space. However, the old saying that you get what you pay for really is true. If you go with free space, then you need to understand that there are many other people going for the same free space. As we mentioned earlier, the capacity of servers is indeed limited.

href="http://www.greek-servers.com/top-five-mistakes-to-avoid-when-choosing-a-web-hosting-provider/" target="_blank">Greek Servers said:

…this kind of web hosting includes serious restrictions in a detriment for your company. Your site is going to be utilized by the actual web host to show advertisements. And also the visitors that you have proved helpful difficult in order to immediate aimed at your website is going to be siphoned away without any earnings for you. This isn’t that which you want.

On a shared hosting plan you may be competing for resources with other websites paying for the same service, but with a free hosting plan, you are now competing with anyone who wishes to sign up, free of charge.

Even if you are going for a paid plan, if the server offers free space, ask some pertinent questions.

Do the free websites and paid websites share the same servers?
What happens if a free website is using too many resources? What about a paid website? Is there an option to upgrade before being shut down?
Are there ads placed on only the free sites? Paid hosting should never have ads as these pull away from your own website traffic.

4. Going with a New Company

style="color: #292929; line-height: 1.5em;">Some of the “best” worst offers you’ll ever find come from brand new hosting companies. They are excited about their new company and anxious to sign up customers, so they offer all kinds of perks, freebies, software, exciting deals and great prices to get you to choose them. Unfortunately, their inexperience in the industry often catches up with them. Many of us have been there. That new host is great for a few months. Customer service is stellar, load times great, no down time, etc.

Then, they hit the wall. They reach that magic number X customer that is one too many for their resources to handle. The servers crash, the users are taking advantage of all those features they offered and they can’t seem to get a grip on the situation. Yes, they are growing pains, but do you really want your website to fall victim to your website hosting company’s growing pains or would you rather choose a company that has already been through growing pains several times and has a plan in place for how to handle the next growth spurt?

id="attachment_7168" style="width: 560px" class="wp-caption aligncenter">href="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/most-hosted-sites.png">class="size-full wp-image-7168" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/most-hosted-sites.png" alt="most hosted sites" width="550" height="969" srcset="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/most-hosted-sites.png 550w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/most-hosted-sites-170x300.png 170w" sizes="(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" />class="wp-caption-text">Infographic by hostcabi.net

As a rule of thumb, I would avoid any company that hasn’t been in business at least 5-8 years. As Internet marketer Hermas Haynes said in an article on href="http://www.foxonlinelearning.com/180.htm" target="_blank">Fox Online Learning:

Choose a host that has been in business at least a few years, and who offers features that can be upgraded as your Web site expands. Your company image hinges on the reliability and service of your Web host.

5 – Not Testing Customer Service

24/7 Customer Service!

Our Clients Love Us!

Read Testimonials!

Get an immediate response to support questions!

Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? I once signed up for a hosting company that offered 24/7 support via telephone, e-mail or live chat, or so they said. My websites went down and after three days I still couldn’t get a response. Since then, I always test their customer service to the best of my ability.

If their customer support can’t take the time to answer your questions before you sign up, what do you think it will be like after you sign up? After all, when you are simply “thinking” about signing up, they have something to gain by giving you good support. So, my first step is to come up with a list of specific questions that pertain to the needs I have for my website, but that are not answered in the information available on their pages.

I divide these questions up and try all available customer service options. If they offer e-mail support, I e-mail a few questions. If they offer telephone support, I phone and ask a few others. Live chat? You know I’m testing that as well.

However, this isn’t really enough to tell me for certain that current customers are getting good customer support, so I also:

Stalk the support message boards to see how long it takes for people to get a respond and if that response is cordial and helpful or sharp and sometimes downright rude.
Check out the “current clients” page and e-mail a few of them to ask for their opinion on the hosting company. You won’t hear back from all of them, so choose five or six to e-mail.
Check the BBB and RipOffReport.com for complaints.

In addition, that telephone contact is important to makes sure customer service is something that you will be able to understand clearly. As Brenda Panin on href="http://www.blufftontoday.com/blog-post/brenda-panin/2013-08-26/top-web-hosting-mistakes-should-be-avoided#.Umyf0_nihjg" target="_blank">Bluffton Today said on her blog:

If their agents sound like they can’t even understand basic English and are unskilled in dealing with any technical inquiries, avoid this host. They will just cause you big headaches if something goes wrong down the road.

If all of these things check out, then you can feel more comfortable that customer service is a priority with the company.style="line-height: 1.5em;">

class="visually_embed" data-category="Computers">

Trust Your Instincts

Everything may check out perfectly based on your list of needs, reading reviews and testing customer service.

However, if you have a niggling feeling that it seems too good to be true or something isn’t adding up, it might be best to trust your instincts. Sometimes the subconscious picks up on something minor. With so many excellent and href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-review/ipage/">inexpensive providers out there, there is no need to take a risk. Even small things, like a server not keeping backed up copies of your website or only allowed for a lump sum annual payment that ties you in for 12 months are important when it comes to which host you trust your website with.

Page 17 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

The Top 7 Mistakes in Google+ Engagement

alt="The Top 7 Mistakes in Google+ Engagement" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/google-plus1-500x230_c.jpg" />

Recently, I set out to attract more Google+ visitors. I did not succeed too well – in fact, I actually ended up making more headway on Instagram AND the elusive Facebook – but I thought my failures could serve as a lesson of what NOT to do when engaging on Google+.

So here is a list of the top 7 mistakes for engaging on Google+, and what you can do instead.

Mistake #1: Treating Google+ Like Facebook

This is one of the biggest problems I think people have when thinking about how to use Google+ – myself included.

These two systems are different and work uniquely so you must not mistake one for the other! Facebook connects you to EVERYONE. If you are looking for people with similar interests, you can hunt down a group, but you can just easily find friends you went to high school with. I think of Facebook more as a place to hangout, meet new acquaintances and develop an interest out of that already existing relationship. Facebook is more like a party or mixer, in my opinion, and I honestly use it that way, connecting with friends and family. On the other hand, G+ is highly targeted, making it valuable for niched blogs. You are actually developing targeted relationships, rather than “everyone.” On G+, it’s far easier to create a circle that is comprised of your tribe and promote relevant articles to that group only. You can also join public communities that target your niche, but if you do, please participate and respect any rules that have been set up for participating.

Mistake #2: Trying to Earn Followers Through Contests

If you are hosting a contest or joining in one, G+ is NOT allowed as an entry or platform by their Terms of Service. See href="http://www.google.com/+/policy/contestspolicy.html" target="_blank">G+ Contests & Promotions Polices:

“You may not run contests, sweepstakes, or other such promotions (“Promotion”) directly on Google+ or in a manner that requires use of G+ features or functionality, except by pre-approved means.”

So, you are forbidden from gaining followers through a contest.

There are a lot of other slippery G+ rules regarding giveaways as well. The blog at Rafflecopter has a complete article from 2012 explaining href="http://blog.rafflecopter.com/2012/08/google-plus-sweepstakes/" target="_blank">the pitfalls of giveaways on Google+. Long story short: this is a cheat to get followers and Google is trying to prevent such techniques, keeping G+ as a way to href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/inbound-marketing/14-reasons-link-building-belongs-to-marketing-not-seo-nor-google/" target="_blank">build real relationships.

Mistake #3: Not Creating Circles – or Not Using Them

class="border aligncenter wp-image-9976 size-full" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/062014-gpluscircles.gif" alt="google+ circles" width="750" height="335" />

Google+ gives you this great ability to create a targeted circle that lets you follow – and promote to – members that are in that circle only, rather than to everyone.

Of course, you can do this in Facebook by posting to a group or your followers or specific friends, but G+ lets you drill down your target tohref="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-new-ways-in-which-you-didnt-use-google-circles-before/" target="_blank"> a select, creating a more personal connection. In practice, of the many Facebook groups I am in, only about two actually respond to my more highly targeted content. Meanwhile, in Google+, the people who add you to their circles and send posts to that circle are interested in your niche, and their posts will show up in your G+ notifications. This lets you directly know someone has connected you with your content, and it’s a breeze to add a comment or a “+1” to reciprocate, and easy to relevant content if the user is in your circle. On the down side, interpersonal dynamic requires more time and thought to maintain and build a relationship, as well as who is in your circle. This leads me to the next problem…

Mistake #5: Just “Promoting” on G+ Rather than Really Engaging

In many ways, Facebook (even now), Twitter, Pinterest and even Instagram can be a numbers game: I follow you, you follow me, or, just sign up and follow me for an entry or some other incentive. Share enough and something will catch, stick or hit, and people will respond or share.

As mentioned, G+ should not be used in this way – if you do, you really won’t get any traction. It’s less of a numbers game and more of a relationship-building tool. Get involved with others on G+ who match your niche and share, +1 and comment on their stuff – a lot. You’ll get return on that, if your content matches their niche and target, and is compelling. The theory is that simple, but in practice, again, we are talking about time commitment toward building a relationship.

And one more thing. Don’t just share what you share on Facebook – or other outlets.

If you want to share all your blog posts on G+, that’s fine, but href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/blogging-tips/how-to-recycle-your-blog-content/">take a new angle, or show a different image. Making your posts unique to your G+ stream will make the next item a technique that works well.

Mistake #6: Not Embedding Posts on Your Blog

G+ gives you the power to embed a post on your site. What’s the benefit of doing this?

First of all, your audience can follow, comment and plus one items without ever leaving your blog. Secondly, you can take an older post from G+ and resurrect by inserting it into a new blog post. Finally, you can also share the posts of other friends and spread good will among your community. Take care, you’ll need to paste the top part of the embed code into your header or footer so if you’re not savvy with these files, have your web designer do this for you.

class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9974" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/062014-gplusembedded.jpg" alt="Embedded G+ link in blog post." width="750" height="1030" srcset="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/062014-gplusembedded.jpg 750w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/062014-gplusembedded-218x300.jpg 218w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" />

Mistake #7: Always Uploading Images with Your Post, Rather than Naturally Loading

Along the way I had read that you should upload an image with your post (around 800 pixels wide), open with an engaging line about your post, add the link and add hashtags. However, at a recent webinar, I learned that for your href="http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2307518/Google-SEO-How-Google-Impacts-Search-Results" target="_blank">Google+ usage to give you juice with SEO, you need to put in the direct link to your blog at least some of the time.

This gets my head spinning. I guess the lesson here, though, is that just like Facebook, there is no “one size fits all” to G+. Adding images is more engaging, but can be confusing as new G+ users might expect to end up on the page once they click.

Must-Do’s for G+

Now that we’ve got through the “don’ts”, there are a few things you can and should do to set up the groundwork for successful Google+ engagement.

1. Have your href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/seo/google-authorship-why-you-should-use-it/" target="_blank">Google Authorship set up. It’s a must and it integrates everything in your Google+ window.

2. Use relevant keywords. While I advocate using keywords in all social media, remember that this is a GOOGLE product, so don’t ever post without them. They work. And yes, you can go can go ahead and just line them up in a row.

3. A brief intro about your post is good form too. See my example href="https://plus.google.com/111034749830596533450/posts/S5L8u6gVC8P" target="_blank">here.

4. Google+ loves images! Hopefully, you’re creating pinnable images by now, so these work lovely in this medium. Be sure to use the recommended sizes for all your images. A good idea is to share a larger size image. According to Google, the size in pixels should be:

Cover images is recommended to be 1080×608. Minimum size is 480 x 270, and max is 2120 x 1192.
Shared link image: 150×150.
Shared image or video: 479wide. Images are 373px high, and videos are 279px high.
Maximum size of uploaded: 2048×2048
Feed size: 360×360

I often share images sized between 600 and 800 pixels wide and that works just fine.

id="attachment_9973" style="width: 760px" class="wp-caption aligncenter">class="size-full wp-image-9973" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/062014-Gpluscover.jpg" alt="G+ cover image" width="750" height="326" srcset="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/062014-Gpluscover.jpg 750w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/062014-Gpluscover-300x130.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" />class="wp-caption-text">If you don’t go the full length, an image like this is adapted very nicely for your cover image.

Google+ Is Different

To conclude, your Google+ strategy is going to be different from other social mediums but just as vital – if not more, thanks to SEO. Create a plan to regularly engage and set your target a little lower in terms of numbers, focusing on relationships over numbers.

Remember, as always, to grab your G+ follow link directly on your blog for others to follow.

Page 13 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

[Infographic] 10 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid

alt="[Infographic] 10 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Top-10-ways-to-screw-your-blog-500x2000_t.jpg" />

class="border aligncenter wp-image-9615 size-full" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Top-10-ways-to-screw-your-blog.jpg" alt="Top 10 ways to screw your blog" width="750" height="3000" />

Starting a blog is easy, but it could get very tricky in later stage. In fact, there are some things you can do that will really screw up your blog and maybe even your reputation. This infographic covers some of the top mistakes to avoid when it comes to blogging. It’s made based on Lori’s recent article href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/blogging-tips/top-10-ways-to-screw-up-your-blog/">Top 10 ways to screw up your blog.

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<img src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Top-10-ways-to-screw-your-blog.jpg" /><h3>10 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid</h3> Infographic by Web Hosting Secret Revealed - get more blogging tips like this at <a href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blogging-with-whsr/">Blogging with WHSR</a>.

Also read href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/blogging-tips/things-we-wish-we-knew-before-starting-our-first-blog/">Things we wish we knew before starting a blog where I’ve got 13 bloggers talk about their blogging mistakes.

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