WordPress Plugins to Reduce Your Blog’s Load Times

Posted on July 25, 2015July 26, 2015 by sitemanager

How long does it take visitors to load your blog? Load times play an important role in the usability and overall function of a blog. If visitors are forced to stare at a loading screen for a long time, some will click their browser back button. Thankfully, WordPress has a massive directory of plugins, many of which can be used to reduce a blog's load times. W3 Total Cache Arguably, one of the most effective ways to reduce a blog's load time is to enable browser caching. Rather than forcing visitors to reload the same files each time they visit your site, browser caching will automatically st...

The Scoop on Product Endorsements in Blogs

Posted on July 4, 2015July 6, 2015 by sitemanager

You might want to think twice before blogging a product or service that you were either given for free or paid for writing about. Even if you good intentions -- which most bloggers do -- you could be breaking the law. So, what's the scoop on product endorsements in blogs? Just five or so years ago, this wasn't even a topic for discussion. Bloggers wrote about products without disclosing any relationship they had with the manufacturer. Since then, however, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has revised its guidelines to prohibit this practice. Bloggers are still free to write about products ...

Choosing a Niche For Your Blog

Posted on June 29, 2015June 29, 2015 by sitemanager

Thinking about starting a new blog? If so, you'll want to choose a niche that's best suited for your goals. Many bloggers make the mistake of creating a generalized blog, covering every topic under the sun. While this tactic may work for large-scale, established brands like Huffington Post, it's a sure-fire recipe for disaster for everyone else. So, how do you choose the right niche for your blog? Lots of Traffic, Little Competition A good rule of thumb to follow when choosing a niche for your blog is to choose one with high traffic and low competition. In other words, you want plenty of use...

Tip: Embed Media Into Your Blog Posts

Posted on June 10, 2015March 11, 2016 by sitemanager

If you aren't embedding media into your blog posts, you're missing out on one of the easiest ways to make them more appealing to visitors. While uploading images is a great way to break up pure-text posts, you can create an even deeper and more complex blog post by embedding videos, tweets, Pinterest pins, and more. It's a quick and easy way to add value to your blog's content, which will subsequently attract more visitors and possibly even higher search engine rankings. YouTube Videos How do you embed a YouTube video? Once you've found a video that you'd like to display on your blog, click ...

WordPress Posts vs Pages: What’s The Difference?

Posted on May 28, 2015May 28, 2015 by sitemanager

WordPress uses two different formats on which content is created and stored: posts and pages. Some users assume these formats are the same, with no distinguishable differences between the two. While they share some similarities in terms of appearance and function, however, posts and pages are two very different formats. Posts Posts are content-based entries that are displayed in chronological order (most recent appearing on top) on either the blog's home page by default. When you publish a new post, it will appear at the top of your home page, either in its entirety or as an excerpt (varies ...

5 Easy Ways To Uncover New Blog Topic Ideas

Posted on May 27, 2015May 27, 2015 by sitemanager

Still struggling to come up with new topic ideas for your blog? We all know the importance of publishing fresh content on a regular basis. It encourages search engines and visitors to return to your site, which often boosts your search ranking. Of course, this is easier said than done, especially in some of the more narrow niches. If this sounds like a familiar problem, check out some of the following ways to identify new topics. #1 – Search Forums When you are stuck and can't seem to think of any topics for your website, try searching through forums related to your niche. This is an excelle...

Create Effective Landing Pages Using WordPress

Posted on May 21, 2015May 21, 2015 by sitemanager

Wouldn't it be great if you could create effective landing pages in WordPress instead of building them from scratch? It's no secret that WordPress is used primarily for blogs, and for good reason: it supports both posts and pages, allows multiple users to log in and publish content, and offers a built-in visitor commenting feature. But WordPress can also be used to create brilliant, fully functional landing pages. What Is a Landing Page? If you asked ten different marketing experts what the definition of a landing page is, you would probably get ten different answers. Wikipedia, however, off...

How To Make You Blog Post Go Viral

Posted on May 18, 2015May 19, 2015 by sitemanager

While the exact number remains unknown, some marketing experts estimate there to be more than 150 million blogs currently online. Whether you're searching for information on pets, health, fashion, sports, celebrity/pop culture, or practically anything else, there's probably a blog covering it. But with such heated competition, it's difficult for the "little guys" to make a name for themselves, which is where viral content comes into play. If you're able to create a viral blog post, you'll receive tons of new visitors while drawing the attention of search engines. What Is a Viral Blog Post? L...

What Google’s Recent Mobile Update Means For Bloggers

Posted on May 9, 2015May 9, 2015 by sitemanager

We first talked about Google's mobile-friendly update last month, revealing some helpful tips for webmasters and bloggers. In case you missed it, the Mountain View company rolled out a major update to the algorithm it uses to rank websites. Called "Mobilegeddon" by some marketing gurus, it's designed to improve the search rankings for mobile-friendly sites, while lowering the rankings for mobile-unfriendly sites. So, how will this update affect bloggers? Google began rolling out its new mobile-friendly update on April 21st. At the time, it was unknown just how significant this update would ...

How To Make Your Blog More Personal

Posted on May 7, 2015May 9, 2015 by sitemanager

Creating a personal connection with your readers is critical to your blog's success. Readers want to feel like they are a part of a community to which they can relate. If your blog is nothing more than a series of generic articles, you will ultimately fail to establish this relationship. Thankfully, there are several simple yet effective techniques for making a blog more personal. Use a Real Name Are you still using the default "Admin" username that came with your blog's content management system (CMS)? While this may seem harmless enough, it doesn't have the same effect on readers as a real...

Marketing