Selecting the best URL:

Selecting the best domain starts with clarity and simplicity. Your domain should be easy to read, easy to spell, and easy to remember—ideally something a person can hear once and type correctly without thinking twice. Shorter is almost always better, and avoiding hyphens, numbers, or quirky spellings will save you from confusion later. If possible, choose a name that clearly hints at what your brand, business, or project is about, so visitors instantly get context before they even land on your site.

Next, think about branding and long-term growth. A great domain isn’t just descriptive—it’s flexible. Picking something too narrow can box you in if your offerings expand, while something too generic can be forgettable. Look for a name that feels distinctive, aligns with your tone (professional, creative, playful, etc.), and stands out from competitors. It’s also smart to do a quick search to make sure your domain doesn’t closely resemble an established brand, which could create legal or credibility issues down the road.

Finally, consider the domain extension and availability across platforms. While .com is still the gold standard for trust and recognition, newer extensions like .io, .co, or .studio can work well if they fit your audience and industry. Ideally, your domain should match your social media handles to keep your online presence consistent. Before locking anything in, say the domain out loud, imagine it on a business card, and picture it five years from now—if it still feels right, you’re probably onto a strong choice.

Focus on optimizing one single domain:

Purchasing multiple domains can create unnecessary cost and complexity without delivering real value, especially for small businesses or individuals just getting started. Managing renewals, security settings, and redirects across many domains increases the risk of accidental expiration or misconfiguration, which can harm your credibility or traffic. Spreading your brand across multiple domains can also dilute recognition and confuse users about which site is the official one. In most cases, focusing on a single, strong domain allows you to concentrate your resources on building quality content, improving visibility, and establishing a clear, trustworthy online presence.

Protect your domain:

You can protect ownership of your website domain by registering it through a reputable domain registrar and keeping all registration details accurate and up to date in your name or business entity. Enable auto-renewal so the domain doesn’t accidentally expire, and use strong account security like unique passwords and two-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access. It’s also wise to keep proof of purchase, monitor renewal dates, and consider registering your domain for multiple years. Remember that this is a central component to your online brand and should ownership control should remain with you or your business. If your domain is central to your brand, taking these precautions to safeguard the domain name can provide additional legal protection against misuse or disputes.

Final tip:

Want to know how to find out if a domain is available? You don’t need a web developer. Simply visit an domain name registrar like godaddy or network solutions and type your favorites into the search bar.

The post How to select the perfect domain name appeared first on Ready to Run Designs.

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) remains a cornerstone for driving organic traffic to websites. As we stride into 2024, the SEO terrain continues to shift, influenced by advancements in technology, changes in search engine algorithms, and evolving user behaviors. To stay ahead in this dynamic realm, businesses must adopt agile strategies that align with the latest SEO tactics. Here’s a breakdown of key tactics for SEO success in 2024:

1. Voice Search Optimization: With the proliferation of smart devices and virtual assistants, voice search has become increasingly prevalent. Optimizing content for voice search queries involves understanding natural language patterns, focusing on conversational keywords, and providing concise, informative answers to common questions.

2. Mobile-First Indexing: As mobile usage surpasses desktop, search engines prioritize mobile-friendly websites for indexing and ranking. Responsive design, fast loading times, and intuitive navigation are essential for optimizing websites for mobile devices, ensuring a seamless user experience across all platforms.

3. Video SEO: Video content continues to dominate online consumption, presenting a lucrative opportunity for SEO optimization. Implementing video transcripts, optimizing titles and descriptions with relevant keywords, and leveraging video schema markup can enhance visibility and engagement on search engine results pages (SERPs).

4. Semantic Search Optimization: Search engines are increasingly sophisticated in understanding the context and semantics of user queries. Marketers should focus on creating comprehensive, authoritative content that addresses diverse aspects of a topic, leveraging semantic keywords and related terms to signal relevance and depth to search algorithms.

5. E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Google’s emphasis on E-A-T principles underscores the importance of establishing credibility and trustworthiness in online content. Demonstrating expertise, building authoritative backlinks, and fostering a positive reputation within the digital ecosystem are integral to enhancing SEO performance and user trust.

6. Local SEO: For businesses targeting local audiences, optimizing for local search is paramount. Claiming and optimizing Google My Business listings, maintaining consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) information across online directories, and soliciting positive reviews from satisfied customers are essential for improving local search visibility.

7. Zero-Click Searches: With the rise of featured snippets, knowledge panels, and other SERP features, many searches now result in zero-click interactions, where users obtain information directly on the search results page. Marketers can capitalize on this trend by optimizing content for featured snippets, aiming to secure prime real estate atop SERPs and drive traffic through informational queries.

8. User Experience (UX) Optimization: Beyond keywords and backlinks, user experience plays a crucial role in SEO performance. Factors such as site speed, mobile-friendliness, intuitive navigation, and engaging multimedia elements contribute to higher rankings and improved user satisfaction, signaling relevance and quality to search engines.

9. Sustainable SEO Strategies: In an era of constant algorithm updates and evolving best practices, adopting sustainable SEO strategies is imperative for long-term success. Focus on creating valuable, user-centric content, building organic backlinks through genuine relationships, and adapting flexibly to emerging trends and technologies.

10. AI-Powered Content Creation: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized content creation, enabling marketers to generate high-quality, relevant content at scale. AI-driven tools analyze search trends, user intent, and competitor data to produce content that resonates with target audiences and ranks well on search engines.

In conclusion, mastering SEO in 2024 requires a multifaceted approach that encompasses cutting-edge techniques, user-centric principles, and adaptability to the evolving digital landscape. By staying informed, embracing innovation, and prioritizing user experience and authenticity, businesses can navigate the complexities of SEO and drive sustainable growth in the competitive online marketplace.

The post Navigating SEO in 2024 appeared first on Ready to Run Designs.

Your Online Calling Card

Look at your website as your online calling card. Use it to introduce your business to potential customers. Include images of your business and the people who work there. Make it personal and customize your website accordingly. Show your customers who you really are and focus on the pride you take in providing the highest quality service possible. If you want this to be your first impression, make it a good one!

Provide Accurate and Relevant Information

Always do your best to provide information to your customers that is as accurate and relevant as possible. People want to be able to take something with them when they visit a website. They want to learn something. They want information they can use that will make a difference in their lives. Add new content that is fresh and up-to-date. The information you provide to your customers will be what is needed to build a solid foundation of trust.

Make It Colorful

Websites need to be bright and colorful. Add images and videos. Create photo collages and use graphics that are eye-catching. Use colors that match your business logo. Balance your colors so they are pleasing to look at. Work with a website designer who understands how certain colors work together. Once you have the right color scheme and graphics, your website will shine. It will be one that potential customers will remember.

Use Interactive Tools

People love to use interactive tools. Include a Live Chat button or a survey they can take. Give your customers something to do while they are on your website. Make each page easy to navigate so your customers can find everything they need with only a few clicks. If your website is easy to use and offers real-time interactions, customers are more likely to return if they are looking for something you specialize in.

Be Unique

Another way to make sure your website stands out and gets the attention you want is to make it unique. Be creative. Showcase the things that make your company the best choice. Look at a few of your favorite websites and find out what makes them so special. Now look at your own company and find the key points that set you apart from the rest. Build your website so that those points are the primary focal points that make your business stand out.

Building a powerful website is important. Without it, your company is at a huge disadvantage. When you have a well-built website, your business will stand out among its competitors. Putting a little extra effort into the creation of your online calling card will pay benefits longer and more effectively than any other type of marketing strategy.

The post Make the most of your website appeared first on Ready to Run Designs.

With the release of Chrome 68 in July of 2018, Google announced that Non-HTTPS sites will now be declared “Not Secure” sites, acting as a beacon and warning off potential site visitors and potential customers. This is big news, but you may not fully understand all of the layers and implications this announcement can have on your business.

What is a HTTPS website? How does this announcement affect my current web page? Will it affect the traffic my website receives? Don’t worry. We’ve taken a moment to answer these questions and others to help you understand the importance of properly securing your site and protecting your company. Keep reading below and we will simplify what all of this means to you.

Protect Information Exchange with Secure Socket Layers

Acronyms can be confusing, so let’s break down what they mean. The “s” you find at the end of the “http” portion of a URL means the website represents an extra layer of protection. HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure version of HTTP, the protocol in which data is sent between a website and a browser. These websites have something known as an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate that protects users by securing information in three separate layers:

1. Data Integrity: Files will not be corrupted when transferred
2. Authentication: Protects users from attacks
3. Encryption: Makes users data hard to track, protecting their information from hackers.

The main benefit of HTTPS is it offers a secure connection to your website visitors where they can share personal data with you. For example, when a customer of an online vendor shares credit card details, HTTPS offers an additional layer of protection.

Taking a Deeper Look at SSL Certificates

To enjoy the benefits of HTTPS, you will need to install a SSL certificate. This will help ensure data between browsers and your web service stays secure and private. Once an SSL certificate installed on your server, it acts like a padlock  — engineering a secure connection between the browser and web server. While a hacker may find a way to intercept vital customer information — they will be unable to decrypt it or use it without the special key or code for your padlocked data.

Enhance Your Search Engine Optimization

If you don’t already know, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art of increasing the visibility of your website. Websites with higher visibility will attract more high-quality traffic, which have a higher probability to turn into paying customers. In short, a robust SEO strategy is similar to having a giant neon sign in the digital world that attracts customers looking for the products or services you offer.

Simply put, having an SEO strategy is a must-have for any business looking to capitalize on the 63,000 Google searches performed every second. And the security of your website can have a direct impact on SEO strategy and your ability to gain high visibility.

Are SSL and SEO Connected?

Yes! SSL and SEO are very connected. Research was conducted to understand the importance of an SSL certificate to SEO. The results were telling! After analyzing over 1 million search results on Google, it was concluded that having a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure domain directly impacts the rankings on Google’s first page. This means not having an SSL certificate or an HTTPS site can cause your web page to have less visibility and less traffic. In addition:

• Google Chrome will label HTTP sites as insecure, which can warn users away from your site because the connection isn’t secure.
• HTTP sites will load much slower than HTTPS, and the speed at which a page loads is proven to be a huge SEO ranking factor.
• Since 2014, Google’s ranking algorithm has included HTTPS as a signal.

However, not having a secure site can affect more than your traffic and search engine results page (SERP) positioning: it can affect your ability to convert sales.

• A staggering 84% of users will ditch a purchase if their data is being transmitted over an insecure connection.

Contact Ready to Run for Assistance with SSL Certificates

Don’t scare visitors away from your site, increase the number of cart abandons, or lose valuable SEO positioning because your site isn’t secure. Instead, it’s vital to install the right SSL certificate to provide the best user experience. 

However, when it comes to choosing SSL certificates, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Fortunately, the experts at Ready to Run Designs can help! We are a team of digital marketers and website design professionals who will guide you to the best SSL certificate based on your needs and goals.

Don’t wait! Contact Ready to Run today for assistance with SSL Certificates.

The post Do SSL Certificates Have an Affect on SEO Rank? appeared first on Ready to Run Designs.

The potential benefits of landing in position 0 on a search engine results page are tremendous. You stand to enjoy more traffic, more SERP visibility, and a significant jolt in the credibility of your brand. Fortunately, you don’t have to be in a top-ranking position to land in position 0.

Getstat reports a stunning 70% of featured snippets are from sites not currently in top-ranking organic positions. Let’s take a closer look at featured snippets and a few suggested ways you can increase your chances of landing in position 0.

What Are the Most Common Types of Featured Snippets?

Featured snippets can come in virtually all sizes and shapes, including:

• Numbered lists
• Paragraphs
• Tables
• Bulleted lists
• Images
• YouTube Videos
• Charts

According to Getstat, the most popular type of snippet is the “paragraph” type at 81.95%, list snippets came in at 10.77%, while table snippets came in at 7.28%. And when it comes to the types of queries receiving the most featured snippets, they include:

1. Health
2. DIY processes
3. Mathematical
4. Financial
5. Status
6. Requirements
7. Transitional

How Can I Get a Featured Snippet?

No doubt, this is the million dollar question! The sobering answer is Google will decide which user’s queries will be most effectively answered by a featured snippet. At the same time, Google will decide which domains they’ll use for the answer.

Although you can tell Google to not use a page for a featured snippet — by including <meta name=“googlebot“ content=“nosnippet”>  in the page header — there are no official markups that will make Google use your page. This also means you don’t need to have any type of special HTML markups for search engines to feature content from your site in position 0.

Claiming Position 0 Starts with Keyword Research

Most studies confirm featured snippets are regularly triggered by long-tail keywords, such as the “What are featured snippets?” query demonstrated above. As a matter of fact, the more words you type into the search box, the more likely you’ll be presented with a featured snippet. If you’re looking to land in position 0, start your keyword research with featured snippets in mind. Consider:

• You may find more success with long-tail question-type of queries. Look to answer one of the Five W’s — who, when, what, why, or where — of intermediate difficulty. It’s a good place to start because these are the easiest to identify, but you shouldn’t stop there.
• You should also target informational intent — not just questions. Although featured snippets usually look to answer a searcher’s immediate question, question-type queries are not the only kind that trigger featured snippets. According to an Ahrefs study, large majority of keywords that triggered featured snippets were long-tail queries without any questions in them.

Keep Your Sections Tight

If you want to land a featured snippet, it’s vital to keep the section concise and tight. One commonality we’ve noticed throughout most featured snippets is brevity. In addition, you should section off your paragraphs and lists instead of simply letting them run all together.

For example, this list is only 55 words. And SEMrush suggests it’s a relatively normal length for featured snippets. Their analysis discovered the most common length for featured snippet content is anywhere from 40-50 words.

However, it doesn’t mean your entire article should be a single paragraph. On the contrary, Google has consistently given preference to longer-format content, which is commonly referred to as cornerstone content. This content should be broken into smaller, more digestible subsections with attention-grabbing images.

Even if you do not believe longer-format cornerstone content receives preferential treatment in Google, you can still cover more related questions in a single piece by creating longer, more in-depth content. Here are a few tips that have delivered exceptional results for others:

1. Ask questions in subheaders throughout the article. These subheaders should be closely related to the title.
2. Once you ask the question, immediately answer it in a shorter one-paragraph answer.
3. You can elaborate on the topic later on in the article.

Use Headers to Section off Your Content

In the process of formatting your content for featured snippets, it’s critical your break up content using SEO best practices. Make sure you organize your lists, steps, or paragraphs with headers in natural chronological order. You can use H1 headers, H2, H3, and H4 headers to organize your content and communicate the right message.

Keep It Well Organized and Factual

Similar to users, Google simply loves lists, steps, facts and numbers. You’ll see this time and time again, the information presented in featured snippets will be numbered lists, actual ingredients, cooking times, city of birth and birth years, as well as other fact based elements. Make sure to get as factual as possible and always employ numbers, lists, and proper names. Google seems to notice and like certain HTML codes, such as:

• <ol> Order Lists
• <table> Table
• <ul> Unordered list

Create a Single Article that Answers Several Related Question

Based on data from Ahrefs, once your page gets featured for particular information, it’s much more likely to be featured in other related queries. As a result, you should word your article and structure it in a manner that provides a lot of answers to several similar questions.

Google is exceptional at determining closely related questions and synonymic questions, which means there is no point in creating a new page to answer closely related questions. Having problems coming up with great questions? Use the Serpstat tool under “Questions” to help you create an awesome list of questions with your core keyword.

Got SEO questions? Don’t hesitate to contact Ready to Run for solutions and answers.

The post Climbing to Position O with Featured Snippets appeared first on Ready to Run Designs.

While off-page SEO refers to external ranking signals like backlinks, citations, etc. — on-page SEO refers to both your HTML source code as well as content. Let’s take a closer look at a few simple and actionable on-page SEO steps you can take to improve the performance of your pages.

If Your Content Isn’t Solving a Problem…You Have a Problem

Far too often, we see companies who are doing it all wrong! Instead of looking to solve a problem for potential readers and/or prospects, they create content that is self-serving. Today, consumers are smarter than ever and are more hip to overtly-used sales language.

It’s best to create content that solves a unique problem. When you start with a problem and link it to a solution your business provides, you are well on your way! In addition, make sure your solution-based content checks all of the following boxes:

• Title tags and meta descriptions are still super important. So much so, your title tags and meta descriptions are the first — and may be the only — impression potential readers will have of your site. Make sure your title tags and Meta descriptions are irresistible enough to arrest the reader’s attention and make them click.
• Short and long-tail keywords should be well integrated. As you’re writing to solve a problem, you should think like a consumer thinks! Furthermore, you should include the words your potential clients would use to learn more about a solution to their problem. Make sure you’ve done your research and are including relevant short and long-tail keywords in your content, title tags, and Meta descriptions.
• Keep your content fresh. Make it a practice to review your content and keep it up to date. This should be a continual wash and repeat cycle, which will help influence the freshness ranking factor for your pages.
• Headlining with your header tags. It’s critical your H1, H2, and H3 are in a logical order to communicate the importance of subheaders to search engine crawlers. For example, the title of your page is the H1 and the H2 header tags should be related to (or be a sub-question) the title.
• What’s a picture worth? We know an image is worth a thousand words, but they can significantly slow down the performance of your site, which can negatively affect your SEO. Make sure your images are compressed to make your page nimble. And adding title file names and alt text can help your pictures rank in image searches as well as make them more accessible to all readers.

Elevating Your On-Page SEO to the Next Level

If you’re looking to elevate the profile of your website and take your on-page SEO to the next level, make sure you do the following:

• How easy is your content to read and digest? In general, the easier your content is to read, the better. You can use Flesch-Kincaid Readability tests to determine where you content ranks.
• Term frequency-inverse document frequency or TF-IDF may sound pretty intimidating, but it’s not. This term simply refers to the number of times a keyword (such as “How to fix a leaky faucet”) is mentioned on your page divided by the number of time in other places. It’s nothing more than a calculation to determine the relevance of “how to fix a leaky faucet” is on your page. If you can master this relatively simple technique, you can take your on-page SEO to the next level and help improve the visibility of your content.
• Get your content featured in Position 0 —Google’s Featured Snippets. Featured Snippets are type of search engine result designed to provide users with a direct, concise answer to their questions — directly on the SERP page without the user needing to click through on any specific result. Featured snippets come in a range of sizes and shapes, including bulleted lists, paragraphs, numbered lists, tables, YouTube videos, images, and more.

Make Your Content Crawler Accessible

A web crawler is a spider bot used by search engines to systematically scour the World Wide Web. If you want your page to be found or improve your visibility, make sure you can confidently check the following accessibility boxes:

• Meta robots tag allows crawling. If you’re blocking Google bots from crawling your website, you will never be found. In addition, you should make sure your URL is included in the sitemap.
• Internal linking is critical. If you create a blog post called “How to fix a leaky faucet,” you should have other pages linking to this page with anchor text that includes “How to fix a leaky faucet.” This will help ensure Google knows the keyword is important and the page is actually about fixing leaky faucets.
• Schema markup is a semantic vocabulary code you can add to your site to assist search engines in returning better results for users. By adding relative schema markup, you can spoon feed search engines what your content and pages are about.

Amplify Your Content with SEO Solutions

We get it — optimizing your content can seem confusing, especially when you consider the countless other tasks vying for your attention as a business owner. However, you don’t have to do it alone. Ready to Run offers a full team of SEO specialists who will work to optimize your content and improve visibility, so your content won’t go unnoticed.

The post Make a Difference with the On-Page SEO Content Checklist appeared first on Ready to Run Designs.

There are a lot of misconceptions about WordPress. Many people still think of WordPress as just the blogging tool it started out as in the early 2000s. In reality, WordPress has become the most robust and popular content management system for websites in the history of the internet.  In fact, according to a 2018 report, WordPress is used by nearly 30% of all websites and accounts for more than 60% of websites utilizing a content management system.

Make no mistake, Wordpress can be used to manage nearly any website you can imagine.

What makes WordPress so popular:

Ease of Use

WordPress has an easy, intuitive backend content management system that you don’t need to be a web developer to use. Adding new pages, blog posts, pictures or other content can be as easy as sending an email or working within a word processor. Also, WordPress can be accessed through any web browser, which allows you to manage your website through any computer connect to the internet.

Above you can see a sample picture of the WordPress backend. As you will see, many of the features and functions are no different or more complicated than a word processor or email.

User Management

WordPress allows multiple users on a website, but with different levels of access. From greatest to least amount of access, these roles include Administrators, Editors, Authors, Contributors and Subscribers. This allows the website’s owner to allow more than one person to make contributions to website, but also restrict certain individuals from areas they do not need access to.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo love the clean and simple code behind WordPress that makes it easy for them to index a website.

In addition to the SEO benefits WordPress offers “out of the box,” plugins, such as Yoast or All In One SEO Pack, can greatly enhance the search optimization efforts on a website for free. These plugins advanced SEO features that can be followed by beginners.

For a comprehensive overview of all of the SEO benefits WordPress has to offer, we recommend you take a look at “The definitive guide to higher rankings for WordPress sites” by Yoast.

Open Source

Perhaps the single greatest asset for WordPress is its large community of people working on it world wide. WordPress is an Open Source project, which gives the platform access to hundreds of developers constantly making improvements to the code your site is built upon.

The WordPress community also provides access to numerous free online forums to speak with WordPress experts and enthusiasts to address any questions you may have about the platform.

Add On Features Through Plugins

Developers are constantly working on new plugins to extend the features and functionality of a website. These plugins allow you to easily add features like an event calendar, social media feeds, contact forms, photo galleries and much more. With more than 52,000 plugins available mostly for free, anyone can adapt their WordPress website to their specific needs. If you need something more advanced or tailored, numerous paid plugins are also available at a reasonable cost.

It is important to always remember plugins can slow down a website and should be chosen carefully. If not properly researched, plugins can also have conflicts with each other that can create errors on your website. It is always recommended that you do your homework or consult with a website professional before making changes to any plugins on a website.

Conclusion

WordPress is the richest and most well supported website platform in the world. The wide range of time and cost saving benefits has made WordPress the clear choice for so many businesses, content creators and members of the web development community.

The post Benefits of Using WordPress appeared first on Ready to Run Designs.

What is AMP?

Simply put, the AMP version of your website is essentially a bare-bones framework that contains only the most important parts of what you have to offer. Google, along with many other observers, are convinced that the greatest opportunity for growth lies with mobile devices. In order to make the most out of this, websites need to be able to load quickly, even in areas that have less than optimal data coverage.

Will AMP Affect Your Website?

Google has made it clear that if your website loads slowly in a mobile browser, you are going to be penalized for it. Since AMP is at such an early stage in its development, implementing it on your site now could give you a leg-up on your competition. AMP results are at the top of search pages, meaning even if you have the top spot for a keyword, if you do not have AMP set up for your website, you will be below pages that do.

How Does AMP Work?

AMP works by using a specific type of code called AMP HTML which puts certain constraints on what can or cannot be published. Third-party Javascript code on your site will generally not load within an AMP page, since it can considerably increase loading times for someone on a mobile device. It is still possible to use third-party code on the AMP version of your site, but the code will need to fall in line with AMP guidelines. Major third-party developers such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram already have AMP-specific versions of their plug-ins so that they will continue to work on your website.

Implementing AMP on Your Website.

If your website runs on WordPress, there are a few plug-ins you can download straight from the dashboard that will do most of the work for you. One of the best, and most frequently updated, is the official Automattic/Wordpress AMP plugin, which can be found here. This plug-in creates an AMP version of all of your existing pages, which will then be indexed over the next few days.

For sites that do not run on WordPress, the process of creating AMP-compatible pages for existing content will require an overhaul of your CSS. This is something usually best left to a professional, since it can take a lot of time to do the right way.

Tracking with AMP.

Keeping track of your visitors through Google Analytics is fairly simple throughout the AMP version of your website, as you only need to add a bit of code to your pages. Other tracking programs may not work quite as easily, which is where professional help would usually come into play.

The post Everything You Need to Know About the AMP Project appeared first on Ready to Run Designs.

It’s not just big businesses that need to be concerned about cyber security. Attacks on small businesses are becoming common. In fact, according to a 2013 National Small Business Survey, about 44% of small businesses have been attacked and approximately 75% of the victims are completely unaware of the breach.

Although advanced maintenance and security packages are available at firms like ours, the following are some important security precautions every website owner should take:

1) Update out of date/ delete unused plugins.

Although plugins can offer tremendous benefits to a website, they can also create security threats. The threat is even greater if the plugin is no longer being updated or maintained. It is important to evaluate the necessity of each plugin on a regular basis. Remove any plugins that are no longer supported or are no longer needed on the website.

2.) Use a security plugin.

It is important to be selective with any plugin you wish to install on your website, but security plugins can makes significant changes to your database and other site files which can impact how a website functions. It is important to review each option carefully and back up all website files before installing any  security plugin.

That being said, here are a few security plugins we recommend*:

• iThemes Security: Formerly known as Better WP Security, this plugin is now maintained and supported by iThemes. It offers one of the best all in one security solutions available in a free and pro version.
• Wordfence: Another excellent all in one security plugin option for wordpress websites. It has over 4 million downloads and a nearly perfect user rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars.
• BulletProof Security: Another popular all in one option with about 1.5 million downloads. It offers both a free and a pro version and boasts an impressive user rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.

If your website has been the victim of an attack, Sucuri is one of the most trusted names in malware removal.

3.) Use a unique username.

Don’t use the “admin” username. It is the most common username for WordPress websites and hackers exploit this fact for brute force attacks.

4.) Change up the password.

Weak passwords make websites vulnerable to brute force and other forms of attacks.

• Passwords should be changed frequently.
• The passwords you use should include letters, numbers, mixed case, punctuation and be at least 8 characters. It helps to use a random password generator.
• Force users on the WordPress site to use strong passwords.
• Never reuse a password, make them unique for each website.
• Consider using a password manager such as Lastpass, 1Password, DashLane or RoboForm.

For more advice on passwords, check out WordPress’ guide to passwords.

5.) Backup the website.

Although a backup will not help you prevent a security threat, it will be a life saver if your website is hacked. The following are some recommended backup plugins*:

•  VaultPress: Brought to you by Matt Mullenweg (co-founder of WordPress), VaultPress is a subscription based service with a few different pricing options.
• UpdraftPlus: With over 1.6 million downloads and a user rating of 4.8 stars out of 5, UpdraftPlus is one of the most popular and highest rated backup plugins for WordPress.
• BackupBuddy: Another plugin brought to you by the folks at iThemes, BackupBuddy is a pail WordPress backup plugin.

6.) Keep your website up to date.

In 2012, more than 117,000 WordPress installations were hacked. According to a survey conducted by WP White Security, vulnerable, outdated versions ofWordPress are one major source. Less than 20% of the websites analyzed were running the most current version of WordPress.

WordPress itself isn’t the only thing to keep up to date. Themes and plugins are just as important to maintain. A recent survey found the following:

• 29% were hacked via a security issue in the WordPress Theme they were using
• 22% were hacked via a security issue in the WordPress Plugins they were using

7.) Enable Two Step Authentication

Enabling two-factor authentication can significantly improve the overall security of any WordPress website. Two-factor authentication is a method of securing accounts by requiring that you not only know a password, but that you also possess something like a mobile device. Once a password has been entered, a code is sent to a mobile device that must also be entered. The benefit of two-factor authentication is that even is a password can be guessed the hacker would also need to have stolen the mobile device.

*This represents a thrid-party product or service. Ready to Run Designs makes no claims or warrantees for this product or service.

The post Keeping Your WordPress Website Secure appeared first on Ready to Run Designs.

How to Optimize Images for Search Engines

Images not only help a webpage look great, they are also an important part of a website’s search rankings. The following will examine some of the most important elements search engines use to determine which images to index.

Numerous specialty search engines, also known as “verticals,” exist within major search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. A vertical is simply search engine that focuses on a specific type of Web content, such as the items on the Google menu bar (YouTube, Google Shopping, Google Images etc.). Following the best practices will not only increase the likelihood of a webpage being ranked higher for relevant keywords in a general search, but also the image being found through a vertical.

In addition to being found through searches on these verticals, content within these categories can also appear in the general web search results. Therefore, it is important to optimize all forms of online content to be indexed by search engines.

Here are a few ways to improve the likelihood of getting search engines to index an image:

1. Descriptive Alt Tags: Search engines are able to see that an image is on a webpage, but it cannot read what the image is without a little help. Alt tags provide search engines with a description of the image, which are used in indexing images in search results.
2. Title Tags: Like alt tags, title tags also help search engine bots know what the image displayed is all about. It should be short, catchy and descriptive. In FireFox, Opera, and other browsers, the title tag pops up when a visitor hovers over an image.
3. Image File Names: Include keywords that describe the image in its file name. For example, the file name web-design-professional.jpg would be a better name than stockpic18662k334d772.jpg for the image below. Also notice that the name of the file is more than one word, which have been separated or “parsed” with hyphens. Although website copy should be written naturally, image files should exclude non-keywords in the title.
4. Image Size: Large photos should be resized to help preserve page speed. The image size should also be included in the html on the page to give search engines details on the size of the photo. (Note that the image size code should not be used to resize the image on the page). Images should be resized prior to being uploaded to the website.
5. Add Keyword Rich Captions: Adding keyword-rich captions directly above or beneath an image can also improve its chances of being indexed higher by search engines.
6. Anchor Text: Just like using links to a page or article, including good anchor text is important when linking to an image. Using the picture below as an example once again, change generic links, such as “View Photo,” to something like “Website Developer – View Larger” to include keywords in the anchor text.
7. File Formats: If you have access to Photoshop or a similar program, take advantage of the “Save for Web” option to optimize a photo. If this is not an option, try to save photos in JPEG format and set to a resolution of 72 pixels per inch. A full discussion of image format & SEO is beyond the scope of this article, website owners may also want to look into Google’s WebP image format.

Image Optimization Helpful Hints

Image Optimization Helpful Hints

In addition to these more technical aspects, some general SEO rules apply to images as well.

• Avoid Keyword Stuffing: Stuffing keywords into any of the areas discussed above will be seen as a “black hat” SEO tactic by search engine and have a negative impact on search rankings. Instead, use keyword-rich text that is written in plain English.
• User Experience: Like all other content on a website, images should be chosen based upon the value it will add to the visitor’s experience. Carefully select pictures or graphics that will both resonate as well as immediately communicate the message of that web page. Put differently, if a picture is worth a thousand words, make sure it reinforces a message consistent with the text on the page.
• Consider Image Quality: Good quality photos make for a better user experience, so avoid using blurry or low resolution photos. However, before you start uploading huge, high resolution images; remember files that are too large will take longer to load, slowing down page speed and diminishing the overall user experience.
• Image Placement: Many visitors will not scroll to the bottom of a page, so it is generally a good idea to position images higher on a page. According to Google’s guidelines, image captions, titles, and other content surrounding an image provides search engines with important information used to understand an image.

To conclude, be mindful of how search engines read and index content and how that relates to search ranking. Following best practices for image optimization and general search engine optimization, your website will see drastic improvements.

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