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Tips, Tricks & Reviews

A blog dedicated to the WordPress community for designers and administrators

Google’s New Search Console Gives Users a Modern and Slick Interface

Website administrators should now be seeing an option to display Google Search Console (Google Webmaster Tools) with an updated design. While there are some new features that were added (and other important ones missing), it is this new design that takes the spotlight. You can see the difference from the screenshots below. The old Google Search Console is starting to look a little dated. This new and improved interface is a lot quicker and more appealing! The first thing I noticed in the new version of the Search Analytics section is the removal of the filter checkboxes. Instead, you can […]

September 5, 2018 News

Niche Dreams – Part 2: Networking, Tools, Link Building, and Content Creation

Welcome to part 2 of my planned year-long monthly updates reflecting on the progress of my Amazon affiliate niche website. If you haven’t done so already, please read part 1 to understand why I decided to become an affiliate. There’s also some good information on researching other Amazon affiliate websites which will help you build a strategy of your own. In part 2, I’ll go over some tools and people that I trust for guidance on this quest for success. You’ll learn some link building tactics I’ve implemented as well as my content creation strategy. It can be difficult to […]

September 4, 2018 Niche Dreams

Why your organic rankings might increase with Google Ads

It’s definitely a nice bonus when you start seeing keyword rankings rise in the SERPS when running a Google Ads campaign. While some people might cry foul and think that Google is rewarding them for using their paid ads, I truly believe it is user engagement that causes this increase. However, I don’t necessarily agree that traffic of any kind can cause your keywords to perform better in Google.

August 31, 2018 News, SEO

Should websites hosted outside of Europe worry about GDPR?

I’ve definitely noticed more cookie notification bars these days while browsing various websites. On the one hand, I understand the caution that webmasters must have for maintaining compliance. On the other, it’s getting a little annoying dealing with these additional obstructions. Yes, I realize my personal information might be collected and stored. Usually, this information is strictly behavioral or geographical in nature. Where Am I located? What links have I clicked on? That sort of thing. I really don’t care what is done with that information.

August 30, 2018 News

Several reasons to activate maintenance mode on your website

Working on extensive changes isn’t the only reason you should consider activating maintenance mode. I’ve listed some additional cases where it might be necessary. If at all possible, you should avoid maintenance mode altogether. However, as you’ll learn below sometimes it is unavoidable.

August 29, 2018 News, Tips

Take your website’s SSL certificate to the next level with HSTS

This is news to me. Before coming across this article I had never heard of HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security). Now that I have an understanding of the purpose and benefits it provides, there really isn’t a reason not to implement it. Unless of course, for some strange reason you plan on removing HTTPS and your SSL certificate from your website.

August 28, 2018 News, Security, SEO

Google Vs. Bing: Which offers better search results

I really believe that it has been ingrained in our minds that Google is the all-mighty search engine. Far superior to any competitors. Yes, they’ve earned that clout through their hard work over the past two decades. However, it’s important to not automatically discount other search engines. Some of them have made a name for themselves by focusing on a particular feature.

August 27, 2018 News

Does Googlebot index content that is delayed through lazy loading?

Lazy loading is one way to speed up loading by only rendering assets within view. There are several plugins available for free on WordPress to accomplish this. It’s not just images that can be targeted. Other assets such as iframes can be delayed in rendering which could have quite an impact if you have many youtube embeds. It’s also not uncommon to see premium themes these days incorporate lazy loading directly.

August 24, 2018 News, SEO

Are SEO shortcuts worth the risk? That depends on what’s at stake

When it comes to ranking a website for targeted keywords, I don’t judge others how they achieve that goal. After all, it’s not about breaking the law. Rather, it has to do with trying to fool Google. Is it worth the risk of getting your website blacklisted or penalized? That’s the main question that needs to be asked.

August 23, 2018 News, SEO

PHP vulnerability could lead to WordPress websites being comprised

The majority of WordPress website administrators shouldn’t be freaking out. Basically, your security has to be pretty lax in order for the sequence of events to take place for a complete system takeover. Any good admin knows to install a firewall application for WordPress. There are several plugins available that are fairly easy to set up. I suggest All in One WP Security & Firewall if you’re looking for a robust solution.

August 22, 2018 News, Security