Evan Hoeflich, Author at

Life Is Unpredictable- Be Prepared By Saving As Much Cash As Possible

January 28, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

Saving money is important…in fact it is necessary with the unpredictability that we face in our everyday lives.

When we have frightening statistics like 78% of full-time U.S. workers living paycheck to paycheck, we know this is an area that is worth discussing.

The problem with living paycheck to paycheck is that one small emergency can completely rock someone’s world in a negative way.

There is no safety, security or certainty when you have little to no money in the bank.

That can be an extremely stressful way to live and it’s astonishing that so many Americans are in this situation currently.

Unfortunately, life’s emergencies will indeed come your way and if you’re not prepared, it can turn into a big mess.

Now is the time to get a hold of your finances and take this seriously…your future depends on it.

In this post, I wanted to briefly go over a few tips, techniques and lifestyle practices I use to make sure I’m prepared when the water gets choppy.

Tips On Saving Money For Emergencies

These three simple tips below have helped me save extra money and smooth the ride when those unexpected expenses show up.

Downgrade Your Life:

Quite literally, many people who struggle with money look like they have it all together with the latest gadgets, new clothes, leased cars, spacious house/apartment etc…but in reality, in many cases the more “stuff” you have the more broke you are (this isn’t always the case, but the more you read up and research personal finance, the more you’ll see this is a common trend). Many of the true rich people or people who have a financial cushion, live extremely simple lives. They have no debt, drive used cars, live in modest houses, don’t purchase the latest and greatest technology and ultimately live well below their means. Try to adopt a minimalist lifestyle yourself, not only will it make you happier, but it will stuff more cash in your pockets as well.

Increase your income:

Another good way to save more money for emergencies is to increase your income. You can make this happen in a few different ways, whether that’s getting a raise at your current place of work, starting a side-hustle, picking up a second job on weekends (waiting tables/cutting grass), selling crap shoved away in your closet, garage or basement etc. These simple tweaks in your life can dramatically help you stash away extra cash and provide you with a bit more flexibility financially. Sacrifice now, so you can be more comfortable down the road.

Keep track of your progress:

This was a game-changer for me when I started keeping track of my progress (more specifically my net worth). I recommend tracking your savings growth in an excel spreadsheet or by using a free service online. There is something about watching your money grow (or debt decrease), that is incredibly motivating and keeps you pushing in the right direction. Don’t worry if you’re starting from absolutely nothing, if you take this serious, over the course of a few months to a few years, the results can be inspiring.

Preparing yourself for financial security takes major discipline but it is well worth the sacrifice.

Everyone will have different circumstances, but I think we can all agree that having extra money in the bank is extremely helpful.

The sooner you get on the path to financial awareness, independence and freedom, the better off you’ll be.

You owe it to yourself to create a more secure future for yourself as well as your family.

Money isn’t everything, but it is a tool that will make other areas of your life that much easier.

Please do treat your personal finance with the same intensity that you would at your full-time job or business.

It’s one of the most important skills you could master in your life.

Personal Finance

Maintaining a Positive Cash Flow and Why It Is Important for Your Business

January 27, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

Note: Want to generate more organic traffic and increase the overall exposure of your business? Take a minute to browse through my SEO services here.

One of the most important parameters of your business’ health is its liquidity, which comes down to the amount of cash you have on your hands at all times. Insufficient cash flow is something that can hurt your company severely, as 60% of failed businesses report that their collapse was due to some kind of cash flow problems. In general, the liquidity of an asset or its security is determined by its potential to be traded quickly without losing value. In this sense, cash is the most liquid asset, while a car or real estate are less liquid since you can’t trade them right away without being forced to lower their price. Now let’s see what liquidity means for your company and how to maintain it at a satisfactory level.

The importance of liquidity

When it comes to particular businesses, they are considered liquid if they have enough cash at their disposal to effectively cover all their liabilities in the forthcoming period. Note that the fact that you’re making profit doesn’t necessarily mean your company is liquid. In accrual accounting, as soon as the invoice is sent, the amount of money you are owed is calculated as income. However, this is usually not the point in time when the money is actually transferred to your account. Why is this discrepancy important?

The fact is, you can’t pay the bills, taxes, goods or raw material with invoices. You can use only cash. So, to keep your business running and your liabilities under control, you need to find the way to maintain a positive cash flow. A lack of liquidity can damage your credit rating as well, since you might find yourself unable to pay out your loans. Furthermore, having money on your hands enables you to make smart strategic moves whenever an opportunity arises. For instance, you can take advantage of discounts or special offers that last for a limited amount of time and thus save money, but that’s impossible without being able to pay for those things right away.

Liquidity is also very important for seasonal businesses and new businesses. Neither of these have time to lose, and need every dime they can get their hands on in order to keep the business rolling.

Maintaining the cash flow

To maintain a positive cash flow, it’s necessary to always have a plan. When planning to give out discounts to your customers, make sure you know exactly how it will affect your balance. The actual cost of your offer and profit margins should be calculated in detail. It’s useful to try cash accounting, which takes into account only the transactions made in cash and provides you with valuable info regarding the liquidity of your business.

However, your financial plan can’t be perfectly designed and you can’t predict all the factors. Therefore, you might end up deep in trouble anyway. Loans are the easiest way to inject some cash into your company, but this should be your last resort. First, you should try to get the money from your debtors, and avoid making new ones. There are a few ways to do this.

One of the things you could try is recurring payment. You can give your customers an option to subscribe to your service and pay periodically, usually on a monthly level, instead of paying for everything up front. This flexible paying system will make people more eager to use your service. It will do good things for you as well, since you’ll get a regular and stable cash injection you can count on every month. You can use recurring payment platforms that automatize the whole process and leave you with more time to deal with your business.

Another way is factoring. Factoring firms will buy your accounts receivable right away, in return for a small percentage of the money you’re owed. A factoring company basically “buys” your future income and then proceeds to deal with the original debtor.

Instead of maximizing cash flow, you can also try minimizing your liabilities. A uselessly large inventory or an unnecessary excess of employees should be avoided at all times. Cut your regular expenses whenever you can and always try to get an extra few days to pay what you’re due.

Of course, if your business is not doing well, no trick can help you maximize your cash flow. But if your business is generally healthy, then liquidity is all about good planning, balancing ongoing expenses and making sure you get the money you’re owed in time. This is something you ought to be doing regularly and systematically, making it a routine part of your business.

Author Bio:

Jolene Rutheford is a marketing specialist- turned blogger, currently writing quality content for Technivorz. She is interested in and passionate about media and social media, digital marketing, psychology and much more. Jolene loves coffee, jazz, dystopian and fantasy movies.

Any questions for Jolene or I? Please leave them below!

Business

How Has SEO Changed Over The Last 18 Years?

January 25, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

Since the internet was created for the mainstream audience there has been an ongoing battle to create and optimize websites for the sake of increasing search engine rankings. However, this has never been a steady road.

Throughout its history, SEO has gone from throwing in keywords in white at the bottom of a website with vast amounts of link farms, to creating high quality content and adopting a strong link building strategy. As Google controls that vast majority of search traffic, when Google makes a change to its algorithm it effects the entire world of SEO. In this article we will look at how SEO has changed over the last 17 years of its existence.

SEO In The 1990’s

Throughout the 1990s there were several search engine projects developed such as Architext created in 1993 by six Stanford students, Matthew Gray’s World Wide Web Wanderer, along with Ask Jeeves in 1997. It wasn’t however until the early 2000s with the launch of Google’s Toolbar PageRank (TBPR) that we arguably start seeing webmasters paying close attention to measuring the rankings of websites. TBPR allowed webmasters to for the first time comprehend what search engines and specifically Google perceived to be a good website. You could argue that this is the point that SEO started, as it gave a way for webmasters to measure the success of optimization techniques on their websites. It was at this point that Google released its white hat guidelines that would allow the correct websites and best quality websites to appear at the correct place. However, whilst these guidelines existed, they were largely ignored as Google’s algorithm was fairly easy to cheat in that day.

2000-2010

The first documented update to Google’s algorithm was launched in 2002, after which many webmasters suffered heavy casualties. Webmasters complained of ranking within the top 10 results only to completely drop off the search engine results overnight. Prior to this shift, Google would update its algorithm every month with changes here and there, but this was an algorithmic update that would change the entire world of SEO. People complained that relevant searches were being deranked in favour of irrelevant search results. This was due to the way in which this update affected those who had optimized their site on what was previously considered perfectly acceptable link building techniques. After this change, Google began its mission to create a search engine algorithm that focused on providing the user with the most relevant content possible.

During 2003 Google launched eight documented updates in a major attempt at cracking down on black hat SEO. The updates were; Boston, Cassandra, Dominic, Esmerala, Fritz, Supplemental Index update (September Update), and Florida. Cassandra was the first update to come down hard on hidden text and hidden links along with dealing with issues such as large scale link farming. The most notable update was the final update of the year “Florida”, which Search Engine Journal has claimed to be Google’s first major update, and the update that changed SEO forever. After this update, all previous spammy tactics of SEO e.g hidden text, keyword stuffing, multiple sites under same brand were completely eliminated as a method of improving a website’s SEO. This was a time when retailers relied drastically upon affiliates for their traffic, and affiliate based websites were some of the worst hit by the algorithmic update. In return retailers saw a drastic reduction in website traffic as a result of the update. This triggered a tremendous amount out of outcry from companies, since some were going out of business and some even threatened to sue.

2005 marked a massive change in the world of SEO with the introduction of the no-follow attribute. This was a time in which Google joined forces with MSN and Yahoo to crack down on spammy blog comment links. As of today the vast majority of links found in comment sections of websites automatically use the “no-follow” attribute. It was also the year in which Google launched the Google Analytics tool created to help webmasters have a better understanding of the operations of their website along with detailed traffic statistics. In June 2005 Google launched its personalized search function whilst this is a far cry from the personalised search that Google now uses today, it was a drastic improvement from Google’s previous attempt at personalising search results. The Jagger update was an update targeted at reciprocal links, link farms and paid links. Other updates in 2005 also included the introduction of XML sitemaps that could be submitted through webmaster tools, along with the introduction of Google Local/Maps which drastically grew the world of local SEO. A final update which rolled over until March 2006 was known as “Big Daddy” changing the way that Google handled URL canonicalization and 301/302 redirects along with other technical issues.

Throughout the latter half of the noughties there were relatively small updates from Google that to varying degrees had an impact on SEO. However it wasn’t until 2009 that we started to see Google again implement major changes. It was the year that Bing argued that it was going to show drastically better and more relevant search results than Google- a plan that never came into fruition. It was a year that the “Caffeine” update was first previewed, an update aptly named for its focus on drastically boosting Google’s crawling and indexing speed. It wasn’t until the year drew to a close in December 2009 where google found a way of implementing real-time search with Twitter Feeds, Google News and newly indexed content. Prior to this, SEO and search engines only really focused on websites that were designed for the long-term, now journalists and the news world needed to focus on optimizing their content and entering into the world of SEO.

2011-Today

2011-2012 marked two years that many SEO agencies went bust practically overnight, and the reason for this was the Panda update. For a while now many webmasters realized that .edu and links with hypertext such as “van repair” or “car for sale” would result in a higher serp ranking. After Panda tactics such as these had been abused so much, sites that attempted similar practices were deranked. The first major focus for Panda was “thin content”. This would be websites that offered hardly any quality content that were clearly set up for the purpose of increasing search rankings. Duplicate content (content that is somewhere else on the internet) suffered exceptionally heavy repercussions. Low-quality-content that essentially offered no useful value to human readers was swiftly deranked. Authority also became an increasingly important factor in which Google now turns to and stated that they would focus on websites with links from trustworthy sites rather than sites than low authority blog sites. Content farming (creating a website with tons of low quality content with its sole purpose of increasing the serp rankings of other websites) was also cracked on. Further updates included high-ad-to-content-ratio, low-quality content surrounding affiliate links, websites blocked by users, content mismatching search queries etc. Additional important updates include the introduction of schema markup and Google +.

The final massive update from Google was the Penguin update launched in 2012. This was an update that aimed at taking down the more subtle black hat techniques however many have argued that it negatively affected websites using what was previously considered white hat techniques. It meant that sites using spammy hyperlinks around good quality content suffered deranking in the SERPs. There have not been many updates since then apart from a heavier focus on local search which started in 2015 along with a stronger focus on mobile-friendly websites. Google continues to update its algorithm and the way in which the search engine operates, however recently there have been no major changes. We can only speculate what the next great update (if there will be one) will be. The likeliest theory I would put forward is a clampdown on high-quality PBN’s which continue to exist and many have argued produce positive results. These are blog networks owned by SEO professionals that produce high quality content, with non-spammy links, designed and optimized well but exist purely for the purpose of boosting search rankings. It’s something that google has said it is against but at the moment is finding very difficult to detect, 2018 could be the year that this changes.

Author Bio:

Robert Bailey is the managing director of a digital marketing agency specialising in SEO based in Cardiff called SEO Article Heroes.

I hope you enjoyed this post from Robert on the “History of SEO”…Feel free to contact us with any further questions!

5 Useful Tips on How To Stay Happy Naturally

January 22, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

In this post, we will list the 5 most popular holistic activities that people (based all around the globe) use to ward off anxiety, melancholy and depression – and to achieve a sense of elation. These will range from certain exercises, to taking advantage of natural supplements/nutrients, to consciously choosing the people you surround yourself with – and both their individual and collective deployment (in your daily routine) is guaranteed to help you feel better about yourself.

1.) Indulge in an Exercising Activity that You Enjoy

A regular exercising regimen (even if it lasts only for 15 to 30 minutes each day) can significantly increase the level of endorphins circulating within your blood. Endorphins constitute the body’s natural pain-relieving and anxiety-alleviating chemicals, and their endogenous secretions correlate directly with the levels of physical activity that one engages in.

Most medical authorities recommend at least 20 minutes of constant physical aerobic and/or resistance exercise everyday – and this prescription can include plain walking at a reasonable pace. Many patient sufferers of depression have reported reaping a noticeable diminishment in their gloomy ‘down time’ through exercise, which constitutes one of the most effective, immediate & inexpensive ways to stay happy.

If you remain in a constant state of unhappiness, and cannot fathom the thought of getting off of your couch and going into the neighborhood park, then attempting to walk indoors is a good alternative.

Investing in a quality pedometer watch is, again, also a good option, as this implement allows its wearers to keep track of the number of steps that they walk in a 24-hour period – thereby providing further motivation to keep on lifting those stubborn feet day after day!

2.) Make Attainable Goals

Setting attainable goals (no matter how feeble and transitory they may seem at the outset) can have a decisive impact on one’s state of mind – and can help to counter unhappiness in often surprising ways.

Accomplishing a planned feat, be it tidying up your room just after waking up, cleaning the cat’s used utensils/litter box before leaving for work, or simply watering the plants in your garden’s flower bed, helps you gain a personal sense of satisfaction. This ultimately provides you with the strength and motivation to tackle even more complex and trying tasks, and is centered on the ‘one step at a time’ principle of social interaction & commitment.

Choosing to shift between these kinds of goals can stimulate the release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine, like serotonin, is an important neurotransmitter that leads to the attainment of pleasurable feelings and overall emotional-psychological satiety.

3.) Ensure Adequacy of Sleep

Chronic sleep deprivation arising as a result of insomnia or hectic work routines has been known to further compound the problem of depression, and lead to the establishment of a debilitating vicious cycle with grave consequences for a person’s overall health dynamics.

The National Sleep Foundation (a non-profit initiative that seeks to provide updated sleep-time recommendations to different categories of individuals – based on their sex, physical exertion rates, existing disease conditions, and other such factors) prescribes between 7 to 9 hours of sleep for adults between the ages of 26 and 64.

Although every individual has his/her own sleep requirements to determine (through personal analysis and introspection), these guidelines should generally be adhered to in order to attain a fully relaxed psychological state.

A well-rested mind is a happy mind, and one that is significantly more productive than its ill-kept fatigued polar opposite. And you don’t need extensive research studies to validate this point – one’s personal experiences with sleep are enough.

4.) Load Up on Some Beneficial Nutrients

Several clinical trials have shown that a diet rich in Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Folic Acid (Vitamin B9) proves effective in reducing the severity of depression-symptoms in patient sufferers of the illness.

Omega 3’s, instead of being taken in their supplemental pill form, are naturally found loaded in animal products such as eggs and organic meat, and the seeds derived from several plant species. Folate, similarly, can be acquired from a number of vegetable sources like spinach and avocado (among others).

By incorporating these nutrients in one’s daily diet, an individual has a good chance of bolstering his/her inner state of satiety from within the bloodstream. If taking these edibles by way of a healthy eating regimen is not an option (on account of some food allergy or intolerance), resorting to O.T.C supplements may present itself to be a good working alternative.

5.) Avoid Negative Company

In today’s world, a large number of people (who may not have acquired good coping skills while growing up) – and due to the difficult circumstances that they may face on a seemingly existential basis – tend to become unrelenting cynics and pessimists. These individuals can only ever manage to see everything in the proverbial ‘glass half empty’ manner, which is not only unhealthy but toxic to be around.

In order to stay happy, it is absolutely vital to distance oneself from such people, to as large a degree as manageable. This is because they foster a debilitating type of mindset, which is contagious in close quarters.

That said, it is much better to keep the company of happy and optimistic people, that help build you up, instead of tearing you down.

Author Bio:

My name is Rosie Harman (formerly Rosalie Glubbons), and I am a relationship coach, Yoga maestro and blogger. I write for Spectrum Cable Services, and try to present my critical take on the latest sociocultural trends that dominate the blogosphere.

Do you find these tips helpful? Let us know!

Lifestyle

Are Entrepreneurs Born or Built Successful?

January 18, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

Recent tech success stories out of Silicon Valley have generated the idea that anyone who can get VC investors can launch a company and become a successful entrepreneur.

The ultimate collapse of a lot of those start-up businesses has Wall Street rethinking what makes a business leader able to launch a successful startup. It isn’t merely money and a fantastic idea that builds great business, it is great leaders. Americans should reconsider what it means to become an business startup leader.

The term entrepreneur pertains to a person that has established a business…However, it’s more than this; it’s a specific set of abilities and features which are innate in some people or can be learned by passionate individuals. The push to become an entrepreneur is clear to those people in their youth which drives them to begin their own company. If you started your own business designing logos on 99designs then you know you are a natural-born entrepreneur.

Many prosperous startup businesses are established by those that possess a distinct entrepreneurial personality, which scientists dubbed the Entrepreneur Gene, and personality traits that are special in the business world.

Entrepreneurs are Created Differently

Researchers have found that entrepreneurial brains are different and they’ve termed this gap “entrepreneurial cognition.” This usually means the methods entrepreneurs use to make decisions is significantly different than full-time corporate workers. Neuroscientists have ascertained that the women and men who eventually become successful entrepreneurs possess a high need for novelty and liberty, and they’re also highly exploratory, spontaneous, optimistic, enthusiastic and responsible.

This does not indicate they don’t need years of formal schooling, business expertise, and business knowledge – they do. It’s their internal entrepreneur which compels them to obtain this technical training and skill to establish their company. You know you are an entrepreneur if you spend your weekends building an online business.

However, with the right motivation and open mindset, determined individuals without these natural traits can be effectively taught entrepreneurship. Professor Julian Lange, of Babson College, states, “Much of the recent research shows that entrepreneurship can be taught. Maybe, simply put, you can’t teach someone to be passionate about entrepreneurship. On the other hand, I’ve been teaching for 20 years, and in my experience people can definitely discover their passion for entrepreneurship in the classroom. And in terms of general skills, if they start out with interests or endowments that make them more likely to be entrepreneurs or less likely, you can enhance their ability to be entrepreneurs through teaching.”

Attributes of Successful Entrepreneurs

Great Salesman

All business owners will need to understand how to sell. Whether they are promoting their business plans to shareholders for company loans, or if they’re promoting their company mission to their workers, their sales abilities are essential to their win.

Drive for Success

Your enthusiasm for achievement and success may power your entrepreneurial ventures. This is a different kind of mindset compared to that of a “for hire employee”. Several of the most prosperous entrepreneurs came from modest beginnings that drove their desire for achievement. This internal drive will inspire them and keep their spirits up to perform the grueling schedule required to create your own business triumph.

Independent Mind

As an industrialist, you steer your ship as Captain. You have to rely on your own wits and no one else, so you want to consider yourself and plan to make tough choices. Most entrepreneurs have an extraordinarily powerful instinct and self confidence. They are in charge of their own lives, their businesses, and their workers, and they care deeply. They set goals and write them down and refer to them often.

Know Buyers Motives

To be successful as a company owner, you have to genuinely understand your clients and why they purchase your products. You need to deeply understand their lifestyles and motives. This implies understanding the real reason they are buying, not just the one they prefer to talk about. Should you genuinely comprehend their psychology, their lives, their own needs, you will probably know what they will buy before they reach for their wallets.

Committed to the Long Range View

Small business executives know it takes time build a company and they’re able to diligently labor to reach their objectives. This can be hard for excited, fast moving entrepreneurs to do in real life. But it’s a characteristic they need to learn if they intend to be successful.

Highly Motivated

Entrepreneurs like to get the job done. In reality, they’re jazzed about the actions and goals they’ve set for their new organization. They are significantly separate from those folks whose job life is merely a way to make money. Please don’t be duped into believing the lifestyle of an entrepreneur, though the work hours are flexible, it’s not a modest nor straightforward job commitment. Most of them work over 40 hours weekly during their startup periods. That is the reason it’s vital that they’re highly engaged to voluntarily continue this demanding pace.

Love to Break Rules

Most entrepreneurs hate rules. They’re always saying, Why don’t we try this instead? Or can’t we do it like this? While corporate kinds are pleased to follow the company, the entrepreneur hates the limitation and apparently stupid set of rules. They can see their commercial vision a much better, and frequently more rewarding method to get the very same objectives. Often the exasperation with business rules encourages people to establish their companies rather than accept the corporate dogma.

Positive Mindset

The top industry Entrepreneur media has ascertained that business starters are very optimistic. This is particularly significant since scientists have found that negative feelings can reduce the minds capability to think creatively and broadly. These people see trials as challenges as well as the resolution of the puzzle as exciting and entertaining.

Take calculated risks

In contrast to some people’s opinion, entrepreneurs don’t enjoy high risks. Individuals who have a strong demand for safety see them as such, however, the belief is false. Entrepreneurs compute their risks by performing analysis, research and consulting with other consultants. They weigh the advantages and disadvantages of dangers and always have another strategy to safeguard their organization and assets.

Lifelong Learners

The main task for the majority of business people is learning new abilities. Whether it’s the way to handle social websites, or decrease expenses, or to enter a new trade, entrepreneurs want to always be growing and learning to be successful.

The best entrepreneurs are lifelong students. They learn officially in books, classes, seminars and by studying business publications and informally by studying entrepreneur sites, like this one, and from business experience of problems and solutions.

Certainly, many individuals with a basic education can manage a company reasonably well. But the majority of them don’t have the spirit of an entrepreneur that is going to make a straightforward business into a prosperous firm. To be the leader of a growing company, you need to possess these attributes or learn these and the skills necessary to succeed.

About the Author:

Author of this post, Marsha Kelly, sold her first business for more than a million dollars. She’s shared hard-won experiences as a successful serial entrepreneur on her Best4Businesses small business blog. Marsha also regularly posts business tips, ideas, insights and suggestions as well as product reviews for business readers. As a serial entrepreneur who has done “time” in corporate America, Marsha has learned what products and services really work well in business today. You can learn from her experiences from shopping the internet for tools, supplies, and information to build your businesses and improve lives financially.

Entrepreneur

3 Quick Ways To Improve Your WordPress SEO

January 17, 2018 Evan Hoeflich 2 comments

Millions of people worldwide use WordPress for their blogs, websites, and even online stores. There’s no doubt that it’s a great CMS; the numbers speak for themselves, however, their ‘out-of-the-box’ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not a quick, or even good, solution to apply to your SEO strategy. Although there are plenty of ways to drive and encourage traffic to your website, we all know that SEO is the crucially important, mainly because it produces actual results.

What we’re really saying here is, don’t rely on WordPress’s SEO to get your website to the top of Google’s search engine ranking. In this post, we’ve put together 3 quick and effective ways for you to improve your WordPress SEO, without too much effort.

1.) Choose the best WordPress Web Host

Now, you’re probably wondering, what does your web hosting provider have to do with increasing your WordPress SEO? Google takes into account many factors when calculating your website’s position on their search engine results page (SERP); one of those factors being the speed of your website. Your web host, when it comes right down to it, determines the downtime of your website, and the speed in which your website loads.

It’s really important to check out the uptime and potential server speed from your web host; most web hosting providers offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee, giving you the reassurance that you require. However, it’s not as simple as finding a web host that provides a guarantee; there are other factors included too, such as their reputation, customer support, and hosting features. You’re going to need a web host that gives you access to 1-click installs, such as, WordPress, to ensure that you can gain easy access to your website, and your web host’s control panel at the same time.

Being smart about your choices will return great results; look for a web host who offers specific WordPress hosting plans, as well as speed and consistent high performance.

2.) Use a reputable SEO plugin

I can’t put into words how great WordPress plugins are; software that can simply boost the usability of your website at the click of a button – but, don’t go overboard. There are A LOT of plugins available for WordPress, and as tempting as it may be to install every shiny plugin, that’s not the trick here. Using a recognised and reputable SEO plugin can certainly help your SERP ranking, such as, Yoast SEO.

Yoast SEO has been branded the number 1 WordPress SEO plugin, and there’s plenty of reasons for this. If you’re new to WordPress and/or SEO, there’s a lot of terminology that won’t make sense. Yoast SEO pretty much deals with all the jargon for you and performs all the tedious tasks to ensure your website gets seen. From Sitemaps and breadcrumbs, to meta descriptions and oodles of features, Yoast SEO integrates and manages your WordPress website with Google to the best of its ability. It even goes as far as providing you with all the tools you need when writing content for your website; is it SEO friendly? Does it conform to SEO standards? How will your page look on Google?

Yoast SEO is free to download, with premium options available. It’s updated regularly and has over 5 million active installations. It’s most certainly a quick and easy way to improve your WordPress SEO.

3.) Use a responsive design or template

If you decide to use one of WordPress’s templates, of which there are literally thousands, you’re going to want to make sure that it’s responsive. How often do you browse the internet on your mobile phone? Probably quite a lot! So, would you be happy if you were using your smart phone, and came across a website that wasn’t optimised for your screen size? Of course not, and neither would Google!

Another one of Google’s ranking factors is responsive design; creating a website that will look great on both desktop and mobile is essential in 2018. Whether you’re using a computer, phone, or tablet, your website design or WordPress template must be responsive. Most WordPress themes are, which is great, as it saves trawling through thousands of designs to find one that’s suitable.

Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, WordPress is a great platform to use to create a new blog, website, or even run your own business. There are plenty of tools available to get you started, and simple tips and tricks to ensure that your WordPress SEO is up to scratch. It may seem daunting at first, but, there’s an abundant amount of information available on the internet to guide you along your way.

Author Bio:

Jann is a Content Writer at ukwebhostreview.com – She is committed to providing all you need to know about technology along with researching and analyzing the best hosting providers.

Any questions or comments? Let Jann and I know in the comments section!

How to Boost Usability of a WordPress Website- Tips & Tricks

January 12, 2018 Evan Hoeflich 4 comments

The main reason why WordPress is currently managing about 28 percent of all content on the Internet is due to the fact that it has an incredibly beginner-friendly learning curve. This is mostly due to the fact that it allows you to design a website without having to actively learn how to code. However, learning how to use the basics and knowing how to get the most out of your WordPress website’s potential is not the one and the same thing. With this in mind and without further ado, here are a couple of tips you might find particularly useful.

1. Lightweight theme for ultimate responsiveness

The first thing you need to put your mind to when designing a website is its responsiveness. Broad online audiences expect your website to load within two seconds and get seriously frustrated when it fails to do so. According to one survey, it takes only 4 seconds of non-responsiveness in order for your website to lose about one-quarter of all its visitors. In order to avoid this happening, you need to look for a lightweight WordPress theme. Recognizing it is quite easy since it has to A) appear minimalistic, B) be HTML code optimized and C) have a small size of the theme files. While there are some exceptions to these three rules, they usually hold true.

2. Eliminate unnecessary plugins

While each plugin you use may add a new function to your website, install too many and you will see a significant decline in your website’s functionality. Due to the fact that each of them requires an additional HTTP request, this will slow down your website’s load time and in this way cause a problem discussed in the previous section. Furthermore, more plugins require more maintenance, which is yet another reason why you should prioritize when it comes to your website’s third-party software selection.

3. Find the right host

The next thing you need to keep in mind is that not everything is up to you. Finding a host who can’t deliver on their promise of speed and uptime can land a devastating blow to a struggling young enterprise. Therefore, you need to keep both your eyes open when looking for the right cPanel hosting option. As for the other features you need to focus on, the uptime (at least 99.99 percent of the time), decent monthly traffic (at least 50 GB) and 24/7 web support are a bare minimum.

4. Keep it simple

Throughout this article, we argued just how important it is to keep your website fast and functional. However, keeping its design simple gives you a boost to the overall CX (customer experience), as well. For instance, a more intuitive navigation means that your audience will have an easier time finding their way around your domain, however, it also means that your website might get indexed sooner.

Additionally, a simple check out system means a significantly lower shopping cart abandonment rate (provided that you have an e-commerce website). Finally, a transparent CTA (call-to-action) button could lead to a lower bounce rate, not to mention that more whitespace also boosts the readability of your content by quite a bit. All of these perks boost your SEO rank and your overall standing in the digital environment.

5. Image optimization

At the end of the day, in order to make your content more appealing, you need to add the right images to it. Since the human brain registers about 90 percent of all information it receives visually, the choice of an adequate image is more than important. However, what matters the most is that the image is well-optimized for your website, especially today, where people are likely to access it through various devices. As for the way in which to go about this, the choice is yours. Some decide to do so manually, while others prefer turning to plugins and completely automating this process.

At the end of the day, sometimes, in order to get more out of your website, you need to add less. Still, going with the minimalist approach doesn’t mean that you should leave your website virtually empty. There is a fine line between creating a beautiful minimalist web design and displaying a lack of care for your website’s appearance. Needless to say, while you should favor functionality above the aesthetics, you can’t afford to neglect the looks either. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t; yet in the world of web design, these are some of the choices you will just have to learn how to live with.

Author Bio:

My name is Raul and I am editor in chief at Technivorz blog. I have a lot to say about innovations in all aspects of digital technology and online marketing. Please take a minute to connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Share your thoughts on this post in the comments section below!

Get Things Out of Your Head and Onto Paper- Writing Down Goals

January 7, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

Sometimes it’s the simple tips, tricks or strategies that make the biggest impact in our lives.

What I’m going to share with you today might seem incredibly basic or common, but it’s important that you do not underestimate its power.

Before I used this technique I was less organized, less motivated and had a harder time following through with anything I wanted to accomplish.

Now that I constantly make this a priority every day, week, month, year etc., my results in both my business and my personal life have improved dramatically.

Now what simple tip am I talking about here? (although you probably already know by reading the title of this post)…

Writing Down Goals!

Yes, I know obvious…

Yes, I know basic…

Yes, I know simplistic…

But you wouldn’t believe how many people do NOT actually write down their goals.

And I’m talking on a daily basis.

You see, writing down goals can be used for anything really…both short-term and long-term…small goals or large goals, it doesn’t matter.

“The simple technique of getting things out of your head and onto paper is extremely powerful and releasing at the same time…”

There’s something about seeing the goal in front of your eyes (on paper), in comparison to roaming free in your mind, that increases the likelihood of you actually completing that task or working towards it.

Now I realize I keep saying “on paper” but goals can also be typed into the “Notes” section of your smartphone or computer…placed in a Word Doc etc.

I just find it works best writing down goals in a notebook, on a sticky note or in a journal.

For example, I like to write down both short-term goals as well as long term goals.

The daily goals I need to get done are always jotted down in a journal I have which I refer to regularly.

Once I complete a given task, I simply cross it off the list (this is also a very fulfilling process).

Towards the end of the day when I see multiple tasks scribbled out, it means I had a very productive day.

Again, don’t underestimate this…It can easily compound into days, weeks, months and years,

This one habit/technique is accessible to anyone willing to try it and generates really impressive results for those who stick with it.

Long-term or larger goals should be approached just the same.

You may not look at them as frequently, but just the process of writing them down is half the battle.

In a way this has really helped me organize my direction in life and the objectives that I’d like to accomplish.

Before using this specific technique I was flying blind really, and had no clear vision or motive.

If you’re not already doing this, I’d like to challenge you to try.

You may just be surprised how good it feels to make these goals a bit more tangible by writing them down.

Track your progress as well and see if this indeed helps you in your journey.

I’m not saying this is for everyone, but it is a common trait of many of the most successful people in the world.

So there’s gotta be something going on here!

Do you currently write down your goals?

Personal Development

ClickMagick Review- Click Tracking & Link Tracking Tool

December 31, 2017 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

Today I wanted to take the time to write a ClickMagick review, especially since it is such a big part of my overall tracking process for a few different online businesses…And also because I have so much confidence and respect for the tool and features it provides.

The great thing about ClickMagick is that it can be used universally for tracking all of your marketing efforts.

You can also sign up for a 14 day free trial here to test the waters before making a decision.

However, once you experience all that ClickMagick has to offer, you will most likely become a dedicated member.

Without accurate click tracking, bot monitoring, link organization/rotation, detailed campaign reports etc., I simply wouldn’t be able to run my businesses to the extent that I do today.

ClickMagick is such a critical tool and I like using it in my email marketing, tracking clicks on my website, YouTube campaigns, social media and much more.

Again, ClickMagick is ideal for any type of marketing, link tracking and click tracking…In fact it is one of my top recommended tools for any Internet marketer.

Let’s take a look at some of the key features of ClickMagick:

ClickMagick Review & Features

The growing list of quality features that ClickMagick provides is a big reason why numerous marketers use it religiously in their businesses…This is also a reason why it is the top choice in terms of click/link tracking tools.

There is not another click tracking tool that offers nearly the amount of diversity, customizability, and quality that ClickMagick does.

For example, take a look at some of the key features you’ll receive by being a ClickMagick member:

Link Cloaking
24/7 Link Uptime Monitoring
Automatic Bot Filtering
Click Fraud Monitoring & Traffic Quality Analysis
Custom Tracking Domains (Unlimited)
Advanced Geotargeting & Mobile Optimization
Effortless Conversion Tracking
A/B Split Testing w/ Automated Winner Alerts
Multi-Mode Link Rotators
Add 4 Types Of Pop Ups To Any Link
Add Content & Notification Bars To Any Link
Add A Countdown Timer To Any Link Or Page
Add Retargeting Pixels To Any Link
Dynamic Affiliate Links
Advanced Postback URL Tracking
Dynamic Ad Network Token & Sub-ID Passing
Facebook Sharing – Custom Title, Description & Image
True Real-Time Stats
Google Analytics Compatible
Lightning-Fast Link Redirects
Easy-To-Navigate Detailed In-Depth Stats
Public Stats Sharing
Import & Export Your Data & Stats
New Features Monthly Based On User Feedback
Growing Tutorial & Training Video Library
Fanatical US-Based Support Team

These features are from the ClickMagick website, please go here to take a look and sign up for a free trial.

Simply put, there really isn’t anything you can’t do with ClickMagick…and they also have extremely helpful training videos should you ever get stuck using their tools.

Another important point to touch upon is the ClickMagick support team…This really separates them from the crowd, in my opinion.

Whenever I have a question or issue, I submit a ticket to the ClickMagick support system and within 24 hours I always receive a thorough and helpful response back.

I don’t know many other companies that can respond to support tickets that quickly (and especially since ClickMagick is such a popular service)…They offer really top-notch customer service which is one of the main things I look for when buying any type of marketing tool.

ClickMagick Pricing

The flexibility offered by ClickMagick in terms of pricing allows any level marketer to join.

You can select the package that works best for your situation and business.

All are extremely affordable and allow you to enter at the level you feel comfortable with.

The best part is, you can sign up for a 14 day free trial here in order test the tools of the ClickMagick system first.

This is a game-changer for anyone who may be on the fence or just wants to get more familiar with the tools to start.

Affordable pricing, exceptional features and top-notch customer service, it’s no wonder why so many people both trust and use ClickMagick in their online businesses.

Being a member for over 2 years at the time of writing this post, I have nothing but great things to say about this serve and highly recommend you check it out for yourself.

My last recommendation would be to NOT use a free click tracking platform….These are generally unreliable and extremely limited (compared to ClickMagick) in terms of features.

If you are at all serious about your business and marketing online, you will want to invest in something like ClickMagick as it will save you time and money in the long-term.

Internet Marketing

Blog Update: 4 Months Since Switching To Https Protocol & My Results

December 23, 2017 Evan Hoeflich 2 comments

It’s been around 4 months (a little longer actually) at the time of writing this post, since I purchased an SSL certificate and switched to https on my website.

Please make sure to read my first post here on switching from http to https to see the reasons for this change.

I’m still surprised how many websites I see using an http protocol, when there are so many advantages of converting to https.

Anyways, I wanted to provide an update on my results of switching to https to hopefully help you understand why you should consider making the change as well.

Before we dive in, one important point I’d like to mention is if you do make this switch, you must ensure that all old URLs (http) are being 301 redirected to your new URLs (https). You do not want two versions of your website as this will negatively impact your overall SEO and search engine rankings.

Now let’s get to the update…

Update: 4 Months Since Switching to https

A good way to track some of these big changes on your website is to use the “annotation” feature in Google Analytics…see screenshot below.

You can find this feature under the traffic chart inside your Google Analytics account and it’s a great way to gauge how your website is performing in terms of traffic after you make a change.

Since making the switch to https my organic traffic has noticeably increased when compared to the time period I was using the http protocol.

In fact, organic traffic is up a total of 310% when comparing August 5, 2017 – December 22, 2017 to March 18, 2017 – August 4, 2017 (basically this is approximately 4 months prior to and 4 months after switching to https).

See the screenshot below for a visual comparison:

The blue line represents “https” and the orange line represents when my website was “http” (this is tracking organic search visits).

I think it’s safe to say that this was a good decision.

Switching to https really helped my overall search engine rankings which in return is bringing me in more organic traffic to my website.

Let’s take a look at the screenshot below that shows the overall progress from switching to https (organic traffic again):

As you can see again, there is a noticeable improvement in organic traffic after switching to https.

Now it’s also important to point out that this increase in organic wasn’t all due to switching to https.

I believe two other key factors to the increases I’m seeing in traffic and search engine rankings is due to consistent content generation and link building as well.

However, I wouldn’t be able to make this kind of progress if I was still using the http protocol.

The combination of all these SEO techniques are working together to help the organic growth of my blog.

This is evidence that adopting the right marketing strategy pays off…maybe not right away but eventually down the road.

Stay patient!

I hope this post was insightful/helpful and you received some value from it.

When combining the right strategies and constantly monitoring, tracking and testing your results, you can really begin to make some progress.

My goal here is to share with you what is working well for me, so you can go ahead and implement the same strategies.

Have you made the switch to https yet?

If not, what are you waiting for?