Showing You How To Automate Your Website To Free Up Time and Streamline Your Business Processes.
Your website is your superstar.
Not only does it showcase your products and services, let visitors find information, and help you connect with potential customers. But it can also do a WHOLE lot more work for you behind the scenes.
That’s right!
Your website is that super-loyal employee you’ve always wanted.
And in today’s digital age, automating your business can streamline your processes and help you stay ahead of the competition.
So if you’ve been wondering how to automate your website so you can free up time and meet your website’s highest potential, then you’re in the right place. In this blog, I’ll go through 5 ideas you can use to skyrocket your business practices.
Ready to learn?
1. Online Booking and Scheduling
Gone are the days of back-and-forth emailing.
Allowing your customers to schedule appointments online can save you time and money.
By integrating a booking and scheduling system into your website, customers can schedule appointments independently without the need for calls or emails.
Just punch in your free hours, embed the calendar on your site, and your visitors can book with ease, aligning their availability with yours. Decreasing your workload and improving customer satisfaction.
2. Automated Emails
Did you know, you don’t have to write every email out by hand?
Automated emails can save time and help you stay connected with customers.
By setting up automated emails for things like order confirmations, appointment reminders, follow-up surveys, and booking packs, you can provide a better customer experience and improve your overall efficiency.
Keeping your customers in the loop and feeling involved.
3. Chatbots For FAQs
Tell me, what are your most frequently asked questions?
Do you hand write out an answer to each person who enquires about the same thing?
If you don’t have one already, an FAQ page can be a huge time-saver, providing the answers to the majority of your most-asked questions
And by integrating a chatbot into your website, customers can get answers to their questions quickly and easily, without the need for human interaction.
Reducing the workload on your plate and providing a better customer experience.
4. Automated Payments
To get people to pay through your website for your products and services, you can implement an online payment system that integrates with your website.
A payment gateway is a service that processes online payments.
Depending on what you’re selling, platforms like WooCommerce, Thrivecart, or Stripe can help you. Just make sure to choose a payment gateway that’s compatible with your website and provides secure payment processing.
Each platform integrates differently but most will have documentation and support to help you get setup.
Typically involving installing a plugin or adding a code snippet.
5. Build Your Mailing List with a Lead Capture
Sure, this one needs time investment initially.
But once you have it up and running, it’s a super powerful tool to get potential customers to sign up for your mailing list.
Step one: Create a valuable piece of content, such as an ebook or exclusive video, that’s relevant to your target audience.
Step two: Offer this content as an incentive to subscribe to your mailing list.
Step three: Place the lead capture form prominently on your website, such as in the sidebar or at the bottom of blog posts.
P.S. Don’t forget to use a clear CTA.
So, have your questions about how to automate your website been answered?
I really hope this blog has given you an insight into how you can harness the power of your website and use it to streamline your services. And that you will put some of these in place to free up your time and make your life easier.
Want to have more subjects like this explained in an easy-to-digest way?
A Professional Guide to Combat Your Question of “How to Make My Site Load Faster” in Four Simple Steps
You’re here because you KNOW that time is of the essence, right?!
Performance plays a huge role in the success of any online venture.
And a website that’s optimised for speed, not only enhances the user experience but can also help to boost your search engine rankings.
But even after conducting your own research, you’re still left defeated with the same question of…
“How to make my site load faster?”
Because no matter if you run a startup website or you’re an established online business, you know page speed matters.
That’s why in this blog, I’m going to share with you the top four easiest ways to make your website load faster. Meaning you can maintain a tip-top, responsive website your potential customers will LOVE.
Ready to learn?
1. Optimise Your Images
Do you know all of those beautiful stock photos you see on Pexels and Unsplash?
They’re MASSIVE.
And these high-quality image files often mean your website’s going to take an eternity to load.
One of the easiest and most simple ways to increase page loading speeds is to compress and optimise your images before you upload them onto your website.
By reducing your images’ file size, you can reduce their ‘weight’.
Ultimately helping your pages load more quickly.
If you’re unsure how to reduce your image file size, don’t worry. I’ve outlined all the steps in this step-by-step guide for you to follow.
Regular maintenance is a MUST to make sure your website is up-to-speed.
That’s why it’s important to do regular checks, to make sure you catch any issues before they become a problem.
“How do I do that?”, you ask.
There are several websites you can use to help you, but my preferred ones are GTMetrix and Page Speed Insights.
By running your website through tools such as these ones, you can see how your website is performing, reveal where it’s slow, and where it can be improved.
3. Use a Solid Website Host
Your hosting service is like the foundation of your website.
So that means, in general, what you save in money you lose in site performance.
That’s why it’s SO important to choose a great hosting provider from the start. It needs to be speedy, reliable, and STRONG.
If you’re looking for a suitable host, be sure to check out my favourites, Cloudways and Flywheel.
4. Minimise The Use of Plugins and Bloated Themes
Not all plugins and themes are created equal.
And too many plugins on your site can slow it down.
That’s why it’s important to only use as many plugins as necessary.
Yes, it might be hard to whittle them down! But your website speed will thank you in the long run.
Plus, plugins or themes that are outdated or aren’t well maintained can pose a security threat too.
Introducing potential compatibility issues that’ll hamper your performance.
I recommend reviewing the plugins you have installed, to evaluate whether they’re actually necessary.
I hope this blog has provided you with some great advice and helped clear up your site-speed dilemma.
Making that question of… “how to make my site load faster” a thing of the past!
Which tip was most effective in speeding up your website?
Let me know in the comments section below.
If you’re still having trouble with page loading speed or just need some professional advice, get in contact with me here.
I’m a Canberra-based Web Developer, who’s dedicated to helping your business grow. That means I’m always happy to answer any questions and lend a helping hand to guide you in the right direction.
Your Go-To Guide To Pick A Punchy Domain Name That Will Stand The Test of Time
Choosing a domain name isn’t a big deal, right? It’s not that important…
Said no one ever!
As a business owner, choosing the right domain name is probably one of the biggest decisions you’ll make when building your website.
In the past you might have heard people say, “It’s fine, you can just change it later” or “if you have a good quality business, people will visit no matter what”, but the truth is, your domain is one of the key elements that make up your site.
So getting it right early on is crucial.
So, Why is Your Domain Name so Important?
First off, your domain name is your brand’s first impression.
And your URL is the first thing people will type into their browser. That’s why learning how to pick a domain name that will fit and grow with your brand is incredibly important.
Not to mention, your choice of domain can actually affect your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation.) That means Google can pick up any keywords in your URL and rank you higher in the search results.
Does all this make you want to learn how to pick a domain name that supports your brand?
If the answer is YES, then keep on reading!
1. Use The Right Domain Name Extensions (.au .com .uk etc.)
According to a study from Domain Name Stat, 37% of all domains have the .com extension.
That’s because .com is a TLD (Top Level Domain) and it’s the most widely recognised domain extension.
But don’t worry if .com is not available. Country specific is good too. For example, you can clearly see as an Australian Web Developer I opted for the .com.au domain.
It’s mostly about what’s available to you and what your budget is. You can read more about it in detail in my blog post HERE.
NOTE: .org is generally for non-profit organisations. And try to avoid those uncommon extensions like “.wine” or “.pizza”
2. The Shorter, The Better
Here’s another stat for you…
According to research by Data Genetics, the most common name length is 12 characters.
Remember, it needs to be memorable, and that’s why shorter is always better.
Aim for around 6 to 14 characters. You might find some of the shorter domain names were taken a LONG time ago. Butif you can’t find something short, then make it brandable instead.
3. Make Sure It’s Easy To Pronounce and Type
As quickly as your domain name rolls off the tips of your fingers, it should roll off the tip of your tongue!
Having a domain you can actually say aloud makes it easier for visitors to share your domain name by word-of-mouth.
If you’re unsure whether your domain is easy to pronounce, hand it to your friends and family and ask them to read it aloud. If they struggle, then you know you need to simplify it.
4. Avoid Hyphens And Numbers
This might be obvious but hyphens and numbers generally don’t go well with domain names.
You want your brand to be one of a kind.
NOT a variation of something else.
For example, shannon-payne-174.com.au just doesn’t look as good as shannonpayne.com.au. And it’s definitely not as memorable or easy to say, right?
5. Consider Using “Niche” Keywords That Reflect Your Website
Don’t underestimate the power of keywords in your domain name.
It can give your SEO a boost (if it’s used naturally) and it also helps people identify what you do too.
I hope you’ve found this information useful, and you now have a better understanding of how to pick a domain name that will represent your brand and stand the test of time.
If you ever need any advice on anything website related or want to take the next step and create a custom WordPress website, then don’t hesitate to get in touch.
I’m always happy to answer any questions you have!
A Simplified Guide To Help You Become Visible And Establish Yourself In The Local Search Results
It’s Friday night, you look in the fridge… EMPTY! “Ah-ha,” you think as you have a lightbulb moment. Reaching for your phone you start to Google…
“The tastiest takeaways near me”
Sound familiar?
Well, this is where small businesses like you could be missing out if you haven’t optimised your content for Google 3-Pack SEO!
Google is notorious for constantly tweaking the way they show results to users. But the Google 3-pack update doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
That’s why in this blog I want to share with you nine ways you can optimise your Google 3-pack SEO, so you have a fighting chance of showing up. Ready to get learning and boost your reach?
What Actually is Google 3-Pack?
You’ve probably noticed the three Maps results that pop up when you conduct a local search on your smartphone or desktop, right?
Well, this is Google 3-pack working its magic.
For example, if you search “takeaways near me”, Google 3-Pack displays three of the most relevant and accurate results local to you. But results are only shown if you’re a highly optimised, relevant, trustworthy business.
We know this because, in December 2021, Google 3-Pack saw a major update where they rebalanced three of its key ranking factors. Focusing on proximity, relevance, and prominence.
This leads me to my next point.
How Can You Improve Your Google 3-Pack SEO?
Here’s the thing…
You can’t optimise specifically for Google 3-Pack.
That’s because Google 3-Pack is location-dependent, so it’s ultimately based upon where your ideal client is searching from.
But what you CAN do is optimise your web presence in a way that’ll increase your chances of showing up and being number one. So when your ideal client does happen to be in the area searching for a business like yours, your name is there in shining lights ready for business.
How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile
1. Fill in every section of your profile
It’s so easy to pass by a section because you don’t have the relevant information to hand. But I’m telling you, filling out every section is vital to prove to Google you’re a relevant business.
2. Ask for customer reviews and respond within 24 hours
The more you respond to feedback, the more this shows Google you’re active, ready to show up, and are a valuable member of the community. Plus it also shows your audience you care about your customer service.
3. Optimise the business description and use keywords that are likely to be searched for
Never pass up the opportunity to strengthen your Google 3-pack SEO. What terms are people using when they search for a business like yours?
For example, for me, it’s terms like ‘WordPress Developer’, ‘WordPress Web Design’ or ‘Canberra-based Web Developer.’
4. Encourage people to ask questions and respond promptly
Like above, it shows Google you’re a valuable member of the community and ready to reach out to your customers.
5. Upload new photos weekly if possible
Utilising every form of content Google offers is a great way to increase your chances of coming up trumps when using Google 3-pack.
6. Make sure your content is accurate and consistent
When Google crawls your content, it takes note of how consistent your business is. In other words, the more accurate your messaging is, the more likely you’re seen as trustworthy.
7. Try to get locally relevant backlinks
Backlinks are links from a page on one website to another. If someone links to your site, then you have a backlink from them. It basically says to Google your content is valuable and worth reading.
8. Build a strong presence on social media
Although social media doesn’t affect your Google 3-pack SEO directly, it can help with your organic rankings. You can leverage social media to direct traffic to your website and boost visibility.
9. Improve your websites user experience
A huge part of SEO is how your website actually works when a user is navigating it. The easier it is to use and the more relevant the content, the more likely you are to rank higher.
And that’s a wrap!
I really hope this guide has helped simplify things down for you and taught you a few simple tips you can leverage to help boost your Google 3-pack SEO.
If you have questions about your Google Business Profile or need some help setting it up for your business, get in touch HERE. I’d be more than happy to help you out and give you some trustworthy, professional advice.
There’s No ‘Right’ Way To Prevent A WordPress Attack, But There Are Some Steps That Will Make It Much Less Likely
Did you know, according to Manaferra, the number of WordPress websites in 2022 was a staggering 835 million?
That’s insane, right!
And because of its ever-growing popularity, WordPress has become a prime target for hackers.
That’s why now it’s more important than EVER to think about your WordPress website security.
In this blog, I want to share with you the two biggest reasons why WordPress website security gets compromised. And how YOU can put effective measures in place to make sure you’re not in the firing line for a malicious attack.
How And Why Do Hacks Happen?
When you’re a small business, it’s common to think you’re not are at risk of being hacked –
“Why would I get hacked? I’m a small fish in a big sea.”
But for that EXACT same reason, you’re more vulnerable to attackers.
Let’s think about it like this: Your defenses are down. You’re unprepared. And you’re vulnerable to a break-in. If you were a novice cyber hacker, why wouldn’t you attack? It’s almost set up to make the job as easy as possible.
And it’s not just about money either.
Each hacker has a different motive to hack a website.
Some are beginners who are learning to exploit less secure sites. Some have malicious intentions like distributing malware or using your site to attack other websites. And others just like to spam the internet for fun!
STORYTIME:The first hacked site I fixed was hacked from enjoyment. I looked up their email and found out there’s such thing as a ‘hackers scoreboard’. For hackers who compete against each other to break records! 🤯
What Are The Most Effective Measures You Can Put in Place?
1. Your Web Hosting
Web hosting services work by maintaining stable and secure storage spaces where you can ‘host’ your website.
Your WordPress website security might be more vulnerable if you have a shared hosting plan.
Shared hosting is where multiple websites are hosted on one server. For example, like putting your jacket in a paid cloakroom.
Hackers can potentially use other sites on the same server to gain access to yours. Just like a person could easily pick up your jacket when ‘looking’ for theirs.
When choosing a hosting provider, make sure to check what security measures they have, how they monitor their server network, and how they respond to any security breaches.
Dedicated hosting is the most secure option but that comes with a hefty price tag.
And for most sites, that’s not necessary.
Which leads me to my next point…
2. Making Time For Regular Maintenance
According to the 2019 Website Threat Research Report, it was reported that 56% of all content management system applications were out of date when a hack happened!
This statement alone shows the importance of updating your website.
Using an outdated plugin or theme can make your site extremely vulnerable. Because many of these tools are created as open-source software programs, meaning their code is easily accessible and therefore…
Easily hacked!
Plugin developers are constantly working on their plugins not only releasing new features but patching potential security breaches to protect your website from being hacked.
So yes, this is your reminder to always make sure your content management system, plugins, themes, and any scripts you’ve installed are up-to-date.
How Do I Secure My Website If I’m Not Techy?
So you’re reading this thinking –
“Sure, this is all good info. But how do I actually make it happen?”
Then look no further, my friends! If you haven’t got a tech expert you go to already, I encourage you to consider my website maintenance packages.
I created them especially to keep your WordPress website security up to date and as reliable as can be. So your websites are MUCH less likely to encounter any of those pesky hackers.
If you are looking at self-maintenance and hosting, get in touch.
I’d be happy to guide you on your way and give you any advice you might need.
Having a fast website is crucial to the success of your website. It impacts user experience, search engine optimisation and conversion rate.
How annoying is it when you visit a website and you sit there staring at a blank screen waiting for it to load? Poor user experience is a big no-no with websites. Google did a study in 2017 that found that as page load time went from 1 second to 3 seconds, the bounce rate increased by 32%!
Following on from that, Google have stated on their website that speed is now a ranking factor for search engine optimisation. I don’t care how amazing your website is, Google have literally said they aren’t going to be sending people your way if your website is too slow.
Slow websites also have an impact on conversion rate and this doesn’t only apply to small businesses. The BBC reported that for every extra second that it took their website to load they were losing 10% of their traffic!
Okay, I’ve made my point, we can all agree that speed matters. But the thing is most people are not aware of what the speed of their website is, or how they can improve. I’m here to change that with my top 5 tips on how to increase website speed.
Image Optimisation
Who doesn’t want to spruce up their website with nice pictures to look at, it would get a bit boring if it was only text.
Yet, one of the biggest causes of a slow website is images. That doesn’t mean you can’t use them (I mean I use them), it just means you need to be smart about what you use.
Optimisation is key, I optimise EVERYTHING before upload, those KBS add up. An example of this was a previous client I had who hired me to speed up her website, one of the first things I looked at was the images. She didn’t have a lot on her website but the files were huge!
By following a few simple steps I was able to reduce the image size from 40MB to 3.4MB… that was only 20 images! Want to know the steps I used to optimise the images for her website? Read the steps outlined below.
Tips for Image Optimisation
Crop to correct dimensions If you want to load up a fabulous photo of yourself to put on your about page, and it’s going to be 400×600 pixels. Please tell me why you would upload an image that is 2000×3000 pixels? That’s a whole lot of pixels for no reason. I use Resize Image which is a free Windows App, but you can use whatever software you’re comfortable with. Some free online options are Canva, or https://resizeimage.net/
Run through TinyPNG Once your image is cropped to the correct dimensions you want to give it a little boost by compressing the image. Enter TinyPNG. TinyPNG compresses your image without losing the Image Quality.
BONUS: Give the image file an SEO friendly name While this has no effect on your site speed it’s an important step you should take when uploading images to your website. Make sure you are naming all images with optimised titles before upload. For example, if you are uploading an image of a pink dress rather than keep the image file as IMG_444.jpg you want to call it exactly what it is pink-dress.jpg
Use a Good Web Host
Cheap hosting is the best option for my website performance… said no one ever. I get it, $1/month hosting sounds pretty amazing right? But for what you save in money you are losing in site performance, I’m sure there are exceptions to this… I mean I don’t know any but if you do send them my way, please.
See below for examples of real client sites before and after migrating their website to a better hosting provider.
What’s a good web host? Well, I love and use Cloudways and I recommend them to everyone. I don’t want this to turn into an ‘I love Cloudways‘ post, but honestly, they’re great.
They keep my website and my client’s websites safe, secure, speedy and as an added bonus their support is top-notch!
Install a Caching/Speed Plugin
Cache is the process of storing temporary data for a website, browser, app etc. This is important for websites because rather than loading a page fresh for every time someone new visits your website, caching skips that step and will show visitors a ‘copy’ of a previously loaded screen and as such reduces the load time for a visitor.
Caching plugins are powerful, they give you the ability to control dozens of different settings and as each website is different, each website needs to have different settings configured for it.
A CDN (Content Delivery Network) speeds up the delivery of content to a website visitor, by using a network of geographically distributed servers. What this means is that if your host server is located in Sydney, Australia and someone is accessing it from the US, rather than the data travelling all the way from Sydney, a CDN can deliver that data from somewhere closer in the US.
CDNs are not only good for site speed, they are also an extra layer of security for your website. My preferred CDN is Cloudflare, they have both free and paid plans available.
Regularly check your website
Websites need ongoing maintenance and if you follow the steps above you’re off to a good start. However, it’s worth your time to run your website through tools such as GT Metrix and Page Speed Insights so you can see how your website is performing and where it can be improved.
Having a fast website is crucial to your visitor’s user experience, search engine optimisation and of course conversion rate. Does your site need speeding up? I offer Site Speed Audits to get you started, or if you’re looking for ongoing site management check out my WordPress Care Plans.
Ever clicked on a link or mistyped a web address and suddenly you’re faced with “404 Error – Page Not Found?” Accompanied by a complicated message explaining the error or just a blank space?
It’s enough to make your eyes glaze over, fall asleep and next minute you’ve exited the page and turned on Netflix… or something along those lines!
What many people don’t realise is that a 404 page is prime real estate! It’s an opportunity to turn website deserters into potential leads.
Continue reading to find out what exactly a 404 page is and why without a custom 404 page you are missing out on this opportunity!
What exactly is a 404 page?
A 404 page is also know as an error page, it’s the page that lets a user know that the page they requested does not exist. That could be due to a broken link, a deleted web page or just a typo.
The message only appears when the browser was able to connect with the server, but the server could not find what it was looking for.
“If it was able to connect to a server how come it couldn’t find what it was looking for?” I hear you say.
First let’s look at basic URL structure…I’ll use my domain as an example www.shannonpayne.com.au/contact There are 2 components to this
the Domain Name
the Path
The Domain Name is “www.shannonpayne.com.au” and the Path is “/contact” The Domain Name is how a browser connects to the server, it is your unique address. The Path is what leads a visitor to a certain page stored within the server.
For example if you were to mistype the Path: www.shannonpayne.com.au/conact this would connect to the server however as the page “conact” does not exist this is when you would get a 404 Error Page Not Found message.
On the other hand if you were to mistype the domain name: www.shannonayne.com.au/contact you would get a broken link or you might even end up on a completely different website.
Mistyped Domain Name = broken link or different website Mistyped Path = 404 page
Asides from accidental typos when trying to visit a website, sometimes you can unintentionally click on a broken link. This could be due to a typo on the website itself, or a discontinued product or a page that was once deleted.
By clicking on these broken links, again you will be redirected to the 404 page for that website.
Now I know what you’re thinking, “why don’t you remove all broken links” or “just be careful when typing in a URL”, and yes I agree 100% that should be done, and it’s something that most good web developers should be doing. However at times there can be links that are missed, another website might be linking to a blog post on your website that is now deleted and sometimes it just comes down to human error.
The point is, a 404 page is important and that’s why you should be taking advantage of the prime real estate it offers.
Enter “Custom 404 Page”
A Custom 404 Page is just that, it’s a 404 page that has been customised for your website.Instead of visitors getting a generic 404 page they can get an on brand page with a clear call-to-action (CTA) and reduce the chance of a lost client/customer.Must haves for a custom 404 page
“404” message – well duh, just because you can add a CTA doesn’t mean you should forget the reason people have ended up here. Let them know they have ended up on the wrong page, but not to worry you’ll help them find their way.
a search bar, ‘return to home’ button or sitemap – give visitors the chance to be able to search for what they were looking for, return to home or use the sitemap for guidance to continue on their way.
and last but not least… a CALL-TO-ACTION! …pretty self explanatory
I also want to make the point that this isn’t an opportunity for you to throw ten thousand products into a site visitors face, no – don’t do that! A 404 page still needs to send a message that the site visitor did not end up on their intended page, but you can definitely give them encouragement to head towards your latest blog post, or a new product you are trying to sell.
Ideas for CTAs you can put on your custom 404 page.
Direct visitors to your latest product or store.
A link to your services page.
Links to your latest blog post, if you want more traffic on the latest blog post.
An email opt-in to sign up for your newsletter.
A free download.
Whatever it is limit it to 1 (maybe 2) you don’t need to overwhelm your visitors. Imagine it… a 404 message, a search bar and a clear CTA all wrapped up in your awesome branding and you’re guaranteed to keep visitors on your website.
Have fun with it!
The best part about having a custom 404 page is that you can have a bit of fun with it!
Check out some of these companies’ custom 404 pages here.
Disney
Disney’s 404 page is simple and to the point, but it stays on brand with a bit of humour.
BluePath is a Data Strategy Company, they are on brand and showcase what they do by showing a map of reported crimes in Atlanta but then they also inflict humour at the end.
Marvel keeps their 404 page theme as well, they have multiple screens so that each time you visit the page it will generate a new character. Head to their site and see what you get!
I love Steve Lambert’s, it’s so uncomfortable and awkward – but it works for his brand. Along with the big headline announcing it is the “most awkward 404 not found page on the internet” there is a video that goes for a few minutes (I think I tapped out at about 30 seconds), just telling you how awkward this is for you.
Omelet is a creative company and it shows on their 404 page. I had to give them a mention for their egg pun… I love puns and you should too! Keeping on brand there is another effect that happens when you scroll on the page… go check it out!
A new addition! I stumbled across this fun 404 page this week and knew I had to add it to this list.
Car Wow
The last one I’ll share is from a car buying website in the UK. In addition to delivering a call to action they also have a fun interactive game for you to play! You can give it a go here.
As you can see, you can have a lot of fun with a custom 404 page, gone are the days of boring 404: Page Not Found messages. It’s time to win back site visitors and keep them on your website.
Have you come across a cool custom 404 page while browsing the internet, I’d love to check it out so share it in the comments.
Or if you’re interested in having your own custom 404 page, head to my contact page and send me a message!
White Hat SEO and Black Hat SEO refers to the techniques used to improve your websites search engine ranking.
You know how in old western films the hero wore the white cowboy hat and the villain would wear the black cowboy hat? Well, it’s the same with Black vs White Hat SEO.
Black Hat SEO = Bad Practice
White Hat SEO = Good Practice
Black Hat SEO can be tempting for some as it is seen as a quick and easy way to climb up the search engine rankings. However the success is often short-lived, search engines are quick to penalise those that try to manipulate them.
SEO is a long game and White Hat SEO acknowledges that.
The best thing you can do for yourself, your business and your website is to know what tactics to implement and what to avoid. Continue reading to find out more and what you can do to improve your search engine ranking and what not to do so you don’t get penalised.
What is White Hat SEO?
White Hat SEO refers to the correct and ethical way to optimise your site for search engine ranking by following search engine guidelines, focusing on the site visitors and users, and taking a long-term approach.
Follows search engine guidelines
Google literally tells you what to do and what not to do, have a read of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines to make sure you’re following the rules!
Focuses on the user
If you are providing useful content for your site visitors, you are likely to get return visitors and referrals. Search engines acknowledge this, by being a source of information you are benefiting your search ranking.
Long-term approach
Ranking higher in search engines doesn’t happen overnight. SEO is a long game, and White Hat SEO acknowledges that. It takes time to build up your website as a reliable source, by implementing best practice every day you will eventually build the authority that gets you one page 1 of search engines.
What is Black Hat SEO?
Black Hat SEO is the opposite of White Hat SEO, it uses manipulative and unethical practices to attempt to rank higher in search engines. It violates search engine guidelines, focuses on search engine crawlers and is about making “quick-wins”.
The search engine crawlers do not see what the users see and vice versa. They see what is going on in the background, this is where Black Hat SEO techniques come into play which I will cover further below.
Making “quick-wins”
Many people who use Black Hat SEO techniques do not respect that SEO is a long game. They are focusing on how to rank as quickly and as easily as possible, which is not sustainable. It may not always be immediate but search engines do eventually catch up to you and they will penalise you.
White Hat SEO Techniques to Implement
1. Quality content
At the end of the day, this is exactly what search engines are looking for. They want you to provide quality content so that they can reference THEIR site visitors to you! If they are not providing quality content to their users, then those users will not return. It is a domino effect.
2. UX and UI
Build a website that is user friendly and easy to navigate. A site that is well laid out for visitors and takes them to where they need is going to improve bounce rate which is a considered factor for search engine ranking.
3. Mobile-friendliness
Related to user experience, search engines prioritise websites that are mobile friendly. Again they want the best user experience for their visitors. Google has a free Mobile-Friendly Test for you to see if your website is mobile-friendly. For more on responsive design read my blog post here.
4. Site speed
Your site speed signals to search engines that again your site is user-friendly. A slow-loading website is jeopardizing your search engine ranking. To check the speed of your website visit GT Metrix.
5. Proper use of keywords
Do proper keyword research, look for gaps in the market and build your content around those keywords. Don’t keyword stuff when writing your content either, stick to a primary keyword and a few secondary keywords, and make sure your content is legible!
Moz and Ahrefs both have great keyword research tools for you to use.
6. Optimised code
Write lean code and use properly structured code to assist search engines to find what they are looking for. Use proper heading tags so crawlers know what an article is about, use alt tags on your images. If you aren’t sure where to start, enlist the help of a web developer who can ensure your code is fully optimised.
7. Link building
Link building is a way to drive traffic from your website to other relevant sources and vice versa. This can be linking for further reading, linking a related source, linking a relevant document/image/video. It is another way to build your authority, keep in line with White Hat link building and avoid Black Hat practices described below.
Black Hat SEO Techniques to Avoid
1. Keyword Stuffing
Probably the more common technique people use to get their content to rank higher. By repeatedly using keywords you may be getting noticed by search engines but you are making your content unreadable.
We sell custom cigar humidors. Our custom cigar humidors are handmade. If you’re thinking of buying a custom cigar humidor, please contact our custom cigar humidor specialists at custom.cigar.humidors@example.com.
If your content has a higher percentage of keywords than actual useful information – you’re keyword stuffing.
2. Hidden Text
Exactly as the name suggests, this is hiding your text and links so that the user can not see it but the search engine is picking up on it and so potentially improving your ranking.
There are a few ways this can be achieved:
changing the colour of the text to match the page background (i.e. white text on white background).
linking a bit of punctuation such as a full stop or comma
making the font size so small it can not be seen
If your user can’t see it – don’t do it.
3. Cloaking
Similar to Hidden Text, Cloaking is when you are showing one thing to your visitors and another to search engines. For example, a visitor looks at your page and sees an image, however, a search engine sees hidden text and links coded into the page.
4. Duplicate content
You visit another website that is ranking well, you like their content, you copy it and publish it on your website. We learnt in school that plagiarism is bad – don’t forget that. Search engines won’t look at your site and think “oh wow this is great information”, instead they will think “hmm I’ve seen this somewhere else, this is not useful this is just duplicate content”. Don’t do it.
5. Doorways
Doorway pages are of little use to visitors but are used to funnel visitors to the final destination. Generally, they are keyword rich and can appear useful to search engine crawlers which can temporarily increase your search ranking. However once a search engine discovers it you will be penalised and don’t think you’re safe if you’re a big company either, in 2006 Google penalised BMW for using doorways!
6. Comment Spam
How annoying are spam comments? Most people who have a blog will get spam comments at some point, and you will notice most of them have links. This is a Black Hat technique to build more backlinks to their website. It’s not cool, it’s annoying, and search engines will not like you for it.
These are but a few Black Hat SEO techniques you need to avoid to make sure you are not at risk of experiencing the wrath of Google or any other search engine.
For a full list of Black Hat SEO techniques to AVOID check out the guidelines given by the masters themselves at Google.
Penalties for using Black Hat SEO
With all this talk about how bad Black Hat SEO is, there have to be some consequences for using these techniques.
For starters, search engines will update their algorithm so the techniques you have been using will no longer be effective. Your “quick-wins” have become “quick-loses”.
Examples of this are:
Hummingbird: targeted exact-match keyword targeting and keyword stuffing
Panda: targeted low quality, thin content and spammy websites
These are general updates, however, if you really p*ss off Google you can get handed a manual action that means a real human has looked at your website and said NOPE. This can blacklist a web page or an entire website and you can lose your domain authority. To fix this you need to read the manual action report, fix the issues that have been described and then request a review.
But I bet you want me to name names, don’t you!
Asides from BMW that was mentioned above, here are some other companies that have suffered the wrath of Google!
JC Penney – JC Penney had a paid link strategy to rank better on Google search results. At the time every trending product you searched for you were supposed to see their website at the top. Google penalised them and their website ranking dropped to almost the hundredth position in the search results.
Gourmet Gift Baskets – after outsourcing their SEO, the owner woke up one day to find their site had disappeared from Google. It was discovered that one of the companies managing their SEO had been buying links and as a result, they were hit with a penalty right before the holiday season which ended up costing them almost USD 4 million!
Mozilla – Mozilla was penalised for hosting a webpage that had more than 21k spam comments! Although this wasn’t their fault, it serves a lesson to everyone with a website the importance of managing spam comments. The page lost some of its rankings, however, Mozilla ended up completely removing the page.
It goes to show it doesn’t matter who you are, how big your company is, Black Hat SEO tactics are to be avoided! You may experience quick-wins and a short time at the top, but search engines will catch up to you and the results can be devastating.
Need help with your SEO? Check out my SEO audits or head to my contact page and get in touch!
I still recall the first time I saw the highlighted text effect. I had only just started learning web development and while browsing the internet one day I came across a blog that had a pretty pink highlighted heading. I remember thinking to myself “hmm how do I highlight text in CSS?” And then thinking that MAYBE one day I would know how to do that?
WELL, fast forward to one week later (no joke), I had just signed my first website build and what was her request? “All headings to have that cool highlighted text effect”. Guess the time had come – I would learn how to do the highlighted text effect!
What ensued was a panicked googling session, bits of information gathered here and there, a lot of trial and error and voila! I had figured out the “cool highlighted text effect”
**hooray – pop the champagne**
I was so excited! This was my first time doing any sort of CSS styling, and it was also the moment I knew 100% I had made the right decision about learning web development!
What many people don’t know is that HTML already has a standard highlight tag, the ‘mark’ tag.
<mark>This is an example of me using the mark tag.</mark>
This is an example of me using the mark tag.
Pretty nifty huh? But what if you want more than the basic (boring) yellow highlight text?
Different colours, thicker line, thinner line, even multiple colours!
Well, say hello to my little friend Cascading Style Sheet (CSS).
There are a couple of ways you can achieve this effect, I think my way is the best (obviously). But the way I am about to show you is in my opinion the most flexible option for width, height and positioning. It works really well and you can achieve any look you desire!
So let’s begin!
Step 1: The basics.
First of all we need to create the section of text that you want to highlight, you can do this to anything you want; headings, paragraph, links, dot points etc. I’ll be using the H1 heading tags.
*HTML has 6 heading tags: H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6. H1 is the largest and should be used for the main headings of a page.
<h1>I love tacos!</h1>
I love tacos!
Step 2: Get specific.
We don’t want to make ALL H1 headings have the highlight effect, so we need to get a bit more specific, to do this we add the <span> tag. The <span> tag is used to group and apply styles to inline elements, you can read up more on it here.
<h1><span>I love tacos!</span><h1>
I love tacos!
You can see the <span> tag doesn’t actually do anything, to add styling to this we need to add a class (the class is what we target to add styling).
<h1><span class="highlight">I love tacos!</span></h1>
What if you want to raise or lower the highlight? All you need to do is adjust the background-position. The lower the percentage the “higher” the highlight.
I could go on all day but I think that is more than enough to get you started! Like I said earlier, the highlight effect was the first time I saw what I was capable of achieving with CSS – so it has a special place in my heart!
Want more CSS snippets like this? Sign up to the waitlist for The CSS Vault.
Most web designers (or any designer) knows that sometimes there is a need for some dummy text, whether it be using a wireframe to a client or showing a mockup. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m a bit tired of using the same old Lorem Ipsum. Thankfully, I wasn’t the first to think this! There are now so many unique and funny Lorem Ipsum generators out there to suit any project, client or personality.
Before we dive into the fun stuff, some of you may not know what Lorem Ipsum is or why we use it? Let’s cover those first!
What is Lorem Ipsum?
Lorem Ipsum is placeholder text or ‘dummy text’ that is used in the design and printing industry. The text came from a book that was published in 45BC; “de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum” (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero. However, it was in the 1500s that Lorem Ipsum was first used as dummy text when it was used to make a type specimen book. It has survived 5 centuries and has become an industry standard.
Why do we use Lorem Ipsum?
The purpose of Lorem Ipsum is to create a natural-looking block of text that does not distract the viewer. It has a normal distribution of letters and spacing so as to appear as a paragraph without having anything “readable”.
It can be used to help the client focus on the overall design rather than get distracted by the text, another reason you might use Lorem Ipsum is if the final copy isn’t ready yet.
Lorem Ipsum is great, but let’s be honest it can get a little dry. But thanks to the magical world of the internet there are now dozens of funny, unique (and free) lorem ipsum generators out there to suit all your needs! Cupcake Ipsum – for something sweet, or Cheese Ipsum – for the cheese lovers!
I’ve gathered together some of my favourites (and some more) to give you 20 unique and funny lorem ipsum generators for your next design project.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
My second favourite! Perfect for all cat lovers and to use for your cat loving clients!
Purr for no reason eat all the power cords yet meow for food, then when human fills food dish, take a few bites of food and continue meowing yet hit you unexpectedly cat ass trophy or unwrap toilet paper please stop looking at your phone and pet me. Stare at wall turn and meow stare at wall some more meow again continue staring i heard this rumor where the humans are our owners, pfft, what do they know?!
For the Australians out there! Use this ipsum generator to have your clients saying “You beauty!”
Galah down under holden sheila spit the dummy come a bush telly apples boil-over bottlo whinge. Rock up stubby rip snorter you little ripper thongs. Cubby house bludger not my bowl of rice pash bundy sickie bloody oath. Wuss it’ll be bundy rack off tucker-bag bluey spag bol aussie rules footy amber fluid. Spag bol metho grundies full blown bizzo smoko. Tinny vee dub mokkies yobbo porky mate strewth.
Coffee lovers unite! When the caffeine hit isn’t quite strong enough, give it a boost with Coffee Ipsum!
Macchiato, robusta steamed acerbic, crema sugar café au lait a ristretto. Dripper, bar macchiato flavour strong extraction coffee dark cortado. Froth, foam instant et iced and wings. Robusta beans qui steamed roast whipped percolator robust instant. Decaffeinated, affogato aroma dark at half and half roast.
Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light, went back in time, and killed Amelia Earhart while she was flying over the Pacific Ocean, When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Contrary to popular belief, Chuck Norris, not the box jellyfish of northern Australia, is the most venomous creature on earth.
Get your ipsum straight from the farmers market, fresh vegetables to fill your project up!
Beetroot water spinach okra water chestnut courgette summer purslane. Water spinach arugula pea tatsoi aubergine spring onion bush tomato kale pea sprouts fava bean. Dandelion zucchini burdock yarrow chickpea soybean radish artichoke wattle seed endive groundnut broccoli arugula.
More of a meat-lover? Bacon ipsum has got you covered with the meatiest of ipsums.
Bacon ipsum dolor amet tempor enim nisi ut. Buffalo pancetta deserunt, do salami laborum pork chop proident hamburger. Pork loin flank dolore consectetur. Ut ipsum jowl turducken. Qui shankle bacon spare ribs boudin ipsum non. Id burgdoggen ea buffalo reprehenderit.
It wouldn’t be right if there wasn’t a Samuel L Jackson ipsum, add a bit of badass to your project.
Normally, both your asses would be dead as fucking fried chicken, but you happen to pull this shit while I’m in a transitional period so I don’t wanna kill you, I wanna help you. But I can’t give you this case, it don’t belong to me. Besides, I’ve already been through too much shit this morning over this case to hand it over to your dumb ass.
Aussie slang not your thing? How about some Pommy slang?
Because there was nothing on the gogglebox gutted on his bill middle class absobloodylootely bent as a nine bob note tip-top I bid you good day terribly red telephone box. Hedgehog rambunctious conkers doing my nut in a cuppa unhand me sir chav a tad, ey up duck roast beef bread and butter pudding throw a paddy could murder a pint treacle.
This ipsum is for the tech geeks out there, random bits of JavaScript that appears as a whole lot of technical jibberish!
HTTP requests. World Wide Web browsers typically expose host objects representing HTTP request and variable declarations to specify the majority of one object that the standardized in environments that can run locally in JavaScript Components. Modernizr is a tool to extend JavaScript utilities designed for browser.
For the zombie and horror fans out there, good combination of brains and ipsum!
Zombie ipsum reversus ab viral inferno, nam rick grimes malum cerebro. De carne lumbering animata corpora quaeritis. Summus brains sit, morbo vel maleficia? De apocalypsi gorger omero undead survivor dictum mauris.
For the fans of Rick and Morty, or in the creators words “the most loved and hated lorem ipsum”.
Are you hungry for apples? ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR APPLESSS!? I’m not looking for judgement, just a yes or no. Can you assimilate a giraffe? They’re not infinite universes left in sync with the show.
The ipsum generator that pulls it’s content from online dating profiles.
Going to the gym I have a crush on someone who shares my sense of humor tattoos. Making lasagna from scratch knowing the difference between their/there/they’re new friends just looking to have some fun mountain biking, Indian food ethical nonmonogamy home brewing going to the gym video games.
For the Batmaniacs, this ipsum generator uses direct quotes from Batman movies.
This isn’t a car. Bruce Wayne, eccentric billionaire. Hero can be anyone. Even a man knowing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy shoulders to let him know the world hadn’t ended.
Any baseball fans here?! If you can’t get enough of the game this combination of baseball-related words will help you out!
Left on base lineup bat petey red sox alley left fielder starter. Strike zone grass foul pole stretch wrigley reds off-speed cardinals. Fall classic umpire plunked count basehit bush league outfielder. Catcher wins inning rubber game moneyball, series squeeze hardball. Grass at-bat home robbed tossed rotation cork loss hit by pitch.
Snippets from classic literature, Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, Dracula and more!
By eleven o’clock the next day we were well upon our way to the old English capital. Holmes had been buried in the morning papers all the way down, but after we had passed the Hampshire border he threw them down and began to admire the scenery.
Any day without a cheeseburger in it is a waste. You can find a cheeseburger no matter where you go in the world, so you have no excuse to miss out on the glory that some people can only dream of. Step up to the plate.
**BONUS** (another bonus) The end of 2020 brought the Ipsum generator we all needed!
Lorem ipsum Coronavirus whipped coffee doomscrolling protests. Mail-in vote home quarantini pod disinfect murder hornets. Last Dance Quibi no march madness UFO monolith flatten the curve we can’t hear you. PPE. Zoom call sweatpants Joe Exotic Blursday.
https://2020-ipsum.com/
Lorem Ipsum generators are the perfect way to add a big of personality to your next design or publishing project. Whether just for yourself or to get a smile from your client!
Do you know any other generators? Share them in the comments below!
Did you know that there are 992 FREE Google fonts and they’ve been downloaded an incredible 43 trillion times!
Crazy right?
Typography is so important these days and there is a certain art to creating the perfect font pairing. It is recommended that you use a maximum of three fonts when working on a project. However, with the use of bold, italics, and underline variations, two fonts is usually sufficient.
I put together this list of 20 Google font pairings and the best part is they are all licensed under the Open Font License. This means they are FREE to download and use for all non-commercial AND commercial projects! WOOHOO!
