Better Websites. SEO. Marketing. Business.
You can see YouTube tags in the <meta name=”keywords” content=”[keywords]”> field within the view-source code for any video.
Whether you are researching YouTube for your own content or you are trying to optimize your own YouTube videos – competitor tags can provide a ton of insight. It’s like free keyword research.
On any given video, you can right-click on the page and choose to “View Source”[Continue Reading]
I recently had a reader question sent via email –
Is there a way to try out WordPress before signing up to a hosting site? Maybe a ‘try before you buy’ arrangement, or something which you can download and try out on a laptop? Am just worried about signing up and then finding WordPress isn’t for me.
That is an excellent question. Unlike website builder services like Weebly or Squarespace or even ecommerce platforms like Shopify or Bigcommerce – there’s no real “free trial” option for self-hosted WordPress.
And no matter how many setup guides you read or tutorial videos you watch, there’s nothing quite like messing around with software to see if it “makes sense” to you.
There are 3 ways to try WordPress before you actually purchase hosting.
WordPress.com is the commercial arm of WordPress software. They offer free accounts with a subdomain that you can sign up and use.
The only catch is that it’s a very limited version of WordPress software. You can’t test out all the plugins that you might want to try, etc. But the general feel is the same.
In fact, now that WordPress.com allows some 3rd-party plugins, you can get a solid sense of whether you like the WordPress experience or not w/ WordPress.com.
I wrote a guide on the differences between WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org here.
Another alternative is to explore an installation of WordPress on a publicly accessible server. There are some hosting companies & WordPress plugin companies that provide this option. But – it’s very rare due to spam. Plus – you very rarely get a truly blank installation due to other users.
Poopy.life (yes, that is the correct URL) is a brand new service that just came out for the setting up a quick, temporary installation of WordPress.
It has a very ridiculous name to prevent companies / web designers / spammers from using it for profit.
But just to try before you buy, it’s excellent. You just click to set up a test site that will expire in 1 week. You can see how to make posts, add plugins, etc – it’s the same software that you’d install on your own host.
It’s a bit more complicated, but just so you know it’s out there – you can download a copy of WordPress on your own computer and install it with your computer set up as a server.
Here’s how you do it on a Mac w/ MAMP.
Here’s how you do it on a Windows w/ Easy PHP.
Both these setups create a server with PHP / mySQL (WordPress’s database language). From there you’ll install WordPress on your “server” and access it with your browser.
It’s a bit complex, but that it something you can do to really explore the software before purchasing hosting.
*if you want to get a bit more complex, you can also technically try WordPress on Google Cloud for free. But that’s way outside this post’s intent / scope.
Self-hosted WordPress does not have a ton of “try before you commit” options, but they are out there.
The last option I’d mention is that you can take advantage of some hosting company’s generous refund policies. InMotion’s is 90 days and even HostGator’s is 45 days.
Be sure to check out my WordPress Set Up Guide and my WordPress Beginner’s Tutorials.
I’ve also compared WordPress directly to several platforms so you have an idea of what to look for –
All the best!
In a Twitter stream in 2014, the editor of Slate Magazine outlined 76 ways publishers in digital media and blogs can make money.
The stream went mini-viral in journalism & big publisher circles – the same circles that frequently talk about the death of journalism and publishing online.
But the thread wasn’t just relevant to big, global publishers trying to build their digital brands. The main point – that publishing is in a golden age with lots of money to be made with a little creativity – is as relevant to small publishing operations and blogs as it is to the New York Times.
Here’s my revised version of David Plotz’s 76 Ways To Make Money in Digital Media that anyone with a simple website can implement.
I’ve edited it down to 64 ways by merging similar methods and removing ways that are limited to giant publishing brands.[Continue Reading]
SiteGround Hosting is an independent web hosting company founded in 2004. They are based in Bulgaria, but serve hosting markets globally. SiteGround positions themselves as a company offering high-quality, “well-crafted” hosting solutions.
They offer a spectrum of hosting solutions ranging from shared Linux hosting (the affordable, versatile kind used by most websites) all the way to Cloud and Dedicated server solutions for large, growing websites.
They are one of the fastest growing independent (ie, not a brand owned by a larger corporate holding company) hosting companies. I heard about them via their growing event involvement in the WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and marketing communities.
Like my experiment with Web Hosting Hub, I recently had a couple small sites that needed their own hosting accounts, so I wanted to give SiteGround Hosting a try based on high praise from people I respect in the industry.
Get SiteGround’s 60% off discount here.
Here’s my SiteGround Hosting review – structured with pros & cons based on my experience as a customer.
Skip to direct comparisons or skip to the conclusion.[Continue Reading]
When you are exploring how to advertise online – Google AdWords and Facebook Ads are the two primary options. They have the biggest marketshare, the biggest audiences and the best self-service ad platforms.
In fact, the two together control 64% of online advertising.
But one way to keep improving your online advertising campaigns is to keep finding new advertising networks with different formats, different audiences and different pricing structures.
There are tons of reasons to at least try out new networks – but also a few drawbacks. So before we look at different ad networks – let’s briefly look at the advantages and disadvantages of using ad networks that aren’t Google/Facebook.[Continue Reading]
There are a lot of options for running an online store – Shopify is an all-in-one ecommerce solution that I’ve used to run several online stores & consult on with clients since 2009. Here’s my Shopify review – with 6 pros and 6 cons of using Shopify for your online store.
You can check out Shopify’s current Plans & Pricing here.
EDIT 05/01/2017: This Shopify review was originally published 7/13/2013 and re-published frequently with updates throughout to reflect new features/pricing/opinion. In 2016 through 2017, Shopify has improved on several fronts, especially with a much improved checkout process. Enjoy!
But first, a bit of intro. There’s a lot of options for running an online store, and your choice of best ecommerce platform can have just as big of an effect on your business as choosing a building or location for a physical store. It’s not the end all of the business – but it certainly can make or break your business – and can either expand your opportunity or severely kneecap your business.
Shopify is part of a group of turn-key ecommerce (aka “hosted ecommerce”) solutions that provides everything you need from end to end (minus the product and business know-how) to setup and start selling your product(s) to the world in contrast to you putting all the pieces together yourself (see Shopify’s plans here).
It’s sort of like hiring a general contractor to build your house, over being the contractor and hiring sub-contractors yourself. You’re still in control, but you let the general contractor use their expertise to make the project happen.
There are pros and cons to the approach – which is what we’ll get into. But basically know that Shopify competes mainly with BigCommerce and Volusion – all three of which provide turn-key ecommerce solutions, which in turn competes with non-turnkey solutions (like setting up your own store with WordPress).
And these hosted solutions sort of compete and integrate with ecommerce “marketplaces” like Amazon, eBay and Etsy. I wrote more about how Shopify can work with Etsy here.
Shopify also has a “Buy button” functionality that allows you to use Shopify as Point of Sale (POS) / Inventory option – and let customers click to buy your products anywhere online (Pinterest, Facebook, WordPress blog, Tumblr, etc). I’ll be looking less at that – and more at Shopify’s full online store package. You can get the Buy button only as part of the Lite Plan, but it competes with PayPal rather than full online store options.
Shopify is fairly straightforward – which is sort of their whole selling point. The broad process is as follows –
Make sense? Cool. Let’s dive into the actual Shopify review.[Continue Reading]
Asking the question “iPage or eHost?” is a bit like asking someone to choose between a croissant and a bagel. A lot of it comes down to your particular situation. What do you prefer? What goes with the rest of your purchase or meal? But it’s a choice either way you go.
Both iPage and eHost are:
But even with those things in common, they are still different brands with different advantages & disadvantages (one reason Endurance maintains both companies instead of merging them). I reviewed iPage in full here and reviewed eHost in full here.
Check out iPage’s plans & pricing here.
Check out eHost’s plans & pricing here.
In this comparison between iPage vs. eHost, I’ll try to break down the differences that I’ve found in seven different areas ranging from pricing structure to customer service and market focus so you can decide which is the best fit for your project.
Also – you can skip to the short version in the conclusion here (or take my Buzzfeed-style shared hosting quiz here).
Let’s dive into iPage vs. eHost review…[Continue Reading]
Anyone who starts a WordPress website and starts looking for useful plugins will come across the WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin.
And for good reason – it’s the most comprehensive, well-thought out SEO plugin for WordPress out on the market. It can do basically anything a professional SEO Specialist could wish for (and more).
Unfortunately, that can also be a problem. Yoast SEO does everything, but in doing so, can also be overwhelming for beginners (or really anyone who doesn’t want to specialize in SEO). That overwhelm usually also leads to non-use.
What usually happens is that someone hears that there’s an amazing plugin called Yoast SEO. They install it…and then it sort of sits there while the site owner hopes it does some magic by default to “SEO” their site…which is sort of like
Here is the absolutely essential beginner’s guide on how to use the Yoast WordPress SEO. If you want the full expert’s guide guide by Yoast himself – you can find it here.[Continue Reading]
When it comes to getting a website up, there’s never been an easier time. Weebly is one of the fastest growing and longest standing brands in the website building space. They were mentioned in the first edition of the 4-Hour Workweek. Ever since, they’ve grown and continued to revise their software. I recently gave Weebly a try for a small project, along with several other website builders. Here’s my 6 pros, 3 cons and full Weebly review.
Check out Weebly’s Plans & Pricing here.
But first, a bit of an overview on website builders in general. Whether you go drag and drop builder; an installed Content Management System (CMS), or hand-coded HTML files, there’s a lot of considerations that go into an building a website.
In the end, you really want someone to type in a website address and see your information, presented well with the right functionality in their browser. Whether you are building a simple personal website or running a business, the way you build your site determines a lot both long-term and short-term.
In the long-term, the tools you use to set up your website affects your versatility, functionality, and, of course, your brand. In the short term it can certainly add/take away a lot of headaches. That said, just like choosing a physical house or office, there is no such thing as an absolute “best” or “top” choice. There’s only a such thing as the right choice relative to your goals, experience, and circumstances.
*Aside – I did try to sort the best choices by typical uses / goals in my best website builder quiz here, though.
On the wide spectrum of website building solutions, Weebly lives on the end that is all-inclusive and provides everything you need to get started and grow your website. It’s in contrast to solutions where you buy, install, and manage all the “pieces” of your website separately.
It’s like trading off some control for more convenience.
Using Weebly is sort of like leasing and customizing an apartment in a nice development instead buying and owning your own house. You’re still in control of decor, cleaning, and everything living-wise – but you leave the construction, plumbing, security, and infrastructure to the property owner. That point is key because there’s usually a direct tradeoff between convenience and control.
All the functionality and design that are included with Weebly work seamlessly together as a platform. That’s what allows them to have drag and drop design, layout and content.
As far as competition, Weebly competes directly with all-inclusive website builders like Squarespace, Wix and WordPress.com.
Website builders as a group compete with options like WordPress.org (which provides the free software to build a website that you own & control – see my WordPress setup guide here) all the way to options like typing actual HTML code into a text file. Make sense? Awesome, let’s dive in to the Weebly review.[Continue Reading]
A LinkedIn Company (or business) page is an excellent way to keep people informed about your company, brands, products and services and job opportunities. Creating a page for your business is fairly straightforward. But, like any platform, you’ll be much more effective if you dig into the manual, apply best practices, add your own creative touches, analyze then improve.
LinkedIn is the premier social network for business professionals. The platform has over 460 million users throughout the world. Depending on the business your company is in, LinkedIn offers access to a key demographic.
In some ways, LinkedIn is nowhere near as sexy as other social networks. Day to day, it can feel like a haunt for recruiters and weird spammers.[Continue Reading]
HostPapa is an independent (ie, not owned by a big holding corporation) web hosting company from Toronto, Canada. They offer a spectrum of hosting services from shared hosting to VPS servers with a focus on small business owners.
HostPapa started in 2006 and make a big deal about their 100% green energy initiative.
Like most shared hosting companies, HostPapa also provides email, a website builder, and various complementary services with 24 hour support and a 30 day money back guarantee.
You can check out HostPapa’s plan and current pricing here.
I’ve had several readers email to ask my opinion about HostPapa, so I decided to give them a shot in my recent shopping tour of entry-level web hosts.
Here’s my HostPapa Hosting review – structured with pros & cons based on my experience as a customer.[Continue Reading]
Search Analytics is one of the most useful tools in Google Search Console’s suite of tools. It provides a lot of data about how your website is performing in Google’s organic search results.
But like any data source – it is useless, unless you know how to put the data into action. Even though the best ways to use Search Console are specific to your website, there is a myriad of ways to put the data into action.
Here are 15+ ways that I like to use Search Console to solve SEO problems. Hopefully, you’ll be find something to use or build on to put your own data into action.[Continue Reading]
Google Domains is a domain name registrar owned and operated by Google. Google rolled out the product in 2014, and it’s still in “beta” as of 2016.
Google Domains is not my primary domain registrar (which is NameCheap). As a Googlephile and SEO consultant, I pretty much had to register a domain with Google Domains the day they started.
Here’s my my experience so far and my full Google Domains review with pros & cons…[Continue Reading]
You already know social media analytics can be a powerful tool in your marketing toolkit. Not only can they tell you about how your content performs on social (like Twitter & YouTube)… but the data can also give you tons of insight into your target audience and new potential business opportunities. Pinterest is no different.
Pinterest Analytics is a powerful social media tool that allows you to see what people Pin from your profile and website, as well as what your audience enjoys to pin outside of your own content.
Sound enticing? Great — getting started is easy. All you need is a business account on Pinterest with a verified tag.[Continue Reading]
So you have a website and you are really anxious to get visitors to your site. You have three main tactics to get visitors to your website.
You can either tell your network about it (ie, word of mouth, social media); try to be there when other people are asking about you (ie, search engine optimization); or just advertise your website to people who might be interested. That last method is by far and away the fastest and most scalable right away, but it’s hard to do right.
*EDIT: This post was originally published May 2013. It’s been quite popular, so I’ve edited and updated it throughout for the state of advertising online in 2017.
Here’s how to advertise your website online effectively in 5 steps.[Continue Reading]
