Guide to HootSuite – Your Social Media Dashboard

February 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment
hootsuite-owl

So you’re a Google junkie (like me) and recognize the importance of having an optimized profile on each of the major social networks but simply do not have the time to manage them all.  You’re not alone. Many of my clients: restaurateurs, real estate agents, entrepreneurs and small businesses feel overwhelmed by social media. HootSuite can help improve productivity and may be just what you are looking for.  Do you like the idea of logging in to one dashboard to implement and analyze your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, blogs, Business, Social Media

Deeper into Yoast: Page Analysis, Advanced Options & Social Media

February 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Yoast's page analysis options

Last week, we looked at the basics of using WordPress SEO by Yoast to optimize your posts for search engine rankings. But we barely scratched the surface! In today's post, we look under the hood, diving deeper into Yoast’s full range of features. Page Analysis Page analysis is one of the most useful tools provided by Yoast. Basically, it judges your post according to about a dozen SEO-friendly metrics. On the right, you can see the page analysis for my post on WordPress captions, which used … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, blogs, SEO, Social Media, WordPress Tagged With: , , , ,

WordPress SEO: Optimizing Your Posts with Yoast

January 28, 2013 By 2 Comments
Yoast as it appears on WordPress.

Search engine optimization is one of the great cottage industries of the last decade. Often confusing and arcane, SEO is also absolutely indispensable. Fortunately, WordPress plug-in developers have created a number of tools to assist everyday users in search-optimizing their sites. One great SEO tool for WordPress (as well as one of our favourite plugins overall!) is Yoast. But let’s step back for a second. Many people have asked me whether SEO is really worth the time and effort. Why … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, blogs, SEO, WordPress Tagged With: , , , ,

Getting the most out of LinkedIn

January 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
getting the most out of linkedin

Get the most out of LinkedIn by optimizing your profile for search and utilizing it as a powerful lead generation tool. LinkedIn facts: As of January 9, 2013, LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 200 million members in over 200 countries and territories. (with 74 million in the US and 7 million in Canada) LinkedIn is a powerful tool for lead generation; establishing yourself as an authority in your niche market, all the while providing a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, blogs, LinkedIn, SEO, Social Media, Uncategorized

WordPress MacGyver Returns: Monkeying with WordPress Captions

January 21, 2013 By 1 Comment
A monkey riding a dog.

WordPress captions are really useful, but let’s face the hard truth – the default appearance can be ugly in some layouts. If you’re tired of looking at uninspiring grey boxes, this post is for you. WordPress MacGyver is back, and this time, it’s captional. Before tweaking your captions, the first thing you’ll want to do is save a copy of your CSS (I can’t say this enough – always back up your CSS!). Next,  navigate to Appearance > Editor > Stylesheet. Find the wp-caption … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogs, Genesis Theme How to's, Web Design, WordPress Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Lowdown on WordPress Images

January 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn, Estonia

Alternative text, title, description, caption – WordPress images can seem rather confusing to the beginner. What do these various elements mean, and how are they relevant to readers? In this week's post, we take a look at the different elements in WordPress images, as well as the thorny topic of image attribution. Below is a breakdown of the various descriptive elements that relate to WordPress images. You can see these when you add an image, as well as change them from the Media Library or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, blogs, Mobile, SEO, WordPress Tagged With: , , , , ,

WordPress Categories vs. Tags: What’s the Difference?

January 7, 2013 By 3 Comments
A wordle of all the different categories I've used in my posts.

Many first-time WordPress users pay little attention to the categories and tags boxes on the right of the posts page. But in terms of SEO and user accessibility, these ubiquitous features are your best friends. By correctly using WordPress tags and categories, you can make sure that search engines can easily index your site, and that your readers will be able to find the content that they want. But first, it's important to understand the difference between categories and tags. Although they … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, blogs, WordPress Tagged With: , , ,

What are Responsive Themes for WordPress?

December 10, 2012 By 1 Comment
crt-monitor

Remember when computer displays were limited to 1024 by 768 pixels, and you were happy to have it? Back in those days, designing websites was fairly straightforward, because there were so few tools – and so little space – available for readers. By default, fonts had to be enormous, because there were so few pixels per square inch. Nowadays, web designers still have to contend with those smaller resolutions on mobile devices, while simultaneously creating for much higher … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, blogs, Mobile, Mobile Marketing, Web Design, WordPress Tagged With: , , , , ,

6 Amazing Comment Plugins for WordPress

December 3, 2012 By 1 Comment
Tango Smileys Extended provides your users with a full range of emotions to express themselves.

Comments on WordPress can sometimes be more trouble than they're worth. However, when used properly, WordPress comments are a fantastic way to engage with your readership. They encourage feedback, allow your readers to connect with each other, and ultimately provide additional reasons for your readers to come back to your site. Comments are powerful. To encourage commenting on your site, you should carefully consider the options that you want your readers to have. What should the comments … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, blogs, Genesis Theme How to's, Web Design, WordPress Tagged With: , , , , ,

WordPress Comments: Sometimes More Trouble Than They’re Worth

November 26, 2012 By 3 Comments
A picture of delicious-looking cake.

Comments are one of the most important tools that readers have to interact with your site. Using comments on WordPress, they can leave feedback about pages and posts, and start conversations with other readers. But interactivity isn't always a good thing – at least not on certain pages. When designing your WordPress site, you should think carefully about what sort of content should invite commentary. The most important question to ask when establishing comments on your site is: How will … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, blogs, Genesis Theme How to's, Google, Web Design, WordPress Tagged With: , , , ,