photo credit: Mr Moss

There is danger everywhere on the internet. We must be vigilant all the time. How do I know this???  Unfortunately through personal experience.

I was the victim of an email phishing scheme and I got caught…big time!

I got what I thought was a legitimate email from Hostgator which hosts all my blogs. It turned out to be a phishing email and I gave them my username and password. Within a few hours all my blogs were being re-directed to a Russian site that was either spreading a virus or some other trash. My virus program caught it before it harmed my computer.

Once I figured out what was going on I called Hostgator and they went through each of my blogs and removed all the malicious code. A great big thanks to Hostgator!!! They were all over it in a flash!!

So now all my blogs are safe and happy…and my blood pressure is once again normal.

The day after all this happened I got an email from my bank asking me to confirm my account information. Being paranoid I called my bank and discovered that the email was a phishing scheme! Imagine if I had answered that one…I’d be broke now!

So the moral of the story is to be very very careful when giving out personal information on the internet. If you have any question about an email you received contact whoever supposedly sent it and verify that it is from them. It may take some extra time but it will save you more time and perhaps money in the long run!

So go forth upon the internet and be careful…be very very careful!

Danger Danger Danger is a great post from: The Blog Builder Guy-I Build It So You Don't Have To!

In this post I want to take it a step further.   Your blog should have categories set up.  If you don’t  have categories go to your Dashboard and under Posts go to Categories and add them.

To improve your SEO your categories  should be the same as your main keywords.   And to improve your SEO even further you can add your categories to your post URL.

Go to Permalinks under Settings just like you did before.  But now I want you to add the following  in the Custom Structure:

/%category%/%postname%/

Doing that will add your category and postname to the post’s URL.

Simple isn’t it.  And it will make the search engines like you all the more.

And as always  if  you have any questions about blog setup let The Blog Builder Guy know and I’ll do my best to help you out.

Permalinks & SEO Part 2 is a great post from: The Blog Builder Guy-I Build It So You Don't Have To!

photo credit: drexston

One problem that you may encounter is that your post title may be too long and you don’t want a correspondingly long file name.  So  what are you to do?  Simple…change the post slug!

The slug is what you would like your post to be called.  The option to change this is right under the post title box.

Blog Setup & The Post Slug is a great post from: The Blog Builder Guy-I Build It So You Don't Have To!

But from a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) point of view the default permalinks aren’t very good.

Here is what a default permalink would look like:

http://www.yoursite.com/?p=89

p=89 means that this is your 89th post (you’ve been busy)

What we really want the link to look like would be something like this:

http://www.yoursite.com/carpet-cleaning-tips/

Now what you have here is a keyword phrase “carpet cleaning tips” and a link that tell you and the search engines exactly what the post is all about.  It gives pertinent information.

So how do  we go from p=89 to carpet-cleaning-tips? Simple!

From your WordPress Dashboard go to the:

Settings tab and select Permalinks.

That takes you to the Permalinks menu where you will see Common Settings.

At the bottom of the list is Custom Structure. Hit the radio button and in the box write:

/%postname%/

Click Save Changes and you are done!

Now your post title will be part of your URL. And your readers and the search engines will be happy because they know what your post is all about.

If you have any questions about blog setup let The Blog Builder Guy know and I’ll do my best to help you out!

Permalinks & Search Engine Optimization is a great post from: The Blog Builder Guy-I Build It So You Don't Have To!

WordPress 3.0 Is Here! is a great post from: The Blog Builder Guy-I Build It So You Don't Have To!

This is part of the comment I got:
“I’ve been following your posts for a couple of weeks now and I gotta say that your older articles don’t offer as much insight as the newer articles. Your writing is constantly improving!”

A very nice compliment for sure….until you read the actual posts she is referring to.

Here is the older one:

Spam Protection You Have to Have It! is a great post from: The Blog Builder Guy-I Build It So You Don't Have To!

And WordPress, being the most popular blogging platform, has a vast plugin developer network.  And that means there are no shortage of plugins to help interconnect all your social media efforts with your blog.

The following plugins are just a few of the many available to help you integrate your social media profiles:

Social Media Page-This plugin supports about 140 social networking sites (and you thought there were only Twitter and Facebook!).  The advantage of this plugin is that you can link to your profiles on any page or post on your site.  This way you don’t have to have your sidebars filled with numerous icons.

Social Profilr-yes it is spelled correctly! This plugin only allows you to choose from 14 social networking sites.  But the advantage here  is that it allows you to add a line of some enticing text as an introduction, sort of an About Me blurb.

DandyID Services-This plugin  supports 330 social networks! And you thought 140 was a lot!  No matter what your interests are you will find a network to suit your needs here! You need to create a FREE account with DandyID and then configure your widget using several options such as using text links, favicons or both.

Perhaps some of you are wondering, “What the heck is a plugin?”.  If so hop on over to this page Plugins, Widgets and Permalinks and read my brilliant (cough cough) explanation.

Give one of these plugins a try and let me know how they work for you.  And if you have any problem installing or configuring them let me know and The Blog Builder Guy will do his best to help you.

WP Plugins That Promote Your Social Media Profiles is a great post from: The Blog Builder Guy-I Build It So You Don't Have To!

photo credit: AMagill

The first question that most bloggers ask is, “What do I want to write about?”. WRONG!  Successful bloggers ask, “What do my readers want to read about, what will get and keep their attention?” Once you answer that question you can begin to write.

Interesting and engaging content helps to establish you as an expert in your field.  If people see you as a trusted source you will become their “go to” person when they need help.  And if people like what you have to say they will recommend you to their friends!  Not only is that good for establishing relationships but it is good for your bottom line.

When writing your content always be sure to include your keywords somewhere in the post.  Make sure that you don’t over use them, 2 or 3 at most.  Otherwise Google may think that your are keyword stuffing.

Make sure that your keywords fit into the flow of your post.  They must fit logically and grammatically. Don’t just throw them in there so you have some keywords in the post.

It is also a good idea to bold one of them and maybe underline or italicize another one.  This will help Google (and the other search engines) notice them.

Good quality content with the proper use of your keywords will help move your blog higher up in the search engine ranking.

And what business doesn’t want that?

The Blog Builder Guy also wrote a post about finding content to write about.  You can read that here.  Where Do I Get Stuff to Write About?

Great Content is Essential for Your Blog is a great post from: The Blog Builder Guy-I Build It So You Don't Have To!

photo credit: gabriel amadeus

The question I pose is this….should a blogger post about their personal beliefs such as politics and religion etc. on their
business blog?  Or should the expression of personal beliefs be kept separate from business?

Granted our personal belief system affects the way we do business.  Personal values such as honesty and our work ethic obviously carry over into every aspect of our lives.

But as a customer do you really care that a business owner is of a particular religious faith or political party?  Or are you more concerned about getting a quality product or service at a fair price?  As a business owner do you really care that a customer is a member of a particular religious organization?  Or are you more concerned with being treated respectfully and getting paid for the value you provide?

As a business owner do you want to run the risk of losing business because a potential customer doesn’t like your political beliefs?

Speaking as a business owner I feel that my personal beliefs are just that…personal.  We have a storefront and I certainly do not express my world views to people that come in.  They didn’t come in the store hear me spout off about what I think. They are in the store to do business and get their needs met.  And I certainly don’t care about a their politics or religion.  Be respectful and pay me…that’s what I care about.

I use my blog in the same manner.  You don’t come to The Blog Builder Guy to learn what I think of the nation’s economic situation, you come here to learn about blogging and how it can benefit you.  If I thought people cared about what I think, I’d have a personal blog where I could bore them with my views on the world’s problems.

This is a hot topic around here and I’d like to know what your thoughts are.

Mixing Personal Beliefs and Business is a great post from: The Blog Builder Guy-I Build It So You Don't Have To!

photo credit: Jan Tik

You’ve spent hours writing your content, you’ve got the perfect template, the plugins and widgets are configured to your liking.  It’s your baby and you love it.  But is it protected?  What happens if you hit the wrong key and your blog blows up!!  Not that I’ve ever done that….nope not me!

Do you have a backup system in place for your blog?

If The Blog Builder Guy did your blog setup then you don’t have to worry because I install a backup system on every blog I build.

The one I use and recommend is WP-DBManger. You can find the plugin at WP-DBManger.  It is easy to configure and you can set the backup schedule to your liking:

• Once Hourly
• Twice Daily
• Once Daily
• Once Weekly

You can also choose where to send the backup:

• Save to server
• Download to your computer
• Email backup to:

My hosting company, HostGator, also has a backup system that is easy to use.  I use their backup system as extra protection being that it only takes a couple of minutes to use it.  And you can have the backup sent to your email if you wish.

I highly recommend that you install a backup system for your WordPress blog.  You don’t want all your hard work to disappear into the internet dead zone!

If you  have any questions or need some help give me a shout!

Is Your Blog Safe? is a great post from: The Blog Builder Guy-I Build It So You Don't Have To!