Ads 468x60px

Four of the Best WordPress Plugins to Make Your Job Easier - DailyBlogTips

Four of the Best WordPress Plugins to Make Your Job Easier - DailyBlogTips

Four of the Best WordPress Plugins to Make Your Job Easier

Posted: 21 Jan 2016 08:47 AM PST

So you started your blog. You're plugging away, having a swell time, and so far you've been doing okay.

Way to go, you.

But running a blog is hard work and at some point you're not going to be able to juggle at the balls in the air. You could use some help.

One option is to hire a bunch of people to work for you. The best part about this is that you can make them call you "Boss" or "Your Majesty".

The worst part is, it can get expensive to hire people.

This is where plugins come in handy. The best WordPress plugins out there will make change your life FOREVER!

A plugin is software that can plug in (AHA…see what they did there?) to an existing computer program and do a job that the existing program doesn't already do.

Plugins are awesome tools that can save you massive time and money, and probably more than a few headaches.

Keep in mind, though, that too many cooks in the kitchen will make your blog miserable. AN overabundance of plugins will slow your site down and make the user experience pretty frustrating.

Stick to ten plugins, absolutely maximum, and you'll be good to go.

"But hang on," (you may be thinking), "There are literally hundreds of plugins out there. I know this…I just Googled it. How do I know which ones are worth using?!"

Excellent question, and one I am more than happy to help you with! I've played around with a ton of different WordPress plugins, and I've narrowed my list of must-haves down to four.

These are my four top WordPress plugins and are great at what they do. They will save you time, money, and stress and make your whole job easier.

One helps you out with SEO, one gives you spam protection, one helps you create pop-ups and builds your email list, and one keeps your publishing schedule and social media organized.

And the best part? They're all super affordable. (And by affordable I mean practically, or actually, free. What's. Up.)
Ya ready to hear about them? Great.

Best WordPress Plugins #1: Yoast SEO

Helps with: SEO optimization
Price: Free for the basic version (premium starts at $69/year)

Yoast SEO is one of the most well-known SEO plugins out there, and with good reason (this is my favorite on the list of the best WordPress plugins). It's awesome. Yoast is a great tool for automating all that technical white hat SEO things so you don't have to worry about it. Talk about a load off your plate.

When you download the plugin, it will show up on the existing sidebar of your WordPress navigation page as "SEO".

The free version (which is really all you need right now) comes with some awesome features, like these:

  • Post titles and meta descriptions: This feature lets you set a template for for your titles and meta description on search engines.
  • Ordinarily, you wouldn't have any control over how the title appears in search engines. With Yoast you do, which will help with your click-through rate.
  • Sitemap: Sitemaps are a super important element of good SEO. Sitemaps help search engines index your site. You can enable the sitemap with the swift click of a button, and grab the link in a jiffy. Awesome.
  • There are a ton of other built-in tools in the Yoast plugin, which you can read about on the plugin page.

Best WordPress Plugins #2: Akismet

Helps with: Spam protection
Price: Name your own price (which can be free)

Nobody, least of all you, has time for stupid spammy comments on your posts. No, thank you. Akismet is the ultimate in spam protection for your blog. It automatically catches spam and makes it disappear before you even see it.

Awesome.

There are a few different plans to choose from, but my favorite (and the one that will do just fine for your blog) is the basic plan, which allows you to set your own monthly price. You can download it for free, but why not donate a dollar or two to help them out? After the basic plan, the premium plans start at $5, and go up to $50.

Best WordPress Plugins #3: SumoMe

Helps with: Growing your site's traffic
Price: Free (for the basic version)

SumoMe is one of my all time favorite plugins. Mostly because they have really amusing marketing emails. But also because the plugin is awesome.

Once you install the plugin, you can download apps like the List Builder (lets your create a fancy lightbox pop-up to capture email addresses), Scroll Box (an email collection box that pops up whenever you tell it to), Heat Maps (helps you see where people are clicking on your site), and Smart Bar (among plenty others).

Personally, I love the Scroll Box app. It's a polite way to ask for a reader's email address once they've popped around your site for a bit. You can choose at what point on the page you want the box to appear, how often you want it to pop up, and what you want it to say.

The only downside to the free version is that it is plastered with the SumoMe logo. The only way to get rid of that is to upgrade to the Starter version (which is $10/mo, or you can get the Pro version for $100/mo). I don't think it's a deal breaker, but it is something you'll have to deal with if you use the plugin.

Best WordPress Plugins #4: CoSchedule

Helps with: Content marketing and social media
Price: $15/mo

CoSchedule connects your WordPress blog to your social media sites with a freaking cool drag-and-drop editorial calendar that makes scheduling your posts (across all your platforms) a breeze.

CoSchedule allows you to plan ahead and publish your awesome content, consistently. It gets rid of the headache of remembering when to publish, and also remembering to update all your social media platforms.

Never again will you have to spend hours posting the same information to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and your blog.

Literally so annoying.

You can easily move blog posts around and plan/edit your posting schedule. Then it automatically adjusts the rest of your social media to those changes. Freaking legit.

Go Forth and Use These Top WordPress Plugins to Improve Your Blog

So there you go. These plugins are four of the best WordPress plugins out there, and I'm pumped to share them with you! They will absolutely make your life easier and help your blog be the best it can be.

I'd love to hear about what plugins have worked for you, whether or not they are on this list. Really, I want to hear all about your blog in general!

Shoot me at email at john@blogsheriff.com to talk about plugins, or anything else. Can't wait to connect with you.

Best,

John and the BlogSheriff team

Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

0 comments

5 Features Every Author’s Website Needs - DailyBlogTips

5 Features Every Author’s Website Needs - DailyBlogTips

5 Features Every Author’s Website Needs

Posted: 19 Jan 2016 06:46 AM PST

Time and time again, the wide expanse of the internet has proven to be a crucial tool in marketing. Whether a professional writer wants to connect with their audience or an up-and-coming author needs to promote their new book, a key tool in achieving success is to build a website. There are many cheap web design company out there. In order to get your website noticed, it can’t be something thrown together without a strategic plan- Rome wasn’t created in a day, right? These top website features will keep the readers coming back to your site, and will exponentially further the marketing of your books.

1. Clean Format
A book is a direct figure that portrays an idea, and your website should be just that. A site with a one column format, meaning your posts and updates are wrapped vertically down the page, is easier to read than a site that has no system or categorization. The design of your site and the fonts you decide to use also play a major role in keeping your readers’ attention. Simple fonts and a clean color scheme will never fail, and your audience will thank you for it.

2. Email List
Once readers have visited your site, how do you keep them coming back? Emailing lists are so widely used because they are great sources of information to give to the public. Email marketing services like MailChimp and VerticalResponse allow you to conveniently send email updates to your readers while also promoting your books and future writings. Your readers have the choice to sign up for your newsletter, so make sure you have an email list page or widget out in the open, readily available to the public.

3. Social Media Buttons
Communication with readers is so important for an author. You can collaborate ideas, gain feedback and critiques, and even make new friends. Social media is essential for a writer to not only promote themselves, but to connect with everyone in the industry. Having social media buttons available on your website will allow interested visitors to follow you on your social accounts, thus creating a larger reader’s circle. There are a number of different social channels you can add here, the most popular being Facebook and Twitter. Usually website templates have social media buttons already integrated into the CSS, but various tutorials are available online to add your own customized buttons.

4. Blog Posts
There’s a huge difference between simply having a website and operating a blog. Sure, with a website you can promote your book, include facts, maybe share a bit about yourself, but there isn’t much growth beyond that. Readers would be more inclined to visit a site with updated posts, hence the beauty of owning a weblog. By merging your website into a functioning blog, you’ll combine the promotion of your book with posts that showcase your unique voice. The blog posts can be about anything you choose, but would better market your work if they were directed towards your published books.

5. About the Author
Short, sweet and to the point- that is what an author’s “about me” page should be. This gives you the chance to share a little about yourself and better relate to your viewers while sneaking in some of your completed achievements. If the page seems to stretch on for miles, it looks less interesting to the reader. Keep it short while also keeping it factual. Read more here about how to write an about me page.

An author’s business website design can improve their chances of being noticed with the use of a clean interface and interesting posts. Anything that can help the writer better connect with the public, such as emailing lists and social media, will always be an asset. A website is a beneficial step on the ladder to success.

Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

Top 10 Link Building Articles of 2015

Posted: 18 Jan 2016 01:36 PM PST

How many blog posts have you read on link building over the past 12 months? I've read hundreds myself, written a couple and bookmarked a few for safekeeping. Today I have produced a list of my favourite 10 link building articles from 2015 that I recommend you read:

1. Why Link Building Matters

All the way back in February Andrea Lehr published a collaborative effort between BuzzStream and Fractl that reviewed the trends in outbound and inbound marketing techniques.

The conclusion: link building should still be an essential strategy in your digital efforts.

2. 11 Link Building Techniques

In March, Shane Barker published an article on 11 link building techniques that are currently working to improve your website in Google and increase traffic to your website.

This article published on SEMRush features broken link building, Brian Dean's Skyscraper technique and turning mentions into backlinks among other strategies that are working for Shane and others this year, and likely to continue into 2016.

3. We’re Ignoring Google & It’s Working – Here’s Why

Back in May, Samuel Jefferies posted a bold blog on Inbound.org detailing the success he was having in the face of Google's scaremongering tactics.

In his post, Samuel highlights that a number of the top bloggers within the industry are still succeeding with guest blogging and that authoritative websites still accept guest posts.

4. How to Find 50+ Email Addresses for Your Next Outreach Campaign

Can I sneak this one into a roundup of Link Building blog posts? Well blogger outreach is a big part of link building so I think this post from over the summer by Irma Hunkeler on Blue Grass is well worth the inclusion.

Want 50+ email addresses from your next piece of outreach work? Irma's post gives great insight into how to accomplish that with a number of tools and strategies mentioned.

5. Getting the BIG Links – using creative campaigns to win in SEO

Back in July, Verve Search's wonderful CEO and founder, Lisa Myers, published this post on getting creative to earn big links to yours or your clients' website, after speaking at the Learn Inbound conference in Dublin, Ireland

This blog post includes Lisa's 56-page slideshare presentation which is well worth clicking through.

6. Is Brand a Google Ranking Factor?

One of Rand Fishkin's most popular Whiteboard Friday videos in 2015 has been his discussion on whether your brand is a ranking factor in Google. His Moz articles goes on to investigate the importance of branding and social signals when it comes to Google.

This piece of content is available in both video and transcript format, meaning you can listen to it, read it, or do both simultaneously.

7. The 5 Types of Content That Attract the Most Backlinks

A link building roundup post wouldn't be complete without something from Neil Patel. This piece from August was one of my favourites from 2015 in which Neil explains on his blog, Quicksprout which content attracts the most backlinks.

Fortunately for me, he pointed out that people continue to love list posts, infographics and making an influencer look amazing.

8. Google’s Manual Actions Guide (& How To Fix Them)

Google penalties have been one of the big talking points over the past 12 months and further back. Some websites are still being hit by them and others have either been unsure or slow in recovering from them.

Shane Barker published a great guide on Search Engine People back in August detailing how to revoke and simply prevent your site from becoming the latest victim. This 11-point list includes unnatural links, spam, and thin content.

9. 5 Ways Successful SEOs Are Killing It With Topical Trust Flow

Topical Trust Flow is one of my favourite metrics for determining the quality of a link. If you're building links on blogs solely for the purpose of ranking in Google, you can ignore this Majestic trust factor at your peril.

Jacob Hagberg wrote this awesome post in August where he gave five examples of SEOs who were doing an excellent job thanks to Trust Flow. This includes finding Twitter profiles of industry influencers and being able to spot the fakes, being able to check that your content marketing strategy is reaching and resonating with the right audience, and helping your website to become an authority in your niche.

10. How Much Do Keywords Still Matter?

Alp Mimaroglu's blog post on Kissmetrics discussed the topic of keyword heavy anchor text links. A few years ago it used to be all about obtaining these type of links to drive traffic to your website from Google but the game has changed now.
The blog post goes on to talk about authoritative links, keyword placement and longtail keywords.

Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

0 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)