Red Hot Web Hosting Blog

In the overall scheme of things, small businesses were quite often left behind when it come to getting a good web presence. The design and theme elements of the site were often quite costly to purchase and those who had smaller budgets really didn’t have the right tools for building a small business website. Very often without an IT department in-house, the small business owner was constrained to just a single page, or not real website online at all.

Fortunately with the advent of some of the newer tools and the lower cost, easy to use methods of building a small business website, those days are gone like the dark ages. Building a small business website today using WordPress cms and some of the plug-ins which are available to add functionality makes it easier than it has ever been.

Hosting Your Site

Your first step will be the purchase of private hosting. In many cases, these hosting accounts are available to you for a nominal cost. You can find good secure hosting today for as low as 5 or 10 dollars a month. This is a radical change from the costs that were once charged. Most web hosting providers today offer C-panel to permit you to automatically install your WordPress and other software so that you really won’t need a vast amount of technical skill in order to get your website up and running.

Themes for Building a Small Business Website

The second step will be the purchase or selection of a theme for your WordPress when you are building a small business website. Finding low priced themes which are suitable for business is typically quite easily accomplished.Wordpress.com offers a broad selection of website templates which are well suited for helping the new users who are building a small business website. These templates may be free or a nominal price may be attached to them, but what is typically not attached are mandatory links that you are trying to avoid in building a small business website.

Use of WordPress Plug-Ins

Plug-ins, which add functionality to your wordpress will help to give you an added edge when building a small business website. Included in those you may want to consider when you are building your website for business use are several that will add a community feature, a private messaging feature and even those which will add an interactive forum to your website.

Google requires that those who sell from their sites offer two pages in order to be viewed as user friendly. These two pages include a privacy policy, as well as a contact page which gives your users the ability to contact you or your staff. Using plug-ins such as WP-Contact and WP-Forum, as well as Easy Privacy policy, you can easily comply with these constraints and assure a good placement in search when building your small business website.

There are Golden Rules that can help quite a bit in dealing with the problems associated with search engine optimisation.  Remember to use them when optimising your website and the challenges are likely to be much smaller.

These Golden Rules exist to guide you. It makes little difference what your goal is or what challenges you face, just choose the applicable Golden Rule and use it to improve your website.

Here are 5 of my best Golden Rules for search engine optimisation.

Golden Rule No. 1

Keep the content of your website fresh and up to date. The reason for doing this is that you want search engines to come very regularly and ‘spider’ all of your new information. Remember, the fresher the content, the better your website’s page ranking, the more people find your site, the more sales you get as a result.

Golden Rule No. 2

Make sure that the text on your website has the correct keywords and that they relate as closely as possible to what you are trying to sell or the point you are trying to make. Do this carefully because if you stray too far from the actual purpose of your site, you may lose page ranking and consequently, page views. Keep in mind that Google and the other search engines want to find content and keywords that relate to individual pages as well as the whole website.

Golden Rule No. 3

Make sure your meta titles uses around 65 characters and don’t use any word more than twice.  Also, use your main keywords in the meta titles as well.

Golden Rule No. 4

Your meta descriptions should be no longer than 200 characters, including spaces. They should use as many relevant keywords or long tail keywords as possible.

Long tail keywords can drive significant traffic to your website even though they are often used in fewer searches, they are less competitive and often have a higher conversion rate because people who use these long tail keywords are more specific in their searches and have already made the decision to buy.

To help with your page ranking and to find free programs on the Internet that will help identify relevant long tail keywords, type “free keyword searches” into Google or other search engines.

Golden Rule No. 5

Don’t overdo the keywords.  While you may be trying to impress search engines with all your wonderful keywords, keep in mind that your text has to be readable for the human visitors coming to your web pages, too many keywords and it soon becomes unreadable.

Keyword density should be around 5% for any keyword on a given page. Too many keywords can get your website penalised for spamming.  Staying under five percent is really important because using more than that can get you barred from the Internet altogether, and no searches means no traffic, which means no sales!

Follow these Golden Rules carefully, and success doing your search engine optimisation will be assured.

Additional Ideas for Internet Security – this time for Keeping your Website Safe

Chances are that your web site is safe, but do you know that for sure?  Many users new to managing a  website rely on something we used to call “security by obscurity”.  They assume that they are too small and not well-to-do enough for anyone to be interested and that anything more than an anti-virus package is too much security.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

You need to proactively defend yourself against hackers.  Again, although software has its place, often it’s common sense that will provide you with the best defences against being hacked.

A few simple rules do apply.

• If you are selling products and services on your web site, be sure you know enough about the software you’re using to set up the security correctly, and if you don’t, hire someone who does.

• Change your passwords regularly and use complex, difficult to crack passwords that include letters, numbers and symbols.

• Unless they work for you, DO NOT give out your server password to anyone, for any reason. Limit access to the server to people who really need to have it, and when they no longer need it, delete their account AND change the passwords.

• KNOW, or learn, how your firewall operates and either know how to maintain your own server and other vital equipment or find someone you can trust to do it for you.

• Check web logs regularly for strange or unusual activity. There is software available that will help keep track of log files and send an alert if there is any unusual activity.

• Keep a complete backup of your website along with all the files it contains. Keep a copy on your computer and somewhere else e.g. an external hard drive.  Update the backup weekly to accommodate any changes you may have made.

Practice commons sense and vigilance and be safe.

Who Am I If My Identity Is Stolen? Part 2 - Part 1

Identity Theft Is Not Just For People

What exactly is identity theft?

It is the theft of personal details and/or documents which are then used to apply for credit cards, bank accounts, loans, other financial services, benefits such as housing, tax credits, income support, child benefit, a driving licence, vehicle registration, a passport or a mobile phone contract ALL IN YOUR NAME and without your knowledge.  With a few bits of information from your PC, from your emails, your post or paper from your dustbin, criminals can become YOU.

Companies and company directors can also have their identities stolen when someone fraudulently attempts to change their details with Companies House.  Companies House reduces the chances of criminals being successful with a three point plan – WebFiling, PROOF and Monitor.  For details about these services go to www.comapnieshouse.gov.uk .

Ways to Protect Yourself – Companies or Individuals

• Shred anything that contains personal or identifying information – invoices, receipts, bank statements, credit /debit card receipts or letters.

• Check bank and credit card statements when they arrive and notify the bank or card company of any activity that is unfamiliar to you.

• Use secure websites for all Internet shopping.  Always look for the padlock in the lower right hand corner of the screen and a URL (web address) in the address bar of the website that starts with “https”.

• Don’t enter personal or account details unless you know for sure you are on a secure page that will encrypt the information.

• If an email comes in asking for personal details like account numbers, password, pin numbers, dates of birth etc. delete the email, DON’T  RESPOND.  Don’t be fooled by an email that says your account will be closed if you don’t respond.  Legitimate organisations such as banks will never ask for this information via email.

• Always keep your computer virus protection up to date and install a firewall to protect your computer while you’re online.

• Keep all documents, credit cards and PIN numbers secure.  Don’t carry credit cards if you don’t need to.  Don’t put your PIN numbers in your wallet or purse with your credit or debit cards – this is considered negligent by the credit card companies.

• If a passport or driving license has been lost or stolen notify the issuing agency immediately.

There is much more information available – your bank and credit card websites all have sections on protecting yourself.  www.identitytheft.org.uk is really useful for information for  individuals and companies.  And if that isn’t enough, google particular issues of interest about Internet security and identity theft – you’ll find loads more.

Who Am I If My Identity Is Stolen? Part 3 - Part 1

Internet Security for Individuals & Businesses

Everyone from NASA, to the New York Times, even Microsoft and Google, to you and the guy next door, have felt the pain, irritation and inconvenience (or more) of being hacked.

Ironically Google was hacked shortly after publishing a blog about security.  In that instance it was a flaw in the program for Adwords that allowed a malicious file to be installed onto users’ computers which then obtained their passwords and got into their banks accounts, etc.

Strangely even though it often doesn’t make much, if any, money, hacking is big business.  So why do they do it?   Some people just have too much time on their hands and they get a thrill out of the notoriety of getting into some high flying site or they just enjoy wreaking havoc.  That said, international organised crime is also becoming more involved in hacking but they’re in it for the money.

Nothing is sacred when it comes to security breaches including your bank accounts and credit cards plus anything else you may have on your computer.  Identity theft, often via the Internet, is also alarmingly on the rise.  The reality is that with a bit of skill, some precautions and lots of common sense, you don’t have to lose your website or your identity.

Who Am I If My Identity Is Stolen? Part 2 - Part 3

A small business is unique in its needs and requires special consideration of the things that need to be done.  On a normal day, you’ll probably need to complete lots of tasks to keep the business running, expenses under control etc., but what about those things you can’t do (don’t excel at) or don’t want to do?

A tip that could serve your business well is outsourcing the work you’re not comfortable with, don’t have staff or time to do or even don’t want to do yourself.  Give it to someone else – another company, or even a freelancer, who does that sort of thing all the time.

Yes, this way of working can bring you other challenges.  Hiring someone, even short term, can bring a few headaches with it.

Of course you would never turn over the core of your operations to anyone unless you are completely comfortable with them or are holding their hand – but then that would negate the object of the exercise – saving time and perhaps money.  Sounds like common sense but some people do it anyway.

When selecting a provider for a particular service or project you need to have completed, carefully evaluate them just as you would any full time hire.  Check their educational background, evaluate and check their references and ask questions of them and the people they’ve worked for, about their motivation, skills, work habits and how long it took for them to complete tasks assigned to them. As part of the evaluation, always review examples of their work to ensure that this is a good fit for you both.

Make sure everyone is clear about the tasks that need doing and the timeframe for completion that you have in mind.  Allow for minor delays, but stick as closely as you can to your budget and your time frame.

Never select a provider solely on being the lowest bidder.  A good way to start is to throw out the highest and lowest bids, take a bidder from the middle of the range and then do your research.  You’ll get better value for money and more than likely, good quality work as well.

Get It In Writing

This cannot be stressed enough. If they say they will complete a project within a certain time frame regardless of interruptions, unless you change that time frame, hold them to it and have it in writing as either signed contract or email contract.

It’s not uncommon, and often done without your consent or knowledge, that a provider outsources your project to one of their own providers.  This of course means that they are trading on their  referrals to get the job then they pass it onto another person who may not be as qualified and who gets paid less to complete your work.

Unless they specify up front that they have assistants, make it clear that they, and not another provider, must do the work they have contracted to do for you and that you will not accept outsourcing without your written consent.

These are just some of the different types of jobs that businesses require and will give you a good insight into what jobs are outsourced.

Computer Tip 100

Do you back up your files regularly?  What would it mean to you if you lost every file on your computer, or perhaps the whole computer because it was stolen?

Consider what you have on your computer – personal or business financial records, photographs, emails, various documents, music, other business records.

Consider the potential dangers – hard drive failure due to old age (13%), new hard drives fail in their first year) power surges, electrical strikes, accidentally deleting your files, theft (only 3 out of 100 laptops ever get returned), fire, water damage, the unknown, etc.

Every year over 43% of people who use computers lose files that can’t be replaced easily.  This means it CAN HAPPEN TO YOU TOO!  What precautions are you taking?

There is a remedy that can save your files and doesn’t rely on you remembering to back them up.  It works in the background but never slows you down.  If the worst does happen, you go onto the company’s website and restore your files back to where they belong.

Protect yourself with Carbonite Online Backup for only £41.95 a year!  (You can save even more if your prepay for two years.)

For this low price you get  (1) unlimited storage capacity, (2) back ups that are completely automatic, (3) real security because files are encrypted twice before leaving your computer, and (4) should the worst happen, your files are easily restored to your computer.

With all the threats out there, can you afford to put off getting this incredibly priced service any longer?  Check out the details for Carbonite Online Backup today.

Try Carbonite Online Backup FREE for 15 days and back up your irreplaceable files automatically and securely. No credit card required!

Money  Saving Tip 103

Drive in France, UK, Germany & Belgium – book for 7 days & get the same rate as for 5!  Enjoy 2 days driving around Europe for FREE.

From the leading leisure car rental company in the world, you can now go online to view the cars, find your nearest rental location and the cars available from that station, book, modify or cancel your booking, find out about chauffeur services and even book a hotel room.

Europcar gives you a range of services second to none – the average age of their vehicles is only 6 months, rates are inclusive so there are no nasty surprises – they even provide complementary equipment like baby seats and GPS.  Twenty four hour roadside assistance and 24/7 service at most major airports is standard, plus if your flight is delayed let them know and they’ll wait up for you.  That’s service!

Deals like the one above and many more are regularly available, plus if you pay online you get a 25% savings over the pay-on-arrival rate.

You can now join the iPhone and iPad brigade and download Europcar’s enhanced mobile reservation service app. from http://itunes.com/app/europcar.  The new application makes the whole reservation process so s m o o t h.

In real-time, you choose your car, get the best prices including all promotions and benefits, book, or adjust your reservations via the iPhone or iPad and the reservation confirmation number is automatically sent to you via email or SMS.

Isn’t time you checked in and discovered the company that services the car (and light utility vehicle) rental needs of millions of people in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and now the USA as well (in conjunction with Enterprise Holdings).  With Europcar you rent a lot more than just a car.

Because people love to express their opinions, blogs have become the current “must have” thing for every website owner.  But do you really need one – do you really want one?  Don’t get taken in by the clarion calls of “blogs will turbo charge your sales results” or “blogs will make a huge difference to your bottom line”.  Yes, they can help but unless you are willing to put in a lot of time and are reasonably good at writing, blogs probably won’t make that much difference to your sales.

So why bother?  Blogs can bring a fair amount of attention to your business because they can help you build your creditability and even turn you into an “expert” within your industry if you regularly contribute informative and maybe even, insightful blogs about what people are interested in.  It can put the name of your company in the public eye much more often than conventional media like newspapers or magazines. If your customers subscribe to your blog, you have the opportunity to communicate with them and get their feedback. You can also offer periodic specials thereby encouraging them to buy with your effective ‘calls to action’.

If you want to use blogs, you must think long term.  It takes time and effort to research and write them and instant results are seldom forthcoming because blogs that are rarely updated or poorly researched can do more harm than good.

When they are properly done, blogs can be an excellent addition to your marketing toolbox because they do foster relationships, they promote loyalty and they can improve your website’s ranking with the search engines.

Money Saving Tip 102 – Getting money for the stuff in the attic.

Whether you  have a few items or lots, there are alternatives to eBay.  As you probably already know eBay has loads of charges that have to be paid before you can make a profit and sometimes you just can’t get a decent price for what you have to sell because someone else has managed to get the goods at a ridicules cost and is selling them for “stupid” prices which you just can’t match. 

Well, there are plenty of classified advert directories like www.gumtree.com and www.vivastreet.co.uk  where you can put an advert either free or for an very low price for a 30 day stint.  They have search facilities for the regions of the country and some cities, as well as categories such as vehicles, buy & sell, pet, property, jobs, services, community events and so on. 

You can submit stuff you want to sell or buy and you never know, you might find ‘the partner of your dreams’ in their classified personal adverts.

If you have a business that needs free advertising or you want to find someone who will help you do advertising, these sites (plus many others) are good ones to check out.