Portfolios

Some WordPress themes are designed specifically to be used as portfolios. If you’re using a portfolio theme, you’ll find that getting images on your site is much easier than it would be if you were using most other platforms

WordPress has an image resizing feature built into it. This allows you to upload one copy of any image that you need displayed on the site. WordPress themes that are designed for portfolios will generally be set up so that they will take any image you specify, format it to the correct size it needs to be to be displayed on any given page and insert it for you. If you’re a photographer, this can save you a tremendous amount of time. One of the plug-ins that makes this possible is called TimThumb, which you can find here.

Widgets

Some photographers have so many images loaded onto photo sharing sites that reloading all of them onto their website would be an enormously time-consuming task. Some photographers even have so many images that they would have to purchase a lot of server space to accommodate them all. A solution to this can be found in the form of a widget.

Widgets make it easy to add features and interactive elements to your WordPress theme. There are widgets available that allow you to add your image stream from photo sharing sites to your WordPress site. For an example of this, look at the Flickr widget that you’ll find available here.

Sliders

Sliders are included on most WordPress themes available on the commercial market these days. They are exactly what the name implies: they allow you to have images or portions of story slide by the viewer on the top part of your page. These are great additions for photography sites. If your photography theme does include an image slider, check to see if you control the images included in it with post categories. This is generally the easiest way to go about getting images into your slider.

Provided you select a good theme, you should get great use out of WordPress as a platform for a photography or other creative visual artist site.

Four Must-Do Changes to Prevent Google’s Over Optimization Penalty

1.    Do your titles make sense? Blog titles should always be keyword optimized – but they should also sound like an actual human being wrote them. Rather than cramming in awkward SEO phrases, titles need to follow proper English grammar and be actual sentences. For example, if we titled our homepage content “Premium WordPress Theme Design and Create Your Own WordPress Theme” we’d be in big trouble. That title is clearly stuffed with keyword phrases and sounds downright awkward. A better version would be “Impress Themes: Custom WordPress Theme Design”. Your click-thru rates will also go up since customers will perceive your content as legitimate, rather than spammy.

2.    Do you have manipulative internal links? Internal links create a coherent website hierarchy. They help web crawlers understand your site’s content while pointing visitors to relevant pages. However, internal links should make logical sense. If you’ve got a page about web design and link it to a page on social media, there should be a contextual reason for this link. If you’ve just tossed in the social media link in an effort to boost page views without any context, this is completely ineffective – and you’ll suffer the penalties. What’s even worse is linking to the same page multiple times within your content without any reason for doing so. That’s like screaming to Google, “Hey, look at me! I’m trying to manipulate my search engine results!” And that’s never a good idea.

3.    Are your footers filled with anchor text links? Footers are a great place for including links to your blog, products, services, contact and about us info. However, some so-called “SEO experts” go overboard and add links solely for the sake of SEO anchor text. This is always a bad idea. If your site has long lists of random keyword anchor text in the footer (usually in a gray on gray color), it’s obvious to Google that this text is there simply for SEO purposes. Get ready for a penalty! If you need to incorporate anchor text, do so naturally into your content.

4.    Are you part of a spammy link network? Private link networks, also known as link farms, are a waste of money and the fastest way to get your site penalized. Save your time, energy, and cash and stay away from these spammy networks! Need help with authentic link building? Check out Impress Themes’ guide to smart SEO link building for WordPress blogs.

Also known as the “Reasonable Surfer Model”, search engines have refined link network evaluation to a precise science, using complex algorithms to analyze the popularity of a website based on its links. Thanks to these algorithms, one of the best ways to boost search engine ranking is to link build.

SEO Link Buying: Is the Risk Worth the Reward?

Natural, organic links are far and away the best way to link build. But if you’re just getting started, it can be difficult to receive free backlink juice from reputable websites and blogs. Google, as well as Yahoo and Bing, claim that link buying won’t help your search results. But will it?

In short: no. The risk to reward ratio with SEO link buying is decidedly not in your favor. Link directly violates Google’s guidelines. For years, Google has actively worked to crack down on link buying, going so far as to send undercover representatives to infiltrate link buying groups. With the introduction of Google’s Panda filter, thousands of websites that were suspected of being link violators (as well as content farms) were penalized. Panda is a site-wide penalty, so if enough pages are tagged for poor content, then your site will be caught by Panda’s filter and removed from search engine results. Yikes!

Paid links are just as bad as link spam. Spamming blogs, forums and other web communities with links in hopes of driving traffic to your site will also result in penalties. Time is limited and valuable. Time spent buying and selling links (or spamming other blogs) is time that you are not creating original content or developing a relationship with your blog’s visitors.

So what’s the best way to link build? It all comes back to high quality content. Valuable, informative and entertaining content inspires social media sharing and blog comments. As a blogger, your content quality directly reflects on your personal brand. Content that’s fresh, unique and prompts debate is more likely to be shared, tweeted and reposted.

Infographics are also a valuable way to build quality links. For example, this Panda infographic created by Search Engine Land went viral within the tech blogging community – and sites (including Impress Themes!) continue linking back to it months after the infographic was first created. Sharing unique infographics on your blog (while giving proper credit to the source) ties your website into their link neighborhood. Check out Visual.ly for the world’s largest collection of online infographics, including the tools to build your own.

Still tempted to buy links? Just say no. Save your money and time for content generation. Your site will avoid harsh penalties, you’ll protect your personal brand, and your website will build a legitimate, engaged community. That’s worth more than spammy backlinks any day!

However, even seasoned SEO experts can make some basic link building mistakes. From questionable indexing sites to link-baiting scam, SEO experts and newbies alike must be careful with link building. Search engines use trust ranking systems to determine whether a site is spam or a legitimate blog. The closer your blog is to a trusted domain, then the higher your blog will rank in search engine results. Choose the sites you link to carefully – you want your blog to be part of a known, trusted neighborhood of sites, rather than sitting across town on the wrong side of the tracks.

Whether you’re just getting started with link building or your blog is bouncing back from a bad link baiting experience, follow these five tips to build a strong link foundation.

5 SEO Blog Link Building Tips

1.    Use keyword anchor text for links. Anchor text tells web crawlers what the linked-to page is all about. Linked text that says “Click here!” tells a web crawler nothing. Instead, choose a keyword phrase when linking internally to boost search engine visibility.

2.    Link to yourself. Internal links are a smart way to structure blog content, ensuring that even old posts enjoy repeat traffic rather than languishing at the bottom of the “older posts” list. Internal links drive site conversions while also ensuring that your pages don’t “hide” from search engines. Keep links short (pick one keyword phrase) and always include a link to 3-4 popular/related blog posts at the end. Give readers a reason to stay on your blog!

3.    Participate in other blogs. Google loves blogs for their continual stream of fresh content and structured date, making it easy for web crawlers to analyze your blog. Be sure your blog’s address is yourdomain.com/blog. But don’t limit yourself to your blog! Join in the conversation on other blogs that match your interests. Insightful comments are a great way to not only build your personal brand, but also to generate meaningful backlinks.

4.    Analyze your competitor’s efforts. There’s a reason that other blogs sit at the top of Google’s search results. Take a look at how your fellow bloggers use backlinks and internal links in their blog posts. How do they structure linking? Does linking to popular posts continue to generate new comments?

5.    Don’t over link. Internal links and backlinks are a tool to be used moderately. Too many links in one article can clutter your content and send readers jumping from blog to blog, without truly interacting with any of your writing. Choose links that make strategic sense based on your keywords and article content, rather than linking for the sake of linking.

Your blog’s bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who arrive at your website, view only one page, and then leave before going any deeper. Thanks to Google’s latest algorithm tweaks, bounce rates are more important than ever. A high bounce rate tells Google that your site lacks quality content, burying your blog in search results.

Is your site suffering from a high bounce rate? Here’s what you need to know.

How to Fix a Bad WordPress Blog Bounce Rate

So, what exactly is a bounce rate?
As defined by Google Analytics, a bounce rate is a “measure of visit quality.” Google calculates bounce rate by taking the total number of visits viewing only one page and divides this number by the total entries to a page. Visitors may view just one page on your site and then “bounce”. Common reasons for bouncing include:

• Clicking on a link to in your blog to a different website
• Clicking “back” to leave your blog
• Typing a new URL
• Closing the open window or tab
• Slow load speeds – site is too graphic heavy to load quickly

What is a ‘bad’ WordPress blog bounce rate?
The average bounce rate is 40%, but can vary based on industry. According to Google, the following are average website metrics:

• Average time on site: 190.4 seconds
• Average pageviews: 4.6
• Bounce rate: 40.5%

Bounce rate varies widely by industry. For example, FAQ service sites have a low rate average of 10-30%. Content websites with high search visibility for irrelevant terms have a much higher bounce rate of 40-60%. In contrast, news websites with relevant content material corresponding with search terms have a lower rate of 30%.

What factors affect  my bounce rate?
Pop-up ads, streaming video, and streaming music that automatically starts when visitors go to a site negatively affect bounce rate. After all, no one wants to visit a blog and be bombarded by loud videos and music. That’s the equivalent to “welcoming” a visitor by screaming in their face. Poor site layout, bad design, or even offensive colors and graphics can have visitors clicking the back button.

How do I find my bounce rate?
From your Google Analytics account, select Audience -> Overview. You’ll see a list of visitors, page views, average visit duration and bounce rate. For more information on visitor engagement, including visit duration, go to Audience -> Behavior.

How can I improve my bounce rate?
Quality, engaging content ensures visitors stick around to explore your site. Don’t waste your time optimizing for high-visibility keywords that have little relevance to your actual material. Instead, attract the right visitors by optimizing for keywords that match your blog’s content.

• Keep visitors engaged by posting a question at the end of your blog to stimulate discussion.
• Ditch the pop-up ads and automatic videos.
• Give visitors  reason to stay: include links to three popular posts at the end of each post.
• Take a look at your site’s navigation. Is it easy for visitors to find what they need?
• Speed up load time with a WordPress plugin that compresses images and caches your site.

What is your site’s bounce rate?

WordPress Blog Branding Tips

Leo Babauta is one of the world’s most successful bloggers. His blog, Zen Habits, receives a staggering 1.5+ million page views per month with over 240,000+ RSS subscribers. Time Magazine named Zen Habits one of the top 25 blogs of 2009 by. Sure, Babauta’s posts about productivity, healthy eating and financial frugality are well-written and informative. But there are thousands of other bloggers posting on the same topics each day. What sets Babauta’s posts apart? His strong personal brand. From guest blog posts to a successful eBook publishing career, Babauta has purposefully built a strong personal brand around his minimalist approach to living. If you want to grow your WordPress blog, you need to build a strong brand, too.

Just like major corporate brands, our interactions with people (both online and offline) create an emotional response, tattooing a persona and reputation onto peoples’ minds. From the comments we make on blog posts to the pins we add to Pinterest, each day we’re creating our online brand. Is your brand worth following?

Five Ways to Building a Stronger Personal Brand

1.    Be purposeful. What persona are you trying to cultivate? Do you want to establish a reputation as an adventure travel writer? Build your brand as a mom blogger? Google has a long memory. Comment, re-tweet and re-post information with purpose to build your online brand.

2.    Put a face to your name. Don’t hide behind a blank profile picture. Sure, the Internet offers anonymity. But  your brand are best built through transparency. Design and install a custom favicon. Whenever you comment on a blog post, use this favicon. Whether you’re on your own blog or another blog, readers will instantly recognize your favicon and connect it with your brand.

3.    Create an “About Me” page. Don’t skip this critical part of your blog! This is your forum for introducing yourself to readers and establishing credibility. For example, if you want to build your brand as a travel writer, introduce your “credentials”. Where have you traveled? Are you currently on the road? Why are you passionate about travel? Where do you hope to go in the future? Sure, your blog posts can address these questions, too. But visitors who go to your site for the first time can instantly see a quick snapshot of who you are – and why they should care about your blog.

4.    Branch out. Don’t just blog about your passion – be sure that everything you do online reflects your brand. For example, if you want to build a following on your travel blog, then re-tweet travel tips, comment on other travel blogs, and get active in an online travel community like Afar.

5.    Keep it fresh. Before you start establishing your online authority in a specific field, be sure that your passion for this subject is enough to keep you interested and engaged long-term. Brainstorm a list with 10-15 topics. Can you stick to a strict writing schedule? Do you have time to get active on social media – and stay active? From Twitter to your blog, fresh content is critical to building your brand and keeping your audience interested.

How are you building your online brand?

Nearly every blogger knows that website analytics are essential to improving site traffic and conversion rates. After all, what’s the point in optimizing your content if you can’t track site traffic? Used properly, however, analytics are more than just a tool for tracking visitors. Here at Impress Themes, we’ve discussed the importance of bounce rates and conversion rates, how to run A/B tests, and how to understand what your data really means. But what about Google’s “goals” tool: how can you use this tool to improve your website? You asked – and we’re answering.

1. Define your goals. What factors determine your website’s success? What are you trying to measure? For example, if you are an ecommerce site with a blog, the goal of your blog is to (ultimately) drive traffic to your sell page. In this case, you’ll want to measure how many people reach your site’s “order confirmation” page.

2. Add a goal. From your Google Analytics account, select “Conversions” and then select “Goals” from the left menu. Select “Overview” and then select “Set up goals” to get started. Next, give your goal a name. In this example, our goal is to increase traffic for the “Order Confirmation” page, which indicates that our visitor successfully completed a sale. We’ll name our goal “Sale” and select “URL destination” as goal type.

3. Add goal details. Enter the final URL destination for your goal. For our “Sales” goal, the final destination is http://www.mywebsite.com/order-confirm. When entering the destination name, omit the domain. In this case, you’ll just enter “/order-confirm”. NOTE: For URLs, capitalization matters. Be sure you enter you URL EXACTLY as it appears on your website.

4. Add goal funnels. Funnels track each page in the checkout process before you visitor reaches the final order confirmation page. Each page represents a goal funnel; you can add one for each stage in the process. In our example, we’ve added a products funnel and payment info funnel. Funnels add insight to your goals data. For example, if only one order confirmation visit occurs each day, you know you’ve got one order… and that’s about it. However, if you know that 500 people visited your product page and another 450 made it to your check out page, but only one person made it to the order confirmation page, then there’s clearly a problem with your check out process. Or if 500 people viewed products but only one person made it to the check out page, then there’s a problem with your products (or the audience viewing them), and your check out process is sound.

5. Understand your data. Take the data you gather via goals and funnels a step further. Using the trend graph and data picker, take a look at the relationship between site visitors and goals. Are people who arrive via paid search ads more likely to complete a purchase when compared with people who arrive organically? Are conversion rates higher for returning visitors or new visitors? The answers to these questions can help shape your online marketing strategy, while providing insight to your site’s functionality. If you think there’s a problem with the checkout process, try streamlining it. Does adding PayPal or Google Wallet increase conversions? Do customers want the ability to save their checkout information for easy return purchases? Your goals and funnel data can help answer these questions!

Do you use Goals with your website? How has it made a difference for your conversion rates?

Yes, it can be hard to edit your own work. No, you’re not a New York Times editor, and probably never will be. That’s okay. Here’s how to improve your blog editing skills:

WordPress Blog Editing Tips

Write first, edit second. It’s hard to edit if you never type a sentence. Focus on producing content, then come back to refine its quality. Otherwise you’ll be stuck typing and retyping the same sentence.

Focus. Turn off distractions. Say goodbye to your in-box, Facebook and guilty pleasures like celebrity gossip. Need a procrastination intervention? Check out “Write or Die”, a productivity app that forces you to make forward progress towards a goal, or else face consequences. For extreme measures, set the app on “Kamikaze Mode” – if you stop writing for a certain period of time, your work will simply delete itself. Sounds extreme, but the threat of self-cannibalizing work is enough to keep even the worst procrastinators focused!

Edit for grammar and meaning. The first time we edit a blog post, we typically zero in on the big mistakes: typos, missing words, and poor punctuation. Give your post a second look for meaning. Check for mistakes like typing the word “our” when we mean “are” or writing a run-on sentence. If you struggle to find meaning errors, try reading your post aloud. Do you stumble over any sentences? Those are the ones that need help.

Write naturally. Use everyday language, contractions, and expressions of speech. Be sure that your personality and sense of humor shines through. A blog is the antithesis of a formal business report – this is your chance to let readers connect with you! When editing for style, think of your blog as a casual conversation with a friend. Keep your writing natural and avoid the big SAT vocabulary words. There’s no need to “dumb down” your writing, but if you wouldn’t use a word like “lackadaisical” in conversation, then don’t use it in your blog post.

Edit after you hit publish. If you spot a typo or other mistake, a quick edit and repost is all you need. If you decide to change the content or add new information, just like with a newspaper story, you’ll need to include a line at the top (or bottom), which indicates that your story has been updated. When you add your update line, include a question for your readers. This is a great way to draw new attention to your blog post and encourage comments.

When blog posts are shared and re-tweeted, your business builds social media buzz, bringing even more potential clients directly to your website. Even better, you’ll get the word out about the products and services that your business offers, growing your company’s name recognition and its brand. This is especially important for small businesses with limited employees and resources. Rather than spending money on ineffective marketing, a strong blog can build your reputation online for free.

If you’re new to blogging, or your company’s blog is languishing, how do you get started building a small business brand online? And how do you know when you’ve been successful? Here are three concrete ways you can build your brand online and measure its online growth.

1.    Give value away for free. We can’t stress this one enough. Everyone likes free products, e-books, tips and tutorials. Build your readership by providing free, game-changing information that matches your company’s overarching mission. Here at Impress Themes, we love sharing insightful blogging tips. If you run an interior design service, offer free advice for tricky decorating problems. If you have a small clothing boutique, keep readers in the know with seasonal fashion tips. Whatever your service or product, find a unique angle and blog about it.

2.    Build trust with your readers. As your audience grows, build trust by engaging your readers. Include a question at the end of your blog post to inspire discussion. Respond promptly to commenters’ questions or concerns. Be sure your Twitter stream and Facebook feed are not a mirror image of your blog’s RSS feed. Post articles from other sources that will add value to your readers’ day. If a Twitter follower shares a great link that matches your core business, be sure to re-tweet it. Sharing is caring, and doing so will build a strong, engaged readership that not only recognizes your brand, but also trusts it.

3.    Differentiate your business from the competition. Competitive differentiation is both a brand growth strategy and a measurement technique. Use your business’s blog to differentiate your company from competitors. For example, if your dedicated customer service makes your company unique, highlight this in the blog. A blog post could include a client testimonial about the difference you customer service makes ­– and then include five key tips for how other businesses can improve their customer relations, too. Always present engaging personal anecdotes with actionable strategy steps. A yearly competitive brand power rating provides a snapshot of your company’s online branding success.

Are you small business blogger? Tell us, how do you grow your company’s brand using blogs?

After the initial rush of excitement fades, the reality of writing a guest WordPress blog post sets in. It’s enough to make you think, “What did I get myself into?” We’re all guilty of posting less-than-stellar writing on our own blog from time to time. But with a guest blog post, there’s no room for mediocre content.

 When done correctly, guest posts are an important opportunity to reach new audiences, increase blog traffic and build your personal brand. However, a poorly written guest post that misses your target audience can backfire – hurting your personal brand and turning off hundreds of potential new subscribers. So what’s a newbie guest blogger to do? Follow these four tips.

Four Tips for Writing Your First Guest Blog Post

1. Do your research. Ideally, you’re an avid reader of the blog, so you already have a good sense for the blog’s personality and community. If not, you did some research during the pitch process, right? Either way, take some time to read the last 15-20 blog posts. Get a feel for the blog’s tone. What topics spark the most comments? What does this blog offer to readers that other blogs do not?

2. Don’t over-promote. As a guest blogger, it’s tempting to make your post “all about me.” This is your chance to market yourself, right? Resist the urge. Launching a new eBook? Sure, you’ll want to reference that in the post. But do so in a natural way to that doesn’t scream “BUY ME” at your readers. This is the first chance you have to build a relationship with a brand new audience. Establish your credibility as a creative and interesting blogger, rather than building a reputation as a snake oil salesman.

3. Be visual. Include an image in your guest post. Creative commons and Flickr are great places to find free images – just be sure to include proper attribution. Looking for something truly unique that will make a big visual impression on readers? Consider purchasing a low-cost ($2) stock image off a site like canstock.com. Depending on your Photoshop expertise, for less than $5 you can create a custom image that will make a powerful visual impression.

4. Be courteous. Make the posting process easy for your blog editor. Send your post copy in the body of the email and include the html language as an attached txt file. This makes it easier for the blog editor to read your post and instantly post it – no formatting or cleanup required. Plus, you’ll be sure that your post ends up looking exactly as you intended.

Do you guest post on blogs? Tell us your tips for guest blogging success!