Mar 28

Fake Google Reviews: What You Need to Know

Fake Google Reviews: What You Need to Know

I’m a long-time reader of the business insights articles a results-driven online marketing agency sends me excerpts from via email. Today, I clicked through to read the full content of an article about fake Google reviews. The article was an informative, easy read. I enjoyed it most of the way through, but toward the end discovered a suggestion that concerned me. The article advised its readers to offer incentives like discounts or coupons to their customers in exchange for their reviews. This is actually not allowed by Google.

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Sep 01

Stuff I Like: SiteGuru

Product Review: SiteGuru SEO ToolBack in 2018, I happened upon an awesome deal for an SEO tool from DealFuel (known as Greedeals at the time). Because I thought it would assist me in helping  my clients get a head start on their SEO, I jumped on it. While I’m by no means an ‘expert’ in SEO,  I believe it’s important for me to have a solid understanding of the basics. As a web designer, it’s vital to include foundational SEO for any website I build. After all, I can build the most unbelievable website in terms of design and functionality. But if no one finds it through search, what’s the point, amiright?

Just one of the many things I love about SiteGuru is that the product is always evolving; they’re always looking for ways to improve the service. Other terrific features include:

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Aug 22

Cushion the Blow of a Facebook Hack

Hacked on Facebook Help

The only surefire way to NEVER have your Facebook account hacked is to not have a Facebook account. But there are some preventive measures you can take, as well as procedures you can have in place to help cushion the blow if it does happen to you. [Updated 11/17/21 to include information on adding Trusted Contacts to your account.]

Protect Yourself from Facebook Hacks (to a degree)

Use a secure password. You’d think this was a no-brainer. But I still have people coming to me for help who’ve been hacked and when I ask for their most recent password (it’s a recovery step which I cover in the second half of this post), it’s something like ‘skipper123’. Wanna know how secure your password really is? Head on over to experte.com and find out! The tool there will estimate how many years it would take a computer to crack your password AND tell you if the password you entered has been compromised by a data leak or hacker attack. My Facebook password would take 34,000 years to be hacked. I should be safe. 😉 Continue reading

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May 21

Top Ten Spelling and Grammar Pet Peeves

Top 10 Spelling & Grammar Mistakes

Yep, I’ve compiled a list of those grammar and spelling mistakes that drive teachers, employers, colleagues, etc. crazy…and mnemonic devices to help you remember the correct usage. Let’s get started with…

Your and You’re

This one’s easy!  “Your” is the possessive form, showing ownership of something:

Don’t forget to put gas in your car. (What belongs to you?  YOUR car.)

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Aug 15

Managed WordPress: Is It Right for You?

Managed WordPress: Is It Right for You?If you’re a small business owner just beginning to build your online presence, you may have noticed offerings of both ‘shared hosting’ and ‘Managed WordPress’ (or ‘WordPress hosting’) when searching for a company to host your website.  There are some good things to be said about Managed WordPress:

  • Managed WordPress servers are configured specifically for WordPress. That means even high-traffic websites can be super fast.
  • Managed WordPress includes strong security measures, like built-in malware scans and hacker blocking.
  • Daily backups are part of the package, with easily accessible restore points if your site fails or crashes.

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