by Aurelien Parment | Mar 26, 2015 | Small Business, Tips
If you run a website, then you’ve likely heard the news that, starting on April 21, Google will start using mobile effectiveness as a ranking signal. For Internet users who search for content using their smartphones, this means that websites optimized for mobile will rise to the top. If you have been running a website that does not have a mobile equivalent, then now is the time to look into adding a version that conforms to Google’s new algorithms. Otherwise, your site may be penalized with a lower ranking on SERPs.
Why Does Mobile Matter?
The story of mobile is one that keeps getting told over and over again, and each time it only becomes more amazing. Since the introduction of the Blackberry and iPhone which ushered us into the modern era of mobile phones, usage has been skyrocketing. In fact, global users of mobile devices, such as tablets, surpassed smartphones in 2014, which means the further into the future we go, the higher odds that someone visiting your website is on a mobile device.
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by Aurelien Parment | Feb 26, 2015 | Small Business, Tips
The McKinsey Global Institute has revealed an alarming statistic: The average employee spends 474 hours per year sorting through and reading unnecessary emails! Yikes! Not only is that extremely unproductive (and somewhat annoying), but it can also result in many overlooked communications due to accidental use of the delete key. Please take the short quiz below to determine whether this post could prevent you from wasting nearly 20 days of your life each year.
Have you ever found yourself in these situations before?
- Realized that you just CC’d your entire team unintentionally.
- Found an important email in trash days later.
- Wondered, “Why am I included in this email?”
- Felt that the idea of cleaning up your inbox is about as easy as catching a greased pig.
If you answered yes to any part of the quiz, then the below guidelines can assist you in perfecting your email etiquette:
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by Aurelien Parment | Jan 14, 2015 | Tips, Web Hosting
Question: What happens if you have a great e-commerce website, and a great product or service but no SSL?
Answer: Not very much.
Here’s why: SSL is all about trust. Without trust people are shy about giving you their business – or their credit card information. SSL enables e-commerce websites to safely and secure conduct business without all the unnecessary drama associated with online shopping.
Some people assume that SSL is mainly about SEO, but those people are wrong. The main reason to use SSL is to establish security and trust with your customers. Period.
But wait, you may say. My website doesn’t collect sensitive personal information, or even any user information. Do I still need an SSL certificate? Yes, Virginia, you do. Because even if you don’t collect that sort of user info, you can still benefit from the ranking boost that SSL encryption provides.
Don’t believe me? Ask Google:
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by Aurelien Parment | Jan 7, 2015 | Tips, Web Hosting
We’ve heard the excuses before: “I don’t have time”, “What could go wrong?” and “I’ll get to it later”, but you know you need to back up your website, don’t you?
Well, if you don’t, here are 5 really good reasons you should do so:
The “Oops” Factor: Truth be told, anyone with FTP access to your site can unintentionally delete important files in a single keystroke. Oops! There goes your website.
Hackers and Viruses: Yes, they really do exist and just because they haven’t found your website yet doesn’t mean you’re not on their list. Besides, a full restore is much faster – and less painful – than cleaning hundreds of files corrupted with malicious code. Trust us.
Data Loss: Every time you do an upgrade to your CMS or add a new plugin or other component you’re at risk for data loss. No one is immune.
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