Blog posts from Hostgator blog |
1425 blog posts:
Dec 30, 2021
The post Best Point of Sale (POS) Plugins for WooCommerce appeared first on HostGator.
Your ecommerce business is flexible in this ever-changing economy. One day, you’re ringing up customers in your brick-and-mortar store, and...
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Dec 29, 2021
The post How to Start a Photography Blog on WordPress appeared first on HostGator.
You have a vision. You have a camera, the perfect medium for expressing it. You have a knack for taking...
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Dec 27, 2021
The post Yes, B2B Websites Can Use Personalization Too [Here’s How] appeared first on HostGator.
You know how hyped the concept of website personalization is. You’ve seen the trend pieces and the lucrative statistics (80%...
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Dec 23, 2021
The post How to Build a Coaching Website on WordPress [Expert Guide] appeared first on HostGator.
Let’s say you’re a prospect thinking about hiring a life coach. You find one you like in particular. They gave...
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Dec 21, 2021
The post How to Create Your Freelance Brand [5-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator.
Ready to start freelancing or step up your freelance game? Build your brand! Branding matters because it helps you stand...
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Dec 20, 2021
The post 10 Types of Coupons Your eCommerce Store Should Offer appeared first on HostGator.
Does your online store offer coupons? If not, it’s time to start. 88% of shoppers used coupons in 2020, so...
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Dec 14, 2021
The post How to Switch from Elementor to the WordPress Gutenberg Editor appeared first on HostGator.
It doesn’t take long to figure out why people use Elementor.? It’s fast. It’s responsive. It makes it possible to...
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Dec 09, 2021
The post How to Build a Magazine Website [4-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator.
So you’ve decided to build a magazine website. First things first: congratulations! Also, our condolences.? We’re kidding, of course. But...
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Dec 06, 2021
The post 7 Reasons Why Every eCommerce Site Needs a Blog, Even Yours appeared first on HostGator.
Someone has to tell you. Even if your social game is strong and your website’s sales funnel is working well,...
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Dec 03, 2021
The post How to Update PHP on My WordPress Site appeared first on HostGator.
If you host a website, your speed and security are only as good as your PHP version.? The problem? For...
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Dec 02, 2021
The post 5 Best WordPress Plugins for Restaurants appeared first on HostGator.
Every restaurant needs a website. And not just any?ol’ site.? More often than not, restaurant websites are the first interactions...
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Nov 29, 2021
The post How to Choose a WordPress Theme [9 Dos and Don’ts] appeared first on HostGator.
What’s the most challenging part of setting up a new WordPress site or giving one a makeover? Some say it’s...
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Nov 24, 2021
The post How to Get Paid as a Freelance Consultant [Pro Tips & Tools] appeared first on HostGator.
Working as a freelancer or a consultant has several attractive benefits. You can be your own boss, you can set...
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Nov 23, 2021
The post How to Build an Awesome One-Page Website appeared first on HostGator.
Can a one-page website really work for your business? Yes, if your site exists mostly to communicate information about your...
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Nov 22, 2021
The post How to Use Divi Themes in WordPress [Ultimate Guide] appeared first on HostGator.
WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world for a good reason. It has a nice...
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Nov 19, 2021
The post Want Social Media Tips? Follow These 10 Twitter Accounts appeared first on HostGator.
Scrolling on social media can feel like an endless ocean of nothingness. Is it entertainment? Sure. If you’re looking for...
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Nov 10, 2021
The post 7 Best WordPress Plugins for Photography Websites appeared first on HostGator.
Nowadays, a photography business is more than just shooting beautiful pictures in cool locations. Photographers also must know the art...
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Nov 09, 2021
The post How to Chart Customer Journeys for Your Website appeared first on HostGator.
No matter what you sell or who you sell it to, your website should support your customer journey—the path customers...
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Nov 08, 2021
The post What Is Jetpack? A Guide to the Popular WordPress Plugin appeared first on HostGator.
Running a brand’s website is not an easy feat. You’re juggling multiple worries, from hackers stealing customer data to a...
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Nov 04, 2021
The post What is Email Segmentation & How Does It Work? appeared first on HostGator.
Every marketing dollar has to stretch as far as it can when you run a small business or work as...
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Nov 03, 2021
The post 7 Best WordPress Themes for Restaurant Websites appeared first on HostGator.
Restaurant owners juggle a lot of tasks on any given day. From hiring new employees to ordering ingredients for their...
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Nov 01, 2021
The post 8 Signs It’s Time to Upgrade Your Hosting Plan appeared first on HostGator.
How’s your web hosting plan treating you these days? Hopefully, it’s doing what it’s supposed to do, but if you...
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Oct 27, 2021
The post How to Build a Landing Page (Soup-to-Nuts Guide) appeared first on HostGator.
Every click your website earns has been hard won. It takes a lot of work (and money) just to get...
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Oct 26, 2021
The post How (and Why) You Can Set Up WordPress Sandboxes and Demo Sites appeared first on HostGator.
OK, WordPress developers. Let’s say you’ve been building your own themes and now it’s time to build websites for your...
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Oct 22, 2021
The post Gutenberg FSE (Full Site Editing) Is Here! What You Need to Know appeared first on HostGator.
Whenever WordPress announces a big change it elicits mixed feelings. The first response most people have is a groan (“uuugggghhhh”)....
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Oct 21, 2021
The post How to Build a Subscription Service Website appeared first on HostGator.
Dollar Shave Club. Universal Yums. Ipsy.? You probably instantly recognize the three brands listed above as three of the hundreds...
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Oct 15, 2021
The post Why Freelancers Need Email Marketing & How to Get Started appeared first on HostGator.
Did you know email marketing has the highest ROI of any other digital marketing strategy? Some reports show an email...
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Oct 13, 2021
The post 5 Awesome eCommerce Product Pages to Inspire Your Own appeared first on HostGator.
Product pages aren’t just any ol’ page you put on your website. You can’t expect shoppers to buy your products...
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Oct 11, 2021
The post How to Change Your WordPress Theme [Step by Step] appeared first on HostGator.
You’ve probably been here before. It seems like you barely updated your WordPress site. But when you look closer, you...
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Oct 07, 2021
The post How to Limit a Client’s Ability to Change a WordPress Theme [Expert Guide] appeared first on HostGator.
It’s a nightmare scenario:?? One of your?web design?clients?calls in a panic because they tried to make a few small?updates to?the...
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Oct 06, 2021
The post Here’s Your 7-Step Checklist to Build a Homepage That Converts Visitors appeared first on HostGator.
Most of us spend more time online now than we did two years ago, and that includes bloggers, businesses and...
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Oct 04, 2021
The post WordPress Plugins and Cybersecurity: What You Need to Know appeared first on HostGator.
Plugins can do so much for your small business website. You can use them to make your WordPress site load...
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Sep 29, 2021
The post 6 Ways You Can Use YouTube to Drive Website Traffic appeared first on HostGator.
The hardest part of running a successful website is making sure people can actually find your website. Driving website traffic...
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Sep 28, 2021
The post What’s the Most Affordable Way to Build a Website, Really? appeared first on HostGator.
When you need to make a website on a budget,?“free” is super appealing. That’s why a lot of?small business owners?and...
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Sep 27, 2021
The post How to Build a Photography Portfolio Website on WordPress appeared first on HostGator.
Even with all the iPhone/Samsung/Google phone camera updates, one truth remains. Nothing can replace the value of a professional photographer...
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Sep 23, 2021
The post How to Start Affiliate Marketing [Beginner’s Guide] appeared first on HostGator.
You’ve probably already heard stories of website owners and bloggers that make gobs of money online. While there are several...
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Sep 10, 2021
The post How (and Why) to Create a Sitemap appeared first on HostGator.
Running a website seems to come with a constant, ever growing to-do list. There are a lot of things you...
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Sep 09, 2021
The post How to Design a High-Converting Checkout Page appeared first on HostGator.
To buy or not to buy? That’s the question many reluctant consumers ask themselves during the shopping experience. Your brand’s...
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Sep 02, 2021
The post How to Update Your Website Design for the Holiday Sales Season appeared first on HostGator.
It’s always time to think about the winter holidays?when?you run an?eCommerce?website, because?holiday?traffic is?the key to your store’s growth and revenue....
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Sep 01, 2021
The post 5 Holiday eCommerce Marketing Campaign Examples to Copy for Your Own Store appeared first on HostGator.
Pumpkin spice lattes. Jingle bells. Snowflakes.? The biggest shopping season is quickly approaching. For your eCommerce store, it’s time to...
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Aug 31, 2021
The post The Beginner’s Guide to TikTok for Local Business appeared first on HostGator.
I have one word to convince you to start a TikTok account for your local business. Actually, it’s a hashtag,...
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Aug 30, 2021
The post What Is Website Bandwidth? appeared first on HostGator.
Choosing the right web hosting plan requires understanding what makes your various options different. And for someone new to the...
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Aug 25, 2021
The post 8 Twitter Accounts Every Web Designer Needs To Follow appeared first on HostGator.
Educational content is a thriving business in today’s economy. People are willing to pay big bucks for other professionals’ insights,...
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Aug 19, 2021
The post How (and Why) to Build Your Own WordPress Themes appeared first on HostGator.
Yes, there are?thousands of WordPress themes?available, but what if you can’t find exactly what you want for your own website...
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Aug 17, 2021
The post VPS vs. Dedicated Server: How to Pick Your Best Option appeared first on HostGator.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Aug 16, 2021
The post How To Build a Loyal Blog Following in 5 Smart Steps appeared first on HostGator.
Loyalty. It’s what every brand craves from their blog readers. But loyalty isn’t something you can buy at your local...
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Aug 13, 2021
The post Website Footer Design: 7 Best Practices to Follow appeared first on HostGator.
You want to make it as easy as possible for visitors to your website to find what they’re looking for....
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Aug 12, 2021
The post How to Use Bootstrap in WordPress: A Quick-Start Guide appeared first on HostGator.
Having a mobile-friendly website stopped being optional years ago. For over five years now, mobile usage has surpassed desktop, which...
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Aug 10, 2021
The post Yes, You Can Design a Website Without Knowing Code. Here’s How. appeared first on HostGator.
We all learned a lot in 2020, and one of the things we learned was that every business needs a...
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Aug 03, 2021
The post Social Media Marketing for New Side Hustlers: Your How-To Guide appeared first on HostGator.
Social media rules the world. Don’t believe it? Look up from your device, and I bet at least half the...
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Jul 30, 2021
The post How to Scale Your Freelance Web Design Business in 7 Steps appeared first on HostGator.
If you own and operate a freelance web design business, the following two scenarios will be familiar to you. With...
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Jul 28, 2021
The post Ready to Grow Your Blog? Follow These Blogging Pros on Twitter appeared first on HostGator.
Twitter is my fav social network. Why? Because it’s a treasure trove of free information from experts that know how...
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Jul 23, 2021
The post Are You Using WordPress Reusable Blocks? Here’s How appeared first on HostGator.
Write. Post. Repeat.? Content production involves several repetitive processes. If you find yourself doing the same mundane tasks over and...
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Jul 22, 2021
The post What the Past 12 Months Have Taught Us About Crisis Communication appeared first on HostGator.
If there’s ever been a time to think about how your business can communicate better during a crisis, this seems...
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Jul 20, 2021
The post Site Running Slow? How to Use GTmetrix to Boost Performance appeared first on HostGator.
Building a website is a blast, especially if it’s your first time navigating all the wonderful WordPress plugins. While it’s...
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Jul 16, 2021
The post Here’s How to Start Your Web Design Business Now appeared first on HostGator.
Maybe you’ve been building websites for fun, and you’re darn good at it. Perhaps you’re the developer your colleagues always...
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Jul 15, 2021
The post Building a Website Sales Funnel That Converts [Your How-To Guide] appeared first on HostGator.
“Sales funnel” is a simple way to describe how customers move from getting to know you to buying from you....
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Jul 09, 2021
The post How to Find the Fastest WordPress Hosting (and Make Your Site Faster) appeared first on HostGator.
You know website speed matters. Any time you try to pull up a website on your phone and it takes...
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Jul 07, 2021
The post How to Create cPanel Accounts in Web Host Manager (WHM) for Your Clients appeared first on HostGator.
If you have expertise in the web hosting world, you already know you can make money by building and hosting...
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Jul 01, 2021
The post 7 Rookie Website Mistakes You’re Probably Making appeared first on HostGator.
Launching a blog or a website is an exciting process. You’re finally getting your side hustle off the ground, and...
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Jun 30, 2021
The post 5 Customer Service Add-ons That Your Small Biz Can Use to Compete With the Big Dogs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
My best friend’s birthday is only a few days away. So, I wanted to buy her a memorable gift to...
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Jun 28, 2021
The post How to Create Foolproof Freelance Proposals appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, handfuls of workers left their 9-5 jobs to start freelance businesses. As of 2019, 7...
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Jun 25, 2021
The post What Is Customer Lifecycle Management (CLM)? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your products are awesome. Your website looks great and persuasively presents all their best strengths to the world. You can...
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Jun 24, 2021
The post Ready to Up Your Subscription Commerce Game? Add Exclusive Perks Like These appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How can?your?eCommerce store’s subscription?offers stand out from the rest? Helping shoppers save time and money is nice, but it isn’t...
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Jun 22, 2021
The post How to Get Customer Reviews (and What to Do with Negative Ones) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
We’ve all heard about “word of mouth” advertising being far superior to traditional advertising. And studies back it up.? Think...
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Jun 21, 2021
The post What Google Analytics Can Tell You About Your Customers’ Shopping Habits appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The thought process that leads to buying that candy bar you see in the grocery store checkout line is different...
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Jun 17, 2021
The post 7 Best WooCommerce Themes for Selling Digital Products appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Selling digital products is a new opportunity to grow your business. You don’t have to worry about excess inventory, packaging...
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Jun 16, 2021
The post Starting a Side Hustle or Freelance Gig? Follow These Twitter Accounts to Help it Grow appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do you know where to go to get some of the best free advice when it comes to starting a...
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Jun 14, 2021
The post What the Heck Is Web Host Manager (WHM) & What Can You Do With It? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Jun 11, 2021
The post 6 Best Checkout Plugins for WooCommerce appeared first on HostGator Blog.
No one likes standing in a long line to purchase items. Your customers dread complicated online checkout processes just as...
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Jun 09, 2021
The post How to Increase Website Traffic Through Instagram [3 Smart Hacks] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A surefire way to connect with your target audience is to engage with them where they spend most of their...
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Jun 07, 2021
The post Top Tools Your WordPress eCommerce Site Needs in 2021 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
eCommerce is growing at lightning speed. In fact, U.S. online retail sales reached slightly over $343 billion in 2019 and...
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Jun 04, 2021
The post Using Divi in WordPress [Beginner’s Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Building a website is a necessary step in starting a side hustle, freelance gig, or new business. But with all...
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Jun 02, 2021
The post How Long Does It Take to Build a Website? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the most common questions we get here at HostGator is, “How long does it take to build a...
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May 28, 2021
The post Are You Doing SMS Marketing for Your eCommerce Business Yet? Here’s How (And Why) to Get Started appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Want to get more customer engagement with your store, faster? The solution is cheap, simple, and probably in your customers’...
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May 27, 2021
The post 10 Twitter Accounts Every WordPress User Needs to Follow appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Twitter is a goldmine of expert information. It doesn’t matter what you want to learn. If you conduct a quick...
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May 26, 2021
The post 6 Best Payment Gateways for WooCommerce appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For small businesses, receiving payments is a critical part of your operations. When customers decide to make a purchase, your...
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May 24, 2021
The post GDPR is Here: 6 Best Practices You Need to Know appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve spent years reading up on marketing strategies and doing everything you thought counted as a best practice. Then GDPR...
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May 18, 2021
The post 7 Ways to Get More Email Subscribers for Your eCommerce Site appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Finally. Finally. The traffic for your eCommerce website is ticking up. You did so much work to earn that traffic....
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May 14, 2021
The post How to Choose Your VPS Hosting Provider appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve officially outgrown your shared hosting plan, and now it’s time to upgrade to a VPS web hosting plan. Excellent!...
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May 13, 2021
The post Google Ads Is Changing Its Keyword Matches. How Will That Affect Your Ad Program? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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May 12, 2021
The post 5 UX Mistakes to Avoid on Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When I built my first WordPress website over ten years ago, there was a massive learning curve and buckets of...
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May 10, 2021
The post Optimize Your WordPress Website for Speed [8 Quick Tips] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When it comes to technology and the internet, time and speed matter the most. Modern lives require tasks to be...
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May 07, 2021
The post How to Make a WordPress Website ASAP [7 Quick Steps] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Building a new website probably isn’t at the top of your list of ways you’d like to spend your time....
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May 06, 2021
The post The Chrome User Experience Report: 5 Key Insights for Your Website in 2021 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do you regularly pull up your website to check on how it’s performing? That’s a good practice to have—it helps...
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May 04, 2021
The post How to Create a Floating Navigation Menu in WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You found an awesome article. You read it all the way through the end, and the information made you want...
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May 03, 2021
The post 25+ Web Hosting Terms and Jargon, Explained [Glossary] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You have an amazing website idea. Seriously, it’s gonna be big. But you’re new to this whole building a website...
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Apr 30, 2021
The post Data is Beautiful: Why Your Website Needs Data Visualizations Now appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Human brains have their limitations. Some concepts we can’t fully grasp with words alone. Some things are simply better conveyed...
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Apr 29, 2021
The post 7 Best WordPress Plugins for Affiliate Management appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Nowadays, everyone can use a little extra cash. Affiliate marketing is the go-to opportunity to incentivize customers and influencers to...
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Apr 27, 2021
The post Build Your Brand Voice With Memes: 9 Tips to Do It Right appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Apr 26, 2021
The post Things You Can Do With a VPS: Create a Gaming Server appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’ve been a participant in a game like Minecraft or World of Warcraft, you may be drawn to the...
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Apr 22, 2021
You’ve heard of the biggest names in blogging. Arianna Huffington. Tim Ferriss. Brian Clark. You’re also probably intrigued by other...
Apr 20, 2021
The post How Much Does WooCommerce Cost? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Starting a WooCommerce online store is one of the best ways for people to make money online. In fact, stats...
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Apr 19, 2021
The post Great Design Finds a Way: 5 Things That Make the Jurassic World Website Awesome appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Apr 13, 2021
The post How to Use Google Analytics for Your Blog [Soup to Nuts Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Maybe your blog has always been about helping you build a brand, or maybe it started as a personal passion...
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Apr 09, 2021
The post How to Promote Your New Freelance Business or Personal Brand So People Can Find You (and Hire You) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve got your new brand for your new career or freelance business. Now you need to make sure that employers,...
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Apr 08, 2021
The post Controversial Design: The Pros and Cons of the Hamburger Menu appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Any website that has more than one page needs a menu. It’s a standard website element and one of the...
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Apr 06, 2021
The post 10 Affiliate Tips to Boost Blog Revenue in 2021 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you haven’t heard blogger and affiliate marketer extraordinaire, Michelle Schroeder-Gardner’s story, head over to the blog Making Sense of...
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Apr 02, 2021
The post How to Start Selling Digital Products as a Blogger appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Did you know one of the best ways to monetize your blog is to sell digital products? This is especially...
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Apr 01, 2021
The post 8 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid in 2021 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Content marketing is a $400 billion industry, and blogging plays a considerable part. Not only is blogging a solid way...
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Mar 31, 2021
The post 7 Best Referral Plugins for WooCommerce appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Referral marketing is an effective way for your business to increase sales. Your current customers can earn you more referrals.?...
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Mar 30, 2021
The post Planning a New Career? Time to Build Your New Personal Brand appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Ready to start a new phase in your working life? You need to let potential employers or clients know what...
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Mar 26, 2021
The post How Much Does It Cost to Build a Gaming Server? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
We all love video games, especially with our friends. Add in funky customization options, private lobbies, and Mods, and it...
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Mar 25, 2021
The post How to Embed YouTube Playlists on Your WordPress Website [5-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do you want to display your YouTube Playlists right on your website? Having your playlist on your site keeps your...
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Mar 24, 2021
The post Need Money and Support to Kick-Start Your Career Change? Find Grants, Loans & More appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Ready to change careers but need some cash and a little advice from people who’ve been there to get going?...
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Mar 23, 2021
The post How to Use Pop-Ups Without Being Annoying appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You see a headline that strikes your interest, and you click to read the article. But before you even get...
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Mar 22, 2021
The post WCAG 2.2 Accessibility: Is Your Website Ready? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Website accessibility is getting a makeover this year, so get ready to update your site. Accessibility is a big issue...
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Mar 19, 2021
The post 7 Ways to Learn New Skills for Your Career Change Without Taking on Massive Debt appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re ready to make a career change but need to retrain on a budget, you’re in the right place....
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Mar 18, 2021
The post How to Make a Meme [Step-by-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The goal of every blogger is to connect in meaningful ways with their audience. While there are several ways to...
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Mar 16, 2021
The post 8 Social Proof Examples to Add to Your Website Right Now appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You only have so much money to spend. When you’re trying to choose a new product, you want to make...
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Mar 15, 2021
The post Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Make a Career Change appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Thinking about overhauling your career right now? You have lots of company! Uncertainty and change have a lot of people...
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Mar 15, 2021
The post 10 Things We Did to Step Up Our Social Media Game appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Mar 12, 2021
The post How to Update a WooCommerce Store That Was Built For You appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re new to the eCommerce world, you may have made a smart choice and hired a developer to set...
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Mar 11, 2021
The post How to Run CRO Tests on Your Key Landing Pages Without Hurting Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A landing page is where your visitors encounter your content after clicking on an advertisement, a listing in the search...
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Mar 10, 2021
The post Do You Need a VPS for WordPress? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Here’s the thing. When you’re a brand new WordPress website owner with a small website and little traffic, a shared...
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Mar 09, 2021
The post 15 Surprising Ways to Personalize Your Online Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve worked hard to understand who your audience is and what they care about. You did your best to design...
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Mar 08, 2021
The post Google’s Page Experience Update: Is Your Site Ready? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
At HostGator, we blog a lot about SEO because we know how important good search rankings are to our customers’...
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Mar 05, 2021
The post How Do I Optimize a VPS for WordPress? [9 Tips] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Picking a VPS web hosting option for your WordPress site is an excellent choice. A VPS will offer more privacy,...
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Mar 04, 2021
The post TikTok for Bloggers [Beginner’s Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re already juggling Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and SnapChat. Now TikTok has the audacity to show up and completely take...
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Mar 03, 2021
The post Microinteractions: What They Are, and Why Websites Love Them appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Let’s be frank, a lot of the websites people land on don’t make much of an impression. How often do...
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Mar 02, 2021
The post How to use WordPress custom post types to make editing a breeze for your clients appeared first on HostGator Blog.
While WordPress’s available posts and pages cover most needs for static websites and blogs, custom post types can transform your...
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Mar 02, 2021
The post Benefits of Having a Private Dedicated Server for Gaming appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The downfalls of the client-host game set-up can be frustrating for experienced gamers. There’s little worse than getting deep into...
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Mar 01, 2021
The post 5 Brands That Forgot to Renew (or Even Buy) their Domain Name appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For most businesses, their domain name is a more important address than their offices or stores. Which is why it’s...
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Feb 26, 2021
The post How Does VPS Hosting Work? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re looking into building a website, the first thing on your “to do” list will be to find a...
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Feb 25, 2021
The post Custom Gaming Servers Aren’t Just for Twitch Streamers. Here’s Why. appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Twitch is a popular online platform for influencers to stream live game play by sharing their screen with followers and...
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Feb 22, 2021
The post What Are Core Web Vitals? [and What They Mean for Your Website in 2021] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Feb 19, 2021
The post How To Find Prospects For Guest Blogging: 5 Techniques That’ll Be Super Helpful appeared first on HostGator Blog.
By Matt Diggity If you’re running a business, guest blogging should be part of your marketing strategy. With guest posting,...
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Feb 18, 2021
The post How to update customers during an emergency: Quick website updates you can make from your phone appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You may know that many HostGator team members are located in Texas. And we’re experiencing a 100-year winter storm that...
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Feb 16, 2021
The post How Much Does VPS Hosting Cost? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you first signed up for a web hosting plan, you probably started off with an affordable, shared hosting plan....
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Feb 15, 2021
The post 6 eCommerce Holidays Your Brand Can Celebrate to Boost Sales appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Cross-border commerce got a lot more popular with shoppers around the world in 2020, and those new buying habits are...
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Feb 14, 2021
The post Building Your Website: What You Need to Know appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Creating a website used to take some serious technical skills, but today with the advent of intuitive beginner-friendly website builders,...
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Feb 12, 2021
The post How to Win the SEO Hunger Games appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re trying to boost your business to the top spot in Google search results, fending off a field full...
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Feb 10, 2021
The post Social Media Holidays Your Small Business Can Celebrate appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Celebrating social media holidays may seem silly but they can give your business a serious marketing boost. Thanks to the...
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Feb 09, 2021
The post How to Set Editorial Guidelines for Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Managing content for a successful inbound marketing strategy isn’t easy. You have to understand your audience. You also need to...
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Feb 08, 2021
The post How to Take Over a WordPress Website That Was Built Professionally appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve hired a professional to build your WordPress website, and the results are outstanding. Your new site looks nice. The...
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Feb 05, 2021
The post How to Track Email Signups in Google Analytics [Step by Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Earning interested visitors on the internet is an uphill battle. Your website is in constant competition with countless other sites...
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Feb 04, 2021
The post How (and Why) to Add “Buy Now Pay Later” to Your Online Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Does your online store offer Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) yet? If not, you may be missing out on sales....
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Feb 03, 2021
The post It’s Time to Switch to Gutenberg. 10 Blocks to Start Using Today appeared first on HostGator Blog.
It’s no secret that WordPress is the largest and most popular content management system. And, there’s a good reason why....
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Feb 02, 2021
The post How Much RAM Does My VPS Need? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re looking to purchase a VPS hosting plan for your website (or websites), you’re probably wondering how much RAM...
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Feb 01, 2021
The post What Is a Favicon? [and How to Add One to Your Website] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What is a favicon, you ask? Take a quick look at all the tabs you currently have open on your...
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Jan 29, 2021
The post Internal Linking and Your Website [Beginner’s Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You may have thought that getting a new website designed and published would be the hard part. But now that...
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Jan 28, 2021
The post How to Build a Memorial Website [7-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Losing a loved one is among the most shocking and heartbreaking human experiences. If you find yourself in the situation...
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Jan 27, 2021
The post 6 Best Strategies to Monetize a Blog in 2021 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Google “how to make money blogging,” and you’ll find that many articles feature the same advice.? Start writing about your...
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Jan 23, 2021
The post 7 Best Coupon Plugins for WooCommerce appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Shoppers love a good deal. With the boom of online coupon sites, your consumers are scouring the Internet to get...
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Jan 22, 2021
The post 5 Neat Things You Can Do With a VPS appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When it comes to purchasing web hosting, you have several different options, including shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and VPS hosting....
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Jan 22, 2021
The post How to Get a Domain Name for Free with HostGator appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re thinking about launching a new business or a side hustle, one of the first things to consider is...
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Jan 19, 2021
The post 7 Metrics Every Blogger Should Monitor in Google Analytics appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Blogging is a lot of work. And as proud as may be of the blog posts you’ve published, unless your...
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Jan 14, 2021
The post 10 Twitter accounts to follow if you want to learn to code appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Wanna look at cool cat memes to avoid your next project? Or laugh at a mashup of people falling down?...
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Jan 13, 2021
The post 7 Best WordPress Countdown Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Online stores must engage their customers daily. One of the primary goals is to get reluctant shoppers to the checkout...
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Jan 12, 2021
The post What’s the Best eCommerce Website Builder for an Online Store? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur looking for a relatively easy way to start your own business, or a retail business...
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Jan 11, 2021
The post How to Design Your Blog Layout appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When it comes to capturing the lasting attention of new website visitors, how your website looks plays an integral role....
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Jan 08, 2021
The post nTLDs and SEO: What You Need to Know appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When the internet first became accessible to the public back in 1991, the world was your oyster when it came...
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Jan 07, 2021
The post How to Grow Your Online Business With Webinars appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This was the unofficial year of the webinar, as nearly every business event moved to the virtual realm. Now marketing...
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Jan 06, 2021
The post 8 Advanced SEO Tips for Local Business Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
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Jan 05, 2021
The post The Ultimate Guide to Dedicated Gaming Servers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Gaming servers are servers that are used to host games. If you have played an MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) game,...
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Jan 05, 2021
The post 6 Best WordPress Schema Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Schema markup is a powerful SEO tool that helps search engines identify and categorize your website content. In return, visitors...
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Dec 31, 2020
The post Are You Ready to Move from Shared Hosting to a VPS? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Dec 30, 2020
The post How to Create a Content Strategy for Your Blog [10-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the first things every new blogger learns is that, wow, is blogging a lot of work. Creating original...
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Dec 29, 2020
The post How to Take Product Photos for Your Online Store [6 Expert Tips] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The future of eCommerce is here. Online stores around the world are taking on the challenge to create a first-class...
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Dec 28, 2020
The post 6 Best WooCommerce Shipping Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Shipping is a crucial part of your eCommerce business. After making a sale, your customers expect their purchase to arrive...
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Dec 24, 2020
The post XaaS: 9 Things Your Online Business Can Outsource This Year appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Running a small business can make you feel like you’re doing everything, all the time—because let’s face it, you probably...
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Dec 23, 2020
The post Which Is Better: SEO or PPC? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Comparing SEO and PPC is a lot like the Conner Mcgregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fight.? Two different marketing strategies. Two...
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Dec 22, 2020
The post WordPress Themes vs. WordPress Page Builders: Which Is Right for You? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re new to WordPress, you probably have a lot of questions about the most effective way to build your...
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Dec 18, 2020
The post How to “Queen’s Gambit” the sh*t out of your website content appeared first on HostGator Blog.
2020 has us binging all the Netflix and Hulu our brains can consume. So, of course, as holidays approach, it’s...
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Dec 16, 2020
The post How to Build Your Podcast Website (& Why You Need One) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re like most Americans, you’ve been riveted by popular podcasts like Serial, The Daily, Crime Junkies (my fav), and...
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Dec 14, 2020
The post ‘Among Us’ Imposters Show Why Malware Is So Hard to Spot appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Dec 11, 2020
The post What Happens When a Domain Name Expires? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
It’s safe to say your domain name is the most crucial part of your online presence. Your domain name is...
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Dec 11, 2020
The post How To Host A Webinar [10-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
2020. Sheesh. What a year. If there is one thing this crazy time has taught the world about owning a...
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Dec 08, 2020
The post Getting Paid As An Independent Web Developer appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Working as an independent web developer comes with some awesome perks—a boundaryless career, no micromanaging bosses, better work–life balance, and...
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Dec 07, 2020
The post How to Add a Blog to WordPress in 5 Easy Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re a new website owner, you’ve probably asked yourself the following question. Is adding a blog to my website...
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Dec 03, 2020
The post 3 Ways to Grow Your Online Store in 2021 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Most of us have shopped online this year more than ever, to follow pandemic restrictions, find items that fit pared-down...
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Nov 30, 2020
The post 7 Best WordPress Webinar Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Whether you’re a multinational corporation or a one-person business, webinars open the virtual door for a brand to connect with...
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Nov 24, 2020
The post 10 Advanced SEO Tips for eCommerce Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Whether you started with an eCommerce business model or have shifted to one in recent months in response to COVID-19,...
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Nov 23, 2020
The post How Do I Promote My New Website? [7 Expert Tips] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Building a new website is one of the most exciting parts of launching a business or side hustle. You get...
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Nov 20, 2020
The post What to Include on your eCommerce Product Page [7 Essential Elements] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Product pages serve as the central asset to showcase the items in your online store. They play a pivotal role...
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Nov 19, 2020
The post How to Use Color Psychology in Website Design appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Color plays an integral role in how visitors understand your website. No matter what you sell, your brand must use...
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Nov 18, 2020
The post How to Create a Giveaway Contest That Drives Traffic to Your Site [WordPress Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Contests are a great way to get people’s attention. They create excitement, people feel like they have a chance to...
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Nov 17, 2020
The post WordPress Hosting Prices: How Much Does It Cost To Start a WordPress Website? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’ve been thinking about starting a WordPress website, you’ll be pleased to know you’re making an excellent decision. WordPress...
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Nov 16, 2020
The post 7 Best WordPress Podcasting Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Podcasting is the latest trend growing within the content marketing space. Brands see it as an opportunity to build a...
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Nov 16, 2020
The post How to Create a Content Strategy for Your Small Business Website [10-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Running a successful small business was hard before the pandemic. Now, no matter what you sell and how you did...
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Nov 13, 2020
The post How to Use Customer Surveys to Grow Your eCommerce Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Getting customer feedback is the key to delivering more of what your customers want. But how can you get customers...
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Nov 11, 2020
The post 7 Best WordPress Audio Player Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Musicians, podcasters, authors, and bloggers are just a few of the professions who rely on audio to help distribute their...
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Nov 06, 2020
The post International eCommerce: How to Grow Your Online Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Cross-border eCommerce – shoppers buying from merchants in other countries – increased by 21% from the start of 2020 to...
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Nov 05, 2020
The post What Belongs in Your Social Media Customer Service Toolkit? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Social media can help your online business deliver fast service that keeps your customers happy, impresses onlookers and strengthens your...
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Nov 04, 2020
The post How to Edit Header in WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
WordPress is the most popular content management system for a reason. With WordPress, anyone can set up a simple blog...
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Nov 03, 2020
The post How to Create an eCommerce Content Strategy [12-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve got your eCommerce website up and running (congrats!). Now you’re faced with the task of making sure visitors can...
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Nov 02, 2020
The post The Best WordPress WooCommerce Themes for eCommerce Sites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Selling products online has never been easier, even for small businesses. Thanks to the evolution of technology, you can now...
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Nov 02, 2020
The post How and When to Boost Posts on Social Media [Ultimate Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Social media has become much more than a way to connect online with friends and family. Actively engaging in social...
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Oct 30, 2020
The post How To Add JavaScript to WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What do you do if you want to add fancy elements to your WordPress website, but don’t want to risk...
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Oct 29, 2020
The post How to Edit a WordPress Theme appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you first log in to your new WordPress dashboard, you’ll notice things look a little bland. Not bad bland....
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Oct 27, 2020
The post Email Marketing for Bloggers: A Guide to Getting Started appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The most successful bloggers are also adept email marketers. Why? Because email marketing is the digital marketing strategy with the...
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Oct 26, 2020
The post The 5 Most Important Features of Google Analytics [Beginner’s Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you have a website, you need Google Analytics. It just might be the most useful free tool that a...
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Oct 22, 2020
The post 6 Best WordPress Plugins for Instagram ? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Instagram has evolved into a popular online hangout space for its users. At any given moment, you can find people...
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Oct 21, 2020
The post Optimize Your YouTube Channel Like a Pro with Our Expert Tips appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Written by Emily Hill and Kevin Williams This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we...
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Oct 19, 2020
The post 7 Best WordPress Membership Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A study found that 77% of companies believe that an online community significantly improves brand exposure, awareness, and credibility. Online...
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Oct 19, 2020
The post HostGator celebrates bday with Donate 2 Celebrate campaign appeared first on HostGator Blog.
It’s Snappy’s 18th bday – he’s all grown up (sniff) – and we wanna share the love! To celebrate, we’re...
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Oct 16, 2020
The post How to Find the Best Online Store Template appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Building a new business of any type is difficult. You’ll have to put in a lot of time, make a...
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Oct 15, 2020
The post Holiday Post-Mortem: How Was Your Online Store’s First Season? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
We’ve dedicated ten blog posts to helping your new online store have its best possible first holiday season. Now, it’s...
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Oct 14, 2020
The post How to Add a YouTube Feed to Your WordPress Site (6 Steps) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do you want to showcase your YouTube videos on your website?? Adding a YouTube feed to your website is a...
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Oct 13, 2020
The post 3 Holiday Website Challenges for eCommerce Stores (and How to Solve Them) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The holidays are so close we can almost see them from here—and that means your new eCommerce store should be...
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Oct 12, 2020
The post What Are WordPress Plugins? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you first sign in to your new WordPress website, it will be pretty basic. WordPress will most likely encourage...
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Oct 08, 2020
The post Online Forums: Benefits and Best Practices appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Many of the most successful sites on the internet gained prominence by recognizing an important fact: people online want a...
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Oct 06, 2020
The post 11 Best WordPress Plugins for Church Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Running a church website requires a lot of work. You need a website that not only represents your church, but...
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Oct 05, 2020
The post How to Build a Website [Your 5-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re sure you want to build a website, but you find the whole prospect intimidating. You don’t have any coding...
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Oct 02, 2020
The post eCommerce Inventory Management 101 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your online marketing worked. It drew someone in your target audience to your website. They liked one of the products...
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Oct 01, 2020
The post Best Wishlist Plugins for WooCommerce [Top 7 Picks] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The WooCommerce and WordPress combination gives store owners unlimited flexibility in building out their eCommerce stores. Since WooCommerce sits on...
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Sep 02, 2020
Whether it’s an appliance, a pair of running shoes, or a handyman—each time you have a choice to make that...
Sep 01, 2020
Many hoped the social distancing required by COVID-19 would be something we could look back on as a temporary inconvenience...
Aug 31, 2020
Charitable giving is an opportunity for people to support their favorite causes and organizations. So much so that “American individuals,...
Aug 28, 2020
The post 7 Simple UX Tips to Instantly Elevate Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When visitors land on your website, it only takes a few seconds for them to decide whether to stay or...
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Aug 27, 2020
The post How to Build Your Vacation Rental Website [6-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do you have a gorgeous mountain cabin, a beach house, or a country cottage that you only visit a couple...
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Aug 26, 2020
The post Best WordPress Plugins for Graphic Designers [Top 9 Picks] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
As a graphic designer, you might work directly within WordPress itself, using the CMS to build beautiful websites. But even...
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Aug 25, 2020
The post Get Set for Shipping During Your Store’s First Holiday Season: Your How-to Guide appeared first on HostGator Blog.
So far in our series on How to Rock Your Online Store’s First Holiday Season, we’ve focused on tasks that...
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Aug 24, 2020
The post Why eCommerce Stores Should Plan Holiday Exclusives Now appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Is your new eCommerce business getting ready for its first holiday season? How exciting! And maybe a little bit nerve-wracking,...
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Aug 24, 2020
The post How to Plan and Price Your Special Holiday Delivery Options appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The holidays are coming. Are you making a list of things your new eCommerce business needs to do? Checking it...
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Aug 24, 2020
The post How to Choose a New eCommerce Platform Now that Magento 1 is Done appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Is your online store still running on Magento 1? If so, it’s time to move to a new platform as...
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Aug 21, 2020
The post 6 Best WordPress Plugins for Event Management ? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Small businesses thrive on hosting events, whether it’s local or online. Events offer these teams a chance to connect with...
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Aug 18, 2020
The post Marketing Your Online Store’s First Holiday Season: Your How-to Guide appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your first holiday season as an online store owner can be a wild ride—and a major planning challenge. Have you...
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Aug 15, 2020
The post How to promote your small business on Instagram: 10 simple steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Own a small business and decided to promote it on Instagram? Well, congratulations! You chose the right platform. Don’t worry;...
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Aug 14, 2020
The post How To Make A Website Mobile Friendly appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Smartphones quickly went from expensive, exciting new technology, to a regular part of everyday life. Today we find it strange...
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Aug 12, 2020
The post Importance of Websites for Restaurants appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re tired of cooking yourself and ready to get food that’s been prepared by somebody else, what’s your first...
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Aug 12, 2020
The post Importance of Websites for Restaurants appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re tired of cooking yourself and ready to get food that’s been prepared by somebody else, what’s your first...
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Aug 11, 2020
The post How to Add Push Notifications to Your WordPress Blog appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Every website owner is looking for ways to drive more traffic to their sites. One of those methods is using...
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Aug 10, 2020
The post Web Hosting vs. WordPress Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Web hosting is a critical need for every online business. To have a business website, you need a web hosting...
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Aug 08, 2020
The post How to create “complete content” and why Google loves it appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Over the last few years, Google has been giving preference to longer-form content when determining what to give visibility in...
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Aug 06, 2020
The post 7 Best WordPress Search Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Website navigation is a critical part of your online presence. When visitors land on your site, they want to quickly...
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Aug 05, 2020
The post Email Marketing for eCommerce: Your Guide to Getting Started appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Did you know that email marketing has the highest return on investment (ROI) out of any other digital marketing tactic?...
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Aug 04, 2020
The post How Will COVID-19 Impact eCommerce This Holiday Season? (3 Predictions) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Retailers know that winter?holiday?gift shopping is what keeps the industry going, and until this year,?holiday?sales figures were on a roll,...
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Aug 03, 2020
The post How to Create an eCommerce Subscription Business [4-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Did you know the eCommerce market is growing by more than 100% a year, and that subscription-based services are increasing...
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Aug 02, 2020
The post 7 Reasons Why You Should Choose WordPress For Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Why Choose WordPress for Your Website? Have you ever wanted to start a side business but hesitated because you knew...
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Jul 31, 2020
The post 5 Smart WordPress Tools for Modern Bloggers on the Go appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Blogging is the worst, right? You have to sit down at your computer for hours, figure out how WordPress works,...
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Jul 30, 2020
The post 6 Reasons Why Video and Audio Content Are Trending Among the Blogging Community appeared first on HostGator Blog.
It’s hard to argue the value of high-quality, written blog content. Text blog content engages readers, helps establish you as...
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Jul 29, 2020
The post 7 Blogging Best Practices to Follow appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Blogging is more than just writing a few words and posting them to your website.? In practice, blogging centers around...
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Jul 28, 2020
The post What to Know Before You Upgrade PHP on Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Jul 24, 2020
The post Divi vs. Elementor: Which WordPress Page Builder Is Right for Your Site? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re interested in getting a website up and running and want to do it yourself, then WordPress is an...
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Jul 22, 2020
The post Why Every Small Business Needs SEO (Yes, Even Yours) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Small?businesses are?spending?a lot more of their marketing resources on social media than on?SEO, according to a recent survey of 500...
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Jul 21, 2020
The post 7 Smart Ways Bloggers Can Use Audio and Video Content appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The purpose of your blog is to capture more relevant traffic from your target audience. While writing high-quality content is...
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Jul 20, 2020
The post 7 Best WordPress Review Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If your website is selling a product or service, then you need to have customer reviews integrated into your site.?...
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Jul 17, 2020
The post 5 Easy Ways Small Local Businesses Can Drive More Website Traffic appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Managing a website for your small or local business is one of the best things you can do for your...
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Jul 16, 2020
The post 6 Best WordPress Plugins for Freelance Consultants appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Freelancing is more than just independently doing client work on a sunny beach as you listen to the waves crash....
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Jul 15, 2020
The post Best Practices for Conversion Rate Optimization appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How much have you spent on getting people to your website? Not just money on digital marketing—also think about how...
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Jul 14, 2020
The post 7 Tools That Make Mobile-Friendly Web Design Easy ? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
As of 2019, mobile website traffic (not including tablet traffic) generated over 52% of all global internet traffic. To capture...
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Jul 13, 2020
The post Everything You Need to Know About CRO appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The world of online marketing is full of acronyms. For anyone still learning the lay of the land, all those...
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Jul 10, 2020
The post How to List Your Products on Google Shopping for Free appeared first on HostGator Blog.
eCommerce is now the first choice for many shoppers—and a lifeline for many small businesses. But with more merchants selling...
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Jul 09, 2020
The post 7 Best WordPress Survey Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There’s nothing better than user feedback to improve your business and website. Often, when you’re building your website you’re just...
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Jul 08, 2020
The post How to Test a New WordPress Theme Without Crashing Your Current Site [4-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Wanna try out a new WordPress theme, but are afraid of how it will impact your current site? How do...
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Jul 07, 2020
The post 7 Mobile Commerce Best Practices for Any Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There is a reason why brands are investing more and more time and energy into setting up efficient online stores....
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Jul 02, 2020
The post How to Optimize Keyword Bidding on a $100 Google Ads Budget appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Jul 01, 2020
The post 7 Mobile-Friendly Design Tips for Your Blog or Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Think about the last time you were in public with a bunch of strangers. What were people doing when you...
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Jun 30, 2020
The post 3 Surprising Ways Bloggers Can Drive More Site Traffic appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Don’t let what I’m about to say scare you (because, secretly, it’s awesome for you). Recent stats suggest one-fifth of...
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Jun 26, 2020
The post How to Create Your Small Business Website in 3 Quick Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
In an age when we can shop for everything from cars to cocktails online, it may come as a surprise...
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Jun 25, 2020
The post 7 Best YouTube Plugins for WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Video is a powerful marketing tool for small businesses. Research shows that “54% of consumers want to see more video...
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Jun 23, 2020
The post How to Do Keyword Research: Your 2020 Guide appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Jun 22, 2020
The post How to Set Up Your First Google Ad appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Jun 19, 2020
The post How to Create a Great Blog Post in 5 Smart Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When blogging platforms first launched, they became a popular way for people to journal about the details of their lives...
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Jun 18, 2020
The post How to Make a Personal Website: A Guide for Job Searching During COVID-19 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 40 million people in the United States have filed for unemployment benefits. That...
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Jun 17, 2020
The post 7 Best WordPress Quiz Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The purpose of your website is to engage visitors. With interactive content like quizzes, you can connect with your visitors...
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Jun 16, 2020
The post How to Set Up a Content Calendar to Grow Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Small business marketing requires a lot of content—for your blog, your email campaigns and your social media accounts. How can...
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Jun 15, 2020
The post Host of The Jordan Harbinger Show Shares His Advice for New Podcasters appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Jordan Harbinger was podcasting before podcasting with a thing. He and his friend AJ (who also uses the last name...
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Jun 15, 2020
The post 6 Best Tools for Creating Social Media Graphics appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Social media plays an important role in how small businesses market their products and services online. Beyond superb copywriting, your...
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Jun 12, 2020
The post YouTube Analytics [Your Ultimate Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Marketers and content creators put a lot of emphasis on social media. It’s widely regarded as one of the best...
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Jun 10, 2020
The post Using Elementor in WordPress [Beginner Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you want to create a new website you’re going to have a lot of different options. You have your...
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Jun 08, 2020
The post How to Create a Nonprofit Website with WordPress [Step-By-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Building a website is one of the best things you can do for your nonprofit organization. With the help of...
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Jun 03, 2020
The post 8 Genius Ways to Get Traffic You Deserve and Leads You Want appeared first on HostGator Blog.
I was 19 and thought launching a company from my dorm room was impossible. No one knew who Nathan Latka...
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Jun 02, 2020
The post 7 Best WordPress Q&A Plugins to Consider for Your Site appeared first on HostGator Blog.
No doubt you’ve come across popular question and answer sites like Quora, Reddit, and StackOverflow. Or, maybe you were even...
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Jun 01, 2020
The post These 6 Cybersecurity Myths Can Endanger Your Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re protecting?your?small?business?from digital threats, what you don’t know—and what you think you know—can?hurt?you. These common security misconceptions?leave businesses open...
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May 29, 2020
The post Want Google’s Feedback on Your Store’s Website? Here’s How to Get It appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Does your store’s website have all the elements it needs to succeed? Can customers really find what they need on...
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May 28, 2020
The post What Is cPanel? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Put simply, cPanel is a dashboard that’ll help you manage your hosting account. It operates similar to the desktop on...
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May 27, 2020
The post What’s Domain Pointing? How to Link an Existing Domain to a New Web Host appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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May 26, 2020
The post Facebook and Instagram Stories: Why Your Business Needs Them and How to Make Them appeared first on HostGator Blog.
By Emily Hill and Jana Thibodeaux This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature...
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May 26, 2020
The post How to Create a Successful Online Community (and How We Did It on Facebook) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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May 26, 2020
The post What Is a Content Delivery Network (CDN)? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve heard the classic tale of the tortoise and the hare and their illustrious race, right? If not, spoiler alert!...
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May 21, 2020
The post What Is a Domain Name? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re here because you want to know what a domain name is, and how domains work? It seems like an...
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May 19, 2020
The post What Are Email Drip Campaigns (and How Can They Help Your Business)? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How often does your small business run drip campaigns? If the answer is “never” or “what’s a drip campaign?” then...
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May 18, 2020
The post 7 Ways to Make Your Website More Interactive appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How interactive is your website? If your website isn’t interactive, visitors are just passively skimming it and not sticking around...
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May 15, 2020
The post WordPress Plugins vs. Widgets: What’s the Difference? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The latest version of WordPress (5.3) has already been downloaded over 49 million times, and that number is growing every...
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May 14, 2020
The post 3 Excellent Examples of Money-Making Blog Posts (aka Affiliate Marketing at Its Finest) ? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
It’s not uncommon for first-year hard-core bloggers to make up to 10K a year on their website side hustle and...
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May 13, 2020
The post What Makes a Great Social Media Graphic? [Checklist] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Did you know that nearly all (95.9%) bloggers promote their blog posts via social media? It’s with good reason too,...
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May 12, 2020
The post How Social Media Integration Can Boost Your eCommerce Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
eCommerce success depends on getting potential customers to your website. It’s a necessary step in every online sale. That makes...
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May 12, 2020
The post 7 Ways to Get More Email Subscribers for Your WordPress Site appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Here is the bottom line. Email marketing is crazy effective. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking to sell a product,...
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May 08, 2020
The post 5 Creative Ways Specialty Stores & Artists Can Drive Sales via Social Media Now appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Remember craft fairs, window shopping and in-store events? If you’re a local retailer or artisan whose income depended on making...
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May 07, 2020
The post How to Create Your First Blog Posts [It’s Easier Than You Think] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There is a reason why it seems everyone is starting a blog these days. Blogging is a good way to...
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May 06, 2020
The post Can a Website Truly Help a New Business Drive Revenue? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Did you know that nearly two-thirds (64%) of small businesses have a website, and 35% of small businesses think their...
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May 05, 2020
The post How to Set Up Curbside Pickup [Step-by-Step Guide for Local Retailers] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
COVID-19 is changing the way local stores do business. Shops that used to sell in-store only need other options for...
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May 04, 2020
The post 9 Uncommon Ways eCommerce Sites Can Drive More Traffic appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The best thing about an eCommerce website is reaching a global audience. When your business exists online, you aren’t limited...
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Apr 30, 2020
The post The Future of eCommerce appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Nobody could predict what the rise of eCommerce would look like and how it would change whole industries. But its...
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Apr 29, 2020
The post How Freelancers Can Juggle Multiple Clients and Work Types appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Were you laid off or furloughed from your job recently? Are you feeling increased pressure to bring in more to...
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Apr 28, 2020
The post 7 Lessons on Managing Freelance Clients’ Expectations appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Whether you’re selling writing services or offering coaching consultations, freelancing involves a lot more than just putting a price tag...
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Apr 27, 2020
The post How to Build Your Freelance Website [Step by Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A website is an essential tool in every freelancer’s toolbox. Your website is your virtual home. It’s where you’ll showcase...
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Apr 27, 2020
The post Best 50+ WordPress eCommerce Plugins [The Ultimate List] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
WordPress is a flexible content management system helping novices and professionals create a variety of different websites. It began as...
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Apr 24, 2020
The post 10 Accounting Tips for Freelancers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
As the world changes and a growing number of people are forced out of their former careers, many are exploring...
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Apr 23, 2020
The post How I Found My Favorite Freelance Clients [5 Proven Methods] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Right now, perhaps more than ever, people are considering whether it’s time to start that freelance business they’ve always dreamed...
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Apr 22, 2020
The post 7 Tools I Use to Keep My Freelance Business Up and Running appeared first on HostGator Blog.
I started freelance writing for SaaS, marketing/advertising, and data science companies nearly a decade ago. Why did I let go...
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Apr 21, 2020
The post How To Use WHM to Manage Your Clients’ Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Apr 21, 2020
The post What’s Going On with the CARES Act? FAQs for SMBs Seeking COVID-19 Help appeared first on HostGator Blog.
U.S. small-business owners breathed a sigh of relief in March when Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security...
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Apr 20, 2020
The post How Has eCommerce Transformed Marketing? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Shopping doesn’t look the way it used to. Ever since the internet became a normal part of our everyday lives,...
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Apr 17, 2020
The post The Impact of eCommerce on Retail appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Not that long ago, when you wanted to buy a product, the obvious move was to get in your car...
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Apr 17, 2020
The post 7 Work From Home Tools to Make Your Small Business Run Smoothly appeared first on HostGator Blog.
In the wake of the current global health crisis, 90% of Americans have been ordered to stay at home. Additionally,...
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Apr 16, 2020
The post The Benefits of eCommerce appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You know you definitely want to be an entrepreneur. You’ve been dreaming about running your own business since you were...
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Apr 16, 2020
The post 8 Email Offers Every Online Store Should Use appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your online store is up and running, your products are great, and your sales are… well, maybe they’re not where...
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Apr 15, 2020
The post What is eCommerce? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For consumers, professionals, and the large category of people who are both, eCommerce websites represent an increasingly important part of...
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Apr 15, 2020
The post How to Create an Awesome Contact Page appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Here are two things to think about as a new website owner. First, when online visitors want to get in...
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Apr 14, 2020
The post 10 Quick Ways to Stay in Contact with Your Customers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Because of the pandemic and social-distancing rules, your business may be operating very differently from just a few weeks ago....
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Apr 14, 2020
The post 5 eCommerce Best Practices for Capturing More Sales appeared first on HostGator Blog.
eCommerce is growing as the top way to sell products and services. By the end of 2020, researchers suggest there...
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Apr 13, 2020
The post How to Use Google My Business COVID-19 Tools to Make Updates appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Google My Business (GMB) is a huge help to local businesses that want customers to see their location, hours and...
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Apr 10, 2020
The post Customer Retention Strategies For eCommerce Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You did it! You made a sale. The investment you made in online marketing and advertising paid off in a...
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Apr 09, 2020
The post How to Start an Online Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Analysts predict that global eCommerce sales will reach $4.9 trillion by 2021—showing a growth of 265%. People are only getting...
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Apr 08, 2020
The post How Online Specialty Stores Can Stay Afloat During a Crisis appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Crises can be weird and stressful times for retailers. Depending on the situation, they may be slammed with demand for...
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Apr 07, 2020
The post How to Add eCommerce Functionality to Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Small businesses are scrambling to figure out how to adapt in the new world. Businesses that depended on customers visiting...
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Apr 06, 2020
The post Local Business Temporarily Closed? Try Remote Shopping & eCommerce appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Social distancing and stay-at-home orders are a must to prevent the spread of covid-19, but they’re creating huge challenges for...
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Apr 03, 2020
The post How to Find a Good Free WordPress Theme appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the great things about WordPress is that you can create a professional website without investing a ton of...
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Apr 02, 2020
The post 5 Popular Order Tracking Tools for eCommerce Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Customer experience is one of the hottest topics in eCommerce right now, and part of a great customer experience is...
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Apr 01, 2020
The post How To Backup A WordPress Site Without A Plugin appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You know that having the option to backup files on your WordPress website is incredibly important. By regularly backing up...
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Mar 31, 2020
The post Why You Should ONLY Load jQuery from Google Libraries appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You probably already know that it’s better to load static files from a Content Distribution Network (CDN). JavaScript, CSS, and...
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Mar 30, 2020
The post 4 Ways to Stay Cybersecure When You Start Working from Home appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Are you one of the millions of workers who’ve suddenly gone from days at the office to working at home...
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Mar 27, 2020
The post How to Improve Your Online Store Navigation for a Better Customer Experience appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Want more customers to buy from you? Help them find what they’re looking for fast. Today’s customers expect a frustration-free...
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Mar 25, 2020
The post 5 Quick Website Updates You Can Do in 30 Minutes or Less appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Mar 24, 2020
The post Employees Working Remote? Small Business Cybersecurity Checklist appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Millions of Americans are “working from home” due to the COVID-19? pandemic. However, the sudden transition to working at home...
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Mar 23, 2020
The post Bootstrap Tutorial: Simple Tips for Beginners and Beyond appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There was a time when professional web design was out of reach for all but large corporations. Now, anyone can...
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Mar 20, 2020
The post Website Updates to Make During Crisis [Small Business Checklist] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How is your small business coping with the coronavirus outbreak? In many places, social distancing, shelter-in-place orders and other necessary...
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Mar 20, 2020
The post How to Add a Live Sales Popup to Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re looking for new ways to build trust with your website visitors, have you considered adding a live sales...
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Mar 19, 2020
The post 7 Ways to Still Get on Your Audience’s Facebook News Feeds WITHOUT Paying for Ads appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Getting your blog or website onto your Facebook fan’s news feed used to be easy – after all, they were...
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Mar 18, 2020
The post Work-From-Home Tips for the Avid Office Dweller appeared first on HostGator Blog.
We all have those “I wish I could stay home and wear my pajama pants instead of going to work”...
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Mar 18, 2020
The post How to Use WordPress Website Builders to Easily Create Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Building a website as a beginner used to be near impossible to do yourself. You had to either spend hours...
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Mar 17, 2020
The post Quick Answers to Common Support Questions Our Agents Receive appeared first on HostGator Blog.
At HostGator, we are responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation to ensure we meet the needs of our customers, while...
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Mar 17, 2020
The post 8 Books Every Software Engineer Should Read appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Mar 13, 2020
The post How to Create a Coming Soon Page for Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re building a new website or online store, there’s a lot that needs to happen behind the scenes before...
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Mar 11, 2020
The post HostGator Customer Spotlight: Afie Braimoh of SACFruits appeared first on HostGator Blog.
While many of HostGator’s customers have high passion levels for their side projects, we know it’s also true that the...
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Mar 10, 2020
The post How to Use Sidebars and Widgets in WordPress [Ultimate Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Around a third of all websites in the world are built on WordPress, and for good reason. It’s easy to...
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Mar 06, 2020
The post How to Design a Logo for Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
No website is complete without a logo. Your logo is the main identifying emblem of your brand. It’s the symbol...
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Mar 04, 2020
The post How to Customize a WordPress Theme for Your Brand appeared first on HostGator Blog.
WordPress is an incredibly popular CMS. It’s so popular that a third of the internet runs on WordPress. One big...
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Mar 03, 2020
The post 7 WordPress UX Plugins to Improve Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Small businesses rely on their websites to attract and retain customers. Websites make it possible for visitors to discover and...
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Feb 27, 2020
The post Domain Name Suggestions: 13 Ways to Come Up With Website Name Ideas appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re finally ready to start your website! You have a great brand concept figured out and came up with the...
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Feb 27, 2020
The post 7 Best WordPress Plugins for AdSense appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There are several ways to monetize your small business website. Beyond affiliate links and selling services, you can use Google...
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Feb 26, 2020
The post How to Launch a Website for Your Babysitting Side Hustle appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Are children the light of your life? Did you grow up as the most sought out babysitter in the neighborhood?...
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Feb 24, 2020
The post 4 Ways eCommerce Sites Can Improve the Customer Experience appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Customer experience is having a moment, because it’s becoming the deciding factor in eCommerce success. Online shoppers are spoiled for...
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Feb 22, 2020
The post HostGator vs Bluehost appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the first and most important decisions you have to make when starting a website is which hosting provider...
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Feb 21, 2020
The post 3 Powerful Chatbot Plugins for WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
In a previous post, we looked at some tasks a chatbot can automate for small businesses. Today, we’ll look at...
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Feb 20, 2020
The post How to Launch a Website for Your Dog Walking or Pet-Sitting Side Hustle appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The world is your oyster when it comes to the type of side hustle you can start. You can do...
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Feb 19, 2020
The post Black Hat SEO Tactics Your Small Business Should Avoid appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You know you should be thinking about search engine optimization (SEO)—you see recommendations for it everywhere you look. But wow,...
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Feb 18, 2020
The post Web Hosting vs Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
In theory, anyone today can start a website. It’s easier than it’s ever been, and the basic tools you need...
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Feb 14, 2020
The post How Do IP Addresses Work? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
IP addresses are a crucial part of how the internet works. Yet if you asked the average person you met...
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Feb 13, 2020
The post How IP Addresses Are Tracked appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Want to find out what your public IP address is? At any given time you can easily check it using...
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Feb 12, 2020
The post How to Install WordPress Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
WordPress is an incredibly flexible platform. This flexibility is the reason it can be used to build massive sites like...
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Feb 11, 2020
The post How to Launch Your Nonprofit Side Hustle appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the top reasons to start a side hustle is to rake in a little extra cash when the...
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Feb 10, 2020
The post How Do Updates Work with Our Managed Hosting Plans? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Feb 07, 2020
The post How to Make Your WordPress Site Secure from Hackers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A lot of website owners don’t think about keeping their WordPress sites secure until it’s too late. The best time...
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Feb 06, 2020
The post How to Fix the WordPress White Screen of Death appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The WordPress white screen of death is something you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. One minute your site works,...
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Feb 05, 2020
The post How to Launch a Website for Your House Cleaning Side Hustle appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do you have more elbow grease than the average person? Are you so organized that you could teach Marie Kondo...
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Feb 04, 2020
The post Google SERP Trends to Know in 2020 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you do a Google search, sometimes the answer you need pops up right there on the search engine results...
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Feb 03, 2020
The post How to Do a SEO Audit [12-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Search engine optimization (SEO) requires ongoing work. It can feel like you’re always scrambling to keep up with the basics....
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Jan 31, 2020
The post Web Hosting Hot Topics: Caching, Themes & Customer Service appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Jan 30, 2020
The post HostGator Customer Spotlight: Michelle Visser of Souly Rested appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Starting a side hustle can feel like a big risk, but here is the good news. Many other people and...
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Jan 29, 2020
The post What is WebAssembly and How Do You Learn It? A Quick Guide appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve heard about HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. But, what is all this new chatter about WebAssembly? In short, WebAssembly is...
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Jan 28, 2020
The post 6 Benefits a Chatbot Can Offer Your Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’ve ever wished you had a business assistant who didn’t cost much but took care of time-consuming tasks, good...
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Jan 27, 2020
The post How to Install and Delete a Theme in WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There are thousands of different WordPress themes to choose from: free themes, premium themes, even custom WordPress themes built to...
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Jan 24, 2020
The post HostGator Customer Spotlight: Xcelencia appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re a side hustler, who is wondering whether or not your business will succeed, I have some good news...
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Jan 22, 2020
The post How to Launch a Website for Your Service Business Side Hustle appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Did you know you can make a considerable chunk of change by starting a service-based side business? In fact, the...
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Jan 21, 2020
The post Whatever Happened to These Icons of the Early Internet? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do the words “dial-up modem” make you think of a screeching sound? Do you remember deciding whether you’d sign up...
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Jan 20, 2020
The post A History of the Internet As We Know It appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Can you believe it’s been 30 years since the birth of the internet as we know it? Considering we’re a...
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Jan 17, 2020
The post 10 Essential SEO Tips for Non-Profit Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You know people care about your cause. You’re sure more people would give if you could just get the word...
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Jan 15, 2020
The post Top 7 Most Popular WordPress Themes appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re building out a new website in WordPress, choosing a quality theme is going to be your main concern.?...
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Jan 14, 2020
The post What Is WooCommerce? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re just getting started building an eCommerce store, you’re going to have a lot of different options to choose...
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Jan 13, 2020
The post How to Set Up Your Blog on WordPress [Step-by-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
WordPress is built for blogging. If you want to build a content-heavy website, then this CMS is going to be...
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Jan 10, 2020
The post 5 WordPress Automation Plugins to Make Your Website Work Harder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you have a business website, any task you can automate saves you valuable time. Luckily, there are plenty of...
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Jan 09, 2020
The post How to Edit Your Website Photos [7 Pro Tips] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The moment a visitor lands on your website, they’re deciding whether or not they should stick around.? You need to...
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Jan 08, 2020
The post How to Make Great Infographics in PowerPoint appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Infographics outperform other types of visual online marketing content like videos, memes and stock photography, according to a study by...
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Jan 07, 2020
The post 9 Smart Ways to Grow Your Blog’s Audience appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve started your blog and waited for loyal readers to come running. But your readership isn’t taking off, or it’s...
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Jan 06, 2020
The post How To Start Your Food Side Hustle (and Build Your Website) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The food and beverage industry is booming with an annual revenue of $7.285 million in 2019 in the United States...
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Jan 03, 2020
The post What Is WordPress? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’ve been researching ways to build your first website, then you’ve undoubtedly come across WordPress.? WordPress is one of...
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Jan 02, 2020
The post My Picks for Top 5 “Must Have” WordPress Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Jan 02, 2020
The post How to Create a Website to Get Your Book Deal appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Congratulations, author! You’ve come up with a killer idea, written and edited your book, and now you are ready to...
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Dec 31, 2019
The post How to Increase Website Traffic appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The day you launch a new website is a big deal.? But for all the hard work involved in creating...
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Dec 30, 2019
The post How to Transition Your Side Hustle to Full-Time Freelancing appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Congratulations! You’ve started your side hustle and have been successful so far. You also may be experiencing feelings of fulfillment...
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Dec 27, 2019
The post How to Change an IP Address appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you use the internet, you have an IP address—several, actually. One for your router and others for each device...
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Dec 26, 2019
The post Small Business Grants: How to Find Them and Apply appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Could your small business use more capital to launch a new product or add services? It may be time to...
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Dec 26, 2019
The post New Year, New Website (in 7 days!) Challenge appeared first on HostGator Blog.
January is the time for new year resolutions. 2020! Can you believe it? The new year brings so much excitement....
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Dec 23, 2019
The post 5 Best WordPress Plugins for Inventory Management appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Inventory management ranks as a top priority for small businesses. As your business grows, you’ll want to efficiently manage your...
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Dec 20, 2019
The post How to Boost Your Online Store with Google Shopping Insights appeared first on HostGator Blog.
eCommerce is growing by more than 10% a year, which is both good news and bad news for online store...
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Dec 19, 2019
The post Boost Your Side Hustle Revenue with Personal Branding [4 Strategies] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do you remember the olden days? You know…the days when the only people with a recognizable personal brand were celebrities,...
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Dec 18, 2019
The post How to Create an Awesome Website Homepage appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The homepage of your website is the first thing your visitors will see. It’s how they’ll form their first impression,...
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Dec 17, 2019
The post How Much Does a Website Builder Cost? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve decided to start a website, but you’re still at the stage of figuring out what the costs of doing...
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Dec 13, 2019
The post 6 Best WooCommerce Dropshipping Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re looking to take advantage of the current eCommerce boom and start your own online shop, then dropshipping can...
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Dec 12, 2019
The post SEO for Product Pages [Your 5-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Dec 10, 2019
The post 10 Ways to Build Quality Backlinks When You’re New & Unknown appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When an external website links to a page from your website, they are giving you what’s called a backlink. Backlinks...
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Dec 09, 2019
The post 7 Best WordPress Caching Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
No one enjoys waiting for websites to load. And the longer your visitors wait, it’s more likely they will leave...
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Dec 06, 2019
The post SEO for Real Estate Websites [12 Pro Tips] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The real estate industry is competitive. To have any chance of being chosen by the people looking to buy or...
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Dec 05, 2019
The post What Is My Domain Worth? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A lot of us wish we could travel back in time and buy up domain names like apple.com, hotels.com, google.com,...
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Dec 04, 2019
The post How to Launch a Website for Your Etsy Shop appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve heard of Etsy. You know, it’s the place you go to when you need an adorable print of your...
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Dec 03, 2019
The post Best WordPress Plugins for Amazon Affiliates appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re looking to monetize your WordPress site there are a lot of approaches you can take. However, one of...
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Dec 03, 2019
The post How to Use a Business Loan to Finance Your Side Hustle appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The nice thing about a side hustle is that you can put as much or as little effort into it...
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Dec 02, 2019
The post How Much Does Domain Registration Cost? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re trying to figure out how to budget for your new website and need an answer to the question of...
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Nov 27, 2019
The post How to Launch Your Photography Side Hustle appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do you have an eye for aesthetics? Have you invested in a fancy camera beyond the typical smartphone camera? Do...
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Nov 26, 2019
The post 5 Google My Business Tips for Online-Only Businesses appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve worked hard to build your online business. In researching all the best ways to promote your business website, you’ve...
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Nov 25, 2019
The post 5 Best Discount Wheel Popup Plugins for WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Looking for ways to convert more visitors into buyers and subscribers? You’ve done everything right. You have a well-designed website...
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Nov 22, 2019
The post How to Create a Professional Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Every business needs a website, there’s no way around that.? And you don’t just need any website, you need a...
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Nov 21, 2019
The post How Much Does WordPress Hosting Cost? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
So you’ve decided to build your website on WordPress. You’re in good company. Because of how robust and easy to...
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Nov 20, 2019
The post How to Optimize Your Videos for SEO [11 Tips] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Video is a big part of how people consume information online. On average, people send 6.8 hours every day watching...
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Nov 19, 2019
The post How To Build Your Music Side Hustle Website Quickly appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Have you been thinking about taking your talent for music and building it into a successful side hustle? If you’re...
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Nov 18, 2019
The post How to Set Up Sales Funnels in Google Analytics (Step-by-Step) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Nov 11, 2019
The post 5 Holiday Gift Ideas for Side Hustlers [2019 Gift Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How many people on your gift list this holiday season have a side hustle? Don’t be surprised if it’s close...
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Nov 11, 2019
The post Holiday Gift Ideas for Entrepreneurs [2019 Gift Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What does your favorite entrepreneur really want for the holidays this year? Probably a clone, so they can get everything...
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Nov 07, 2019
The post A Beginner’s Guide to Keyword Research appeared first on HostGator Blog.
After all that work you put into creating your website, now that it’s live you’re worried it’s not getting enough...
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Nov 06, 2019
The post Get Unstuck with HostGator appeared first on HostGator Blog.
With HostGator you can get the website you need for where you’re at or where you’re going. We’ve got a...
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Nov 06, 2019
The post 14 Best Web Management Tools for Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Running a small business is a ton of work. As important as your website is to the success of your...
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Nov 05, 2019
The post How to Launch a Website for Your Travel Blog Side Hustle appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve probably used Google at least a hundred times while planning a vacation to find popular things to do, what...
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Nov 04, 2019
The post New Year’s Prep: Benchmarking Your Website Metrics for 2020 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The end of the year is a busy time for business owners. Yet even as you’re scrambling to handle the...
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Nov 01, 2019
The post What Is a Side Hustle? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
It’s true. You have to keep the lights on and food on the table. And, sometimes this means going through...
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Oct 31, 2019
The post 7 Best WordPress Plugins for A/B Testing appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Growth for small businesses means more engagement and increased sales. However, to achieve your goals, you’ll need to optimize your...
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Oct 30, 2019
The post How to Create a Website for Your Tutoring Side Hustle appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Think about it for a minute. Who has been one of the most influential people in your life? Chances are,...
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Oct 29, 2019
The post How to Clear the Cache on Your WordPress Site appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your WordPress website isn’t performing at the level you want it to. You’re trying to figure out the best troubleshooting...
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Oct 28, 2019
The post SEO Web Design: What You Need to Know appeared first on HostGator Blog.
While most discussions of search engine optimization (SEO) focus on things like content creation and link building rather than design,...
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Oct 25, 2019
The post 18 Best WooCommerce Plugins for Your Online Store (Most are Free) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you run a WooCommerce website, are you using it to its full potential? Do you have all the tools...
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Oct 24, 2019
The post 5 Best Free WordPress Migration Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When it comes to moving your WordPress website from one location to another, let’s just say this, it’s not easy....
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Oct 23, 2019
The post Do I Need Domain Privacy? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you register a new domain name, with most providers, one of the first options you’ll see during the checkout...
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Oct 23, 2019
The post 11 Last-Minute Website Changes You Can Make Now to Boost Holiday Sales appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Is there ever enough time to plan for the holidays? Not really, especially when you run an eCommerce store. If...
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Oct 22, 2019
The post Subdomain vs Domain appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re searching for a domain name, there are all kinds of terms that you’ll come across. All of this...
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Oct 22, 2019
The post 7 WordPress Appointment Booking Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Booking more customers is essential to growing your small business revenue. However, the process can be a hassle with the...
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Oct 22, 2019
The post RDAP is Replacing WHOIS: What That Means For Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Let’s say you finally landed on your dream domain name. You went to purchase the domain but found that someone...
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Oct 08, 2019
The post Why Good Web Design Is Important (And How To Achieve It) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When the time comes to design and build your website, you’re going to have a lot of different options at...
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Oct 07, 2019
The post What Are the Different Types of Domains? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Choosing a domain name is vital for anyone who’s building a new website.? Your domain name will be the face...
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Oct 04, 2019
The post How Much Does Web Hosting Cost? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you decided to start a new website, you may not have realized all the little expenses and services involved...
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Oct 03, 2019
The post 10 Best Free SEO Tools to Strengthen Your Strategy appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For newbies (and many experts as well) search engine optimization (SEO) is overwhelming. But as with many things, having the...
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Oct 02, 2019
The post 7 Best WordPress Form Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Visitor engagement plays a critical role in your small business. It’s not enough for potential consumers to visit your website....
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Oct 01, 2019
The post 7 Must-Listen Podcasts for Side Hustle Hopefuls appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The average side-hustler spends 11 hours per week on their secondary work, according to The Hustle. With little extra spare...
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Sep 30, 2019
The post How Your Domain Affects Your SEO [8 SEO Best Practices for Domains] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The first decision you have to make when starting a new website is what domain name to register. And finding...
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Sep 27, 2019
The post What Is a Subdomain? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re searching for a new domain name or your very first one, you’ve probably come across the term subdomain....
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Sep 26, 2019
The post The Best 6 Online Tools for Side Hustlers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The nature of a side hustle is that you build your business in your free time. What’s the main problem...
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Sep 25, 2019
The post 7 Best WordPress Social Media Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For small businesses, content distribution is critical in spreading the word about your products and services. WordPress plugins serve as...
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Sep 24, 2019
The post SEO Tool Roundup: 10 Subscription Tools Worth the Cost appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Developing a strong SEO (search engine optimization) strategy that helps you meet your website goals requires doing the right research...
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Sep 23, 2019
The post How to Create a Business Email appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Most of the emails you get from professionals—no matter the type of business they’re in, from doctors, to dog trainers,...
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Sep 20, 2019
The post 10 Last-Minute Social Campaigns You Can Push Now to Drive Holiday Sales appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For online business owners, it’s never too soon to work on your winter holiday social media campaigns. After all, 40%...
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Sep 19, 2019
The post How to Add Captions to Videos [and Why Your Business Needs Them] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
We live in the golden age of online video, but it’s also the age of silent film. Why? Many people...
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Sep 18, 2019
The post How to Create a Subdomain appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Subdomains can be a great way to add on to your existing main website, or even launch a new product...
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Sep 17, 2019
The post 5 cPanel Mistakes to Avoid with Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
This article is part of HostGator’s Web Pros Series. In this series, we feature articles from our team of experts...
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Sep 16, 2019
The post How to Identify Cybersecurity Threats on Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
43% of All Data Breaches Hit Small Businesses. Here’s How to Protect Your Site. While data breaches at major retailers,...
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Sep 13, 2019
The post What Is an IP Address? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re building a website, there are probably a bunch of technical terms you’ve come across that you aren’t familiar...
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Sep 12, 2019
The post How to Create Your Freelance Writing Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Nasdaq predicts that 43% of the workforce will be freelancers by 2020. Additionally, Upwork expects the number of freelance workers...
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Sep 11, 2019
The post How to Set Up an eCommerce Site in WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re finally doing it. You’re turning all those dreams of entrepreneurship into a reality and starting an eCommerce store. With...
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Sep 10, 2019
The post Here’s How to Earn More Holiday Traffic to Your Blog appeared first on HostGator Blog.
It may feel like the winter holidays are a long way off, but in marketing terms, they’re almost here. If...
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Sep 09, 2019
The post Popular Web Design Services appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the essential elements of your online brand is your website. It’s going to be the hub for all...
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Sep 06, 2019
The post What Is a Second-Level Domain? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re actively searching the web, you probably don’t think twice about domain names.? It’s just the name you type...
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Sep 05, 2019
The post 6 Best Practices for Getting an Affordable Business Loan appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Many business owners, at one point or another, realize that they need some extra funding to make ends meet.? They...
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Sep 05, 2019
The post 6 Types of Membership Websites You Can Build appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Want to earn money using what you already know? If you’re an expert (or really good) at something, you may...
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Sep 04, 2019
The post Top 8 Chrome Extensions for QA Testing Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your website is tied to your livelihood. If it stops working right, you lose money. But lots of business websites...
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Sep 03, 2019
The post Got a Local Business? Here’s How You Can Expand Online appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Is your local business a good fit for online expansion? If you’ve maxed out your ability to grow locally, it...
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Aug 30, 2019
The post 5 Types of 2019 Holiday Social Media Content to Create Now appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The holidays are right around the corner. Start preparing your social media content for the festive season. Social media builds...
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Aug 29, 2019
The post You Asked: Top 10 Questions about SEO from our webinar appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you think about Search Engine Optimization, you probably think about how to increase your website’s ranking in Google. While...
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Aug 29, 2019
The post URL vs. Domain appeared first on HostGator Blog.
It’s time to get your dream domain name and start building your very first website. But, there’s only one issue....
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Aug 28, 2019
The post What is a Domain Extension? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When the time comes to buy a domain name for your new website or online project, you’re going to have...
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Aug 27, 2019
The post How to Learn WordPress [14 Online Courses, Blogs, and Video Tutorials] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re starting a new website, one of the first decisions you have to make is how you’re going to...
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Aug 26, 2019
The post 5 Best Infographics & Illustrations to Try on Your Small Business Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Visual content plays an integral role in your small business website. It can either grasp your visitors’ attention or repel...
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Aug 22, 2019
The post How to Find Your Side Hustle appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Did you know that over 44 million Americans already have a side hustle, according to CNN Money? Something that’s also...
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Aug 21, 2019
The post On-Site vs. Off-Site SEO: What’s the Difference? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Search engine optimization (SEO) comes in many shapes and sizes. It’s not limited to one technique or a single tool....
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Aug 19, 2019
The post Do You Need Insurance for Your Side Hustle? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Congratulations! You finally decided to start your side hustle.? You’ve done your research to determine which side hustle is best...
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Aug 17, 2019
The post 5 Tips for Launching Your First Email Marketing Campaign appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Email marketing is far from dead. In terms of return on investment, it still holds up as a viable campaign...
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Aug 16, 2019
The post The Right Way to Tag Your Blog Posts appeared first on HostGator Blog.
It’s easy to overlook the humble post tag when you’re setting up your blog. But tags are worth a second...
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Aug 15, 2019
The post 4 WordPress Landing Page Builders To Inspire You appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Did you know that 55% of visitors spend fewer than 15 seconds on your website? As a conversion oriented marketer, you’ll...
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Aug 15, 2019
The post How to Boost SEO on Your WordPress Website [In 15 Steps] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
No matter how much work you put into making your WordPress website look good, it won’t pay off if you...
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Aug 14, 2019
The post 7 Ways to Improve Your Site Speed in WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For the past several years, Google has been emphasizing site speed as a ranking factor in their algorithms. Given that,...
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Aug 12, 2019
The post 10 Ways to Boost Online Store Sales with Wishlists appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Adding wishlist functions to your online store can help turn more window-shoppers into paying customers, if you make your wishlist...
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Aug 09, 2019
The post Do I Need VPS Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When it comes to choosing the right kind of hosting packages for your website, you’re going to have a lot...
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Aug 08, 2019
The post Reseller vs. Affiliate Programs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’ve been looking for a way to make some additional cash by recommending products and services, then you’ve no...
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Aug 07, 2019
The post 4 Best Free WordPress Themes for Food Bloggers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Got a taste for food blogging? A good blog theme is a key ingredient in your food blog’s success. The...
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Aug 05, 2019
The post How to A/B Test Your Website [Step-by-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
With over 181 million active websites on the internet, it may seem impossible to build a website that stands out...
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Aug 02, 2019
The post Does Your Small Business Website Have the Cybersecurity Basics Covered? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Think your business is too small to be targeted by hackers? Think again. Last year, 43% of all reported data...
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Aug 02, 2019
The post 10+ Best Free Gutenberg Ready WordPress Themes appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There are hundreds of thousands of WordPress themes on the market. A lot of them are free while some cost...
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Aug 01, 2019
The post Is Your eCommerce Website Ready for Back to School? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Winter holidays may be peak money-making time for online stores, but don’t overlook the back to school season. Parents and...
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Jul 31, 2019
The post Google Ads Success: The Metrics You Need to Watch appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Measure the Performance of Your Google Ads Your marketing budget is limited. When you decide to invest in...
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Jul 30, 2019
The post Email: Still the Best Tool for Growing Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
It’s tempting to focus on social media instead of email for marketing when you’re starting a business. Social media is...
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Jul 29, 2019
The post How to Use Facebook Ads to Grow Your Email List in 10 Simple Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Email marketing is one of the most effective types of digital marketing. Two-thirds of consumers say they’ve made a purchase...
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Jul 26, 2019
The post How to Improve SEO appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your website can only do its job if people can find it. ?SEO (search engine optimization)—a collection of tactics website...
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Jul 24, 2019
The post What Is An Affiliate Program? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The idea of affiliate marketing is simple. You recommend? high-quality products or services, and if a person buys through your...
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Jul 23, 2019
The post Shared vs VPS Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Choosing the right kind of hosting for your website can seem like a complicated process. Not only do you have...
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Jul 22, 2019
The post 5 Best Practices for Business Blogs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Blogging can be good for your business, if you start with a plan. A blog can boost your website’s SEO,...
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Jul 19, 2019
The post How to Create a Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Have you always dreamed of learning how to create a website? Well, with today’s tools this reality is closer than...
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Jul 18, 2019
The post How to Make Money with Reseller Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There are dozens of different online businesses you can start from the comfort of your own home. One online business...
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Jul 17, 2019
The post 5 Photography Tips for Bloggers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Visual content opens the door to retaining your readers’ attention. Creative photography can have a positive impact on building strong...
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Jul 16, 2019
The post 5 Best WordPress Email Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
It’s 2019, and email still rules when it comes to marketing. No other channel can match email’s 4400% return on...
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Jul 15, 2019
The post How to Filter Spam Bots in Google Analytics [Step by Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You know how valuable Google Analytics is and you’re ready to take all the insights it can offer to improve...
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Jul 12, 2019
The post What Are Backlinks? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your website is up and you’ve started the hard work of trying to increase your organic traffic. You’re learning the...
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Jul 10, 2019
The post How to Add Google Analytics to Your WordPress Site [Step-by-Step] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you have a business, your website is a gold mine of information that tells visitors if your brand if...
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Jul 10, 2019
The post Streamline Your Online Donation Process with These 9 Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Fundraising for your nonprofit group, school, or personal cause is usually more productive when it’s super-easy for people to donate....
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Jul 09, 2019
The post What Is the Fastest Web Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you have a slow loading website, you’re killing your site before it’s even had a chance to succeed.? Today,...
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Jul 08, 2019
The post Are WordPress Plugins Free? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
WordPress plugins improve your website experience. They are software apps that integrate with your current site to add more functionality....
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Jul 05, 2019
The post 5 Ideas to Boost Your Website Traffic Fast appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Building your website is only the beginning of your online marketing journey. If you want to get new customers to...
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Jul 03, 2019
The post Best Reseller Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Reseller hosting is a very different form of web hosting services than what you’ll typically come across. With every other...
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Jul 02, 2019
The post Best Windows Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re in the market for web hosting services you’re going to have a lot of options to choose from,...
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Jul 01, 2019
The post Product Pages Matter More Than Ever. Here’s How to Make Yours Better appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Pop quiz: Which matters more, your website’s homepage or your product pages? Thanks to the way most people search and...
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Jul 01, 2019
The post What Is PPC? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Marketers throw around a lot of acronyms.? For someone new to online marketing, it can be a little overwhelming to...
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Jul 01, 2019
The post SEO vs. PPC appeared first on HostGator Blog.
After all the hard work you put into designing and launching your website, now you get to the even harder...
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Jun 28, 2019
The post HostGator honors the hustle and grind with Side Hustle Stars Award winners appeared first on HostGator Blog.
While “side hustle” may seem like a trendy term, it’s actually part of the true entrepreneurial spirit found in many...
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Jun 10, 2019
The post How to Make Product Videos That Are Guaranteed to Sell appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Video is an effective marketing tool to sell your brand’s products. By 2022, online videos will drive more than 82%...
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Jun 07, 2019
The post 7 Tips to Choose a Website Design That Converts Customers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your website design has a lot of work to do. It should look professional, make it easy for visitors to...
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Jun 06, 2019
The post How to Create a Membership Site with WordPress (Step by Step) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Are you considering creating a membership site for your courses, products, or services? If so, it can be a great...
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Jun 06, 2019
The post What Are “Sticky” Sidebar Widgets in WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A sticky, floating, or fixed, sidebar widget in WordPress is a widget that’s locked into place, so when a user...
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Jun 05, 2019
The post 5 Ways to Drive Leads to Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Lead generation is an important part of business operations. As a freelancer or small business owner, you want interested buyers...
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Jun 04, 2019
The post 4 Ways to Make Money With Your Small Business Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve finally got a website for your business, because you know it’s the key to getting found by new customers...
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Jun 03, 2019
The post 5 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website from Social Media appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Everyone is spending time on social media. It’s the hangout spot for people to chat with their friends and get...
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May 31, 2019
The post How to Build Your WordPress Website [Step by Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve decided to build a website. Whether you’re building a site for your physical business, a personal project or you’re...
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May 30, 2019
The post What Is VPS Used For? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You may be here because you’ve heard the term VPS thrown around a lot, and you’re wondering what this acronym...
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May 29, 2019
The post What Is ASP.NET Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the most important decisions every website owner must make is choosing the right type of web hosting services....
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May 28, 2019
The post What Is Windows Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When figuring out which web hosting plan is the right choice for your business, you have two main server options:...
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May 24, 2019
The post How to Create a Style Guide for Your Website in 5 Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Websites are online storefronts for small businesses. Because they play a pivotal role in the customer experience, your team must...
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May 23, 2019
The post What Is a Domain Name Registrar? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Every website you visit online has a domain name, which means that every website owner went through the process of...
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May 22, 2019
The post 4 Free or Inexpensive Resources to Help You Start Your Online Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There’s a lot to learn before (and after) you start your own business, and if you don’t have a business...
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May 21, 2019
The post What Is phpBB Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The idea of community used to be much more tied to geography. For a group of people to come together...
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May 20, 2019
The post What Is Wiki Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re seeking out information on a topic online and you head to Google, in most cases the top result...
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May 17, 2019
The post Benefits of Magento Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your eCommerce business is starting to come together. You have your business plan and an idea ?of what the design...
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May 15, 2019
The post How to Write Blog Posts for Your Buyer Personas appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Quick quiz for business bloggers: In one sentence, describe the audience for your blog. If you had your answer ready,...
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May 14, 2019
The post How to Create Services Pages that Showcase Your Work and Win You Clients appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Every kind of service business has the same basic challenge: You need to let your target customers know what you...
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May 13, 2019
The post What to Look for in a Web Host appeared first on HostGator Blog.
In those exciting early stages of launching a new website, you have a lot of decisions you need to make....
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May 13, 2019
The post Got a side hustle? Enter the Side Hustle Stars Awards appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do you have a side hustle? A “Side Hustle” is a venture created in addition to an individual’s primary income...
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May 09, 2019
The post How and Why to Keep Your Website Fresh appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Want to keep visitors coming back to your site? Keep it fresh. Stale content, outdated site technology, and passé design...
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May 08, 2019
The post 5 Fresh Ideas for Ongoing Content Generation appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Content generation can feel like an uphill battle in an online space filled with so much content. It’s your responsibility...
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May 07, 2019
The post How to Use Facebook Messenger for eCommerce appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Facebook Messenger is no longer just an app you can use to message your friends. Now it’s an app where...
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May 07, 2019
The post 5 Steps to Improve Your Chances of Getting a Good Online SMB Loan appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For eCommerce businesses, the costs to startup may be small compared to a brick-and-mortar ventures. But the costs to achieve...
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May 06, 2019
The post The 5 Pages Every Website Needs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your website is an important part of your business. Without it, you can lose potential customers and miss out on...
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May 03, 2019
The post Benefits of Joomla Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re building your website, one of the big decisions you face is which web hosting plan to choose. As...
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May 02, 2019
The post How to Use Customer Reviews to Get New Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Social proof is a critical part of any freelancer’s marketing strategy. In particular, customer reviews can offer an inside look...
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May 01, 2019
The post What Is Drupal Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re doing your due diligence as you start your new new website—doing all the research into your different web hosting...
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Apr 30, 2019
The post Application Server vs Web Server appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Technical terms can get confusing, but understanding the definitions of different terms and how they relate to each other can...
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Apr 30, 2019
The post How to Optimize Your WordPress Robots.txt appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What is a Robots.txt File? The robots.txt is a very small but important file located in the root directory of...
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Apr 26, 2019
The post Want More Happiness and Less Stress? Start Your Own Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A full 90% of small business owners say they’re happier now than when they worked for someone else, according to...
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Apr 25, 2019
The post WordPress VPS Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When it comes to finding the perfect kind of hosting for your WordPress site you’re going to have a lot...
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Apr 24, 2019
The post 6 Best Free WordPress Themes for Affiliate Marketing Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re building an affiliate marketing revenue stream, you want your site to rank well in search results, display your...
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Apr 23, 2019
The post How to Build a Website From Scratch appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re here because you want to build a website. Luckily, building a website is much easier than it used to...
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Apr 22, 2019
The post SSD vs HDD appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Every year, the technological devices we use—and increasingly depend on—seem to get smaller and more powerful. And yet somehow these...
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Apr 19, 2019
The post The Best Free WordPress Themes for Travel Blogs Now appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Sharing stories is part of the adventure for most people who love to travel, and one of the best ways...
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Apr 18, 2019
The post What Is a SSL Certificate? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
As a website owner, you’ve probably heard the words “SSL certificate” getting thrown around a lot. When you’re first getting...
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Apr 17, 2019
The post What Is Responsive Web Design? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Whether you’re building a new website or realize it’s time to do a proper redesign for a website you already...
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Apr 15, 2019
The post Website Builder Packages: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The time has come to take the plunge and learn how to build a new website. You’ve already decided that...
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Apr 12, 2019
The post How to Add Live Chat to Your Website for Free appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A few years ago, a live chat service on your website was often considered a luxury. Now that the age...
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Apr 12, 2019
The post How to Create Your Website Navigation Menu appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Are you building your first website? Or maybe you’ve had a website for a long time and it’s time for...
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Apr 11, 2019
The post 4 Great Examples of Video Content that Converts on Social Media appeared first on HostGator Blog.
They say, “Content is king,” but that’s only true if you are creating the right type of content for your...
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Apr 10, 2019
The post Domain Name Management appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re in the early stages of creating your first website, you may be surprised by just how much is...
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Apr 09, 2019
The post How to Find an Affordable Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve had a great idea for a website for a while and you’re finally ready to take the first steps...
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Apr 08, 2019
The post Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Which Is Better for Your Small Business? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Which Is Better for Small Business? Small business owners must make the best advertising decision...
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Apr 05, 2019
The post They Like Us! Reviews of HostGator’s Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
HostGator affiliates had the first chance to review and demo our new Gator Website Builder before it was released to...
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Apr 05, 2019
The post Responsive Web Design Examples appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When building a new website or considering a new design for a site you already have, one of the best...
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Apr 04, 2019
The post Website Builder Comparison appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When the time comes to build your new website, you’re going to have a lot of different types of website...
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Apr 03, 2019
The post How to Choose a Website Design That Best Represents Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Websites are online storefronts to showcase your products and services. When choosing a website design, you want it to satisfy...
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Apr 02, 2019
The post VPS vs VPN appeared first on HostGator Blog.
VPS and VPN are two commonly confused terms. Their acronyms are similar, so it’s common for the two to get...
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Apr 01, 2019
The post Application Web Hosting 101 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re still working out the details for your website and you’re facing two related decisions: what application will you use...
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Apr 01, 2019
The post What is Domain Privacy and Why Do You Need It? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Maintaining your privacy is harder today than it’s ever been. Keeping your personal information safe from strangers is a constant...
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Mar 29, 2019
The post Web Design Trends 2019 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Looking at the latest web design trends will allow us to peer into the future of where the web is...
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Mar 27, 2019
The post How to Use a Domain Name Checker to Check Domain Availability appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Finding the perfect domain name for your new website can be a little tricky. Not only do you need a...
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Mar 26, 2019
The post How to Transfer a Domain appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There are a multitude of reasons you’ll want to transfer your domain. Maybe you’ve sold a domain, or bought one...
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Mar 25, 2019
The post 20 Top Tools for Responsive Web Design appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The main trend in web design that’s dominated the conversation over the past few years is responsive web design. As...
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Mar 22, 2019
The post How Much Does a Website Cost? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How much does a website cost? Is there a general range I should expect to pay for a new website?...
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Mar 21, 2019
The post What Is WordPress Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’ve been thinking about building a website using WordPress, then you’ve probably come across WordPress hosting at some point....
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Mar 20, 2019
The post Benefits of Using a Simple Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the first things you learn when you start looking for a new website builder is that you have...
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Mar 19, 2019
The post Creating a Website: How To Create a Beautiful Site appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When creating a website, aesthetics aren’t everything – but they definitely matter. Have you ever visited a website that was...
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Mar 18, 2019
The post Most Popular Content Management Systems appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re in the early stages of creating a new website, you face an important choice: should you use a...
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Mar 15, 2019
The post How to Start a Blog appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Starting a blog can be an intimidating experience—especially if you’ve never built a website before. Fortunately, starting a blog can...
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Mar 14, 2019
The post The Top Mobile-Friendly WordPress Themes—and What Makes Them So Good appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When it comes to getting traffic, building an audience, and making sales, mobile is basically everything now. More than half...
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Mar 14, 2019
The post When You Need Professional Photography For Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Imagine if in just 2 short seconds you could start to build trust and authority with your customer… For most...
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Mar 13, 2019
The post Free Hosting vs Paid Hosting: Pros and Cons appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re finally ready to create your website. You’ve figured out that one of the first things you need is web...
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Mar 11, 2019
The post How to Choose Your Web Design Template: 5 Key Factors to Consider appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The look and feel of your website matters. It can either attract new customers or repel them in the opposite...
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Mar 11, 2019
The post How to Optimize Content Before Publishing appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Even the most engaging content with all the right elements won’t serve the purpose if the search engines can’t find...
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Mar 08, 2019
The post Top 10 Most Popular Design Templates for Gator Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The new Gator Website Builder by HostGator comes with more than 200 professionally designed templates included in the package price....
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Mar 08, 2019
The post The Best WordPress Plugins Every Blog Needs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you build your blog with WordPress, it’s easy to customize it and add cool features with plugins. But which...
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Mar 06, 2019
The post Is My Domain Name Available? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re really excited about the website idea you have. You can picture what you want it to look like and...
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Mar 05, 2019
The post 4 Best Free WordPress Themes for Photography Blogs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A well-designed blog is a must, by definition, for photo bloggers, but professional photographers and Instagram addicts can benefit from...
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Mar 04, 2019
The post Web Hosting With a Dedicated IP appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re exploring your options for dedicated hosting there are a lot of terms and technologies you’re probably not familiar...
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Mar 04, 2019
The post How Much Is A Website Domain Name? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re looking to build a website, then one of the first things you’ll need to do is buy a...
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Mar 01, 2019
The post How to Get More Views on Product Videos for Your Online Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
In a chaotic world where everything from technology and fashion to weather patterns seems to be in a constant state...
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Mar 01, 2019
The post How To Sell A Domain Name appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Did you purchase a domain name with every intent of starting a website? But time caught up and you lost...
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Mar 01, 2019
The post How To Buy A Website Domain appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you want to establish yourself online and build up a personal brand or online business, the first step to...
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Feb 28, 2019
The post 20 Social Media Quick-Hits for Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You know you’re supposed to be on social media—it seems to be recommended in every small business publication you read...
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Feb 27, 2019
The post Cheap Dedicated Server Hosting Plans Compared appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re in the market for a new host you’re going to have a lot of decisions to make. Beyond...
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Feb 26, 2019
The post 4 Best Free WordPress Themes for Your Small Business Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you want your small business to thrive, you need to make sure local customers can find you —especially if...
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Feb 25, 2019
The post What Is a Dedicated IP Server? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re searching around, trying to find the best type of hosting for your website you’re going to have a...
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Feb 22, 2019
The post Your 2019 Website Redesign Checklist appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The beginning of the New Year is a good time to make resolutions and commit to the work that often...
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Feb 21, 2019
The post 4 Proven Methods to Increase Your Website Conversions appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Are you actively creating new content for your website or blog, only to find that you seem to be wasting...
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Feb 21, 2019
The post How to Create Shipping Guidelines for Your Online Business in 5 Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your new online store may have the coolest design, the greatest products, and the most reasonable prices, but does it...
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Feb 19, 2019
The post 15 Questions About the New Gator Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Gator Website Builder is a drag-and-drop website builder created by HostGator. Gator was created for anyone who has an idea...
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Feb 19, 2019
The post What Are Dedicated Servers for Games? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you love playing video games, then you’ve probably considered running your own gaming server. There’s nothing more frustrating than...
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Feb 19, 2019
The post HostGator Launches a New Customer Portal appeared first on HostGator Blog.
HostGator is excited to announce our new Customer Portal! We strive to empower our customers to grow their online presence...
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Feb 15, 2019
The post 5 Email List Building Mistakes That Kill Your Sales (and How to Avoid Them) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Building your email list is the key to boosting your sales. Email marketing is an opportunity to directly engage with...
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Feb 15, 2019
The post How to Launch Your Website Using Gator Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
HostGator’s new product, Gator Website Builder, is an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop website builder for anyone that has an idea for a...
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Feb 14, 2019
The post The Best Free WordPress Themes for Lifestyle Blogs Now appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Lifestyle blogging is a popular hobby and it’s easy to get started. Earning an income from a lifestyle blog? You’ll...
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Feb 13, 2019
The post Do You Need a Dedicated IP for SSL? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Maybe you’ve heard the news about the importance of installing an SSL certificate on your site? Or, maybe your site...
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Feb 12, 2019
The post Top 5 Dedicated IP Benefits appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When the time comes to choosing a hosting provider you’re going to have a lot of decisions to make. Finding...
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Feb 12, 2019
The post 10 Reasons to Love HostGator’s New Gator Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
HostGator is pleased to announce our new website builder, Gator Website Builder. Gator was created for anyone who has an...
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Feb 08, 2019
The post Dedicated Hosting Defined appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re trying to find the best style of hosting for your website you’re going to have a lot of...
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Feb 07, 2019
The post Dedicated IP and Shared Hosting: What’s the Difference? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re in the market for a new host there are a lot of things you’ll need to consider. Not...
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Feb 06, 2019
The post How to Create Product Categories for Your Online Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There are so many things to get excited about when you’re setting up an online store—your website design, your cool...
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Feb 05, 2019
The post What is a Content Management System? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
To be a successful business owner, one of the important skills you need is the ability to identify the right...
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Feb 05, 2019
The post Free Webinars You Don’t Want to Miss in February appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The HostGator team is pleased to announce not one, but two, FREE webinars we’re hosting this month to help you...
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Feb 04, 2019
The post 5 Reasons to Set Up Your Email List with Constant Contact appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Email marketing plays a critical role in engaging your customers. It’s an opportunity to build a quality relationship beyond website...
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Feb 01, 2019
The post How to Use Content To Build Trust appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Running a small eCommerce business is hard. Every day it feels like competing with the big guys is a bigger...
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Jan 31, 2019
The post Use a Website Builder to Create Your eCommerce Site in 8 Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Today building an online store is easier than ever. As a result, eCommerce stores have been exploding in popularity. Before,...
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Jan 31, 2019
The post Why Your Online Store Needs Omnichannel Marketing appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your online store is up and running. You’ve got a blog, an email list, and social media accounts on the...
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Jan 29, 2019
The post Today’s 5 Best Free WordPress Themes for Freelancer Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Every freelancer needs a website for one major reason: Clients can’t find you if you don’t show up in their...
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Jan 28, 2019
The post 7 Things You Can Do with Gator Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Choosing the right website builder can be a little overwhelming. You’ve got a lot of options and reviewing the different...
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Jan 25, 2019
The post How to Charge Sales Tax and Shipping for Your Online Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Building your online store involves fun tasks like picking your product photos and writing catchy descriptions of the items you’re...
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Jan 24, 2019
The post How To Start An Online Business in 9 Simple Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do you have an idea for starting an online business and need help getting online? In the past, all businesses...
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Jan 24, 2019
The post How to find out which theme a WordPress site is using? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Have you ever come across a website that you simply loved in terms of design and functionality? Better yet, have...
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Jan 23, 2019
The post 8 Best Apps to Process Credit Cards on Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The internet makes it easier than ever to start a business or reach a larger clientele for the business you...
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Jan 22, 2019
The post Best Practices for Referencing Your Business Location Online appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Advertising your business online can get confusing. With so many available options to promote your business online like Google My...
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Jan 21, 2019
The post How to Strengthen Your Content Strategy with Customer Input appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the first things you learn when you start doing content marketing for your business is how important it...
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Jan 18, 2019
The post What Legal Requirements Apply to Your Small Business Website and Online Store? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Are you ready to set up your online store or small business website? Make sure you’re clear on the laws...
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Jan 17, 2019
The post Best Website Builder for Small Businesses appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Small business owners have a lot to deal with. No matter the day, you can pretty much count on an...
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Jan 04, 2019
The post DIY Website Building Mistakes to Avoid appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You need a website. If you have a business (or are thinking of starting one), a website is an absolute...
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Jan 03, 2019
The post Do I Need Web Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re thinking about starting a website, then you may have come across the term “web hosting” without entirely understanding...
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Dec 31, 2018
The post Do You Need a Website Builder for Your Portfolio? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re working as a creative, or you’d like to start your career as a creative, then showcasing your portfolio...
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Dec 30, 2018
The post Do I Need Dedicated Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your website has been growing. That’s great news! It’s exactly what you hoped for when you first launched. But the...
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Dec 28, 2018
The post 7 Ways to Improve Site Speed and Performance in 2019 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You go to a website and it feels like it is taking forever to load. What do you do? Do...
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Nov 29, 2018
The post Benefits of Using Web Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you want to get a website online, then you’re going to need web hosting. Without a web host, there’s...
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Nov 27, 2018
The post How to Use Pinterest to Drive Traffic to Your Blog appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Despite Twitter and Facebook being the most popular social media platforms available, Pinterest is still an excellent way to drive...
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Nov 26, 2018
The post The Best Ways to Advertise Your Website On a Budget appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The list of free ways to promote your website could keep you busy for years, but many small business owners...
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Nov 21, 2018
The post Do You Need Web Hosting for Your WordPress Site? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve decided to use WordPress to launch your new website. That’s a great decision. WordPress is one of the top...
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Nov 20, 2018
The post How to Set Up Google Adsense on Your Blog or Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve been creating great content for a while and you’ve finally gained a decent following. People like your stuff and...
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Nov 19, 2018
The post How to Choose the Best Website Builder for Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your business needs a professional website, but you’ve been overwhelmed trying to figure out where to start. Web design looks...
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Nov 17, 2018
The post Customer Appreciation Guide: How to Show Your Customers You Are Thankful For Them appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For many businesses, the holiday season starts with Black Friday. Or, really the season starts far ahead of Black Friday,...
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Nov 16, 2018
The post Web Hosting for Blogs: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Before the internet, sharing your ideas with the world beyond your immediate friends, family, and colleagues was out of reach...
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Nov 13, 2018
The post 5 Benefits of Using a Website Builder for Blogs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Website builders for blogs make it easy to publish your content. As a blogger, you’re already tasked with creating and...
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Nov 12, 2018
The post How Create a Successful Blog Business in 2019 in 5 Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
With more than a billion active websites and blogs on the internet today, there are more than enough resources and...
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Nov 12, 2018
The post 10 Ways to Get Your Website in Shape for the New Year in 2019 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A New Year should come with new goals for your business. As you work through your end-of-year to do list...
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Nov 10, 2018
The post 13 Default WordPress Settings You’ll Want to Change after Installing WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Creating a WordPress website is easy enough to do. Installing WordPress is a piece of cake too because most hosting...
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Nov 09, 2018
The post 7 Benefits of Google Advertising appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Everyone with a website has likely spent time thinking about Google and how to improve your visibility in the search...
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Nov 07, 2018
The post 7 Last-Minute Holiday Pushes You Can Make on Your Website and Social Media To Drive Sales appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The holidays can be overwhelming. Between work and personal responsibilities, you probably feel pulled in a million directions. But no...
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Nov 06, 2018
The post How to Sell Your Services Online: 5 Steps to Getting Started appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Sell Your Services Online So you’ve taken some time to learn a marketable skill and now you want...
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Nov 05, 2018
The post How to Design an eCommerce Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When building an eCommerce website, you know that the ultimate goal of the site is to get people to make...
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Nov 02, 2018
The post What to Look for in a Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You know you need a website, but you don’t know the first thing about how to build one. Without any...
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Nov 01, 2018
The post The Best Ways to Advertise Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve put a lot of time into creating an awesome website. Now you need people to find it. Frankly, that’s...
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Oct 31, 2018
The post How to Create a Social Media Holiday Marketing Plan appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The holiday season is fast approaching, it’s time to get ready for shopping, spending time with your family, big meals,...
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Oct 30, 2018
The post Top 5 WordPress Portfolio Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re a creative person who wants to show off your work, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better way...
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Oct 29, 2018
The post How to Create a Forum for Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Whether you run a business website or a personal blog, one of the main reasons to build a website is...
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Oct 26, 2018
The post Web Design Best Practices: A Helpful Guide appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your website is the main face of your brand online. And building your website with best practices in mind will...
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Oct 25, 2018
The post How to Set Up Online Reviews on WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There are multiple ways to incorporate reviews into your WordPress site. Whether you’re looking to create a review-based website, or...
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Oct 24, 2018
The post How to Embed a YouTube Video in WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re here because you want to add YouTube videos to your WordPress-hosted website. You might want to embed your own...
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Oct 23, 2018
The post How to Use WordPress Shortcodes appeared first on HostGator Blog.
WordPress shortcodes can be a very useful way to customize your site and add new features. All without having to...
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Oct 22, 2018
The post Get Your Small Business Online Fast with a Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For years, people have been saying your small business needs a website. You know it’s true, but you’ve been busy,...
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Oct 22, 2018
The post 16 Tips for Promoting Your Small Business Website During the Holidays appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re reading this post, you already know that running a small business is hard work. And it only gets...
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Oct 19, 2018
The post How to Install a WordPress Slideshow Plugin appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Sliders have a multitude of uses. Whether you’re looking to show off your latest images, highlight your recent blog posts,...
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Oct 18, 2018
The post The Ultimate Guide to Building a Successful Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve got an idea for a web property – whether it’s for a business, to share your thoughts and ideas...
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Oct 17, 2018
The post The 10-Step Holiday Sale Launch Checklist for Online Stores appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The holiday season is coming! For eCommerce businesses, it’s not so much the most wonderful time of the year as...
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Oct 16, 2018
The post How to Secure a Website from Hackers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
As a website owner, is there anything more terrifying than the thought of seeing all of your work altered or...
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Oct 16, 2018
The post Selling Products on a Website: A Helpful Guide appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The way people shop today has largely moved online. Any business that sells products from a storefront now will benefit...
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Oct 15, 2018
The post 10 Holiday SEO Quick Wins To Help Shoppers Find Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The holiday season might not quite be upon us, but the holiday marketing season definitely is. Business owners have to...
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Oct 12, 2018
The post 5 Reasons Why Google Ads Is Good for Small Business Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Advertising is an effective way to inform your target audience about your small business. With Google Ads, you can capture...
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Oct 11, 2018
The post Best Website Builder for Blogging appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve decided you want to start a blog. You have ideas or creations you want to share with the world...
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Oct 10, 2018
The post Use Social Live Streams to Drive Site Traffic: 5 Examples from Brands appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Businesses can embrace social live stream while driving traffic to their sites. Live streaming brings reality to your consumers’ screens,...
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Oct 09, 2018
The post Top Fraud Threats Facing Online Stores This 2018 Holiday Season appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Holiday gift-givers aren’t the only ones who flock to online shops between Black Friday and Christmas Day. Fraudsters know it’s...
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Oct 09, 2018
The post The 7 Best Video Tools for Bloggers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Video offers bloggers the opportunity to engage more with their audiences. Research shows that “viewers retain 95% of a message...
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Oct 05, 2018
The post What Are Google Ads and How Do They Work? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Getting noticed on the web is an uphill battle. The entire complicated industry of online marketing has grown around the...
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Oct 04, 2018
The post Email Drip Campaigns for Blogs: 7 Best Practices to Follow appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For your blog to succeed, you don’t just need people to stumble across it. You need them to keep coming...
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Oct 03, 2018
The post 10 Ways to Speed Up Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
There’s no doubt about it – website speed matters. As average internet connection speeds increase around the world and mobile...
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Oct 02, 2018
The post Why Everyone Needs a Website, Including You appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Back in the day, a business card was an indicator of being in business. It told the world what you...
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Oct 01, 2018
The post How to Create an Ecommerce Return Policy That Makes Customers Happy appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the least glamorous aspects of online commerce is the one that can make or break your business: returns....
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Sep 26, 2018
The post HostGator Announces 2019 Technology Scholarship Winners appeared first on HostGator Blog.
HostGator is pleased to announce the winners of our 2019 Technology Scholarship competition. Supporting education has always been a foundation...
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Sep 26, 2018
The post Grow Your Blog Readership With These 5 Videos appeared first on HostGator Blog.
To boost your blog readership, the solution isn’t always to create better content. Instead, you may need to diversify the...
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Sep 24, 2018
The post 3 Best Monetization Methods for Bloggers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Blog monetization is something that many site owners, content creators, and bloggers will spend a lot of time on. However,...
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Sep 24, 2018
The post Google Ads: 7 Pros and Cons for Small Businesses appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Small businesses desire to promote their products, and Google Ads can open doors to doing it the right way. Understanding...
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Sep 21, 2018
The post How to Sell Products Online in 6 Easy Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Deciding to start an online business and begin selling products online can be an exciting experience. However, this excitement can...
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Sep 19, 2018
The post Best WordPress Themes for Blogging appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you want your WordPress blog to succeed you’re going to need a great theme. Of course, choosing a solid theme...
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Sep 19, 2018
The post How to Set Up an Email Drip Campaign for Your New Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The early days of running a small business are typically the hardest. Getting your name out there so you can...
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Sep 17, 2018
The post 5 Best WordPress Security Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re wondering, “Do I need a WordPress security plugin?” The answer is yes. WordPress is the most popular CMS...
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Sep 14, 2018
The post 6 Mistakes That Trip Up Online Stores During Holiday Traffic Surges appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The holidays are the most wonderful eCommerce time of the year. They also can be the most stressful if you’re...
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Sep 14, 2018
The post Beginner’s Guide to Google Ads appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The web is crowded and getting people to visit your website – out of all the other options available to...
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Sep 12, 2018
The post How to Install a WordPress SEO Plugin appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Ranking in the search engines can be a powerful way to grow your site. By using a WordPress hosting plan...
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Sep 12, 2018
The post Use Your Website Analytics to Prepare for Holiday Traffic appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you run an eCommerce store, it’s already time to be thinking about the holidays. The holiday season is exciting...
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Sep 12, 2018
The post Is WordPress Right for Your Business? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re here because you’re trying to decide if WordPress is the right tool to build your business website. It’s a...
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Sep 12, 2018
The post How To Copyright Your WordPress Blog appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’re probably already familiar with copyrights. You’ll generally find them at the bottom of most websites and apps. Still, if...
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Sep 12, 2018
The post Top 15 Web Design Trends 2018 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your average internet user may not notice it day by day, but web design trends are always changing. We can...
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Sep 05, 2018
The post Choosing the Best eCommerce Loyalty Program for Your Online Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
eCommerce Loyalty Programs: Why Your Online Store Needs One E-commerce is an easy way for small businesses to reach more customers, as long as you don’t lose them to big players like Amazon and Walmart. Amazon alone took in 44% of the e-commerce in the US in 2017. To compete with major retailers’ selection and […]
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Sep 05, 2018
The post Are HTML Email Coding Issues Killing Your Conversions? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What’s the Key to More Email Conversions? It Might Be Your HTML How’s email marketing going for your small business? If hardly anyone on your list is opening your emails and even fewer are clicking through, you’re probably wondering if your subject lines, copy, and images need work. They might. But there’s another possibility: You […]
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Sep 05, 2018
The post How to Write Your Small Business Case Study appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Write Your First Case Study for Your Small Business Website Case studies—business students analyze them, successful businesses feature them, and marketing experts say most businesses should have them. But how do you write them? The case study creation process is sometimes a big roadblock for small business owners, especially those who don’t have […]
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Sep 04, 2018
The post The #1 Way to Prepare Your Website for Holiday Traffic: Upgrade Your Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Is Your Site Prepared For Holiday Traffic? Time To Upgrade Your Hosting When you’re getting your online store ready for the holiday shopping season, there’s a lot to plan, like Black Friday deals, seasonal products, and marketing campaigns. Remember to include the store itself in your holiday prep, too. For customers to find and buy […]
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Aug 29, 2018
The post How To Promote Your New Website With PPC appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How To Promote Your New Website Using Search & Social PPC Your website’s up. You’re confident it’s awesome. But so far every time you check your analytics it’s just…crickets. You’re learning the hard lesson that everyone with a website faces early on: it’s hard to get your site in front of people on the overcrowded […]
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Aug 29, 2018
The post Why Should You Use a Website Builder? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Why Should You Use a Website Builder? Building a website doesn’t have to be intimidating. In the past, if you wanted a website you’d have to pay upfront for a website developer. Although this still might be the case for some kinds of projects, it’s not true for most website owner’s needs. Luckily, with the […]
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Aug 29, 2018
The post Finding the Best E-Commerce Marketplaces for Your Online Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Why Promote Your Online Store on E-Commerce Marketplaces? A website and an online store are musts for e-commerce, but they’re also only a good start. Industry analysts say small online retailers also need to establish a presence on multiple marketplaces to stay competitive and reach more potential customers. You have more marketplace options than you […]
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Aug 27, 2018
The post How to Avoid Shopping Cart Abandonment on Your eCommerce Site appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Shopping Cart Abandonment: The Bane of eCommerce If brick-and-mortar shoppers ditched carts full of stuff the way online shoppers do, most big box store checkout lines would be a deserted, impossible-to-navigate mess. Around 70% of eCommerce shopping carts with products in them are abandoned by shoppers before checkout. Why do shoppers do this, and how […]
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Aug 27, 2018
The post How to Make a Website Quickly: Your Easy 6-Step Guide appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Make a Website Quickly You’re here because you want to build a website, and you want to do it fast. Building a website used to require immense technical and development skills. But today, with the introduction of intuitive website builders you can create a website from scratch, in record time. If you don’t […]
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Aug 22, 2018
The post Using a Website Builder? Dive Into the Analytics appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do Website Builders Offer Analytics? You’ve built out your site and know people are using it. But, in the competitive online space simply building your website isn’t enough. You’ll need to constantly improve it to better meet the needs of your visitors. What’s the best way to do that? By diving into your analytics. Below […]
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Aug 22, 2018
The post How to Promote Your Blog on Snapchat appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Promote Your Blog on Snapchat You spend hours researching, writing, and editing the posts for your blog, and even more hours finding the right images to publish alongside them. Running a blog is definitely a labor of love, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want other people to find and appreciate the blog […]
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Aug 17, 2018
The post Why Is Structured Data Important For SEO? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Why Is Structured Data Important For SEO? You’ve been creating great content, optimizing your web pages, and building links. You thought you had all your SEO bases covered, but now you hear there’s something else you have to learn all about for SEO: structured data. SEO evolves and one of the biggest changes in recent […]
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Aug 15, 2018
The post Transferring a WordPress Site to HostGator, Step by Step appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Can You Expect When You Transfer Your WordPress Site to HostGator? ? Have you thought about getting new web hosting for your site but hesitate because you’re not super tech-savvy and you’re not sure what’s involved in making the switch? If that’s you, you’re in the right place. I migrated my WordPress site from […]
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Aug 15, 2018
The post What Is A Fully Qualified Domain Name? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Is A Fully Qualified Domain Name? In the landscape of domain names, there’s a lot going on. We have DNS records, top-level domains, second-level domains, sub-domains, and a lot more. There’s no shortage of confusing terminology that can trip up beginners. Luckily, you don’t need to know all of this to buy a domain […]
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Aug 13, 2018
The post 5 Ways to Turn Your Blog Into an Online Brand in 2018 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Ways to Go from Blog to Online Brand in 2018 When I look back at the past two decades, a lot of websites, blogs, and social media platforms play through my mind — especially those that I personally created and worked with. From the most simple days of basic HTML and static websites, to […]
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Aug 08, 2018
The post How to Build a Warp Speed Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Build a Warp Speed Website Perhaps you’ve already built your website, or maybe you’re just setting out to learn as much as you can before you hire a web design expert or marketing firm to build it for you. Either way, considering the investment of time and money you’ll put into your site, […]
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Aug 08, 2018
The post The 2018 Online Holiday Shopping Season: Is Your Ecommerce Site Ready? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Yes, It’s Already Time to Get Your Online Store Ready for the Holiday Shopping Season No matter how hot it is right now where you live, it’s time to start thinking about the winter holidays. That’s because you have several weeks to set the stage for strong Black Friday weekend sales. Now’s the time to […]
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Aug 08, 2018
The post 5 Ways To Redirect A Website URL appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Ways To Redirect A Website URL When you just get started online, everything is simpler. You only have a few pages of content. Your URL is straightforward, and you’re building some initial momentum. But, over time, your site grows more complex. You have more pages, posts, and URLs to deal with. You create pages […]
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Aug 06, 2018
The post The Basics Of Domain Redirects appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Basics Of Domain Redirects Domain redirects have a variety of purposes. If you’ve moved your website to a new domain, or have changed the URL structure of some of your pages, then it’s time to utilize a domain redirect. Knowing how to redirect a domain to another can be a very valuable skill in […]
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Aug 06, 2018
The post Your 7 Step Guide To Website Maintenance appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your 7 Step Guide To Website Maintenance Websites aren’t something you create once and then you’re done. You need to continue caring for them and do ongoing website maintenance to ensure they continue to do the job you need them to do. Once you’ve built your website and it’s up and running, make note of […]
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Aug 06, 2018
The post Benefits of WordPress As Your Content Management System appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Benefits of WordPress As Your Content Management System Setting up a new website is like setting up a new physical store. To help people find what you’re offering, you need to display your goods in a way that looks appealing, makes sense, and is easy for you to restock and update. In a retail store, […]
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Aug 01, 2018
The post Which Payment Methods Should Your Small Business Offer? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Choosing the Best Payment Methods for Your Small Business Your online store is filled with great merchandise, your social media accounts and ads are driving traffic to your site, and your mobile user experience is first-rate. So why aren’t more visitors buying what you’re selling? Maybe you’re not letting them pay the way they want […]
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Aug 01, 2018
The post 5 Tips to Get More Guest Blog Posts for Your Site appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Tips to Get More Guest Blog Posts for Your Site By accepting guest posts, your brand draws new attention to your site. Guest posting adds a variety of content to your blog and helps you develop meaningful relationships with bloggers. It is also an avenue to drive traffic and keep your readers engaged. “In […]
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Aug 01, 2018
The post Learn to Code from These 10 Places appeared first on HostGator Blog.
10 Places That Teach You How to Code Someone building a website today is lucky that it’s much easier to put together something that looks good and professional than it was in the early days of the web. You no longer have to become fluent in html or CSS in order to launch a website. […]
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Jul 27, 2018
The post How To Get Backlinks: The Beginner’s Guide to Link-Building appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Is Link Building? Once you launch a website and start working to figure out how to get found online, you’ll start to hear a lot about link building. Understanding what link building is and how to do it can go a long way toward making your website more visible online and more successful at […]
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Jul 26, 2018
The post 10 White-Hat Link-Building Strategies for Local Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
10 White-Hat Link-Building Strategies for Local Business When you own a small local business, you have to find the most affordable options for promoting and marketing your brand. Unfortunately, when it comes to SEO, that need can put you at risk. Many of the cheapest SEO companies employ black-hat techniques based around trying to game […]
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Jul 19, 2018
The post 5 Summer Tech Initiatives for Small Businesses appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Summer Tech Initiatives for Small Businesses The summer is a slow time of year for most businesses, with many customers and clients out enjoying the longer days and extended vacations. This makes summer the perfect time to implement new technology. With your business and employees less stressed by pressing deadlines and client demands, you […]
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Jul 19, 2018
The post 15 Creative Website Design Ideas appeared first on HostGator Blog.
15 Creative Website Design Ideas Have you ever clicked through to a website and immediately clicked away because you didn’t like what you saw? Maybe the website was too cluttered and it made the experience overwhelming. Maybe it looked like a website built in the 90’s and you worried the information would be out of […]
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Jul 17, 2018
The post How Do Search Engines Work? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
SEO 101: How Search Engines Work So much of your business depends on being visible in the search engines. You’d like to try to understand this thing that has so much power over your success. But figuring out how search engines work can be really confusing. And it’s not just you. There’s a whole industry […]
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Jul 17, 2018
The post Website Architecture: 6 Best Practices for SEO appeared first on HostGator Blog.
SEO 101: Best Practices for Website Architecture Some websites start simple with just a few pages and little by little over the years grow into something big, complicated, and unorganized. If you don’t take time to think about your site structure early on, it’s easy for your site to grow into something chaotic before you […]
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Jul 17, 2018
The post How to Write Title Tags for SEO: 5 Best Practices appeared first on HostGator Blog.
SEO 101: How to Write Compelling Title Tags One of the first things most website owners learn about SEO is how little power you truly have. A lot of what determines where your website’s pages will show up in the rankings is outside of your control. But those limitations make it all the more important […]
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Jul 17, 2018
The post What’s the Best URL Structure for SEO? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
SEO 101: What’s the Best URL Structure for SEO? Many of your visitors will come to your website by clicking on a link, so you may wonder if it really matters what’s in the actual URL of a specific page. It may surprise you to know that when it comes to on-site SEO, what your […]
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Jul 17, 2018
The post How to Write the Best Meta Descriptions for SEO appeared first on HostGator Blog.
SEO 101: Writing the Best Meta Descriptions In our first post about SEO Basics, we talked a bit about the different search engine ranking factors. Now we’re going to go a little bit in a different direction to talk about meta descriptions. ? What Is a Meta Description? Meta descriptions are the most important part […]
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Jul 10, 2018
The post 7 Tips For Creating Landing Page Content That Actually Converts appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How To Create Landing Page Content That Actually Converts Creating a well-optimized landing page for your company website, eCommerce store or blog can be tricky. Depending on your niche and the audience you built up, chances are that your landing page already has a stable design solution. However, you may find that even if your […]
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Jul 09, 2018
The post 12 Link Building Ideas for eCommerce Sites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
12 Link Building Strategies for eCommerce Sites Link building is hard. That statement is simple, but the truth behind it is complicated. You know you need to get links from other websites – high-authority, relevant websites, no less – for your website to do well enough in the search engines for your customers to find […]
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Jul 09, 2018
The post 15 Best Social Media Blogs for Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Best Blogs for Business Social Media Help Social media can be both a productivity killer and an important business tool – it all depends on how you use it. At this point, your customers expect you to be on social media. But using social media to represent a business brand effectively is an ongoing […]
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Jul 05, 2018
The post 10 Tips for Creating Great Blog Titles appeared first on HostGator Blog.
10 Tips for Creating Great Blog Titles You probably spend a lot of time creating the content you publish on your blog. Obviously, creating great content is important if you’re going to get the most out of having a business blog, but people won’t bother reading the content you create unless you also nail the […]
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Jun 28, 2018
The post 5 Best WordPress Calendar Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Best WordPress Calendar Plugins Calendar plugins can be a very useful addition to your WordPress site. You can help to showcase your live events, manage bookings, and a lot more. Some plugins are better suited for managing your events, while others offer complex booking and scheduling options. Luckily, running WordPress means you have a ton […]
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Jun 20, 2018
The post 3 Digital Security Tips for Your Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
3 Simple Tips to Keep Your SMB’s Digital Assets Secure While most news stations report only on the attacks and data breaches of large organizations, your small business is just as much at risk, if not more. In 2017, 61 percent of SMBs have experienced an attack and 54 percent have experienced a data breach, […]
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Jun 18, 2018
The post How To Find Out Who The Domain Owner Is appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How To Find Out Who The Domain Owner Is Choosing a domain name is the first step in launching your dream website. However, choosing the perfect domain name can be a lengthy process. You’ve spent time brainstorming domain names, and you’ve finally found the perfect one. You go to register your domain and find that […]
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Jun 18, 2018
The post How To Use WordPress User Roles To Improve Security appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How To Use WordPress User Roles To Improve Security If you’re just a single person running your site, then you probably haven’t thought twice about WordPress user roles. However, if you ever want to give someone else access to your site, now or into the future, then knowing how to use these is paramount. Essentially, […]
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Jun 18, 2018
The post Why Your Business Should Be Using A Virus Removal Tool appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Why Your Small Business Should Be Using a Virus Removal Tool As a small business owner, you need to take steps to protect your business. We’re not just talking about insurance or even legal stuff, but something else entirely—your business website. If your website isn’t properly protected you’re leaving yourself susceptible to viruses that can […]
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Jun 18, 2018
The post Benefits of Using A Website Security Checker appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Benefits of Using A Website Security Checker Website security isn’t usually something we think about until it’s too late. Think of securing your website like securing your home. Things like locks, security cameras, and alarm systems help to keep you protected. The same can be said for your website. By using a website security checker […]
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Jun 13, 2018
The post A Guide To Conducting A Website Safety Check appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A Guide To Conducting A Website Safety Check Most people will think that hacking will never happen to their website until it does. Most people only think about their site’s security once their site has been compromised. But, security is something you’ll want to take seriously from the beginning. You never know when hackers could […]
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Jun 13, 2018
The post 5 Reasons To Shorten Your URL Structure appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Reasons To Shorten Your URLs Your URL is one of the most fundamental aspects of your SEO. However, it’s such a small task it can be easy to overlook. Chances are you’ve come across a website where the URL screamed spam, but it was just a regular site. Or, maybe you haven’t taken the […]
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Jun 13, 2018
The post Introduction to Social Analytics [FREE Ebook] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Free Ebook: Introduction to Social Analytics You know it’s important for your business to have a presence on social media, but figuring out what you’re doing on there is an ongoing challenge. Each social media platform is unique and requires its own approach and strategy. And no matter what you do when you’re just starting […]
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Jun 13, 2018
The post The 7 Best Domain Name Suggestion Tools appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Best Domain Name Suggestion Tools Maybe you’ve come up with the perfect domain name. You’re unbelievably excited until you head over to a domain name registrar and find that your dream domain is gone. Choosing the right domain name is the first step in building your new site. But, it isn’t as easy as it […]
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Jun 13, 2018
The post How Much Is My Website Worth? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Much Is My Website Worth – Knowing When To Sell You’ve put a lot of time and energy into your website. After another long day of typing away at your keyboard and working away at your website, you’re probably wondering, what’s the end goal? Some people create websites for the love of it, or […]
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Jun 07, 2018
The post 10 Things You Can Do With Google Search Console appeared first on HostGator Blog.
10 Things You Can Do With Google Search Console If you have a website, Google’s free webmaster tools are invaluable resources that you should be taking advantage of. Chances are, you already know about and regularly use Google Analytics, but if you haven’t yet, you should add Google Search Console to your list of go-to […]
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Jun 07, 2018
The post 8 Fun Summer Promotion Ideas for Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Make the Most of Summer with These Fun Promotion Ideas Unless you sell swimwear or ice cream, your small business may see a drop in sales over the summer. Consumer spending on things besides travel tends to slack off during the hottest months, but you can encourage your current customers to come shop with you […]
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Jun 04, 2018
The post Networking for Bloggers: 4 Tips for Success appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Network Like Your Blog Depends On It Networking can be daunting for bloggers because it takes time, energy, and a certain amount of extroversion at a time when you need those things to create your content. But networking is essential, not only for building an audience but also for developing a peer group to help […]
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Jun 04, 2018
The post 4 Types Of Videos Every Business Should Feature On Their Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Types Of Videos Every Business Should Have On Their Website You’ve put together a pretty good first website for your business, and it’s doing OK. Visitors stick around, browse your store or view your portfolio, and contact you or make purchases. It’s a good start, for sure. But what if you want more customers, […]
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May 31, 2018
The post FAQ Pages: What Every New Business Should Include appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Every New Business Should Include on Their FAQ Page One of the most frequently asked questions about frequently asked questions is “What should I include on my FAQ page?” The obvious answer is also the least useful one, because a well-written, properly formatted FAQ page can do much more for a small or new […]
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May 28, 2018
The post 5 Excellent Influencer Marketing Ideas for Any E-commerce Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Influencer Marketing Ideas for Your E-commerce Store Influencer marketing is a strategy worth trying for e-commerce stores. With tough competition and a global market, brands are seeking new ways to turn hesitant shoppers into loyal customers. That’s why store owners are investing heavily in influencer marketing. “Significantly, the success of influencer marketing has occurred […]
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May 24, 2018
The post HostGator 2019 Technology Scholarship appeared first on HostGator Blog.
HostGator’s Annual Scholarship Each school semester, HostGator aims to help college students achieve their goals of graduating and entering the professional world. In fact, HostGator was founded in a college dorm room back in 2002, so we understand the importance and the impact students can make in the world. That’s why we’re so excited to […]
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May 22, 2018
The post What’s a Progressive Web App, and Does Your Site Need One? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Why So Many Sites Are Building Progressive Web Apps Remember a couple of years ago when everyone was telling site owners to implement responsive design for smartphone users? Responsive design still matters, but the mobile-usability goalposts are moving toward progressive web apps (PWAs). What are PWAs? PWAs occupy the space between desktopssites with responsive mobile […]
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May 22, 2018
The post How Your Online Store Can Reach Millennial Shoppers By Reviewing Your Pricing appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Why Now Is a Good Time to Review Your Online Store’s Product Mix and Pricing Millennials are upgrading their lifestyles. Is your store ready to help them do it? Shoppers age 20-36, as we mentioned in our future of e-commerce post, are driving growth in luxury online retail sales. In the US, Europe, and China, […]
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May 22, 2018
The post What Do I Need to Start a Blog? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Follow This Checklist for Starting Your Blog You’ve decided to join the ranks of the world’s bloggers. That’s a great idea. A blog can bring so many benefits. But now you have to figure out how to get started. Here are the main steps you need to take to start a blog. First, do you […]
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May 22, 2018
The post The Small Business Guide to Performing Market Research appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Market Research 101 for Small Businesses “Do your market research” is standard advice to people thinking about starting a business. But what does that really mean, and can you afford it? The good news is, there’s a lot of useful free market data—although you may have to get reacquainted with your local library to access […]
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May 18, 2018
The post HTTPS for WordPress: Why and How to Add It To Your Site appeared first on HostGator Blog.
HTTPS for Your WordPress Site Switching your site over to HTTPS is important in a lot of ways. It’ll not only improve your search engine rankings, but it’ll encrypt any data that’s being transferred from your user’s browser to your server. Overall, you’ll improve your site’s security, trustworthiness, and make your website look good in […]
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May 11, 2018
The post 10 Ways to Optimize Your Blog Posts for SEO appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Optimize Your Blog Posts for SEO Blogging for SEO is pretty much a no brainer. Publishing regular blog posts gives you opportunities to target a large number of long-tail keywords, keeps people on your website longer, and gives other websites something to link back to. Getting your blog up and producing content for […]
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May 11, 2018
The post Networking for Small Business: 4 Things You Need to Know appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Network Like Your Small Business Depends On It Networking can be daunting for small business owners because it takes time, energy, and a certain amount of extroversion if you’re meeting people in person. But networking is essential for connecting with prospects and building a peer group to help you work through business decisions, […]
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May 11, 2018
The post Inspirational Quotes about Blogging, Websites, and Online Entrepreneurship appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Inspirational Quotes for Bloggers and Online Entrepreneurs “The right quote can inspire people to change their ways.” – Zig Ziglar Whether you’re starting your own blog, a new website, or an online store, there are going to be some rough patches, and at times it can be hard to stay motivated. Prevent writer’s block. Stop […]
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May 11, 2018
The post 7 Best WordPress Backup Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Best WordPress Backup Plugins Chances are you’ve spent a lot of time building and tweaking your website, from theme customizations to setting up plugins, creating pages, writing posts, and adding images. What would happen to you if all this data were lost? Would you have a backup to restore from? Or, would you have to […]
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May 11, 2018
The post Customer Testimonials: Why Your Small Business Needs Them appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Why Customer Testimonials Matter for Small Business Prospective customers want to know what other people think of your business before they hand you their cash or their card number. That’s where customer testimonials come in. Done right, testimonials on your website and social media channels provide social proof, raise conversion rates, and even help promote […]
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May 07, 2018
The post WP Gutenberg as a Site Builder: Is It the Right Choice for Building Your Site? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
WordPress Gutenberg as a Site Builder: Is It the Right Choice for Your Site? The WordPress Gutenberg update will change how pages and posts are created within WordPress. Gutenberg will add page-builder functionality to the backend of every WordPress site. The overarching goal is to simplify and improve the content creation experience. The current rollout […]
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May 07, 2018
The post 10 Awesome Link Building Ideas for Blogs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Link Building Ideas for Bloggers Whether your blog is a marketing tool for your brand or a personal blog you started to share your passion, you want people to see it. For all the work you put into writing and editing regular posts and finding just the right images to put alongside them to pay […]
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May 07, 2018
The post 5 Ways Facebook Insights Can Help You Write Better Blogs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Use Facebook Insights to Improve Your Blog One of the most important steps to building a successful blog is creating content that your audience is truly interested in. Typically, this includes blog posts that solve problems and provide valuable information. According to HubSpot, 47% consumers view 3 to 5 blog posts before getting […]
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Apr 30, 2018
The post Does the Type of Web Hosting You Choose Affect Your SEO? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Can Your Web Hosting Plan Affect SEO? When it comes to SEO, the details matter a lot. One of those details that’s commonly neglected is your choice of web host. Usually, it’s the last thing that people think about. However, the type of hosting you’re using can have a big impact on your rankings. The […]
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Apr 30, 2018
The post GDPR: What You Need to Know and How HostGator Helps You Comply appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Businesses, large and small, are in the midst of preparing for compliance with the European Union’s (EU) new data privacy laws: The General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR, which will go into effect on May 25, 2018. The GDPR is very broad in scope and can apply to businesses both in and outside of […]
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Apr 30, 2018
The post What Is a Managed WordPress Site? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Is a Managed WordPress Site? A managed WordPress site is one that’s hosted on a managed WordPress host. Essentially, you’ll be outsourcing the hosting of your site to a team of WordPress experts. If you run a high-traffic WordPress site, then going with a WordPress managed host could be a great option for you. […]
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Apr 30, 2018
The post Advanced SEO Tips for Bloggers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Advanced SEO Tips for Bloggers If you wanted to write for yourself, you could keep a journal. You blog because you want other people to connect with what you have to say, or because you know it’s a valuable way to promote your website. Either way, you need other people to find you. You already […]
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Apr 20, 2018
The post 5 Ways to Make Your B2B Brand Fun on Social appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Excellent Examples of Social Media for B2B Social media is the ultimate online hangout for consumers. On any given day, you’ll see people sharing the latest trends and products with their friends. It’s also an effective way for companies, big and small, to highlight their brand personality. And while B2C brands shine the most […]
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Apr 20, 2018
The post 5 Ideas To Create Social Media Content Your Customers Will Love appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Create Social Media Content That Your Customers Actually Like Most businesses share content without thinking about whether it will resonate with their customers. They focus on promoting their products and get stuck in a rut of selling 24/7. Those companies miss an essential point of marketing—thinking of your customers, not yourself. You’ll want […]
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Apr 16, 2018
The post Launch Your Online Store with This 5-Step Plan appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Steps to a Successful Online Store Launch Ready to open your online store? With all the excitement for the official launch, it’s important that you take time to map out your plan. You want to be ready to serve customers on day 1 (with little or no issues). Everything won’t be perfect, but the […]
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Apr 16, 2018
The post How to Add Google Fonts to Your WordPress Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Is Your Site Using the Right Font? Thanks to the growing number of mobile internet users, finding the right font has become a big project for site designers, publishers, and retailers. The BBC and the Guardian have recently debuted new bespoke fonts designed to be easier to read on phones—and save the companies money on […]
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Apr 12, 2018
The post 5 Live Social Video Ideas for Small Businesses appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Social Live Video Ideas from 5 Successful Brands Live social video is essential for marketing teams. With irrelevant messages consuming customers’ attention, your team needs content that will stand out from the rest. And that’s where live social video becomes valuable to your small business. “Live streaming videos give you the chance to attract a […]
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Apr 03, 2018
The post Your Web Hosting Checklist: How To Choose the Right Plan and Host appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Review This Checklist Before Choosing Your New Web Hosting Provider Whether you’re launching a new website or thinking about switching to a new plan for the one you already have, browsing web hosting packages can be overwhelming. There are so many different types of packages and features that it’s hard to truly understand what makes […]
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Mar 27, 2018
The post 5 Internet Easter Eggs Hidden By Your Favorite Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 of Our Favorite Easter Eggs Hidden on the Internet Easter egg hunts aren’t just offline. When it comes to having fun, there’s enough room to spread the excitement online. But in a different way. In this case, Easter eggs are hidden messages or secret features embedded in your favorite products or websites. Some are […]
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Mar 26, 2018
The post What Is A Website Builder? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Is A Website Builder? There are a lot of terms to pick up when you’re learning how to set up a website for your business or your blog. Even if you know what a web host, CMS, and SEO are, “website builder” can be a bit confusing. Does that refer to a web designer […]
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Mar 22, 2018
The post Beyond the Basics: Advanced SEO Tips for Businesses [EBOOK] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Take a Deeper Dive into Search Engine Optimization What’s the point in having a website nobody can find? If you want people to actually see the website you’ve put so much work into, SEO’s an important part of getting it in front of them. But you probably already knew that much. You’re not a total […]
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Mar 22, 2018
The post What You Need To Know About Gutenberg appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What You Need to Know About Gutenberg If you’re in tune with the latest WordPress developments, then chances are you’ve heard of Gutenberg. This editor is set to replace the current backend editor. It’s currently going through beta testing and exists in plugin form, for those who want to get used to the editor before […]
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Mar 12, 2018
The post What Is A Mobile Friendly Website? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Is A Mobile Friendly Website? Spend some time researching how to build a website and you’ll see terms like mobile-optimized, mobile-friendly, and “mobile first.” Mobile is a hot topic in website design because we do most of our searching and a lot of our shopping on our phones now, but most websites were built […]
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Mar 05, 2018
The post VPS vs. Cloud Hosting for Your New Website? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Cloud Hosting vs VPS When the time comes to choose your web host you’re probably going to have a ton of questions. Hosting can seem a little complicated. You have cloud hosting, shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers and you have dozens of hosting companies to choose from as well. Yikes! With this post, we […]
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Mar 05, 2018
The post What are the Differences Between the HostGator Customer Portal and cPanel? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You may have heard by now, or even noticed that the HostGator Customer Portal is changing both its look and its navigation! While this new experience will bring enhanced features, your favorite functionalities will still be accessible. With this update you can expect a simplified navigation, mobile-friendly design, advanced hosting dashboard and a smooth cPanel […]
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Feb 28, 2018
The post What Is Private Cloud Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Is Private Cloud Hosting? More and more businesses are turning to cloud-based solutions for their hosting needs. Two of the main types of cloud hosting include public cloud and private cloud hosting. Public cloud is the most common form of cloud hosting, however, private cloud hosting does have a specific purpose, which you’ll learn […]
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Feb 28, 2018
The post What is Public Cloud Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What is Public Cloud Hosting? If you’ve been deciding which kind of cloud hosting is best for your business, then you’ve probably come across public cloud hosting and private cloud hosting. Public cloud hosting is the most recognizable model of cloud hosting and will probably be the best fit for most website owners. However, private […]
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Feb 27, 2018
The post Understanding Cloud Hosting Security appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Understanding Cloud Hosting Security Cloud hosting is just as secure as any other style of hosting. However, it’s gotten a bad rap due to the criticism of virtualized technologies in the past. When things started moving towards the cloud there was a lot of fear related to this new technology, as businesses couldn’t part with […]
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Feb 27, 2018
The post How Cloud Hosting Pricing Works appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Breaking Down How Cloud Hosting Pricing Works Cloud hosting is a relatively new style of hosting that’s starting to pop up everywhere. It stands as an alternative to standard hosting environments and is well suited towards sites that are looking to scale, or demand flexibility in their hosting setup. However, a lot of people decide […]
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Feb 27, 2018
The post Cloud Hosting vs Web Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Cloud Hosting vs Web Hosting – Which Is Best? In order to have a functioning website, you’re going to need some kind of hosting. The hosting you choose will depend on your unique needs as a website owner. You’re probably wondering what style of hosting is right for you and have been considering cloud hosting […]
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Feb 21, 2018
The post 5 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block Like a Pro appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Bloggers Can Defeat Writer’s Block Writing isn’t simple. It takes time and involves lots of conscious thinking. And as a blogger, you can feel stuck in a rut. Sometimes you probably get frustrated at the thought of crafting another blog post. That’s okay. Many bloggers like yourself struggle with writer’s block. Henneke Duistermaat, a […]
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Feb 21, 2018
The post Having Problems Publishing Your Website? Try These 5 Things appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Having Problems Publishing Your Website? Here’s How to Diagnose the Issue Running into a website error when publishing your website can be pretty stressful. You followed the steps to get your website online, but whenever you type in your domain name nothing comes up. Luckily, most problems surrounding your website can be pretty easy to […]
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Feb 16, 2018
The post 4 Strategies to Turn Social Media Users Into Leads and Customers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Here’s How To Make Customers Out of Your Social Media Fans Wondering whether your social media marketing investment is paying off? Your potential customers are already spending hours on social media. If you’re not investing in social media marketing, you’re missing out on a cool opportunity to attract leads and customers. Let’s take a look […]
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Feb 16, 2018
The post The 20 Best Free WordPress Themes appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Free WordPress Theme Roundup So, you’ve installed WordPress and you’re ready to start building your site. But, with the thousands upon thousands of themes to choose from, where do you start? We’ve heard this question too many times to count, so instead of referring people to yet another theme marketplace, we decided to compile some […]
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Feb 13, 2018
The post Want More Site Visitors? Step Up Your Voice Search Game appeared first on HostGator Blog.
4 Ways to Improve Your SEO for Voice Search There was once a time, pre-internet, when sitting at home or in your car asking questions of no one was considered odd. Now it’s the next great iteration in internet search. Echo and Google Home-style devices are trendy, and surging mobile use means more people want […]
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Feb 07, 2018
The post 5 Ways to Add Social Media to Your WordPress Website or Blog appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Add Social Media to Your WordPress Website Making your site easily shareable across social media is pretty important. The last thing you want to do is make your readers go through a series of steps just to share your work across social media. Plus, including social media sharing buttons across your blog will […]
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Feb 07, 2018
The post 5 Ways To Convert Organic Traffic Into Loyal Customers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Turn Your Organic Site Visitors Into Loyal Customers You’re getting quality traffic to your e-commerce store. Now what? As a small business owner, you’re tasked with turning those visitors into customers. It’s up to you to woo consumers into purchasing your latest products. While it may sound difficult, don’t panic. Matt Ackerson, founder […]
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Feb 04, 2018
The post 10 Tech Stories To Keep An Eye On This February appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Top Tech News of February 2018 A new month means a new batch of tech news. For professionals who know that changes in the tech world influence your business, but have trouble staying on top of it all on your own, we bring you our monthly roundup of tech news to keep an eye […]
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Feb 02, 2018
The post The Top 15 Most Popular WordPress Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Are the Most Popular WordPress Plugins? WordPress plugins are a great way to increase the functionality of your website and easily add additional features. There are thousands of different plugins for you to choose from. In fact, the WordPress plugin repository has over 45,000 different plugins available. So, how do you know which ones […]
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Jan 31, 2018
The post 7 Heartfelt Valentine’s Day Content Ideas Your Website Visitors Will Love appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Valentine’s Day Content Ideas for Blogs and Websites You may feel like you’re still recovering from the biggest shopping holiday of the year, but it’s already time to prepare for the next one. With Valentine’s Day coming up, your marketing team should switch back into full gear to capture some of the $18.9 billion people […]
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Jan 31, 2018
The post 8 Valentine’s Day Marketing Ideas for Your E-Commerce Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Prep Your E-commerce Site for Valentine’s Day Any holiday associated with gift giving presents opportunities for e-commerce businesses. Valentine’s Day is no exception. People spend a total of $18.9 billion for Valentine’s Day gifts and celebrations, with each person spending around $100-$200 a piece to please their loved one. If any of the products you […]
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Jan 29, 2018
The post Does Shared Hosting Affect Your SEO? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Is Shared Hosting Bad for SEO? Choosing the right web host is a very important decision in the life of your website. Choose the wrong host or the wrong hosting plan and you’ll make it that much more difficult for your website to succeed. Now, going with a shared hosting package isn’t necessarily going to […]
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Jan 29, 2018
The post 7 Essential SEO Tips for Any E-Commerce Site appeared first on HostGator Blog.
7 SEO Tips for Your E-commerce Site Any business that makes money through its website has to make SEO a priority. Showing up in the search engines when someone’s looking for what you sell is quite simply one of the best ways to make sure customers can find you. But those spots on page one […]
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Jan 29, 2018
The post Choose a Website Theme with HostGator appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Introducing HostGator’s Website Builder Themes and Templates When the time comes to build your website you’re going to have a lot of different options to choose from. If you currently use HostGator hosting, then one of those options is going to be using the HostGator website builder. This beginner-oriented tool will help you quickly and […]
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Jan 26, 2018
The post The ABCs of SEO: A Beginner’s Guide to SEO [E-Book] appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Planning a Website? Test Your SEO Basics Know-How [E-Book] Setting up a new website can feel like a test, especially if you don’t have experience in coding or design. Fortunately, platforms like WordPress and tools like HostGator’s Website Builder make it easy to get your site up and running. After that comes the next test: […]
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Jan 23, 2018
The post 7 Marketing Goals for Your E-commerce Website This Year appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Define Your 2018 E-commerce Marketing Goals The online world moves fast. Each year, it’s a good idea to consider the goals you have for your website to see if they need some updating. For an e-commerce website, some goals will always stay consistent, but others will evolve or change completely year by year. This year, […]
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Jan 23, 2018
The post Losing Traffic? 10 Tips to Boost SEO and Start the New Year Right appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Losing Traffic? 10 Tips to Boost SEO and Start the New Year Right Are you seeing a decline in your website traffic no matter how many blog posts you produce? Would you like to optimize your website for Google without spending any money on marketing agencies? Then you came to the right place. There are […]
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Jan 19, 2018
The post 10 SEO Mistakes You Are Making Right Now appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Are You Making These Common SEO Mistakes? SEO mistakes don’t just waste your time; they hurt you. Many websites have found themselves the victims of a Google penalty, which means a big drop in search engine rankings and a lot of work to get back on Google’s good side. Whether you’re doing SEO yourself or […]
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Jan 18, 2018
The post 7 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Google Analytics appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Why Use Google Analytics? If you have a website, you should be using Google Analytics. There are no exceptions here – it’s a useful and important tool for every website owner. One of the first things we recommend website owners do when launching a new site is get tracking set up for Google Analytics. But […]
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Jan 18, 2018
The post New Year, New Look: 2018 Web Design Tips for Your Site appeared first on HostGator Blog.
10 Tips for Web Design in 2018 While there may be some constants in the world of design, what works best in web design often changes. The typical website style of the 1990’s looks outdated today and some current trends inspired by the rise of mobile would be completely confusing to web users of 2000. […]
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Jan 18, 2018
The post What You Need to Know About Social Media in 2018 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
7 Predictions for Social Media in 2018 Remember when Facebook seemed like something no one above the age of 30 would care about, or when you’d never even heard the word “Snapchat” before? The social media world moves fast and often the changes that we see fly in the face of what people could have […]
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Jan 15, 2018
The post How to Implement Rich Snippets for E-commerce Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Implement Rich Snippets for E-commerce Websites SEO is competitive, especially for online businesses. Everyone’s working hard to try to stand out in the search results, and every day it just gets harder. Yet only about 17% of marketers are taking advantage of a resource that can quickly help you stand out in the […]
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Jan 15, 2018
The post 5 Facts About Featured Snippets, Plus 5 Strategies to Rank for Them appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Do You Get Featured Snippets for Your Website? If you’ve had your website for a while, then you know there was a time when everyone doing SEO was concerned with aiming for those top few spots in Google. If you could be one of the top two or three links in the Google listing […]
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Jan 15, 2018
The post Understanding Google Rich Results, From Snippets to Schema appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Are Google Rich Results and How Do They Affect SEO? If you use Google much (and most of us do), you’ve probably started to notice a real change in the search results. Where once there was a list of links (some of the ones up top paid for), there’s now a mix of links, […]
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Jan 10, 2018
The post HostGator Announces 2018 Scholarship Winners appeared first on HostGator Blog.
We just wrapped up our second inaugural scholarship and are excited to announce the winners! We had over 200 applicants from colleges and universities across the country who answered the question, “How has the internet impacted your education?” Three winners were chosen to receive a $1,500 scholarship to be used towards their education expenses. Our […]
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Jan 08, 2018
The post Plan Now for 2018 USPS, UPS, FedEx Shipping Rate Hikes appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Will the New Shipping Rate Increases Affect Your Business? There’s no way around it: shipping is going to cost more this year. All three major shipping carriers in the US—the US Postal Service, FedEx, and UPS—are hiking rates in 2018. In fact, UPS got a jump on the new year by implementing its new […]
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Jan 04, 2018
The post How To Optimize Your Images For SEO In 3 Simple Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your 3-Step Checklist for Image SEO Search Engine Optimization (SEO) works to bring your website more relevant traffic and closer to the number one slot on major search engines. Without SEO your company website is likely to drown at the bottom of a million other websites selling similar products and services. When people hear “SEO,” […]
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Jan 02, 2018
The post What’s the Future of Email Marketing in 2018? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Does the Future of (Your) Email Marketing Look Like? How’s your 2018 email marketing plan looking? If you don’t have one yet, now’s the time to start planning so that you’re ready to run more effective campaigns as soon as the holiday season ends. We’ve rounded up some of the most promising trends and […]
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Jan 02, 2018
The post What’s the Future of E-Commerce? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Predictions for the Future of (Your) E-Commerce What will 2018 look like for your online business? Now’s the time to think about your goals for the year ahead and to plan for new challenges your business will face. What will your customers expect, and how can you stay competitive? Take a look at these […]
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Jan 02, 2018
The post The Future of Blogging appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What’s New in Blogging for 2018? What are your New Year’s resolutions for your blog? For many bloggers, more sales and more readers are at the top of the wish list. If that’s you, 2018 could be your year. That’s because many of the top blogging trends for the year ahead are not only going […]
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Jan 02, 2018
The post The Future of Websites: Predictions for 2018 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Will Websites Look Like In The Future? Is your website ready for 2018? The approach of a new year always brings out the trend forecasts, and 2018 is looking like a year that will deliver some big and long-overdue changes to the way websites function. That’s because more and more web traffic is mobile […]
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Dec 21, 2017
The post 2018 New Year’s Resolutions for E-commerce appeared first on HostGator Blog.
10 New Year’s Resolutions for E-commerce Sites You’re wrapping up the busiest time of year. You do deserve a rest, but it can only last so long. 2018’s about to start and the beginning of a New Year is the best time to sit down and figure out all the things you need to do […]
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Dec 21, 2017
The post 2018 New Year’s Resolutions for Affiliate Marketers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
8 New Year’s Resolutions for Affiliate Marketers The beginning of a new year is always a good time to think about ways to improve. As affiliate marketing continues to grow in popularity each year, affiliate marketers have to do more to stay competitive and keep your content relevant and profitable. As we move into 2018, […]
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Dec 21, 2017
The post 2018 New Year’s Resolutions for Small Business Owners appeared first on HostGator Blog.
10 New Year’s Resolutions for Small Business Owners Congratulations! Your business has made it through another year intact. When you’re a small business owner, that’s no small feat. But even if last year was your best yet (and especially if it wasn’t), you know there’s always room to be better. The end of a year […]
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Dec 18, 2017
The post SEO in 2018: 4 Things You Need to Know appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What You Need To Know About SEO In 2018 It’s the time of year when most of us set fresh goals for our websites, whether we’re blogging, promoting our professional services, selling goods, or some combination of those activities. It’s also a good time to make sure the foundations of your search-results presence are still […]
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Dec 18, 2017
The post 2018 SEO Refresh: Best Practices for Your SEO Strategy This Year appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your SEO Refresh Plan: Top Recommendations and Best Practices for 2018 For as long as Google’s been a widely used verb, SEO has been one of the most important marketing tools available to businesses of all types and sizes. That’s not a fact that’s likely to change anytime soon. Even for purchases made in a […]
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Dec 18, 2017
The post 2018 New Year’s Resolutions for Website Owners appeared first on HostGator Blog.
10 New Year’s Resolutions for Website Owners Whether you own a website to promote a business or to share your thoughts with the world, maintaining it takes a lot of work – especially if you want it to reach a lot of people and keep them coming back. It can be easy after a while […]
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Dec 18, 2017
The post Our Top Blogs of the Year appeared first on HostGator Blog.
HostGator’s Most Popular Blog Posts of 2017 It’s the end of the year… that special time we spend spreading holiday cheer with friends and family, reflecting on cherished memories from another year gone by, and, of course, reading “Best of 2017” round up blog posts online. Here’s our list of HostGator’s top blog posts of […]
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Dec 18, 2017
The post The Business Guide to Advertising on Instagram appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Instagram Advertising Guide Instagram is now one of the main social media players, but one that some brands may still not be entirely familiar with. In spite of the image-driven platform’s huge popularity, we still hear a lot more about Facebook and Twitter. For a lot of brands though, Instagram is a place you should […]
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Dec 18, 2017
The post 7 Top WordPress Hosting FAQ Answered appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Top WordPress Hosting FAQ If your site currently runs on WordPress, then you’re probably in the market for a hosting environment that caters to WordPress. Managed WordPress hosting is a relatively new development and caters to sites that only run on WordPress. Still, this kind of hosting isn’t going to be the best fit for […]
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Dec 18, 2017
The post 2018 New Year’s Resolutions for Bloggers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
10 New Year’s Resolutions for Bloggers The beginning of a new year is a good time to look back on the year before and find ways to be better. And when you’re a blogger, there are always ways to be better. One good thing about blogging is that the fact of doing the same thing […]
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Dec 18, 2017
The post 6 Email Marketing Best Practices (And How to Implement Them) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Email Marketing Do’s and Don’ts Avoiding spam filters, figuring out the best times to send an email to your subscribers, implementing email segmentation… there’s a lot to learn about email marketing when you’re first starting out. But, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Email marketing is a medium that requires careful management. You can’t just […]
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Dec 14, 2017
The post Get Inspired By These 7 Internet Entrepreneurs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
7 Successful Entrepreneurs Who Got Started Online As an online entrepreneur, you can always benefit from more inspiration and motivation. As Tony Robbins says, “success leaves clues.” By looking at and learning from the successes of others we can all shorten our success curves and reach our goals much faster. Below we profile seven top […]
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Dec 11, 2017
The post Chatbots vs. Live Chat: Pros and Cons appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Should Your Website Use Chatbots or Live Chat? Chatbots and live chat continue to rise in popularity. It makes sense: smart companies are looking for ways to continuously improve customer experience, and offering improved customer support is a great way to do just that. But, which option is best suited for your business? Chatbots or […]
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Nov 08, 2017
The post A 5-Step Marketing Plan for Your New Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Create a Marketing Plan for Your New Website You finished creating your website and have launched! That’s a big deal. But if you thought the hard part was over, think again. Creating your website is a huge step, but if you actually want people to see it, then you need to get to […]
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Nov 08, 2017
The post 5 Tips to Reduce Your Email Bounce Rates appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Stop Bounce Back Emails With These 5 Tips Business managers often discuss email list management once it’s too late. It’s easy for teams to get so bogged down with nurturing their customers that they forget to monitor the overall health of their lists. So, they keep sending emails and only focus on their sales. However, […]
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Nov 08, 2017
The post How Can I Promote My Website On Facebook? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Use Facebook to Market Your Website Facebook now has over 2 billion users, and over a billion of them visit the site every day – sometimes multiple times a day. Within the last couple of years, choosing not to be on Facebook has become an eccentricity. Across demographics, it’s the place online to […]
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Nov 07, 2017
The post Why Backing Up Your Website Is So Important appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve heard a lot of talk about the importance of backing up your hard drive just in case something should happen to your computer. There are few things more painful than knowing that all of your precious files have been lost forever. The same holds true for websites. It seems like every day there is […]
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Nov 06, 2017
The post The Top Tech News for November 2017 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Top Tech Trends for November As we move into the holiday season, you may be too focused on the biggest buying (and marketing) time of year to stay on top of technology news. Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Here are the main tech news stories that should be on your radar moving into November. […]
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Nov 06, 2017
The post Choosing the Best WordPress Theme for Your New Blog appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Choose a WordPress Theme for Your New Blog Choosing the right WordPress theme for your site is a very important step in the site building process. Choose the wrong theme and you’ll end up with a design you’re unsatisfied with and a site that doesn’t help you reach your goals. But, where do […]
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Oct 31, 2017
The post Getting Started With Twitter Advertising: A Guide for Businesses appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Twitter Advertising Guide Twitter’s become a big part of our lives. Tweets now regularly receive news coverage, friendships begin on the platform, and brands are both expected to have an active presence on Twitter and be quick to respond to any messages people send on the platform. Twitter is no longer optional for most businesses. […]
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Oct 31, 2017
The post 6 Common Questions About Shared Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Top Shared Hosting FAQ Shared hosting is one of the most commonly used forms of hosting. It’s most frequently used by beginners who are looking to get their first sites online in the easiest manner possible. In fact, most website owners end up using shared hosting for at least a little while throughout their site’s […]
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Oct 31, 2017
The post Top 5 Tips for a Successful Blog Content Marketing Strategy appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Creating a Content Marketing Strategy for Your Blog Blogging is a great way to build awareness for a business. But, you can’t just launch a blog and publish random articles hoping it will increase your sales. You need a proper plan for that. Reports show that blogging help generates 67% more leads for B2B marketers. […]
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Oct 31, 2017
The post 5 Drag and Drop Page Builders for WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Best WordPress Page Builder Plugins When it comes to customizing your WordPress site you’re going to have a lot of different options available. Most themes have various customization options that let you change the look and feel of your overall site. But, most lack options for extensive post or page customization. Hence, the rise of […]
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Oct 23, 2017
The post Pro Tips & Resources for Finding Free Images for Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Find and Create Free Images To Use on Your Website Every website needs images. While the text on your website definitely plays a role in how visitors experience it, your visuals are often what they notice most and play a role in how they interact with the text. Studies have found that people […]
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Oct 23, 2017
The post WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know appeared first on HostGator Blog.
WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts Chances are you use numerous keyword shortcuts on a daily basis. You probably use them so regularly that they’ve become second nature to you. Well, WordPress has those same shortcuts, and mastering them can make your life as a webmaster or blogger much easier. WordPress offers a wide array of shortcuts that […]
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Oct 23, 2017
The post 5 Strategies To Grow Your Email List on Social Media appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Build an Email List Using Social Media Email marketing is widely regarded as one of the most successful online marketing tactics for businesses of all types, offering a return on investment of $38 for every $1 and outperforming search and all of the social media channels when it comes to conversion rates. But […]
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Oct 23, 2017
The post 6 Common Questions About VPS Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Top VPS Hosting FAQ Answered With all of the different hosting types available it can be difficult to keep track. One of the more confusing types of hosting is VPS hosting. It’s a relatively new style of hosting, especially when compared to shared and dedicated hosting, so that confusion is natural. If you’ve been trying […]
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Oct 23, 2017
The post How to Register or Move Your Domain Name with HostGator appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Register Your Domain with HostGator Every website needs a domain name. While your main address on the web is your IP address – a string of numbers separated by periods – you can’t expect anyone to remember that. For people to be able to find your website (and return to it if they […]
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Oct 23, 2017
The post 7 Offline Marketing Strategies To Promote Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
7 Proven Offline Marketing Activities for Websites So much of marketing now happens online that it’s easy to forget how powerful offline interactions can still be. While people do spend a lot of time in front of computer and mobile device screens these days, that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to reach them. Using […]
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Oct 17, 2017
The post Happy Birthday, Snappy! appeared first on HostGator Blog.
? In honor of our fifteenth birthday, we present to you a timeline of our favorite milestones in HostGator and Snappy’s history. A birthday gift for you! Did we mention we’re hosting a BIG sale on our cloud, shared, and managed WordPress hosting plans today? Head over to our home page to enjoy your special birthday discount (ends […]
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Oct 16, 2017
The post 5 Fresh Ways to Optimize Your Marketing with Automation appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Marketing Automation: Get More Out of Your Efforts Marketers give automation a bad reputation. As you look through your Facebook posts, you’ll notice dozens of articles about how automation doesn’t work or how it’s not helpful. Well, that’s not necessarily true. Marketing combined with automation offers an opportunity for you to connect directly with your […]
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Oct 16, 2017
The post 3 Famous Entrepreneurs You Didn’t Realize Got Their Start Blogging appeared first on HostGator Blog.
From Blogs to Riches: 3 Famous Entrepreneurs Who Started Out As Bloggers Blog-to-riches is the digital-age version of the traditional success story: A scrappy and determined person starts a small blog and then writes, podcasts, or shoots their way to fame and fortune. The reality check is that in 2016 there were more than six […]
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Oct 16, 2017
The post Do These 5 Things Before Investing in Marketing Automation appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Getting Started With Marketing Automation: 5 Things To Do First Learning a new business process takes time and money. You have to train team members and select software that fits your budget. Right now, many companies are evaluating their options when it comes to marketing automation. The primary question being asked: Is it worth the […]
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Oct 16, 2017
The post Is Your WordPress Plugin or Theme Reliable? Here’s How To Check appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Do You Know if a WordPress Plugin or Theme Will Work? When you’re on the search for new plugins or themes you’re going to have a lot to dig through. After all, there are thousands upon thousounds of themes and plugins for you to choose from. The last thing you want to do is […]
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Oct 16, 2017
The post 8 Reasons Why Your Website Has a High Bounce Rate (and How to Fix It) appeared first on HostGator Blog.
8 Ways To Fix Your Website’s High Bounce Rate If you’re like most website owners, you put a lot of effort into getting people to come to your website. Your SEO efforts, your PPC campaigns, your content marketing – all of it’s meant to help people learn about your business and find your website. But […]
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Oct 16, 2017
The post Local SEO Agencies: Your 7-Point Checklist appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Are Local SEO Services? If you’re a marketer or website owner in 2017, you have to care about SEO. Search engines are the first place many people go when they’re looking for, well just about anything. Being one of the websites that shows up when someone is looking for what you sell is extremely […]
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Oct 12, 2017
The post What’s The Difference Between The New and Legacy Servers? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
? As technology evolves, it’s important for us to offer a cutting edge product while also maintaining a tried and true standard. With this is mind, we have launched our new dedicated server platform. Our goal with this post is to briefly outline the differences between our two generations of servers. The new servers build […]
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Oct 09, 2017
The post 5 Ways To Fix Your Slow-Loading Site appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Do I Do About My Website Loading Slowly? If one thing is true about your website, it’s that loading speed matters. When your site loads slowly you’ll not only provide a poor user experience, but you’ll also rank lower in the search engines. Luckily for you, improving your site speed doesn’t have to take […]
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Oct 09, 2017
The post Run a Food Blog? Check Out These 5 Recipe Plugins for WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Best WordPress Plugins for Recipes Food blogs are incredibly popular. People love to find new and interesting recipes they can try out. If you run a recipe-based website, then you’re probably looking for better and more effective ways you can show off your favorite recipes. To have an effective recipe-based website you need to showcase […]
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Oct 09, 2017
The post Top Tech Trends to Watch in October 2017 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Tech News for October 2017 The spookiest season of the year is upon us, but most of the tech news this month isn’t that scary (with one notable exception). For those of you too busy to stay on top of all the tech news happening each month on your own, here’s a quick rundown of […]
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Oct 09, 2017
The post 7 Powerful Strategies to Fine-Tune Your Email Marketing appeared first on HostGator Blog.
7 Ways To Optimize Your Email Marketing Strategy There’s a rumor spreading like wildfire in the marketing industry. People keep saying that email is dead. Some individuals believe it’s time to give up and to focus on other channels. Before you go delete your email list, you may want to check out the facts about […]
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Oct 09, 2017
The post How Your Online Store Can Personalize Your Customers’ Experience appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Personalize Your Online Store’s Customer Experience with Magento Extensions Online shoppers expect a customized experience now, with stores showing them the types of products they like before they have to spend a lot of time searching. But an eMarketer report from earlier this year found that only slightly more than half of retailers offer any […]
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Oct 01, 2017
The post 5 Ways a Professional Design Makeover Improves Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Ways Web Design Can Make or Break Your Website Is it time for a website makeover? Your website is prime real estate online. It’s where you can showcase your unique talents and where future clients can learn about your services. Because your website is an integral part of your brand, it makes sense that […]
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Oct 01, 2017
The post How to Start a Customer Referral Program appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Should Your Business Offer a Refer-a-Friend Program? No matter how much you invest in marketing and how good your messaging is, nothing you say will ever be as convincing to prospective customers as hearing from happy customers themselves. An enthusiastic recommendation from someone who’s like them and has already had direct experience with your company […]
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Oct 01, 2017
The post How to Find the Most Popular Pages on Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Use Google Analytics to Find the Most Visited Pages on Your Website Whether you run a small website with just a few pages or practice content marketing and have 1,000 blog posts, it’s valuable to understand how people interact with your website. One piece of information any website owner should pay attention to is which […]
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Oct 01, 2017
The post 8 WordPress Plugins for Your Craft Blog appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Best WordPress Plugins for Craft Bloggers As a craft blogger, you’ve already made a great decision by using WordPress to power your new and growing website. However, there are also hundreds of plugins you can use to more effectively grow your site and add new features without any additional effort. Your blog exists to share […]
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Oct 01, 2017
The post How To Get Insurance When You’re Self-Employed appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Finding Insurance When You’re a Freelancer Freelancing will always involve some risk, but there’s no need to take on more risk than you must. Unlike working for someone else, working for yourself means setting up all the benefits you used to get through your employer. If you’re making the switch to self-employment, here are some […]
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Sep 25, 2017
The post What You Need to Know about Canada’s Super-Strict Anti-Spam Law appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Canada’s Anti-Spam Law Means for Your Email Marketing Program Heads up, American online business owners! Our neighbors to the north now have one of the toughest new anti-spam laws in the world. Canada’s government has been phasing it in gradually, and if and when the final provisions are fully implemented, individual spam recipients in […]
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Sep 25, 2017
The post Online Marketing Terms You Need To Know appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A Glossary of Online Marketing Definitions When you’re starting a new business or delving into the world of online marketing for the first time, not only do you have a lot to learn about the types of online marketing and best practices for each of them, but you’ll find there’s a whole new language you […]
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Sep 25, 2017
The post 7 Things You Need to Start a Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What Do I Need to Start a Website? So you’re considering building a website, but you’re new to this whole thing. You don’t even really know where to start. It can be easy to find yourself frozen before you get started if you don’t have a clear list of steps to guide you. To help […]
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Sep 25, 2017
The post 6 Ways to Get More Out of Your Dedicated Server Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Choose the Right Dedicated Server — 6 Tips to Maximize Performance Without Maxing Out Your Budget Your baby is all grown up—just like a newborn starts sleeping in a bassinet before moving to the crib and finally graduates to his or her own bed, your website will experience growing pains as it’s ready […]
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Sep 18, 2017
The post Want To Make Your Own Website? Here Are 3 Options appeared first on HostGator Blog.
3 Ways You Can Make Your Own Website You made it! You’re officially the proud owner of a shiny new domain name and web hosting package. Now you’ve reached the part of building a website that most of us get most excited about: setting up your header and homepage, designing your online portfolio, formatting your […]
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Sep 18, 2017
The post 5 Ways to Track Offline Marketing Efforts appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Track Your Offline Marketing Campaigns How can you track the results of offline marketing campaigns such as billboards, posters, magazine ads, or TV ads? Some marketers might say it’s impossible. But, we’re about to prove them wrong. With the right strategy in place, you can track your offline marketing campaigns to analyze the […]
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Sep 18, 2017
The post 6 Steps to Creating Your Church Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Do I Create a Website For My Church? If you run a church, then you need a website to both attract new members, and give your current members any information they require. But, what if you have a small budget? Most churches don’t have a ton of money to invest into a website. Luckily, […]
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Sep 14, 2017
The post 33 Types of Side Hustles appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Find Your Side Hustle The average household in the United States has about $16,000 in credit card debt. Americans like to spend, but too often aren’t making enough for the amount of stuff they’re buying. One solution a growing number of people are turning to is the side hustle. Side hustles are ways to make […]
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Sep 11, 2017
The post HTML 101: Master Website Management With This HTML Cheat Sheet appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Most Common HTML Tips and Tricks Understanding the basics of HTML will help you develop more confidence when managing your website. When you want to make simple site changes you don’t want to have to outsource the task every single time. Not only will it be time-consuming, but it can also get expensive fast. This […]
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Sep 11, 2017
The post Want To Sell Your Website? Prep It With These 6 Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Sell Your Website Maybe you’ve been working on a website for a while and realize you’re no longer passionate about the topic. You’ve done well for yourself and even created a nice monthly side income. Or, maybe you’ve built a site with the intent to sell, and now you’re looking to exit. Whatever […]
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Sep 11, 2017
The post 23 Resources for Side Hustlers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
23 Blogs and Podcasts to Help You with Your Side Hustle Side hustles aren’t anything new. People have always looked for (and found) ways to make a little money on the side to supplement whatever they made at their main job. But the rise of the gig economy and the development of new technology platforms […]
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Sep 11, 2017
The post Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Analytics appeared first on HostGator Blog.
A Guide to Facebook Analytics for Beginners For many businesses, Facebook is one of the most important marketing channels you have. It’s one of the most used social media sites for all age groups, the most commonly used app on mobile devices, and Facebook usage accounts for about one minute out of every six spent […]
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Sep 11, 2017
The post 5 Ways You Can Make Money Blogging appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How To Make Money With Your Blog You’ve heard it’s possible to make money blogging, but you can’t seem to figure out how it works. Creating a blog and writing posts is doable, you can work out that part well enough. But how do you turn that into income? The first thing you should understand […]
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Sep 11, 2017
The post Why Every Side Hustle Needs a Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your Side Hustle Deserves a Website. Here’s Why. Picking up extra work on the side is the American way these days. A new Bankrate survey found that 44 million of us have a side hustle, whether it’s selling things online, dog walking or something else. A quarter of Millennials with side jobs bring in more […]
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Sep 11, 2017
The post Should You Use WordPress or a Website Builder? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Website Builders vs WordPress Building a website doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult, especially with the sheer number of tools you have at your disposal today. WordPress is one of the main players in this market and powers an incredible number of websites today. Plus, there’s a huge community that supports the platform, including […]
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Sep 04, 2017
The post Tools Every Photographer Needs to Succeed Online appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Photographer’s Online Toolkit Whether you’re launching a brand-new photography business or adding an online presence to reach more clients, there are a few tools you’ll need to bring your website and digital marketing into focus. The process of registering a domain name and setting up your website isn’t complicated or time-consuming, but just as […]
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Sep 04, 2017
The post Working From Anywhere: Getting Started appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Enjoy a Successful Workcation by Answering These 5 Questions Part of the appeal of running an online business is the freedom from being anchored to a particular location. Another plus is that your online business can help fund your travel. Before you strike out for a working vacation, there are a few things to plan […]
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Sep 04, 2017
The post How Do I Keep My Site From Going Down? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Diagnose and Prevent Website Downtime Having your website go down can be a very frustrating experience. However, just because your website goes down doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with your site, or that there’s nothing you can do about it. The best way to prevent your site from going offline is to take […]
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Sep 04, 2017
The post Top Tech Trends to Watch in September 2017 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Top Tech News for September 2017 As summer winds down, the tech world keeps moving. A number of tech companies are announcing new product releases, features to come, and social initiatives this month. Here are a few of the top stories to be on the lookout for. New iPhones Soon to Be Released While it’s […]
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Aug 29, 2017
The post Signs You Need SEO Help, and Where to Get It appeared first on HostGator Blog.
4 Signs You Need SEO Help When you run a business, it can feel like you never stop hearing about some important service or product you need to invest in. You can’t just go around throwing your money at one thing after another, so figuring out which investments are actually important to the success of […]
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Aug 29, 2017
The post 5 Ways to Achieve Social Media Stardom on Instagram appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your 5-Step Roadmap to Instagram Success It’s time for your talents to get recognized. You’ve spent years behind the scenes working hard to perfect your craft. No one knows you exist. However, you can use Instagram to reach and cultivate your audience. “If you aren’t already on the network in some capacity, now’s the time […]
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Aug 29, 2017
The post Best WordPress Plugins for Teachers and Online Educators appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Best WordPress Plugins for Educators If you’re in the education space, then you’re probably looking for more effective means of using your website to teach and organize your materials. If you’re using WordPress, then there are a variety of plugins that can help you do just that. Whether you’re looking for a way to build […]
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Aug 29, 2017
The post How Starting an Online Business Now Can Help You Retire Better appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Want a Better Retirement? Start an Online Business A comfortable retirement at age 65 used to be a standard part of the American dream, but these days, many adults keep working well past that age. Others—about 20% — say they never expect to retire. Why the change in expectations? Retirement’s expensive, and some people are […]
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Aug 22, 2017
The post Refer a Friend (Extole) Terms & Conditions appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Terms and Conditions HostGator Referral Program HostGator is offering you the opportunity to refer friends via a Referral Program (“Program”) offered on the web site located at www.hostgator.com. Binding Agreement. By using the Site or participating in the Program, you are bound by these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) and indicate your agreement to them. All […]
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Aug 21, 2017
The post Should You Use a Website Builder or Hire a Web Designer? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Website Builders vs Web Design Services When the time comes to build out your website you have a lot of options to choose from. One of those choices is deciding between a website builder and hiring a web designer to build your site for you. The trick is to know when you should build your […]
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Aug 21, 2017
The post 15 of the Best SEO Blogs You Should Be Reading appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Best SEO Blogs to Follow Every business with a website (which should be all businesses by now, really) needs to be thinking about search engine optimization. If you’re new to the concept, search engine optimization, usually shortened as SEO, describes any work a website owner or professional consultant undertakes to increase a website’s ranking […]
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Aug 21, 2017
The post How Do I Set Up a PPC Account? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Beginner’s Guide to Google AdWords Pay-per-click marketing, frequently shortened to PPC, is an important part of any online marketing mix. As brands work feverishly to try to get onto the first page of Google via SEO, the only genuine shortcut to achieving that goal is paying for it with Google AdWords. And there are a […]
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Aug 21, 2017
The post 5 Best WordPress Themes for Pet Business Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Best WordPress Plugins and Themes for Pet Businesses Whether you run a pet store, vet clinic, shelter, or a pet-sitting or breeding business, you’re going to need a website that aligns with your company and helps further your message. If you’re looking to get a beautiful website live in as little time as possible, then […]
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Aug 21, 2017
The post Sell Online? What You Need to Know About Holiday Shipping Surcharges appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Holiday Shipping Surcharges Can Impact Your Sales UPS has announced it will tack on extra fees for shipments sent out during the week of Black Friday and Cyber Monday as well as the week before Christmas to help cover the costs of meeting high demand. Analysts say the UPS holiday shipping surcharges—ranging from 27 […]
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Aug 21, 2017
The post How to Optimize Images on WordPress for Lightning Fast Loading appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Optimize Images and Make Your Website Load Faster Did you know that nearly half of your website visitors expect your site to load in 2 seconds or less? Even worse, most will abandon your site if it fails to load within 3 seconds. The good news is you can significantly reduce the number of abandoning […]
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Aug 14, 2017
The post Build A Website: Your 1-Week Plan appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Create Your New Website In Just One Week! If you know you want a website, but have been procrastinating putting one together because you’re worried about how much work it will be, maybe the trick is to hold yourself to a hard deadline to get it done. Now that we’re in back-to-school season, take inspiration […]
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Aug 14, 2017
The post Best Podcasts for Online Entrepreneurs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
20 Podcasts Every Internet Entrepreneur Should Be Listening To It’s back-to-school time and, while you might be past the years of sitting in front of a teacher in class, you’re never too old to keep learning. A good entrepreneur never gets complacent with how much they know now; there’s always more you can learn to […]
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Aug 14, 2017
The post 20 Best Books for Online Entrepreneurs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Best Books for Online Entrepreneurs Kids are heading back to school and people have learning on the mind. Adults may not have classes of their own to return to, but it’s a good time for us to start thinking about how to improve our own learning. Any good entrepreneur knows that you never reach the […]
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Aug 14, 2017
The post Why Student Blogging Is a Good Idea appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Blogging in Schools Builds Better Writers In most places, school starts back up in a few weeks. For some teachers, that means thinking about how to help your students develop their writing and reading comprehension skills in the year ahead. For others, it means finding ways to help students retain and use concepts they […]
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Aug 14, 2017
The post Teach Your Students How to Build a Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
An Easy Educational Tool to Teach Web Building School’s starting soon and, if you’re an educator, you’re probably putting the final touches on your curriculum planning for the semester. One thing you may want to consider (if it’s not in there yet) is including a web building component in your course. ? Why You Should […]
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Aug 09, 2017
The post Online Marketing 101: Basic Introduction for Business Owners appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What is Online Marketing? If you’re a new business owner (or in the planning stages of becoming one), the amount you need to learn can be overwhelming. One important area of knowledge every business owner needs to take some time to understand is online marketing. ? 4 Reasons Why Online Marketing Matters A recent survey […]
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Aug 09, 2017
The post 7 Best Tools Every Affiliate Marketer Needs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Essential Online Toolkit for Affiliate Marketers It’s time to load up your toolkit! From several Google searches, you already know that affiliate marketing is a promising route to earn a few extra bucks or even start an entirely new career. Affiliate marketing gives you the freedom to be an entrepreneur without the inventory. With […]
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Aug 09, 2017
The post What Is PHP Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
PHP Hosting FAQ When the time comes to choose your hosting environment you’re going to have a ton of different options at your disposal. The hosting environment you choose not only needs to have certain technical capabilities so your website can grow, but you also need to choose the right scripting environment so your website […]
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Aug 09, 2017
The post Top Tech Trends to Watch in August 2017 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
August 2017’s Top Tech News The month of August looks likely to be a big month in the tech world. Many of the biggest players in tech are making big announcements and moving forward on anticipated projects. To help you stay on top of this month’s tech news, here are a few main stories to […]
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Jul 31, 2017
The post 6 Best Contact Form Plugins for WordPress appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Easily Add a Contact Form to Your WordPress Site Looking for an easy way to create contact forms? WordPress doesn’t allow you to create contact forms natively, and if you’re not a developer, creating a contact form on your website can be a tedious task. The beauty of WordPress is that there are tons of […]
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Jul 31, 2017
The post How to Get Reviews for Your Solopreneur Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Working as a solopreneur can be extremely rewarding, but only if you can consistently find enough work to keep your business afloat. Luckily, every client gets you one step closer to ongoing sustainability in your freelance business, and not just because of the money you’ll make from that one client or project. The number one […]
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Jul 31, 2017
The post 5 Ways to Achieve Social Media Stardom on YouTube appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Be a YouTube Star! Follow These 5 Steps Lights, Camera, Action! Business Insider reports that YouTube users watch more than 500 million hours of videos every day. So, it makes sense that this video platform is ripe for gaining social media stardom. “The reach and power of YouTube has been demonstrated by the many artists, […]
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Jul 31, 2017
The post Why Do I Need Web Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Want a Website? Then You Need Web Hosting You can’t have a website live on the Internet without the need of web hosting. If you want to build a website for your business, then you need to invest in a solid host. There’s no way around it. Below you’ll learn about what web hosting actually […]
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Jul 31, 2017
The post How and Why You Should Use WooCommerce for Your Online Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How To Create an Online Store with WooCommerce Can we be honest about one thing? It would be really cool to run a great online store. It doesn’t have to be the next Amazon, Wayfair, Target or NextFab. Just the kind of store where people actually buy your jewelry, accessories, coaching packages or eBooks every […]
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Jul 31, 2017
The post Beginner’s Guide to Twitter Analytics appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Guide to Twitter Analytics Twitter has become one of the most important channels for businesses to cultivate a presence on. The site has 310 million monthly users, many of which actively interact with brands on the channel. Brands therefore absolutely need to be on Twitter, but it’s a channel with its own unique challenges. For […]
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Jul 18, 2017
The post Affiliate Marketing: 4 Reasons Why You’re Not Raking in the Cash appeared first on HostGator Blog.
4 Common Mistakes of Affiliate Marketers We live in the age of multiple income streams. My neighbor works for a bank 9 to 5 and instructs Zumba classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. My brother is a former carpenter turned electrician’s apprentice who regularly picks up contract work as he moves toward his master electrician […]
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Jul 18, 2017
The post A Quick Guide to Getting Your Own Branded Email Address appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Do I Get My Own Email? In navigating the line between professional and unprofessional, email addresses have an especially important role to play. Just think of how you regard a person differently if they email you from a [email protected] email address versus if it comes from [email protected]? Whether or not it seems fair to […]
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Jul 18, 2017
The post 25 of the Best Design Blogs You Should Be Reading appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The 25 Best Design Blogs to Follow Good web design is something most of us encounter every day. When a website is designed to be intuitive, we often don’t even notice the design behind it that makes that happen. On the other hand, when a website is ugly, hard to navigate, or otherwise appears unprofessional, […]
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Jul 18, 2017
The post Are Website Builders Worth It? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Should You Use a Website Builder? When you’re building your very first website you’re going to have a lot of options to choose from. Choosing the right one for your needs can be a little daunting. You have DIY website builders, CMS platforms like WordPress, and even the option to hire a designer to build […]
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Jul 18, 2017
The post Tips for Setting a Secure Password That’s Easy to Remember appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Set a Secure Password A strong password is your first line of defense online. But, how do you go about creating a secure password while still remembering it? After all, there’s no point in creating a strong password if you have to reset it every single time you want to login. Still, creating a strong […]
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Jul 18, 2017
The post 12 Ways to Use Social Proof on Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Social Proof Helps You Get More Customers Thanks to social media and review websites, anyone who has an opinion on your business can share it for the entire world to see. Sometimes this is a good thing, but you can’t always expect that every person who comes in contact with you, your business’s representatives, or […]
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Jul 17, 2017
The post Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Live appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Facebook Live for Beginners For a few years, the content marketing industry has been enthusiastically singing the praises of video content, and for good reason. One study found that videos get 1,200% more shares on social media than images and text do and 70% of marketers say video converts at a higher rate than any […]
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Jul 17, 2017
The post Creating a Plan to Build Your Gaming Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Make a Gaming Website Are you obsessed with playing games online? Have you fantasized about creating your own gaming website? If so, then this post is for you. With the variety of tools and resources available online, building your very own gaming website is easier than you might think. However, like any large […]
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Jul 17, 2017
The post How to Set Up Your Business Inventory appeared first on HostGator Blog.
6 Steps to Business Inventory Management One of the big, complicated parts of running a business that sells physical products is keeping up with inventory (unless you use dropshipping, but that’s a whole other thing). For your customers to have a good experience, you have to make sure that every item you sell is in […]
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Jul 17, 2017
The post 6 WordPress Security Tips to Keep Your Blog Safe appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Security Tips for WordPress WordPress security is important, but it’s often overlooked. But, with Google reporting that 15 million sites have been hacked in some form in the last year alone it’s something you need to start taking seriously. It’s easy to assume that your site is secure and hacking won’t happen to you. But, […]
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Jul 13, 2017
The post 5 Tips for Creating Delicious Photography as a Food Blogger appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Photography Tips for Your Food Blog Juicy, yummy food photos. That’s the goal for every food blogger when they snap a picture of a dish. It takes multiple skills to take photos of delicious food. Not only do you have to get the perfect shot, you also have to think about how your photos complement […]
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Jul 12, 2017
The post How Domain Names Work appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Does a Domain Name Work? When you type a domain name into your browser address bar, what happens is as good as magic. All you have to do is type in a few letters and suddenly a website appears. But domain names are far from magic, it’s technology at its finest. If you’re here, […]
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Jul 10, 2017
The post 5 Surprising Ways Your Business Can Use Video Marketing appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Make Video Marketing Work for Your Business Consumers love video. Over a billion people use YouTube and a full one-third of the time people spend online, they spend watching videos. All that love of video isn’t exclusive to videos made purely for entertainment purposes; video marketing also offers impressive results: Videos in an […]
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Jul 10, 2017
The post Dropshipping 101 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Beginner’s Guide to Dropshipping Becoming an entrepreneur always involves risk, work, and cost. But the good news for anyone considering entrepreneurship today is that the internet makes it possible to pursue a number of paths to entrepreneurship that involve less risk and cost than used to be possible. One of those paths is to […]
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Jul 10, 2017
The post Using Email Marketing to Create and Grow Customer Relationships appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Why Email Marketing Is Relationship Marketing For small businesses, online competition is fierce. And that’s in part because you’re not just competing against other businesses for your audience’s attention, you’re competing with a person’s friends on Facebook, their favorite entertainment blog, the news, and everything else they seek out online. If you’re going to have […]
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Jul 06, 2017
The post Top Tech Trends to Watch in July appeared first on HostGator Blog.
July 2017’s Top Tech News Stories Every new month brings new tech news with it, and businesses have good reason to pay attention. New technologies, updates to current tech tools, and the moves of the big tech companies are all likely to have an influence on how you run your business. To help you stay […]
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Jul 06, 2017
The post 7 Online Tools Every Travel Blogger Needs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Travel Blogger’s Online Toolkit For travel enthusiasts, getting paid to see the country or world—or at least making enough money to defray some of your costs—is a very appealing idea. That’s why so many avid travelers start their own travel blogs. To help you go after your travel-blogging goals, we’ve mapped out a few […]
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Jul 06, 2017
The post Take Your Online Business Offline appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Taking Your Online Store from Website to Brick-and-Mortar Business For years, brick-and-mortar businesses heard constant admonishments to move online. Within the past few years, the idea of having a business without a website has come to seem absurd. But now, just within the last year or two, an entirely different and surprising trend has come […]
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Jun 26, 2017
The post Your Guide to Creating a Membership Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Launch a Successful Membership Website or Forum How does earning a consistent income, month after month, all from a loyal community, sound? Oh, and you get to engage, interact, and discover new ideas in the process. You create in-depth content once and get paid for it, time and time again. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? […]
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Jun 26, 2017
The post 25 Best WordPress Blogs to Follow appeared first on HostGator Blog.
25 Top Blogs Any WordPress Site Owner Should Follow WordPress is an extraordinarily popular platform for running websites. A full 28% of the web is built with WordPress, meaning each time you click on a new website there’s more than a one in four chance that its owners use WordPress to manage it. WordPress appeals […]
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Jun 26, 2017
The post Should You Promote Your Online Shop with Free Items? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
We’ve looked at the importance of competing on value rather than price, and now here comes a seemingly counterintuitive idea: giving your customers stuff for free. Should you try this promotion tactic? Maybe. Exactly what to hand out and how to do it will vary based on your goals and what you sell. In another […]
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Jun 26, 2017
The post Why Your Facebook Cover Photo Matters appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You heard you needed a Facebook presence, so you threw together a page for your business. When it came time to load an image, what did you choose? If you were in a hurry to get something up, you probably just tried to find any image related to your business that seemed like it could […]
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Jun 25, 2017
The post New Dedicated Server Hosting from HostGator appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Announcing Our New Dedicated Hosting Platform Very excited to announce our new Dedicated Hosting Platform with high performance options including up to 16 cpu threads, 32GB Memory and 1 TB SSD Storage. HostGator has amped up their Dedicated Platform to meet the increasing demands of doing business online. With Dedicated Server options that literally […]
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Jun 19, 2017
The post 9 Online Tools for Mom Bloggers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Mommy Blogger’s Online Toolkit If you have a kid, a computer, and a love of sharing stories and opinions, you’ve probably thought about starting a mommy blog. You’re not alone – there are about four million moms in the US and Canada with their own blogs, according to mommy blogger coach Candis Lynn Hidalgo. […]
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Jun 19, 2017
The post Content Audits: Why They Matter and How To Do One appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How to Do a Content Audit Content marketing requires creating a lot of content. Once you get going, often the impulse is to just keep moving forward with new content indefinitely. Keep producing, keep publishing, and hope for the best. But now and then, it’s important to step back and perform an analysis of what […]
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Jun 19, 2017
The post How to Make an Enticing Restaurant Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
6 Tips for Building Your Restaurant Website Your restaurant’s website is one of your most important marketing tools. Many of your customers will check you out online before they decide to visit, so your website needs to provide them with a stellar experience. On the other hand, if your website is poorly designed, it could turn […]
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Jun 19, 2017
The post A Local Business Guide to Crafting a Press Release appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Create a Press Release for your Local Business In the right context, a press release can be a powerful tool for bringing new attention to your business and can help you gain connections with local news outlets that bring more value over time. In the wrong context, they can make you look like a nuisance […]
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Jun 19, 2017
The post How Long Does Domain Propagation Take? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Domain Propagation Works You found the perfect name for your website. You have big ideas about what you’re going to do with it and you’re ready to get started. You just registered the domain and launched your site, but when you go to pull up the URL to excitedly check it out…it’s not there. […]
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Jun 12, 2017
The post 10 Tools Every Food Blogger Needs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Food Blogger’s Online Toolkit For people who love to cook and create new recipes, food blogging can sound like an ideal career. You get to share your culinary ideas with the world. You can avoid the high-pressure setting and late hours of a restaurant kitchen. If you’re a great cook and a good marketer, […]
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Jun 12, 2017
The post 7 Signs You Were Born to Be an Affiliate Marketer appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Should You Get Into Affiliate Marketing? Everyone is seeking new ways to make more money, especially online. Some entrepreneurs create unique products, while others provide an in-demand service. But have you ever thought about promoting another business’s product? Through affiliate marketing, you can recommend a company’s products to your network and get paid a commission if […]
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Jun 12, 2017
The post Why Should I Use G Suite (Google Apps) For Work? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Whether you’re running a successful solo operation, or have 50 employees working for your company, you may be looking to streamline your efficiency by setting up shop in the Google application suite. Formerly known as Google Apps, the tech giant has rebranded its services under the title of G Suite. Even more significant, Google officially […]
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Jun 12, 2017
The post How Much RAM and CPU Does Your Website Need? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Much RAM and CPU Does My Website Need? When you’re getting started online you’re going to have a ton of different hosting options to choose from. But, not every style of web host is going to be the best fit for your needs. This is actually a good thing, as it helps you narrow down […]
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Jun 12, 2017
The post 7 Best WordPress Plugins for Non-Profits appeared first on HostGator Blog.
7 WordPress Plugins for Non-Profits Sadly, a lot of stellar non-profits are limited by what they can do due to lack of funding. A website could be the solution to this problem, and you don’t have to be a tech genius to have a highly functional and useful website for your non-profit. With the help of […]
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Jun 05, 2017
The post What Is Web Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What is Web Hosting? Do you have something you want to share with the world? Awesome! There’s never been an easier time than now to share your creativity, products and ideas with people anywhere in the world. There’s no scribe, town crier or carrier pigeon required, although we know an alligator who’s happy to guide […]
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Jun 05, 2017
The post What Type of Web Hosting Do I Need? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Choosing the Right Type of Web Hosting In a previous post, we looked at the three things you need in order to set up a website for your blog or business: Web hosting: file storage, security, and bandwidth on a server maintained by the hosting service A domain name: the address where visitors find your […]
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Jun 05, 2017
The post Should You Launch A Website For Your Personal Brand? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Q&A Guide to Personal Branding Job seekers, freelancers, and entrepreneurs hear a lot about the importance of building a personal brand. But what, exactly, does “personal brand” really mean, how much does it matter, and how do you go about creating yours? The answers to these questions and more are in this FAQ Guide […]
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Jun 05, 2017
The post Which Type of Entrepreneur Are You? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Anyone that has their own business is an entrepreneur, but that one simple term encompasses a wide variety of experiences and business types. There are so many different types of entrepreneurs, that many terms have been coined to describe the different modes of entrepreneurship. If you’re an entrepreneur, chances are there’s at least one additional […]
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Jun 01, 2017
The post June Tech Trends to Watch appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Top Tech News of June 2017 While school kids across the country take their break for the summer, the tech world keeps moving at the fast pace it’s known for. For any business owners that try to stay on top of what’s happening in tech, you shouldn’t take a break either, and we can help. […]
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Jun 01, 2017
The post How To Become A Professional YouTuber appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Make a Career on YouTube You know a career path is mainstream when Forbes starts ranking its highest-paid members, and that’s what happened to professional YouTube stars in 2015. The news that Swedish videogame vlogger Felix Kjellberg (aka PewDiePie) grossed $12 million last year raised some eyebrows and sparked a fresh wave of interest in […]
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May 31, 2017
The post How Can You Repurpose Your Online Reviews? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Get More Value Out of Your Online Reviews If you’re wondering whether reviews really matter for your small business, the answer is an emphatic yes – especially if your business is new and you’re just starting to build a customer base. According to Think with Google, more than half of Millennial shoppers “ignore brands that […]
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May 30, 2017
The post Want to Start Your Own Subscription Box Business? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The Subscription Box Business Model 101 Entrepreneurs have a lot of different options for business models they can take on. One that’s become especially common in recent years is offering subscription boxes. ? How Do Subscription Boxes Work? Subscription box businesses offer to send their customers boxes filled with a certain type of product at […]
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May 25, 2017
The post 5 Oddly Effective Hacks to Grow Your Home Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
5 Creative Ways to Expand Your Home Business Running a home business can feel like a lonely occupation when there isn’t enough business to keep your time occupied and no matter what you try, customers seem to stay away. Without a doubt, times are tough. Given how hard it is for small businesses to thrive, it […]
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May 24, 2017
The post Can You Do That on the Internet? Website Rules and Laws to Know appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Illegal Things You Can’t Do On The Internet When you’re setting up a website, especially the first time, your focus is probably on choosing a good hosting service, picking the right site template, and creating your content. But online as in real life, there are legal considerations you need to keep in mind. To help […]
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May 23, 2017
The post HostGator Website Scholarship appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Announcing Our 2nd Annual Website Scholarship HostGator’s annual scholarship program aims to help aspiring entrepreneurs pay for their education, while sharing their thoughts and visions for a world shaped by the internet. HostGator itself was founded in a college dorm room back in 2002 (shout out to Florida Atlantic University!), so we’re happy to announce this year’s Website Scholarship program […]
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May 18, 2017
The post Become an Infopreneur Using Videos appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Using Video to Create Your Infopreneur Business Most entrepreneurs choose to build a new business based on products or services, but a third option is becoming increasingly common for those thinking about starting a business: infopreneurship. Infopreneurs build their entire business around information products that help customers learn something valuable to them. Information businesses usually […]
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May 17, 2017
The post Become an Infopreneur Using Tutorials appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For some people considering entrepreneurship, the best path forward is to become an infopreneur. An infopreneur business is based on selling knowledge rather than physical products; there are a number of forms an infoprenuer’s information products can take. We’ve already covered how infopreneurs can use ebooks to build their business. Now we’re going to look […]
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May 16, 2017
The post Become an Infopreneur Using Ebooks appeared first on HostGator Blog.
We’ve already covered what an infopreneur is and why it’s a form of entrepreneurship that can pay off for a lot of people. Successful infopreneurship depends on putting together information products that pack a lot of valuable information into the formats people like to consume their information in. And no matter how much content forms […]
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May 15, 2017
The post Becoming an Infopreneur appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re considering entrepreneurship, you know one of the challenges you’ll have to face is figuring out how to set your business apart. Around 3 million businesses are started each year in the United States, all vying for the attention and pocketbooks of the country’s consumers. In order to succeed, every one of those businesses […]
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May 10, 2017
The post What Is White Label Hosting? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
White label hosting is commonly referred to as reseller hosting. This is the ability to re-sell another hosting company’s servers, bandwidth, and hosting services as if they were your own company. White label hosting can be a great addition to your existing business, or even offer you a way to build a hosting company from […]
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May 10, 2017
The post How to Optimize Your Google My Business Listing appeared first on HostGator Blog.
SEO is expensive, competitive, and hard. But as a local business, you have something significant going for you: your pool of competition is much smaller than the ones national and international brands have to deal with. Your website doesn’t need to be found by everyone; you just need to be found by the people who […]
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May 10, 2017
The post Creative Entrepreneurs: 5 Things Your Media Kit Needs to Gain More Sponsors appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Where’s the money? As a creative entrepreneur—graphic designer, blogger, photographer—you’re always searching for ways to earn more revenue with your talents. To attract more sponsors, try creating a media kit. “The media kit is a great tool because it essentially gives [brands] all the information they could possibly need in one easy-to-navigate document while often […]
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May 09, 2017
The post Keys to Keyword Research: 4 Reasons Your Rankings Are Tanking appeared first on HostGator Blog.
4 Mistakes You’re Making With Keyword Research We live in a content-driven online world, and writing for the web is a tricky business. That’s not to say you can’t have great success with the right mix of keyword optimizations and authoritative content resources. Quality keyword research (and how you leverage your findings) can mean the […]
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May 08, 2017
The post 50 Ideas to Get Your Online Business Started appeared first on HostGator Blog.
50 Online Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs Ever feel like all the good business ideas are taken? If you’ve been dragging your feet on embracing entrepreneurship because you don’t feel like you have a good enough idea to build a business on, have no fear. Running an online business is more about doing your research and […]
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May 05, 2017
The post How the Breitbart Controversy Revealed the Unintended Effects of Digital Advertising appeared first on HostGator Blog.
How Digital Advertising Works, or Why Your Ad Still Might Appear on Breitbart Digital advertising is an inexpensive and convenient way to reach the target audience for your business—as long as it’s not also undermining your brand image. Some major companies have learned the hard way recently that digital advertising’s drawbacks include the possibility of […]
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May 04, 2017
The post 10 Tips to Choose the Best Domain Name appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Choosing the Best Domain Name In many ways, choosing a domain name for your new website feels like the hardest part of setting up any new website. The important thing to remember is that your domain name is as much a part of your identity as your personal brand, your blog content, or your company […]
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May 04, 2017
The post Top Tech Trends to Watch in May 2017 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
May’s Top Tech News A new month inevitably brings a whole new batch of tech news stories. It can be hard to keep up. To help you stay on top of the main tech trends and updates you should know, we continue our series on top tech trends to watch this month. ? Amazon Releases […]
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May 03, 2017
The post 14 Essentials Any Freelance Business Needs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Deciding to go freelance is a big decision, but it’s not as daunting as it used to be. Today, about a third of US workers are freelancers or independent contractors, and they’ve blazed a clear trail for everyone comes along after them. If you’re considering going full-on freelance, here are some tools and apps to […]
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May 02, 2017
The post Building an eCommerce Website, Step by Step appeared first on HostGator Blog.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, online businesses are growing much faster than traditional brick and mortar stores. It makes sense. Local retail shops, DIY craft makers, and even bloggers are starting to sell their merchandise and services online. What separates the successes from the failures? Among other things, a strategy and a good […]
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May 01, 2017
The post How to Identify and Improve Your 404 Pages appeared first on HostGator Blog.
All web users will at some point encounter the dreaded 404 page. It’s pretty much inevitable. But even though it’s common, that doesn’t mean it’s something for brands to treat lightly. When your users land on a 404 page, it can cause frustration. It makes your visitors more likely to leave your website, and high […]
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Apr 28, 2017
The post How to Take a Vacation from Your Online Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the perks you’re supposed to enjoy when you’re self-employed is the freedom to take time off when you need it. The reality is that for solopreneurs and small business owners, the cultural pressure to keep working is magnified by the fact that you’re ultimately responsible for everything. Americans are famously “under-vacationed,” with less than […]
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Apr 27, 2017
The post Starting a Blog? Educate Yourself With These 10 Blogging Lessons appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you just started a blog then you need to learn blogging lessons. You don’t need more posts, you don’t need a new Facebook page, you need to learn the blogging lessons those ahead of you already know. I know “lessons” doesn’t imply too much fun. Don’t worry, this is just one blog post and takes 3 minutes to […]
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Apr 26, 2017
The post Do You Need to Transfer Your Domain or Change Your Name Servers? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you own a domain there’s a lot of things you’ll be able to do with it, beyond building a website on the domain. Naturally, talking about domain name transfers and name servers can get a bit technical and overwhelming, so we’ll bring the process down from the clouds for you. Below we’re going to […]
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Apr 25, 2017
The post 7 Online Copywriting Tips to Improve Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
An impressive online presence matters. It’s the difference between visitors learning more about you or losing interest in your brand. To grab your target audience’s attention, upgrade your copywriting skills to engage with visitors. “You can’t transform a crappy painting into a masterpiece with a few brush strokes. Likewise, you can’t transform crappy copy into […]
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Apr 24, 2017
The post Best WordPress Plugins for Wedding Websites appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your wedding is an incredibly special day in your life. Building a beautiful website around the day is a great way to keep guests informed and it can help commemorate the magic. With a wedding website you can communicate the details about your wedding like: location, directions, accommodations and gifts. All the needed information will […]
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Apr 21, 2017
The post Service Business? How Free Items Can Prove Your Value to Clients appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the most common (and best) pieces of advice given to new freelancers and B2B consultants is to market your services based on value rather than price. Maybe the second-most common advice is to offer your prospects something free. These recommendations aren’t as contradictory as they may seem. In this post, we’ll look at […]
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Apr 20, 2017
The post Marketing 101: How to Get Better Results From Your Calls to Action appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve launched your website. You avoided the most common website design mistakes and you keep your blog content fresh and interesting. You built and segmented your email list with care, and your social media is on point. So why aren’t you making more sales? It could be that you’re not asking for them, or not asking […]
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Apr 19, 2017
The post Digital Resumes: 3 Ways Your Website Can Get You A Job appeared first on HostGator Blog.
“Looking for a new job is SO FUN!” – No One Ever We get it, but as digital experts we’re here to help you discover a few clever ways to make the process easier and dare we say… fun?! Your end goal, we presume, is to land an awesome job with great benefits and a […]
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Apr 18, 2017
The post What are Touchpoints and Why Does Each One Count? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
As you look into marketing tips for your new business, you’ll probably see references to “touchpoints.” What are they, and what role do they play in a successful small business marketing strategy? Consider this blog your personal Touchpoints 101 class. We’ll cover the basics of how to identify touchpoints, create positive ones, and use them to build your business. ? […]
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Apr 17, 2017
The post Why Entrepreneurship Matters appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Entrepreneurs, we’re often told, are the economy’s heroes. Policymakers view startups and small businesses from Main Street to Silicon Valley as engines of innovation, economic growth, and overall prosperity. If you’re wondering whether to invest time and effort into starting your own business—or if you’re starting out and finding the learning curve steeper than you […]
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Apr 13, 2017
The post 15 Essential Tools Every Ambitious Blogger Needs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Blogging isn’t easy. There’s a common misconception that bloggers just write. And as a full-time blogger for your own site or maybe multiple clients, you know that writing is just one of many responsibilities. Beyond writing creative text, bloggers must develop attention-grabbing topics, create eye-popping visuals, and promote their posts on social media. Plus, there’s […]
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Apr 12, 2017
The post Win by Competing on Value, Not Price appeared first on HostGator Blog.
One of the most frustrating aspects of running a small business is setting the right prices and sticking to them. After a few art markets where customers pass you by in favor of cheap trinkets at the next booth, or after you lose another bid because your prospect found someone cheaper on Craigslist, you may […]
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Apr 11, 2017
The post How to Become a Freelancer: 10 Tips to Get Started appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For some of us, the appeal of freelancing is irresistible. Being your own boss and choosing your own clients can give you more control over your time, more interesting work projects, and – if you’re good and have some marketing chops — more income than you would earn as someone else’s employee. Starting can be […]
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Apr 10, 2017
The post 10 Creative Content Ideas for Affiliate Marketers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to turn a passion project into something that makes money. But throwing a few links up on your blog will only take you so far. If you actually want your affiliate marketing relationships to pay off, you should consider creative ways to promote your affiliate links that […]
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Apr 07, 2017
The post 5 Ways to Connect With Brands as a Blogger appeared first on HostGator Blog.
More often than not, consumers trust industry influencers over paid advertisements. Customers crave honest and candid messages that speak their language. And brands are starting to recognize that trend. Research found that 84% of marketers are employing an influencer marketing campaign. This finding presents an opportunity for bloggers to collaborate with their favorite brands. With […]
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Apr 06, 2017
The post Top 10 Tech Trends to Watch in April 2017 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Entrepreneurs have so much on their plate that staying on top of tech news is hard to fit in. But tech influences business, which means falling behind could have an adverse affect on your ability to run your business effectively. To help you stay on top of the fast-moving tech world, here’s April’s entry in […]
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Apr 05, 2017
The post 8 Best WordPress Plugins to Monetize Your Blog appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If your blog isn’t monetized, you’re losing money. Blogs can be monetized regardless of their topic, number of followers, or purpose. Even if it’s your passion project, your blog can and should make you money. Both new and older posts can bring in passive income. Making money with your blog is easier than you might […]
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Apr 04, 2017
The post DIY UX: Your 10-Step Guide To Website Usability Testing appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Consider your internet habits. If a website is slow to load, how do you react? If you have a hard time finding what you’re looking for on the website, does that influence how you feel about the brand behind it? We’ve all become accustomed to a certain amount of convenience when it comes to our […]
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Apr 03, 2017
The post 7 Reasons Entrepreneurs Should Track Their Time appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you’re just starting out, the temptation may be to think about expenses only in terms of money spent. Dollars can be measured in a spreadsheet in clear terms and, as an entrepreneur, you know you’re prepared to work long hours to get things going. In comparison, your time doesn’t seem like the same kind […]
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Mar 31, 2017
The post Setting Up Your World of Warcraft Server appeared first on HostGator Blog.
World of Warcraft is an incredibly popular roleplaying game that’s enjoyed by millions of gamers around the globe, and if you’re a player, you’ve probably wondered what it would be like to play on your own server. Private servers can emulate the experience of an online game, but they allow you to change certain aspects […]
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Mar 30, 2017
The post What to Do With That Email List Everyone Says You Need appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re like most small business owners, you collect email addresses from your current and prospective customers. If you aren’t doing this already, the time to start was yesterday. Don’t believe us? Read this. Chances are, you could be getting a lot more value from your email list. Here are a few ways to put those emails […]
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Mar 29, 2017
The post 6 Easy Ways To Optimize Your Podcast For More Traffic appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The podcast revolution is upon us. The total number of podcast listeners continues to grow every single year. This means the chances are high that your ideal audience is listening to a podcast right this very second, which is probably why you started podcasting in the first place. Below we dive into a two-fold approach […]
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Mar 28, 2017
The post 15 Essential Tools for Internet Entrepreneurs appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Online entrepreneurship isn’t as simple as people think. Similar to a brick-and-mortar business, internet entrepreneurs are managing various tasks, like sending relevant customer messages and collaborating with team members. That’s why it’s important to stay organized throughout the entire process. “Some of us are energized by the chaos. Others of us are totally thrown off […]
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Mar 27, 2017
The post The Beginner’s Guide to Understanding cPanel appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you’re just getting started setting up your very first website, then you’re probably going to need to use cPanel. Most current web hosts use cPanel, so if you’re not using it now, you’ll probably need to use it eventually. cPanel can be used to accomplish a lot of website-related tasks. Uploading files, creating a […]
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Mar 24, 2017
The post Looking For A Job? Clean Up Your Web Presence With This Checklist appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Go ahead and Google yourself. We support you in your narcissistic crusade to see what dribs and drabs of your history rank high in Google’s search algorithm. But seriously, there’s a real method to this madness. There’s a wealth of information available on each and every one of us, especially for those of us who are […]
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Mar 23, 2017
The post How to Choose a Domain For Your Real Estate Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Owning a domain name is very similar to owning a piece of property. The location of the property often dictates the price, just as a specific domain name can drive up its value. Both are becoming increasingly scarce as more people, and more purchases begin to consume the available stock. Perhaps most importantly is the […]
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Mar 23, 2017
The post No Target’s Too Small for eCommerce Fraud. Protect Your Business! appeared first on HostGator Blog.
If you run a small online business, you may assume e-commerce fraud only happens to big, high-profile online retailers. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Professional fraudsters, assisted by computer botnets, target businesses of all sizes for card-not-present fraud. CNP fraud costs businesses $1.92 billion each year, but that number is rising fast. By 2018, […]
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Mar 22, 2017
The post How To Create The Perfect Landing Page For Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Converting cold traffic into warm leads and eventual customers can be quite the difficult process. After all, cold visitors don’t know what your website is about, and aren’t familiar with anything you’re doing. One of the best methods to transform this traffic into new subscribers is through the power of a landing page. However, not […]
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Mar 22, 2017
The post Are You Cut Out to Be an Entrepreneur? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
For many people in the United States, entrepreneurship is the dream. The freedom that comes with owning your own business and working on your own terms is enticing. Many want it, but few take the steps of actually achieving it. Entrepreneurship is hard. The freedom and rewards that come with being a successful entrepreneur come […]
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Mar 21, 2017
The post 35 Cheap or Free Web Design Resources appeared first on HostGator Blog.
As a small business owner, you have a lot of needs and priorities to balance. When you have to make room in your schedule and budget for things like content marketing, SEO, social media, and mobile marketing – it can be easy to let web design fall off the priority list. But design matters. 94% […]
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Mar 20, 2017
The post 5 Signs Your Business Needs A Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Building a business website costs time and money. If your business has managed all right without one so far, it’s easy to make excuses to put off dealing with it. But could that procrastination be hurting you? If you’re still on the fence about whether or not building a website for your business is worth […]
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Mar 17, 2017
The post How to Build Brand Recognition, One Link at a Time appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Business owners, job seekers, bloggers, and affiliate marketers all face the same challenge: building brand recognition to stand out from the crowd. Social media, we’re told, is the land of opportunity – a nearly infinite network of possible touchpoints we can use to interact with followers, find mentors, listen to our target customers, and establish […]
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Mar 17, 2017
The post 5 Ways To Evaluate The Success of Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Every website is different. What might be considered successful results for one website may be lackluster for another. To measure your own site’s success, you must first define what success means to you and develop a clear picture of how your website is performing according to these metrics. To start, ask yourself about the purpose […]
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Mar 16, 2017
The post How You Can Choose The Best Domain Name For Your Blog appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You’ve decided to start a blog. You know what it will be about, you know who your target audience is, and you’ve drafted a list of individual post ideas you can use to keep up a regular posting schedule. The only thing standing between you and your first published post? You need a domain for […]
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Mar 15, 2017
The post Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Price Testing appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Pricing is one of the most complicated parts of running a business. Items and services don’t have clear intrinsic value; they’re worth whatever people will pay for them. And what people will pay isn’t based on some logical set of standards. When faced with making a decision in the moment, what seems like a good […]
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Mar 08, 2017
The post 7 Key Ingredients for Every Successful Food Blog appeared first on HostGator Blog.
As a food blogger you’re probably always on the lookout for ways you can more effectively serve your fans and readers. To do this successfully, you need to focus on the design of your food blog and website. Having a poorly designed blog will negatively impact your readers’ experience and your search engine rankings. Put […]
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Mar 07, 2017
The post Your Essential Toolkit for Starting a Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Have you been thinking about starting your own business but aren’t sure where to begin? Or are you ready to start, if only you can find time to get everything into place? Here’s a checklist of some of our favorite services, apps, and other must-have tools to guide you through the basics, save you time, […]
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Mar 06, 2017
The post How to Migrate From Shared Hosting to VPS appeared first on HostGator Blog.
We often talk about hosting options in terms of real estate. Your first shared host is much like that apartment you moved into when you were 19 and shared with a few roommates. When one of them, or perhaps a neighbor, decided to blast music or stumble in drunk at 2 a.m., it affected you. […]
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Mar 05, 2017
The post Fix These 8 Things to Give Your Website a Professional Look appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Do you ever find yourself on a website that’s cluttered, hard to look at, or seems like it was designed in the 90s? Most people find themselves immediately skeptical of any information on a website like that. Whether or not it’s fair, we associate our experience of a website with how trustworthy the company is. […]
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Mar 03, 2017
The post Go From Hobby to Business With an Online Store appeared first on HostGator Blog.
At the end of a long day of work, what do you like to do with your time? If you frequently choose to spend your free time creating something, you could be missing an opportunity for extra income. A lot of creative hobbies produce items other people are actually willing to pay for. If you’re […]
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Mar 02, 2017
The post Top Tech Trends to Watch in March 2017 appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The tech world moves fast and entrepreneurs have every reason to pay attention. Some of the big tech stories of the month may have little to do with your particular industry or business, but others will likely point toward big changes to come that you want to be aware of. Our series on top tech […]
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Nov 18, 2016
The post How To Run A Successful Facebook Contest In 5 Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Chances are you’ve seen or been involved in some sort of Facebook contest. They are fun for the participants, but why do businesses host them? Not only are they great for branding, but they can also be an integral part of your social media strategy. ? Step 1: Determine your goals Before you make any […]
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Nov 17, 2016
The post Konami Code Websites: HostGator Joins In On The Fun appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Have you ever been typing away, had your fingers slip on your keyboard, and stumbled upon a new trick or keyboard shortcut? These happy accidents are one way people find easter eggs in websites, software, or video games. Now Easter eggs have become so well-known, that people regularly look for them. One of the most […]
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Nov 16, 2016
The post I Registered A Domain, Now What? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You took a big step. You grabbed that domain name you wanted. It’s officially yours. Now what are you going to do with it? ? To Start, What Are Your Goals? There are three main reasons to buy a domain name: You want to build a new website. You’re investing in domain names. You want […]
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Nov 15, 2016
The post 10 Common Website Design Mistakes And How To Fix Them appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Every new business should have a website, whether it’s for lead generation, e-commerce, or just general branding. Having even the most bare-bones site puts your business ahead of more than half of US small businesses, which don’t have a website at all. However, your site may not be helping your business as much as it […]
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Nov 14, 2016
The post 7 Steps To Help You Find A Good UX Consultant appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Good UX is hard to appreciate because when it’s doing its job, you don’t notice it. Bad UX, on the other hand, we all notice. The pop up that blocks your text on a mobile device with an X too small to click on with your finger – that’s bad UX. The ads that take […]
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Nov 08, 2016
The post The Best Ways to Survey Your Small Business Customers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
What are your customers thinking? One way to find out is to actually ask your customers. By surveying consumers, your team can learn how to improve the shopping experience. From customer service to product inventory, discover what makes your target audience excited. Their opinions do matter. And by soliciting feedback, you can transform your small […]
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Nov 08, 2016
The post Why Your Blog Is Failing appeared first on HostGator Blog.
When you start blogging it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and visions of building a massive readership and finally being able to quit your day job. It’s easy to get hyped on the idea of blogging, only to get discouraged when you don’t see results immediately. Blogging isn’t for those seeking overnight […]
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Nov 08, 2016
The post Are SEO Services Worth It? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
We’re big proponents of free everything. Seriously, you work hard for the money. You manage your own business and you have every right to be stingy with your cash. Search engine optimization (SEO) however is one of those areas that we believe is a place to invest your money — but wisely — and only […]
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Nov 07, 2016
The post The 7 Step Guide To Making Money On YouTube appeared first on HostGator Blog.
YouTube is big business – and not just for Google (the company that owns it). Over a billion people use YouTube. That number sounds big enough on its own, but to really it put it into perspective, that’s about a third of the people on the internet. And some of those users are on YouTube […]
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Nov 07, 2016
The post How Secure Is Your Website? A Website Security Checklist appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The recent DDOS scare that affected a large number of websites brought to light how important it is to put whatever precautions we can into place to keep our websites secure. Anyone that owns a website right now should be thinking about security, but for those for whom your website is your business, you need […]
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Dec 09, 2015
The post Get Working Capital To Grow Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.
We all know that it takes money to make money. Kabbage is a company that specializes in providing your business with working capital, in the form of a line of credit up to $100,000. The application process is painless and only takes a couple of minutes. Forbes named Kabbage One Of The Top 100 Most […]
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Nov 19, 2015
The post How to Create a Plan for Getting Your First 1M Visitors appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Louis CK is arguably one of the funniest men alive right now. He fills up massive theaters, sells out in minutes, and is so well known that he makes millions selling his recordings on his site with no advertising. But he didn’t get there overnight. In 1984, he was getting on stage for the first time, […]
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Nov 05, 2015
The post How To Use Guest Posting To Increase Your Traffic And Rankings appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Guest posting is an incredibly powerful tool to generate traffic and subscribers. In fact, guest blogging is one of the most effective free traffic strategies. However, a lot of people approach the guest blogging process in the wrong way. In order to get the most out of guest blogging you need to be posting on […]
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Nov 04, 2015
The post 3 Security Plugins for WordPress to Keep Your Blog Safe appeared first on HostGator Blog.
WordPress is home to hundreds of millions of bloggers, the idea that it wouldn’t be a huge target for hackers is nothing short of ignorant. WordPress is constantly being targeted by both low-profile and high-profile security pentesters who may want to exploit the platform for either personal benefit, or for getting an official reward, though […]
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Nov 04, 2015
The post 5 Tips for Optimizing Your Landing Pages appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Your homepage is a landing page, your product features page is a landing page, even the pricing page is a landing page. Any page that features call-to-action buttons to signup as a customer can be considered a landing page, but certainly others are more concise and specific than the rest. Typically it is the product’s […]
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Nov 04, 2015
The post Top Tips For Spotting Comment Spammers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
User generated comments and reviews are a good indicator of the quality of any blog or site. Engaged users creates a more dynamic website which is both more inviting and valuable. Yet, not all comments are genuine. Link builders and competitors often use comment spamming as a tool for link building and reputation management. So […]
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Oct 29, 2015
The post What Makes Ruby On Rails Special? appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Ruby on Rails (ROR) was first released on December 12, 2005. Since then, it has been a hot commodity for developers and users alike. It’s an open-source web application and full-stack framework using the programming language called “Ruby,” hence the name. What are some of the engineering patterns it uses? Here are just a few: […]
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Oct 28, 2015
The post 5 Reasons Your Website Is Turning Off Your Customers appeared first on HostGator Blog.
You know that having a website is an important asset for your business. However, if you have very low conversion rates, or have been seeing a steady decrease in traffic it might be time to fix your website. The web is constantly evolving, and your site needs to be up to the current web standards […]
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Oct 21, 2015
The post Snappy’s ProTips, pt. IV appeared first on HostGator Blog.
The inspiration for today’s ProTip is going to be the following KB article, which addresses how to modify DNS information from within cPanel: https://support.hostgator.com/articles/cpanel/how-to-change-dns-zones-mx-cname-and-a-records However, we’re going to drive a little bit deeper into DNS; how the various parts function and we’ll even be sharing some of our internal documentation on DNS. ?
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Oct 20, 2015
The post Snappy is Turning 13 Years Old! appeared first on HostGator Blog.
Snappy is officially a teenager! Our beloved gator is growing up so quickly. Many companies have entered our industry and only a few can say that they’ve been in business for 10+ year. We are excited to be able to celebrate our 13th year and it’s all because of our AMAZING customers. Without you, none […]
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Aug 20, 2015
The post How You’re Doing Branding Wrong, And What To Do About It appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Having a consistent and clear brand will help you build a business that lasts for the long-term. At the core of your branding should be a connection between you and your customer. The role of your brand is to communicate your value to your customer in the clearest manner possible.
Only by understanding your customer can you truly create a brand that lasts. Most companies go about branding from the opposite approach and end up with a brand that speaks to no one. Below you’ll find some of the most common branding mistakes and what you can do to fix them.
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1. Trusting Instinct Alone
It’s easy to fall in love with your business idea. But, if it isn’t serving anyone, or no one is going to buy what you’re offering. Then it’s better left as a hobby than an actual business.
Instead of focusing on building your brand identity and other activities to solidify your brand you should be talking with actual customers to verify your idea and uncover their needs. Only then does it make sense to invest more time into your project.
After all, by going of instinct alone you’re essentially flying blind and will have no idea if anyone even wants ...
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Aug 18, 2015
The post 4 Tasks That Will Save Your Email Marketing Campaigns appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
On the internet, email is like having a mobile phone, with the difference that on the internet — you can almost always get anyone’s phone number, at any given time. Sometimes, you create something and ask users to enter their phone number (email) in for you, so that they can be notified when you share and publish more of the amazing stuff that got the interested in the first place. We now it by the name of email marketing.
The reasons for creating an email list have long been known and understood by expert marketers, and we recently published a post ourselves, about the reasons why a small business should invest in an email marketing strategy, and how rewarding it can be. It’s without question the leading way of staying in touch with your customers and peers of interest.
If you’r new to email marketing, or have done it a few times before, you will be familiar with email marketing campaigns — in simpler words, it simply means to send out a carefully crafted message and/or announcement to everyone who has signed up to be on your email list. And more often than not, we want these emails to be of highest ...
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Aug 12, 2015
The post How To Use Split-Testing To Improve Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Optimizing your website could be the missing factor in making your website a success. Split-testing allows you to truly unlock the power of your website. Imagine being able to test every aspect of your website, so it’s perfectly catered to your ideal visitor.
When you’re building your website right out of the gate you’re actually making an educated guess about what you think your visitors are going to like. Split-testing allows you to morph your website into something that speaks to the heart of your visitors.
To get started with the split testing process you’re going to need to install a split-testing tool, such as, Visual Website Optimizer, Google Analytics, Optimizely, Unbounce, or Crazy Egg. Once you have the tool installed, begin by testing some of the page elements we highlight below.
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Headlines
If your headlines are too complex, or not clear, they’re not going to do a good job at conveying to the user what your page is actually about. Changing and simplifying your headlines can have a huge impact on your conversion rates.
Common elements to test include: your value proposition, headline length, and the color and size of the headline.
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Call-To-Action
Your call-to-action is one of the most important elements of your landing page. ...
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Aug 11, 2015
The post The Power Of Native Advertising With Instagram appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
The term ‘native advertising’ has been criticized in some ways as unethical, due to the disguise in which businesses and corporations present their products. Most recently, Al Jazeera America highlighted a questionable innovation by CNN, under which they’ll be broadcasting corporate propaganda disguised as news, a move that looks very bad for the integrity of journalism.
However, the good news within this article is that native advertising doesn’t have to be deceptive, nor does it require your business buy editorial content from CNN. Nowadays we have unlimited reach and marketing potential right at our finger tips, the tool of choice here being Instagram.
Instagram is currently the fastest growing Social Media platform in the United States, with a user base that increased by nearly 60% in 2014. The go-to strategy with online marketing has always been to get it while it’s good. Here’s why Instagram is currently one of the most powerful marketing tools on the planet, completely free of charge.
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Visibility
Algorithms are basically a fancy word for saying “we filter everything how we see fit.” Naturally, algorithms are put in place to level the playing field based on valuable and quality content, but it doesn’t always seem that way.
For instance, anything that ...
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Aug 06, 2015
The post Top Productivity Apps For Small Business Owners appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
As a small business owner you’re going to have a ton of tasks to manage and keep track of every single day. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, and this is where the power of apps can come in. By managing your workflow and reducing the time spent doing aimless things you’ll be better able to advance your business.
In this post we’re going to cover the top productivity apps for small business owners, and how they can be used to transform your business. Most of the apps below will work across any smartphone or tablet-like device.
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Asana
Asana is shared task-management software that helps you track every moving piece of large-scale projects. When working on projects with multiple people it’s easy for emails, conversations and ideas to get lost in the shuffle.
Asana makes sure every piece is accounted for, and you can track the progress of each project. You can set due dates and assign tasks to specific team members as well.
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Dropbox
Dropbox is an extremely popular could storage app. It allows you to store backups of your website, copies of documents and anything you need really. It makes it easy to share documents with multiple team members, and syncs easily across multiple devices.
Whether ...
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Aug 04, 2015
The post Why You Should Regularly Backup Your WordPress Site appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Editor’s Note: the information in this post, while incredibly valuable, is simply non-applicable to those who use owr
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Jul 30, 2015
The post Small Business Tips For Improving Customer Loyalty appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Living in a city built around a tourism based economy has shown me the businesses who survive aren’t those with the best marketing strategy, but those who have managed to retain loyal customers, both local and returning visitors, throughout every season of the year.
The feeling a customer gets coming back to the business often means more than the quality of the service being offered. For instance, one of the most popular coffee shops in my town thrives due largely in part to offering a location in which people want to be seen. As a self-proclaimed coffee critique I can tell you the difference in product would not be enough to create this much separation in popularity. The trick is in the x-factor, in this case providing a hub in which people can see friends, come to get work done, and really gain a secondary experience through visiting the business altogether.
However, earning the adoration of customers is easier said than done. Like any metric in business it involves a variety of factors, a lot of which boil down to good customer service and unique products of high quality. Small businesses are making a come back, and if yours is to contend ...
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Jul 28, 2015
The post How To Use Landing Pages To Increase Your Website’s Conversions appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Creating a landing page that works is easy, but creating a landing page that converts is going to take a little bit more work.
In this post we’re going to examine what a landing page actually is, and how to build one that speaks to your customers and converts.
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What Is A Landing Page?
A landing page is a page that your users are going to land on from some traffic source across the internet. This could either be from a social media post, a guest blog, or an ad.
Landing pages are specialized pages that are designed to get your users to take action. Most unnecessary elements are cut out and the focus is appealing to the user so they’ll act on your call-to-action.
Landing pages will help to educate your customers and turn them from window-shoppers to potentially paying customers.
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Building A High Converting Landing Page
Creating a landing page is simple. Most website templates have the ability to select a ‘landing page’ layout which will create a very simple page for you.
The layout is easy; the real work comes from the copy, the media, and any other page elements.
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1. Enticing Headline
Right from the get go, you need to capture the essence ...
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Jul 23, 2015
The post 3 Ways To Acquire Funding For Your Next Business Idea appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Starting a business based on an idea that you think could improve the lives of others is a very exciting, yet difficult, task to embark on. With several hundred million companies already built by enthusiastic people such as yourself, the question of whether my idea is good enough is definitely a burning one.
All questions aside, there is still the need to decide upon the business strategy, and more importantly — how the new business is going to be funded. Will you have to sell your car? Get a mortgage loan? Invest all your life’s savings? None of these would be a first for many other people, but thanks to the rapid growth of industries such as startups, small business, and crowdfunding — there’s now an opportunity for anyone to become a business owner, given that their ideas is good, and could potentially stick.
It certainly can save you from a potential disaster, and there are several other advantages of reaching out to other establishments for an investment plan that could get your idea off from the paper and out in the real world.
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1. Bootstrapping
This is a classic technique for raising money for a new business idea, and is considered one of ...
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Jul 22, 2015
The post The One Thing You Should Do to Get More Out of Your Email List appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Let’s start off with a tough reality — most business owners aren’t getting as much as they could be from their email list.
It’s not that they’re not working hard or seeing good results. In fact, for many, email is already their biggest driver of new and repeat business.
But there’s one thing that many small businesses aren’t doing that could help take things to the next level.
Luckily, adding that one thing to your email marketing strategy is a lot easier than you might think.
It starts with understanding a term you may have heard before — segmentation.
Segmentation is the process of organizing your contacts into different groups, so you can target them with content or offers that are relevant to their needs or interests.
Rather than sending the same message to your entire list and hoping the right people see it, segmentation makes it easy to create emails that you know specific groups of contacts will be interested in — improving the chances of them opening, clicking, and acting on the content and offers you send out.
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Why Is Segmentation Important?
One of the biggest reasons people ignore emails or unsubscribe from email lists is because the content they receive isn’t relevant to them.
While you ...
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Jul 21, 2015
The post How To Make Your Brand Matter appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
You can either look at branding as a buzzword, or something very valuable for the continued success of your business. For the sake of this post we’re going to investigate the latter definition.
Every company has a brand whether they’re aware of it or not. However, not every company has a brand that matters. In this post we’re going to examine what makes brands matter and how to transform your brand from boring to brilliant.
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What Is A Brand?
The moment a person thinks about your brand the feelings they feel, or the thoughts they think are the backbone of your brand. Your brand extends way beyond your logo and what font you use on your website.
Think of Apple. The moment you think about their company, or hold on of their devices in your hand you automatically think about simplicity, sleek design, attention to detail and beauty.
What kind of feelings do you make your customers feel?
Sadly, most brands aren’t making their customers feel anything. Most brand are bland and don’t inspire action in one direction or another. The worst feeling your customers can feel when interacting with you is ambivalence.
In another way you can think of your brand as the ...
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Jul 15, 2015
The post Why Small Businesses Need To Have (and Grow) An Email List appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
You already have an audience for your business.
When you have events, people show up. When you hold a sale or introduce a new product, people are there to buy. And when you open your doors each morning, you know you won’t be spending the day alone.
Your phone rings, your website gets traffic, and over time your business grows.
But if you’re not giving this audience a way to stay connected with you when they’re away from your business — you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to build relationships with these customers and accelerate the growth your business can achieve by driving action around the things you’re already doing.
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Social Media Alone Isn’t Enough
Sure, you could set up a Facebook Page or get started on Twitter but at the end of the day you don’t really own those contacts — you’re renting them. You can put days, weeks, and months into building a fanbase, but if one day Facebook decides to limit your ability to deliver your message, you’ll be no better off than when you started.
On the flipside, by growing your email list, you’ll be able to take control of your message and communicate with your audience on your own terms. You’ll be giving the people who ...
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Jul 13, 2015
The post Top 4 Free WordPress Plugins For Bloggers appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
How many plugins are available to WordPress users?
A recent count put the number at nearly 40,000 plugins, most of them free. That places an astounding array of functionality at the fingertips of WordPress users.
But not all plugins are created equal. Some are of more universal value than others. And while value is in the eye of the user, the Huffington Post recently published their take on the top 5 free WordPress plugins:
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#1: Pretty Link
Pretty Link helps you to “shrink, beautify, track, manage and share any URL on or off of your WordPress website.” It’s an elegant method of directing traffic to other sites as desired, or to other pages within your site.
Both free versions and paid versions of the Pretty Link plugin are available.
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#2: Google Analytics
Google Analytics is an invaluable, free tool for measuring, tracking, and tweaking the performance of your website. And the Google Analytics plugin by Yoast makes it super simple to install GA on your WordPress site.
This free plugin will deliver all of the benefits of GA, and has been installed on more than one million sites. And if you want some help with making the most of Google Analytics, there’s also a premium version of this ...
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Jul 08, 2015
The post How To Use Email Marketing To Create And Grow Customer Relationships appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
When you’re a small business, you have one distinct advantage over the big guys: customer relationships.
Every time you’re talking with a customer in-store, emailing someone who has a question, or answering the phone, you’re building a relationship. It’s almost impossible for bigger companies to establish the same connection with customers (that’s why those that do really stand out).
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Want The Really Good News?
It’s never been easier to grow the relationships that are so crucial to your business’s success.
Email marketing is a cost-effective solution that gives you the power to reach customers in a place most people visit every day — their inbox. Email makes it easy to build customer relationships because you’re able to stay top-of-mind and build trust and loyalty with the people who matter most to your business.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that 66 percent of consumers have made a purchase as a result of an email marketing message (Direct Marketing Association, 2013). Or that email is almost 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined in helping your business acquire new customers (McKinsey, 2014).
With a little bit of planning, you can use email to deliver the right message, to the right people, at the right time. ...
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Jul 07, 2015
The post Presenting Optimized WordPress! appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
.button {
display: block;
margin: 0 auto;
width: 370px;
height: 55px;
font: 700 24px/50px "Trebuchet MS", Arial;
text-align: center;
color: #1f1f1f;
background: url(http://www.hostgator.com/blog/~/tmp/wp-uploads/2015/02/button.png);
}
.button:hover {
background-position: 0 -55px;
}
We are extremely happy to announce the launch of our Optimized WordPress hosting platform! WordPress is, quite frankly, one of the best back-ends for your website, period. This very blog you are reading runs on WordPress, and so do the websites for CNN, Forbes, and even Justin Beiber.
We are experts on WordPress, and we’ve created a hosting package that we believe will actually simplify your life and allow you to focus on your business instead of on the management of your website.
Optimized WordPress begins with a custom caching and global content delivery network (CDN), which allows for blazing fast page loads from anywhere int he world. You have access to premium WP themes in order to customize the look and feel of your site. We then pre-configure your WordPress install with the ideal suite of plugins to provide the perfect mix ...
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Jul 01, 2015
The post 6 Steps to Making Your WordPress Site Mobile-Friendly appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
The world is going mobile. And quickly. In 2014, for the first time ever, mobile devices were used to access the Internet more often than PCs. It was a landmark occurrence. A game changer.
And yet many businesses continue to pay little attention to the mobile-friendliness of their websites. But Google is paying very close attention.
In fact, if your business website isn’t mobile-friendly, you can expect Google to be giving you the cold shoulder in search engine rankings. As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal, Google has begun favoring mobile-friendly sites, and penalizing sites that are less mobile-friendly.
So if your business WordPress site isn’t mobile-friendly, making it so should probably be bumped up in priority on your to-do list. Tech.co recently published a 6-step process for making your site mobile-friendly.
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Step 1: Choose Your Hosting Service Carefully
Any mobile-friendly changes you make to your site could be for naught if your hosting company provides slow and unreliable service. Pennies saved in choosing the cheapest hosting services available may turn out to be quite expensive in the long run.
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Step 2: Choose a Mobile-Friendly WordPress Theme
The WordPress theme you choose serves as both the foundation and framework of your website. What type of theme ...
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Jun 30, 2015
The post How To Find The Right WordPress Theme appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Having been a blogger for over a decade now, it has been a first-hand experience of how difficult it can be to maintain a WordPress theme to keep up with the latest standards and demands. Sometimes I would find myself switching styles as frequently as every few weeks, but time has taught me an invaluable lesson — stick to what works for everyone, not just you.
A good WordPress theme is one that serves the purpose of the website flawlessly, and the most important thing being the readability and accessibility of the content that you’re presenting. In my own experience, sometimes going through a hundred different designs might actually prove to be more rewarding than settling for a single theme you enjoy, since seeing more of what is out there — gives you an idea of which direction to take.
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Free or Premium
The most important decision you’re going to make about your WordPress theme is whether you wish for it to be free or premium. The difference in overall design can be pretty staggering. And the biggest advantages premium has over free are:
It’s easier to switch styles and colors since most premium themes come with multiple styles.
Features such as related posts and ...
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Jun 24, 2015
The post 5 Common Beginner WordPress Mistakes appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
WordPress can be a great framework to build your first website with. However, since it’s a platform that has a relatively low barrier to entry a lot of beginners make the same mistakes. In order to avoid frustration in the early stages of your online career it’s important that you avoid these beginner mistakes.
In this post I’ll dive into the five most common WordPress mistakes you’ll want to avoid, so you can have a beautiful functioning site, instead of one that screams amateur.
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1. Choosing A Poorly Coded Theme
When you’re trying to find the perfect theme for your website you’ll notice there are thousands of themes to choose from. How do you choose the correct theme? Sometimes you might come across a beautiful theme from an unknown developer that has very little reviews.
Even if the theme looks great it’s not recommended to use the theme. If you want to use a free theme it’s recommend to choose one from the WordPress approved list of developers.
However, the best course of action is to go with a premium theme. These themes might cost you a little money up front. But, with that cost you’ll also receive dedicated support in case anything goes wrong, ...
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Jun 23, 2015
The post Why WordPress Is The Best Choice For Non-Technical Business Owners appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
When the time comes to create your website, you’re going to have no shortage of options to choose from. In fact, the decision-making process can be very overwhelming. It’s hard to cut though all of the marketing messaging to truly find a platform that works for you.
Luckily, there’s one platform that outshines most other platforms when it comes to an intuitive platform, that will help you build a beautiful website in no time at all. In this post we’re going to dive into why WordPress is the best choice for business owners with little to no technical know-how.
WordPress began as simple blogging software, but it has now grown into a full-fledged website builder with a massive and interactive community.
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1. Easy To Use Backend
WordPress has a very easy to use backend. They’ve had the same backend for a number of years, which means there are a number of tutorials to guide you through anything you may be unsure of.
The backend is straightforward and doesn’t require any knowledge of code to actually customize the look of the theme as well as implement many additional features.
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2. Small Learning Curve
Customizing your WordPress theme couldn’t be easier. Most themes also come with easy to ...
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Jun 18, 2015
The post The Hottest Web Design Trends Of 2015 appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Now that we’ve made it half way through the year, now is a good time to look at the hottest web design trends of the year so far.
The web is a constantly evolving place. By staying on top of the latest trends you can ensure your website will always be up-to-date. In this post we’re going to take a look at the most popular trends of the year and what they mean for your website.
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1. Focus On Simplicity
The web is a crowded and noisy place. You can see a lot of sites getting rid of everything that’s non-essential in order to have the cleanest and easiest-to-read site possible.
This can include eliminating elements, such as, background images, complex layouts, full-page sliders and much more. Removing these elements not only provides a much more relaxed environment for the reader, but it can improve loading speeds as well.
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2. All About Scrolling
If you’ve been browsing the web at all this year, I’m sure you have, then you’ve probably noticed the trend of sites getting longer and longer. This has to do with more fluid scrolling, and the way users actually read across the web.
It’s much easier for users to scroll through web pages ...
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Jun 17, 2015
The post How To Build A Content Strategy That Actually Works appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Building a content strategy that actually drives traffic to your website doesn’t have to take months to get right. By being strategic about your choices and following some of the advice below you’ll be able to build a custom content strategy geared towards your unique business goals.
Simply creating content is no longer enough; you need to engineer a strategy that focuses on generating organic traffic through providing continuous value. The steps below will get you going in the right direction.
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Nail Down Your Personas
The only way to create content geared towards your ideal user is to know exactly to whom you’re writing. This information will help you to create a unique persona that resembles an actual person.
These personas aren’t real people, but instead characters that resemble an ideal “perfect customer.” This will help you get in the head of your customer and speak to them and their unique needs.
Common traits you’ll want to nail down include both demographic and psychographic information.
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Know Your Search Terms
By doing proper keyword research you’ll be able to see what your users are actually looking for. You can couple this data with your buyer persona and create content that truly makes an impact.
To get started follow the ...
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Jun 16, 2015
The post Is Your Business Cyber-Secure? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Cyber attacks upon large companies are reported in the news quite regularly. In recent times, companies like Target, Ebay, Domino’s Pizza, Home Depot, and AT&T were all hacked, resulting in varying degrees of damages.
And it seems that cyber-criminals are getting better at what they do. The Heritage Organization reported that the cost of cyber crime against U.S. retailers more than doubled in just a year’s time.
But in spite of the regular news reports about attacks that have occurred, many attacks are never reported publicly. The Heritage report indicates that cyber crime occurs on a daily basis. And many companies that fall victim aren’t even aware that their security has been compromised – at least not initially.
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Small Companies Are Also At Risk
Most cyber crime reported in the news involves large companies. And that fact might be feeding the false sense of security that exists among a number of small business owners. Many small business owners, in fact, believe that they simply aren’t attractive targets for cyber-criminals.
But unfortunately, that’s wrong. That’s very wrong.
According to the National Small Business Association, half of small businesses were the victims of a cyber attack last year. Half! And the average cost of each of those attacks ...
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Jun 15, 2015
The post 5 Tips For Improving Your eCommerce Store Experience appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
It’s predicted that the year 2015 is going to yield as much as $2.2 trillion dollars in total global transactions over eCommerce networks. As previously reported by eMarketer, the expectancy of that amount was to be reached by 2018, but as more people are gaining access to the internet (with as many as 1 billion new internet users in the following two years), eCommerce has managed to outgrow quite a few, if not all, of the predictions made.
To launch a successful eCommerce store, the only few requirements are a reliable hosting company, a reliable piece of software/platform that can act as the actual storefront, but most importantly — an idea, a product, a vision upon which to strive and build for the future.
If you have managed to arrive at the point of completion, it might be a good time to look into some tips and ways of how to improve our eCommerce store experience, not only for ourselves, but for our biggest assets, which is the customers and consumers. Sometimes it’s enough to throw a few pages together and list some products, however these days a lot more goes into creating a seamless shopping experience.
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1. Focus on User Experience
Any eCommerce ...
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Jun 11, 2015
The post 3 Critical Mistakes You Might Be Making with Your Business Website appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
A strange but true fact: roughly one out of every two small businesses still doesn’t have a website.
That wouldn’t have been particularly surprising 20 years ago. But today? It seems rather strange. Especially when you consider that nearly 100% of consumers now do at least some of their shopping online for products and services that interest them.
So if you’re a small business owner, and you do have a website, that automatically gives you a huge leg-up over about half of your competition.
But what about the other half of your competition – the half that does have a website? If you’re like many small businesses, you might not be faring so well against those competitors.
That’s because many small businesses have websites that are much less effective than they could be. And in fact, many small businesses are making the very same mistakes with their websites. According to the Small Business Administration, there are 3 critical mistakes that many small businesses are making with their online presence:
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#1. No Call-to-Action
Let’s say that you have a website. And let’s say that a prospective customer lands upon your homepage. Do you tell that prospective customer what you want them to do?
Many small business websites don’t. ...
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Jun 09, 2015
The post What Does Passion Mean For Your Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
“The best advice I could give anyone is to spend your time working on whatever you are passionate about in life.” – Richard Branson
Passion is a big word in the business world, especially with the growth of online technologies that now make it much easier for people to follow their passions and turn them into a business. However, that doesn’t mean the process is going to be any easier. As you know running your business is more than a full-time job, but when it’s a labor of love it can make the process much more enjoyable.
In this post we’re going to explore passion in the business world, what it means, and ways to become passionate about your business if it’s not quite there for you.
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Why Start A Business In The First Place?
People start businesses for a variety of reasons. It would be impossible to list them all here. It doesn’t even have to be said, but most people are in business to make money. Most people don’t go into business to go bankrupt.
A lot of people start a business because they see a hole in the market that can be filled with their business or service. Sometimes people are ...
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Jun 04, 2015
The post How Using Freelance Workers Can Take Your Business To The Next Level appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Our nation is seeing a drastically different workforce than that of our parents and those working prior to the advent of online communication. According to an article put out by the Wall Street Journal surveying the freelance demographic, more than one third of the United States (34%) now falls within the freelance category of employment.
While it’s true there have always been independent entrepreneurs, and sole-proprietors offering independent contracts, never before have we seen such an exodus towards working from the comfort of our homes. This could include anyone from stay-at-home parents, those who are in between jobs, or those who are making a full time living right from their laptops.
From the human resources perspective there can be many advantages to hiring a freelancer to fulfill certain tasks within your company. You won’t have to pay them for sick time, or vacations, and will simply pay them at an hourly rate based on the job specifications you have set forth. On the other side of things, there can also be problems associated with hiring someone with no investment in your business.
That’s why we’ve come up with a modern toolkit for informing you on what kind of freelancers are out there, and ...
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Jun 02, 2015
The post Google Changes That Business Owners Need To Prepare For appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
If Google were a superhero, it would be the Avengers. If Google had a superpower, it would be the ability to purchase other superpowers. If Google ran the world, well, they pretty much already have an iron grip on the World Wide Web…
Google currently possesses 75.2% of the U.S. search market, as of this January, and 81.7% of the U.S. mobile search market, as of March 2014. When Google adjusts an algorithm, like their 4/21/15 mobile update, it has the potential to impact businesses, big and small.
Even with its current dominance of the world’s Internet usage, Google still maintains an air of secrecy with regards to any upcoming updates. It’s not that the Google team wants to keep businesses, marketers and users out of the loop, but that innovation takes time, and nobody stays in power if they reveal their algorithmic tricks.
Ignoring the secrecy and lack of upcoming announcements, a trend has started to emerge. Although the following are merely predictions, based on competitors and recent changes, it is clear that Google is moving towards a more user-friendly experience.
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Google’s Last big Update: Mobile Friendly
Let’s quickly analyze the 4/21/15 mobile update before looking forward. In ...
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May 27, 2015
The post Spying On Competitor Targeting To Determine Their Facebook Marketing Strategy appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
If you’re advertising on Facebook, you’ve probably hit a road block at least once when it comes to targeting. You can play with audience insights all day long, but sometimes you just can’t locate that exact sweet spot that would be best for your specific business. So, why not use what your competitors are using?
Whatever niche you’re in, you’ve probably done your research. You’ve visited some of the top sites in the game, Liked some of the highest performing Facebook pages, and maybe even bought an array of products. Doing all of this online has most likely made Facebook think you’re interested in the industry. Therefore, if your competitors are targeting properly, you’ll start seeing their ads appear. For example, I’m in the Internet marketing game and I see a lot of ads for Internet marketing products, ebooks, and webinars. But I also help my girlfriend with her makeup blog. So I also see a lot of ads for makeup and beauty products even though I don’t actually use these products and certainly am not their target demographic. This can apply to almost any niche provided that you’ve done your research into the given industry.
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Spying On Your Competitor’s Facebook ...
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May 21, 2015
The post How To Sell A Website appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Do you own a website with stable traffic and revenue, but have grown tired of maintaining it, don’t know how to take it to the next level, or you could simply use some extra cash? If you answered yes, you might want to consider selling your website.
Website flipping, as it is affectionately termed, is a quickly growing industry that allows owners of websites and web businesses to easily liquidate their online assets. With over 600,000 users and upwards of $140,000,000 in transactions processed to date, Flippa is universally regarded as the premiere destination for selling websites. Sellers on Flippa list their websites up for sale in eBay style auctions where buyers looking to make acquisitions have the opportunity to place a bid.
Sites sold on Flippa include the massively popular ShipYourEnemiesGlitter.com sold for $85,000 in January 2015, the viral news publisher The Inquisitr for $330,000 in May 2011, and even FaceMash, which was originally launched by Mark Zuckerberg and sold on Flippa for $30,000 in 2010.
So, it’s clear that Flippa is the premiere destination for web entrepreneurs, but how does one actually go about selling a website on the platform? Check out the following tips and tricks that can help you ...
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May 20, 2015
The post Are You Creating Deep Connections With Your Customers? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Are there any brands you love so deeply you wouldn’t know what to do if they suddenly vanished? This could be your favorite brand of coffee, the type of computer your use, or even something as simple as the style of pen you love to write with. The examples are endless and I bet there are lot of companies you maintain a nonsensical love for.
The reason this connection exists is because you feel supported and loved, you feel like this company speaks for you and gets you in some deeper way. A humans we crave this connection and need to be seen. If you can create this level of bond with your customers and clients you’ll find yourself with an army that’s willing to stand behind everything you do.
The good news is it all starts with developing and nurturing a deep connection with your audience — all of us are capable of doing this.
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Know Yourself First
Without knowing your company on a deep level you won’t have a backbone on which to base this relationship. You may know exactly what you’re selling, or the service you’re offering, but you still need to uncover your deeper operating principles. Once you know ...
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May 14, 2015
The post Rebootless Venom Vulnerability Patch appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Unfortunately, it seems like new exploits are appearing more and more often these days.
The most recent exploit to make headlines is known as CVE-2015-3456, aka “Venom.” Ultimately this exploit, much like many before it, can allow a malicious individual to gain root privileges on a server.
However, we are not posting this blog to expound on this latest exploit, rather our security experts have developed a procedure to effectively patch this vulnerability without necessitating a reboot. We felt it would be in the best interest of the community at large to release this information as quickly as possible, therefore we have launched VenomFix.com in order to provide this resource and information to the public at large.
We are providing this resource simply as a counter-measure against this exploit; this patch carries no guarantee, implied or otherwise.
For full information, please visit VenomFix.com.
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May 14, 2015
The post 5 Steps to Creating a Blog that Can Change Your Life appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
It’s a bold statement… but it’s true! A blog really can change your life for the better. It doesn’t matter if you are working a regular 9-5 job, currently in school or even an entrepreneur or have your own multi-million dollar business — blogs are amazing and they can do wonders for yourself and your brand.
Before I tell you how you can use a blog to “change your life”, it would only make sense for me to first tell you about how a blog did this for myself. After all, what good is advice from someone if they don’t have the means or history to give it!
I’ve been an online marketer since roughly 1995, but it wasn’t til 2007 that I decided to launch my own blog at ZacJohnson.com. Through this blog I would focus on building my personal brand and help other learn how to do the same with online marketing. Jump forward almost eight years and the blog has completely changed my life and and business for the better — both personally, professionally and monetarily.
Now let’s dive into the importance of why you need to create a blog, how simple it is and how it can actually change your life for the ...
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May 12, 2015
The post HostGator Hosts An Austin Pets Alive Adoption Event appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
It all began innocently enough, we saw a commercial on TV that depicted the less-than-ideal care of a puppy as part of a marketing campaign that was itself unrelated to animal welfare. How odd we thought this was, but it inspired us to reach out to a local Austin no-kill animal shelter in order to see how we could help.
Initially, we ran a sale whereby we would donate $5 of each new signup to Austin Pets Alive. As we continued to communicate with the shelter though, it became clear that we could assist even further; we decided to host
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May 08, 2015
The post Small Business Week: Paid Social Advertising appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
In our final webinar for Small Business Week, Kyler Patterson will discuss the ins and outs of paid advertising on social media. Check out the live stream below.
Be sure to leave your questions in the comments. You can also post questions to our Facebook or ask us on twitter using #HGSBW.
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May 07, 2015
The post Small Business Week: Pay-Per-Click Advertising Webinar appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
In our second webinar for Small Business Week, Gerard Mendoza will discuss how small business can get started with pay-per-click advertising. You can watch the live stream here:
Be sure to comment with your questions for Gerard! You can also comment on Facebook or Tweet us with #HGSBW.
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May 06, 2015
The post Small Business Week: Search Engine Optimization Webinar appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
In the first webinar for Small Business Week, Brian Rakowski will discuss some SEO tips to help you navigate the new mobile update among other things. You can catch the stream here:
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May 04, 2015
The post The 2015 Tour Du Rouge appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
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Spring is in the air, and around the HostGator offices that means the Tour du Rouge is fast-approaching! This will be the 7th year that the charity ride has taken place, and our 6th year as a sponsor. To revisit our history of sponsoring this event, please see our related blog archive.
For those who aren’t familiar, the Tour du Rouge is a 533 mile bicycle ride, from Houston to New Orleans, benefiting The American Red Cross, which provides valuable services to our friends and neighbors in the Gulf Coast region and beyond.
In celebration of the event, we are also offering 55% off all new hosting plans – now through 11:59pm CST on Wednesday, May 6th. Simply click the button below, and be sure to use coupon code REDCROSS15, in order to get started hosting with HostGator!
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Get Started Now!
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May 04, 2015
The post HostGator And Small Business Week appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Small Business Week starts today and HostGator wants to help small businesses with their online marketing efforts. We’ve gathered a team of our in-house experts to give you some tips and discuss the latest news in paid social, SEO and PPC. We will be hosting three webinars this week, one on each day Tuesday through Thursday. Below are the three presenters and a little bit about what they’ll be discussing. At the end of each session, we’ll be taking questions from the audience, so be sure to comment on this post or tune in live to feed questions through Facebook, Twitter (use #HGSBW) or Google+.
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Wednesday at 1:30pm CST: Search Engine Optimization with Brian Rakowski
Brian Rakowski is the Enterprise SEO Manager for HostGator and is responsible for the organization’s organic traffic strategy. In 2007, Brian left a successful career in the financial services industry to pursue a new budding passion; SEO and online marketing. Over the past eight years, he has worked with a handful of large agencies working on campaigns ranging from local businesses from all over the country to large organizations like the USDA. His primary area of focus is advanced technical on-page SEO.
Brian will be talking about ...
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Apr 30, 2015
The post Can Inbound Marketing Work For Your Business? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
If you’ve been doing business online for any time at all, then I’m sure you’ve heard of inbound marketing. Inbound marketing is also commonly referred to as content marketing. The old days of outbound marketing are fading into the wind.
The older, often ineffective outbound marketing methods include: buying print ads, purchasing email lists, buying TV slots, or other generally invasive ways to market and reach your customer base. On the other hand, inbound marketing starts with creating value from the very start of the interaction.
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What Is Inbound Marketing?
As we stated simply above, inbound marketing is using content to provide value and educate your readers before they become customers. Inbound marketing is all about creating and sharing content around the web.
The main methods used in this style of marketing include creating content and distributing it to the people who are going to benefit from it the most. This style of marketing is more helpful instead of being disruptive like most other methods. If done properly people will actually be happy to hear what you have to offer.
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The Benefits Of Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing helps you to become an authority within your industry. It might be a slow climb, but it’s a climb ...
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Apr 28, 2015
The post HostGator Puppy Adoption Drive With Austin Pets Alive! appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
HOSTGATOR TO KICK OFF NATIONAL PET MONTH WITH A PET ADOPTION DRIVE IN SUPPORT OF AUSTIN PETS ALIVE!
National Pet Month promotes the benefits of pet ownership, importance of pet adoption and increases the public’s awareness of the value and contribution of companion animals;
On Friday, May 1, 2015 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., HostGator, will host a Puppy Adoption Drive with Austin Pets Alive! in celebration of National Pet Month. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet and adopt puppies at the event and participate in fun activities celebrating National Pet Month.
In addition to hosting the adoption drive, HostGator’s Director of Human Resources will also present a $5,000 donation to Austin Pets Alive!
Austin Pets Alive! was founded in 2008 to help alleviate overcrowding in the city’s animal shelters and increase the live outcomes of Austin’s shelter and rescue animals. Since its founding, the organization has saved more than 25,000 cats and dogs in the Greater Austin area.
If you wish to attend the event, please feel free to RSVP on our Facebook event in order to get a reminder notification.
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Apr 27, 2015
The post Will Google’s Mobilegeddon Hurt My Small Business? What Should I Do NOW? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
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Are you ready, friends? Mobilegeddon is upon us.
Don’t worry, your new smartphone hasn’t finally become sentient (that we know of), but there are big changes ahead. Before you reach for your tinfoil hat, there are a few things you should know.
Google tweaked its search algorithm on Tuesday. From now on, sites that aren’t mobile-friendly — meaning ones that have text that’s too small, take a long time to load, or are generally hard to navigate — will see their search rankings plummet. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re about to experience a huge drop in search traffic.
Not great, obviously, but here’s why it’s a very big deal: Approximately 86% of all U.S. smartphone users search via Google. There are 177 million websites covered by Google search. If you’re not optimized for those mobile users, you’re going to get lost in a very large crowd.
Don’t worry, ...
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Apr 23, 2015
The post Time Management For Entrepreneurs appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
As an entrepreneur your time is sacred. You may marvel at those who seem to accomplish marvelous feats in the same 24 hours each day with which you both have to work. You might even start to believe that by some miracle they’ve been given an extra hour or two a day. There is no secret, it just requires taking an active approach to managing your time and seeing what needs to be changed.
In this post we’re going to explore a simple process that will help you get more from your time, so you can do more every single day.
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1. Understand How You Spend Your Time
One of the most important elements of managing your time is understanding how your spend your time. Your time seems to either expand or contact based upon how you spend it, and chances are you waste a lot of your time with aimless activities you aren’t aware that you’re doing.
For a week bring around a notebook, or piece of paper and record how you spent the last hour of your time. Over a week this will help to give you a realistic picture of how your time is spent.
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2. Know The Most Important Activities ...
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Apr 21, 2015
The post How To Create Engaging Content For Your Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
As a small business owner you might already know about the importance of creating content for your online strategy. You may have tried to blog for a while, or post via social media and saw little to no growth in traffic. There are a variety of reasons this could have occurred, but one of the biggest problems business owners face is having little to no engagement with their content.
Creating engaging content is an art in and of itself. I hope that in this post I can illuminate some of the finer points for you to implement today. Engaging content begins with understanding your customer and creating content that excites, educates, and encourages them to come back for more.
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Don’t Think Viral For The Sake Of Going Viral
Going viral has its benefits, but a lot of business owners think that going viral will solve all of their traffic problems for the rest of their lives. Sadly, writing an article about the top 50 cat GIFs won’t bring the right kind of traffic to your website.
Instead of thinking about massive traffic numbers you’ll want to think about relevant traffic numbers. This means that creating a unique and fresh piece of content for the ...
web hosting
Apr 14, 2015
The post Infographic: Small Business Attitudes On Taxes appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
HostGator’s parent company, The Endurance International Group, recently surveyed over 800 small businesses and found that a vast majority are in favor of tax reform. The infographic below contains the results of this survey, some of which are quite interesting. To read the entire related press release, please click here:
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Apr 09, 2015
The post Are Distributors Employees Or Customers? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Distributors are the companies or individuals that you use in order to get your inventory to your clients. They are designed specifically around the logistics of getting your materials to the people who have ordered your products or services. Your suppliers may even be distributors for other companies. These people and companies have a responsibility to you to make sure that your customers get what they have ordered within the agreed upon time frame. The question becomes how exactly should you treat these companies and individuals.
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Employees Or Customers
Distributors may seem like they are your employees, in a sense, as you are paying them to provide a service for your company. On the other hand, your distributors, like your customers, have their own lists of demands. These demands must be met in order for these distributors to do anything for you.
If you are a small business, your distributor may simply be the post office, yet even the post office has its own set of demands regarding what and how you must ship certain objects. If you’re shipping lotions, for example, you must declare the lotions and follow specific protocols in order to ensure that they are shipped properly. Any liquid ...
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Apr 07, 2015
The post Does Your Business Really Need A Social Media Presence? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Social media is one of the most talked about topics in the online world today. Soon we may even have children with social media accounts before they even begin to walk. With all the hoopla around social media and all the social media “experts” telling you which strategy you should employ it can be difficult to make a decision.
After all, social media is a huge investment of time and spending too much time going in the wrong direction can be deadly for your business. In this post we’re going to explore the benefits of social media to see if you even need to be active on social media for your business to succeed.
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Understanding The Current Social Media Landscape
Social media seems to have transcended the trend status and all signs are suggesting it’s going to be around for good. The real reason social media gets confusing is because there are so many different channels to be on and be effective on.
The ways of communication across each channel differs greatly, and your core group of customers may not even be using the network that you’re trying to build an audience on.
The landscape is very diverse and requires that you pay attention to ...
web hosting
Apr 02, 2015
The post Easy to Implement Local SEO Tactics For Small Business Owners appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
If you operate a local small business that is dependent on sales from customers in close vicinity, then implementing a local SEO campaign is extremely helpful to your business.
Benefits include:
Increase your local brand awareness
Target highly qualified traffic
Drives more store visits
Less competition than organic SEO
All of these factors lead to an increase in sales and have an impact on your bottom line. Here’s a basic checklist for a successful local SEO campaign.
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Your Checklist To Local SEO Success
1. Optimize Your Website
Page Title Tags should:
Include your business name, keyword, and your city.
Not have the same title tag on every page.
Not be keyword stuffed.
Not be longer than 60 characters.
Enhance/Update homepage content.
Have separate product and/or service pages.
Add a customized location page. One for each location if you have more than one.
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2. Implement Schema On Your Website
Add Schema Mark-Up to your website. Schema code helps search engines understand more quickly what your business does and where it does it. For example, make it easy for search engines to understand that you’re a lawyer in Chicago who deals in criminal law. Chances are you’re indexed faster and show up higher in the results.
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3. Get a Google+ Local Listing & Optimize it
Have you claimed your listing? Great! No ...
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Mar 31, 2015
The post T-Shirt Giveaway & 60% Off, Today Only! appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
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We’ve decided to do a good, ol’ fashioned t-shirt giveaway! Today only, we will randomly choose a handful of new signups that use the coupon code SWAGGY to receive a free HostGator t-shirt. Not only does each signup have a chance to win a t-shirt, but all uses of the coupon code SWAGGY will receive 60% off the hosting package.
Winners will be chosen at random and emailed a link to the primary email address on their hosting account that can then be used to redeem their free t-shirt.
This offer is valid today only: March 31st, 2015. We will also be choosing some additional winners who share this offer out via their personal networks using the hashtag #SWAGGY …everyone has a chance to win one of these fashionable and comfortable HostGator t-shirts! Good luck!!
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Sign Up Now!
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Mar 31, 2015
The post Determining When To Enact Change appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Nothing stays the same forever, and neither should your website. It’s important to constantly work to improve the content and quality of your website, but how do you determine when change is necessary? What changes should you make? These are both valid questions, and while we cannot provide you with all the answers, as some of that will depend on your client base, profit margins, and the like, we can offer you some tips as to when you should start looking to change things up.
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Updates
This is huge. When you receive a notification that your site or any of the different programs, applications, widgets, templates, etc. that you use has an update available, do it. These updates are typically designed to address vulnerabilities. Your site needs to stay up to date. Make the change. Update your site. Your customers, your tech support, your staff, and your pocketbook will all thank you. It can be disastrous to fail to do this one simple step.
Granted, these changes will likely not bear any visible changes to your site, but they will keep the back-end safe which is just as important.
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What About The Rest of It?
If you’re blogging, try to update at least two ...
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Mar 24, 2015
The post Are You Making These 5 Common Website Mistakes? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
As a website owner you’ll want to do everything in your power to ensure your website is doing as much as it can to convert new visitors into subscribers and potential customers. A lot of websites try to do too much and as a result they end up doing nothing at all. Your website should be elegant, purposeful, and directed towards your core group of users.
It’s easy to make mistakes. We all do. However, some common website mistakes are avoidable, or can be fixed with a little more hard work. In this we’re going to explore the five most common website mistakes a lot of website owners make.
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1. Lack Of Direction And No Coherent Focus
I’m sure you’ve been to websites in the past that are very confusing and leave you in a frazzled state. On a sad note, most of the web is like this and it leads to information overwhelm and downright confusion. Our minds aren’t meant for the dizzying pace of the web and a lot of websites actually make this worse.
There are many ways to do this, but some of the most common mistakes include:
Weird or cluttered navigation
A site that aims to please everyone in ...
web hosting
Mar 19, 2015
The post Equipping Your Business With Google+ appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
I may be the first blogger to admit it, but I didn’t use Google+ very frequently as my preferred Social Media outlet. Having Facebook, Twitter, and several other mediums for connection felt like enough, right? But when you consider Google+ has only been around for three years, 1 Billion enabled accounts is quite the accomplishment.
Like any new and similar service, people are slow to adopt something they already have. What everyone has been missing, including myself, is the unique and powerful features Google+ possesses that many other networks cannot compare with.
Even if you’re not on Google+ socially, your business will greatly benefit from all the integral features Google+ provides. Here’s a few reasons to ignite your interest:
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Virtually Everyone Uses Google’s Products
Whether it’s Gmail, Maps, Play, Drive, YouTube or just an old fashioned web search, we’re all on Google to one degree or another. Having one account makes it possible to utilize all these amazing services, and before you know it Google+ may just become as popular as Facebook.
As of 2014 Google+ boasted 359 million active users, a number that has increased at a rate of 33% annually.
What’s more, is that everything you post integrates with every other Google platform under ...
web hosting
Mar 17, 2015
The post Uncover The Best Domain Name For Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Picking the right domain name isn’t a decision you want to rush. In the online space the domain is the first thing people have to remember when they want to work with you or visit your business. If you want your online presence and website to thrive you need a domain name that’s going to keep up.
A lot of business owners make the mistake of choosing a domain name that’s too long, too hard to spell, or doesn’t relate to their business. Some domains names are only a few letters long, but can still have a huge impact on your business.
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Most Common Domain Name Mistakes To Avoid
As we alluded to above, a lot of business owners make mistakes when choosing their domain names. Of course, you can change your domain name if you already have one that isn’t really doing much for your business, but it’s much less of a hassle to just get it right on the first go. Below you’ll find some of the most common mistakes.
1. Using Too Many Words
If you’re trying to stuff a bunch of keywords into your domain name and it’s getting very long and hard to remember it’s important that you shorten it. ...
web hosting
Mar 12, 2015
The post Why Your Online Presence Matters appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
You’ve just setup a new company, and you think it’s going to be big. It’s got everything – all the bells and whistles that you could ever possibly want. It addresses all of the concerns that you’ve ever had in regard to the jobs you’ve held in the past. No questionable benefits for your employees! A great vacation plan! Flexible schedules and a sick day policy that works to address all of the gripes that you’ve had in the past.
You’ve got a winning product, one that’s sure to make your company an overnight success, and a marketing plan that’s guaranteed to ensure that the product you’ve created catches the attention of the masses. You’re pleased. It’s taken years of hard work and dedication, but nothing could possibly go wrong, right?
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Your Social Media
Over the years you have amassed profiles in a variety of different places. Your long-ago MySpace account hasn’t been touched in almost a decade, though it’s still out there. You’ve got a G+ profile that you don’t use much, a Facebook profile, and a LinkedIn profile, and you even, if you’re old enough, may still have a profile floating about in AOL land somewhere.
You may not use any of ...
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Mar 12, 2015
The post Infographic: 2015 Small Business Perspectives On Mobile appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
The Endurance International Group recently surveyed over 900 of its small business customers regarding the state of responsive/mobile websites. It is surprising that over 70% of those surveyed agree that having a mobile website would positively impact there business, but only roughly 20% actually have a mobile app or solution. Take a look at the following infographic for the full story, and read the related press release right here:
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web hosting
Mar 10, 2015
The post Is All Traffic Created Equal? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Face it, if you want your online business to succeed you’re going to need a steady stream of traffic. However, there are crucial differences in the quality of traffic across the internet that could have an even larger effect. Some people believe that driving traffic to your website is purely a numbers game. However, the quality of your traffic matters much more than the quantity.
In this article we’re going to explore the differences in quality of web traffic and what it means for your business and success of your website.
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What Is Quality Traffic?
Quality traffic is composed of visitors who are actually engaged with what you’re offering, browse multiple pages, and spend a decent amount of time on your website. Essentially, they are going to make up the backbone of your revenue, as these people are also more likely to buy what you’re offering, or at least sign up for your email list.
These visitors should be the core focus of your business as your work actually resonates with them. Often, the amount of quality traffic flowing into your website will be low compared to other forms of traffic.
However, if your business was built to serve everyone it would probably end up ...
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Mar 05, 2015
The post Pinterest Adopts the Use of Promotional Ads appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
With over half a million businesses on Pinterest, the Social Media platform is becoming a lot more than just recipes and fashion photos. It’s time to prepare yourself to start seeing even more ads now that Pinterest unleashed new tools for businesses back in June. The “do-it-yourself Promoted Pins” feature will allow businesses of any size to promote their pins on a cost-per-click basis in order to reach more people and get more visits back to their homepage.
Pinterest has been testing this program since early May with big brands like Old Navy, Target and Shutterfly, and is offering a sign up for any business to try it when they’re ready to get started.
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Competing Against Facebook and Twitter, Subtly
By adopting the same principles as Facebook’s ad promotions and Twitter’s promoted Tweets, Pinterest’s Promoted Pins have been touted as “changing the game one pin at a time.” What’s different about their advertisements is that they won’t appear any different than the other posts that interest you. If, for instance, you’re browsing new cocktail recipes you won’t see an ad for JcPenny’s, instead you’ll see pins from companies that deal in mixology or interesting cocktail glasses.
Many have reported this as a noticeable benefit ...
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Mar 03, 2015
The post Taking Steps Towards Achieving A Paperless Office appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
As I write this I’m making several observations on the disheveled desk in front of me: unopened bank statements, old and useless receipts, and worst of all offers from credit cards I’m never going to apply for. I’m not unorganized, I just have a lot of paper coming my way, still.
The trend over the last decade has steadily pushed towards cutting paper from our overhead and trying to reduce the carbon footprint every business accounts for. According to Matt Peterson of eFilecabinet, by switching from paper to electronic documents you can lower your overhead by 30 to 40 percent.
If you’re truly ready to make the transition into digitizing documents here’s how to get started and keep it that way.
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Everyone Has To Buy In
For so long paper has been an integral part of how an office functions and communicates. Faxing, copying, and mailing were and still are routine tasks executed by employees that may not yet know about the alternative ways businesses are operating. In order to make paperless a reality your entire staff will have to adapt to the gradual transition into a permanent way of doing business.
It won’t be easy.
Many people have a strong affection for holding a physical ...
web hosting
Feb 26, 2015
The post National Entrepreneurship Week appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
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The entrepreneurial spirit is something that we hold near and dear at HostGator. After all, if not for the aspirations of a young entrepreneur in a Florida dorm room, HostGator would not exist.
In recognition of National Entrepreneurship Week, we are offering 50% off all new hosting packages. Our hope is that this opportunity will be seized by those with the entrepreneurial spirit and used to get their business up and running online.
Whether your business idea is something destined to revolutionize an existing industry, or springboard humanity into an entirely new era, or even just make the world a slightly better or more convenient place, we would be honored to host your website and help bring your entrepreneurial dream into reality.
This offer will expire very soon. Simply click the button below to get started, be sure to enter the coupon code SMALLBIZ at checkout in ...
web hosting
Feb 24, 2015
The post Tips for Creating a Successful E-Commerce Website appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Your e-commerce site is flashy; it loads quickly, and you’re selling a decent amount of product. But no matter how good your site is, it can always be better. There is always room for improvement. This is not meant as a criticism of any site, it is simply a fact. Technologies evolve and with them comes room for additional improvement to any site.
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Some Suggestions
There are certain tips that that will work to ensure that your e-commerce site stays as good as it is, improves drastically, or will serve to benefit your site in some way. As with any suggestion, please don’t take it personally, and remember, I most likely have not been to your site (though I could have!). These suggestions are more like a compilation of different issues I have seen on the e-commerce sites that I frequent and feel that they need addressing so that others can constantly improve. With that in mind – the suggestions:
Keep it Simple – as I have mentioned in a previous post, simple is better. If customers have additional questions about your products and services, they will ask (as long as you have a place for them to do so). Do not ...
web hosting
Feb 19, 2015
The post Domain Names Matter appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
It is generally understood these days that a domain name is necessary for brand recognition. Domain names also serve many higher purposes as well, including being a primary contributor to the overall user-friendliness of the Internet. Without domain names, we would have to memorize IP addresses in order to visit websites… instead of “Googling” something, we’d “74.125.227.229” it.
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Time To Select A Domain Name! ACK!
The truth is that many people fail to consciously think of a domain name that they want, or several alternatives, prior to the signup process. As such, when it comes time to pick a domain name, they panic. This can lead to a host of different issues, as with the case of the now defunct, ill-fated domain name “The pen is mightier” a.k.a. thepenismightier.com. As you can see, while “The pen is mightier” is a pretty nifty name from a very famous quote (and one that worked well for a site that made custom pens, it just doesn’t work so well as a domain name, and can lead to a host of unfortunate situations. The site has long since been taken down. It would be best, however, to learn from their unfortunate mistake.
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How Do I Avoid An ...
web hosting
Feb 17, 2015
The post How You May Be Sabotaging Your Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
You’re running your small business. You’re doing things your way, and you think you have it all under control. The fact of the matter is, the potential for things to spiral out of your control always exists. There are several different things that you may be doing that might actually be hurting your business instead of helping it. We are going to review some of these things. Take a look at whether or not you are actually committing a small business faux pas, and if so, you’ll be able to correct course before they start to negatively affect your business.
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Excessive Focus on Profits
While profit is certainly a goal of business, there is such a thing as being too focused on the bottom line. If your only concern is money, you will slowly start to drive employees away, and ultimately drive your customers away as well. Money is important, but losing sight of the human aspect, the fact that your employees have lives, that stuff happens, and that your customers, and even you have a life outside of making money or having someone make money for you is important. If you become lost in the idea of money, you will ...
web hosting
Feb 12, 2015
The post How To Use Customer Psychology To Engineer A Better Website appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Have you ever wondered why some websites draw you in and make you want to buy what they’re offering, while other sites leave you with a feeling of wanting more? Much of this has to do with the psychology behind the website.
A lot of designers and business owners build websites according to their specifications, instead of taking the time to strategically build a website that’s engineered for their ideal customer. In an increasingly crowded web space it’s more crucial than ever that your website be clear and on point.
By implementing some basic human psychology principles you’ll be on your way towards creating a website that not only looks good, but converts as well.
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Why Implement Psychology Based Design?
By taking the psychology into account you’ll be creating a better experience for your visitors, which will make them more likely to take whatever action you’re nudging them towards: buying what you’re offering, sharing your work, signing up for your newsletter, etc.
Trust is the backbone of any interaction on the web. Without trust you’ll have a very hard time making any sales, or having any kind of success with your website. Trust is a hard thing to build, especially in the online space.
By using ...
web hosting
Feb 10, 2015
The post What You Need To Know About Spanish SEO appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
The good news within this article is that you won’t need to learn anything new about SEO. The techniques we use to perform basic search engine optimization do not change across languages. However, translating an entire website into another language does require a lot more than just an English to Spanish dictionary.
With more than 37 million people speaking Spanish in the United States alone, it’s hard to ignore the potential within such a rapidly growing market. If your business has not considered opening its reach across cultural demographics, perhaps it’s time.
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Reasons Why You Should Consider It
Adding content in Spanish is no trivial task, but the returns may be entirely worth the extra investment. As Latin America rapidly expands, experts estimate there will be 329.1 million internet users in Central and South America by the end of 2014. A user base that exceeds the entire population of the United States by 12 million people (U.S. Population 317 Million, 2014 consensus).
What’s more, Latin America has also been shown to have the most loyal and engaged users on Social Networks with 94.1% of all internet users being on one or more networks. The major problem most marketers are missing in their SEO campaigns ...
web hosting
Feb 05, 2015
The post Entrepreneurs, the Internet, and Speed: Why Page Loads Matter appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Entrepreneurs utilize the Internet in a variety of ways: a means of promoting themselves or their products, completing market research, setting up a marketing plan, and so forth. It’s no surprise that, as a result, businesses are able to rise and fall in days or even weeks.
If an idea takes hold of the public’s subconscious, it’s liable to explode. If the idea, regardless of promotion, never takes hold in the mind of the public, the company is liable to languish, forever lurking in the darkest corners of the Internet. Not all ideas are gems, but at the same time, something as simple as presentation could be preventing the organization from taking off.
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Speed
Everything happens quickly online. Pages load in a fraction of a second, transactions are able to be completed in minutes, if not sooner, and manuscripts from hundreds of years in the past are able to be read and reviewed in less than a few hours, all without ever leaving the relative comfort of your computer chair.
People have come to expect expediency when dealing with all things online. If you don’t believe it, go from a cable modem back to dial up and see how quickly you become frustrated with ...
web hosting
Feb 03, 2015
The post Gaming Servers appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Gaming servers are servers that are used to host games. If you have played an MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) game, then you have connected to a gaming server.
A gaming server is a dedicated server or server cluster with the requisite amount of hardware and resources to be able to run the game fluidly. Most games, like Warhammer and Minecraft, will not allow a person to charge people to play the game, as the game is the property of the gaming company itself, however you are generally allowed to charge them to play on your server. You can, of course, simply setup a server to play with your friends.
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Why Would I Do This?
Well, to put it simply, these games are fun. Warhammer is a strategy game and Minecraft is like Legos for adults. The more people playing, the more fun it can be, but in order to have multiple people playing these games with you, you either need to have a LAN party and a server at your house, or you need a dedicated server – with that you can play with your friends no matter where they are, as long as they have their computer and an internet connection!
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You’ve ...
web hosting
Jan 28, 2015
The post Snappy Loves Puppies! appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Today, Snappy felt the need to speak out publicly about his love for pets of all shapes and sizes, but especially puppies. The mistreatment and abandonment of puppies is a heart-breaking situation, and Snappy wants to do something about it!
Austin Pets Alive is a no-kill animal shelter that saves more than 6,000 animals from euthanasia annually. As of this moment, we will donate $5 for every new hosting sign-up via coupon code PUPPYLOVE to Austin pets Alive, up to $5,000.
Not only will we be making this donation, but coupon code PUPPYLOVE also carries a 50% discount on all new hosting packages. Help us fight animal abuse and abandonment, while saving 50% off new hosting packages!
Get started right now by visiting http://gtrkb.com/puppylove
Thank you to everyone who participates in this donation, and thank you to Austin Pets Alive!
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web hosting
Jan 28, 2015
The post Snappy Loves Puppies! appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Today, Snappy felt the need to speak out publicly about his love for pets of all shapes and sizes, but especially puppies. The mistreatment and abandonment of puppies is a heart-breaking situation, and Snappy wants to do something about it!
Austin Pets Alive is a no-kill animal shelter that saves more than 6,000 animals from euthanasia annually. As of this moment, we will donate $5 for every new hosting sign-up via coupon code PUPPYLOVE to Austin pets Alive, up to $5,000.
Not only will we be making this donation, but coupon code PUPPYLOVE also carries a 50% discount on all new hosting packages. Help us fight animal abuse and abandonment, while saving 50% off new hosting packages!
Get started right now by visiting http://gtrkb.com/puppylove
Thank you to everyone who participates in this donation, and thank you to Austin Pets Alive!
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web hosting
Jan 26, 2015
The post Subscription Boxes: The Next Big Thing? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Subscription boxes, if you’re not presently familiar with the concept, are boxes sent out monthly to individuals who’ve subscribed for the service. While this definition is accurate, it doesn’t exactly provide a lot of information on what the product is, or why a person is selling it to another person. A subscription box contains a random set of items that differs every month. There are different types of subscription box services, providing shaving accoutrements, beauty products, video game related items, baby items, geography lessons to children, and just about everything in between. If you can come up with an idea and there are enough products of that category to keep your subscription box going, that’s all you need. Prices for these subscription boxes generally range from $10 to $40; however, there are specialty boxes with much higher price tags as well.
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What makes A Successful Subscription Box?
As with any business, the key to starting a successful subscription box service is a combination of the right products, high quality service, and prompt attention to customer feedback. If a customer complains that they don’t like your offerings, that’s fine, it may not be their thing, but if ten or twenty people complain about ...
web hosting
Jan 26, 2015
The post Subscription Boxes: The Next Big Thing? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Subscription boxes, if you’re not presently familiar with the concept, are boxes sent out monthly to individuals who’ve subscribed for the service. While this definition is accurate, it doesn’t exactly provide a lot of information on what the product is, or why a person is selling it to another person. A subscription box contains a random set of items that differs every month. There are different types of subscription box services, providing shaving accoutrements, beauty products, video game related items, baby items, geography lessons to children, and just about everything in between. If you can come up with an idea and there are enough products of that category to keep your subscription box going, that’s all you need. Prices for these subscription boxes generally range from $10 to $40; however, there are specialty boxes with much higher price tags as well.
?
What makes A Successful Subscription Box?
As with any business, the key to starting a successful subscription box service is a combination of the right products, high quality service, and prompt attention to customer feedback. If a customer complains that they don’t like your offerings, that’s fine, it may not be their thing, but if ten or twenty people complain about ...
web hosting
Jan 23, 2015
The post Outsourcing: Is It Right For You? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Outsourcing is the process of contracting out certain aspects of a business to an alternative company as a means of working to reduce the overall costs incurred by the business.
A computer manufacturer may outsource the creation of certain components to another company because it is cheaper for that other company to make them, as opposed to making the components themselves. A government entity may find that it is cheaper to outsource their tech support to another organization as opposed to keeping IT professionals on staff, and a small business owner may decide that it makes the most sense to outsource their human resources department rather than to create one of their own for only a few employees.
Regardless of the type of outsourcing being completed or the type of company looking to outsource, there are several different factors that must be considered, outside of the cost, when looking into this decision.
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Factors for Consideration
The first factor the company needs to look into is cost. The question of whether or not the company will save any money, in terms of their overhead or operating expenses is a key factor in business decisions. If the company will not save any money by outsourcing, then ...
web hosting
Jan 23, 2015
The post Outsourcing: Is It Right For You? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Outsourcing is the process of contracting out certain aspects of a business to an alternative company as a means of working to reduce the overall costs incurred by the business.
A computer manufacturer may outsource the creation of certain components to another company because it is cheaper for that other company to make them, as opposed to making the components themselves. A government entity may find that it is cheaper to outsource their tech support to another organization as opposed to keeping IT professionals on staff, and a small business owner may decide that it makes the most sense to outsource their human resources department rather than to create one of their own for only a few employees.
Regardless of the type of outsourcing being completed or the type of company looking to outsource, there are several different factors that must be considered, outside of the cost, when looking into this decision.
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Factors for Consideration
The first factor the company needs to look into is cost. The question of whether or not the company will save any money, in terms of their overhead or operating expenses is a key factor in business decisions. If the company will not save any money by outsourcing, then ...
web hosting
Jan 20, 2015
The post Keep It Simple appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Recent studies have shown that the average reading level for the general population of the United States ranges somewhere between a fourth and a sixth grade reading level; studies from several years ago put most individuals graduating high school as reading at no better than a fifth grade reading level. Do you feel that the content being presented to you has been dumbed down in recent years? Are you surprised at the latest arguments regarding whether or not it is socially acceptable for adults to read young adult novels? There’s a reason.
The average reading level has decreased drastically throughout the years. When I was in intermediate school, (6th grade), I tested at reading at college level, the highest the test would go; most of my classmates capped out at the same rate, with only a few of them hitting eleventh or twelfth grade reading levels, nothing any lower. In today’s day and age, those who are graduating aren’t even close, nor do they really seem to care.
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Why This Matters and How it Affects You
It matters for a lot of reasons, but this is neither the time nor the place for a soap box rant regarding the quality of education that ...
web hosting
Jan 20, 2015
The post Keep It Simple appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Recent studies have shown that the average reading level for the general population of the United States ranges somewhere between a fourth and a sixth grade reading level; studies from several years ago put most individuals graduating high school as reading at no better than a fifth grade reading level. Do you feel that the content being presented to you has been dumbed down in recent years? Are you surprised at the latest arguments regarding whether or not it is socially acceptable for adults to read young adult novels? There’s a reason.
The average reading level has decreased drastically throughout the years. When I was in intermediate school, (6th grade), I tested at reading at college level, the highest the test would go; most of my classmates capped out at the same rate, with only a few of them hitting eleventh or twelfth grade reading levels, nothing any lower. In today’s day and age, those who are graduating aren’t even close, nor do they really seem to care.
?
Why This Matters and How it Affects You
It matters for a lot of reasons, but this is neither the time nor the place for a soap box rant regarding the quality of education that ...
web hosting
Jan 14, 2015
The post Helpful Tips For Putting A Pricetag On Your Customized Work appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Being an entrepreneur requires a very diverse and calculated set of skills. First we conceptualize, then we create, followed by marketing, and if everything pans out we arrive at a sale, to put things simply of course. What very few people anticipate is how difficult it can be to put a price on an item once it’s ready to be sold.
What if I’m charging too much? What if I’m charging too little?
In either scenario, you probably aren’t making what you deserve. Only you, the creator, can know the amount of time, heart and resources that went into a project. Learning how to price your items fairly and effectively will serve to increase the frequency of your sales.
Here are some well tested ways in which you can develop a system for your price tags.
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Calculate the cost of materials + 10%
This goes for work you already have in stock, and especially for that in which has yet to be created. When you’re approached by a potential client, the number one step is recovering the cost everything that went into the piece before you added time, skills and expertise. If we didn’t make back the cost of materials we’d be in a ...
web hosting
Jan 14, 2015
The post Helpful Tips For Putting A Pricetag On Your Customized Work appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Being an entrepreneur requires a very diverse and calculated set of skills. First we conceptualize, then we create, followed by marketing, and if everything pans out we arrive at a sale, to put things simply of course. What very few people anticipate is how difficult it can be to put a price on an item once it’s ready to be sold.
What if I’m charging too much? What if I’m charging too little?
In either scenario, you probably aren’t making what you deserve. Only you, the creator, can know the amount of time, heart and resources that went into a project. Learning how to price your items fairly and effectively will serve to increase the frequency of your sales.
Here are some well tested ways in which you can develop a system for your price tags.
?
Calculate the cost of materials + 10%
This goes for work you already have in stock, and especially for that in which has yet to be created. When you’re approached by a potential client, the number one step is recovering the cost everything that went into the piece before you added time, skills and expertise. If we didn’t make back the cost of materials we’d be in a ...
web hosting
Jan 12, 2015
The post How To Build An Effective Hashtag Campaign appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Hashtags have slowly become a part of the popular culture, especially the digital culture. Over time they’ve grown to become a central part of an effective social media campaign. However, if you’re just getting started with using hashtags they can be overwhelming, and frankly a bit confusing.
Once you get the hang of using hashtags it will get much easier, but it’s important to know the basics so you have a better chance at running an effective campaign from the start.
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What Is A Hashtag?
In a way, hashtags can be seen as keywords. They allow for the aggregation of information that’s all based around a certain topic. Originally, hashtags were used by Twitter as a way to categorize their messages. Since their inception hashtags have grown across other platforms as well, including Instagram, Flickr, Vine, and more recently Facebook.
For instance, if you’re posting a picture of a tasty cup of coffee on Instagram, you may tag that picture with the hashtag #coffeelove. Or, if you’re posting a picture of a beautiful sunset, you could use the hashtag #sunset. Of course, hashtags apply to more than just pictures.
In order to utilize the power of hashtags for your business it’s crucial you create your ...
web hosting
Jan 12, 2015
The post How To Build An Effective Hashtag Campaign appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Hashtags have slowly become a part of the popular culture, especially the digital culture. Over time they’ve grown to become a central part of an effective social media campaign. However, if you’re just getting started with using hashtags they can be overwhelming, and frankly a bit confusing.
Once you get the hang of using hashtags it will get much easier, but it’s important to know the basics so you have a better chance at running an effective campaign from the start.
?
What Is A Hashtag?
In a way, hashtags can be seen as keywords. They allow for the aggregation of information that’s all based around a certain topic. Originally, hashtags were used by Twitter as a way to categorize their messages. Since their inception hashtags have grown across other platforms as well, including Instagram, Flickr, Vine, and more recently Facebook.
For instance, if you’re posting a picture of a tasty cup of coffee on Instagram, you may tag that picture with the hashtag #coffeelove. Or, if you’re posting a picture of a beautiful sunset, you could use the hashtag #sunset. Of course, hashtags apply to more than just pictures.
In order to utilize the power of hashtags for your business it’s crucial you create your ...
web hosting
Jan 07, 2015
The post Why Entrepreneurship Is So Important appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Gallup has shown that the world’s countries will need to add 600 million new jobs within the next 15 years. These numbers may seem ridiculous, but the fact of the matter is that these 600 million jobs will only allow the world to maintain current employment rates. These numbers seem staggering and that’s the truth. How on earth are we to manage this?
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Entrepreneurship is the Answer
According to this same Gallup report, 64% of new private sector reports are being created by small businesses. The individuals that open their own small businesses are deemed entrepreneurs. What does this mean for you? It means that now is the time to start that small business you have always dreamed of.
Now is the time for you to sit down and write that business plan in order to determine what you will need in order to get your small business off the ground. Studies have shown (for more information on this same Gallup study, please see the link at the bottom of the article) that there will be no shortage of workers, and the fact of the matter is that these workers will need your business in order to have a job. They will be ...
web hosting
Jan 07, 2015
The post Why Entrepreneurship Is So Important appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Gallup has shown that the world’s countries will need to add 600 million new jobs within the next 15 years. These numbers may seem ridiculous, but the fact of the matter is that these 600 million jobs will only allow the world to maintain current employment rates. These numbers seem staggering and that’s the truth. How on earth are we to manage this?
?
Entrepreneurship is the Answer
According to this same Gallup report, 64% of new private sector reports are being created by small businesses. The individuals that open their own small businesses are deemed entrepreneurs. What does this mean for you? It means that now is the time to start that small business you have always dreamed of.
Now is the time for you to sit down and write that business plan in order to determine what you will need in order to get your small business off the ground. Studies have shown (for more information on this same Gallup study, please see the link at the bottom of the article) that there will be no shortage of workers, and the fact of the matter is that these workers will need your business in order to have a job. They will be ...
web hosting
Jan 05, 2015
The post New Funding Methods For A New Age In Business appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Starting a Small Business
So you’ve decided you want to start a small business of your own; you’re ready to stop working for others and start working for yourself. This is great! Yes, you get to set your own hours, and yes, you get to do what you would like to do; however, when starting up a business of your own, you need to have the available capital to do so, and the time it takes to get it done. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day!
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Ways to Accomplish This
You’ve decided to start your business online. There are lower associated startup costs, and you don’t have to wear pants to go to work, both of which are decided bonuses! The problem is that it still costs money. You need a hosting plan, and you need up front capital to be able to get your inventory started, regardless of whether you are making something yourself or whether you are selling pre-made, manufactured products. How would you go about doing this if you don’t have the money saved up yourself? Well, there are several ways. You could find an angel investor, a set of investors, get a loan from the bank, or you ...
web hosting
Jan 05, 2015
The post New Funding Methods For A New Age In Business appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Starting a Small Business
So you’ve decided you want to start a small business of your own; you’re ready to stop working for others and start working for yourself. This is great! Yes, you get to set your own hours, and yes, you get to do what you would like to do; however, when starting up a business of your own, you need to have the available capital to do so, and the time it takes to get it done. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day!
?
Ways to Accomplish This
You’ve decided to start your business online. There are lower associated startup costs, and you don’t have to wear pants to go to work, both of which are decided bonuses! The problem is that it still costs money. You need a hosting plan, and you need up front capital to be able to get your inventory started, regardless of whether you are making something yourself or whether you are selling pre-made, manufactured products. How would you go about doing this if you don’t have the money saved up yourself? Well, there are several ways. You could find an angel investor, a set of investors, get a loan from the bank, or you ...
web hosting
Jan 02, 2015
The post How Small Business Can Benefit From Marketing Automation appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Running a small business can be compared to a very delicate and complex form of art. Our time has become increasingly more valuable, and maintaining a successful company requires implementing diverse and complicated marketing strategies.
While it’s beneficial having access to an array of varying platforms to reach our audiences, it can also be time consumptive and difficult to keep up. It’s no wonder the largest demographic seeking the benefits of marketing automation are small to mid sized businesses.
Can your company use some extra time? Let’s find out.
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First things first. What is Marketing Automation?
Considered one of the fastest growing solutions for sales and marketing professionals, marketing automation refers to technologies and certain software platforms designed for businesses to more effectively market online through multiple channels and automate recurring posts.
These services seek to optimize visitor/customer retention, improve conversions, cut marketing costs and perhaps most importantly revamp sales operations.
Marketing processes that would have otherwise been done manually, can now be streamlined to make new processes possible and make old task more efficient.
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Taking a look at common product features
Marketing automation is still a relatively new tactic to most businesses, and for that reason it’s important to know which features will best serve your immediate ...
web hosting
Jan 02, 2015
The post How Small Business Can Benefit From Marketing Automation appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Running a small business can be compared to a very delicate and complex form of art. Our time has become increasingly more valuable, and maintaining a successful company requires implementing diverse and complicated marketing strategies.
While it’s beneficial having access to an array of varying platforms to reach our audiences, it can also be time consumptive and difficult to keep up. It’s no wonder the largest demographic seeking the benefits of marketing automation are small to mid sized businesses.
Can your company use some extra time? Let’s find out.
?
First things first. What is Marketing Automation?
Considered one of the fastest growing solutions for sales and marketing professionals, marketing automation refers to technologies and certain software platforms designed for businesses to more effectively market online through multiple channels and automate recurring posts.
These services seek to optimize visitor/customer retention, improve conversions, cut marketing costs and perhaps most importantly revamp sales operations.
Marketing processes that would have otherwise been done manually, can now be streamlined to make new processes possible and make old task more efficient.
?
Taking a look at common product features
Marketing automation is still a relatively new tactic to most businesses, and for that reason it’s important to know which features will best serve your immediate ...
web hosting
Dec 19, 2014
The post Are Your Website And Business Actually In Alignment? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
If you’ve ever landed on a website only to feel overwhelmed and confused, then there’s a good chance that website wasn’t in alignment with their business. Often we have expectations when we visit a website, and if those expectations aren’t met then we’re probably hitting the back button.
If your business and website aren’t speaking the same language, or if your website is undefined and ambiguous you could be missing out on potential subscribers, business leads, and sales. We’re going to dive into the power of alignment, what it means for your business, and a few steps to get you going in the right direction.
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To Whom Is Your Website Calling Out?
Whether you’re building your own website, or working with a web designer, it can be easy to build a website that’s catered to your needs. After all, building a website is an incredibly fun process and it can be easy to get caught up in the beauty of it, as opposed to focusing on making it functional and efficient.
It’s not the most beautiful website’s that are the most successful, but the website that serves its customer’s needs the best. Throughout the design process it’s easy to get wrapped up in adding ...
web hosting
Dec 11, 2014
The post SSL Certificates And Visitors Confidence appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Confidence is so important on the Internet. Any site that acquires a reputation for unreliability, insecurity or dishonesty can expect to see traffic dwindle to zero. On the other hand, a site that can prove it takes security seriously can attract more visitors. And that can be good, whether your hosted web site is for a community, a membership service, or e-commerce. Surfers and online shoppers also increasingly recognize the on-screen presence of a small padlock icon or a website address that begins with “https://…” as signs that they can trust the site they’re connecting to. That’s SSL or ‘secure sockets layer’ in action. So how does SSL help you gain visitors’ trust?
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Protecting Information As It’s Transmitted
SSL operates between a visitor’s browser and your site or application. It’s an industry-standard mechanism that ensures the encryption of data being passed backwards and forwards, so that no unauthorized person can spy on the information and hack it. It also prevents cyber criminals from diverting visitor traffic to their own site using their own encryption, and gaining access to your data that way. All major web browsers have SSL capability built in. But for a website to have SSL capability means acquiring a ...
web hosting
Dec 08, 2014
The post Check Your Tech-nology appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Technology today is moving faster than the speed of light (quite literally: NASA recently released specs for a ship with a warp drive), and it’s often hard to keep up. It’s easy for a business to start to wonder whether or not the technology that they are utilizing in their daily lives is antiquated, out of date… or on a slightly pettier note, whether or not their stuff is better than the competition’s stuff.
Through a look at some of the most commonly used pieces of technology in the business world, it’s possible to give you that piece of mind, because let’s face it; that which is shown on television and in the movies isn’t what the average business has, nor is it quite as easy as the movies make out to sneak in and spy on the competition.
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Computers
Desktops have not gone out of style. In fact, many companies are still utilizing Windows XP, in spite of the fact that Microsoft is no longer putting out updates for vulnerabilities that are found. Heck, some people have even found ways around this, working to remove vulnerabilities anyway, allowing their companies to continue to use the OS that they are most comfortable ...
web hosting
Dec 05, 2014
The post Fighting Spam On Your Social Ads appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
The world of social media is supposed to be just that – social. It’s a place where people can freely speak their mind about a product, brand, or their favorite cat (we’re looking at you Grumpy cat). This can be amazingly wonderful for some advertisers, but then it can also be their worst enemy. This post will cover the negative effects of social on social (Twitter and Facebook) ads and how you can fight them.
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Twitter
The most common type of spam on Twitter originate from fake accounts posting affiliate links or links to their products. These users are essentially riding the curtails of legitimate advertisers in order to get some visibility for free. How effective is this for them? We don’t know.
Another type of spam comes from upset users. Although we all try our best to provide the absolute best products available, there will always be someone that is unsatisfied for some reason. These users can be very vocal about their opinions on social channels, even attempting to hijack otherwise civil threads with hate comments.
Fortunately with Twitter, you’ll be able to see comments on any of your posts coming through your notifications. So if you’re watching your notifications, you’ll be able ...
web hosting
Nov 18, 2014
The post Forecasting The Next Internet Evolution – Web 3.0 appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Amidst our globalized world where everything and everyone is getting connected online, it’s easy to get caught up in cyberspace and forget that you are using a technology barely fifty years old. That’s right, the Internet originated in the early 60’s and yet the Web seems to now infiltrate every facet of our everyday lives. Be it in your content consumption, your car, your home, or even your own body.
Integrating growing technologies and the best methods, the Internet is truly evolving faster than we could ever have imagined, not just becoming a larger part in our lives, but life itself. And thus, I dare introduce to you, the latest prediction as to the Internets next grand step — Web 3.0.
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Web 1.0
Before we get caught up in the future, it is best to first lay the groundwork, and understand from what Web 3.0 is even building when it first boomed in personal and commercial use in the early 90’s. Long regarded as “the Static Web,” the first generation was akin to a library network where you could only access information, not change it. Though it was simple, it helped fortify the infrastructures and make it more accessible to the masses through ...
web hosting
Oct 23, 2014
The post The Ideal Job appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
There are three types of people in this world: those who work because it gives them a sense of purpose and fulfillment; those who work because they have to, but would rather not be working; and those who aren’t working at all.
It could be argued that these three different types of people exist based on the amount of personal responsibility that they feel for themselves and their lives, with the first group being overly responsible, driven almost to the point of a neuroses, the second group being responsible enough to know that work comes before play, and the third group who never had a sense of responsibility instilled in them at all.
The fact of the matter is that given the option, no one wants to work, not really. They want to be doing something that they enjoy; if they get paid for it, so much the better. No one really wants to work, but we do.
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Doing What You Love, Loving What You Do
The most successful companies are those with high levels of employee morale, and one of the best ways to have high employee morale is to ensure that management morale is high. Though this may seem ...
web hosting
Oct 22, 2014
The post Happy 12th Birthday, Snappy! appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
It seems like only yesterday that our beloved blue gator was crawling around the swamp, still in diapers. Oh, how time flies!
Twelve years ago today, the HostGator.com domain was registered and thus Snappy was born. We like to mark this occasion each year with a something special.
This year we’re extremely happy to officially announce our new Texas datacenter! All new hosting accounts are now being provisioned right here in Houston, Texas, at CyrusOne!
CyrusOne features redundant power and cooling, along with state-of-the-art security and virtually everything one could ask for in a new datacenter. We’re very proud to be back home in Texas with CyrusOne!
Not only are we in a brand new data center, but Snappy is offering special discounts in celebration of his birthday! All new hosting plans with 6-month billing cycles are 65% off. All new hosting plans with billing cycles of other than 6-months are 45% off.
There’s even more great birthday news! Existing customers are welcome to take advantage of these discounts as well, please see this FAQ for full information.
To sign up, simply visit http://www.hostgator.com! This sale ends at 11:59p CST tonight (Wednesday, October 22, 2014).
Happy ...
web hosting
Oct 20, 2014
The post A Cyber Security Toolkit For Your Small Business appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
As unfortunate as it may be to say, 2013 marked a monumental year in data breaches, mainly for businesses that weren’t prepared with the necessary level of cyber security. According to Symantec’s annual Internet Security Threat Report there was a 493% increase in stolen identities since 2012, amounting to over 550 million affected customers.
Many remember recent headlines involving breaches in Apple’s iCloud, but most of us will never hear about the smaller targets data thieves have been cleaning out due to the lack of media attention. The National Small Business Association put out a survey, through which they found nearly half of all small businesses reported being victim of a cyber-attack.
With a reported 66% of all small businesses depending on the internet for day to day operations, there is still a resounding unawareness to to how damaging a data breach can be to your company’s future and reputation.
Thankfully those coding for cyber security are always a few steps ahead. October is recognized by the Tech Community as National Cyber Security Awareness month, so we wanted to compile a comprehensive guide for small businesses to prevent any such data breaches from occurring as we head towards the end of 2014.
Using four ...
web hosting
Oct 15, 2014
The post SSLv3 Security Vulnerability aka POODLE appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Tonight Google announced a flaw in the design of SSL v3. We have been tracking this issue after we heard whisperings in private security circles last week. Upon disclosure of the details we began remediating immediately.
The vast majority of end users should not experience any issues as a result of the changes we’re making. In fact, Google estimates this change will affect less than 1% of the internet. (The SSL 3.0 protocol is almost 15 years old but has remained in place to support users running older browsers.)
The attack vector for this vulnerability has prerequisites and is very sophisticated. As such, the real world severity is far below the recent Heartbleed & Shellshock vulnerabilities.
Check out Google’s Security blog for details.
If you would like to be 100% protected, you can disable SSLv3 in your browser settings. Information on how to do this in a few popular browsers can be found here.
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*****
Patrick Pelanne is Endurance’s Vice President in charge of System Operations. Previously he has served as HostGator’s Chief Operating Officer and HostGator’s Deputy Chief Technical Officer.
web hosting
Oct 13, 2014
The post Which Is Easier To Learn, Java Or Python? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
When it comes to learning an object-oriented programming language, you might consider starting with either Python or Java. While Python can be more user-friendly than Java, as it has a more intuitive coding style, both languages do have their unique advantages for developers and end users. However, if you are just beginning your path towards a programming career, you might want to start by learning Python, as it is less complex. On the other hand, you will be ahead of many of your colleagues if you are able to understand both. With that in mind, here are the main similarities and differences.
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Java
Java is unique in its own way and for an advanced programmer, no problem to use. The first Java version 1.0 was released in 1995. By 2004, Java 5.0 was released; this version saw the insertion of generics into the Java language, providing Java with more efficient code and type safety. To date, the latest version of Java is SE 8, and it made its debut in 2014.
Currently, it is widely used as the key programming platform on smartphones and tablets. Additionally, Java programming language forms a large part of the basis for Android’s operating systems. Java syntax is ...
web hosting
Oct 06, 2014
The post Scheduling Hassles Are Disappearing appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Scheduling
Scheduling matters. It’s a concept that everyone is made aware of from an early age; first with working to make sure that you’re up and dressed and ready to go for school on time, and later as a busy entrepreneur, a seasoned CEO, or as a new start-up owner. It doesn’t matter what your position is in the world, from the time that you’re old enough to go to school, you have a basic concept of what a schedule is, and that you’re supposed to be on one.
As you get older, these schedules become more and more important. You’re no longer on your own time as you were when you were a child on those lazy days of summer; the doctor can only see you at a set time, you’ve got to be at work at a certain time, and you’ve got that conference call at a certain time. Everything is on someone’s schedule.
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Partial Systems
Over time, you come to have a system; that system may be sticky notes all over the place, a calendar on the wall in the kitchen, or even a reminder programmed into your phone. Still, you’ve got to remember to add all those important tasks to ...
web hosting
Oct 02, 2014
The post Performance Testing: Latency, Load, Stress, or Soak? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
How well does your web hosting perform? Are you sending web pages in a timely way to visitors to your site? Is your application correctly handling simultaneous requests? Do you actually know what can be measured – and which measures are relevant to your situation? Web hosting performance testing can give you valuable information that can let you keep visitors longer on your site, make sure you can accept the right number of simultaneous visitors, handle overload situations and detect possible design or programming deficiencies.
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Latency or How Long It Takes to Get Back to a Visitor
Let’s start with the case of just one visitor (naturally, you’ll probably be aiming for rather more, but we’ll discuss this below.) Normally, you want the response time for that visitor to be as fast as possible. In other words, between the moment when the visitor clicks to send you a request and the moment the visitor sees your response, the least time possible should elapse. This ‘latency’ can however be determined by several different things, including the power of your web hosting platform, the size of your network connection and the power and network speed of your visitor’s computer. You can improve the first ...
web hosting
Sep 29, 2014
The post Your Business To The Power Of Google appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
What do you do when one of the world’s most innovative companies of all time reaches out to you and your business and says, “We want to help?” Here’s a hint: take their hand and say “thank you” without any hesitation. Some things just make sense… and sometimes saying “no” makes no sense at all.
Cue, the mighty Google. What can be said about the company whose name has not only become synonymous with Internet searches but has actually become a verb; an honor reserved for only the most creative and unique individuals and entities in existence. Google has long been a standout for more than what they bring to the table; who they invite to the table with them is of equal importance. And, this time, they are inviting you.
Google Apps is a suite of tools, most of which you’re likely already familiar with (Gmail, anyone?) that are designed to streamline your business. HostGator now uses Google Apps internally for our email, document sharing, video conferencing, calendars, and so forth. Google Apps has literally changed the way we function, day to day.
Here is a brief snapshot of the things Google wants to do for you, aside ...
web hosting
Sep 25, 2014
The post The Shell Shock Vulnerability appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
The bad guys are unfortunately at it again. Today the Internet lit up with news of a new vulnerability, officially named “CVE-2014-6271,” but more widely-known as “Shell Shock,” a reference to the environment exploited, known as a shell.. The shell in question is called BASH, itself an acronym for Bourne Again SHell. Nearly all Linux servers in the world have BASH installed; it is the most common shell in use today. A shell itself is what is used to interact with the operating system via command line.
Before we proceed, you should know that all HostGator servers have been patched as of this writing. We identified the issue very early-on and developed the necessary solution for our environment. We are, of course, continuing to monitor the situation and will react appropriately should the need arise.
As with any security or vulnerability risk, it is important to reiterate the importance of practicing good security to the extent of your ability as an end user. Always use secure passwords (you know the drill: upper- and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters), always keep any third-party scripts (such as WordPress, Joomla, etc.) up-to-date, and always uses the latest ...
web hosting
Sep 24, 2014
The post Twitter Email List Targeting appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
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For those of you who have been using social media advertising, you may know that Facebook has allowed for email list targeting for some time now. This feature is great because you can strictly target those users in your email list. Companies can even use their existing client lists to target them on Facebook for customer promotions and increasing customer value. Now, Twitter has entered the game with the option to upload lists to target with ads.
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Why Email Targeting?
With email targeting, you can direct ads straight to those who you believe are the best for your promotion. For example, you have a list of customers who bought Product A and you’re having a sale on Product B that is a really good complementary item for Product A. Instead of emailing everyone on this list, you can run a campaign on Twitter to let them know about the sale. Or you can have an integrated campaign to email them and promote to them on Twitter.
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Is It Just Email Targeting?
No. You can create a targeted audience with different types of lists. Email is usually what most businesses have from their clients. Not all request phone numbers. You can create lists with the following ...
web hosting
Sep 17, 2014
The post Google Authorship Dead In 2014? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
If you’ve searched for anything on Google in the last month or so (who hasn’t?), you may have noticed slight changes in the results. First, the author pictures next to the results conspicuously disappeared. Then, videos started to vanish for most results (except those of YouTube and other sources where video is a primary source of content). Now, author names have disappeared. According to John Mueller from Google’s Webmaster Analytics team, Authorship has indeed been removed from your search results.
A few months ago, the same search would have displayed the associated Google+ profile picture and related information, as shown in the image below from our prior Authorship blog post:
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Now the posts are stripped down to provide you the content that you’re looking for without the fluff.
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Why Was Authorship Removed?
If you ever set up authorship, then you know it was not the easiest process to start with. There were several steps involved, including an update your site’s code to add the markup. If you were using a CMS like WordPress, the markup wasn’t too hard, but HTML sites were a little harder to modify. Since the entire ordeal wasn’t an easy 1-2 step process, it had a low adoption rate.
As stated ...
web hosting
Sep 15, 2014
The post How Archive As A Service Lets You Lose Those Information Silos appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
There are a number of things that cloud storage services can do well. They can offer affordable resources, whether you’re starting out or extending from an existing setup. They can make those resources highly reliable and almost infinitely scalable (let’s just say, you’re unlikely to ever bump up against any limits.) And, last but by no means least; they can bring different parts of an organization together. With many enterprises still struggling to break down the barriers that prevent proper information flow, cloud storage services can be a boon for that reason alone. Archive as a Service offers additional “anti-information silo” features that become increasingly important as a company grows.
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Demonstrating Compliance: Everybody’s Headache
To a greater or lesser degree, every business is bound by regulations and a need to practice and demonstrate compliance with those regulations. If you’re operating as a sole trader, then to start with you’ll need to keep records for taxes. If your business has employees, departments, branch offices, then you can look forward to accounting, health and safety, traceability, consumer protection, medical confidentiality and more, according to the sector in which you operate. Trying to get each department to conform to compliance regulations is a challenge in ...
web hosting
Sep 10, 2014
The post Boost Sales With Effective Product Photography appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
The United States has seen a rising trend in digital buyers from 136.9million in 2010, to what should be nearly 170 million next year in 2015. That’s over half the country now shopping in eCommerce stores. As consumers, we can’t get enough of the attractive images drawing our eyes towards a potential purchase because online a sale often comes down to how well we can perceive the product.
Ideally, you’d want to hire a professional photographer to undertake such an important task, but these days with all of the additional costs small businesses are facing some budgets just won’t allow for it. That’s why we have created a guide for the most important characteristics pertaining to an effective product photo.
Follow the tips below in order to capture images your customers will respond to.
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Get set up with consumer-grade equipment
There’s a big difference in consumer and professional equipment, and usually it comes down to the cost. Camera manufacturers are putting out new consumer models every 6-8 months, all of which are capable of delivering fantastic imagery for a fraction of the cost of what a professional-grade camera would run you.
I recommend looking into a DSLR and lens that costs no more than $1,000 ...
web hosting
Sep 04, 2014
The post Email: Unlimited vs. Infinite appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Email is one of those little things that you can easily forget about. You read it, maybe even type out a response and click send… but then you go on about your day, likely paying no mind at all to the fact that the little email actually does take up physical space on a hard drive within a server. This can lead to some major issues in the long run, however. Like personal fitness, it is something that you need to keep tabs on and do daily. Left unchecked, an inbox full of old email and spam can ultimately lead to detrimental issues.
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What Unlimited Really Means
It’s easy to think that unlimited does actually mean infinite, but the reality is that physical limitations do exist; there will always be a finite amount of space, be it in your office or on a server. Every single file takes up space, even if just a miniscule amount, but those teeny-tiny amounts do add up when left unchecked!
This is most definitely applicable with email. If you don’t go through and remove old emails and spam from time to time it can really add up, just like cholesterol in your veins. Overtime, the blockage ...
web hosting
Sep 04, 2014
The post Email: Unlimited vs. Infinite appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Email is one of those little things that you can easily forget about. You read it, maybe even type out a response and click send… but then you go on about your day, likely paying no mind at all to the fact that the little email actually does take up physical space on a hard drive within a server. This can lead to some major issues in the long run, however. Like personal fitness, it is something that you need to keep tabs on and do daily. Left unchecked, an inbox full of old email and spam can ultimately lead to detrimental issues.
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What Unlimited Really Means
It’s easy to think that unlimited does actually mean infinite, but the reality is that physical limitations do exist; there will always be a finite amount of space, be it in your office or on a server. Every single file takes up space, even if just a miniscule amount, but those teeny-tiny amounts do add up when left unchecked!
This is most definitely applicable with email. If you don’t go through and remove old emails and spam from time to time it can really add up, just like cholesterol in your veins. Overtime, the blockage ...
web hosting
Sep 02, 2014
The post Looking Into The Past To Predict The Future: The History Of The Internet appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
In a digital era where connectivity and technology are terms as ubiquitous as food and water, it’s easy to take the Internet for granted and not pay it any more mind beyond your latest tweet. In fact, relatively few people really understand what the Internet is, no less the origins of the world wide web or how it has grown over time to reach its current capabilities.
Although this information might strike you as irrelevant, it might be wise to take minute and learn the basics just as you should understand the fundamentals of a car, considering that the Internet will undoubtedly be the tool that defines the 21st century.
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Birth of “The Net”
Conceptualization – The Internet was conceived in 1962 by J.C.R. Licklider of MIT as a “Galactic Network” that would connect a group of computers so they may access data and programs regardless of where a single computer was located.
Experimentation – After MIT researchers Leonard Kleinrock and Lawrence G. Roberts expanded upon Licklider’s idea and theorized the feasibility of such an invention, they managed to successfully link two computers from Massachusetts to California via a low speed dial-up telephone line in 1965.
Development – By 1968 the Defense Advanced Research ...
web hosting
Sep 02, 2014
The post Looking Into The Past To Predict The Future: The History Of The Internet appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
In a digital era where connectivity and technology are terms as ubiquitous as food and water, it’s easy to take the Internet for granted and not pay it any more mind beyond your latest tweet. In fact, relatively few people really understand what the Internet is, no less the origins of the world wide web or how it has grown over time to reach its current capabilities.
Although this information might strike you as irrelevant, it might be wise to take minute and learn the basics just as you should understand the fundamentals of a car, considering that the Internet will undoubtedly be the tool that defines the 21st century.
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Birth of “The Net”
Conceptualization – The Internet was conceived in 1962 by J.C.R. Licklider of MIT as a “Galactic Network” that would connect a group of computers so they may access data and programs regardless of where a single computer was located.
Experimentation – After MIT researchers Leonard Kleinrock and Lawrence G. Roberts expanded upon Licklider’s idea and theorized the feasibility of such an invention, they managed to successfully link two computers from Massachusetts to California via a low speed dial-up telephone line in 1965.
Development – By 1968 the Defense Advanced Research ...
web hosting
Aug 27, 2014
The post Raising The Bar: Fundraising And The Future appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Editors Note – Cy is a friend of HostGator, currently pursuing entrepreneurial dreams in Silicon Valley. We have asked him to share his adventures. If you missed it see Part 1 The Spark: A Startup Is Born and Part 2 Perilous Pivots: When a Dream Meets Reality.
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Traction is great, but it doesn’t keep a company alive. After five months of growth Contastic was picking up steam. We had hundreds of users on board and real revenue starting to trickle in. However, it was not enough to sustain our costs as a business. We had only three months of cash in our personal bank accounts left to survive. With that dwindling lifeline in mind I jumped into the process of fundraising.
It started with a bang; I made a long list of all the investors I knew from our time at Lightspeed. Everyone took a meeting – leading to at least a hundred coffees and calls. With each meeting we heard a new opinion that led us to create countless iterations of our pitch deck – presenting our company in a new light each time. Little did I know this would all be ...
web hosting
Aug 27, 2014
The post Raising The Bar: Fundraising And The Future appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Editors Note – Cy is a friend of HostGator, currently pursuing entrepreneurial dreams in Silicon Valley. We have asked him to share his adventures. If you missed it see Part 1 The Spark: A Startup Is Born and Part 2 Perilous Pivots: When a Dream Meets Reality.
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Traction is great, but it doesn’t keep a company alive. After five months of growth Contastic was picking up steam. We had hundreds of users on board and real revenue starting to trickle in. However, it was not enough to sustain our costs as a business. We had only three months of cash in our personal bank accounts left to survive. With that dwindling lifeline in mind I jumped into the process of fundraising.
It started with a bang; I made a long list of all the investors I knew from our time at Lightspeed. Everyone took a meeting – leading to at least a hundred coffees and calls. With each meeting we heard a new opinion that led us to create countless iterations of our pitch deck – presenting our company in a new light each time. Little did I know this would all be ...
web hosting
Aug 25, 2014
The post Webhosting SOAP appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
With your website up and running, you can welcome visitors from all over the web. And with several websites – or web applications – you can multiply that number of visitors further. But what if you wanted to give each visitor a seamless experience so that whichever website he or she accessed, it would be possible to transparently get services from the other websites, too? Sure, you can always provide handy links to open up new browser windows or embed information in pop-ups, but web hosting also allows you to make things much more seamless and slick. You can give your visitors the perception that they are getting everything they need from just one site.
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Visitor Perception
How your visitors see your site can affect visitor loyalty, traffic and (if that’s your goal) website revenues. Suppose you run a travel information service on one web hosting platform, a hotel reservation service on another, and you’d also like to make up to date currency exchange information (which you don’t host) available to your visitors too. In fact, by using a standard networking protocol that other providers offer, you can also make your web site the center of the universe for your visitors and ...
web hosting
Aug 25, 2014
The post Webhosting SOAP appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
With your website up and running, you can welcome visitors from all over the web. And with several websites – or web applications – you can multiply that number of visitors further. But what if you wanted to give each visitor a seamless experience so that whichever website he or she accessed, it would be possible to transparently get services from the other websites, too? Sure, you can always provide handy links to open up new browser windows or embed information in pop-ups, but web hosting also allows you to make things much more seamless and slick. You can give your visitors the perception that they are getting everything they need from just one site.
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Visitor Perception
How your visitors see your site can affect visitor loyalty, traffic and (if that’s your goal) website revenues. Suppose you run a travel information service on one web hosting platform, a hotel reservation service on another, and you’d also like to make up to date currency exchange information (which you don’t host) available to your visitors too. In fact, by using a standard networking protocol that other providers offer, you can also make your web site the center of the universe for your visitors and ...
web hosting
Aug 22, 2014
The post Facebook Ads Update: September 2014 appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
In March of this year, Facebook made some changes to the way in which ad campaigns are managed; essentially providing for better campaign management via increased granularity. This allowed for significantly better A/B testing; one example being the ability to split mobile ads into a unique ad set separate from regular newsfeed ads, which proved to be exceptionally helpful. Eight months later, they’re at it again with a new update.
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Advertising Update 2014
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On August 13th, Patricia Lai posted news on the Facebook PMD about new changes in the structure of campaigns. For those who like to exercise as much control as possible over their campaigns, these will again be welcomed changes. Let’s take a closer look.
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What You Should Know
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The biggest change for the September 2014 update is highlighted in the picture above. You may remember back in March, Facebook updated the campaign structure as follows:
Campaign: Objective
Ad Set: Schedule and Budget
Ad: Creative, Placement, Targeting and Bidding
The most notable change was the introduction of the ad set. For this update, Facebook will be reversing the roles of ads and ad sets.
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With the new structure, it will look more like this:
Campaign: Objective
Ad Set: Schedule, Budget, Bidding, Targeting and Placement
Ad: Creative
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When Is ...
web hosting
Aug 22, 2014
The post Facebook Ads Update: September 2014 appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
In March of this year, Facebook made some changes to the way in which ad campaigns are managed; essentially providing for better campaign management via increased granularity. This allowed for significantly better A/B testing; one example being the ability to split mobile ads into a unique ad set separate from regular newsfeed ads, which proved to be exceptionally helpful. Eight months later, they’re at it again with a new update.
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Advertising Update 2014
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On August 13th, Patricia Lai posted news on the Facebook PMD about new changes in the structure of campaigns. For those who like to exercise as much control as possible over their campaigns, these will again be welcomed changes. Let’s take a closer look.
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What You Should Know
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The biggest change for the September 2014 update is highlighted in the picture above. You may remember back in March, Facebook updated the campaign structure as follows:
Campaign: Objective
Ad Set: Schedule and Budget
Ad: Creative, Placement, Targeting and Bidding
The most notable change was the introduction of the ad set. For this update, Facebook will be reversing the roles of ads and ad sets.
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With the new structure, it will look more like this:
Campaign: Objective
Ad Set: Schedule, Budget, Bidding, Targeting and Placement
Ad: Creative
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When Is ...
web hosting
Aug 20, 2014
The post Google+ Moves Forward appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Most businesses opt to use Twitter or Facebook as a means of communicating with their customers, or their potential customers; though there are those that are willing to utilize G+, they often do so as an afterthought, making it a nice place for many of us to hang out who don’t like dealing with advertisements in our news, information, and social escapades. Still, with Facebook starting to trail behind the others, as it increases the amount of advertisements and decreases in popularity, many users are starting to turn to G+ as the next big platform.
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What Does This Mean For Businesses?
You may want to get on board with G+, and Google’s making that easier than ever for you to do now. All e-commerce business owners use some form of analytics in order to determine the best moves for their business, allowing them to find out where they want to take things from here, so to speak.
While this has been somewhat possible through social media as well, many business owners find that they don’t want to pay the additional fees needed in order to access this information, leaving them questioning as to whether or not they are doing things right on the ...
web hosting
Aug 20, 2014
The post Google+ Moves Forward appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Most businesses opt to use Twitter or Facebook as a means of communicating with their customers, or their potential customers; though there are those that are willing to utilize G+, they often do so as an afterthought, making it a nice place for many of us to hang out who don’t like dealing with advertisements in our news, information, and social escapades. Still, with Facebook starting to trail behind the others, as it increases the amount of advertisements and decreases in popularity, many users are starting to turn to G+ as the next big platform.
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What Does This Mean For Businesses?
You may want to get on board with G+, and Google’s making that easier than ever for you to do now. All e-commerce business owners use some form of analytics in order to determine the best moves for their business, allowing them to find out where they want to take things from here, so to speak.
While this has been somewhat possible through social media as well, many business owners find that they don’t want to pay the additional fees needed in order to access this information, leaving them questioning as to whether or not they are doing things right on the ...
web hosting
Aug 18, 2014
The post Harnessing Your Web Power appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
This is perhaps the “selfie” generation. Never before have so many horns been tooted by their very owners. Frankly, that’s a lot of noise with which to compete. What is a self-appreciating, well-meaning artist to do? Blow harder? Louder?
In college I was ever-fascinated by the marching bands. The organization of those harmonies and the concerted effort displayed amid the open roofed, fan crazed, frenzy that ensued in the stands was nothing less than spectacular to me.
Through the playful back and forth between various sections of instrumentation, there seemed to reign a constant (perhaps even arrogant) dominance of the trumpeters. Who, after moments of being connivingly coy, pierced through and blurted out their superiority as though the keep all else in check and ensure their prowess was well recognized.
I eventually grew to appreciate a particular instrument more than all the rest; it was not the trumpet. It was the Piccolo, the miniature flute. It seemed to simply float up in the atmosphere, ever present. It could be easily missed, yet once you have grasped its unique pitch and tone, it is undeniable and somewhat addictive.
Stay with me…I assure you I’m going somewhere with this.
You want nothing more than to be ...
web hosting
Aug 18, 2014
The post Harnessing Your Web Power appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
This is perhaps the “selfie” generation. Never before have so many horns been tooted by their very owners. Frankly, that’s a lot of noise with which to compete. What is a self-appreciating, well-meaning artist to do? Blow harder? Louder?
In college I was ever-fascinated by the marching bands. The organization of those harmonies and the concerted effort displayed amid the open roofed, fan crazed, frenzy that ensued in the stands was nothing less than spectacular to me.
Through the playful back and forth between various sections of instrumentation, there seemed to reign a constant (perhaps even arrogant) dominance of the trumpeters. Who, after moments of being connivingly coy, pierced through and blurted out their superiority as though the keep all else in check and ensure their prowess was well recognized.
I eventually grew to appreciate a particular instrument more than all the rest; it was not the trumpet. It was the Piccolo, the miniature flute. It seemed to simply float up in the atmosphere, ever present. It could be easily missed, yet once you have grasped its unique pitch and tone, it is undeniable and somewhat addictive.
Stay with me…I assure you I’m going somewhere with this.
You want nothing more than to be ...
web hosting
Aug 15, 2014
The post What Is A Dark Post On Facebook? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
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The featured image on this article is not a post that you will find anywhere on the HostGator Facebook Page. But yet many people have seen it. How? The answer: Dark Posts.
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Dark Post – What Is It?
According to the definition from Google, a dark post is the following:
An unpublished post is a status update, link share, video or photo that was never meant to be shared as an organic post. Staying true to its name, it’s never published but is only surfaced as an ad.
Basically, it’s a Facebook post that you control exactly who sees it through ads. If you have seen the main image on this page on Facebook, then that means you have seen one of our dark posts targeting you.
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Why Dark Post?
The purpose of these posts are to create a message for a specific goal without cluttering up the newsfeed for those who would see it as irrelevant. For example, if you’re trying to sell your services and all of your followers already use your services, then it wouldn’t make sense for them to see an ad on their newsfeed for your services. However, you still want to post a message for selling your services to drive sales. This is ...
web hosting
Aug 15, 2014
The post What Is A Dark Post On Facebook? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
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The featured image on this article is not a post that you will find anywhere on the HostGator Facebook Page. But yet many people have seen it. How? The answer: Dark Posts.
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Dark Post – What Is It?
According to the definition from Google, a dark post is the following:
An unpublished post is a status update, link share, video or photo that was never meant to be shared as an organic post. Staying true to its name, it’s never published but is only surfaced as an ad.
Basically, it’s a Facebook post that you control exactly who sees it through ads. If you have seen the main image on this page on Facebook, then that means you have seen one of our dark posts targeting you.
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Why Dark Post?
The purpose of these posts are to create a message for a specific goal without cluttering up the newsfeed for those who would see it as irrelevant. For example, if you’re trying to sell your services and all of your followers already use your services, then it wouldn’t make sense for them to see an ad on their newsfeed for your services. However, you still want to post a message for selling your services to drive sales. This is ...
web hosting
Aug 13, 2014
The post Beyond Web Hosting: The Content Delivery Network appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Have you ever wondered how some of those more popular web sites manage to deliver their content to you so quickly and so reliably – no matter where the company is located and no matter where you happen to be connected? In many cases, the answer is not one gigantic server with huge Internet bandwidth. It’s more likely to be the use of a content delivery network (CDN). If your own web presence is starting to generate serious interest and traffic, especially from different parts of the world, it may be a solution that makes sense for you in order to supply your content to a growing number of fans or customers.
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Like Web Hosting but Multiplied Up
A CDN works in a similar way to a single web hosting installation, but replicates your website data on multiple servers. These servers are distributed geographically to increase proximity with visitors to your website. Some CDNs focus on certain regions. Others claim worldwide coverage – the biggest CDNs can have thousands of servers, all automatically configured to serve the end-users that are the physically closest to them. Smaller distances mean fewer hops, less latency and faster overall transmission. Higher numbers of servers mean that ...
web hosting
Aug 13, 2014
The post Beyond Web Hosting: The Content Delivery Network appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Have you ever wondered how some of those more popular web sites manage to deliver their content to you so quickly and so reliably – no matter where the company is located and no matter where you happen to be connected? In many cases, the answer is not one gigantic server with huge Internet bandwidth. It’s more likely to be the use of a content delivery network (CDN). If your own web presence is starting to generate serious interest and traffic, especially from different parts of the world, it may be a solution that makes sense for you in order to supply your content to a growing number of fans or customers.
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Like Web Hosting but Multiplied Up
A CDN works in a similar way to a single web hosting installation, but replicates your website data on multiple servers. These servers are distributed geographically to increase proximity with visitors to your website. Some CDNs focus on certain regions. Others claim worldwide coverage – the biggest CDNs can have thousands of servers, all automatically configured to serve the end-users that are the physically closest to them. Smaller distances mean fewer hops, less latency and faster overall transmission. Higher numbers of servers mean that ...
web hosting
Aug 06, 2014
The post May We See Your ID, Please? Part IV appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
If you haven’t seen the first three posts in this series, we’d highly recommend checking them out right here. With that out of the way, let’s dive right into our newest batch of fake IDs!
Up first is what appears to perhaps be a French ID, aside from the fact that we suspect it may not be official and, in fact, it might even be homemade. Surely the finest colored pencils were used in order to replicate an official document, but with our collective keen eye we determined that this ID raised enough red flags for us to consider it most likely counterfeit:
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Our next ID may not be completely homemade, but it’s a close second. If not for the name, age, and gender having clearly been Photoshopped in, our attention may have been brought to the fact that the picture (on the otherwise blurry photograph) is clearly a selfie. While it is possible, in this modern age, that government agencies would accept selfies for their official documents, we have our doubts about this one:
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This next person didn’t really try to fool us, they apparently just sent us an image from Discover Card’s own advertising. No points for creativity ...
web hosting
Aug 04, 2014
The post Essential Elements appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Sales is a numbers game. However, while it is certainly necessary to have a well thought out expansion strategy, sometimes simply pausing for a moment can likewise be good for profitability.
As a child, I began taking music lessons. After a short while, I quit. Many of the lessons I felt were somewhat rudimentary in nature and lacked the pizzaz I desired. Needless to say, quitting was a BIG mistake. Rather than tough out the monotony and appreciate the small things, I sought to chase dreams of grandeur and magnificence. Fast forward to today and I’m writing this blog instead of performing at Carnegie Hall. If only I’d stuck it out, learned the basics and improved my musical skills… not that I don’t love writing as well!
The primary difference is simply embracing the initial steps (practicing those monotonous musical scales, as it were), the beginnings: the “Essential Elements” necessary to succeed.
How does this relate to your business? Often entrepreneurs have visions of grandeur and can not only see the success on the horizon, but also can touch, taste, and feel it. Sometimes it becomes difficult to remain “in the moment” especially with the way technology rapidly advances. However, one must ...
web hosting
Jul 29, 2014
The post 3 Psychologically Proven Methods For Creating A Better Workplace appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
When an influential mentor speaks to you, chances are you’re going to remember what they say. For me, it was a lecture early on in college where one of my Professors attempted to demonstrate the importance of social sciences in relation to real world business practices. The gist of what he said was, “Business is all about working with people. The more you understand what people want and how they operate, the more successful you’re going to be across any career path.”
Essentially signifying the role and value our emotional quotient fulfills in an environment where humans attempt to cooperate with one another on mutual tasks. Quite frequently, though, we’re begrudged by disrespectful and demanding supervisors who have skills in every aspect to a managerial position, except interpersonal relations.
Whether you’re struggling to develop a better relationship with your employees, or are simply lacking directional leadership skills, here are three ways you can improve the general happiness within your company.
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Show Your Appreciation Appropriately
There are many ways to motivate employees, but nothing can can quite replace the empowerment of expressing gratitude towards their efforts. By taking the time to examine what we appreciate from our team, we’re also encouraging others to do ...
web hosting
Jul 25, 2014
The post Why Customer Service Matters appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
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Sure, everyone says that customer service matters, and that customer service is important to the way that they do business… but how many times do you feel like the above situation is what’s actually happening when you’re dealing with a company? The most common perception is that no matter what the party line is, the fact of the matter is that companies today just don’t care. Most people get annoyed with it, but few people actually take the time to think about how those perceptions transfer to their business.
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Does this Sound Familiar?
You have an issue with a product you’ve purchased from a company, something frustrating in and of itself, and, already irate, you attempt to contact the company regarding the issue you’ve experienced. You want the company to take responsibility for the faulty product and take the time to get the matter resolved. Instead you either get an automated response, or, worse, the company tells you that it’s your fault that the issue arose and you’re out of luck, placing the blame on you for the issue with the product, regardless of whether or not it’s your fault that the issue occurred. You rant, rave, maybe even cuss, and get ...
web hosting
Jul 21, 2014
The post Considerations And Meditations On Effective Web Design appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
When exploring the overwhelmingly wide world of design tips, tricks, bells, whistles, gidgets, and gadgets galore, it’s important to keep in mind that the old adage of “K.I.S.S” still (very much) applies.
Keep It Simple, Stupid
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Information Harvesting
The words “big” and “data” and being woven together and flung around frequently these days. The Internet has very much changed the game of information harvesting. The “need to know” marketing data for which companies of old would sell off their firstborns is now readily available at the low-low cost of a brilliant web design team.
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Process Improvement
No one enjoys scrolling. I, for one, shudder to think at being forced to scroll infinitely to see all your things. Unless you are an endless source of news output (nod to Yahoo and Facebook), I would prefer you just tell me what I need to know and allow me the opportunity to inquire further as I see fit. Courtesy, please and thank you.
In lieu of leading and guiding your time-conscious customer into a labyrinth of business glorification, events, and arguably cool stories, instead simplify your site so that your customer can easily discover what it is they require. The great thing about the Internet ...
web hosting
Jul 16, 2014
The post Social Media Is Important, If Done Properly appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Social media allows individuals to stay in contact with each other. That was the the original premise for its creation, also allowing folks to make new connections and friends across the vast open space that is the Internet. In recent years, however, social media has evolved into being utilized as a means of allowing organizations to promote their products to individuals, interact with their customers, and spark discussion and debate regarding the different products that are being offered.
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The Benefits
This type of access, allowing brands and companies to interact with their customers in this manner is a great boon to organizations, providing them with information and insight into consumer preferences in ways that never would have been possible in the past while also allowing them to obtain personalized and direct responses and information from consumers regarding how their product performs, along with additional information about the desires of the market.
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The Crux of the Matter
In spite of all of this positivity, there is one issue that is arising with increasing frequency: spam. Not spam in the traditional sense of the word, which relates to unsolicited email messages, but a new equivalent. I, personally, had avoided Twitter for years, but recent ...
web hosting
Jul 14, 2014
The post 4 Mistakes Made By New Entrepreneurs That You Can Avoid appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Being an entrepreneur is all about taking risks. Sometimes it can feel like we’re kayaking up stream with a soup ladle, not realizing the ease of which our travels could be made by reversing our direction, or you know… using a paddle? While there’s a tremendous amount of appreciation for the art of trying, and the lessons learned from failing, entrepreneurs never set out with the intention of being unsuccessful their entire career.
I’d like to share some of the best tips for those of you who are on the up and coming path of running a business and working under your own determination. Mistakes are guaranteed to happen, but here are four ways to prevent some of the bigger ones from adding your business to the 50-70% that will fail in the first 18 months.
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1. Not Asking For Feedback From Your Customers
I have a good friend, brilliant in all ways business but one: getting to know the people he wants to buy his product. While your idea, service, or art may sit pleasantly in the realm of personal admiration and approval, those you intend to buy it might have a suggestion (even small ones) that will take your sales to ...
web hosting
Jul 05, 2014
The post HostGator Brazil & The World Cup appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
It has been almost 3 weeks since the World Cup started in Brazil, with the first round bringing a lot of surprises and countless emotions experienced by fans all over the world. Great teams have gone back home earlier than expected while other teams have overcome everyone’s expectations by doing a great job.
Brazil team is still competing and we, Brazilians, could not be more excited, after all the World Cup is being held in our country. Moreover, this is our chance to become a six-time soccer champion, a position that has never been achieved by any team.
The fact is that soccer is more than just a sport in Brazil. It is the most loved one. Soccer makes no differentiation, attracting people from all classes, ages and genders. It is a promising career to ones, a hobby to others and the favorite sport for the most of us. And every four years, it unites the whole country, making us proud of being Brazilians.
The excitement could not be different in HostGator’s Brazil office! We have got all prepared for the Brazil games, with Snappy joining us and cheering for Brazil as well. He has a big heart! ;)
We know Brazil soccer team ...
web hosting
Jun 30, 2014
The post What Is The TPP And Why You Should Care appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Over the last year the news has been filled with more and more information on the TPP, or Trans-Pacific Partnership. Some people are for it, some people are against it, and some wish to receive more information about the TPP before they decide. There are a few issues with this. The TPP is, at its core, a trade alliance, one that if agreed upon will create a partnership between twelve countries. Now, we have many different trade alliances between the U.S. and countries around the world, and there are those that argue that this is just one more. It is someone else’s responsibility to know what’s going on, they might argue, or they, mistakenly, believe that it doesn’t concern them.
We let you know about SOPA back in 2011, and now we’re letting you know about TPP, or, to be more accurate, we are letting you know what it is possible to know about the TPP. There are many different areas covered, from food to imports and exports, but the reason we bring it to your attention is due to its potential effects on the internet.
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A Secret?
As a precursor, it is important to note that there is a distinct lack of ...
web hosting
Jun 24, 2014
The post Goooooaaaaaaalllllllll!!!!! appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
It’s a very exciting time in the world of sports! A time of collective exaltation, when one word can be heard above all others in joyous celebration: Goooooaaaaaaalllllllll!!!!!
In the United States, we call it soccer, but throughout the globe fútbol is a sport held deep in the collective heart of many people.
As you surely know, there is a very important fútbol tournament happening right now. We’ve decided to acknowledge and celebrate this competition by offering a special promotion: 45% off all new hosting packages and domains for as low as $8 per year!
Although we will certainly be hearing exclamations of Goooooaaaaaaalllllllll!!!!! for a few more weeks still, this special promotion is today and tomorrow only: June 24th-25th! The sale will conclude at 11:59pm CST on Wednesday, June 25th.
Throw on your favorite team’s jersey and enjoy the spirit of camaraderie that this tournament brings; may the best team win!
For just a little bit of extra fun, we made the following video that we very much hope you enjoy:
web hosting
Jun 23, 2014
The post Five Must-Have Google Chrome Extensions For 2014 appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
I’ve found that while computers have made our lives exponentially easier and more organized, sometimes the user can’t keep up with the technology, allowing mainstream tasks to become obsolete. For those of you who are unaware, a browser plug-in is a piece of software code that allows a program, or portion of a web page to do something it couldn’t by itself. One of the most common being Adobe Flash Player; without it, you wouldn’t be able to view videos embedded into web pages.
For these reasons we thought it’d be a good idea to share five plug-ins and browser extensions that may make your work flow and internet capabilities that much easier.
Facebook Unseen- Block’s Facebook’s read receipts from being sent.
I actually really like this one. While Facebook has become an integral marketing tool, it has also become one of the largest time-sucks from a day of productivity. It’s hard not responding to a message from a friend or client when it’s indicated very clearly that the message has been received.
Sometimes we receive a message via mobile and don’t have the means to respond properly on the go. I find this is the perfect solution to still being able to read ...
web hosting
Jun 20, 2014
The post Online Business Planning For Newbs appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Have you discovered a need that can be filled online? Are you decided in your approach to fill that need? Are you clueless or brand new to the process of creating, publishing and maintaining a website? If so, this article is for you.
At this point, you may have already outlined your operations strategy and colorfully grown your brain child into an impressive embryo of idea rich DNA. And, if you are a business mind worth anywhere near your salt, you are preparing to tackle all those unknown expletives…lol…or rather variables
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1. Know Your 1, 2, 3s
First thing’s first. A decision to proceed and capitalize on the shiny new “land of opportunity,” found in the WWW, is a decision to either spend money (hopefully wisely) OR invest considerable time. Again, just to be clear, your success will be a derivative of either 1. Monetary Investment or 2. Substantial Time Investment. And, in most cases, depending on the lofty or lowly goals you may set, 3. Both could be imperative.
It is, therefore, necessary to ensure you make the “right” decision for YOU and your business model. There is typically a direct relationship between the quality of development and the amount of monetary ...
web hosting
Jun 18, 2014
The post The Internet Is More Than Memes appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
When you think of the Internet there are a few things that come to mind, among them: cats, procrastination, and memes. Some people spend hours online looking up all kinds of random information, parodies, and a host of other nonsensical information. There are people who don’t know that the man in the meme shown is Gene Wilder, or that this is from the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Ensuring that Gene Wilder is remembered for more than just a picture with a funny caption should be the least of your concerns, however.
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The Internet Really is More than Memes
The fact of the matter is that you should stop thinking of the internet as just for memes, as just for killing time on Imgur, or as a means of checking to see what the latest drama is on Facebook. The internet isn’t just about killing time; it’s about benefitting your business.
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How can the Internet Benefit MY Business?
The Internet can only work to benefit your business as much as you let it. If you don’t have an online presence, the Internet can do virtually nothing for you. If you have a website, it won’t help unless you let people know it’s there, ...
web hosting
Jun 16, 2014
The post Responsive Web Design: A Goal For 2014 appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
If your business depends on its website to any extent, and you haven’t made the switch to a responsive design by now, you’re at risk for losing a lot of business in 2014. The primary reason being the massive shift happening in how people browse the internet nowadays. During a study conducted at the end of 2013, Smart Insights discovered that of all web browsing just over 25% was done either on a Smartphone or Tablet. Signifying a potential 25% loss in business due to the sub-optimal experience many visitors encountered on web-pages that did not adjust for their particular device.
What’s more notable is that by 2015, mobile browsing is expected to surpass desktop use, making it imperative your website will be ready for use across any screen as soon as possible.
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Responsive Web Design (RWD) Defined
Although it has been around since May of 2010, RWD is still a fairly new strategy to the majority of business owners. Most simply put, Responsive Design is: a website design that will adjust flawlessly to fit on a desktop, smartphone and tablet browser. If you’ve ever pulled open a website on a mobile device only to see the desktop version you understand it can ...
web hosting
Jun 12, 2014
The post Dedicated Server Sale! appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Starting today, we are offering 50% off on Standard Dedicated Servers! Dedicated Servers, or “Dedis” as we affectionately refer to them, are the top tier of our hosting services. Total control of an entire server is the gold standard for serious web hosting customers, whether it be as part of a successful reselling operation or for hosting an app, gaming server, or other high-demand initiative.
This sale will run from now through July 31st, but there’s no time like the present to take that step up in your hosting game.
For the technically-minded, our Standard Dedi features a quad-core 2.5GHz Intel Xenon processor, 4GB of RAM, 1TB RAID-1 HDD, 15TB of bandwidth, 3 dedicated IPs, and a 250mbps uplink.
For the non-technically-minded, these Dedis have plenty of power to launch you into the next level of hosting for your customers, business, or project.
Get started today by visiting our Dedicated Server page.
web hosting
Jun 11, 2014
The post 6 Online Apps To Help You Focus appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Approximately two thirds of working Americans find themselves on a computer during the day. Many of which spend their entire shift glued to a screen, only a mouse click away from accessing the endless distractions that can be found on the internet. With so much information coming at us daily, our focus is quickly becoming diminished in exchange for the stimuli of the latest YouTube sensation.
For some it can become a serious problem, leading to low productivity, bad performance reviews, and the additional stress of bringing work home. Luckily we’ve compiled a list of six applications proven to break bad habits and help you get your work done on time!
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1. Freedom- Block the internet for a certain amount of time
Have you ever played the psychological game with yourself that only after X amount of work, you’ll reward yourself with X amount of entertainment? Easier said than done. Freedom has one simple use, and that’s to block your internet completely for a specified amount of time. You’d be surprised just how quickly a glance at Facebook, or reading that ‘crucial’ article can take hours out of your day.
If turning off the internet completely is not an option, take a look at ...
web hosting
Jun 09, 2014
The post Building Blocks of a Successful Start Up appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
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There are many different areas that need work in order to ensure that a business start up becomes successful. The business plan must be solid, the product or service being offered must either be necessary or be presented in a manner that makes it desirable to others, and the management and leadership of the organization must be top notch. If any of these fail it may mean the downfall of the business.
In spite of these possibilities, there are other aspects that are just as important, offering a firm foundation on which the business may blossom, ensuring that even if there are hiccups in other areas that the business will be able to pick itself up and carry on.
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Good Business Habits
In order for a business to succeed, those who are responsible for the business must work to ensure that they have implemented good business habits. Some examples would be prompt responses, attention to detail, appropriate risk management strategies, and a clear directional path for the organization. If ingrained early on, it will be possible for the business to continue even if an issue arises. A manager who has failed in their duties will be able to affect the company far less ...
web hosting
Jun 06, 2014
The post A Quick Primer on Google’s Panda 4.0 Update appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
In Chinese culture, the panda bear is considered be a symbol of peace. So why did Google name one of their best known – or maybe most notorious is more like it – major algorithm updates that has caused a lot of headaches in the SERP’s over the past few years after this wonderful animal?
To be ironic?
Who knows, but since there are a lot of people that are trying to figure out how to “beat” it (first step, stop always being reactive) and there is a ton of speculation out there on it, I want to take a few minutes to distill what’s being said with a few thoughts.
A Quick Recap Of Panda
Google makes hundreds of tweaks to their search algorithm every year, but the updates that are especially impactful typically get internal code names like Vince, Caffeine, Hummingbird (this is a core rewrite to a major part of their natural language query engine, so calling it an update is an understatement), Penguin and Panda.
The Panda updates are geared towards content quality on a website and are intended to boost higher quality sites while punishing other site’s that have primarily two things:
Thin or spammy content
Duplicate content
The idea with the Panda ...
web hosting
Jun 04, 2014
The post Stand Out On Pinterest With Rich Pins appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
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If you haven’t started using Pinterest to share your products and blog posts yet, then you should start doing so. Especially if your target market happens to include a fair percentage of females. Although it may sound cliche, I will still say it: Go where your customers are. And Pinterest is definitely home to a lot of active users. But how do you stand out in the crowd of pins? The answer is actually pretty easy.
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Rich Pins
If you’ve been following the HostGator blog and have implemented some of the suggested seo strategies, then you’ve likely already optimized content such as meta data and share buttons. If you’re using WordPress or another CMS, you may be able to find a plugin to add these if you haven’t already. For sites created without a Content Management System, you will need to manually add these tags onto your pages. For information on what is needed for Rich Pins and how to apply, please review the Rich Pin Documentation.
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What Do Rich Pins Do?
Simple Answer: Make You Stand Out. Whether on the home page or within a board, there is a sea of pins. With Rich Pins, you will pop out in the crowd. Take a ...
web hosting
Jun 03, 2014
The post The Science Of Video Marketing For Small Businesses appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Nothing in the world of marketing can convey a message as dynamically as the combination of motion, sound and colorful graphic animation. While a picture is said to be worth 1,000 words, a one minute video is said to be valued at 1.8 million words, according to Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research. Due to our modernly low attention spans of 8 seconds, video promotion has been determined to be 600% more effective than print and direct mail combined.
It’s no wonder that as we shift into the future of content marketing, video remains at the forefront being used by 93% of marketers in their campaigns. Although it can be intimidating for small businesses to compete with the high-end production large corporations advertise with, independent production companies have never been more accessible. We’re here to show you how to make video marketing affordable, while also providing tips on how less can be more.
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You Can Afford It
Ten years ago there were not 6,455 licensed video production companies in the United States. Since the advent of commercialized video equipment, film enthusiasts everywhere have been able to afford their own professional gear, and create start-ups independently.
Whether they attended a film school, educated themselves online, ...
web hosting
May 29, 2014
The post Alternatives To Traditional Business Start-Ups appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
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So You Want to Start an Online Business
You’ve heard the tales about how much money can be made online, and how it’s just there for the taking. You’ve decided that you want to get a piece of that pie, and who wouldn’t? Humans have always looked for the next big thing that will allow them to advance in their personal lives, giving them the availability of taking more time to do the things that they desire, or the activities that they enjoy.
There are many different concepts that a person thinks of when the image of making money online comes to mind: some think of the crypto-currencies that have been in the news in recent months, others think of the concept of setting up a storefront, while others still think of the various types of online trading that may be done, from penny stocks to the stock market to foreign exchange. The fact of the matter is that if you can dream it, you can do it (as long as it’s not illegal, of course).
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Alternatives to the Traditional Online Business
Freelancing – Just because you’ve decided to switch over to making your money online, it doesn’t mean that you have to either ...
web hosting
May 27, 2014
The post 4 Website Add-Ons That Will Help You Grow Your List appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Your email list is a very powerful sales tool. Emails and newsletters are an effective, easy way to engage with your prospects, current customers, and other interested parties. If you aren’t utilizing your website to help capture visitors’ information and grow your list, you are missing out on an important marketing opportunity. Here are four simple website add-ons that will help make the process easier.
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1. Integration with Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/LinkedIn
Social media is an integral part of so many people’s days. You want to make your social media presence well-known on your site, while making it easy for your visitor to share your content with others.
Evaluate your business audience and pick the two most-used social media platforms and establish a strong presence there. Then, add the corresponding social media buttons in prominent places on your website.
The benefits to this technique are two fold. First, you can often capture your visitors information when they share your page via your own social media buttons. You will know what content they find interesting and then have a way to engage them in the future. Second, they are essentially endorsing your webpage to their friends and network, effectively garnering more visitors.
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2. A pop-up email capture
When someone visits ...
web hosting
May 23, 2014
The post Memorial Day Sale! appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
In observance of Memorial Day, HostGator is offering 50% off all new hosting packages, with domains as low as $8.50 per year! The sale starts on 12am CST on Friday, May 23rd and continues through the entire weekend, ending on Monday, May 26th at 11:59pm CST.
Now is the time to grab that new domain or hosting package at a deep discount. Perhaps try your hand at a Reseller package, enjoy the added flexibility of a VPS or even step all the way up to a new Dedicated server!
This is also a great time to scoop up those additional domains, either for a new website you want to launch or maybe just to protect your brand by registering a .net or .org to go along with your existing .com domains.
Memorial Day is a time to take a moment and thank our veterans who have lost their lives in service to their country. HostGator employs many veterans and hold our military in the utmost respect. We genuinely want to thank our service men and woman for the sacrifices that they make each and every day.
MEMORIAL14 is the coupon code to take advantage of this great offer. Feel free ...
web hosting
May 21, 2014
The post Footloose: Or Why A Good Environment Makes All The Difference appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Kevin Bacon fans and film buffs (as well as pretty much anyone of a certain age) are all familiar with the ever-popular Kenny Loggins song “Footloose,” originally released in 1984. This classic image of Kevin Bacon in his beat up Nike’s is instantly recognizable and immediately associated with the song. It isn’t so much the song itself that we’re going to discuss here, but what it is that the song actually offers. With its upbeat, dance-inspiring tempo, this particular song affords far more than just entertainment; it actually serves as a means of creating an ideal environment, believe it or not.
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Tap Those Toes!
What this song does is makes those who want to hear it move about, getting stuff done, and it is that motivation that becomes key. When working, many people find that music helps them to accomplish the tasks that they have set for themselves, regardless of whether or not they are still consciously listening to the music at all. The music serves as a means of providing a method for the brain to tune out all other distractions, allowing the individual to concentrate on the task at hand.
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Why Does It Matter?
By working to distract one’s brain, the ...
web hosting
May 16, 2014
The post 5 Companies You Might Not Realize Google Now Owns appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Everyone knows that Google is a big deal. Each year, news of Google’s new acquisitions makes headlines across the world and across the web, stunning analysts and everyday consumers alike.
From little start-ups to longtime titans of industry, so many companies have been picked up that users often forget (or don’t realize) that their favorite app or software is now part of the Google machine.
For some, this just means better service, better quality, and better integration on mobile platforms; for others, watching a beloved site or service get stripped for parts and silently assimilated into the inner workings of Google’s infrastructure can be disappointing to say the least.
For better or worse, Google is making waves not just online, but in nearly every facet of our lives. Here are five companies you didn’t know Google owns and what that means for you:
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Waze
Social networking, mapping, and up-to-date traffic, all rolled into one app? Sounds too good to be true, but that’s precisely what Waze is all about.
Waze helps drivers help themselves by providing an outlet for folks to warn other drivers of potential delays and hazards by means of tweet-like posts. This information then coalesces into a living map that shows drivers in ...
web hosting
May 14, 2014
The post Building Your Start-Up In An Evolving Technological Era appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
You’ve heard it before, “Small businesses have never been easier to start,” or conversely, “Fifty percent of all start-ups won’t be around in five years.” The truth is, the resources and information to begin planning a business have never been more accessible thanks to the internet. Everything from marketing to building a web-page equipped with responsive design can be learned from the comfort of home.
Business itself, however, has not gotten any easier. If anything, the world of the sale has only become more competitive. In this article we’d like to discuss what foundational steps are still necessary to getting started, while focusing on the possibilities presented with a globalized market-place.
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Planning A Foundation
It’s important to imagine a business as being a living, breathing organism whose very life is dependent on the planning and investment placed in it. The best business owners make their careers extensions of their personality, strengths and skill sets. Knowing yourself and the lifestyle you like to live is a tremendous first step to developing a service others will respond to.
Ask yourself three questions:
What skill or product can I offer that enough people need?
Does this business already exist? If so, how can I do it better?
Will this business ...
web hosting
May 12, 2014
The post Four Mistakes to Avoid When Starting Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Everyone makes mistakes. We all know it, and sometimes we recognize it as soon as we have done it that we have screwed up. Sometimes these mistakes can be avoided, other times they’re made when we’re not in our right minds, and sometimes we have no way of knowing they are mistakes until later. There are thousands of clichés and sayings that talk about mistakes just for these reasons. One way of making sure that mistakes aren’t made is to pay attention to what you’re doing, but another, perhaps more important, method is to pay attention to the mistakes of others. The trick is not just learning from your mistakes, but learning from the mistakes of others as well.
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An entrepreneurial friend of mine has started companies around the world. One thing he always tells up and coming entrepreneurs is that they should do as he says, not as he does (or did). He turns all of the mistakes that he has made in business into teaching opportunities, showing others how not to make the same mistakes that he has made. While I cannot, and would not, want to go around telling you all of his mistakes, after all, those ...
web hosting
May 09, 2014
The post Twitter Cards, What Are They? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Twitter’s advertising platform is still young, but it’s setting itself up to be really strong. It still has plenty of areas for improvement, but if I had to describe Twitter Cards in one word, it would be FANTASTIC!
In my personal experiments, Cost Per Engagement is down from $0.50-$1 to $0.05-$0.20. For those of you who don’t know what an engagement is, it’s every-single-action on your ad. This means a click on a link, picture, your profile, retweet, favorite, or reply. With all those ways for people to engage, you unfortunately do sometimes pay for things you don’t want; in the advertising world, that’s lost money! With Twitter cards, you can create a clear Call to Action(CTA) with less characters and less channels to engage. I’ll explain each of these cards below:
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LeadGen Twitter Card
This is geared towards email marketers. If you build your list or are just thinking about building your list, then these are an easy way to do so. You can set it up where you can download email data or have it sent to your CRM such as Mailchimp or Salesforce. There’s a small list of CRMs that Twitter says are compatible with Twitter Cards, but if your ...
web hosting
May 07, 2014
The post What Is Net Neutrality And Why Does It Matter? appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
Net neutrality is fundamentally the basic premise that all online data should be treated equally. In a nutshell, this means that information should flow freely without, discrimination, blocking or throttling internet usage by all ISPs (Internet Service Providers) or any governmental intervention; uncensored access, equal access, and unrestricted access for everyone. As Senator Franken (D. – Minn.) has been quoted, “Net neutrality is the First Amendment issue of our time.” The Internet was designed as an open medium of communication, in which all users are able to access all content without being restricted from doing so (with obvious exception being given to certain legalities related to certain types of content that fall beyond the scope of this blog post).
There are many that argue that net neutrality no longer exists, in light of the fact that the FCC’s previous rulings on the matter were recently struck down, but in light of the publicity that we, the users of the internet, have brought to this issue, in light of the protests that we have made, the FCC is taking steps to create new net neutrality rules, working to try to keep the public’s desires at heart (a first for the FCC, one ...
web hosting
May 06, 2014
The post How to Effectively Integrate Your Marketing Efforts appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing.
As the Internet becomes a more commonly used tool for consumers to locate companies and products they are interested in, it is becoming more and more important for companies to effectively integrate their marketing efforts into the online arena.
Many companies are still operating as if their online marketing efforts are entirely separate from the rest of their advertising campaigns. In fact, in the 21 essential for your company to integrate all of your marketing campaigns in order to ensure one cohesive message.
Potential consumers are easily turned off by a lack of continuity across varying advertising platforms. Being promised one thing and receiving another proves frustrating for everyone involved.
As a marketer, you should take steps to make sure that your efforts are helping your company realize its maximum potential. Organizing an effective and cohesive marketing strategy that includes both online and offline marketing doesn’t have to be incredibly difficult.
Here are a few easy tips designed to help you effectively integrate your marketing efforts:
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Define Your Focus
A vast majority of marketing efforts today fail to focus on the big picture. A company that fails to inspire their employees to concentrate their marketing efforts will most likely encounter a lack of success when it ...
web hosting
Apr 30, 2014
The post Find Your Niche appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Niche is a great word. It’s a shallow recess within a wall, used as a display tool for a really nifty object, it’s a cranny (another great word), and it’s a nook. It can be the ecological role of an organism in a community (especially the role of said object in relation to food consumption), and it’s a habitat that supplies the factors that are necessary for the existence of an organism or a species. The original definitions of the word had absolutely nothing to do with the business world, but, like the Internet, just because something originates as one thing it doesn’t mean that it cannot turn into something completely different through alternative usages. Niche, in more recent history, has come to also be used to describe either a job or activity that is suitable for someone or to describe the situation by which a business’s products or services are able to succeed by being sold to a particular group or type of people.
As fascinating as the evolution of a word can be, we’re not here for an etymology lesson. (Though if you have some free time while surfing, I do recommend looking into the origins of your favorite ...
web hosting
Apr 28, 2014
The post Infographic: Invasion Of Wearable Tech appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
As technology is becoming physically smaller and relatively inexpensive, it is beginning to cross over in to fashionable (and not-so-fashionable) pieces of wearable tech. The following infographic presents some of the cutting edge devices that fall into this new category of fashion:
Invasion Of Wearable Tech via HostGator
web hosting
Apr 22, 2014
The post How To Take The Headache Out Of Keyword Research appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Let’s admit it: keyword research can be difficult, and we all wonder sometimes whether it’s worth all the effort.
Can you really figure out what people are searching for and use that knowledge to drive quality traffic to your website? Can you rank for that keyword and show up on the first page of search results? What’s the best keyword research tool to use?
Arrrgh!
It’s enough to give anyone a migraine.
Choosing the proper keywords and using them to build a profitable business may sound like an impossible task. But it doesn’t need to be. You can do basic keyword research using a simple 4-step process.
Follow these keyword research tips and you may find yourself attracting more search traffic than you can deal with.
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Smart People Do Keyword Research
OK. You might be asking why you should even bother with keyword research.
The short answer: Search engines are the largest source of web traffic.
Did you know that 92% of people on the Internet use search engines and 59% say they do so at least once a day? There are over 175 billion searches conducted each month worldwide.
The fact is when people are looking for something online they go to a search engine first.
Keyword research helps you ...
web hosting
Apr 16, 2014
The post Perilous Pivots: When A Dream Meets Reality appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.Editors Note – Cy is a friend of HostGator, currently pursuing entrepreneurial dreams in Silicon Valley. We have asked him to share his adventures. If you missed it see Part 1 The Spark: A Startup Is Born.
Startups are inherently messy. The media makes it appear as if home run successes happen on the first try. In reality all progress is the result of founders careening for months between false fits and starts until they land on the idea that works. Contastic’s story is no different.
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The False Start
With a promising idea in hand I was accepted into the Lightspeed Venture Fellows program and provided a generous grant to build Contastic. During the summer, I met my co-founder Kevin and together we engaged with the top investors/entrepreneur community around Silicon Valley. This got us excited about the hot space that is mobile CRM – taking the basic processes of managing a sales team from the desktop to the phone.
Over the next two months we built our mobile CRM. Investors loved it. However customers weren’t adopting the beta versions as readily as we’d hoped. We attributed the apathy to an incomplete product. It was instead a sign of a flawed focus – most ...web hosting
Apr 14, 2014
The post Infographic: This Will Make You Feel Old appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.Every now and again a gentle reminder comes along to let us know that we’re just not as young as we used to be. That game system we played so much as child, or that toy that came out that we remember so vividly… oh, that was over 20 years ago, wow! Well, this infographic is one big reminder that yesterday was likely longer ago that we’d prefer it be.
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This Will Make You Feel Old via HostGator
web hosting
Apr 10, 2014
The post Heartbleed Bug appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.You may have now heard of the “Heartbleed Bug.” Before we continue, we want to reassure you that if you are hosting on a HostGator shared or reseller server, that your server has already been patched. For everyone else, HostGator customer or not, we have created the following tool to assist you with determining whether or not your site is presently vulnerable and what further action to take, if necessary: https://heartbleed.hostgator.com/
Now, what exactly is the Heartbleed Bug? Technically speaking, it is a serious vulnerability in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic software library. In layman’s terms, it allows the ever-present nefarious individuals the ability to intercept and decode encrypted data. The following quote comes from heartbleed.com:
“The Heartbleed bug allows anyone on the Internet to read the memory of the systems protected by the vulnerable versions of the OpenSSL software. This compromises the secret keys used to identify the service providers and to encrypt the traffic, the names and passwords of the users and the actual content. This allows attackers to eavesdrop on communications, steal data directly from the services and users and to impersonate services and users.”
The bug is so-named due to a normal function between two computers across a network (such ...web hosting
Apr 08, 2014
The post Put Facebook to Work For Your Business appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
For small businesses, advertising and marketing is an expense that most don’t want to have to budget for. It’s costly and ineffective unless you know what you’re doing. Not all of us went to college for a Marketing Degree. Luckily, there are ways to bring the cost down and do it all from the comfort of home or office. For any small business online, you need to understand what SEO is and how to do it. Although SEO is a must and it is worth it, these results take time to deliver. In the world of making money, we want results and we want them now.
How do we get fast results? Before we can answer that, we need to ask, where is our target audience? With over 1 Billion active users, I believe the answer to that question is Facebook. If you don’t have a Facebook page for your business, you need to create it immediately after reading this post. One of our previous posts discussed 5 Facebook Updates You Need to Know About and you should read it after you’ve created your Facebook page.
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Advertising
This article isn’t going to explain how to create a Facebook Page and how to create ...web hosting
Apr 07, 2014
The post 15 Keys to Providing Customer Service Through Social Media appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Social media is great for connecting your business to your customers, and allowing them to have direct close access to you can be a boon for your brand image. However, unfettered access also means that more customers feel free to complain either directly or indirectly about companies through social media. In this media climate, it’s important to leverage your PR skills to positive effect, and here’s how.
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Respond quickly
Your customer turned to social media to complain because they are looking for an immediate response, and while you may be busy with product development meetings or vendor calls, these seemingly-small, Facebook-born comments should receive similar attention. Make sure that you get back to them as soon as you see the complaint.
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Have a dedicate twitter account for issues
Social media is all about context, which is why big corporations create accounts specifically for reporting and responding to issues, decluttering their primary social feed and filtering the important messages from the fluff. Nike and Comcast are two examples of companies that have dedicated accounts on twitter for customers experiencing issues for precisely these reasons. If your company is big enough, create a dedicated account where customers can reach you when something has gone amiss.
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Be responsive ...web hosting
Apr 02, 2014
The post Ways to Ensure That Your Mailing List is a Legitimate One appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.?
Email marketing is big. It’s no secret. Email marketing is one of the best ways to not only ensure that your brand and your products or services stay fresh within the minds of your clients, it allows you to catch their attention, appealing to the impulse buy side of your clientele.
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Leverage Existing Relationships
(Legitimate Ones)
If an individual sees your product or service in their email and thinks that what you are offering is a great deal they may simply click through the email to purchase it, as they already have a relationship with your company, without feeling the need to do any form of price comparison or the like. It’s easy for people to get caught up in the moment, wanting to get their products and services out to as many people as humanly possible, regardless of whether or not the person has technically asked for that email from you. There’s just one problem with this. That type of behavior is illegal; an internet no-no.
“But I just found this list of people’s email addresses! It’s obvious that they wouldn’t have left it lying about if they didn’t want others to use it” you might proclaim. Or you might have decided to ...web hosting
Apr 01, 2014
The post 5 Facebook Updates You Need To Know About appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Hate it or love it, Facebook is still one of the most effective platforms for social media marketing. As we’re all aware, they like to update things A LOT. Sometimes it’s the way it looks; for instance, they’re currently advertising a simpler layout with a bigger focus on posts appearing in the news feed. Other times they’ll add entirely new options on how to market the things you post.
If you use Facebook to manage a business page, advertise events, or even just to garner some recognition for your craft, here are five recent updates you’ll find beneficial.
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1. Objective Based Ads
This is one of two big steps Facebook has taken in the last six months in trying to adhere to objectives of advertisers on Facebook. This change is said to have taken place for the purpose of focusing on the impact of advertisements rather than the type. Based on conversations Facebook staff had with “marketers of all types” they’ve come up with 8 objectives advertisers can choose from to meet their goals:
Website Conversions
Page Post Engagement
Page Likes
App Installs
App Engagement
In-store Offer Claims
Clicks To Website
& Event Responses
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After the user chooses the objectives and creates the ad, Facebook will place the ads where they’ll create ...web hosting
Mar 31, 2014
The post Infographic: The Digital Renaissance appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.Are we in the midst of a new type of renaissance, a digital renaissance? Given not only the sheer availability of information, but also the ability to immediately share new thoughts with a wide audience, things do seem ripe for the evolution of ideas in ways never before possible. The following infographic addresses this, comparing the present day to the renaissance of the 14th century:
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The Digital Renaissance via HostGator
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Mar 27, 2014
The post The Importance of Conveying Professionalism through Your Website appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.?
Many people have seen demotivational posters before. They are treated as slightly humorous distractions from an otherwise busy day, serving to provide a reminder of what to avoid or what not to do.
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In spite of the fact that these demotivational posters have a dual purpose, many people only see the amusing side of things and move on without ever truly paying attention to the other side of the coin. Take for example the Professionalism demotivational poster above; the image is not a new one, and many people have seen either this image or other similar images before. We look at them, shake our heads, and wonder to ourselves how someone could be so lazy, and then move on with our days. What we fail to realize is that in some aspect of our jobs, no matter what they are, we have painted around the fallen branch instead of moving it.
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Are You Wearing Shoes, Does It Matter?
In some instances the lack of professionalism that is displayed doesn’t really affect the workplace. No one can really see the fact that you have taken off your shoes under your desk, after all. The trick is just remembering to slip them back on before ...web hosting
Mar 25, 2014
The post American Red Cross And The Tour Du Rouge appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.We are happy to announce HostGator is celebrating our 5th year sponsoring the Tour du Rouge, benefiting the American Red Cross. The Tour du Rouge is a 533 mile bicycle ride from Houston to New Orleans, spanning 6 days (May 4th – 9th, 2014).
In recognition of not only the overall cause, but the dedication of the riders and volunteers that make this event possible, we wanted to do something a little bit extra this year. Today only, all new hosting accounts are 50% off and new domains are starting at just $4 per year; on top of that, we are donating $1 to the American Red Cross for every new hosting package signed up for as part of this promotion.
The American Red Cross provides a myriad of services, from disaster relief assistance to emergency contact for military personnel with their families, as well as community outreach programs such as CPR/First Aid training and swimming lessons. Ultimately, what the Red Cross does is help people and save lives.
The Tour du Rouge directly benefits the Red Cross chapters in the Gulf Coast, essentially the region directly through which the cyclists travel on their journey.
What began in 2009 with sixty-three riders, has now ...web hosting
Mar 24, 2014
The post HostGator Proudly Sponsors 2014 Tour Du Rouge appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The Tour du Rogue is a 533 mile bicycle ride, from Houston to New Orleans, benefiting The American Red Cross. HostGator is proudly celebrating it’s fifth year sponsoring the ride. From May 4th – 9th this year, the riders (including some HostGator employees) will brave the elements, and possibly even some real alligators throughout the swamps of Louisiana, in order to raise money for the Red Cross.
The Tour du Rouge is something that is very close to HostGator’s collective heart. From disaster relief to blood donation, and a myriad of services in-between, The American Red Cross provides valuable service to our friends and neighbors in the Gulf Coast region and beyond. Many HostGator employees are cycling enthusiasts and enjoy the challenge of this annual ride, you may have seen our past coverage of the event: http://blog.hostgator.com/2012/06/11/tour-du-rouge-2012/
We are doing something extra special this year in support of the cause as well, and we wanted to go ahead and make the announcement here on our blog. For one day only, tomorrow March 25th, not only are we having a special sale on all new hosting accounts and domains, but we’re also donating an additional $1 from every account signed up for via ...web hosting
Mar 18, 2014
The post Inexpensive Tools To Help You Increase Online Sales appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Fostering additional sales is a priority of virtually every business on the planet. After all,
growth requires additional revenue, allowing you to reinforce your offerings to better serve your customers. However if you are a startup, or simply cash-strapped, you probably don’t have the capital to pour thousands into sales lead services. Thankfully there are several tools available to help increase online sales that are both efficient and inexpensive.
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Lead Generation
ZoomInfo Community Edition – ZoomInfo offers several paid plans but has a free database with over 60 million contacts available under its community edition license. The caveats are two-fold: you have to share your business contacts with ZoomInfo and you are limited to 100 contacts per month. If you are just starting out, it is an excellent tool for leveraging a community of aspiring businesses to the success of all involved.
Lead411 – Another searchable database, Lead411 offers great detailed information including email addresses and phone numbers for contacts. It is not free, but is a reasonable $29.95 per month and offers you access to over 100,000 company profiles and 700,000 executives. If you decide to upgrade to the $39.95 plan, you are permitted access to nearly three times that many contacts. The ...web hosting
Mar 14, 2014
The post How Outlines Improve Your Content appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
There are few among us that take delight in organization. The process of planning something instead of building it requires a great deal of patience. When it comes to content, however, everything from your process to your impact can benefit from an organizational outline. By enabling writing, reading, focus, and memory, outlines are a powerful tool for any business blog, improving perception and enabling your commercial goals.
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They Facilitate the Writing Process
Writing is a unique skill set, endowed in only a few. Unfortunately for those of us without that gift, our companies need content, and that content must be of prime quality to build a readership.
Fortunately, outlines help ease the process of writing, imbuing the kind of quality required of published content for even those with meager writing skill. By creating a structure around which ideas are formed, the mind naturally constructs ideas in a coherent manner, allowing you to easily articulate one element of your piece after another, unburdened by concerns of flow and formation.
Furthermore, they help provide inspiration. When writing content paragraph by paragraph without understanding the “geography” of your work, it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees, so to speak. By understanding your work from a ...web hosting
Mar 13, 2014
The post How To Develop A Clear Voice For Your Brand appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
There are many elements of your business that contribute to its success, but perhaps the most important (and intangible) is your brand. From the visual design of your ads to the reputation of your customerservice team, your brand has a voice, and identifying it can improve many aspects of your operations. By understanding the importance of this voice, identifying the characteristics that articulate it, and honing in on your desired perception, you too can take advantage of this powerful tool.
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Understanding Voice
First, it’s important to understand what “voice” is in a marketing sense. Simply put, it is how you say things and what language you utilize when talking about your products, services, and business.
Your voice creates a culture that your customers will recognize and relate to. If properly implemented everything your business produces (emails, website copy, social media messages, etc.) will all have this same tone. Well utilized, a clear voice will connect you to your customer through consistent rhythm, pacing, word choice, and aim.
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Defining Your Identity
So how can you craft this elusive unique voice for your brand? The key lies in identifying the following three traits:
? What your brand is
? Who your target customer is
? What you sound like
Maintaining a ...web hosting
Mar 12, 2014
The post The Spark: A Startup Is Born appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.Editors Note – Cy is a friend of HostGator, currently pursuing entrepreneurial dreams in Silicon Valley. We have asked him to share his adventures.
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Every once in a while, that elusive flash of inspiration delivers the seed of an idea. It seems innocuous at first, but it lives and grows in the back of your mind; you can’t shake it. It make take years to come to the fore, but it never fades. For me, that is exactly how Contastic became a company. What follows is our story.
From the moment I walked in the door to my first sales job at Microsoft, I knew that sales is a winner-take-all business. The top performers close ten times more deals than the average rep. After spending a bunch of time with the top performers, I still couldn’t quite put my finger on exactly how they were accomplishing such remarkable numbers. Their close rates and techniques seemed just about the same as everyone else; why were their results so spectacular?
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The Epiphany
My epiphany came when I saw their prospect lists. The best sales people had massive funnels 10+ times larger than those of everyone else. They would progressively farm this list to surface deals – ...web hosting
Mar 11, 2014
The post So You Want To Start A Business? Start Here appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Ambitious minds take ambitious action, and few actions are more ambitious than starting a business. If you find yourself in possession of a killer idea, or wish to grow a fledgling enterprise, it’s important to know what you’re in for. Here’s how to build your idea from the ground up, and turn your ideas and resources into something rewarding.
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Start with Your Motivations
To begin with, ask yourself why you would want to start a business. The success of many businesses has a lot to do with our motivations for starting it in the first place. A business can become your annual salary, while also fulfilling your desire to do work that’s more meaningful. Having your own business means finally getting to be the boss, and constructing a schedule that is optimal to your lifestyle.
Perhaps you’ve finally realized that what you’re best at can provide immense value to others and would constitute a firm foundation for entrepreneurship. Many are simply exhausted from sitting behind a desk and would love to monetize the thing they’re passionate about. Whatever your motivations may be, identify them, and use them as fuel going forward.
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Turn Your General Idea Into Something Specific
Next, it’s important to identify what your ...web hosting
Mar 10, 2014
The post The Ultimate Guide to Building and Using Personas appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The local bakery down the street has a unique opportunity. By interacting with customers on a daily basis, the owners gain a deeper understanding of what their most valued patrons want. However, when you move from Main Street to the World Wide Web, the picture becomes blurrier as that one-on-one time becomes scarce. Fortunately, one tool is offering the opportunity to turn broad customer insight into a tailored approach that improves conversion, service, and satisfaction for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
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Researching Your Audience
Buyer personas are a sophisticated approach to introducing the individual perspective back into broad-based demographic analysis. However, this approach requires that you start with a broad-based perspective in order to obtain an accurate understanding of buyer behavior.
For this reason, personas begin with audience research. This research can come in a number of forms, including:
Analytics
Surveys
Focus groups
Direct-mail responses
Interviews
Comments
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Each of these formats provides its own insight. For example, analytics and high-volume surveys provide overarching trends for your audience that can be used to help narrow your focus. Focus groups and interviews, on the other hand, provide a more conversational opportunity to discover specific buyer behaviors and mentalities. Blog and social media comments are more informal, but contribute a fair degree ...web hosting
Mar 07, 2014
The post Where To Go When You Can’t Think of New Content Ideas appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Content creation is not an easy task. The Internet is rife with copycats and un-original ideas. The difference is, you’re running a business, and your ideas fuel a resource that turns readership into profit. When you can’t afford to let writer’s block slow you down, here are some powerful resources for getting the wheels turning again.
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Mine Your Data
If you have a body of content, then you also have a body of ideas. Past blogging successes should inform future topics, and analytics provide insight that can help guide content creation and dig you out of your creative rut.
Look at your analytics platform and see which posts have received the most views. This alone isn’t necessarily and indicator of success, but if traffic on the page has remained consistent for some time, then you’ve likely stumbled upon a winner. Consistent traffic signifies that the piece has become a reference for others, resonating with your audience and maintaining traction as a result.
Monitor trends in high-performing content and leverage them to generate new ideas. If you’re an industrial supplier, a series of posts on safety with consistently high traffic should indicate that the subject is of great importance to your customer base. Additional posts ...web hosting
Mar 06, 2014
The post Why The Images On Your Homepage Matter appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Your business makes a number of decisions every day. From management to product design, everything about your enterprise is organized with the intention of building a brand and selling a product. In the fray, however, certain aspects can become lost, including the images on your homepage. To the surprise of many business-owners, these seemingly simple assets can shape your brand perception, influence customer decisions, and improve conversion in profound ways.
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They Heavily Influence Your First Impression
The old adage that “you only get one chance to make a first impression” is hard to shake in a rapidly moving society. For perspective’s sake, consider any time you’ve made a purchase online. You likely visited the homepage of the product in question and made a rather snappy judgment regarding characteristics that may even be impossible to perceive from the comfort of your desk chair: dependability, trustworthiness, quality, worth, value, etc. In that brief few seconds of analysis, you’ve already made a decision, completely independent of the carefully crafted text and list of product features.
Photographs help ensure that your product or products make a positive first impression quickly. Tired, hurried minds are far more likely to consider a visual before text, since text requires additional ...web hosting
Mar 03, 2014
The post Infographic: The ROI of Great Web Design appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.It’s fairly important to determine the ROI (return on investment) for all aspects of your business. The reason being that if you aren’t making money as a result of a certain thing, then you are likely losing money as a result of it. It’s possible you haven’t considered the implications of how this applies to your overall website design. The following infographic addresses that very circumstance:
The ROI Of Great Web Design via HostGator
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Feb 27, 2014
The post How To Develop a Local Marketing Strategy appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
For many small businesses, salvation has come in the form of local Internet marketing efforts. Never before has it been easier for a local business to get their name out to customers, giving them a much-needed edge over nationally marketed competitors. But local marketing isn’t something that happens by accident; to make the most of it, local businesses need to go on the offensive and push their brand harder than ever. Here are a few tips to help maximize your local marketing campaign.
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Get Online
Marketing in the past used to mean buying space in the Yellow Pages and ads in the local newspaper. But today more and more people are looking to the Internet to find new businesses. Over the next 3 years, businesses that have and maintain web presences are expected to grow 40% more than sites that do not have websites.
A common excuse for not having a website is the costs associated with creating it, but even that is becoming less of a hurdle. In 2011, Google launched a promotion to build websites for small businesses for free as a way to bring them into the 21st century. Even without this promotion, the costs of building a website can ...web hosting
Feb 24, 2014
The post The Case for Simplifying Website Navigation appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
In world of online shopping, a website should be thought of as part of your product or service. Derek Halpern of Social Triggers recently asked 15 participants to give feedback on a website which was purposely ill designed to study the effect that website design has on buying influence. 94% of the feedback focused on the design and layout; 6% was focused on the business. The most common complaints were things like complex layout and lack of navigation aids, and caused customers to trust the site less. Below are some common layout mistakes, and how to fix them.
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Three Clicks Rule
Website navigation doesn’t need to be complicated; in fact, simpler navigation is often more effective. The Golden Rule of website navigation is the 3-Click Rule: all pages on your site should be accessible by three clicks or less. Customers aren’t the only ones who don’t have the patience to go past three pages; neither do search engine crawlers. Any content or information past three pages won’t be seen and might as well not exist.
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Use Tags to Categorize Pages
Organizing an index of products or services can be tricky; the content of a site is expected to be unique, but the navigation of ...web hosting
Feb 20, 2014
The post 10 Marketing Strategies for Proven Startup Success appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The startup world is cutthroat. Any previously-successful strategy, plan, or method that can provide even a small edge in this highly competitive arena is worth a look. For that reason, relying on previously successful methods, especially when constructing something as important as a marketing plan, is not only wise, it can keep your business afloat. What’s important is to focus on what works, bringing in leads and developing positive brand image, without relying on gimmicks with no staying power. In this post, we’re outlining ten marketing strategies for proven startup success.
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1. Content Marketing
Kicking off (and potentially topping) the list is the new marketing darling. As customers overwhelmed by media eschew mass consumption for important and value driven posts, photos, and videos, businesses are forced to adapt to the changing climate. By delivering valuable, intelligent information to customers with a clear goal to enrich the lives of viewers, companies will see increased returns from this strategy in the coming year.
And its track record is solid. A study by Kapost and Eloqua found that the cost-per-lead for paid search was $111.11, while the cost-per-lead for content marketing was less than one-third that amount, at $32.25. Furthermore, a Hubspot study found that 82% ...web hosting
Feb 18, 2014
The post Infographic: Growing A Sustainable Web appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.It remains important to ensure that any negative impact we have on our environment is minimized. HostGator makes every effort to remain a green webhost, however the Internet as a whole is likely causing more of an impact that one might imagine. Our new infographic sheds some light on this issue and even provides some helpful tips on how to minimize your (virtual, but not virtual) carbon footprint.
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Going Green: Growing A Sustainable Web via HostGator
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Feb 17, 2014
The post How To Effectively Evaluate And Learn From Competition appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
It’s not always easy to admit that our opponents are better than us, even if it’s glaringly obvious. Overcoming our pride and opening ourselves to a little learning can be a challenge, but doing so is essential to survival in a competitive marketplace. Being willing to set your pride aside, build a data-driven analysis of your competition, implement their strategy, and track your progress will ensure that your shortcomings are short lived.
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Be Humble
Self-knowledge is a powerful tool, but confronting our shortcomings can be difficult for even the most confident among us. For many companies, the countless man-hours spent pouring effort into a marketing plan or content schedule can be hard to swallow if that time yields little in the way of results, but accepting your situation is the first step in understanding your competition.
Begin by eschewing your ego for cool observation. Where do your analytics fall short? By how much? What are your goals? How far are you from meeting them? Lean on your analytics and refuse to sugar coat the hard truth, as doing so prevents meaningful introspection. Now look at your competition. What does their social media community look like? What kind of engagement do their blog posts ...web hosting
Feb 13, 2014
The post The Best Sites To Visit For Web Design Inspiration appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
There was a time, long ago, when a beautiful website was a crowning achievement for a company. These days, it’s become a necessity. For the uninitiated, however, sifting the wheat from the chaff can be a challenging task. Fortunately, the Internet has developed a robust community of websites dedicated to observing and celebrating the best of the best to the benefit of site designers, and you.
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Awwwards
Beautiful web design is easy to recognize if you have the right eye for it. Fortunately for those who lack the instinct to assess the sites they visit, Awwwards has built a reputation on scoring and applauding the best that the web has to offer. Curated by design experts, the daily updated site offers scores on web designs, resources for aspiring designers, and the opportunity to submit your own site for appraisal and, if deemed worthy, recognition.
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Abduzeedo
Brainchild of Brazillian designer Fabio Sasso, Abduzeedo’s legacy online is as long as it is prolific. The comprehensive design blog looks at design in its many forms and inspires a community of creatives through its constant posts and updates. Of particular note, the Sites of the Week column highlights the best in visual web design, interactive design, UX, and ...web hosting
Feb 12, 2014
The post Why You Need A Mobile Site appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Even though we live in an age where the average person has their smartphone within reach for 22 hours a day, there are still businesses that haven’t jumped on to the mobile bandwagon yet. When you look at the numbers, it’s hard to understand why businesses are so hesitant to embrace the mobile platform. Today, there are 1.2 billion people accessing the Internet through a mobile device or tablet. In 2014, one in every three Americans will own a tablet, and 72% of tablet owners buy things on a weekly basis. Despite this growing market segment, only 57% of the top 100 brands have a mobile-friendly site. So whether you’re a CEO of a top 100 brand or a small business owner, here’s why you need to focus more on mobile.
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Be Seen Locally
You’re out with a friend when they ask if you want to grab dinner. “Sure,” you say. “Where do you want to go?” You whip out your smartphone and scour the area to see what kinds of restaurants are near you. You find a Thai restaurant whose mobile site has tempting photos of the perfect dish of Pad See-Ew, prompting the two of you to head over to ...web hosting
Feb 11, 2014
The post The Quickest and Easiest Way to Build an Email List appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Image courtesy of Master Isolated Images/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
As a marketer, your goal isn’t just to build awareness — it’s to attract and retain customers.
All of your marketing efforts should be focused on building awareness, credibility and trust.
If you’re trying to making a living online and you’re sick and tired of bumbling around making stupid mistakes, you should focus on building a responsive email list now because if not, you’re missing out on one of the most cost effective and profitable marketing tools available.
Even if you’re a non-tech-savvy person there’s nothing more important than growing your email list. After all, if you could learn about the most underrated marketing tool that required minimal investment on your part, you’d want to wouldn’t you?
If you could make a small investment in your business that would unlock a flood of leads and sales, even if you’re an entrepreneur doing much of the work yourself, you’d make it wouldn’t you?
But if something like this existed you’d know about it because everybody else would be using it wouldn’t they?
Right?
Wrong.
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There Is Big Money In Email Marketing
Why should you care about email?
Well, for starters, the low cost, high return on investment and ability to track and measure all make email ...web hosting
Feb 07, 2014
The post 10 Lead Generation Strategies To Try In 2014 appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
In the B2B world, every contact is an opportunity. Leads keep your business running and turning engagement into conversion is essential to profitability. Fortunately for companies, developing technologies and techniques continue to provide better targeting, more efficient sales efforts, and greater customer satisfaction as a result. Here are ten methods to turn 2014 into a sales year to remember.
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In-Person Events
There’s no question that digital marketing has become the industry standard, but lost in the transition from traditional marketing to online media is the inherent value of human contact. In-person events, including trade shows, conferences, and executive events, afford the opportunity to put a face on your business, establish your reputation, and engage customers in a way that social media cannot touch. The logistics of doing so will take more resources than digital marketing, but the payout will be tangible.
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Web Design
In the same way that a beautiful storefront on Main Street is an invitation for customers, a beautiful and functional website is one of your most effective lead generation tools. An attractive and updated aesthetic, apparent contact information, and opportunities for engagement, such as email subscription boxes and product demo requests, all turn your online home into a branding and marketing ...web hosting
Feb 05, 2014
The post Six Ad Types You Should Be Experimenting With appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Whether you’re a long-running company or a long-time consumer, you’ve probably noticed a trend in traditional forms of advertising; namely, they don’t work. The Internet has changed the marketplace, making customers more discerning, and marketers savvier. Standing out is a matter of creativity, and with these six ad types, you can find new life in your campaign, and new customers on your site.
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Native Advertising
Banner advertising is on the way out. How ineffective has the method become? According to research, you’re more likely to survive a plane crash or win the lottery than you are to click on a banner ad. No matter how you slice it, that’s bad.
The problem lies in the overt solicitation involved in banner ads. Users have learned in time to identify these ploys for attention and filter them out entirely, either consciously or through browser extensions like AdBlock. Instead, users want a more comfortable and perceptibly trustworthy medium that connects with them on their terms.
Native advertising involves posting advertisements in social networks in their native format. This may include a branded photograph on Instagram, a board depicting usage of products on Pinterest, or a Facebook post that starts discussion about a day-to-day problem that your company ...web hosting
Feb 05, 2014
The post Six Add Types You Should Be Experimenting With appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Whether you’re a long-running company or a long-time consumer, you’ve probably noticed a trend in traditional forms of advertising; namely, they don’t work. The Internet has changed the marketplace, making customers more discerning, and marketers savvier. Standing out is a matter of creativity, and with these six ad types, you can find new life in your campaign, and new customers on your site.
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Native Advertising
Banner advertising is on the way out. How ineffective has the method become? According to research, you’re more likely to survive a plane crash or win the lottery than you are to click on a banner ad. No matter how you slice it, that’s bad.
The problem lies in the overt solicitation involved in banner ads. Users have learned in time to identify these ploys for attention and filter them out entirely, either consciously or through browser extensions like AdBlock. Instead, users want a more comfortable and perceptibly trustworthy medium that connects with them on their terms.
Native advertising involves posting advertisements in social networks in their native format. This may include a branded photograph on Instagram, a board depicting usage of products on Pinterest, or a Facebook post that starts discussion about a day-to-day problem that your company ...web hosting
Feb 03, 2014
The post B2B 101: How To Connect With Customers Online appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
A great viral video or a commercial during the Super Bowl will turn a brewery into a pop-culture sensation, but your business isn’t so lucky. As a vendor of business-critical technologies and services, your job is to eschew “cool” for intelligence, and that means connecting with customers in a different way. The traditional marketing channels may not bear the same fruit for your B2B business, but these methods will make hay in ways you never thought possible.
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Build a Great Website
Your website is the gateway to your customers. It’s a first impression, lead generation tool, marketing piece, and sales pitch all in one. With so many hats, a solid B2B business needs a well crafted website in order to build communication with potential customers.
Regardless of the specific aesthetic, layout, or tone involved in your online storefront, a strong business website builds trust. Coherent product descriptions ensure that those searching for an appropriate vendor can make an easy assessment. Contact information makes potential clients feel safe in the knowledge that they can contact your company on a moment’s notice. Finally, landing pages for product offers and demos maximize your conversion rate and reach a broader audience in the process.
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Use the Right Social ...web hosting
Jan 30, 2014
The post Seven Branding Books You Should Read This Year appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The role of business is ever changing, and with it, the practice of crafting identity. Competitive companies must continually position themselves as a necessary part of customers’ lives in order to stay relevant and profitable. Educate your staff, re-imagine your practice, and build a better practice through the knowledge imparted by these seven highly acclaimed resources.
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StoryBranding
For many businesses, the concept of branding is difficult to grasp. Building recognition in the marketplace takes more than exposure and advertising, it takes a compelling story. That’s what 30-year advertising veteran Jim Signorelli preaches in this high-impact volume entitled StoryBranding: Creating Stand-Out Brands Through the Power of Story.
The book takes a look at the practice of branding as an extension of corporate identity. By asserting that modern branding practices should favor messages that resonate with customers over editorialized benefits, he challenges long-held preconceptions about what branding means and how to execute it successfully. The 6-step process guides businesses large and small through the process of finding their story and sharing it effectively with their target audience to build identity.
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Designing Brand Identity
Branding and marketing are ever evolving practices, and brand managers that wish to stay abreast of changing trends need a reference as relevant as ...web hosting
Jan 29, 2014
The post The Adventures of Snappy: Electric Attitude Edition appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.It’s been a little while since Snappy hit the town to see some live music. If you’ve missed his prior adventures, check out the archives right here.
Snappy recently witnessed Houston’s very own Electric Attitude playing at the legendary Number’s nightclub. As per normal, given his VIP access, Snappy was able to enjoy the show from the best seat in the house, right on stage:
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Electric Attitude are the undisputed kings of Houston Funk/Soul/R&B, having taken home the Houston Press Awards in that category for three years running (2011-2013). With unique instrumentation, including an EWI (electric wind instrument), the band delivers an impressive mix of cross-genre appeal, seamlessly gliding into rock, blues and dance territory.
EA’s high-energy live show translates exceptionally well to their most recent album, Skintight & Solid Gold (Gr8 Heights Records). Snappy was fortunate enough to catch up with the guys once again at the recent Houston Press Artopia Event, for another quick photo op including the aforementioned new album:
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Electric Attitude are a truly great live band; Snappy highly recommends you go see them when they come to your town!
If you have an event in the Houston or Austin area that you would like for Snappy to attend, please get ...web hosting
Jan 28, 2014
The post The Biggest Ecommerce Trends Coming in 2014 appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Staying ahead of technological curves and customer demands is essential to business success in a world that moves faster by the day. eCommerce in particular looks to be an area of intense development in the New Year, and the implications can mean increased revenue and reputation for your business. From going mobile to integrating your marketing approach, business is changing, and so should you.
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Mobile Matters
Spearheading the evolution of eCommerce in 2014 is the evolution of mobile technology. As retailers recognize the importance of presence in a crowded market, those ready for the switch will see appreciable dividends from their mobile investment.
The concept is simple. With more individuals using their mobile devices to browse the web at their convenience, companies must respond in turn. Those unwilling or unable to recognize the importance of making shopping convenient for their customers will lose ground with competitors whose agile solutions better fit market expectations.
This agility comes in multiple forms. Responsive web design, a method of designing websites around the myriad sizes and interface limitations of a broad range of devices, will allow customers to view websites both at home and on the subway with equal ease. Mobile payment options, such as PayPal and Google ...web hosting
Jan 27, 2014
The post 13 Shocking Mistakes Killing Your Landing Page appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Let’s face it.
We’re all busy.
And when it comes to digital marketing, there’s a lot to learn. But if you’re doing business online you should take a close look at your landing pages because you could be losing money. To put it bluntly, a landing page that sucks can be hazardous to your business.
According to MarketingSherpa, only 52% of the companies that use landing pages test them to improve conversion. They also found that the number one reason companies don’t use or test landing pages is because their marketing department doesn’t know how to set them up or they’re too overloaded.
Sound familiar?
Here’s the good news: You don’t have to feel confused, overwhelmed or frustrated anymore. And you can’t use “I don’t know how” as an excuse.
Because I’m going to show you how to avoid the mistakes most people make with landing pages. That way you can improve your landing page experience and your conversion rates.
But before I show you how to improve your landing pages, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page here.
A landing page, sometimes known as a “lead capture page”, is a webpage that has a form and exists only to capture a visitor’s information through that ...web hosting
Jan 24, 2014
The post Cybercrime: How To Keep Your Business Information Safe appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
As a business owner, the threat of intentional harm to your business-critical data is of great concern. With opportunistic cyber criminals profiting from the vulnerability of unsecured companies every day, making security a priority is simple dollars and cents. Fortunately, strong, time-tested security practices and a little education can help keep your business from becoming a victim. Here’s how to turn your screen door network into a bank vault of data integrity.
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Establish Secure Device Practices
Begin by shoring up your infrastructure. For a modern business, this can involve an array of hardware and mobile devices, each of which represents a potential liability for your network security.
Computers located at your workplace should follow rudimentary security protocols both online and off. Employees should lock their computers when stepping away, even for a moment. In addition, attention should be paid to what external parties enter the workplace, when, and for how long. Anti-virus and anti-malware software should be installed and kept current on all computers and all software installed on the machines should be kept up to date as well.
In addition, all banking performed by the business should be performed exclusively on one machine with no other activity on said machine permitted. Social networking, ...web hosting
Jan 22, 2014
The post Google Transparency Report: Government Removal Requests Continue to Rise appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Revelations surrounding government monitoring of heavily populated data streams and communications channels are on everyone’s mind as such news introduces a sea change of perception about our privacy rights. The simple fact is, our browsing habits and published content are no longer as “free” as they were once understood to be.
But even beyond our the limitation of our own expression, what’s most concerning about these developments is the new and unprecedented level of authority governments are attempting to exercise over the world’s most important communications medium. With Google’s report as an accurate barometer, the situation is clear: the rights of Internet users are currently viewed as averse to efforts designed to shape public perception of governments, both local and international.
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Government Takedown Requests Increase
As mentioned, the issue with this new era of Internet monitoring lies not just in limitation of our freedoms of speech, but in the presumed authority that local and national governments have to censor content on the web. What was once thought to be a public domain, where anyone could post anything provided it respected the boundaries of international law, has become a curious combination of created content and concerted takedowns.
A recent Google transparency report tells the tale ...web hosting
Jan 21, 2014
The post Infographic: Online Royalties, Make Money Online appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.While the elusive “Internet millions” may not be in your future, there are several ways to generate some revenue online. Largely this will depend on your creative endeavors: music, photography, YouTube videos, etc. A handful of individuals do break through the masses and are able to make a living solely by online activities. Will you be one of the lucky ones? Enjoy the following infographic for a crash course in the more popular streams of online revenue:
Online Royalties; Make Money Online via HostGator
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Jan 17, 2014
The post How To Build A Better Website In 2014 appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Being a website owner can be hard work. Moderating comments, creating content, and handling the design and performance of your site can take up a great deal of your time. But the work is worth the payout, and focusing on the elements of your site that matter can actually make your life easier in the New Year. With a little design overhaul, your site can be more responsive, more usable, and more visually appealing, driving viewers and customers to your doorstep, and validating all that extra investment.
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Be Responsive
If you haven’t yet heard the term “responsive web design”, it’s only a matter of time. The term refers to a range of HTML and CSS mechanisms that allow a web page to change configuration based on the device it’s being viewed on. For businesses in particular, this new development in web design is more than a trend, it’s a necessity.
Customers are going mobile. Between laptops, tablets, and cell phones, the range of devices used to view the Internet is growing by the day. Because of this, customers expect the Internet to adapt to their changing needs. If your website can’t be viewed on a mobile device, then your business misses out on ...web hosting
Jan 14, 2014
The post Ecommerce 101: 5 Questions To Ask When Creating An Online Store appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Whether you’re a charming local shop or a big-time business, online retail is a huge opportunity to take advantage of. The bonus? Building your own online shop is not as difficult as you might think. With the right solutions, some design know-how, and attention to the critical components of customer satisfaction, your online shop can take shape, starting today.
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What do I need?
With an online store becoming an expectation of retailers, solutions have been built that help get your shop online as quickly and effortlessly as possible. eCommerce solutions, such as WooCommerce, facilitate your product catalog, shopping cart system, and logistics more readily than a ground-up shop. While it may not possess the unparalleled flexibility of an in-house solution, putting your wares on the Internet sooner rather than later is the goal.
With a working site in place, it’s important to facilitate transactions for obvious reasons. Customers are more likely to purchase your products if they are provided with payment options they trust. Here, PayPal fits the bill nicely, though the 2.9% plus $0.30 fee per transaction can add up quickly. For this reason, there’s no better solution than enabling credit card purchases, which means setting up merchant accounts with card vendors.
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How ...web hosting
Jan 13, 2014
The post 7 Essential Components of an Unforgettable Blog Post appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Everyone loves a party trick; those quirky little displays of skill that captivate us momentarily. But in the challenging world of online marketing, the clever, or “viral” rarely have much longevity to show for their efforts. Being memorable doesn’t take tricks, only a judicious application of some writing acumen, human psychology, and a pinch of humanity. In this post, we’re outlining seven essential components of an unforgettable blog post.
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A Goal
If your writing doesn’t accomplish something, then it won’t have an impact. Flowery language and eloquent phrasing can drive a point home, but only if there’s a point to communicate. Determine what action you hope to inspire from your readers, and what value you’ll deliver to inspire that action, and better copy will flow from that focus.
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A Narrative
Talking points, abstract or backed by concrete evidence, resonate with readers better when presented in a story. At our core, we are hardwired to respond to stories, more easily constructing meaning and drawing conclusions from information presented with a coherent narrative. Tap into that side of human nature, take the reader on a journey, and let your goal plan the route.
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A Hook
The brain won’t venture down the path you’ve laid without a little gas ...web hosting
Jan 09, 2014
The post Make A Better First Impression On Your Homepage appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
There was a time when having a website was quite the accomplishment, but since the days of AOL and dial-up Internet, everyone from the pet shop down the street to the multinational conglomerate has a website. In this crowded ecosystem, it’s important to stand out, and that means building a strong first impression. In an increasingly web-based world, the homepage has become the “handshake” of sales, and a firm, confident grip and winning smile will do a lot to improve your brand perception and comfort customers in the process. In this post, we’re offering a few recommendations on how to make a better first impression on your homepage.
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Be Available
Creating a website is an excellent first step toward better contact with your customers, but it is by no means the end of your work. As a matter of fact, the presence of a business website actually establishes expectations for basic functionality and information that you’re required to fulfill in order to convert sales. Doing so takes many forms, from the rudimentary to the complex, but in all efforts, creating the understanding that customer needs will be met is job #1.
This begins with contact information. When customers view your business, they bring ...web hosting
Jan 08, 2014
The post How To Build Your Online Engagement Engine appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.For all of our marketing efforts and creative handiwork, sometimes engaging customers can be a real challenge. Even when our user profiles and psychographics hit the proverbial nail on the head, our work can miss the mark. This is not because of a lack of knowledge, but simply because the paradigm of customer engagement is shifting. Online channels, the new model of constant presence, and the need for creativity to cut through the din, are all contributors in an age where customer engagement can translate into better sales, better relationships, and a better marketing strategy. In this post, we’re helping you understand how to build your online engagement engine.
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Starting the Conversation
Engagement comes in many forms, but perhaps the most effective means of doing so comes in the form of conversation. This doesn’t mean simply communicating with your customers; your marketing does that every day. What it means is leveraging the new rapid-response and feedback capabilities of the Internet to create a continuum of advertising and marketing that includes the customer in the process. While they certainly won’t be writing copy for you, the notion of involving your customers in the way your business presents itself allows your efforts to resonate ...web hosting
Jan 07, 2014
The post Infographic: Famous Gators appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.When it comes to gators that are in the public eye, it turns out that Snappy is in some pretty good company. From video games, comic books, cartoons and more; turns out, there’s quite a few well-known gators out there. Enjoy our new infographic, Famous Gators:
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Jan 06, 2014
The post 5 Modern Web Design Trends To Adopt in 2014 appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
In a world existing increasingly online, web design is increasing in importance. But as the rate of development increases, staying ahead of the curve is essential to standing out from the crowd. From adaptive designs, to large-format media, to simplified experiences, 2014 promises to be a year of changes; changes you can, and should, implement.
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Flat Design
If you’ve heard this term once, prepare to hear it many times again. From the Apple iOS redesign to a multitude of sites around the Internet, the benefits of flat design are being recognized and implemented ubiquitously. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, flat design eschews 3D and shading techniques, commonly used by designers in the past, for flat colors, simple layouts, and a less cluttered look. The effect of this design choice is a sleek, clean looking interface that hints at modernity and currently sits at the cutting edge of web design trends.
But the benefits of flat design are not simply aesthetic. By reducing the amount of visual clutter, websites become more usable, providing a better experience for site viewers (which means a better shopping experience for potential customers). This occurs because each piece of visual stimuli on a screen, whether links, images, or ...web hosting
Jan 05, 2014
The post How To Write Better Headlines in 2014 appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The headline is the tip of the content iceberg. The short string of words belies only the intent of the piece in question, doing little more at first blush than establishing expectations and enlightening the reader to the subject within. The irony, of course, lies in the fact that, while headlines are but a tiny fraction of your content’s substance, they can guide the lion’s share of traffic; an unfortunate, though prevalent truth in an age saturated with information.
So what does this mean for you? You need better headlines friend. The hit-and-run process of searching the Internet isn’t changing any time soon and that means that establishing a solid first impression is paramount. Fortunately, plenty of information exists that can guide your efforts, not simply in search results, but in social media as well. In this post, we’re presenting information that can help you write better headlines in 2014.
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Beneficial Blog Titles
When sifting through a mountain of information, the brain uses heuristics to quickly categorize what deserves attention and what does not. In doing so, the brain maximizes its efficiency by avoiding the un-needed and jumping on the important. This is where your headlines gain traction. Triggering these heuristics with the right terms can ...web hosting
Jan 03, 2014
The post A Beginner’s Guide to Using Psychographics to Improve Your Marketing Efforts appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
In marketing practice, buzzwords are as ubiquitous as copy. Some come, and some go, but the ones that stay are of far-reaching, intrinsic value that better your efforts and customer satisfaction in some way. With this in mind, it’s a fair bet that psychographics are about to demonstrate some impressive longevity. Through a more comprehensive understanding of what drives customer actions, using research and analytics to fuel the endeavor, your materials and distribution can see greater permeation than ever before.
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What They Are
Despite the curious title, psychographics are not as bewildering as their name might imply, and understanding their nature, use, and acquisition can breed a great deal of success in marketing efforts. At their core, psychographics are profiles of individuals that focus on lifestyle, habits, and tendencies, reaching beyond traditional demographic information and seeking more valuable data from user behavior.
For a better understanding of exactly what comprises one of these profiles, let’s look at a hypothetical user and see what we can learn from them. We’ll begin with John, a 32-year old office worker from Los Angeles, California. For the sake of thoroughness, let’s assume that he’s married with two children, has an income of approximately $60K per year, and ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Jan 02, 2014
The post Infographic: Digital Tech Triumphs appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.We’ve come a long way, from Super Nintendo to Google Glass, in a short amount of time. Who remembers before everyone had cell phones in their pockets, that they had pagers clipped on their belts? Before iPods, there was the Walkman. Before compact disks, the mighty 8-track tape. TEchnology is moving so quickly, that if you blink you could miss an entire generation of communication or portable music device. The following infographic outlines the highlights of technological triumphs in recent history:
Digital Tech Triumphs via HostGator
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Dec 30, 2013
The post 8 New Year’s Marketing and Web Design Resolutions For 2014 appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
For many, New Year’s means a new start; a chance to make things even better than the year before. But your body and your mentality aren’t the only things that can benefit from this outlook. Around the world, businesses are looking for opportunities to shape up and ring in the New Year with positive change, and setting the right resolutions can mean big returns in 2014. Here are eight ways to usher in a New Year, and new potential, for your business.
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Know Your Goals
Success on the Internet is a nebulous thing. For some, it’s 5 million YouTube hits that ultimately translate into no material gain or following. For others, it’s understanding the aims of your content and website and gearing efforts toward fulfilling analytics that indicate success. The latter are the ones you should listen to.
Google Analytics, Facebook likes, Twitter retweets, and myriad other Internet kudos can give the impression of accomplishment, but without knowing what your ultimate aim is, little will come of these digital atta-boys. If your goal is retention, focus on the percentage of new visitors versus returning visitors. If engaging content is your goal, focus on bounce rate and time spent on page. Know what you ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 27, 2013
The post A Pocket Guide to Small Business Content Marketing appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Marketing is a fickle animal. The multi-headed hydra of analytics, theory, and outright instincts leverages our understanding of human perception to the betterment of brand perception. With an explanation like this, it’s easy to understand why copious, dense volumes of information and thousands of pages of research exist to help explain the science of crafting sentiment and currying favor.
But as a small business, you probably don’t have time for this kind of in-depth reading. You need answers that will positively affect your business and you need them now. With content marketing demonstrating its potency as one of the most effective methods of appealing to customers, here’s a quick reference that should get you marketing faster than you can say “multi-platform brand identity integration”.
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Know Your Value
Content marketing is, at its core, the delivery of your unique value in multiple formats in order to dynamically engage customers and shape brand perception. The linchpin of any good content marketing strategy involves understanding what you have to offer; what you give to your customers that no one else can.
If you haven’t identified this yet, the process is actually quite simple. For B2B businesses, your value likely lies in your authority as a center of ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 26, 2013
The post Bee Cave and The West Pole appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.It’s been quite a while since we shared private conversations from our internal Instant Message conference rooms. It is often true that, as we diligently work throughout the day on our many initiatives and projects, hilarity is often ensuing in the various conference rooms.
This particular conversation was initiated by an employee in the Austin office innocently mentioning their desire for certain cookies that would necessitate a trip to Trader Joe’s in the neighboring town of Bee Cave, Texas. This resulted in the following conversation taking place. Before we proceed, for anyone unfamiliar, “TIL” is an acronym for “Today, I learned”:
(10:08:04 AM) Isaac: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_Cave,_Texas
(10:08:11 AM) Isaac: TIL there is such a thing as a west pole
(10:08:17 AM) Isaac: And it’s Bee Cave 0_o
While just about everyone is familiar with the North and South Poles, none of us knew that there was such thing as a West Pole. However, the Wikipedia page does state: “In 2007, the Texas Legislature declared the West Pole of the Earth to be located in Bee Cave, TX.”
(10:09:39 AM) Neil: TIL that the Texas Legislature is Science-illiterate.
(10:11:38 AM) Austin: Um…Their logic is really off here: “As there are recognized and generally accepted North and South Poles on ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 24, 2013
The post How to Write Irresistible Email Subject Lines appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Everyone remembers the class clown. The guy who happened to be just loud enough to be heard. The problem is, no one remembers his jokes. What they remember his how annoying he became when his jokes failed to land. In an odd way, email follows the same trend. Powerful information has its place, but presenting it in an abrasive fashion is more likely to turn readers off than encourage future views. The secret lies in the mind of the reader and your responsibility in crafting headlines that baby their short attention spans.
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The Tired Reader
In order to effectively address email customers, it’s important to first understand their plight. There are a lot of businesses, people, applications, events, and products, all vying for customer attention every day. Between pop-up messages, brightly colored ads, Facebook notifications, text messages, tweets, and, yes, emails, it’s a wonder that consumers have any time to sleep. Users are tired, burned out, and jaded. This, however, does not mean that they aren’t paying attention.
What it does mean, is that users have their own way of processing all of the information. Instead of vetting each individual piece (as you hope they would), the focus is on quick judgments based ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 19, 2013
The post The 101 Guide to Data-Driven Design appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The web is constantly changing. It isn’t magic; there are thousands, if not millions, of individuals out there who continue to work on their website until it’s reached “optimization”. It either has something to do with the culture of innovation, motivating even good solutions to always push forward, or it’s related to the accessibility of websites and the fact that changing one line of code takes less time than a drink of a cup of coffee.
But intrinsic to tech culture is the desire to move forward the right way. There’s improvement for improvement’s sake and then there’s clear, defined, intelligent design decisions that make a product, and a business, better. This, again, is not magic. It’s a matter of understanding your data and applying it, intelligently, for the betterment of product and consumer understanding.
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The Concept
This is what the industry likes to call “data-driven design”. The idea is that numerical and non-numerical information can be used to change the configuration of a product or website in order to improve sales conversion and revenue.
Does it work? The short answer is yes. According to Extractable, 71% of businesses surveyed experienced site improvements from the use of data and data-driven design. This is, obviously, fairly compelling evidence. ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 17, 2013
The post Eight Great Free Original Content Content Creation Tools You Should Be Using appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The strength of content marketing is well demonstrated, but creating strong content takes innovation. This means enlisting the help of some simple but powerful tools that combine user engagement and attractive presentation to facilitate brand perception. Here’s a look at eight great resources you can use to take your content to the next level.
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ThingLink
If engagement is the key, then ThingLink is the tool for the job. Research shows that images engage customers and resonate to a notable degree on social networks and, for this reason, should be used extensively. But images embedded on web pages should offer more than a reiteration of the graphic that curried the visitor in the first place. ThingLink can be embedded on web pages and used to mark up static imagery with accompanying videos, social networking buttons, annotations, and more. In addition to making already engaging content more dynamic, each image that utilizes the service comes with attribution, so that users who view your creation over social channels know who’s responsible.
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Skitch
Collaborating on content is no small task. Creative ideas bounce back and forth and expressing visual concepts in verbal language always seems to fall just short. Enter Skitch. The brainchild of note-taking powerhouse Evernote, Skitch allows designers, ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 16, 2013
The post Google Hummingbird 101: 5 Things You Need To Know appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Google has changed. The Internet has changed. The combination, while putting the responsibility on the search giant’s algorithms, fundamentally affects how we shape our efforts at content discovery, simply because of the ubiquity of Google’s use. This change can be scary, but knowing how the change works, what to expect, and how it affects you will make all the difference as these revisions hit your site. In this post, we’re outlining 5 things you need to know about Google Hummingbird.
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1. The Search Query Has Changed
In the beginning, search engines indexed information based on a rather primitive method of keyword indexing. These indexes did not understand human language, they simply represented an amalgamation of terms associated with locations, weighted by popularity and inbound links. In order to appease this format, those searching for information were required to truncate full, intelligent sentences into keywords and phrases that rubbed the algorithm the right way. Doing so would yield results, but with limited success.
Hummingbird throws that playbook out the window. Many of the old factors still exist, including keywords and PageRank, but these contribute to a formula that accounts for 200 different factors when returning results. In doing so, the engine works to incorporate long-form queries ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 14, 2013
The post Developing Your Mobile Strategy: 5 Questions to Address appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
With the digital landscape changing every day, incorporating new devices and means of accessing your products and content, understanding the dynamics of mobile is essential. The platform remains largely in its infancy so developing a strategy can be difficult, especially for those without the capabilities needed to perform comprehensive testing and customer research. Fortunately, the experts at Google have developed “The Mobile Playbook“, which breaks down the process into five questions that will help guide your efforts and form your plan.
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How does mobile change our value proposition?
The success of your content efforts depends on understanding the value you deliver to your customers. For B2B firms, this likely takes the form of some body of industry knowledge. For B2C businesses, this stems from fulfillment of a lifestyle that resonates with your customer base. In either instance, the addition of mobile to the picture affects that proposition in dynamic ways.
At the core of this change is the always-on, always-available accessibility enabled by mobile devices. This means that the functionality and information you provide to your customers is shaped by this new type of interaction. Online shopping is rising in prevalence, as are mobile applications and mobile-friendly web layouts that get useful articles ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 11, 2013
The post 10 Fantastic Google Marketing Tools You Never Knew Existed appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The world’s largest search engine has established an impressive reputation for delivering quality data to relevant search queries. Between their extensive index and ubiquitous adoption, it’s no wonder the behemoth has risen to the top. But while the average user is searching for flan recipes and movie quotes, marketers have at their fingertips a bevy of useful tools for improving their efforts and gaining insight into their market.
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Google Trends
Understanding the cultural milieu of particular terms or trends is valuable when crafting copy or photographic content. To this end, Google provides the ability to check the frequency of searches by date. Top terms by category can be viewed in charts and the Explore function enables a chronological documentation of a term’s frequency in search queries. Between these views, marketers will have a better understanding of the zeitgeist and can avoid hitting any hot button terms in the process.
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Google Public Data Explorer
Understanding the public requires comprehensive data. Thanks to Google Public Data Explorer, marketers can peruse census data, unemployment rates, and any other publicly released information from international governments in line graph, bar graph, or scatter-plot form. With the ability to compare and contrast critical data between countries, you now have the ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 10, 2013
The post The 10 Commandments of Effective Web Design and Development appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
To the uninitiated, web design is magic. Transforming text into beautiful, responsive, and interactive creations is pure sorcery to those who don’t see past the one-way mirror. The problem is, you do, and for that reason, you know just how complicated and challenging things can get. When navigating the jungle (so that end-users don’t have to) keeping essential, core principles in mind can mean the difference between Facebook and MySpace. In this post, we’re outlining the ten commandments of effective web design and development.
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1. Thou shalt code with care
If you honor the integrity of your web page and the integrity of your sanity, this rule means everything. Poorly organized, un-commented, and messy code can create copious headaches as you develop your site or redesign your aesthetic. It is said that the skill of a master chef is indicated by the cleanliness of his apron; the same goes for coders. Keep things clean, organized, well labeled, and concise in order to save you and yours a little pain along the way.
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2. Thou shalt be flexible
Our relationship with the web is ever changing. From our standards for interaction to the platforms on which we view sites, the onus falls on web developers ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 09, 2013
The post Infographic: 5-Finger Internet Discount appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.It’s been said: “if it’s free, it’s for me; I’ll have three!” When speaking of free things on the Internet, it’s most often a conversation about stealing media; mp3s, movies, and other copyrighted materials. However, there are some legitimately free and legal things for you to help yourself to online. Presenting The 5-Finger Internet Discount:
5-Finger Internet Discount via HostGator
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Dec 07, 2013
The post 5 Great Books On Web Design That You Need To Read appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Web design is challenging stuff. There’s a reason that talented and well-read individuals can make impressive sums of money with a little HTML and CSS know-how. But everyone had to start somewhere and properly educating yourself is the first step to honing these skills. Myriad tutorials and forums exist that can help make sense of markup and formatting language, but the breadth of information required to create attractive and usable websites demands the touch of experts.
These resources may not be free, but valuable information rarely is. Furthermore, the capabilities of print to flexibly and graphically represent the trickier aspects of coding are worth the investment in order to build a foundation of knowledge that will pay for itself in time. From the copious volumes of web design information, we’ve selected five gems that are sure to put you on solid footing and get you coding with confidence.
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HTML&CSS
Building attractive websites demands an attractive resource. Jon Duckett’s comprehensive volume builds the essential skills needed to create your first website, with the added benefit of some truly beautiful and informative graphic design. Aside from the aesthetic appeal of its pages, the tome holds thorough explanations of web basics and advanced CSS functionality.
The true ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 04, 2013
The post 10 Reasons No One Is Reading Your Blog appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
You’ve read the numbers: content marketing is on the rise and shows no signs of slowing. Intent on cutting yourself a slice of this pie, you hire some writers, ask your web developer to create a blog page or separate site (or, if you’re a startup, you do all of this yourself), and with a rapidly beating heart you publish your first blog post, certain that the users will come pouring in.
But they never come.
You create post after post after post but the hits never come. What’s going on? Wasn’t this content marketing thing supposed to be a sure bet? The answer to your question is: nothing is a “sure bet”, but content marketing is a powerful tool in improving sales and brand perception. The problem likely has nothing to do with your astute observation that business blogs are on the rise, but instead has to do with the nature of blogging itself.
Blogging thrives on organic traffic; traffic that depends on a body of content that triggers search engine keywords and results in page views and, eventually, conversion. But the process requires a great deal of maintenance in order to run at full steam. For that reason, do not despair. ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Dec 02, 2013
The post Online Photo and Video Sharing Is Expanding: What Does It Mean For Your Business appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
With burgeoning volumes of content on social networks and websites, content has reached a point where less user friendly, empathetic, and compelling fare will see a precipitous drop-off. The fact is, media-full users simply do not have time in their days to consume everything presented to them. For that reason, discerning viewers have developed attitudes toward media that allow them to quickly determine what matters to them and what does not.
High on the list of “what matters” is visual media. The trend makes sense: in a world where time is media, quickly digested pictures and videos hold a special advantage over text in their ability to communicate meaning, emotion, and more without the “arduous” task of reading. So what does this mean for you? It means that video and photo is the “it” channel for conveying brand message, and any effort that can be made to accommodate this trend is well worth your time and energy.
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What’s Behind the Trend?
When one considers the ubiquity of cellphone cameras in today’s society, it is not hard to understand why photos and videos rose to the top. With the availability of recording tools, more adults than ever are uploading original photos and videos. In ...Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com
Nov 30, 2013
The post How to Build Better Product Pages appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The online buying experience is a unique animal. The Internet has given us both the opportunity to proffer our wares through digital storefronts and peruse the offerings of others in a way that has expanded commerce and redefined our business relationships. On the other hand, the lack of a physical retailer introduces gaps in product and business perception; gaps that can adversely affect conversion rates and customer attitudes.
For this reason, our business models must adapt to the changing landscape. Simply placing products on an online marketplace and expecting them to sell is the sailing equivalent of casting out your boat and expecting to reach India. The fact is, products need a little guidance in order to reach the customer’s heart and home. That guidance comes in the form of product pages.
But what makes a good product page? What must we include to maximize effectiveness? More importantly, what does the customer feel when they view our products? By tapping into the psychology of online retail, we can tailor our copy, our efforts, and our mentality to best facilitate the two most important aspects of commerce: customer experience and sales conversion.
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Online’s Brick-And-Mortar Analogs
It is crucial to understand the commonalities of online shopping in comparison ...Check out the fast WordPress blog hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 27, 2013
The post Infographic: Viral Video Stars, Where Are They Now? appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.For better or worse, the phenomenon of “viral video” has created its very own particular crop of pseudo-celebrities. Some burn out quickly, others are able to parlay their allotted 15 minutes of fame into something more lasting. This infographic aims to present you with the cream of the viral video crop and answer that burning question that we each have inside of us: Where are they now?
Viral Video Stars, Where Are They Now? via HostGator
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Nov 26, 2013
The post Top 8 Local Search Ranking Factors appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
A curious paradigm shift has occurred in the visibility of local businesses. There was a time when people would drive through their city, know of particular shops, visit them regularly, and consult phone books for any services they were not already privy to. Visibility was as much determined by literal, physical visibility as it was by listing in the yellow pages. With ubiquitous GPS, the desire for information and pricing prior to leaving the house, and the availability of customer reviews to help determine the destination, visibility now has infinitely more to do with search index ranking than with well-lit signage.
Fortunately for local businesses, gone are the days when appearing in online search results meant battling the big boys for traffic. Google has made extensive inroads in the construction of solutions for local businesses. We specifically mention Google for a reason. Bing and Yahoo may have local search results built into their platforms, but Google’s high traffic volumes and tie-in with Google+ afford unique tools for local businesses that will ultimately determine quality and impact of listings as the connections develops.
It bears emphasis that, while these eight factors are of great importance, any measures that can be taken to improve ...Check out the fast WordPress blog hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 25, 2013
The post Mobile Websites: What Are Your Options? appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Mobile Internet has desktop usage in its crosshairs. According to Smart Insights, mobile Internet will surpass desktop usage in 2014. This is good news for Apple and Android, but bad news for all those hard-working web developers who painstakingly created a desktop website worth its salt. But let’s be honest, in an age when innovation moves at light-speed, no one expects a silver bullet solution to last very long.
The unique characteristics of mobile devices require special considerations all their own. Smaller screen resolutions and unique interfaces present challenges to the typical 1280 by 720 click-and-type model. Because of smaller resolutions and tactile, gesture-based controls, navigations, layouts, and content need to be simplified for proper viewing. To further complicate matters, the diversity of mobile devices means that a single resolution or interface solution may not display correctly on other devices or platforms. Fortunately, there are options, each one with its own challenges and assets, to help solve this truly complicated puzzle.
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Mobile Specific Websites
The first potential solution is a bit of an antique at this point, but has its benefits. The mobile specific website builds a dedicated set of code and assets around the unique context of mobile web. This option can allow for ...Check out the fast WordPress blog hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 21, 2013
The post Why Brand Voice Matters appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
2014 is set to be the year that two truths bear themselves. The first is that Internet users are tired, bombarded with content and desperate to separate the chaff from the wheat. The second is that old methods of marketing simply are not effective anymore. This combination has lead to the rise of engaging content and emphasis on a relationship with customers, regardless of the specific market you find yourself in.
The verdict is in, and people are saying that they want quality, value, and creativity. They want information, media, and brands that enrich their lives in tangible ways, in conjunction with their values and belief structures. If you’re keeping score, you can imagine that reaching such lofty heights through iPad giveaways and banal taglines is a near impossible task.
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Making a Connection
The reason old marketing tactics are no longer working begins with the fact that they do not connect with customers. Discerning consumers are no longer swayed by catchy phrases or theme songs. Inundated with media and cheap ploys for sales, they have begun to demand more sincere, legitimate content and engagement that recognizes them as more than simply another sales lead.
This is where voice plays a part. Voice gives a face to ...Check out the fast WordPress blog hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 20, 2013
The post Moz Analytics Free For 60 Days appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.What gets measured gets managed, right? Right. How well then are you managing the traffic to your website? Moz has previously made its name providing SEO services, but now this trusted name has thrown its hat into the analytics ring. HostGator has partnered with Moz to provide a free 60 day trial of Moz Analytics.
Moz tracks all of your inbound marketing efforts, shows the direct impact of your social presence on your SEO, and truly illustrates the direct correlation between your content, social activity, brand mentions, and more all one the single platform.
Visualizations of your data over time make it exceptionally easy to determine trends and react accordingly. Moz allows you to not only see your growth, but also identify the strongest contributing factors to that growth.
Not only does Moz show you your data, but you can also compare it to your direct competitors. This feature allows you to take strategic action, whether it be to wage a head-to-head battle plan, or to fill in the gaps that your competition may be neglecting.
The great thing about Moz is that it does one simple thing: it presents the facts. It does this is an incredibly intuitive and easy-to-use interface allow you ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 20, 2013
The post Google In-Depth Articles Goes Live appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
It’s never a bad idea to play nicely with Google’s search standards. Frankly, doing so can lead to real, tangible benefits, including, now, having in-depth articles featured on the world’s most ubiquitous search engine. Despite the cheap tie-in with Google+, the search engine’s new results offer a real opportunity to establish your authority, should you choose to play by the rules.
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What Are “In-Depth” Articles?
In-depth articles are a new format of search result that feature an article title, thumbnail pulled from the piece, logo of the host website, and snippet of the content being presented. But those are just the specifics. On a deeper level, in-depth articles represent a new effort to accommodate the more robust search needs of complex topics, queries of such nature reportedly comprising as much as 10% of daily search traffic.
If you are a large website, in-depth results present an opportunity to further your reach. If you are a small website, in-depth results present a chance to gain recognition for your knowledge. In either case, catering to the requirements of Google’s new search result can offer a boost to both traffic and reputation.
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How to Be Included
The first requirement is utilization of Schema.org’s article markup syntax. By delineating meta-data within an ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 18, 2013
The post The Future of Content Marketing: Trends and Predictions for 2014 appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Business has never been about “keeping up”. If you intend to simply pace the pack, then you are in for a rocky 2014. Innovation never rests and content marketing is home to a great deal of innovation as businesses discover its ROI and long-term potential for audience engagement and sales conversion. The question on everybody’s mind as the year draws to a close is, “what’s next?”
The simple answer: more. But how much more? More of what? How will consumers respond to more? These are all questions receiving a great deal of analysis by industry leaders and professionals. Through their insights and some knowledge of our own, 2014 can be the year where your business sees the value of content marketing.
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More
Content marketing shows no signs of slowing down. According to a recent study, as many as 27 million pieces of content are shared every day. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to determine that this is a pie worth grabbing a piece of. But the equation is not as simple as doubling the number of Instagram pictures your company produces. Savvy consumers are looking for more rewarding content that enriches their lives.
The axiom “quality over quantity” remains just that, an axiom. As a bevy of ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 17, 2013
The post Four Mistakes To Avoid Making When Writing Blog Posts For Your Business appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
As the year comes to an end and 2014 approaches, many business owners are taking the time to reevaluate their marketing budgets and overall strategies. Although a lot of changes have occurred over the past year in terms of SEO, social media sites, and online consumer behavior, there’s one thing that has remained constant: businesses and brands have continued to benefit from their blogging efforts. According to recent research, 61% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog. In addition, 81% of companies consider their blogs “useful,” “important,” or “critical”. As you prepare for the New Year, you might be asking yourself the following: “what is it that makes or breaks blog posts for business, and how can we improve in 2014?”
In the following post, we’re outlining four common mistakes many businesses make on their blogs in an effort to help you get the most out of your blog posts now and into next year.
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Mistake #1: Too Much Promotional Copy
Online consumers don’t like spam. They don’t like receiving emails they consider to be “spammy” or promotional. Over time they’ve become very good at recognizing the difference between authentic, valuable content, and lazy, promotional content ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 12, 2013
The post Five Steps To Building Your Dream Website appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
There once was a time when only the IT elite had their own websites. Now? Mittens the cat has a webpage with 70,000 unique viewers per month. This is not, however, without good reason.
Websites afford the opportunity to make your name, your product, and your words as accessible as humanly possible. Combined with the powerful Internet search indexes that fuel Google and Yahoo, potential customers are now just a quick search query away from discovering your quality wares. But the process is not as simple as choosing the right font and page background. A number of factors contribute to making your website the best it can possibly be.
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1. Know Your Budget
Building a website begins, and ends, with the least fun step: budgeting. Web hosting, premium features, and additional bandwidth can come sometimes at a premium, so knowing what you are willing to spend to make your website great is the first step. Consider what you can reasonably spend on a website, what you need, and, just as importantly, what you do not need. Building a great website is not about the biggest and best, but what is most appropriate for your company.
As obvious as it may sound, it bares articulating that larger ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 11, 2013
The post 5 Ways to Launch an Effective Holiday Marketing Campaign appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
For marketers, the holiday season truly can be “the most wonderful time of the year“. However, without a sound strategy, the holiday can offer as little to businesses as it does to sandal-makers. And considering the very specific nature of the holidays, a little knowledge can go a long way.
So what is it that makes the holidays tick? How can you as a marketer successfully market your product to consumers? Before even putting pen to paper, know that your strategy, your goals, your channels for engagement, and your tone will ultimately determine your potential for success.
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1. Know Your Goal
At the risk of traipsing into philosophical territory, what is your reason for the season? Before doling out cash for advertising and social media resources, consider what it is your businesses would like to achieve during the holiday season. Is increased sales your top priority? Is customer engagement the focus? Do you simply wish to associate your brand image with the good-will and holiday cheer of the winter months? In any instance, know what your goal is and stick to it.
Base your goals around what would most benefit your organization. If your company delves into consumer goods, figure out how you can ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 09, 2013
The post Five Essential Questions To Ask Yourself Before Publishing A New Blog Post appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
As more and more businesses launch blogs as a way to connect with prospective customers, it’s important for you as a business owner, marketing director, or webmaster to develop great content that will help you differentiate from competitors in your industry. In the following article, we’re outlining five essential questions you should be asking yourself before publishing a new post on your company blog.
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Is My Content Original?
This is one of the most important questions you need to ask yourself before publishing your blog post. When it comes to getting the most out of your content marketing and SEO strategies, creating and sharing original content is key. According to reports, “61% of consumers say they feel better about, and are more likely to buy from, a company that delivers custom content.” Consumers aren’t the only ones paying attention to authentic (or inauthentic) content. In recent years especially, search engine giants like Google have been stressing more and more that posting unoriginal content will not help a website in terms of improving page rankings and attracting visitors. In fact, they have even started penalizing webmasters for sharing unoriginal content on webpages and in blog posts.
In a support section on their website, Google ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 06, 2013
The post NSA Taps Into Google, Yahoo Data appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
In May of 2013, former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden fled the United States with classified documentation revealing some of the most sophisticated and prolific public spying in American history. The PRISM program he divulged is an extensive campaign that utilizes classified intelligence directives to acquire “metadata” from major Internet players like Google and Yahoo. Since then, Snowden has brought to light myriad directions of similar ilk, geared toward data collection in the name of intelligence efforts.
In a recent leak, however, it was revealed that PRISMs scope pales in comparison to the NSA’s international data mining project, known by the acronym MUSCULAR and run in tandem with the British GCHQ. The program, it was shown, utilizes the linkages between Google and Yahoo data centers, mining entire data flows and shipping the data back to NSA data warehouses in Fort Meade.
The NSA program utilizes a structural flaw in the two companies’ architecture. Yahoo and Google maintain high speeds through decentralized data centers spanning multiple continents and connected by thousands of miles of fiber optic cable. In order to maximize performance, these data centers continuously sync information between repositories, including whole user accounts and email indexes.
In order to obtain the information ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 05, 2013
The post Infographic: Internet Crimes appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.The Internet provides a fairly infinite amount of opportunity. Unfortunately, some individuals view that as opportunity for criminal deeds. From spam to scams, there is a wide range of criminal activity that has sprung up online; much of which can land you behind bars. Please enjoy the following infographic (but don’t get any ideas!):
Internet Crimes: What You Could Get Locked Away For via HostGator
Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 04, 2013
The post 10 Strategies to Help Your Content Go Viral appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The Democratization of information and ubiquity of conversation ushered in by the Internet has profoundly changed our understanding of social interaction, marketing, and advertising. Over the past several years, businesses have been forced to adapt to the interconnected world with varying degrees of success. Throughout this trial-and-error process, one truth has endured: going viral is invaluable.
There are many reasons for this, but the primary benefit is that content and campaigns take on a life of their own, propagating product knowledge and increasing brand engagement seemingly without effort. That wildfire spread leads to indelible changes in brand reputation, truly the brass ring for marketers. Furthermore, the transcendence from a brand to a part of the cultural conversation leads to tangible (and profitable) results in a big way.
So how does one “go viral”? Arguments have been made that the fickle nature of the Internet simply cannot be predicted and utilized. However, several studies have uncovered common threads in viral content that, when applied properly, can deliver real value to your organization and brand.
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Start with a Plan
1. Know Your Goal
While word-of-mouth remains a powerful tool in impacting brand reputation, it has, in recent years, taken digital form through social media. The key is ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Nov 02, 2013
The post Websites For Beginners: 5 Tricks To Help You Succeed appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
When building a website, it’s important to begin with a clear focus and plan. When you have clarity about which direction you want to go in, it makes it much easier to set and achieve your website goals. In the article below, we’re outlining 5 tricks to help you succeed as you build your first website.
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Target Your Audience
In the course of building your website, you have to keep in mind who you’re doing this for. Your target audience should be clear in your mind. A grocery store near an elementary school will likely have a lot of parents of younger children as customers. If you sell products for aging citizens, then your audience will be the elderly and their caretakers. So who are you building your website for? What sort of content would be useful to them? Take some time and write out a profile for your ideal visitor. Imagine their age, gender, geographic location, income, and other relevant information. Use this profile to give your website a clear direction and focus.
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Stay Up to Date
There is no shortage of outdated websites online. Some come in the form of blogs that haven’t been updated in over a year, while others sport ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Oct 29, 2013
The post How to Choose a Winning Domain Name for Your Business appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Location, location, location. For domain names, as in real estate, having the right address can make all the difference. Web traffic, branding, expectations, and recognizability all can depend in large part on the digital storefront that is your domain name. Choosing the right domain name can be a daunting task, but here are some tips to help guide you in the right direction.
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First Impressions
Before customers see your layout, content, and branding, your domain name is the first impression they have. Convoluted strings of incomprehensible prefixes, varyingly successful attempts at niche humor, and over-acronymed domain names can all send customers packing before they even open the page. This means that several things must be considered when making the selection.
The first is expectations. When a customer sees a name like billreducer.com, they have one expectation in mind: this website is going to help me save money by reducing my bills in some way. Choose a name that is going to let customers know from the moment they read it, what they are in for. If you run a company that provides office supplies, consider options like OfficeSupplies.com or OfficeNeeds.com, regardless of your company name. Both examples establish what is available at the ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Oct 28, 2013
The post Should You Create An Ebook Series For Your Business? appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Your business helps people. Through products, service, and ambitious goals for improvement and development, your organization works hard to make a difference for your customers. So why does your influence have to end there? Publishing educational materials and periodicals about your customers’ lives, industry trends, and general useful information can deliver value in dynamic and engaging ways. Truly, avenues for customer engagement are changing every day and putting value in the palms of their hands is a strong way to leave a lasting impression and build a constructive relationship.
One such avenue being explored is the ebook. With the growing ubiquity of tablet devices, it’s no wonder why tech-savvy firms are giving the format a try. In the fourth quarter of 2010, Apple reported their highest earnings ever after the release of the iPad, which took off like a shot, crossing the million-device threshold twice as fast as the popular iPhone. And if customers aren’t holding iPad’s in their hands, then they probably just favor the Kindle. After selling 3 million devices by December 2010, Morgan Stanley estimates the device will result in $4.5 billion in sales in 2013. What does this market penetration mean for your business? A ready channel ...Check out the fast shared web hosting by HostGator.com
Oct 25, 2013
The post Five Ways to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Your Content Marketing Strategy appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.Are you looking for ways to beef up or update your content marketing strategies in preparation for the New Year? If so, we can help. In the post below, we’re outlining 5 recommendations that you can use to evaluate your strategies and make improvements during the last few months of 2013.
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1. Use Your Data
The Information Age has given marketers, businesses, and content creators unprecedented access to data about their customers. But while these statistics make for beautiful pie charts and bar graphs, failing to “interpret the tea leaves” effectively means wasted time and effort for both analysts and writers.
First and foremost, take a look at your data from all available sources. If you use Buffer, check the social media impact to determine whether you are utilizing the correct channels for distribution. If you use Google Webmaster Tools, take a look at your unique visitors and pageviews per visit to determine whether your content is keeping customers around. Even something as simple as blog comments can help determine whether your content is engaging your audience.
Be careful and consider how data reflects progress toward your goals. Avoid depending on “vanity metrics” such as Twitter followers and Facebook likes. If your goal is to engage ...
Oct 23, 2013
The post Inexpensive Online Marketing Tools You Should Be Using appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.Whether you’re a lean startup or a budget conscious behemoth, there’s nothing wrong with saving a couple dollars, especially if it’s on something as important as marketing. But with plenty of snake-oil salesmen and low-quality services out there on the Internet, you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Here are five affordable tools to help you get the lay of the land when planning your marketing strategy.
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Survey Monkey
Cost: Free up to $65/month
Survey Monkey is an oldie but a goodie. The service has been around since the nascent days of the Internet and its continuing adaptation and development are just accessories to the fact that it performs one basic task extremely well: collecting customer feedback. From real-time results to random assignments for answer order, even seasoned marketers will find exactly what they’re looking for.
Plans come in an array of prices. The free option offers the most basic tools (of course), but upgrading to the “Select” or “Gold” plans offers enhanced security features and unlimited questions and responses without over-burdening your bank account. The “Platinum” plan even features the ability to customize the appearance and branding of surveys and utilize your own post-survey redirects. With even more add-ons like ...
Oct 22, 2013
The post Happy 11th Birthday, Snappy! appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.Snappy turns 11 today! Now that Snappy is officially a tween, we’re celebrating by offering domains for just $2.95 per year and all new hosting plans are 50% off! This offer is good today only, because Snappy will only turn 11 once! Help us celebrate by using coupon code GATORDAY and pick up that new domain now!
Oct 21, 2013
The post How To Develop Better Topics For Your Business Blog appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
As the relationship between business and consumer changes, companies have looked for ways to evolve how they communicate value to their customers. One method of doing so that has taken off over the past several years is the business blog, and it shows no sign of slowing. 60% of businesses have blogs and several of the most popular websites in the world are blogs, demonstrating that not only is the format credible, it can have a potent impact in marketing your company. News sites have the market cornered on information, culture sites have a monopoly on distraction, and that leaves remaining outlets with the task of fulfilling more specialized roles for curious readers. In this way, business blogging creates a unique opportunity to engage, inform, and build a relationship with users.
This lies in the fact that business blogs have become the human face of modern companies. As companies capitalize on the new market axiom that service is essential, blogging becomes an extension of that. By giving company staff the chance to engage with customers (and potential customers), you can create a relationship of trust, enriching your readers and shaping your product and aims in the process.
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Delivering Value, Not Selling Product
The ...
Oct 17, 2013
The post How To Start Planning For Your Website’s 2014 Facelift appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
With only a few months left in 2013, it’s time to start thinking about how your website can be better next year. We’ll outline here a number of recommendations that you can follow in order to start planning for your website’s 2014 facelift.
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Start developing more original content.
You’ve heard it before: when it comes to digital marketing, content is king. According to reports, “61% of consumers say they feel better about, and are more likely to buy from, a company that delivers custom content.” If you neglected to create original content for your website in 2013, take the last few months of this year to develop and queue up content (blog posts, videos, ebooks, presentations) that you can begin using on your website in 2014. These days, online consumers are spending more time than ever getting to know companies before they make purchasing decisions. Creating original content for your website can help you:
Create brand awareness
Provide value to your prospective customers
Leverage your company as an industry leader
Differentiate from competition
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Your website is often the first impression online consumers will have of you. To help them understand who you are, what you do, why it matters, and why they should care, start developing new ...
Oct 16, 2013
The post CodeGuard (Cloud Backup) appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.For many of us, our websites are our lifeblood. They are how we make our living, and how we support our families. They are our businesses and our passions. The interesting thing about how important our websites are to us is that precious few of us actually take regular backups of our data. Why is this? No one knows, really. Likely it’s that each of us figures it’ll always be someone else who loses their data in some catastrophic event.
Enter CodeGuard. For anyone who’s familiar with Apple’s Time Machine functionality, CodeGuard is very similar except it’s for your hosting server rather than your home computer. When you sign up with CodeGuard, you provide it the necessary credentials in order to access your data and take a complete backup. After that point, it regularly monitors your server for any changes. Any time CodeGuard detects a change (files being added, removed, or modified), it then takes an incremental backup and sends you an email to inform you of the fact.
It’s the next feature that really sets CodeGuard apart: it allows you to restore back to any prior version of your website. All backups are stored in the cloud and you have multiple ...
Oct 15, 2013
The post 5 (More) Ways Your Website Could Be Better appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Last week we published a post that outlined five ways your website could be better. In our post, we offered recommendations that you could use on your website to increase traffic, gain more online customers, and improve your brand reputation online. The main areas we focused on related to responsive design, social integration, visual content, effective call-to-actions, and customer testimonials. In the post below, we would like to expand on the topic by outlining five more ways your website could be better. If you’re just not getting what you’ve been hoping to get out of your website, consider the following:
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It could offer more value.
It’s likely that you’re in a very competitive industry. As more businesses and brands fight for the loyalty of consumers online, it’s becoming increasingly for companies to leverage themselves as value-providers. What kind of value are visitors receiving from you or your company when they land on your website? Do they land on a static, seemingly “frozen-in-time” website that only offers basic contact information or information about products and services? Or is it easy for them to find rich, valuable content created by you that they can learn from or use to solve a problem? These are ...
Oct 14, 2013
The post Should You Launch A Website For Your Personal Brand appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
As more and more people continue to use laptops, smartphones, and other mobile devices to stay constantly connected to the web, it’s becoming equally important for businesses to spend time developing a strong presence online in order to effectively connect with potential customers. In this day and age, it’s not uncommon for consumers to spend a good amount of time researching a company on Facebook, Google, Yelp, and other social media before making any final purchasing decisions.
Most businesses and brands understand this truth and have taken the time to invest in strategies that can help them strengthen their online presence and brand reputation in order to connect with more prospects and customers. In addition, a growing number of CEOs, business owners, and other professionals have started actively developing their own personal brand online as a way to connect with more prospects and customers. So what is a personal brand?
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What Is a Personal Brand?
Author and marketing expert Dan Schawbel defines personal branding as:
“The process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leveraging it across platforms with a consistent message and image to ...
Oct 11, 2013
The post 5 Ways Your Website Could Be Better appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.If you’re looking for ideas on how to increase traffic, gain more online customers, and improve your brand reputation online, look no further. We’ve put together a helpful list that outlines ten ways your website could be better. If you’re just not getting what you’ve been hoping to get out of your website, consider the following:
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It could be responsive.
Responsive websites use flexible and fluid layouts that adapt to almost any screen. According to a recent Forbes article, responsive web design is a “design approach that enables Web designers and developers to build and maintain a single website to serve to all kinds of devices: smartphones, tablets, laptops and more.”
As more and more consumers continue to use their smartphones as the primary way they shop, read their news, interact with friends, and document their lives, it’s even more important than ever for businesses to make their websites as mobile-friendly as possible. For many businesses in recent years, the movement toward mobile meant they had to design and launch a completely separate mobile site for their business. Responsive design offers a way for businesses to build one website that consumers can view from a variety of different devices (iPad, laptop, desktop, iPhone) ...
Oct 10, 2013
The post 5 Ways To Create The Perfect Landing Page For Your Website appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
A great landing page is essential for anyone who uses their website to sell products and/or services online. The landing page sets the pace for your entire user experience. It can mean the difference between a visitor clicking away from your website, or sticking around to see what you have to say. No pressure, right? Marketers and advertisers have spent quite a bit of time breaking down and analyzing what makes for a perfect landing page. Take a look at the 5 recommendations below:
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Attention-Grabbing, Concise Headlines
Your headline is the first thing your visitors will notice, so you have to make it count. Just a few tweaks to a website headline can make a huge difference in the page’s performance. Much has been said about creating the perfect headline. Remember that headlines should be concise, and answer the question “What’s in it for me?” Copyblogger covers this topic quite well in their popular post entitled How to Write Headlines That Work. It’s a good idea to split test your own headlines to see which ones perform best for you.
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Building Trust
The anonymity of the internet makes trust a bit hard to come by. However, people and organizations have created ways to establish ...
Oct 08, 2013
The post Protect Your Brand Online appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.One of the blessings and curses of the Internet is the utter simplicity involved in registering a domain and putting a website online; anyone can do it. It’s amazing how simple the process is, but in the same breath it’s amazing how simple the process is. There are also very few restrictions involved in how an individual exercises this freedom. What we’re getting at is one of the back-alley facts of life online these days: anyone can register any available domain and put virtually any content they choose on that domain.
Now through Octorber 31st, we are offering $9 .com /.net /.org domains using coupon code Domain9 at http://register.hostgator.com.
The best way to protect your brand is to ensure you own all the popular Top Level Domains (TLDs) for the brand. In other words, you want the .com / .net / .org for any domain related to your business. Who do you think owns hostgator.org, or google.net? Ever notice how amazon.net loads straight to amazon.com? It is incredibly easy to forward multiple domains to your primary domain within cPanel. That way whatever TLD iteration someone types into a browser, they will arrive your same website. And it prevents a competitor from ...
Oct 08, 2013
The post Infographic: The Future of Web and Technology appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.It seems that, more and more, science fiction is becoming non-fiction. While we wait on delivery of our personal jetpacks, at least we can already look forward to augmented reality contact lenses (which actually kind of give us the heebie-jeebies). Read all about the contact lenses and more in the following infographic: The Future of The Web and Technology.
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The Future of Web and Technology via HostGator
Oct 07, 2013
The post How To Connect With Online Shoppers This Holiday Season appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
It seems like only yesterday that we were kicking off summer. Now the holiday shopping season is almost upon us. If you’re like a lot of online retailers, the holiday season represents a huge source of potential revenue. According to the National Retail Federation, that number is as much as 20-40% for many businesses. If you want to take full advantage of the busiest shopping season of the year (and who doesn’t?), it’s important to know how to connect with your potential customers.
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Analytics Power
If connecting with your customers on a more personal level is your goal, then your analytics can be a great indicator of how to go about it. You can use your available metrics and demographic information to create a number of approaches. Your creativity really comes in handy. You can geo-target customers and create special offers based on their location, email deals based on popular items among people in the customer’s age range, or create targeted holiday deals based on past purchases. Use your knowledge of your customer base and the power of analytics technology to find ways to personalize your offers.
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Optimize for Mobile
It’s no secret that mobile web surfing is more popular now than it ever ...
Oct 05, 2013
The post PRISM and Changes To Google Search appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Google has always valued the privacy of its users, and privacy has long been a platform on which it has operated. In 2011, the search giant began protecting logged-in searches with SSL encryption, so as to keep unauthorized third parties from seeing what search terms were being used. If a search term was deemed too private, it would show up as “not provided” in Google Analytics.
Last month, Google began encrypting all searches, both logged-in and not logged-in. This change was performed without any announcement, though the update was later confirmed by the company. They told the Washington Post last month:
“We added SSL encryption for our signed-in search users in 2011, as well as searches from the Chrome omnibox earlier this year. We’re now working to bring this extra protection to more users who are not signed in.”
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Why Now?
Though it’s not entirely clear why Google started ramping up these efforts just last month, it’s apparent that the overall campaign is in response to the NSA and PRISM. After it was revealed that the national security administration had been secretly collecting data on U.S citizens (as well as other countries) via their PRISM program, accusations were leveled against Google that they’d been ...
Oct 04, 2013
The post cPanel Conference 2013 appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.If you happened to read our blog post about cPanel’s 2012 conference, then you already know that cPanel throws a conference like no other. This year’s conference was September 30 to October 2 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The meals were top-notch, the exhibitor floor packed with exhibitors and attendees, and the nightly outings and events were all quite memorable (for those who remember them). Just like we said last year: cPanel does it right!
Everything kicked off with a gathering of attendees in front of the hotel for a New Orleans tradition, a Second Line, which is basically a giant group of folks following a marching brass band. We were unhampered by the slight rain due to orange cPanel umbrellas having been supplied to the group:
While we waited on the dock prior to boarding the boat, Creole Queen, we were treated to several more tunes from the band. From our vantage point here, you can just barely see the top of the tuba, but trust us the band was there and they were amazing:
As soon as we stepped on board, we headed down to the dining hall where we were treated to some delicious Cajun food:
And the band played on:
After dinner, ...
Oct 03, 2013
The post Why Backing Up Your Website Is So Important appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
You’ve heard a lot of talk about the importance of backing up your hard drive just in case something should happen to your computer. There are few things more painful than knowing that all of your precious files have been lost forever. The same holds true for websites. It seems like every day there is a new headline about the latest high profile website crash. Unfortunately, website threats are very real. Backing up your website helps you to safeguard against those threats.
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Website Hackers
Unfortunately, hackers have become commonplace on the web. While the aim of a hacker may be to steal credit card numbers and other sensitive information, often people hack websites merely to prove themselves or cause trouble. If your website is online, there is always the chance that it may become compromised.
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Computer Catastrophes
Storing a copy of your files on your computer is a good idea, but should your machine crash, get lost, or fall off a cliff, then your files will be gone with it. Backing up your files remotely is a more practical option in the event that something happens to your machine.
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Updates Gone Wrong
Regular updates refer to updated features and increased security, but they don’t always go ...
Oct 01, 2013
The post 10 Reasons Why It’s Time To Update Your Social Media Strategy appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
In the ever-changing world of social media, it’s quite easy to fall off the wagon with your social strategy. The steady stream of new updates, features, and websites are enough to make anyone business owner’s head spin. Still, staying on top of social media trends has its rewards. Is it time for you update your social media strategy? Read on to find out.
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1. You Haven’t Been Paying Attention To New Trends
Changes in consumer technology, like the relatively recent explosion in mobile web surfing, have a direct effect on how people use the internet. For instance, Facebook launched a mobile-only ad program last year, something that could be very lucrative for a company who knows how to use it. Since social media tends to adapt to trends in technology, these trends will ultimately affect your social media strategy.
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2. You Haven’t Taken Feature Updates Into Account
Anyone who has been on Facebook over the course of a year knows that things change all the time. Recently they implemented the social graph, which is a detailed way of searching for people on Facebook with like interests. More recently, Facebook gave their page analytics feature an overhaul to make it more detailed. Changes like these ...
Sep 28, 2013
The post How To Get Your eCommerce Website Up And Running appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
According the U.S Small Business Administration, online business is growing much faster than traditional brick and mortar business. It’s no wonder that more and more traditional businesses are bringing their products and services online. Here’s how to get your own ecommerce website up and running.
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STEP 1: Set a goal.
Since your website will be the hub of your online marketing efforts, you should set a goal for it. As Google’s guide to building your online marketing plan states, a goal can be anything from making a sale, promoting a discount, spreading the word about your business, or reaching more people with your website. Just make sure they are S.M.A.R.T goals: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-based.
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STEP 2: Choose a domain name.
Your domain name is the address that people identify you by, so choose it carefully. A domain name should be tied to your brand, and it should be memorable. It should be self-explanatory. Don’t worry too much about including relevant keywords in your domain name. This doesn’t matter as much for SEO as other factors like website content and backlinks. Also, take care not to infringe on anyone’s copyright with your domain. Use copyright.gov to verify whether or not your domain ...
Sep 27, 2013
The post What Does Your Host Say About You? appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.The following infographic was created by the very kind folks over at http://www.whoishostingthis.com, who were gracious enough to allow us to share it with you here. This is the beginning of a series of infographics that they will produce analyzing the customer base of various hosting companies. We are honored that they selected our customer base for their initial infographic.
We encourage you to go straight to the source to read more about their findings. Their blog post is located at the following link:
http://www.whoishostingthis.com/blog/2013/09/25/host-say-infographic/
And without further ado, here is the infographic they produced about HostGator users:
Via WhoIsHostingThis.com
Sep 26, 2013
The post 9 Practical Steps For Planning a Website appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
As the old adage goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Building a website without a plan is like constructing a building without blueprints. Things end up in the wrong place, features are overlooked, and the situation is ripe for miscommunication between website builder and client. Planning your website ahead of time will give it clear direction as well as prevent missed deadlines and backtracking. If you are a web designer working with clients, then this guide will help both of you to plan properly. If you are a business owner or employee of an organization, then this guide will help lay the groundwork for your coming website.
Set your purpose and goals. What is the purpose of your website? Is it to gain publicity for your business? To sell your inventory? To rally support behind a cause? It’s important to identify your website’s purpose, as well as your target audience. You should also define your goals. How many visitors do you expect per month? How many do you expect will sign up for your newsletter? How much in sales do you expect to make? Set measurable, specific goals for your website that are in line with your ...
Sep 25, 2013
The post 5 Ways to Beef Up Your SEO This Fall appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The autumn leaves are rolling in, signifying that now is a great time to beef up your SEO for the coming holidays. Most e-commerce websites receive more hits and sales in November and December than during any other time of the year. According to Comscore, online holiday shopping was up 14 percent in 2012, and the surge in online commerce is expected to increase even more during the 2013 holiday season. To make the most of the flood of buyers who will be hitting the internet this fall and winter, follow these five tips for seasonal SEO.
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Create Keyword Rich Landing Pages
Since holiday shoppers will be searching for specific terms, the best way to get traffic is to create landing pages around specific keywords. One useful aspect about Google’s new Keyword Planner tool is that it not only returns results for specific terms, but for groups of similar keywords.
It also gives you historical performance information when you hover over the stats button. Here you can see that Google searches for terms related to “Christmas presents for kids” start to peak in October. You should also plug in known consumer shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. For instance, “Black Friday ...
Sep 23, 2013
The post Infographic: 7 High Tech Wonders of the World appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.If it can be imagined, it can be created. As creative minds have risen to positions of power within companies, or created companies as a result of their creative endeavors, it was simply a matter of time before the architecture that housed said companies would manifest in unusual and unique ways. From the Googleplex to The Eden Project, this infographic presents 7 High Tech Wonders of the World:
7 High Tech Wonders of the World via HostGator
Sep 21, 2013
The post Discounts and Deals Don’t Damage Online Brand Image appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
As we approach the online holiday shopping season many websites owners are wondering about the value of offering coupons and discounts. While some think that it can devalue a brand, we have found that it actually helps generate additional traffic and sales.
A survey conducted by eAccountable in conjunction with our market research partner Clear Vision Research, provided valuable insight into consumers’ shopping habits as they relate to coupons, offers and cashback promotions.
Our findings show that online coupons and deals are being used by those who can more easily purchase without discounts – the affluent. The survey found higher income shoppers – women and those making above $100k per year – are more likely to use online coupons to find better deals.
Respondents with an annual household income over $100k searched more than one website to find the best deal before making a purchase. These online shoppers were also more likely to join a cashback, reward or loyalty website to get discounts. In the last 12 months, 69% of respondents said they used an online coupon to make a purchase. When looking at just the higher income respondents with yearly household incomes exceeding $100k, that figure jumped to 86%.
Over 1,500 consumers responded ...
Sep 20, 2013
The post 5 Ways To Evaluate The Success of Your Website appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.Though the definition of website success will vary from business to business depending on goals, everyone can measure the performance of their website using analytics software. The factors that you measure with analytics are called metrics. According to the Content Marketing Institute, all metrics fall into four categories: Consumption, Sharing, Lead Generation, and Sales. Keep an eye on these key metrics to get a good idea of your website’s performance.
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Consumption Metrics
Consumption refers to the content that your visitors see and consume when visiting your website. Examples of these metrics include:
Page Views: Page view metrics track how many people have seen the pages and content on your website. These are the easiest metrics to find and record.
Video Views: Video view metrics track how many people have seen your videos. You can measure these using YouTube Insights, or its equivalent if you use another video host.
Document Views: Document view metrics track the number of views for any documents embedded on your site. You can measure these views through document sharing websites like Paper.li and Slideshare.
Downloads: Download metrics track the number of times people download your downloadable content.
Consumption metrics are important because they help you understand how your content is viewed.
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Sharing Metrics
These metrics ...
Sep 19, 2013
The post Talk Like A Pirate Day Sale appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.Arrrrggghhhhh!!! Avast all ye skallywags and sea-wenches! This be a very special day, yes it do! Wednesday, September 19th be “International Talk Like a Pirate Day!” It be a very special day! For on this day we asked ourselves a question, and to our own surprise that question was not “where be the rum?!”
No, for on this day we asked ourselves “what be the most ‘pirate’ discount that we could be giving?” The answer became clear, as if it t’was delivered upon our shoulder by our own parrot, aye! The most “pirate” discount was none other than 44.44% off all new hosting packages. Ahoy! That be 44.44rrrrrrr percent, matey! And it be off the first invoice only, what means is the longer billing cycle you choose, the more savings you get, aye!
This discount be valid on any new hosting package, yes it do. It don’t be valid for renewals or extensions of existing hosting packages. To take advantage of this offer (today only), simply use the followin’ coupon code: ARRRSNAP
After settlin’ on that, we then thought to ourselves that discounted domains go mighty fine with discounted hosting, yes they do. They go together just as well as plunderin’ do with ...
Sep 17, 2013
The post The Complete Guide To Updating Blog Content appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
No matter what industry or topic you blog about, trends and technologies often update at a fast pace. If your blog site has been around for a while, chances are there are some obsolete links and dated references lurking in your archives. To keep pace with the fast-paced web, every blogger should update their content regularly.
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Reasons to Update
So why should you update your past blog content instead of leaving it as is? There are some compelling reasons:
Search engines see all. When search engines pull up pages from your website, it’s not just the updated content they see. Although search algorithms seek out fresh content, a search for “latest tech trends” or “effective SEO techniques” can yield results from a year or two back if the post has seen a lot of traffic. Since these are fast-changing topics, such outdated information can reflect poorly on a blog.
Avoid misleading readers. If a reader is in a hurry, or simply doesn’t bother to check the date of a blog post, they’re likely to just take outdated information and run with it.
Fish out the gems. A benefit of going through your old content is that you can fish out well performing evergreen posts that ...
Sep 16, 2013
The post 10 Mistakes You Are Making On Your Homepage appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
Your Homepage: The trusty introduction of your company website to the rest of the world. As the old adage goes, first impressions are everything. So what is your home page saying about your website, and your company as a whole? If the main page of your website is guilty of any of the following ten offenses, it’s probably time to make a few changes.
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Mistake #1: Hiding contact information.
A study conducted by Small Business Trends found that of the 200 small business websites they studied, 70 percent with a phone number didn’t display it in a prominent place. Thirty-eight percent had their email address stashed away in a hard-to-find place. Furthermore, 68% didn’t include an email address on their home page at all. Always make your contact information visible. You want to make it as easy as possible for customers to reach you.
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Mistake #2: Not using analytics.
If you’re not using analytics by now, you’re missing out on valuable information about the effectiveness of your website. Analytics show you things like what content is most popular with your readers, the number of inbound links to your site, who is linking to your website, and more. Using Google Analytics is free, and it ...
Sep 13, 2013
The post Content Marketing 101: What is a Call-To-Action? appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
You want to prompt your website visitors to take some sort of action. That’s the main point of having a website, to ultimately influence users to do something. The something that they do—whether it be signing up for a newsletter, signing up for a free trial, or buying a product—is called a call to action (CTA). A strong call to action is essential to the success of any website, whether or not you’re using it to sell products and services. Some examples of calls to action include:
Download our free ebook or industry report
Sign up for a free trial
Register for our free webinar
View a demo
Sign up to receive a free coupon
Order now and get a discount
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Why Have a Strong Call to Action?
There are three main reasons for having a strong CTA on your website:
Provides direction to your users. If ever your users are unsure of what to do with the information you provide them, a call to action gives them a clear step to take next.
Measuring the success of your site. You can tell how your website is doing with the public from the number of visitors you have vs. the number of people who accept your CTA (otherwise known as ...
Sep 12, 2013
The post Blogging 101: How to Be a Better Blogger appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
There is no shortage of advice out there on how to be a better blogger. It seems everyone has their own take on what it means to succeed in the blogosphere. That’s because successful blogging is a multifaceted accomplishment, requiring you to be more than just a good writer. Blogging requires an amazing amount of focus, determination, and (overall) passion about the topics that you’re blogging about. Read on to see what it takes to make your blog successful.
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Get Direction
What is the purpose of your blog? You should be able to answer this question before you ever start writing. For this reason, it’s a good idea to have a mission statement. You don’t have to define your blog too narrowly, or publish your mission statement for all to see, but having one written down will help to guide you with each new piece of content you write.
Next, establish three to five topic buckets. As blogger Mark Collier puts it, topic buckets fold under the larger umbrella of your website’s purpose. For example, if the focus of your blog is to help people with personal development, you might choose motivation, productivity, wealth management, and relationships as your topic buckets. All of ...
Sep 11, 2013
The post The Wheel Turns: From Pay Per Click to Pay Per Gaze appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.Although Google Glass won’t be on sale until 2014 and it will be years before the futuristic technology penetrates the device market far enough for advertisers to invest in its instant and interactive capabilities, Google has just been granted it’s “Pay Per Gaze” patent, so it’s certainly hitting the thoughts of your PPC agency, website designers and webmasters.
Adwords was introduced in 2000 and PPC as we know it began in earnest in 2002; a multi-million dollar industry of which advertisers and digital marketing specialists are keen to explore every new opportunity, where each new device and platform translates to just that: a new opportunity.
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The Google Pay Per Gaze Patent
Google’s pay per gaze patent was filed for back in 2011 for a “head mounted gaze tracking device” which would send images from the direction of the wearers “gaze” to a server, that server would identify relevant adverts and charge the advertiser.
The patent is not just limited to online advertising but can also relate to advertisements in the users environment which they view and interact with but0 Google has been a little non-committal about whether it will be implemented at all, inferring that not all patents get developed into products.
The patent also ...
Sep 10, 2013
The post Beginner’s Guide to Creating Stellar Original Content For Your Website appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.
The phrase “content is king” has been repeated ad nauseum across the internet ever since Bill Gates first introduced the concept back in 1996. It’s been repeated so many times that the phrase has almost lost its meaning. Sure websites must have content, but how much of the content on the web is useful and/or original? Perhaps Mr. Gates should have said, “Good content is king.” Good content attracts readers, and prompts them to share it with friends. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a genius scribe to write great content. Just follow the recommendations outlined below.
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Write for Your Readers
This might seem obvious, but too often site owners fall into the trap of creating content about what they think they should be addressing. They don’t think about what their intended audience really wants or needs. Think about the typical person who reads your content. What are their pain points? What problems can you help them solve? What information can you bring to them that would make their lives easier?
If you’re ever at a loss as to how to answer these questions, do some research. You can do this in a number of ways, including:
Asking your readers what they’d like to ...
Sep 09, 2013
The post Infographic: Internet Privacy, Killing Bills appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.HostGator will always support a free and open Internet. As such, we oppose all legislation that isn’t properly written to avoid removing any existing rights or liberties that need not be removed from the general populace in an effort to limit the abilities of those with nefarious intent. In other words, we want laws that punish the bad guys without also punishing the good guys. This can be accomplished via the passing of intelligent legislation. In the interim, we have experienced the proposed bills outlined in the following infographic:
Internet Privacy, Killing Bills via HostGator
Sep 08, 2013
The post 8-Step Checklist to Follow for Your Next Website Redesign appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing.Every website needs a good overhaul now and again. Whether you’re rebranding your website or just updating the look and feel of it, several things must be taken into consideration before you begin. Giving your website a huge overhaul can be a long, tedious process. There are multiple factors to consider from the framework of your website to the impact a redesign will have on future marketing efforts. Checklists make the process go much smoother since you don’t have to worry about whether or not you’re forgetting anything. Here is a checklist to make sure you’re on track with your website overhaul.
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Does your site have goals?
Even if you’re doing a redesign “just because,” you should still have some solid performance goals for your website. After all, you want your site to perform just as well, or even better than its current incarnation. Consider metrics to improve on such as:
Monthly unique visits
Time on site
Bounce rate
Conversion rate
Current ranking for keywords
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Once you determine your goals, make them measurable. e.g., increase conversions by 25%. If nothing else, make a note of your current website metrics and make it a goal to meet or exceed them. Your current metrics also make a good benchmark by ...
Sep 06, 2013
Given its effectiveness at reaching audiences, it’s no surprise that video marketing has been around for decades. This informational tool combines pictures, video, audio, and music in a way that engages viewers. In fact statistics show that customers are up to 85% more likely to buy after seeing a product video. Ease of access and low barrier to entry has made video marketing more popular than ever before. Including multimedia on your website makes it more relevant to users, thus more relevant in search engine results. Prep your video to yield the best results possible by following this handy guide.
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Creating Video
Set the Bar High. The quality of your video matters a lot, so keep the standard high when creating it. Include information that is highly relevant to your audience, and that will make them want to share it with others. Use high quality stock photos, helpful interviews, interesting graphics, and natural transitions.
Use a Shorter Format. People who watch videos online behave differently compared to, say, someone watching an infomercial on T.V. Web surfers tend to watch shorter videos, and can easily click off of a page if they find it boring or irrelevant. For that reason, shorter video formats usually ...
Sep 05, 2013
When creating a website, it’s quite easy to get swept up in the trap of putting creativity before the end user’s needs. Practicality can be understandably boring. However, an unusable website is about as much good as a car with no engine. See if you’re making any of these common website mistakes, then go fix them!
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Unscannable Content
The average person comes online to find what they want, and find it quickly. If your content isn’t easily scannable, it will lose you readers and fast.
The fix: Use headings, bullet lists, and numbered lists whenever possible. You should also use images to break up the monotony of a long read.
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No Search Box
This is especially important if you have a large website with lots of content. The internet is a big place, and people have come to depend on search engines to find what they need.
The fix: Add a search box to the top right corner of your website, since that’s where people are used to finding the search option.
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Not Using Analytics
Analytics is the tool that keeps your finger on the pulse of your website. If you don’t know what people are doing on your site, then you can’t truly know how it is ...
Sep 03, 2013
Google Analytics is probably the most popular free tool to keep track of how your website is performing, and for good reason. It offers a lot of great features, though they can be intimidating at first glance. This program has a lot to offer, so wrapping your head around it all might seem a bit daunting. However, once you pick on how to use some of its more advanced features, you’ll have more valuable control over your digital marketing efforts.
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1. Read the Reports
Analytics reports give you a very clear picture as to how visitors are interacting with your website. When you log in, you’re brought to the audience overview page by default. This general overview breaks down your website stats, which include total website visits, page views, unique visitors, average visit duration, bounce rate, and percentage of new visits within the given time frame. Though this information is helpful, there are other reports you can check out to get more detailed information about your traffic.
Content Overview: When you click on Content>Overview in the left navigation panel, you’ll see a report that tells you what people are specifically looking at when they visit your website. You’ll see specific information about you ...
Aug 31, 2013
Every blogger has faced the lack of readership dilemma at one point or another. After all, there’s no point in creating an archive of content if there’s no one there to read it. Contrary to what you may believe, that super star blogger you admire so much didn’t burst into notoriety overnight. Gaining a readership is something that requires consistent effort. Below you will find ten building blocks on which you can build your blogging strategy.
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1. Share and Share Often
If you’ve written something great that you’ve put your heart into, then let everyone know about it. Put it on your Facebook wall, tweet about it, bookmark it on StumbleUpon, Digg it, and put it out there for the world to see. Ask your friends to do the same. You can continue to do this long after you originally publish your post. Consider re-sharing your post again at a later time as a “throwback” or a “best of” promotion. You can also compile a list of your most helpful blog posts and share the comprehensive list with your readers.
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2. Make List Posts
People like lists. They’re easy to read, and offer a quick way for readers to digest information they find interesting ...
Aug 29, 2013
If you’ve recently launched a new website, or if you’re on the cusp of launching one, congrats! You’ve done the hard work of setting the whole thing up, or have paid good money to get it done. Now it’s up to you to make it stand out from the oodles of other websites on the web. If that sound daunting, it’s because it is. According to World Wide Web Size, at least 3.76 billion web pages have been indexed as of August 19th 2013. The good news is that not all of these web pages are your competition. Many of them lack proper SEO, and worse, interesting or helpful content. If you’ve already got the helpful content part handled, follow these steps to help jettison your website upward through the SERPs.
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Step 1: Perform Keyword Research
This should be done as early on as possible, even before work on the website begins. This is because you need to know what your website should be ranking for. Remember to base your keywords on more than what people are searching for in Google. Erin Everhart said it best in her Search Engine Watch article How to Make Your Keywords Fit Your Marketing Message: “When ...
Aug 28, 2013
From ARPANET to Fiber Optics, we’ve come a very long way in a relatively short amount of time. The following infographic traces the origins of the Internet from its humble beginnings up through today’s technology. Where do you think it’ll go from here?
From Dial-Up to Lightspeed via HostGator
Aug 27, 2013
Content curation is the process of cherry-picking the best pieces of content surrounding a specific theme. According to an infographic published by Mashable, 571 websites are created, 347 WordPress blog posts are published, and 3,600 Instagram pictures are uploaded in any given minute. With the millions – and perhaps billions – of gigabytes of information floating around on the web these days, content curation can be a very powerful tool when building an audience.
Marketing firm and software developer Curata conducted a survey last year which found that companies that use curated content on average get 30% more page views than companies that don’t. Websites like Mashable have built huge followings by publishing curated material. After all, readers appreciate not having to sift through throngs of websites to find the best information.
If you’re planning on using content curation as a part of your own content marketing strategy, here are some tools to help get you started:
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Google
By now, you’ve probably realized that Google is more than just a search engine. While performing a simple Google search will yield helpful results, you can also use of some of Google’s other tools in your content curation efforts. Set up Google Alerts for specific topics, ...
Aug 23, 2013
Yesterday (August 22nd, 2013) a massive number of IP addresses used for email gateways on virtually every webhost in the world became blacklisted on multiple networks. This resulted in a global inability for email to be received (any time the email originated from one of the blacklisted IPs and was “received” on one of the blacklisting networks).
The issue is on-going at the time of this writing, and some customers are still being affected at this moment, however HostGator was one of the first companies to successfully mitigate the situation and we have since been assisting other companies with this issue. As it stands, we are presently working to now get our IPs removed from the blacklists and restore full worldwide email deliverability from our network.
This situation resulted from a combination of multiple factors stretching back a few months. Before we explain the circumstances, we want to once again stress the importance of keeping all scripts on all hosting accounts updated. Failure to update scripts, as well as not exercising basic security practices, is what allows situations like this to continue to occur. An out-dated script on a hosting account is akin to an unlocked car left in a parking lot… ...
Aug 23, 2013
The entire HostGator training staff recently took a day off from training and instead spent it volunteering at The Houston Food Bank, which was founded in 1982 and provides food and other products to more than 500 hunger relief agencies in southeast Texas.
The Houston Food Bank is the nation’s largest-size Feeding America food bank, operating in an impressive 308,000 square foot facility.
Before we could begin, an orientation was necessary to ensure we knew exactly what and how we were to accomplish the day’s work.
Having now been oriented, it was time to get down to work. Although, in the case of Jorge here, work highly consists of photobombing.
As work continued for the vast majority of the staff, Jorge continued to excel at his particular style of “work.”
The day ended successfully, and we want to sincerely thank The Houston Food Bank for the opportunity! If you are in the Houston area and would like to volunteer, please find the information here. When you do volunteer, be sure to wear closed-toe shoes. One of our staff, who shall remain nameless (*cough*David*cough*) had to borrow a mis-matched pair of shoes from the food bank in order to work.
Fortunately, for the aforementioned un-named Gator (*sneeze*DAVID!*sneeze*), ...
Aug 21, 2013
Every website is different. What might be considered successful results for one website may be lackluster for another. To measure your own site’s success, you must first define what success means to you and develop a clear picture of how your website is performing according to these metrics.
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What is the Purpose of Your Website?
To start, ask yourself about the purpose of your site. Was it created to sell products? To boost fundraising efforts? To engage consumers in a particular niche? Defining the purpose of your website is essential to defining its success.
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Setting Good Goals
Next, you need to set some clear goals that coincide with your website’s purpose. When devising goals, consider the following questions:
Are your website goals tied in to the overall goals of your organization?
Are your goals measurable?
Are they challenging, yet realistic?
Are they set in a specific time frame?
Do your goals depend on specific website visitor actions? (Signing up for a newsletter, buying a product, etc.)
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As an example, say you’re a business owner who sells jackets online. Your organizational goal is to generate revenue through jacket sales, so one goal of your website is to get visitors to buy jackets (a specific website visitor action). Your goal might be ...
Aug 20, 2013
Oh, celebrities. What happens when the rich and famous figure out that they can broadcast their every thought out into the world immediately via their cell phone, without the intervention or advice of their manager, publicist or other PR staff? Celebrity Twitter Battles, that’s what happens.
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Celebrity Twitter Battles via Hostgator
Aug 16, 2013
Social media is a powerful tool for engaging your customers, but it can also be a double-edged sword. Web 2.0 has largely put the fate of businesses’ reputations in the hands of the consumers. Arizona restaurant Amy’s Baking Company learned this the hard way when they engaged in perhaps the most out-of-control brand meltdown in Facebook history. Take some cues from the fiery owners of Amy’s so that you know what not to do in response to negative social mentions.
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What NOT to Do
Never reply in all caps
The owners, Amy and Samy, posted quite a few of their status updates in all caps, no doubt to add emphasis. This is basic online etiquette and should go without saying, but on the internet, typing in all caps is considered shouting. Not only that, but readers don’t take you seriously when you do it. You don’t need to add extra emphasis to your message. Let the words carry themselves.
Do not reply to everyone
Amy’s Baking Company quickly gained popularity on Reddit when a member posted a video of the restaurant when it was featured on Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. The video drew a slew of comments, which the owners drew attention to on Facebook. This ...
Aug 13, 2013
Backlinking is somewhat of a touchy subject in search engine optimization, especially since Google launched its much-publicized crack down on blackhat SEO last year. The search leader encourages a “proceed with caution” approach when it comes to backlinking, and understandably so, given the history that Google and backlinking have with each other.
Last month, Search Engine Journal published a story on Google’s recent cautioning on using unnatural backlinks, particularly in “advertorials,” massive guest posting, and optimized anchor text in press releases.
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A Brief History of SEO
Back in the “Wild West” of the internet age – the mid 1990s – websites started popping up faster than people could keep up with them. Search engines were invented to help web users find what they wanted quickly and efficiently.
Back then, all a webmaster had to do to get his or her site indexed was to submit their URL to a search engine. A spider would be sent out to crawl the website, searching for any and all outgoing links as well as relevant keywords to report back to the search engine for indexing. Eventually, people started to see the value in getting higher up in search results, and the term “search engine optimization” was coined.
Since ...
Aug 08, 2013
In case you haven’t noticed, there is no shortage of mobile apps on the market right now. Google Play and the Apple app store each have over a million of them. You can find an app for practically anything – from doing your taxes to calculating your BMI, to keeping you from drunk dialing your ex.
With so many mobile apps vying for attention, creating the actual app is the easy part. Yet the majority of organizations and developers are not utilizing ASO (app store optimization) to give their labor of love its best chance of success. Here are some great tips for getting your app optimized for the mobile store:
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Title and keywords
According to mobile development company MobileDevHQ, the app store search is the second most popular way people find apps to download (the first being word of mouth). They also found that apps that use relevant keywords in their titles get 10.3 percent higher search rankings on average. That means that keywords are important here.
Think about what keywords you want your app to be known for, and then do a search in the app store to see how relevant they are. Include the keywords that are most relevant to your ...
Aug 06, 2013
Wouldn’t it be convenient if Google users could perform a search – say, for example, for the best local Mexican restaurant – and then be presented with the top search results, along with full color pictures at the top of their screens?
Well, wish no longer – this is exactly what the new Google local search carousel does. It’s an eye-catching way for users to review local results in restaurants, nightlife, and other attractions. Though the carousel previously only showed up on tablets, it’s been live for desktop search in certain situations since June.
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Where Can I Find It?
Google doesn’t guarantee that the carousel will show up in regular search, but it does appear in Google maps when a user searches by category. As of now, it’s only available in the U.S and for English language searches, though Google will likely roll out more languages and locations in the future. The company also plans to expand the carousel to include more business verticals aside from restaurants and hotels.
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How to Get On the Carousel
Google selects businesses to appear on the carousel in the same way it selects top search results: via its search algorithms. Remember that Google’s aim is to bring the best, ...
Aug 03, 2013
Today our Provo, Utah datacenter experienced outages that may have affected access to your website and account services. At this time, all services have been restored.
I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for this occurrence, as well as the negative impact that it may have had on your websites and businesses.
The outages began during routine maintenance which traditionally has been completed without any disruption. Unfortunately, hardware failures including our core routers cascaded causing downtime and network instability.
Our datacenter technicians reacted immediately, working tirelessly alongside the hardware providers to re-establish connectivity as quickly as possible.
Our engineers are conducting a thorough review of the incident and implementing new processes and safeguards in order to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Please know that customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us; we are committed to providing you with the high-quality, reliable service that you’ve come to expect and very-well deserve. We apologize for failing to exceed that expectation during this incident.
If you are still experiencing any issues, please contact us via http://support.hostgator.com so that we may properly assist you.
In closing, we’d like to thank you for your understanding and patience throughout this situation. We truly value your business.
Sincerely,
Adam Farrar
CEO, HostGator.com
Aug 01, 2013
Properly marketing something in the digital realm can seem elusive and mysterious. There’s multiple avenues that must be simultaneously tracked and measured in order to ensure you are doing an optimal job, and getting the most bang for your buck. The following infographic reveals The Secret Art of Digital Marketing:
Click image to see a larger versionThe Secret Art of Digital Marketing via HostGator
Jul 30, 2013
When it comes to PPC (Pay Per Click), there’s no doubt that the big search engines are great places to advertise. With Google now reaching at least 80 percent of all internet users, Google Adwords has become a powerful force in PPC advertising.
However, you can’t talk about PPC these days without giving at least a mention to social media. The larger social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter all have their own PPC programs that allow you to target your ads to a specific audience. Social networks collect plenty of demographic information from their users. This means that – even when they’re not searching – members can still see ads tailored to them and their interests.
So the question then becomes: Which social network PPC program will serve your business best?
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Things to Consider
As with any advertising campaign, your budget and target audience should be your main focus. It’s true that PPC costs much less than traditional advertising methods by comparison, but the daily costs can quickly add up and you’ll really feel it if your campaign isn’t getting the results you expect. Test and retest your chosen platform(s) before making any major financial commitment. Time spent on testing is well worth ...
Jul 25, 2013
Imagine going to a store you love and having employees from the store follow you around for the rest of the day making purchasing suggestions based on the products you looked at. They’re always on hand to show you that pair of shoes you were lingering in front of or that MP3 player you were thinking of purchasing as a birthday present. No matter where you go, these employees are a constant reminder of items that are back at the store waiting for you.
While this might be a bit annoying in real life, Google offers a subtler and much more effective advertising method called Dynamic Remarketing. Dynamic remarketing displays customized ads to visitors based on the part of your website they visited. If a visitor was browsing tennis shoes on your site, then Google will pull the information for those shoes from your website and place it into a dynamic ad that the user will see when visiting another site in the Google Display Network (GDN). Using dynamic remarketing on your website makes it much more likely that users will come back and make a purchase.
Google’s Dynamic Remarketing program offers Google’s brand of search retargeting to all users with a ...
Jul 23, 2013
Having trouble standing out in your industry? Tired of fighting against bigger brands when it comes to market share? It’s time to expand your brand’s authority!
Any of the following techniques can help you to gain an edge – no matter how crowded or established your field may be:
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Idea #1 – Release a whitepaper
Whitepapers are research-based document that educate audiences on specific subjects. Create a good one with your brand’s name on it and you can be sure it’ll be sent far and wide on industry social channels.
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Idea #2 – Write an ebook
Either write your own ebook or hire a ghostwriter to develop something you can put your name on. Give it away for free and watch your brand’s authority soar.
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Idea #3 – Develop an infographic
Infographics are highly shareable. By creating your own (whether by hiring a marketing agency to do so or by using infographic creation tools), you’ll get your name out within your industry.
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Idea #4 – Launch an email crash course
Educational email courses are a great way to build brand authority as they’re free and highly attractive to potential customers. As an added bonus, they’re easy to develop using traditional email management services or technique-specific programs like Drip.
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Idea #5 ...
Jul 22, 2013
The HostGator offices are populated by very diverse and creative individuals. We have talented artists and musicians and practitioners of virtually every other creative pursuit imaginable. We’re an interesting bunch, and from time to time our creative interests intersect with our workday.
We’ve been periodically posting videos on our YouTube channel of Bobby, one of our front-line support agents, mystifying and astounding his fellow gators with his own brand of up-close magic; Magic Mondays it has come to be known as.
Our YouTube channel has lots of videos, from the educational to the entertaining. Help pass the time this Monday and go check it out, maybe even subscribe in order to get the latest video content from us! In the meantime, we wanted to share the most recent Magic Monday video with you right here:
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Do you have any requests or suggestions for video content we can create to share with you? Leave us a comment and let us know!
Jul 19, 2013
It’s been a little while since we shared some good ol’ gator art with you.
We received this drawing from a customer following us having assisted them with a support issue. They were so pleased with the resolution that they emailed us this one-of-a-kind, hand-drawn image of a gator apparently drinking a cocktail on an island. Of note are the nice boat there in the background, which likely served the cocktail to the gator, as well as the beautiful sunset that really brings the whole image together. The artist did not sign their piece of art, so we can only thank them anonymously:
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From time to time, as seen in our Office Art series, some of our own staff will get a creative inclination and produce some impressive HostGator-themed art. One of our support staff created the following shirt, featuring a blinged-out Snappy!
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Let’s take a closer look at this shirt, as it truly is a remarkable piece of bedazzle-y craftsmanship:
We would love to see any HostGator-themed art that you produce! If you’re feeling gator-art inspired, please send us your creations at [email protected] ATTN: Blog and we can share your art with the world!
Jul 18, 2013
Want to quickly and dramatically improve the engagement that website visitors have with your brand? Add video to your website!
According to Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D. (also known as “The Brain Lady”), there are a number of biological reasons that we tend to pay more attention to video content, rather than written text. Specifically:
The Fusiform Facial areas of our brains compel us to pay attention to other faces. Evolutionarily, this tendency leads us to treat the face as a starting point for information and believability. As a website owner, faces can be used to call attention to important points and marketing content.
Voices convey more rich information than plain text. When used in the context of web video, webmasters can use vocal inflections and other mannerisms to form a stronger bond with site visitors than they can using text alone.
Emotions tend to be contagious. Want to get your visitors excited about a product or service? It’s a tall order to accomplish via text alone, but easy when your website displays a video of an enthusiastic person.
The human brain is attracted to movement. Text doesn’t move. Adding video to your website allows you to capture the same attention that our caveman ancestors would ...
Jul 16, 2013
Most potential customers find their local businesses by sitting down to search online. They often do so by searching for their city and the type of business they’re interested in. For example, if they live in San Francisco and need the help of a contractor, they are likely to search for “San Francisco contractors”.
More than anything else, this is how users are currently finding their service providers. As a result, it’s very important to make sure your business is well positioned to rank highly in the search engines for these specific keyword phrases.
When discussing search engine optimization, many companies focus on Google to the exclusion of all other search engines. Still, traffic to your website is important, no matter what the referral source is. That’s why making sure you optimize all your profiles – including your Bing Local profile – is so important.
So if you haven’t already, sit down and take the time to optimize your Bing Local profile in order to drive traffic to your website using the following tips:
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Claim Your Business Listing
It’s very easy for businesses to set up listings that they never visit again. This can make it difficult for search engines and customers alike to determine ...
Jul 12, 2013
A topic that seems to generate a fair amount of confusion among those new to building websites is that of domain registration, web hosting, and the difference between the two. One of the best ways to effectively explain the difference is by using analogies. This is especially true because in today’s society, there seem to be two groups — “techies” and everyone else. If you are a techie, you probably wouldn’t be reading this. My goal is that after reading this page, you’ll feel competent and comfortable enough to discuss these topics with a techie and feel like you’re on the same page.
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Domains are Television Shows?
A domain is like the name of a television show. Every show on TV has a different (unique) name. Imagine the confusion that would result if this were not the case [Related Article: Tips for Choosing Your Domain Name]. A website is like the show itself. All the files, text, code, graphics, etc. that make up a website are like the props, sets, actors, lighting, sound, etc. that comprise a TV show. Before a show goes into production, it is just a name, or concept. You can register a domain and choose not to create ...
Jul 11, 2013
The recent rise in social media usage has taught us many things. One of the most striking is how visual human beings truly are. As a result, websites, blogs and social media accounts that use great visuals are typically more successful and see more engagement from users than those that rely on text alone.
Growing awareness of this trend has led to the rise of the infographic. An infographic is a visual depiction of data that helps users to learn more about a topic. This combination of visual imagery with statistics and facts makes information easy for a user to digest at a glance. In fact, some studies even show that users remember information learned through infographics more easily than data obtained by other means.
As a result, infographics have been successfully used in sales campaigns, marketing efforts, education initiatives, internal company trainings and more. Given that, many companies are eager to create their own infographics to compete in an increasingly visual marketplace. This is easy for firms that have a large staff of designers on hand, but not everyone has access to those resources.
So how can people who are not designers make their own infographic? Check out these five tools:
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Infogr.am
Infogr.am ...
Jul 09, 2013
Kids these days… am I right? The following infographic takes a look at today’s kids as compared to the children of the past. In other words, it’s a no-holds-barred face-off: Kids of the Past vs. Kids of the internet Generation! Enjoy!
Click image to see a larger versionKids of The Past Vs. The Internet Generation via Hostgator
Jul 04, 2013
Once your website is up and running, you may find yourself wanting to make some small additions or edits. Contacting your designer or a webmaster for every little change can become tedious (not to mention expensive), which is why it’s so helpful to understand some basic HTML. HTML is the language that most websites are coded in – it drives the layout, fonts, colors and other formatting and functionality aspects of your website.
You may be thinking, “That’s great! But I don’t know any HTML.” If you’re in this position, this short cheat sheet will serve as a guide to making basic HTML changes to your website. This way, if you’d like to change some minor formatting on a page, you can quickly make these changes yourself.
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What is an HTML tag?
An HTML tag is a snippet of code that tells the website how to read or format your content. HTML tags are surrounded by the < > characters. All HTML tags must be closed with corresponding </ > tags. This tells your website where your formatting changes begin and end.
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Where do I make HTML changes?
Before we get started, it’s important to note where these changes get made. In most content management ...
Jul 02, 2013
It’s no exaggeration to say that mobile internet usage has exploded over the past five years. With the advent of smartphones, users have changed the way they interact online. A recent report published by investment firm KPCB says that in 2008, mobile devices accounted for less than one percent of overall internet traffic. As of May 2013, they account for fifteen percent.
Here’s another way to look at it… In 2012, the world’s mobile internet traffic was twelve times the amount of all combined internet traffic in 2000. This is information that webmasters can’t afford to ignore, mainly because mobile internet users behave differently from PC users. If you want to succeed online, then a mobile-friendly web presence is a must.
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Mobile User Point #1: Touch vs. Click
While it’s relatively easy to navigate a website using a mouse and a computer monitor, it’s not always so straightforward with a small-screened mobile device. Most everyone who has used a touchscreen mobile device has accidentally touched or typed something they didn’t mean to. A mobile website should be easily navigable with large navigation buttons and a simple layout. You need to use every bit of precious screen space in the smartest way possible.
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Mobile User ...
Jul 01, 2013
It has been historically noted that Snappy hasn’t always been in the best of shape. To be fair, eating up the competition can create a caloric surplus, resulting in excessive weight gain. Also, those long hours sitting in front of a computer can negatively impact one’s physique. Snappy was once even compared to a blue salamander, which is clearly an insult to a proud gator. At any rate, Snappy has been in the gym, working on his fitness. It’s likely that you’ve gotten a glimpse of the new and improved Snappy in recent weeks on this very blog, but let’s revisit Snappy’s look over the years, and touch on some of the highlights.
It is a rarely-known fact that Snappy threw out the first pitch at a Houston Astros game a few years ago:
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Every now and again, we’d see Snappy roaming around the HostGator offices and rubbing elbows with his colleagues:
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Truth be told, Snappy has even been spotted on the roof of the Houston office:
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As Snappy began to see more and more pictures of himself, he began to really consider getting into better shape. The HostGator Austin building has a pretty stellar gym, Snappy was seen hitting the treadmill in there ...
Jun 28, 2013
In 1968, Andy Warhol was quoted as saying “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” YouTube has, by and large, facilitated the realization of this prophecy. Enjoy our infographic, YouTube Sensationalism:
Click image to see a larger version
YouTube Sensationalism via HostGator
Jun 27, 2013
Not so long ago, standard monospaced fonts were the norm in computers. Then, a young Steve Jobs took a calligraphy class in college and eventually built a computer capable of housing endless font options.
The Internet was slower to catch-on with the digital font revolution. When was the last time you took notice of a font on a website? We’ve been staring at the same old standard fonts for so long that we neglect customizing how our content looks from the first typed letter.
If you’re ready to take the next step in customizing your web fonts, there are a few things to consider before taking the plunge.
First of all, just because web fonts can be creatively customized doesn’t always mean they should. Your body copy should be easily readable, which is what makes fonts like Helvetica or Arial so popular. Instead, employ creative and innovative fonts in your titles or headers to bring some personality to your copy.
Using a new web font also requires a little coding before you’re up and running. But don’t let digging into the backend of your site intimidate you. A tool like Google Fonts holds your hand throughout the process from font selection to instructions on ...
Jun 25, 2013
While “Content is King” still rings true on many levels, it no longer tells the entire story of digital marketing. Content might prove the foundation for your kingdom, but it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Web design, SEO, user navigation and social media strategy are just a few of the other key players required for long-term success.
Chuck Longanecker of Digital-Telepathy, a user-experience design firm, knows the importance of good web design in internet marketing. In a post at Mashable, he wrote, “the ‘beautification of the web’ is upon us.”
But don’t confuse the idea of web beautification with fancy graphics and expensive landing pages. Just look at Pinterest and Tumblr to see how simple, clean design can attract an enormous following. Fortunately, enhancing your web design doesn’t have to cost a small fortune or take a lot of time. Here are ten design freebies that can help enhance your web presence today:
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Premium Pixels
Find handcrafted micro icons, textures, brushes, iPhone chat bubbles, textures and more at Premium Pixels. Unlike many free web design collections, these can be used for both personal and commercial use.
BittBox
BittBox offers design tutorials, along with vectors, high-resolution Photoshop brushes and textures. Look for posts in the series Freebie ...
Jun 24, 2013
In recognition of June being National Zoo & Aquarium Month, Snappy decided to visit The Houston Downtown Aquarium. This Aquarium holds over 500,000 gallons of water and is home to over 200 species of aquatic life from around the globe. With all that sea life on premises, would anyone even notice a blue gator wandering around?
Snappy made it inside the lobby of the aquarium and was just having a look around, possibly performing some body-builder poses and showing off his ample biceps…
…when he was introduced to none other than Sharkey! Sharkey and Snappy made fast friends and Sharkey agreed to show Snappy around the aquarium, personally.
The first stop was the stingray reef exhibit. The exhibit was very impressive and included the ability to touch and even feed actual stingrays.
It did seem like perhaps Snappy was getting hungry himself, watching these tasty morsels swim around right in front of him. Stingrays are fairly close relatives of sharks though, so Snappy figured it’d be better to make the stingrays be friends and not food.
Snappy was understandably a huge hit with all the children throughout the Aquarium. He had to often stop for photo ops and to take time to high-five and even ...
Jun 20, 2013
If you run a website, you know how important it is to get the most out of it. To improve your skills as a webmaster, check out any of the following 33 resources:
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Website Reference Sites
Mashable – Mashable is a site that focuses on the online world. With segments for business, technology and social media, it is one of the web’s leading sources of information on online marketing and a great way to stay up-to-date.
Social Fresh – Social Fresh is a leader is social media marketing and technology, making it a great resource for best practices in online marketing.
Copyblogger – Copyblogger focuses on content, from landing pages to newsletters to sales pieces. If you’re looking for tips on writing copy that will help you soft sell your products and services, check out this great resource.
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Website Optimization Tools
XML Sitemap – An XML sitemap (like the one created by this plugin) helps search engines to more easily read your site, which is crucial for ranking high in search engine results.
ClickTale – Clicktale is designed to track user behavior on your site and produces professional-looking reports on visitor movement throughout your pages.
CrazyEgg – This tool provides website analytics through heat mapping and scroll reports. ...
Jun 18, 2013
Does your website feel stale and uninspired? Have you avoided making any updates to your pages, due to a lack of time or technical “know how?”
Well, then, it’s time to move past these trite excuses and start updating your stale website!
In today’s digital world, websites must be more than simple, static billboards that telegraph the same information day in and day out. Your users are expecting an engaging, dynamic presence – and the easiest way to convey this feeling is to regularly update your content. At the same time, regular site changes are important from an SEO perspective, as the search engines value and prefer to reward websites that feature “fresh” content.
You don’t need to undergo a complete website redesign every month to keep things interesting. Instead, consider the following strategies for ways to update your stale website without a significant investment of time or energy:
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Tip #1 – Add a blog
Blogs are great from both a reader and an SEO standpoint. When you install and regularly update your company’s blog, readers come back again and again to see what new information you’ve posted. The search engines also reward your site, as the inclusion of more content naturally creates more opportunities ...
Jun 13, 2013
“A picture is worth a thousand words” – and that’s as true when it comes to SEO as it is with descriptions.
Images play a huge role in website development, as their visual appeal is a powerful way to attract and retain reader attention. However, the way that you incorporate images into your site can also influence the way your website is handled by the search engines. To get the best SEO bang for your image buck, consider taking all of the following steps to optimize images for your website:
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Step #1 – Check your licenses
First – before we even get into the meat of modifying your images to make them more appealing to the search engines – take a few moments to be sure you hold the appropriate licenses to the images you plan to use.
Smart webmasters know that you can’t simply right click and copy an image from anywhere on the web to use on your site. Instead, you’ll need to download royalty free stock imagery, find images that have been licensed for commercial use under the Creative Commons license or purchase images from stock photo websites.
Making sure that your image licenses are in order won’t improve your SEO, but ...
Jun 11, 2013
Content marketing is the hottest marketing trend out there right now, as the regular publication of fresh content can be a huge differentiator for your website. From business blogging to “how to” videos, this engaging content comes in many forms.
However, most businesses find that it can be overwhelming to keep up with the demand for new content, as it takes time and effort to regularly develop high quality content. As a result, many businesses opt to have users generate content for them, either in place of or as a supplement to the content they’re already creating.
If this all sounds appealing to you, read on to learn about what user generated content (UGC) is and how to decide if it’s right for your business.
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What is User Generated Content?
User generated content comes in many forms. This can include product reviews, guest posts, customer images and more:
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Product Reviews
Product reviews are often used by consumer goods companies. If you sell a product or range of products, you may allow customers to review them directly on your site.
Some examples of companies using this tactic include Modcloth, Zappos and Babies R Us. Product reviews can include information on the quality of your product, how quickly it ...
Jun 06, 2013
With Facebook rapidly approaching its 10th anniversary, it’s not that social media marketing is a new thing for business owners and webmasters. But that said, there are still quite a few people out there making mistakes that could cost them both followers and sales.
To be sure that your social media strategy is as effective as possible, check your campaigns for the following mistakes:
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Mistake #1 – Not customizing your profile design
All of the major social networks – including Facebook, Google+ and Twitter – all give you different opportunities to brand your profile page. Don’t miss out on these great opportunities to distinguish your company!
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Mistake #2 – Not updating your design in response to platform changes
That said, keep an eye out for platform redesigns, as in the case of the recent Google+ overhaul. The display issues that can result from failing to adapt your profile images to these new standards can leave your page looking out-of-date.
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Mistake #3 – Only talking about yourself
Social media isn’t just about you. Keep the self-centered updates to a minimum in favor of posts and content that puts the emphasis on your products and your customers.
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Mistake #4 – Being overly-promotional
At the same time, remember that social networking websites ...
Jun 04, 2013
Logging in to your Google Analytics account and seeing a sharp downward trend in your traffic stats can be scary. What once looked like a promising trend in upwards traffic growth can quickly degenerate to visions of closed doors and scrapped expansion plans in the absence of the natural search traffic you once relied on.
Fortunately, some causes of traffic drops can be easily remedied, while others will take more time repair. So before you start to panic, walk through the following diagnostic steps to determine exactly what’s caused your declining visitor counts:
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Step #1 – See if your site is up and running
Though this first step might seem a bit obvious, your immediate reaction to a decrease in website traffic should be to determine whether or not your site is live.
Any number of things can take down a websites – from hosting issues to problems with your domain name registrar and more. If you see that your site is down, contact your hosting provider immediately for information on what might be causing your current outage.
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Step #2 – Make sure your analytics code is installed correctly
If your site is live, your next step should be to check your analytics code integration. ...
May 30, 2013
Odds are, you haven’t put a ton of time and energy into your website just to have it sit around gathering digital dust. Instead, you want your website to do something – whether it’s to sell products, generate leads or just promote your way of thinking.
But given the amount of noise most internet users are faced with these days, you need to make it explicitly clear what you want your visitors to do. This can be done using “calls to action,” which can be implemented with the following steps:
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Step #1 – Define your target action
Before you can create a call to action, you first need to determine what type of action you want people to take after reading each page of your website. As a general rule, it’s best to have no more than one major call to action on each page of your site.
Consider the following example target action and call to action combinations:
Prompting a blog post reader to share the article on a social profile – “If you liked this post, take a second to share it with your friends on Facebook.”
Encouraging visitors to sign up for a web design email newsletter – “Enroll now for free tips ...
May 28, 2013
Where does your website’s traffic come from? We all know that the Internet is just a series of plastic tubes with cats running through them, and these cats and tubes somehow result in visitors to your website. This infographic endeavors to explain where this traffic comes from and a few tips to increase said traffic as well. Here is “A Roadmap to Your Website’s Traffic”:
A Roadmap to Your Website’s Traffic via HostGator
May 25, 2013
With Memorial Day upon us, we wanted to find a way to show some appreciation for our veterans. The Wounded Warrior Project provides programs and services to severely injured service members during the time between active duty and transition to civilian life. HostGator would like to invite you to donate to the Wounded Warrior Project via our causes.com page, where we will match donations up to $5,000 (total).
We hope we are able to hit this $5,000 mark in order to give back a small amount to the veterans who have given so much to the rest of us.
We appreciate your participation in this effort, and we again thank our veterans who have risked their lives to protect ours.
If you experience any difficulty in accessing our donation page, please use this direct link: http://www.causes.com/actions/1753343-hostgator-will-match-your-donation-to-wounded-warrior-project
Thank you again for helping us support a great cause.
May 23, 2013
If you spend any amount of time on digital marketing blogs, you’ve probably noticed by now that content marketing appears to be the “hot promotional strategy” of 2013.
However, what you may not have noticed is that content marketing is more than a fad – it’s a shift in online promotional paradigms that’s here to stay. According to the Content Marketing Institute “2013 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends” report, 86% of B2C companies plan to maintain or increase their content marketing investments throughout the year, with 54% of B2B companies sharing the same opinion.
If your website doesn’t yet have a content marketing strategy, it’s time to create one. Here’s what your plan should include:
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Element #1 – A detailed description of your target audience
The first thing you need to know when planning a content marketing campaign is who you’re trying to reach. The better educated you are about your target customers; the more likely it is that you’ll be able to develop content pieces that appeal to them.
Specifically, try to find out your customers’:
Age and gender distribution
Geographic location
Average annual incomes
Education levels
Personal interests
Belief systems and personal priorities
Online habits and activities
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Your website’s analytics data can provide insight into some of these topics, as can customer ...
May 21, 2013
When it comes to website promotional techniques, there’s almost nothing better than a good quality guest post. Not only does this powerful marketing strategy send traffic to your website and confer upon your brand the implicit recommendation of the hosting site, a well-crafted guest post also gives your website the benefit of a natural, highly-relevant backlink.
But that said, not all guest posts are created equal. There’s a big difference between securing a guest post spot on a well-known authority blog in your industry and posting your content to a no-name blog orchestrated by an SEO spammer.
If you really want to take advantage of the power of good guest posting, keep the following five guidelines in mind:
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Tip #1 – Post to relevant websites
Plenty of websites accept guest posts – but that doesn’t mean that they’re all good targets for your guest publishing campaign!
For best results, stick with publishing to websites in your industry or in fields that are closely related. Trying to shoehorn your area of expertise into an unrelated article results in content that won’t encourage visitors to visit your site (as they likely won’t be interested in your on-subject content) and diminishes the SEO value of the link you ...
May 18, 2013
Snappy recently had the pleasure of hanging out on-stage and backstage with Houston’s own Ryan Scroggins & The Trenchtown Texans. The band’s namesake and frontman is a veritable renaissance man; artist, multi-instrumentalist, song writer, professional tattoo artist and former herpetologist for the Houston Zoo. Mr. Scroggins originally made a name for himself in the music world as the organist for the well-known ska band Los Skarnales.
The Trenchtown Texans play a unique mix of Americana/Ska/Roots/Reggae/Swamp music and have released three albums and toured extensively, however these days the band only makes appearances sporadically. As such, it was truly a pleasure for Snappy to be able to share the stage with them at Houston’s Continental Club:
After the show, Snappy was fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with Mr. Scroggins. Having again been a former Herpetologist for the Houston Zoo, Ryan is very familiar with gators, however this would be his first encounter with a blue gator:
If you have a keen eye, you’ll be able to spot Snappy in the video below of the band performing “Too Tired to Fight”:
A quick YouTube search will return lots of videos of this great band, and if they happen to come to your town do ...
May 16, 2013
You’ve put tons of effort into building your website – so don’t let your hard work go to waste by slacking off on your webmaster responsibilities!
As a site owner, you owe it to yourself and to your business to be the best possible webmaster you can be. The following are just a few of the activities that separate run-of-the-mill webmasters from great site managers. Add them to your weekly routine and you’re sure to see a difference in your website results.
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Tip #1 – Update your website regularly
Having a website is great, but if you never update the site that you built initially, you’re missing out on two very powerful webmaster benefits.
The first is that regularly updated content – whether published through an articles section, a blog or some other format – helps to form a connection between your business and your target customers. People feel much more confident interacting with and buying from sites that are regularly updated, versus those that clearly haven’t been touched since their initial launch.
At the same time, adding new content to your site on a regular basis confers a powerful SEO advantage that could lead to your site ranking higher in the natural search results. ...
May 14, 2013
If you’re a webmaster who’s devoted hours upon hours to building up your site and its presence in the natural search results, there’s almost nothing scarier than the thought of logging into your Google Analytics account and seeing the massive drop in traffic that indicates a search engine penalty.
It doesn’t matter if you’re facing manual action by Google or if your site simply fails to meet the quality threshold imposed by an unexpected algorithm update. What does matter is the potential loss of traffic and revenue your site faces if you don’t take the necessary steps to determine whether or not your website is at risk.
To minimize your site’s chances of being struck with a search engine penalty, pay attention to the following three factors:
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Factor #1 – Is your content written for humans or computers?
In the “good ol’ days” of SEO, the search engines relied more heavily on the number of keyword repetitions present in a piece of content than on its quality when it came to determining which site to place at the top of the search results.
As you might expect, website owners and early SEO strategists figured this out pretty quickly – resulting in websites that were cluttered ...
May 09, 2013
There’s no arguing with the fact that the number and quality of the backlinks pointing at your website play a role in your site’s performance in the natural search results. But unfortunately, since the recent Google Panda and Penguin algorithm updates, building effective backlinks isn’t as simple as using an automated tool to crank out spam links from bogus websites.
Instead, the name of the game in 2013 is “natural” links. For a few ideas on how to create these highly-desirable site-to-site connections, consider implementing any of the following techniques as a part of your website’s SEO plan:
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Technique #1 – Publish and distribute good “link bait” content
The phrase “link bait” refers to articles, videos, infographics and other types of content that use intentionally provocative titles and subjects in order to attract both attention and backlinks. As an example, a blog in the personal finance industry could publish a post titled “101 Ways to Save Money” – a topic that’s bound to generate excitement amongst its audience members.
A few typical link bait formulas you can follow include:
List posts, as in the example above
Interviews with industry experts
Content that takes a controversial stand on a popular topic
Resource roundup articles
Breaking news pieces that cover an ...
May 07, 2013
We recently chronicled Snappy’s trip to the Houston Zoo on Instagram. However we’re going to re-cap here as well as share some additional pictures of Snappy that didn’t make it onto Instagram; think of this as the bonus footage of Snappy’s trip to the Houston Zoo. You can also revisit Snappy’s trip to the Houston Zoo on Pinterest!
First and foremost, what would a trip to the zoo be without seeing the famous pink flamingos?
After Snappy communed with the flamingos, he found this other unique bird that apparently has its kneecaps on backwards:
Snappy does like to take a moment to enjoy the scenery form time to time. The Houston Zoo has tons of beautiful rest areas throughout its grounds.
One of the Zoo’s newest exhibits is the African forest. This exhibit contains giraffes, rhinos and numerous other animals, but Snappy couldn’t pass up the photo op with this mask, near the entrance of the exhibit:
What can we say about this next pic? If you followed this adventure on Instagram, you saw another picture of Snappy up in a different tree… for a gator, Snappy sure likes to climb!
The only appropriate way to conclude Snappy’s trip to the Houston Zoo is with a ...
May 02, 2013
The Internet never sleeps. Is it possible to even fathom the idea of any given moment without someone in the world being connected to the Internet for one reason or another? It wasn’t that long ago that the Internet wasn’t even a thing, but anymore it’s something that we can’t do without. Let’s take a look at “A Day in the Life of the Internet”:
A Day in The Life of The Internet via HostGator
Apr 30, 2013
In many ways, choosing a domain name for your new website is the hardest part of the site creation process. Given how difficult it can be to transfer websites to new URLs – and given the potential SEO losses that could occur by doing so – it’s vital that you get things right from the start.
But staring down endless lists of available and already-registered domains doesn’t make the process seem any easier. If you’re struggling to choose the right domain for your new website, consider the following tips:
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Tip #1 – Look for “.com”
When it comes to domain names, you have the option to register everything from a standard “.com” URL to a country-specific extension like “.tv” (Tuvalu) or “.ly” (Libya).
That said, registering a “.com” is the best choice for nearly all businesses, for two specific reasons:
“.com” domains have better name recognition. If you want readers to be able to enter your URL directly into their browsers, they’re far more likely to remember your address if it ends in “.com.”
There’s a small SEO benefit to registering a “.com” domain, as the search engines tend to view these web URLs as belonging to stable, legitimate businesses.
Unless you have a truly compelling reason ...
Apr 29, 2013
WordPress has been under fire lately, though it is important to note that although WordPress has been the target that there is truly nothing the platform has done to cause these recent circumstances to occur. You may have heard about the recent distributed brute force attack, which is presently on-going still and targets the “admin” user name.
A subsequent, and slightly lower-level attack has since been launched against popular WordPress plugins, like WPSuperCache and W3TotalCache. While we did identify this circumstance very early on and take pre-emptive measure to effective mitigate this attack on our server farm, it simply reiterates a point we often try to make: please make sure your scripts and plugins are always up-to-date.
Metaphorically speaking, having out of date scripts or plugins installed is akin to having a very nice house, with a very nice door with a very nice deadbolt on it that you simply choose to not engage, effectively leaving your door wide open to anyone what wants to walk in and do as they see fit with your property.
As a web host, we provide the house, the door and the lock. We also hand you the key to the lock on the door, but we ...
Apr 25, 2013
If you’ve ever conducted a Google search and seen results that appear with the author’s picture and byline attached (as shown below), you’ve seen the results of Google authorship:
Essentially, this feature – which launched at the end of 2011 – allows writers to “claim” their content with Google through the use of their Google+ profiles. The results of these marked-up search results listings are higher click-through rates, greater perceived authority and increased website traffic – making it highly advantageous for website authors to set up authorship correctly.
Because the guidelines for doing so have changed over the past few years, the following steps will give you the most up-to-date process for setting up Google authorship on your own site:
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Step #1 – Set up your Google+ profile
The first thing you’ll need to do to take advantage of Google’s authorship features is to create a personal Google+ profile.
If you don’t already have a Google Account, start by navigating to https://accounts.google.com/SignUp to complete your registration. If you have an existing Account, head to https://plus.google.com and log in with your Google credentials.
Once inside, you’ll see a number of different options for creating your personal profile and adding your friends and contacts to your Google Circles. ...
Apr 23, 2013
1984 is a classic novel written by George Orwell. Published in 1949, the story centers around a dystopian society and its all-seeing “Big Brother.” Essentially it is a cautionary tale about a totalitarian government that closely monitored each and every action of its citizens.
The actual year of 1984 has now come and gone, but with today’s technological advances and the nature of the Internet, in general, is it possible that we are approaching a Big Brother-type of monitoring of our on-line actions? We cannot answer this question, but we can provide you with the following infographic that outlines the nature of privacy and the Internet in 2013:
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1984 in 2013: Privacy and The Internet via HostGator
Apr 22, 2013
I consider myself to be a very active participant of social media, and agree that it offers a lot of interesting opportunities. However, I think it’s important for us to avoid getting so caught up in the social media whirlwind that we forget about good old fashioned SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Think about it this way: When you go to your financial advisor, he would never recommend that you put your entire net worth into a single stock. Well, any good Internet marketing consultant will tell you the same thing about your online marketing strategy. The most effective strategies are those that are well diversified between social media, natural search and paid search.
In today’s post, we’re going to focus exclusively on the natural search piece of the puzzle. Since paid search and Google+ Local would require their own dedicated posts, hopefully HostGator will invite me back in the future to discuss those topics.
Having spent a little over a decade as a search marketing professional, I can tell you with absolute authority and conviction that a well-targeted SEO campaign will result in highly targeted traffic and conversions, which in turn will add to the bottom line of your business.
To help you get ...
Apr 18, 2013
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There’s no fighting the fact that mobile internet usage is a trend that’s here to stay. As such, offering your website’s information in a format that’s easily digestible by mobile consumers is no longer a luxury – it’s a “must have” for any company that’s serious about courting the growing number of smartphone and tablet users who rely on their mobile devices for internet access.
With this in mind, the following are a few specific mobile web usage trends your business needs to be aware of, as well as the recommended actions you’ll want to take in order to maximize your own company’s mobile presence:
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TREND: “Mobile to overtake fixed Internet access by 2014” (Smart Insights Marketing)
If you’ve ever set foot into a coffee shop or restaurant and seen more than half the establishment’s patrons bent over their smartphones, it isn’t difficult to imagine mobile internet usage overtaking desktop access in the near future.
However, as a website owner, this statistic shouldn’t just surprise you – it should spur you to action. If 50% or more of all internet activity is occurring on digital devices, then your website needs to be accessible to these users. Mobile marketing research suggests that website without mobile-optimized ...
Apr 17, 2013
We at HostGator have always vehemently opposed any piece of legislation that contradicts the idea of a free and open Internet. If you haven’t read our prior blog posts about CISPA and it’s earlier incarnation SOPA, then please do so now in order to bring yourself up to speed:
CISPA Must Die!
SOPA Must Die!
The problem with legislation such as these is not what it appears to do on the front end, rather it’s the back end implications that make it frightening. Cyber security is serious business, and it is a realm that could use some tightening up. However, this tightening up cannot come at the expense of your privacy due to a circumvention of existing privacy laws.
Why are we mentioning CISPA now? Well, it has reared its head once again and is being voted on by the House of Representatives today. It seems this piece of legislation refuses to die. Unfortunately, the longer something like this sticks around, the less attention the media at large will pay attention to it.
Truth be told, we’ve outlined in great detail what is wrong with this piece of legislation in our previous blog posts. We don’t want to be redundant, but we didn’t want to ...
Apr 16, 2013
Social media marketing can be a great tool for promoting your brand and engaging directly with customers and potential buyers. But at the end of the day, you should be getting more from your marketing efforts than simply being a part of “the conversation.” If you want your actions on popular social platforms to translate into increased sales and profits, you need to learn how to measure the ROI of your social media campaigns.
So, without further ado, here’s a simple process that any business can implement, using the free Google Analytics program:
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Step #1 – Set your social media campaign goals
The first step to measuring ROI in any situation is to determine the specific goals you’ll be tracking. In this case, let’s assume that your goal is to use social media marketing to drive additional buyers to your website. As a result, a sample goal might be to have 5% of the visitors your business receives from social media sites convert into paid product purchasers.
Now that you know what goal you’re measuring – in this case, sales – you’ll need to set up goal tracking within Google Analytics.
Begin by logging into the admin area of your account and clicking on the ...
Apr 12, 2013
It has been quite a while since our last official Newsletter. The truth is that although we’ve been incredibly busy, and constantly growing, there hasn’t been much news to share; its just been nose to the grindstone around the offices.
Having said that, we wanted to take a moment to share with you some account security tips, news about our ever-growing social media presence, and first-up the fact that we’re now hiring!
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HostGator is Hiring!
The truth is that HostGator virtually never stops hiring. We are a constantly-growing company in an ever-expanding industry; we are always on the look out for qualified individuals to join us in our myriad of available positions. From front-line Technical Support, to System Administrators, Billing Administrators, Account Managers, and Verifications Agents… entry-level through industry veterans, we are now hiring for all positions! To apply, please visit http://hostgator.com/jobs or email us, [email protected].
HostGator also has an employee referral program that is open to anyone and everyone; we will pay you up to $2,500 to refer qualified candidates to us for employment! Full information about the employee referral program is available at http://www.hostgator.com/employee-referral
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Account Security:
Did you know that one of the most common causes for a hosting account to become hacked, or ...
Apr 11, 2013
As I type these words, there is an on-going and highly-distributed, global attack on WordPress installations across virtually every web host in existence. This attack is well organized and again very, very distributed; we have seen over 90,000 IP addresses involved in this attack.
At this moment, we highly recommend you log into any WordPress installation you have and change the password to something that meets the security requirements specified on the WordPress website. These requirements are fairly typical of a secure password: upper and lowercase letters, at least eight characters long, and including “special” characters (^%$#&@*).
You have now changed your WordPress password, correct? Good.
The main force of this attack began last week, then slightly died off, before picking back up again yesterday morning. No one knows when it will end. The symptoms of this attack are a very slow backend on your WordPress site, or an inability to log in. In some instances your site could even intermittently go down for short periods.
We are taking several steps to mitigate this attack throughout our server farm, but in the same breath it is true that in cases like this there is only so much that can actually be done. The servers ...
Apr 11, 2013
Sure, your website may be beautiful, but is it doing its job when it comes to converting first time visitors into lifelong readers? If you aren’t sure whether or not your website is performing as well as it could, measure it against all of the following usability metrics:
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Step #1 – Accessibility
As you might expect, a great place to start your website usability testing is to determine whether or not visitors are able to access your site in the first place! Ask yourself the following questions to minimize any such issues:
Does your website display correctly in multiple browsers?
What looks good in Chrome might not work in IE – and what looks good on your desktop might render horribly in a mobile environment. Check your website in multiple browsers at once using cross-browser compatibility testing tools like BrowserShots.
Are your load times reasonable?
Slow load times frustrate both users and the search engines alike. Make sure your site speed is up-to-par (or get recommendations on how to improve load times if necessary) by using Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool.
Can the search engines index your content?
Plenty of different website elements can interfere with search engine indexing, which can prevent your site from receiving all of ...
Apr 09, 2013
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Do your website visitors land on your pages and click away without ever engaging with your brand? Stop losing money to unresponsive visitors – encourage user activity on your site by implementing the following strategies:
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Idea #1 – Encourage visitors to subscribe to your mailing list
Adding a mailing list to your website allows you to reach out to customers and offer incentives to get them to return to your site in the future. Use a reputable email list management service like MailChimp or Aweber to store your addresses and consider offering some type of incentive (like a free product or coupon code) to encourage sign-ups.
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Idea #2 – Add product review features to listing pages
Customers love to share their feedback, so make it easy for them to do so by adding product review features to your website’s pages. Review modules can be custom-coded to your site or they can be easily installed using scripted programs like Citricle or Re-Vu.
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Idea #3 – Install social sharing tools on your blog
Make it simple for website visitors to engage further with your site’s content by embedding social sharing tools like AddThis or ShareThis into your site’s blog posts and pages. Prompting users to share their favorite ...
Apr 06, 2013
You’ve seen in prior posts how unattended desks at the HostGator offices can become innocent victims to roaming gangs of hooligans armed with pads of post-it notes and bent upon the defacement of perfectly clean work areas. Well, it’s happened once again. And I’m taking it personally, mostly because it was my desk this time.
It all began when I was summoned out of town for a week, on official HostGator business. I received cryptic text messages throughout the week about a “surprise” that I would receive upon my return. Multiple people from multiple departments, acting so innocent and saying how jealous they were about my surprise, and how great of a surprise it was. Little did I know.
No reason to beat around the bush, we might as well just tear the band-aid off in one swift motion. So, here it is; this is what I found upon my return to the office, in all it’s glory:
It hurts even just to look at, I know. Since we’re already here, though, we might as well take this all in piece by piece. Hopefully we can find clues as to the identity of the culprit, or culprits. We must endeavor to put a ...
Apr 04, 2013
Too many webmasters approach website creation and management from a single perspective. If something looks good, they assume that it’s as attractive and as profitable as it’s ever going to be.
But savvy marketers know that this isn’t the case. Truly effective website performance can only come from the measurement of set metrics and experimentation to determine which conditions and variables lead to the strongest website results. By continually measuring and testing using the conversion rate optimization (CRO) process described below, you can boost on-site engagement and overall site profits significantly with just a few tweaks.
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Step #1 – Explore your site’s current performance
Before you can begin any CRO campaign, you need to understand how your site is currently performing.
Suppose you want to increase the number of sales that occur from a given sales page on your website. You aren’t trying to boost traffic necessarily – just to increase the number of people who are already on your site who make the leap from reader to buyer.
While you can run a simple calculation – dividing the number of sales you make over a set period by the number of visitors your page receives in the same time – you’ll find the process ...
Apr 02, 2013
If every year can be labeled according to the reigning digital marketing paradigm, 2013 will undoubtedly be the year of “content marketing.” Articles on this promotional strategy are popping up all over the place online – but what is content marketing and how can it be used to encourage engagement and conversions on your website?
Content marketing is simply a synonym for the idea of “inbound marketing.” Instead of running an advertisement or actively prospecting for sales leads (two classic hallmarks of “outbound marketing”), content marketing relies on the dissemination of high-value marketing pieces and the resulting viral sharing that occurs.
Basically, the idea behind content marketing is that, by publishing great content and distributing it socially, brand awareness, website traffic and on-site conversions will all increase naturally – without the ongoing, concerted effort needed to continually promote traditional marketing initiatives.
If that all sounds good to you, here’s what you need to know about the process of running a successful content marketing campaign:
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Step #1 – Develop high-value content
Unsurprisingly, the key component of any successful content marketing campaign is good content. Cranking out a few “throwaway” blog posts because somebody told you that content marketing is a good way to promote a website ...
Mar 30, 2013
Fresh from a successful show at the SXSW Music festival in Austin, TX, BugGiRL rolled through Houston on their current tour and Snappy found himself on stage, and backstage, with the band!
BugGiRL are Australian siblings Amber (vocals & guitar) and Clinno (drums) along with Austin’s own Heather Webb (bass), whom you may remember from a prior Adventures of Snappy post.
Playing loud and fast rock n’ roll, BugGiRL are a tight and impressive live band. Here’s Snappy rocking out on stage with them:
BugGiRL have released two EP’s and two full-length albums (with a new record on the way!) not to mention appearances on multiple compilation albums. A quick YouTube search will show you exactly what this band is all about; that good ol’ fashioned punk- and metal-tinged rock n’ roll!
Here’s Snappy hanging out with the band after the show:
BugGiRL virtually never stops touring; be sure to catch them live when they come to your town!
If you have an event in the Houston or Austin area that you would like for Snappy to attend, please get in touch with us by emailing [email protected] ATTN: Blog.
Mar 28, 2013
When it comes to website creation, Joomla represents a great option for beginning and advanced webmasters alike. Combining the ease-of-use of WordPress with the functionality of the Drupal CMS, Joomla makes it easy to create and manage professional-looking websites.
However, “out of the box” Joomla is missing many of the features deemed essential by today’s business owners. To expand your Joomla site, you’ll need to add extensions. For a few of our favorite options, check out the following popular Joomla add-ons:
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Extension #1 – K2
Although Joomla has plenty of different advantages, ease of content editing isn’t one of them – at least, not without the K2 extension. K2 takes the trouble out of article and page creation, giving users the ability to create rich content forms that add fields for images, videos, galleries and more to standard articles. It’s a great option for users who plan to turn their Joomla sites into magazine-style media centers, ecommerce stores and more.
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Extension #2 – SH404SEF
Though its title may look nonsensical, the SH404SEF extension is a powerful solution for turning your Joomla site into an SEO powerhouse. The extension’s most widely-recognized benefit is its ability to turn auto-generated Joomla URLs into keyword-rich, SEO-friendly alternatives, though recent ...
Mar 26, 2013
There’s no doubt about it – website speed matters now more than ever before!
As average internet connection speeds increase around the world, web users are becoming less and less tolerant of slow load times. At the same time, Google has stated unequivocally that it prefers to reward fast sites with higher positions in the natural search results.
To take advantage of these dual benefits, you need to make site speed a priority on your site. Any of the following seven tips will help you to get started on this important path:
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Tip #1 – Size images before uploading them
If you use a content management system (CMS) like WordPress or Joomla, you’ve probably noticed that you can upload images at full size and then adjust their display size within your website’s backend. However, doing so forces web browsers to execute multiple commands – pulling up the initial images and then re-sizing them on-the-fly – which can slow down your site.
To prevent this from occurring, use an image editing program to adjust images to the correct size before adding them to your site.
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Tip #2 – Eliminate unnecessary plugins
The huge number of plugins and scripts that are freely available today makes it tempting for webmasters ...
Mar 21, 2013
What is web hosting? Simply put, web hosting is a service providing the availability of space on a server connected to the Internet. Ostensibly, this server space is used for hosting websites, although there are potentially numerous other reasons that one may want to employ the services of a web host.
There are many different types of web hosting available today. This infographic endeavors to explain these different types of web hosting:
Web hosting Simplified via Hostgator
Mar 19, 2013
As a webmaster, is there anything scarier than the thought of seeing all of your web developed work being altered or wiped out entirely by a nefarious hacker? You’ve worked hard on your website – so take the time to protect it by implementing basic hacking protections!
In addition to regularly backing up your files (which you should already be doing, for various reasons), taking the following three easy steps will help to keep your website safe:
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Step #1 – Keep platforms and scripts up-to-date
One of the best things you can do to protect your website is to make sure any platforms or scripts you’ve installed are up-to-date. Because many of these tools are created as open-source software programs, their code is easily available – both to good-intentioned developers and malicious hackers. Hackers can pour over this code, looking for security loopholes that allow them to take control of your website by exploiting known platform and script weaknesses.
As an example, if you’re running a website built on WordPress, both your base WordPress installation and any third-party plugins you’ve installed may be vulnerable to these types of attacks. Making sure you always have the newest versions of your platform and scripts installed minimizes ...
Mar 14, 2013
As a small business owner, deciding when to make the leap to website ownership can be challenging. After all, you’ve got dozens of other tasks on your “to do” list – why should you waste time building a website if you aren’t even sure that your customers will visit it?
Well, the answer to that question is pretty simple. Research conducted by marketing agency Hubspot indicates that as many as 78% of consumers conduct product research online before making purchases, meaning that if your business isn’t online, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with potential customers!
Of course, that isn’t the only reason to take your small business online. Consider all of the following issues before making the decision that’s right for your company:
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Website creation is easier (and less expensive) than ever before
In the past, building a new website required specialized knowledge and potentially even a sizeable budget. Considering the circumstance, it was reasonable for small businesses to weigh the costs of getting online with the advantages such a move would bring about.
However, the number of different web building technologies that have come out since the Internet’s early days have effectively negated this conversation. Now, small business owners have ...
Mar 12, 2013
Please have a seat. You’re already sitting? Well… good then. Before we proceed, we want to make it clear that you’re in a safe environment and that we all care about you very much.
We’ve gathered here to talk about Internet usage. Who’s using it, what are they using it for, and is it being over-used? Here is your Internet Intervention:
Are You Stuck to The Web? via Hostgator
Mar 08, 2013
In a recent article, we discussed how powerful the process of A/B split testing can be when it comes to making measurable, data-based improvements to your website. However, there is a simpler way to get the feedback needed to make your website as effective as possible. Instead of waiting weeks for your split test to gain statistical significance, why not take your website questions directly to your most loyal followers on Twitter?
As an example, instead of testing two different page versions with a split test, why not simply ask your followers which version they prefer? This process – known colloquially as “crowd sourcing” – can provide a wealth of information on your followers’ interests and preferences that can ultimately be used to make your site more profitable.
Of course, the crowd-sourcing process isn’t an ideal solution for every website question (though, in many instances, you’ll be amazed at the caliber of information this practice can generate). Read on to learn more about the situations in which crowd-sourcing is most effective, how to use this method to improve your own site and what you need to be aware of when utilizing information gleaned in this manner.
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Types of information that can be generated ...
Mar 05, 2013
These days, building a website doesn’t require that you launch Dreamweaver and spend hours poring over the raw HTML code that’ll ultimately form your website. Instead, beginning and advanced webmasters alike can take advantage of a whole host of tools designed to make website creation and management as easy as possible – including everything from web host-specific site building tools to third-party content management systems (CMSs) like WordPress, Joomla and Drupal.
If you’re in the process of choosing between all these different site design options, one platform to consider is the popular WordPress system. Although WordPress was once a simple blogging platform, it has very much become a one-stop shop for building virtually all types of websites. To see how exactly this system can benefit webmasters, check out all of the following reasons to power your website with WordPress:
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Reason #1 – WordPress sites are easy to build
HostGator provides a “one-click” installation of WordPress via QuickInstall, which takes roughly one minute to complete. From there, everything from adding content to customizing the look and feel of your site can be done by even the greenest of webmasters – making WordPress a good solution for beginning and advanced site owners to manage.
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Reason #2 ...
Mar 03, 2013
Today’s ProTip from Snappy is going to be the one-two punch of accessing your website via a “temporary” URL and then applying that knowledge to accessing your webmail as well.
What is a “temporary” URL, and why do we keep enclosing it in quotation marks? Let’s answer the last part first: it’s not actually temporary, in fact it’s very much permanent. We can elaborate on that by addressing what exactly is this thing to which we refer as a temporary URL. First things first, here is the associated KnowledgeBase article: https://support.hostgator.com/articles/hosting-guide/lets-get-started/temporary-url
A temporary URL is simply a means to access your website’s files without invoking the use of an actual domain name. There are multiple circumstances where this might be beneficial, one of which would be while your domain name is in propagation. As you can see in the KB article, the actual syntax of a temporary URL varies dependent upon your hosting platform. For our purposes, we’ll stick with cPanel for our lesson here today, but the same logic applies across all platforms.
Let’s use the following information:
Primary Domain – ninjas-are-awesome.com
Username – ninjas
Server – gator1337
IP address – 172.192.226.44
Assuming that my domain name is not yet propagated, I can still access my website ...
Feb 28, 2013
If you aren’t yet familiar with the benefits that Google’s free analytics tracking program offers, it’s time to get with the program!
Google Analytics is a comprehensive web data tracking suite that – once installed – allows you to monitor the number of visitors your site receives, as well as how these users move through your site. Going further in-depth with the data that Analytics provides, you can even use this powerful tool to determine which of your site’s pages are the most popular, how often your articles are being shared on social media websites and even how many of your visitors are converting into buyers.
Over the course of this article, we’ll cover all of the different things you can do with Google Analytics – as well as a number of resources that you can use to get more information on the specific topics that interest you. Be sure to bookmark this page so that you can come back to this ultimate resource again and again as your specific Google Analytics needs change.
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Setting Up Your Account
The first step to getting the most out of Google Analytics is – as you might expect – setting up an account.
In general, the process is ...
Feb 26, 2013
Not to be harsh, but the reality is that plenty of businesses out there are running websites that do a serious disservice to their brand images. Whether it’s because their designs haven’t been updated in the past decade or that their sites don’t render properly in a mobile environment, it’s important to be aware of the pitfalls that affect both beginning and more experienced website owners.
Let’s get right to it: here are 23 reasons your website sucks – along with recommendations on how to fix the specific issues that are currently plaguing your site:
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Your Website’s Design
1. Your site’s design is outdated – It isn’t 1996 anymore! If your site is packed full of frames, beveled-edge tables and animated gifs, it’s time for a redesign. Given the number of website templates and website building programs that are available today, this redesign doesn’t have to break your budget!
2. Your design elements are distracting – Your website’s design should complement its content, not overpower it. If you’re concerned that your message might not be getting through, ask test subjects to take the “5 second test” to determine whether or not your design elements are too distracting.
3. Important information is buried ...
Feb 23, 2013
The “Snappy’s ProTips” blog post series is an on-going effort to raise awareness regarding some of the most common support requests that we receive via ticket. By and large, all issues covered in this series can be resolved quickly and easily by utilizing information contained within the HostGator KnowledgeBase. As such, these issues can be addressed and resolved inrealtime, without necessarily needing to wait for a ticket response from a System Administrator. The issues covered in this blog post series account for hundreds of support tickets each week.
We receive many support requests each week regarding PHP, specifically what PHP modules are supported and how to enable specific version of PHP on our shared servers.
Typing “php” into the search field on the KB will result in an auto-suggestion for the article “PHP Modules”: https://support.hostgator.com/articles/hosting-guide/hardware-software/php-modules
The above link is a comprehensive list of every PHP module that is currently installed on our Linux and Windows shared servers. There is a very small number of caveats and exceptions, for example Imagic and Magicwand are currently only available on Linux servers and Oauth is installed, but must be enabled prior to use by adding the following line to the php.ini file: oauth:extension=oauth.so
As a rule, if ...
Feb 21, 2013
As a webmaster, you know that it isn’t enough for your website to be “pretty” – it needs to be effective as well. Whether you’ve set up your site to sell products, collect leads or simply promote a certain viewpoint, your primary focus as a website owner must be to make sure that your site performs its designated function as efficiently as possible.
To do that, you need split testing – as in, the process of randomly serving up different page variations to viewers in order to conclusively determine which version helps achieve your target metrics. Here’s what you need to know about implementing this critical process on your own site:
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Step #1 – Select a target variable
To get started with split testing, you’ll first need to select a variable that will be the focus of your test. This process is best explained with an example…
Suppose you have a page on your site that sells a digital download product. You’ve seen an unfortunately high bounce rate from visitors on this page, so you decide to use split testing to determine what changes can be made to keep visitors on the page longer and increase the resulting number of sales. For this reason, ...
Feb 19, 2013
We had another blog post that we were planning on posting today, however late last night there was something in the air here at the HostGator Houston office. There was an undeniable rhythm permeating throughout the building. Deciding that we should seize the moment, we did the only reasonable thing that we could possibly do: we made a Harlem Shake video.
It’s worth noting that this was created very much in a “flash mob” style; there was no premeditation and no one in the video knew that they were going to be in any video when they arrived at work last night. All props were gathered from throughout the building and from employees’ cars out in the parking lot.
We sent out a broadcast via out internal IM system, stating a time and place and requesting the presence of anyone within the building who was available to participate. And this is what happened:
Feb 15, 2013
We’ve been doing some audits and running some numbers on our ticket queues lately. What we’ve found is that there are a lot of recurring issues that are actually very basic in nature, but that our Customers either aren’t able to find the answers to themselves or they don’t realize that the answers are actually just a quick KnowledgeBase search away.
So, we’re introducing our “Snappy’s ProTips” blog series. The issues we will be discussing herein account for literally hundreds of support requests each week. Our hope is that, via this series, we can raise awareness as to the resolution of common issues and facilitate not only a higher level of learning for our Customers, but also a faster response time on more involved issues by clearing out some of these more basic requests.
We’re always happy to assist with anything, however it stands to reason that for these more basic issues that you’d just assume not have to wait for a response via ticket from us when you can truly (and much more efficiently) handle it yourself in real time.
One of the most fundamental issues that we most often encounter requests for via ticket is how to change the primary domain ...
Feb 12, 2013
SiteLock is a website security monitoring tool for small and medium-sized businesses, providing a number of benefits and services. Some of the key benefits are blacklist monitoring, malware detection, vulnerability identification, and virus scanning. Additional services include domain ownership verification and SSL certificate validation.
SiteLock monitors your websites daily for malicious activity and then alerts you to any potential threats. SiteLock’s 360-degree scanning uses lightweight technology to search for vulnerabilities in your code, as well as any outdated applications, without slowing down your site’s performance. These scans include searching for defacement, database vulnerabilities, application vulnerabilities, and drive-by downloads.
If a threat is detected instant email and dashboard alerts let you take action before being blacklisted by search engines, which can destroy a site’s reputation and credibility.
On-demand expert technicians are also available to clean and secure your site in the event that it becomes compromised, should you lack the expertise to rectify the situation yourself. Additionally, simply displaying the SiteLock security seal on your site will let your Customers know that your site is safe, and that you’ve taken the necessary steps to protect them. Third-party security validation has been proven to increase sales and site conversions; SiteLock’s security shield has been shown ...
Feb 05, 2013
Welcome to the third offering of our ever-expanding collection of fake IDs. Posting these blogs seems to have no effect in deterring people from continuing to send us hilariously fake IDs in an effort to fraudulently acquire web hosting. It is unfortunate that our industry is so ripe with this type of activity, but we remain vigilant in the prevention of fraudulent sign-ups. Please enjoy these recent additions to our collection.
As we’ve explained before, if we have reason to believe that an account sign-up may be of a fraudulent nature, we will request that a Government-issued ID be sent in for verification purposes. As was the case with “Heidi,” here:
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If, after we receive the aforementioned ID, we then still have reason to believe that everything isn’t on the up-and-up, we will request that the individual then send in a picture of themselves holding their ID. Again, here is “Heidi”:
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Following the receipt of this image, we knew that “Heidi” was not legitimate, though I won’t reveal the multiple things that made this abundantly clear. We then sent a reply back informing them of our decision to not host them, and included the following image, which we were able to easily locate ...
Jan 29, 2013
Well, for better or worse, the fine art of modifying someone’s desk in their absence has escalated. At this point, I’m not sure if this activity should be filed under our Office Shenanigans or if it’s become it’s own art form, therefore qualifying it as Office Art. Let’s go ahead and call it art.
Every picture from this post comes from our Houston offices. Although Houston clearly lacks the Post-It note budget that Austin has, we do seem to have compensated for that fact by attaching random objects to computer screens, including snack food items. Here we see a nice array of potato chips and crackers, also a granola bar. Is that a high-heel shoe tape dispenser? I’m not sure if that belongs to the owner of the desk or was also placed there as part of the joke:
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Upon seeing this next picture, I was slightly confused. There appears to be many secret messages conveyed herein. For example, the message left on the screen itself appears to be “Uhhhh… Nanha!” Was this a secret code of some sort? Maybe an inside joke? Speaking of secret codes, let’s take a closer look at the upper left-hand of the image. I see what ...
Jan 22, 2013
What is WHOIS? WHOIS, in a literal sense, is a protocol used to query databases that store registration information relative to Internet resources. Sounds complicated, but for our purposes at this time, WHOIS is simply a means of finding out who owns a given domain name. There are countless websites that allow you to run a WHOIS search; any domain registrar, for starters. You can essentially choose at random from a quick Google search for WHOIS.
When you do perform a WHOIS search on a domain, you find all sorts of information about the registrant of the given domain. In a nutshell, you’ll see all of the publicly available information relative to the given domain. Here’s the truncated results from a WHOIS search for HostGator.com, which is a perfect example:
We see when the domain was created and when the current registration period expires. We also see the nameservers to which the domain is pointed. The most important piece though is the name, address and phone number of the registrant. The information shown here for HostGator.com is essentially all publicly available information already, so it’s really a no harm and no foul situation.
However, when any given citizen registers a domain name they ...
Jan 15, 2013
Please see Part I, right here. As our story continues, I am now on the chat floor speaking primarily on the phone with Customers, though also taking random chats as well between calls. Starting to get into the swing of things, but still not completely at ease. I’ve managed to not break anything or anger anyone, so I figure I’m doing well enough. Many of our Customers are familiar with the [email protected] email address, which is directly read by Management and is intended for use any time anyone has any complaints or praise about anything at all related to their HostGator account or the related support they’ve received. Thus far, I have assisted a few Customers who took the time to email in to let my Supervisor know about the quality of my work. It’s always nice to have nice things said about you by strangers.
Having never provided technical support to the general public in any capacity before, those first few days were interesting and full of constant learning. I wanted to do the best I could and maintain HostGator’s stellar level of support, but at the same time I lacked the actual experience which is what ultimately leads to ...
Jan 08, 2013
Every business needs a logo; something to visually represent the specific brand. Entrepreneurs aren’t always necessarily visual artists, and often it’s difficult to yourself create that perfect image to represent your business. It’s not uncommon to then enlist the services of a graphic artist or design firm. The issue then becomes whether or not the particular designer you work with is able to understand your vision and ultimately produce something that you’re comfortable using to represent your company.
This is where 99 Designs comes in, they take the guess work out of the equation by literally crowd-sourcing your design work. What this means is that you end up being able to choose the design that you find most agreeable from a number of contributions created by a variety of designers.
It works like this: you effectively host a design contest, telling 99 Designs what you need and how much you want to pay. Within seven days, you have a variety of designs from which to choose. If you don’t find anything you like, then you get your money back. Think of it like a contest, where you win every time!
Whether you need a logo, a t-shirt design, a website refresh, business card ...
Jan 02, 2013
First and foremost: Happy New Year to everyone. Let’s make 2013 an amazing year! Having said that, let’s start this year off with a continuation of our Office Art series. This time we’re pretty much focusing on the various wildlife around the office.
When you first enter the older of the two HostGator buildings in Houston, generally speaking your first stop will be the 4th floor reception area. In order to get to the 4th floor, an elevator ride is necessitated… our infamous elevators are a story unto themselves. In fact I wouldn’t rule out yet another blog post dedicated entirely to our elevators at some point, but I digress. Once you exit the elevators into the lobby, just outside of the reception area you will be greeted by this full-sized alligator:
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If you recall the HostGator Lego sign from our previous Office Art posts, this gator resides directly beneath that sign:
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He seems to have been in a fight or two in his day, as he’s missing a couple of toes and a tooth or three, but this all just adds to his character. It’s not unusual to find a myriad of objects in his mouth, spare change and such. On the ...
Jan 02, 2013
First and foremost: Happy New Year to everyone. Let’s make 2013 an amazing year! Having said that, let’s start this year off with a continuation of our Office Art series. This time we’re pretty much focusing on the various wildlife around the office.
When you first enter the older of the two HostGator buildings in Houston, generally speaking your first stop will be the 4th floor reception area. In order to get to the 4th floor, an elevator ride is necessitated… our infamous elevators are a story unto themselves. In fact I wouldn’t rule out yet another blog post dedicated entirely to our elevators at some point, but I digress. Once you exit the elevators into the lobby, just outside of the reception area you will be greeted by this full-sized alligator:
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If you recall the HostGator Lego sign from our previous Office Art posts, this gator resides directly beneath that sign:
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He seems to have been in a fight or two in his day, as he’s missing a couple of toes and a tooth or three, but this all just adds to his character. It’s not unusual to find a myriad of objects in his mouth, spare change and such. On the ...
Dec 24, 2012
As the year comes to a close, not only should we all reflect upon the successes and any failures of the year in order to grow from the lessons contained in each, we should also set aside some time to simply celebrate. Celebration has manifested in multiple forms here at HostGator this year, and we’ve had a lot to celebrate. It had been a truly great year, full of very positive change and we’re all looking forward to what the new year will bring.
We had our annual holiday party recently, but before we get into those pictures I wanted to share with you the tree that was set up in one of our Houston buildings last week:
This tree clearly has some atypical decorations. I mean, that is a jack-o-lantern in there, right? Let’s start at the top and work our way down:
Every tree needs a topper; some sort of symbol or designation that sets the tone for the season and for the tree itself. Apparently for a HostGator tree, that symbol is Darth Malgus, of “Star Wars: The Old Republic” fame. It’s starting to look like this tree was decorated by, well, nerds. There’s the aforementioned jack-o-lantern again. Also, we ...
Dec 24, 2012
As the year comes to a close, not only should we all reflect upon the successes and any failures of the year in order to grow from the lessons contained in each, we should also set aside some time to simply celebrate. Celebration has manifested in multiple forms here at HostGator this year, and we’ve had a lot to celebrate. It had been a truly great year, full of very positive change and we’re all looking forward to what the new year will bring.
We had our annual holiday party recently, but before we get into those pictures I wanted to share with you the tree that was set up in one of our Houston buildings last week:
This tree clearly has some atypical decorations. I mean, that is a jack-o-lantern in there, right? Let’s start at the top and work our way down:
Every tree needs a topper; some sort of symbol or designation that sets the tone for the season and for the tree itself. Apparently for a HostGator tree, that symbol is Darth Malgus, of “Star Wars: The Old Republic” fame. It’s starting to look like this tree was decorated by, well, nerds. There’s the aforementioned jack-o-lantern again. Also, we ...
Dec 18, 2012
The day began innocently enough, but things rapidly escalated. See, Snappy most often hangs out in one particular spot in the Houston office, as shown below. He seems to prefer this spot, it gives him a nice view of the fish tank to his right and he and Shelby can talk to each other all day; they keep each other entertained and they simply enjoy sharing their work day with each other. See how happy they are together:
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However, on this day something was different. Snappy had found his way into the foyer of the Houston office, apparently in order to greet his colleagues on their way into work. Nothing wrong with that, as Snappy is well liked and always visible around the office. As the early morning faded towards lunch time, reports came in about how Snappy was now riding the elevators up and down, making small talk with everyone as they travelled between floors. Nothing exceptionally wrong with this circumstance, either.
Things began getting sketchy in the early afternoon, when no one had heard from or seen Snappy for a while. There wasn’t any immediate cause for alarm, as Snappy is a grown up (as far as we know) and ...
Dec 18, 2012
The day began innocently enough, but things rapidly escalated. See, Snappy most often hangs out in one particular spot in the Houston office, as shown below. He seems to prefer this spot, it gives him a nice view of the fish tank to his right and he and Shelby can talk to each other all day; they keep each other entertained and they simply enjoy sharing their work day with each other. See how happy they are together:
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However, on this day something was different. Snappy had found his way into the foyer of the Houston office, apparently in order to greet his colleagues on their way into work. Nothing wrong with that, as Snappy is well liked and always visible around the office. As the early morning faded towards lunch time, reports came in about how Snappy was now riding the elevators up and down, making small talk with everyone as they travelled between floors. Nothing exceptionally wrong with this circumstance, either.
Things began getting sketchy in the early afternoon, when no one had heard from or seen Snappy for a while. There wasn’t any immediate cause for alarm, as Snappy is a grown up (as far as we know) and ...
Dec 13, 2012
Moo.com loves to print. Providing so much more than just the typical print services, Moo.com has taken their chosen craft and elevated it into a proper art form. Sounds grandiose, but it’s true. They print everything you’d expect them to: business cards, post cards, stickers, labels, et al. Where the art form comes in is the way in which they’ve taken this basic foundation and evolved it in such a creative way.
One of the most ingenious cards that Moo prints are NFC (Near Field Communication) business cards. NFC is a protocol by which a wireless conversation is conducted between two pieces of closely-held electronics. This is facilitated by a small chip being implanted within the card. Many debit cards already use this technology to authorize payment by simply holding the card near a receiver rather than actually swiping it through a traditional card reader.
The idea is that when you hold an NFC business card up to a compatible smartphone, it then causes the smartphone to do something. The possibilities are virtually endless. Perhaps you’d want the phone to simply visit your website, or maybe download your portfolio or load your FaceBook page. You might have it download music or even ...
Dec 13, 2012
Moo.com loves to print. Providing so much more than just the typical print services, Moo.com has taken their chosen craft and elevated it into a proper art form. Sounds grandiose, but it’s true. They print everything you’d expect them to: business cards, post cards, stickers, labels, et al. Where the art form comes in is the way in which they’ve taken this basic foundation and evolved it in such a creative way.
One of the most ingenious cards that Moo prints are NFC (Near Field Communication) business cards. NFC is a protocol by which a wireless conversation is conducted between two pieces of closely-held electronics. This is facilitated by a small chip being implanted within the card. Many debit cards already use this technology to authorize payment by simply holding the card near a receiver rather than actually swiping it through a traditional card reader.
The idea is that when you hold an NFC business card up to a compatible smartphone, it then causes the smartphone to do something. The possibilities are virtually endless. Perhaps you’d want the phone to simply visit your website, or maybe download your portfolio or load your FaceBook page. You might have it download music or even ...
Dec 10, 2012
Monetization of a website can be tricky business. Some individuals seem to have the golden touch, while others simply can’t manage to profit the proverbial two pennies to rub together.
Fundamentally, monetization is the process of converting website traffic into revenue. Theoretically, there are many ways in which to accomplish this; we’ll discuss a small number of them. Be aware that the stories of failure, on the whole, outweigh the stories of success. Without risk though, there is no reward; some people are able to make their living entirely by the means mentioned below. At the very least, perhaps you can end each month with a few more coins in your pocket.
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Google Adsense:
Clearly one of the most popular means of generating revenue with your existing website it to sign up for a service like Google Adsense, whereby you add additional code to your website that facilitates the placement of contextual ads within your site, in hopes that your visitors will click on them. How much money you stand to make depends on how much traffic your site generates and how many of your visitors do actually click on any given ad.
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Banner Advertising:
Banners are essentially clickable graphics that you place on your ...
Dec 10, 2012
Monetization of a website can be tricky business. Some individuals seem to have the golden touch, while others simply can’t manage to profit the proverbial two pennies to rub together.
Fundamentally, monetization is the process of converting website traffic into revenue. Theoretically, there are many ways in which to accomplish this; we’ll discuss a small number of them. Be aware that the stories of failure, on the whole, outweigh the stories of success. Without risk though, there is no reward; some people are able to make their living entirely by the means mentioned below. At the very least, perhaps you can end each month with a few more coins in your pocket.
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Google Adsense:
Clearly one of the most popular means of generating revenue with your existing website it to sign up for a service like Google Adsense, whereby you add additional code to your website that facilitates the placement of contextual ads within your site, in hopes that your visitors will click on them. How much money you stand to make depends on how much traffic your site generates and how many of your visitors do actually click on any given ad.
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Banner Advertising:
Banners are essentially clickable graphics that you place on your ...
Dec 04, 2012
Sometimes, things around the office have a tendency to take on a life of their own. Be it various decorations, or one particularly entertaining whiteboard that resides in the Migrations Department. Not to let these artistic endeavors remain simply inside of the building, one of the cars in the parking lot recently got in on the action as well:
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While we’re on the subject of pieces of glass that have become works of art, here is a rather nice etched glass Snappy that was created by a HostGator employee:
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This next picture is of the stuffed lil guy who now makes a return appearance to our Office Art series. Though it’s impossible to say whether or not the following is a direct result of him having appeared in the prior Office Art offering, his beanie has curiously been replaced by a Smurf and he seems to have earned a few more dollars as well. I’m looking forward to his next evolution, but here is how he stands at this time:
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No telling in what form or configuration that above fella may next manifest, but I wouldn’t rule out a three-peat appearance in this Office Art series. When next we speak on this topic, ...
Dec 04, 2012
Sometimes, things around the office have a tendency to take on a life of their own. Be it various decorations, or one particularly entertaining whiteboard that resides in the Migrations Department. Not to let these artistic endeavors remain simply inside of the building, one of the cars in the parking lot recently got in on the action as well:
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While we’re on the subject of pieces of glass that have become works of art, here is a rather nice etched glass Snappy that was created by a HostGator employee:
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This next picture is of the stuffed lil guy who now makes a return appearance to our Office Art series. Though it’s impossible to say whether or not the following is a direct result of him having appeared in the prior Office Art offering, his beanie has curiously been replaced by a Smurf and he seems to have earned a few more dollars as well. I’m looking forward to his next evolution, but here is how he stands at this time:
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No telling in what form or configuration that above fella may next manifest, but I wouldn’t rule out a three-peat appearance in this Office Art series. When next we speak on this topic, ...
Nov 26, 2012
You’ve created an excellent video that introduces your product or service to the masses. That’s a big step and having a quality video can certainly assist is the success of your business. Likely the video is on YouTube and perhaps even getting a respectable number of hits. Is your video so incredibly unique or entertaining that it could even go viral? It’s great to be exposed to a larger audience, but there’s never any guarantee that exposure will equal conversions. At the end of the day, a video is still just a video.
Rather than rolling the dice on the hopes of increasing your audience virally, another strategy would be to instead maximize the conversions you receive from your existing, organically-grown audience. This is one of the ways in which Viewbix can help you.
Viewbix allows you to embed interactive apps directly into videos. These videos can then be shared across websites, social networks and mobile devices, greatly increasing your ability to convert your viewers into customers. You can embed virtually anything you can imagine into your videos: special coupons or a map to your physical store or office, even functionality like the ability to sign up for your mailing list. Viewbix’s ...
Nov 26, 2012
You’ve created an excellent video that introduces your product or service to the masses. That’s a big step and having a quality video can certainly assist is the success of your business. Likely the video is on YouTube and perhaps even getting a respectable number of hits. Is your video so incredibly unique or entertaining that it could even go viral? It’s great to be exposed to a larger audience, but there’s never any guarantee that exposure will equal conversions. At the end of the day, a video is still just a video.
Rather than rolling the dice on the hopes of increasing your audience virally, another strategy would be to instead maximize the conversions you receive from your existing, organically-grown audience. This is one of the ways in which Viewbix can help you.
Viewbix allows you to embed interactive apps directly into videos. These videos can then be shared across websites, social networks and mobile devices, greatly increasing your ability to convert your viewers into customers. You can embed virtually anything you can imagine into your videos: special coupons or a map to your physical store or office, even functionality like the ability to sign up for your mailing list. Viewbix’s ...
Nov 20, 2012
Snappy has been out and about on the town again. This time, Snappy appeared on stage with Adrian & The Sickness! This Austin-based rock trio showcases the phenomenal guitar playing and song writing of the band’s namesake, Adrian Conner, and is rounded out by the rock-solid bass playing of Heather Webb. AATS were voted Best Punk Band in the 2011-2012 Austin Music Awards and are presently on tour in support of their 2011 vinyl single “Criminal/Dog Days,” their fifth independent release.
Snappy was fortunate enough to have an excellent view of the show, once again hanging out right on stage:
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Of course Snappy spent some time with the band after the show as well. In the image below, you may notice that Heather is wearing a “Hell’s Belles” shirt. Hell’s Belles are a world-famous all-female AC/DC tribute band, in which Adrian happens to perform lead guitar duties, as Angus Young. Perhaps Snappy will find his way onto a Hell’s Belles stage at some point, but for now if you are an AC/DC fan, we would recommend checking that band out as well:
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A quick YouTube search for “Adrian and The Sickness” will result in some excellent videos of this amazing band, although nothing ...
Nov 20, 2012
Snappy has been out and about on the town again. This time, Snappy appeared on stage with Adrian & The Sickness! This Austin-based rock trio showcases the phenomenal guitar playing and song writing of the band’s namesake, Adrian Conner, and is rounded out by the rock-solid bass playing of Heather Webb. AATS were voted Best Punk Band in the 2011-2012 Austin Music Awards and are presently on tour in support of their 2011 vinyl single “Criminal/Dog Days,” their fifth independent release.
Snappy was fortunate enough to have an excellent view of the show, once again hanging out right on stage:
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Of course Snappy spent some time with the band after the show as well. In the image below, you may notice that Heather is wearing a “Hell’s Belles” shirt. Hell’s Belles are a world-famous all-female AC/DC tribute band, in which Adrian happens to perform lead guitar duties, as Angus Young. Perhaps Snappy will find his way onto a Hell’s Belles stage at some point, but for now if you are an AC/DC fan, we would recommend checking that band out as well:
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A quick YouTube search for “Adrian and The Sickness” will result in some excellent videos of this amazing band, although nothing ...
Nov 12, 2012
Several months ago an intruder made an attempt on the life of a Gator. Before we continue, I want to alleviate any concerns and assure you that despite the fact that another attempt was made to harm a Gator, that the attempt was once again thwarted. Don’t be worried, there’s no reason to make the children leave the room. Please continue reading.
As the sun rose on Halloween 2012, there was no idea the horrors that would manifest before sunset. It would be none other than our fearless leader, CEO Adam Farrar, who would come under attack on this day. The beast sent to destroy Adam would not have teeth, as our last intruder did, but would be of the winged and stinger variety. Fortunately for all of us, Snappy would be there to save the day… but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
If you recall from the blog addressing our prior attack, we are equipped to immediately dispatch a black ops-style task force to handle virtually any situation. Much to our dismay, it seems that our emergency response tactics have been studied! This time the attack was launched from within Adam’s own vehicle, effectively rendering us unable to dispatch our emergency ...
Nov 06, 2012
The Internet is very large, and constantly growing. One of the by-products of our beloved Internet is that often times businesses of all sizes can lose control over exactly what information is out there and where it is displayed.
There are numerous sources from which a directory or local search engine can get data for it’s listings. These are called “data aggregators.” Generally speaking, there is very little control that can be exercised over these data aggregators. A quick Google search for your business will likely return results that you didn’t even know existed, containing information that is either out-dated or incorrect.
This can best be illustrated with the following graphic by David Mihm from his article A Closer Look at the Local Search Data Providers:
Looks convoluted, right? This is where Yext steps in and simplifies the entire situation. What Yext offers to it’s PowerListings Customers is total control over the information displayed about their company throughout this entire “ecosystem.” In other words, you tell Yext what you want displayed throughout the Internet and Yext does the rest. The result changes the above image to something more along these lines:
Looks much cleaner, right? Ultimately, Yext offers more control over the way your ...
Oct 30, 2012
Welcome to part II of our Customer Service series, please see part I right here.
Literally the entire HostGator staff is at the service of our Customers and available to personally assist, from our Jr. Admins up to our CEO. I have seen, with my own eyes, our CEO call a Customer to assist with an issue they were experiencing that required a lot of time and attention to resolve. That is not a run-of-the-mill situation, but it is an example of the lengths to which we, as a Company, will go to ensure the satisfaction of our Customers.
That degree of engagement is something in which we very much take pride. Virtually regardless of the issue at hand, any time that a Customer is not completely comfortable with the individual presently assisting them, they can request to speak to someone with whom they will feel more comfortable: a Level 2 Jr. Admin, a Supervisor, a member of the Customer Service Dept., or even myself. We want any given Customer to communicate directly with whomever can best resolve the given issue in that moment.
Our Customer Service Department is the keystone upon which much of this rests. They stay engaged on the front ...
Oct 22, 2012
HostGator.com was registered on October 22nd, 2002; Ten years ago today. A lot has happened in that time, but we have remained true to the initial vision for the company throughout. It is with great pride and a strong sense of achievement that we acknowledge this anniversary.
Customer Service remains king here at HostGator. It is the foundation upon which the entire company has been built. We have had our growing pains, and learned the inherent lessons therein, but we have never wavered from that initial desire to provide outstanding Customer Service.
As we leave our single-digit years behind and walk confidently into our double-digits, we are stronger and more ready to take on the future than ever before. We thank every single one of you who have allowed us to serve you over the years, and we welcome everyone to continue walking with us on this amazing journey.
Do you follow us on Twitter and Facebook? If so, you could win free hosting or even one of our infamous and coveted plush Snappys! We will be doing random give-aways all day today in celebration of our anniversary. Like us on FaceBook and follow us on Twitter for your chance to win! In ...
Oct 17, 2012
This year’s annual cPanel conference was held October 8-10 in Houston, Texas. Being that Houston is home base for HostGator, there were many Gators prowling about the conference. An excellent time was had by all, from the exhibitor floor and the myriad of speakers to the daily meals and nightly outings and events. You will be hard pressed to find a conference that can top cPanel’s; they do it right!
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The festivities kicked off with a dueling piano show at local nightspot Howl at the Moon. Howl at the Moon is quite an experience on any given night, and the cPanel party was no exception. Songs and drinks flowed freely, the open bar may have had something to do with that, and the dueling pianists did an excellent job of taking requests from the crowd and otherwise playing hit after hit:
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Keeping in mind that all of this happened before the doors had actually opened on the conference, one of the highlights of the evening would have to be the spontaneous on-stage “Gangnam Style” group dance. This pic simply doesn’t do the actual event justice, but shall nonetheless be shared here for posterity’s sake:
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The first day of the actual conference found Snappy ...
Oct 09, 2012
The phonetic alphabet is a very easy to learn and can be immediately employed in a variety of circumstances in order to facilitate improved communication. Particularly in regard to conveying domain names and passwords via telephone. The phonetic alphabet is designed to alleviate any confusion on similar sounding letters, such as: B, D, P, T, etc. Especially these days with Voice Over IP telephone systems, sometimes the call quality can be lacking in clarity and the use of the phonetic alphabet can be the difference between clear and concise communication and total frustration on both ends of the line.
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A – Alpha
B – Bravo
C – Charlie
D – Delta
E – Echo
F – Foxtrot
G – Golf
H – Hotel
I – India
J – Juliet
K – Kilo
L – Lima
M – Mike
N – November
O – Oscar
P – Papa
Q – Quebec
R – Romeo
S – Sierra
T – Tango
U – Uniform
V – Victor
W – Whiskey
X – X-ray
Y – Yankee
Z – Zulu
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Use of the phonetic alphabet basically consists of replacing the letter you want to say with the actual word from the list above. So, “A – B – C” is thus said “Alpha – Bravo – Charlie.” It’s as easy as that!
Next time you find yourself on the phone with ...
Oct 02, 2012
What unquestionably sets HostGator apart from other web hosts is, and will always be, our Customer Service. Customer Service is a dynamic term, and arguably a dying art form; I thought it might be interesting to discuss what it means in it’s various forms. Being a fundamentally abstract concept, it’s defined and interpreted in multiple (and sometimes even conflicting) ways, even redefined at a moments notice. In other words, Customer Service can mean different things to different people… at different times. What does Customer Service mean to you?
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I suppose the most well worn phrase pertaining to this topic would simply be: “The Customer Is Always Right.”
For this blog post, I’m going theorize that HostGator has the level of Customer Service that we do simply because the Customer isn’t necessarily always right; that fact being key to what keeps us so closely engaged with our Customers. If our Customers knew everything all of the time, then what use would they have for us? In a way, our jobs depend on the Customer being wrong, at least some of the time. Fortunately, we Gators are a helpful kind and truly enjoy working with you.
I feel like I should quantify the statement “the ...
Sep 25, 2012
Blogging.org, a well-respected site in the blogging community, recently conducted a comprehensive survey of 5,600 bloggers in order to determine the “Top 25 Hosting Companies” for bloggers. HostGator took first place, with 1907 out of 5600 votes; just shy of 900 more votes than 2nd place received. This is an honor that we at HostGator do not take lightly, and we are very happy to be able to share this news with you.
The voting criteria was based on which host the aforementioned 5,600 bloggers used and which host they would recommend to their peers. With over 203 million blogs online today, blogging is an undeniable online presence these days. There are 31 million bloggers in the US alone, with 43% of the total bloggers using WordPress, including this HostGator blog.
It is worth noting that this survey was completely unbiased and affiliate payouts were not a factor in this survey; it truly is simply the honest opinion of the blogging community.
Please visit http://blogging.org/blog/top-25-hosting-companies/ in order to see a further breakdown of the related statistics as well as the other 24 hosts that made the cut.
Now is the perfect time to start your blog with (or move your existing blog to) HostGator. ...
Sep 18, 2012
We begin this episode of our Office Shenanigans series with the unfortunate circumstance of many of the office chairs apparently having grown sentient and deciding to surround one Gator, in particular. Many of us watched on, in stunned silence as this took place. You should know that the Gator in question was eventually able to escape (with much hilarity), and that no chairs were harmed… that day:
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Much like the chairs, our elevators seems to sometimes have a mind of their own. Our elevators have been well documented on our blog and I’m beginning to think the level of infamy they have achieved is starting to go to their head, so to speak. When one of them recently decided to remain open on the 4th floor of the building, refusing to budge at all, a giant stuffed Snappy found it’s way into the the elevator to warn all other Gators from attempting to use the elevator in question:
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I’m not sure if these next two pictures qualify as “shenanigans,” moreso than just “delicious.” We have many culinary-minded Gators, and both of these delectable treats were produced by the same individual. The first offering is a likeness of our beloved Snappy, created entirely ...
Sep 11, 2012
Please gather ’round as I tell a tale to rival the greatest tales ever told! Think of it as Lord of the Rings and Lord of the Flies mixed with Don Quixote with a hint of Robinson Crusoe and a splash of Gulliver’s Travels. Pretty much exactly like that, anyway. More or less.
Our story begins, not unlike The Canterbury Tales, with a job interview in early February of 2010. Was that The Canterbury Tales with the job interview thing? I forget. At any rate, I have a discussion about websites I had previously built, the related technologies, and how I might handle different interactions with different types of Customers… things of that nature. I pass the interview and am informed that I would begin training the following Monday.
So on that sunny Monday morning in February of 2010, I began my career at HostGator as a front-line Technical Support Representative; officially referred to as a ChatTech at the time. ChatTechs no longer exist, they have gone extinct and evolution has provided us with Jr. Admins to fill that role. Granted, this may just be semantics, but I was hired and spent my first seven months at HostGator as a ChatTech.
In the ...
Sep 05, 2012
Our very own Snappy has been getting out and about lately, showing up in some unusual places. We are going to endeavor to track and document the movements of our favorite Gator and share them with you here: The Adventures of Snappy.
Snappy has been showing up on stage with Houston’s own premier Foo Fighters tribute band, Foo Fakers. The Foo Fakers recently took first place in a multi-week Battle of the Tribute Bands showcase, and Snappy was right on stage with them! Admittedly, the pictures are a little bit blurry, but Snappy spent the entire show on the backline, rocking out:
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In fact, the entire Battle of the Tribute Bands set was streamed live and can now be seen on YouTube, complete with Snappy, right here. If you watch the whole show, you’ll even hear a couple of shout-outs to the Gators in attendance that night.
This wasn’t Snappy’s first time on stage with the Foo Fakers. In fact, it is not unusual at all to find Snappy on stage at their shows, as he is a huge fan and generally has no problem getting backstage VIP treatment:
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We will be bringing you many more adventures of Snappy, as that Gator is getting ...
Aug 28, 2012
No one wants their identity stolen. For our discussion, let’s define identity theft as the illicit creation of fraudulent accounts (be they with a web host, a bank or any other financial institution) using unlawfully acquired credentials. In 2011, more than 11.6 million adults in the United States fell victim to identity theft. The average amount of time each of these individuals spent repairing damage due to the creation of fraudulent accounts was 165 hours. An additional 58 hours was spent to repair and resolve the subsequent issues with their previously existing accounts. The best estimates indicate that an identity is stolen every three seconds; frequent enough for the FBI to consider identity theft “America’s fastest growing crime problem.”
At HostGator, we deal with fraudulent account sign-ups every single day, without exception. Some try to use comically fake identification, others use legitimately stolen documents. As a result of our continuing efforts in preventing these sign-ups, we slowly but surely became experts in the many ways that criminals will attempt to perpetrate fraud. There is no absolute way to guarantee immunity from identity theft, but you can certainly hedge the odds in your favor by exercising a slight degree of caution.
Exercise caution ...
Aug 21, 2012
The HostGator offices seem to foster the expression of creativity throughout. The works of art shared herein are all relatively new art installations within our respective thunderdomes. I have faith that my colleagues will continue to provide plenty of fodder for many more Office Art blog posts.
Our first piece here comes once again from the IT Department in the Houston office, whom you may remember also supplied us with the meme wall from Part I of our Office Art series. As with their last offering, this work of art is also shrouded in mystery. This piece can be best described as “fake deer head, wearing sunglasses and HostGator lanyard, accompanied by ‘forever alone guy’ meme.” Clearly, this is modern art. We cannot stress enough that the deer head here is made out of plastic, because we Gators do not harm living creatures.
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Throughout our office, you’ll find conveniently located maps of the building that show you were you are and where the stairwells and fire exits are; standard fare for most office buildings:
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These maps are fairly nondescript and likely don’t get noticed much. However, recently one of our Admins took notice not only to the map, but in the fact that ...
Aug 14, 2012
In 1936, Life magazine estimated that 6% of Americans had a tattoo. Undoubtedly, this was mostly comprised of sailors or other military personnel and likely also a carnival sideshow entertainer or two. In March 2005, The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology determined that 24% of the general U.S. population had at least one tattoo. HostGator presently has about 850 employees in Texas. We were able to wrench 619 of those Gators away from more important tasks in order to survey them. We found that 244 of the 619 had at least one tattoo. If we guesstimate the math to the best of our ability, we find that just over 40% of HostGator employees are tattooed.
In recent years, there seemed to be more and more professional athletes turning up with visible tattoos. Of the 431 players in the NBA, 233 (or roughly 54%) have tattoos. Aside from the NBA, there seems to be very little statistical information regarding tattoos as related to various industries.
In 2008, seventy percent of tattooed Americans needed to hide the ink for their jobs. Visible tattoos are essentially a non-issue at HostGator; we have non-tattooed as well as heavily-tattooed people throughout all levels of the ...
Aug 07, 2012
One of the great things about the web-hosting industry is the rather fortunate circumstance of virtually constant growth. More and more people are taking their lives or businesses online every day. Additionally, those already online are often ever-expanding their online presence. A direct result of that is the necessity for us, as one of the leading providers of web hosting, to locate and hire more and more qualified people to support all of the above. This is certainly a great opportunity, but it can also be somewhat problematic.
Although it would be great if a never-ending stream of qualified individuals would parade through our office doors each day, that simply isn’t the reality. We have a recruiting department which endeavors to locate people with the correct skills to join us here at The Gator in a variety of available positions. We often need to dispatch a highly-trained SWAT team of sorts from the swamp here out into the real world in hopes of returning to the fold with some new potential Gators.
Often the missions these aforementioned SWAT(swamp?) teams find themselves at are recruitment events of sorts. Armed with a very nice tablecloth and often some nice HostGator swag to give out, ...
Jul 31, 2012
It is true that, from time to time, a fair amount of shenanigans can take place in any given HostGator office. We work hard and we play hard; we wouldn’t have it any other way. Sometimes, these aforementioned shenanigans get photographically documented. On a long enough timeline, most of these photographs will find their way to me and thus will eventually end up here, for you.
Though I am gifted with the images, I am not always privy to the story behind the images. Such is the case with this first picture. Sam here is one of our developers. I’m going to ignore the fact that he appears to be wearing a pink snout with matching crown and instead focus on the other things shown in the picture. Notice the single-shot Nerf gun waiting at the ready directly in front of him. There is a dart in the chamber and you can see the gray firing mechanism at the bottom of the handle is engaged. Also notice that the upper corner of each of his monitors have been shot with darts; Sam has clearly come under (friendly?) fire which would explain his blatant display of firearm. I am unable to postulate ...
Jul 16, 2012
We recently shared with you some art that had been sent to us by our beloved Customers. HostGator employees have also been known to create some works of art around the offices as well… sometimes when no one else is looking. Before we begin our actual Gator-created art tour, I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you our Lego sign that is currently displayed in our Houston office. The sign was created by well-known artist Nathan Sawaya. I don’t know if the picture does it justice, but it’s a truly impressive piece of Lego craftsmanship:
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Back in 2009, this was created by one of our more artistically-inclined Chat Agents and placed near one of the Supervisor stations in the Houston office. It remains there to this day, ever-present to remind us to always be doing the needful:
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The story of our next piece is somewhat shrouded in mystery. It began, innocently enough, with a recycling can in the Austin office. A few individuals had apparently not noticed that it was labeled for recycling and thus deposited their refuse into that particular receptacle. In order to facilitate a more organized recycling vs. trash situation, some good Samaritan taped the “This Is ...
Jul 09, 2012
If you are reading this on the day it was posted (Monday, July 9th, 2012), then you are likely not a victim of Malware Monday. Far from being as feared as something like the dreaded Y2K situation, Malware Monday revolves around a piece of malicious software known as DNSChanger and the efforts involved in the mitigation and ultimate ridding of this specific piece of malware.
DNSChanger functions on a couple of different fronts, though the fundamental result of infection would be an inability to connect to your ISP. It reportedly will also prevent your Operating System from downloading updates that would detect and prevent the malware from functioning.
Back in 2007, the creators of DNSChanger began using the trojan to redirect internet traffic to sites containing paid advertisements, resulting in illegal profit for its creators. Since then, the hackers evolved the malware to execute various other tasks on the infected machines. The FBI became involved and those responsible were caught and arrested late last year. Initially, the FBI wanted to shut down the servers that were being used by the hackers to control the infected computers, however it was determined that such action would have resulted in the infected machines immediately becoming ...
Jun 29, 2012
Our initial offering of some of the fake IDs that we are sent by individuals attempting to open fraudulent hosting accounts was so well-received, that we’ve decided to share another batch of these gems with you. Once again, credit goes to our ever-vigilant Pending Department who are the front-line defense against those who would attempt to pass these documents off as genuine.
Our first contribution is actually a passport. The curious thing about this particular passport is not necessarily that this gentleman is named Susan, but rather he is named both Susan and Tyrone. United States passports clearly show your name in two different places; to the right of the picture and below it. So, he’s Susan on the right and Tyrone underneath:
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Traveling can be stressful. Valuable is the friend with whom you are able to embark on long journeys. In light of that, I’d very much like to take a trip with Mr. Happy Traveler:
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Here we have a two-fer. This person may, or may not, be named either Caroline or Chris. Additionally, they may or may not be a resident of either New York or Minnesota. Either way, they won’t be hosting with us:
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What is the most appropriate way to ...
Jun 25, 2012
The 2012 Transit of Venus occurred on June 5th. At the HostGator office in Houston, one of our Admins set up a telescope outside of the building in order to observe the phenomenon, pinhole-camera style, as a small dot projected onto a piece of paper taped within a large box via which we could safely peer at the sun. Another Admin showed up with some welder’s glass, which allowed us to look directly at the sun and see Venus, as a tiny dot traveling between Earth and the Sun. Both methods of observation were quite impressive.
The transit is a predictable celestial phenomenon that occurs in pairs, eight years apart. This happened most recently in June of 1997 and 2004 and will not happen again until December of 2117 and 2125. Essentially, if you missed it live and in person this time, you will not have another opportunity within your lifetime.
The images below show the telescope pointing towards the Sun and into the lightbox and then the view from within the lightbox, where Venus is clearly visible as a black dot near the upper right-hand corner of the larger circle.
Jun 18, 2012
I have the distinct honor this month of officially introducing a couple of new features designed specifically to assist you in receiving support in a more efficient and secure manner. We have been testing these for quite some time and are very pleased with the results. Allow me to introduce you to our new Chat Verification System and Ticket Submission Form.
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Chat Verification System:
If we’ve had the pleasure of assisting you in LiveChat recently, it is likely that you’ve noticed a few changes therein. One of which is a Chat Verification System, designed for you to conveniently and securely verify yourself as the account owner.
Account verification has always been taken very seriously by us, but has unfortunately often been experienced as an inconvenience by our Customers. There is now a small button at the lower right-hand corner of the chat window that says “Verify Acct.” You may click this at any time in order to automatically provide your billing account credentials and thus verify yourself as the account owner. Conversely, if the chat conversation reaches a point such that account verification is required in order to continue, the Jr. Administrator handling the chat has a similar button on their end which ...
Jun 11, 2012
HostGator are proud to have presented the 2012 Tour Du Rouge, benefiting the Gulf Coast chapters of The American Red Cross. The ride traversed five hundred and twenty-six miles, beginning in Houston on May 6th and ending in New Orleans on May 11th, at an average of 88 miles each day. HostGator designed the awesome jerseys visible in the images below, as well as t-shirts and lots of other event graphics. Allan, one of our Admins who participated in the ride this year, was kind enough to share some of his experiences with us.
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The morning of the ride began with a performance of The Star-Spangled Banner, followed by a group prayer. After the ceremonies, a police escort (complete with horse-mounted officers) accompanied the riders from the starting point in Northeast Houston through to the first major freeway, about five miles away. Beaumont would be the destination for day one. Allan completed this 88 mile trek in just under 5 hours, despite some rough patches of road along the way. The image below is from the starting line, with Allan front and center, notice those stylish HostGator jerseys!
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Day two would take the riders from Beaumont through Port Arthur and ultimately over ...
Jun 04, 2012
It is no secret that the web hosting industry is the target of a lot of fraudsters, scammers, spammers and various run-of-the-mill riffraff. The anonymity that the Internet can provide seems to be far too fertile of ground for those simply looking to take advantage. It would be fantastic if everyone was always honest and never attempted to proverbially hoodwink those that are either more honest or less naive than themselves. However, the world we live in is one in which many things simply cannot, and should not, be taken at face value.
Fortunately, the Internet is also an excellent tool for exposing various scams and raising awareness such that less people are prone to being taken advantage of; the pyramid schemes that Grandma fell for (it’s true, she did; ask her about it) via snail-mail back in the day are simply not possible these days. So, schemes and scams have evolved. As HostGator has grown over the years, we have become a larger and larger target for scammers.
We like to think these days that it’s pretty hard to get one over on us, we’re pretty sharp cookies with pretty keen eyes. This wasn’t always necessarily true. The scam that I ...
May 28, 2012
We have many characters not only within the HostGator buildings, but particularly in the areas surrounding the Houston buildings. Essentially, there is a cast of familiar faces comprised primarily of homeless people. There is the gentleman we fondly refer as “U-Turn,” because he can perpetually be found in the U-Turn lane under the freeway nearest to the office with his squeegee in hand. Interestingly, I’ve never seen him actually wash a windshield. One of the most well-known characters, Dumpster Dan, was first mentioned in this blog back in 2007: http://blog.hostgator.com/2007/11/28/hostgator-ceo-becomes-homeless/
As stated in that post, Dan gained his nickname by taking up residence and ultimately starting a fire in the building’s dumpster, years before HostGator owned the building. Dan was seemingly harmless and never caused any real trouble, mostly he would go through the dumpster or fish half-smoked cigarettes out of the ashtrays and then go on about his business. To my knowledge, Dan never had any negative impact on anyone here at the office. Everyone knew who Dumpster Dan was, likely Dan had no idea that he was somewhat endeared to the HostGator staff. He never asked for money, there was actually very little interaction other than eye contact and ...
May 21, 2012
As promised, we are back with another Newsletter this month. It was a great month here at Gator Headquarters; we’ve been hiring like mad in order to continue to provide you with top-notch support. We’re also very close to the release of some additional new features. Some things are in beta testing right now, but in keeping with our other promise (to not bait you with any “coming soon” things), we’re going to refrain from identifying the specifics of these features at this time. However, the feedback we have received from the beta-testers has been nothing but positive. Hopefully, we can officially speak on these by next month. We realize this is arguably similar to saying something is “coming soon,” but we digress. In the meantime, we’ve been up to some good deeds and some good eats this month. Here is what we can speak on at this moment:
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The 2012 Tour du Rouge:
HostGator are proud to have once again presented the Tour du Rouge, benefiting the Gulf Coast American Red Cross! The bicycle ride, which covers the 526 miles between Houston and New Orleans, took place between May 6-11, 2012. Please be sure to keep an eye on http://blog.hostgator.com for ...
May 14, 2012
We are fortunate enough to have some very loyal followers who like to show their appreciation in unusual and creative ways. This goes all the way back to the early days of HostGator, when none other than crunk rapper Lil Jon offered to introduce Brent to some ladies at his show in Florida, in appreciation for Brent having personally assisted him with some technical issues. Another random caller once offered to send Brent some weed, via the US Postal Service for the same reason. For the record, both of these offers were respectfully declined. These days, it’s not terribly unusual to receive the occasional gift basket at the office, but please no more offers of groupies or drugs.
Here’s a couple examples of the art we’ve received:
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This Snappy was done by a child of
one of our Customers.
Back when we sponsored the Joe Nemecheck
NASCAR, we received a few racing-themed
comic strips starring Snappy. Please click
on the image to see the whole series.
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More recently, a Customer named Richard called us up for some assistance on his account and ended up singing us a song he wrote by the name of “GatorBill Me.” The recording of the call is posted below along with the lyrics. ...
May 07, 2012
We’ve been having a lot of fun with our blog lately, and we promise to continue to do so. However, we need to address some serious business once again. Back in December, we posted about SOPA. That beast has changed forms, returned and is now attacking more forcefully. CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, aka H.R. 3523) was passed by the United Stated House of Representatives on April 26th, by a vote of 248 to 168.
Ostensibly, CISPA exists to “help the U.S Government investigate cyber threats and ensure the security of networks against cyber attack.” However, this wolf in sheep’s clothing also allows complete, unfettered access to your online activities without regard to existing privacy laws, provided the government suspects you of having committed some type of cyber crime. Criminals should absolutely be investigated, prosecuted and punished if found guilty. However, the scope of this bill is far too broad to be an effective piece of legislation and lacks any clear parameters as to what would constitute a justifiable suspicion, or when and how the government can monitor your internet browsing information; basically making all of us potential suspects, guilty until proven innocent.
Representative Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat and ...
May 01, 2012
Recently, HostGator began our transition into a new building in Houston. Presently, we occupy two floors while the remaining floors continue to be built out. Our Houston buildings are only a short distance apart, in fact you can see each from the other. The geography makes it convenient to dispatch teams from one building to the other, as needed. Though we’ve been executing practice drills of this nature for many years, some of us veterans had grown complacent, thinking there would never be any true need to exercise our finely-honed emergency-response skills.
As explained in the recent Internet Speak post, one of the primary means of inter-office communication is via instant message and conference rooms. The story told here will be best conveyed via excerpts from these conference rooms, for historical accuracy.
Saturday April 21st, 2012 was a day not unlike any other. Until the late afternoon brought with it a distress call received from HTX2:
(04:59:18 PM) Sundeep: we have a situation at the new building.
The years of training immediately roused the team from their aforementioned complacency and they began gathering the necessary data in order to spring into action, like a… spring… that goes… into action! The situation was explained further:
(05:00:18 ...
Apr 23, 2012
Toilet paper is serious business. It’s genuinely a severely overlooked and under-appreciated medium of information distribution; believe that! Fortunately, http://www.getshitter.com can assist in elevating toilet paper to a more appropriate level of respect, by taking your twitter feed and turning it into toilet paper. What you subsequently do with said toilet paper would then be completely up to you.
As we all learned from the classic Pauly Shore cinematic masterpiece Bio-Dome, the most effective means of instituting change, or raising awareness, is to think globally and act locally. The month of April contains both Earth Day (April 22nd) and Arbor Day (April 27th). As you may already know, back in 2008 HostGator took the initiative of becoming a Green webhost, which you can read even more about here. With environmentalism in the air this month, we thought it would be appropriate to discuss toilet paper and the trees that make toilet paper possible. Because like toilet paper, trees are also serious business.
I’m going to stop beating around the bush, not because a bush could potentially make for decent TP, but because toilet paper conservation is something that deserves significantly more attention than it presently receives. At least once per day, you ...
Apr 16, 2012
The lack of Newsletters for the past several months has been palpable; we do apologize. Ideally, this circumstance will not occur again. It is true that things have been very busy in the Gator’hood, but maintaining a proper level of direct contact with you fine folks is a priority to us and we genuinely care about presenting information directly to you and interacting with you via this medium.
Historically speaking, our monthly Newsletters have occasionally displayed a tendency to place the proverbial cart before the horse, by announcing some things a tad bit pre-maturely, *cough*LaunchPad*cough*! The fact is that we love what we do and we get excited about new technologies or services and we naturally want to share them with you. Being more conscious of the potentiality for unexpected delays to occur, from this point forward we intend to not bait you with any “Coming Soon!” things. Rather, we’re going to utilize this time to inform you about what is already available to you and try our best to keep you up on any new happenings around the Company each month.
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GatorDesk Mobile: A New Way to Get Support!
GatorDesk Mobile is now live, in beta! You can fully manage your HostGator support ...
Apr 05, 2012
Once upon a time, people communicated with each other in complete sentences. Or at least, I assume people used to communicate with each other in complete sentences. Then along came the technology that spawned the phenomenon of communicating via text. This effectively butchered the English language. At least we thought so, at the time. Then along came IRC and Instant Messaging which thus took language into depths of fail that were never before imaginable. OMG, LOL!
Instant Messaging is one of the primary means of communication within, and between, HostGator offices. This leads to much butchering of the English language internally, whilst (hopefully) maintaining proper grammar within the LiveChats with Customers; this occurs simultaneously, behind the scenes. I’m not going to reveal too much of the inter-office shenanigans, but there are various conference rooms utilized by various departments to effectively communicate as a group with one another. This is a snippet of a conversation that took place in one of these conference rooms:
(05:38:01 AM) Preston: bacon are desireable
(05:38:06 AM) Preston: i want some bacon
(05:38:43 AM) Adam: proper spelling is desirable.
(05:38:49 AM) Adam: i want some proper spelling.
(05:38:53 AM) Adam: wrapped in bacon.
(05:38:56 AM) Preston: then read a book
(05:38:58 AM) Preston: this ...
Mar 30, 2012
All hard drives will crash; there is no such thing as a crash-proof hard drive. When (not if) this happens, how much data will be lost is a flip of the coin. It could be 0%, or it could be 100%. World Backup Day is March 31st. and encourages you to maintain current backups of your data: financial information or other important documents, digital media collection (music/movies/ebooks), and perhaps most importantly your memories (pictures/home movies).
One in ten laptops will be stolen in their lifetime; one is stolen every 53 seconds. Fifty percent of all hard drives will crash within five years. Couple those statistics with the fact that 89.1% of PC users do not perform regular backups. This is essentially a recipe for massive data loss. A recent study found that 90 percent of companies that experience data loss go out of business within two years, with 70% of companies going out of business following a major data loss. These are significant numbers.
Are you able to place a dollar amount on your data? Exactly how much value does it have? For many people, their data is priceless. If the only pictures of your children that you have are on a ...
Mar 25, 2012
The simple truth is that the web hosting industry is the target of, and host (pun intended?) to, a large percentage of individuals who attempt to perpetrate identity theft. This is an unfortunate situation, but sadly people often attempt to purchase web-hosting with fraudulent credit cards and other stolen credentials. Generally the motivating factor in using a stolen identity to purchase hosting involve things like warez or other copyrighted materials such as music and movies, or for spamming or phishing purposes; none of which HostGator tolerates on our network.
The efforts of our Pending Department prevent upwards of 6,000 fraudulent sign-ups each month. One of the means used to prevent such sign-ups is a request to provide us with a copy of a government-issued identification card. In that we are a global company with Customers in virtually every non-embargoed nation in the world, we are dealing with countless types of identification cards. Sometimes, they are genuine. Other times, not so much. Below are a few of the more interesting responses we’ve received to our request for the aforementioned identification cards. These images are exactly as we received then, save for the black boxes covering the personal information of those who did ...
Dec 22, 2011
Imagine if you were able to genetically combine Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Darth Vader and Barbara Streisand into one horrifically terrifying being. Now imagine that being is actually a piece of proposed legislature — the terrifying creation in your midst would then be the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) which is currently being considered by the House. ? SOPA, aka H.R. 3261 is a bill right now in the House sponsored by R-TX Lamar Smith. It’s not just any bill though, it’s a bill that would allow the USDOJ, RIAA, MPAA and anyone else who lobbies for the entertainment industry to effectively censor the internet to suit their needs. ? James Allworth recently wrote “Is this really what we want to do to the internet? Shut it down every time it doesn’t fit someone’s business model?” and I couldn’t agree more. Censorship is a slippery slope. Not only that but it also creates an absurd amount of bureaucratic busy work. Here at HostGator we already spend a HUGE amount of time answering DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) requests. If we allow our representatives to begin deciding what is and what isn’t ok for you to view on the internet then where will it ...
Oct 06, 2011
Snappy here with an important announcement! HostGator.com has sent me a company memo this morning confirming that they are once again participating in National Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October and I wanted to pass the good news along to you. Memo: “In 1985, the search for a cure for Breast Cancer was gaining headway and AstraZeneca founded National Breast Cancer Awareness Month to raise awareness of this growing cause. Thanks to the establishment of NBCAM, in October of each year, organizations across the nation focus on the fight, helping to promote mammography as the most effective weapon in the race against breast cancer. HostGator.com is proud to join these organizations in their support for a cure.This year, in honor of NBCAM, HostGator.com has turned Snappy the Gator pink on the website. We have also set up a special coupon code “PINK” which will allow 20% off the first month of any hosting account we offer. We will be donating the proceeds from the first month of every sign-up that uses this code to breast cancer research. We have also created a few banners for our clients who wish to let the world know that their web host cares ...
Oct 01, 2011
I receive hundreds of emails a month from customer’s thanking me for the great service we provide and even a few letters utilizing the old fashion snail mail method. The majority of snail mail reviews I receive our complaints about the hosting services my company has provided. The only problem is that more times then not they get my name correct and the company I own wrong. The Letter:I decided to have a little fun with my response to them…………Dear Customer, I’m emailing you in regards to a letter I received in the mail from you today. In this letter you described a few recent negative support experiences you had with Inmotion hosting. I wish I could say I’m sorry for these negative experiences you had but unfortunately I’m not. In fact It pleases me slightly to hear about your poor experience with Inmotion. I highly recommend you take your business to hostgator.com immediately. As owner of Hostgator I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you receive 99.9% uptime along with 24/7 quality support. If you’re interested in signing up with us I’ll be happy to give you the first 6 months of service free to try us out. I’ll also do my ...
Jul 21, 2011
Greetings, Domains, Domains, Domains Everyone is interested in an update on our domain registrar launch. We hear you, loud and clear! While we can’t nail down an exact launch date quite yet, this is a top priority and it’s something that we are working on every day. We have greatly expanded our development team (over 10 members now) to launch this and other HostGator products as quickly as possible. So without making any false promises, we can tell you it is coming “soon.” HostGator Biggest Loser:HostGator held its own biggest loser 2.0 recently. It was a great success with many of our employees losing lots of weight! There was also a friendly competition between the Austin and Houston offices for who would lose the largest percentage of body weight. Austin won! Tim B. was the overall winner, losing nearly 14% of his body weight! Great work. With the win, the Austin office was treated to a great “Grill Fest” on July 1st. We were busy in June We thought we handled a lot of support inquiries in May (roughly 520,000), however we blew that away in June. We answered: 193,708 Chats 105,000 Calls And 252,693 Tickets Over 551,400 chats, calls and tickets were answered in June. Accept credit card payments online!Are you looking to sell products ...
Jun 14, 2011
Greetings, Gators, Another month already!? We know we’re a little behind on this month’s newsletter, sorry about that! We once again have some great announcements for you this month though. We Launched Unlimited Shared Windows Hosting:We are excited to announce that we launched Windows shared hosting services last month. More information can be seen at www.hostgator.com/windows-hosting.shtml We’re offering unlimited space, unlimited bandwidth, Parallels Plesk control panel, ASP/ASP.net Support, Microsoft SQL 2008 (R2) and many more features! Simply check out the new windows hosting page for more information. New SiteBuilder! Beautiful Designs coming soon! After MONTHS of searching and testing out more site builders than I originally thought were even available, we have found the best – and our clients deserve nothing but the best! We will be introducing BaseKit, FREE to all of our clients within the next 60 days (at most). Why BaseKit? Here are just a couple of the reasons we chose BaseKit: - Extremely easy to use - Completely Drag and Drop - Huge List of beautifully designed templates that you can customize - Tons of additional widgets for you to implement (Twitter, Facebook, Google Maps, RSS, Flickr, forms, YouTube, PayPal, calendar, and many more)! - Supports multiple Languages - Can add/edit your own HTML and CSS - Can import PSD designs - ...
Jun 13, 2011
If you’ve ever been on the HostGator official blog before, you may have noticed a few things. Actually you may have noticed that something was missing. Where’s Snappy? We decided that it’s time to bring Snappy back to his natural habitat, the swamp. You’ll notice Snappy with a new modern look as he enjoys gazing at the breezy clouds and wading through the swampy waters. We want to make it easier for you to connect with us, so we put our RSS feed, Facebook, Twitter, and hiring icons above for easy access. You can now also get updates via Email to enjoy at your convenience, in addition to being able to easily share and comment in posts with Facebook and Twitter. We’re making greater efforts to roll out more blog posts, use our Flickr account actively, and upload more videos, so don’t forget to sign up for updates on the latest HostGator news! What do you think about the new design? Chime in!
May 06, 2011
Greetings, Gators, We have some exciting news and several fun HostGator happenings to share with you this month. Bandwidth Increased to 10TB on ALL Dedicated Servers! All dedicated servers now include 10TB of Bandwidth standard (an increase of as much as 8.5TB FREE!). This includes ALL current/past dedicated server clients as well as new dedicated...
Apr 04, 2011
Greetings, Gators! We have another exciting newsletter in store for you. A lot has been going on this month, and there are a couple of big announcements to make! ? We’ve outgrown our swamp! We’re expanding! With so much growth over the last few years, we’re now outgrowing our headquarters office in Houston, Texas. So...
Mar 01, 2011
Greetings Gators, Another wonderful month has passed here at HostGator. February was a busy, cold month for HostGator and we have some exciting events coming soon. South By Southwest: SXSW is an annual music, film and technology festival in Austin, TX. In recent years, SXSW has been a large promotion and launching ground for new...
Feb 09, 2011
Anyone who has ever watched the discovery channel for an extended period of time can tell you that if there’s one thing a gator is ill prepared to handle, it’s an ice storm. Due to the recent arctic cold fronts arrival here in Houston the HG staff got to experience first hand what a Texas...
Feb 02, 2011
Gator Happenings Greetings Gators, 2010 was a big year for HostGator. We have some exciting announcements in store for you in 2011, and a recap of some of the great events of 2010. 2010 Recap: HostGator saw Record Growth: In 2010, we grew by 2 MILLION Domains! We grew from 2.9 Million Domains Hosted in...
Dec 16, 2010
Greetings, We have some exciting news and updates for you this month about our new domain registry service, a sneak peek at our new upcoming domain management control panel, our billing system migration and a tour of our new HostGator Austin Office (now fully loaded, HostGator style). Our billing system migration is nearly complete! With...
Nov 24, 2010
Back in 2007 we leaked a company email from Brent Oxley, then HostGator CEO, to our blog. Since that time we’ve grown by leaps and bounds (to the tune of 610%), became the 21st fastest growing company on the Inc. 5000, added a new office location in Austin, TX, and are over 450 employees strong....
Nov 11, 2010
Gator Happenings Hello everyone, We’ve been very busy around here lately, implementing new and exciting features and services that will provide our customers with an even better webhosting experience. Our domain registrar service is nearing completion, and we are also looking into other technologies and services that may be implemented as well. One of the...
Oct 22, 2010
Here at HostGator, we are all about our clients. We continually strive to provide the very best support and newest hardware and technologies available, as well as provide informative and entertaining content to our blog readers and forum members. With that being said, we would like your input. How are we doing? What would you...
Oct 01, 2010
We have all known someone in our lives, either close friends, or family who has suffered from some form of cancer. AstraZeneca, which manufactures breast cancer drugs Arimidex and Tamoxifen, founded the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 1985. The aim of the NBCAM from the start has been to promote mammography as the most...
Sep 30, 2010
Gator Happenings August proved to be a record setting month for us here at HostGator, with over 26,000 sign-ups! The best part of all this is that we are currently so overstaffed that many of our employees have been complaining that there is no work for them to do. In the business world, a company...
Sep 27, 2010
A HostGator office is not exactly your run of the mill workplace. On any given day a normal HostGator employee usually encounters several things a normal office might consider ‘out of the ordinary’. A prime example of such an instance are the elevators HG employees use on a daily basis. Both our Houston & Austin...
Sep 02, 2010
One of our long time employees, Dwayne St. John had a birthday today. Check out the cake: Now THATS dedication! Happy Birthday Dwayne!
Aug 31, 2010
Welcome to Austin We have arrived in Austin, TX! A lot of our customers and employees at our Houston headquarters wanted to know more about the new office and, of course, see some pictures. August 9th, 2010 myself and other members of our management team arrived at our new home. Walking around we saw really...
Aug 20, 2010
Many will remember “Billy the Human Billboard“, who we covered in our previous blog post after he received a HostGator tattoo on the back of his neck. Billy’s HostGator tattoo has sparked a range of responses from: people asking to get this done, outrage, and even proposed boycotts. Someone even went as far as to...
Jul 30, 2010
QuickInstall We are proud to announce the deployment of our new in house developed script installer, QuickInstall. QuickInstall has been rolled out to all shared servers at this time in its last test phase. To use QuickInstall, just login to your cPanel and click the QuickInstall icon. QuickInstall is a HostGator designed auto installer, similar...