These payments are often for hundreds of dollars and are phishing scams. These attacks are designed to steal personal user data and money and do the rounds so frequently that you’ll likely receive one of these notices if you own a website. So we want you to know what to look for should your contacts or you encounter such a situation. 

What is a Domain Renewal Scam? 

A domain name is your website’s unique identifier; SiteCare’s is sitecare.com, yours is likely also a variation of your company’s name. Maintaining your unique domain name is essential for your website and brand. So, how does a domain renewal scam work?

Hurry Up and Pay!

In this scam, an unscrupulous domain provider will contact you – via phone, email, or, most commonly, a letter – claiming to be your domain name provider, letting you know your domain name is due for renewal, and requesting a renewal payment.

The letter is full of high-pressure language, often stating that your domain name has expired and that this is a “last chance” to save the domain before it’s registered by someone else. The scammer also urges you to pay immediately to renew the domain – often at a price considerably more expensive than your domain renewal likely will be.

Here’s the tricky part – domains can (and do!) expire. So how can you distinguish between a genuine notice and a fake phishing scam? Here are our eight tips to follow to avoid domain renewal scammers.

1. Know who manages your domain. This way, you’ll know immediately if someone fraudulently claims to be your domain name provider. You can look it up if you don’t know where your domain is registered.
   
   You can find your domain registrar’s name and contact information through ICANN lookup. Common registrars include GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Register.com, Hover, NameCheap, etc. If you’re still unsure, our team of support experts can always help you solve the mystery. 
2. If you have multiple domains registered with numerous providers, we recommend consolidating them to ensure everything is centralized so you can easily stay on top of all the details.
3. Read the letter carefully (really carefully). Often, it will include a phrase like, “This is not a bill,” “solicitation,” or “offer.”  

THIS IS A SOLICITATION FOR THE ORDER OF GOODS OR SERVICES, OR BOTH, AND NOT A BILL, INVOICE, OR STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT DUE. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO MAKE ANY PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF THIS OFFER UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER.

Example language found on a domain renewal solicitation

4. Beware of clicking on links from emails like this or from email addresses you aren’t familiar with. You can always hover over a link to ensure it leads to the domain it says it will. 
5. Is it snail mail? Your real domain renewal notice will nearly always be emailed rather than snail-mailed. 
6. Google the company’s name + scam and see if anything comes up. 
7. Know when your domain expires. Typically, businesses register a domain for one to five years, so renewal periods are often predictable. 
8. File records and invoices for your domain so you can access them. If you lose control of your domain, you have lost a critical piece of your online presence. 

Are Domain Renewal Scams Illegal? 

Nope. It isn’t illegal to encourage website owners to transfer their domains. The sketchy part is the deceptive language used, tricking customers into accepting the offer. These companies are scraping domain information off the web and sending misleading letters to all domain owners in the hope that you’ll be fooled into paying them an inflated price for something they already own. 

If you’re worried about your domain details or a scam slipping through the cracks, contact us; we’re here to help solve the mystery, no matter how big or small. Our support team takes the “support” part of their work seriously and can answer any questions. As always, we strive to go the extra mile for our clients; your success is ours. 

The post 8 Tips to Avoid Domain Renewal Scams appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

Reason #1: Security

Older versions of PHP have reached their end-of-life, meaning they no longer receive security updates. When this happens, it leaves web applications, like your WordPress installation, vulnerable to potential security threats, like cross-site scripting (XSS) or database injections. By upgrading to PHP 8.0, WordPress websites can take advantage of its enhanced security features.

Reason #2: Performance

PHP 8.0 uses a new compiler that can vastly improve the performance of web applications like WordPress. PHP 8.0’s Just-In-Time Compiler allows the server to handle more traffic and provide a better user experience.

Reason #3: Support

Supporting out-of-date versions of PHP can be time-consuming for the web host. The number of support tickets required to support older versions of PHP has caused many hosts to migrate all their hosting clients to PHP 8.0. 

Reason #4: Compatibility

As web technologies and frameworks continuously evolve, they may require newer versions of PHP to function properly. As a matter of fact, there’s an active debate in WordPress about what versions of PHP to support. Ultimately, the web host must make the business decision of what versions of PHP to support, not only for their past clients but to ensure performance for future clients. 

While the mandate to upgrade to PHP will require testing on legacy sites with custom programming, migrating to PHP 8.0 will help ensure better security, performance, support, and compatibility.

If you need help migrating your legacy WordPress installation from PHP 7 to PHP 8.0, contact the team at SiteCare for assistance.

The post My Web Host Is Forcing Me To Update my PHP version. What do I do? appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

We couldn’t tell you how many web pages we’ve seen drop in search ranking simply because the title tag was missing or the page lacked a compelling meta description to entice clicks from visitors to the website.

So, if you want potential customers to find your website easily, you’ll want to check on the state of your on-page SEO. But what are meta titles, meta tags, and meta descriptions? We find out. 

What are Title Tags?

A title tag is an HTML (coding) element that specifies the title of a web page to search engines. It shows up in three key places: 

1. It appears in the clickable headline for the search engine results page (SERP).

2. When someone visits your page, the title tag is displayed at the top of their web browser window and acts as a placeholder. This works especially well when there are several browser tabs open, so your users can always find your page.

3. Social media networks like Facebook and Twitter will use your title tag to determine what to display when the page is shared. 

Top Tips for Writing Title Tags

The title tag of a web page is meant to be an accurate and concise description of a page’s content; essentially, it’s a first impression for users visiting your page from an organic search.

Title tags in SEO are as important as in titles in a monarchy. In the same way they help identify royal family members’ order and significance within a state, title tags inform search engines and potential visitors about each web page. They also tell search engines how to display web pages in users’ search results.  

While there isn’t a specific length for title tags, most browsers display 50-60 characters, meaning we try to shoot for 60 characters or fewer. Because what search engines display is based on screen width, the number of characters matters less than what “fits” on the screen.

When it comes to writing titles and descriptions, our team keeps these things in mind:

1. Writing titles that don’t truncate (get cut short on SERPs because of space) is an art form. Finding the blend of accuracy, specificity, keyword focus, and character spacing takes practice and work. 
2. Every page needs a unique title – even if you have a site with hundreds or thousands of pages.
3. Keywords must come first. We know that users skim and scan headlines, so most users will only see the first couple of words in your title tag. As a result, we want to put the most important keywords up front and center. 
4. Leverage your brand. If you have a well-known brand or are the authorized retailer of something specific, use that brand at the end of the title to get organic, brand-focused traction. 

What are Meta Descriptions?

Much like titles, meta descriptions are an essential component of your on-page SEO, although in a less direct way than your title tags. While your titles are known to be a ranking factor for Google and the other search engines, meta descriptions aren’t (an announcement from Google back in 2009 explained why). However, meta descriptions are crucial for setting user expectations and explaining what each web page is about. 

As we can see in the meta description below, readers can expect to learn about a chocolate cake recipe that only uses one bowl – a score for cleaning up afterward! – and can be made without gluten, dairy, or eggs (which will appeal to vegans or anyone with dietary restrictions).

It’s one of the primary factors influencing a page’s organic click-through rate, impacting your page rankings. Users evaluate the meta descriptions to determine if the page is relevant to their search query and if they want to visit the site. 

Top Tips for Writing Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions can “technically” be any length, but as with your title tags, they typically can be truncated in search results snippets to about 150-160 characters. Therefore, it’s best to keep meta descriptions long enough to be descriptive but short enough to avoid truncation. 

Other things a meta description has in common with title tags: 

• It also appears in your social media shares as the description. 
• It should also include a focused keyword at the front of the phrase.
• It should leverage your brand if that provides a legitimate benefit. 
• Every page needs a unique description – even something like a “Contact Us” page. 

Those two HTML elements collectively present a vital component of your website. Still, at the end of the day, the most important aspect to remember is having high-quality content that focuses on users’ needs and satisfaction. We need titles and descriptions to entice users to get to our sites, but the relevance and authority of each page’s content establish its rankings. 

Have you checked to see if you have all your title tags and meta descriptions? If you need assistance with your on-page SEO efforts, contact our team for help.

The post What’s on Your Page: The Importance of Title Tags and Meta Descriptions appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

Bringing About Change, One Microbonus at a Time

Recognizing each other’s work is a cornerstone of our team’s culture. We use Bonusly, a platform that allows team members to recognize their peers by giving micro bonuses to each other for excellent work. Every team member receives a monthly stipend they can use to reward teammates for excellent work or for going the extra mile.

Over the last few months, we’ve adjusted these bonuses to incorporate a community-giving component. Each time a team member gives a micro bonus, they can also choose to support the recipient’s selected charitable organization. When a message of recognition includes the recipient’s charity hashtag, SiteCare matches the micro bonus, dollar for dollar, and donates it to the specified organization.

For example, “+20 @Byron, for setting a tremendous example of showing up every day for the SiteCare mission. #empowerothers #excellence #BigCityMountaineers,” meant that both Byron and his charity each received twenty dollars. 

Impacting Communities in Our Own Backyards

Our team members, scattered from South Africa to the Philippines, Pakistan to the United States, and beyond, chose charities that positively impact their communities.

Here’s a brief look at some of the organizations we’ve supported in the last quarter:

• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: This society is dedicated to working towards a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma and improving the quality of life of patients and their families.
• Next for Autism: Transforms nationally available services for people with autism by strategically designing, launching, and supporting innovative programs.
• Border Collie Rescue: This NGO is committed to rescuing and rehabilitating Border Collie dogs facing abandonment or euthanasia.
• Groundworks Collaborative: Provides ongoing support to Vermont families and individuals facing housing and food insecurities.
• iKhaya Le Themba: Offers holistic care to children and families impacted by HIV/AIDS in South Africa.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation: Defends civil liberties in the digital world, championing user privacy, free expression, and innovation.
• Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital: A cancer hospital and research center in Pakistan which provides free care to thousands.
• Protection of Animal Welfare Society (PAWS): Works to alleviate animal suffering through rescue, rehabilitation, and education.
• The Counselling Hub: Provides affordable mental health services to patients in South Africa.
• Doctors Without Borders: Delivers international emergency medical aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare.
• American Civil Liberties Union: Works to defend and preserve individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
• Society for Protection against Cruelty to Animals (SPCA): This organization protects and enhances the lives of animals through adoption, rescue, spay/neuter programs, and public education.
• Sinag Kalinga, A Home For Those Who Have None: Aims to provide homes and basic necessities for homeless individuals and families in the Philippines.
• Big City Mountaineers: Provides wilderness mentoring expeditions for under-resourced urban youth.
• Oklahoma Humane Society: Works to enhance the well-being of animals and enrich the lives of people in Oklahoma.
• National Ability Center: Empowers individuals of all abilities by building self-esteem, confidence, and lifetime skills through sports, recreation, and educational programs.

Each micro bonus and subsequent match from SiteCare contribute to the fantastic work these organizations are doing worldwide.

Fostering A Culture of Recognition and Community Support

Since starting the program in 2022, we’ve noticed a significant uptick in peer recognition, fostering an even stronger camaraderie and team spirit as our employees go out of their way to support each other’s chosen charities. To date, we’ve contributed almost $3,500 to various charitable organizations worldwide, with each donation made in the team member’s honor.

Why It Matters

What sets this initiative apart is that it’s a testament to the power of peer-to-peer recognition for outstanding work performed. It’s a shining example of how businesses can simultaneously support their employees and the communities in which they live.

By sharing our Charitable Contributions program, we hope to inspire other companies; every contribution can have a positive impact, no matter how small. We believe that together, we can give back to our communities and take a small step toward making the world a better place.     

The post SiteCare Supports Global Charities Through Staff Recognition Program appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

What is the WordPress Gutenberg Editor?

WordPress, a free and open-source content management system (CMS), is, as of 2022, used by over 42% of the internet’s website owners. The platform is home to businesses of every size and industry, from advertising agencies to E-commerce companies and beyond. The broad popularity of WordPress requires it to be flexible, as millions of users have innumerable styling and content needs. So, WordPress must provide intuitive design capabilities to allow these businesses to flourish. 

The WordPress Editors facilitate these agnostic design ambitions. An earlier iteration, which WordPress will support “for as long as is necessary,” is the Classic Editor. Unlike its antecedent, the classic version doesn’t use migratory content blocks to build websites. Instead, users view and edit content in one space. The editing options aren’t intuitive and are somewhat subject to the user’s understanding of the WordPress setup. A preview of a page’s content can ultimately differ from the live version. The Classic Editor embodies the concept that “WordPress is easy to learn but difficult to master.” 

Conversely, the new Gutenberg Editor gives users more control by allowing customization without code and providing reliable preview versions of live sites. The Editor allows users to build their pages using the pre-loaded blocks and move the content around to suit their requirements. And, if the free-range option is too intimidating or takes too much time to design, WordPress offers easily implemented pre-grouped design blocks called Patterns. The style and design flexibility provide new opportunities for website owners; to create their own gallery of web design, maintain authority over their website’s appearance, and continue to create business and SEO opportunities without much dependency on coding.

What are the Key Features of the Gutenberg Editor?

The key features that set the Gutenberg Editor apart from its predecessors are its content blocks. They represent elements essential to building a stylish and cohesive website. Simplistically named by their function so users can easily find them, there are blocks for, amongst others: 

• Paragraphs
• Media and text
• Audio
• Video
• Lists
• Images

By eliminating complicated features and sticking to simple titles, WordPress ensures that users can easily change various sections of their site, dragging and dropping blocks as they work. Blocks already have their own styles, or users can add elements of their chosen theme to the block’s style. WordPress states, “the idea with blocks is to create a new common language across WordPress, a new way to connect users to plugins, and replace several older content types.” So, the Gutenberg WordPress Editor makes its simplified block system the lingua Franca of WordPress site building. 

The new WordPress editor puts the user first. The system works seamlessly across different devices, allowing content to be easily digested across multiple screen sizes. Unlike other design elements on WordPress, the Editor isn’t a plugin, so users don’t have to worry about compatibility or updates. The focus on maximized accessibility is clear in WordPress’ best practice guides. Tips like including a clear H1 title and subsequent headings 2, 3, and 4 throughout your content improve readability for screen readers. Plus, WordPress aims to meet the color contrast accessibility requirements at the WCAG AA Level so sites will be legible for users with low vision. And while WordPress does contend that it still has some way to go for full accessibility, it emphasizes that accessibility is a critical component of its development. 

Furthermore, the new Editor allows users to customize their page build from the top down: improving accessibility through font shades and enjoying customization options ranging from line spacing to block borders, typography, and color specifications. The Editor also allows users to easily code and create HTML anchors, a unique web address that links to a specific place on the page.

What are the Differences Between the Gutenberg Editor and The Classic Editor?

Although exceedingly popular, the Classic, or TinyMCE editor, is simpler and lacks the design elements enjoyed by its replacement. Content is edited in one box, not unlike Microsoft Word, and users make edits and changes, such as style and color, via buttons on the toolbar across the top. While several styling options are available, the Classic Editor lacks the versatility of the Gutenberg editor. As all content is created within the editing box, the look and layout of the WordPress page can differ between the preview and the final result. Now, WordPress has heralded a change in content previewing, as the Gutenberg Editor allows users to see the look of their pages as they edit. 

Although not perfect, the Gutenberg Editor is ahead of the Classic Editor concerning mobile responsive design. The latter relied on plugins and heavy user input to migrate content between formats. At the same time, the Gutenberg Editor includes mobile interfaces in its preview options, and its mobile responsive blocks allow users some design freedom. Several plugins assist with creating fully mobile-friendly WordPress sites.

How to Get Started With the Gutenberg WordPress Editor

If you’re new to WordPress, the platform provides steps to walk you through an easy installation process. The Gutenberg Editor is now a default for WordPress and has been part of the core offering for every version since 5.0. The Editor can also be installed on WordPress as a plugin or as part of your chosen theme.

Tips for Using the Gutenberg Editor in WordPress

The Gutenberg Editor is ideal for first-time website builders, non-coders, and users who want a more hands-on approach to their website design. The blocks are easy to use, and shortcuts, such as hitting Enter followed by “/[the name of the block]” to add a new content block make the process even smoother. Images can be dragged and dropped directly from your computer, and options to change the Editor’s interface works wonders for the user experience.

Customizing the WordPress Gutenberg Editor

Customization and flexibility are critical tenets of the WordPress Gutenberg Editor. Users can change block positions, break them into columns for lists, and change styling and borders to suit the design. After selecting the block specific to the need, users can easily add text by clicking and typing. The background color can be changed to fit the palette, and the content can be formatted – such as a font appearance change – from the tools in the side panel. 

Other features improve productivity, such as the Spotlight tool, which grays out all the other blocks on your screen to maximize focus, or the option to customize several blocks at once from the drop-down menu in the List View. Drop an image into the Editor, and it will be automatically formatted with a line for a caption below. The Video block allows users to add self-hosted videos easily. Alternatively, embed a video in a page by pasting a URL (from, for example, YouTube or Vimeo) in the paragraph block.

The Advanced Features of the Gutenberg Editor

The WordPress Gutenberg Editor has advanced features like HTML and widgets and works well with third-party plugins. As such, the platform can support businesses in various industries, from blogging to e-commerce. 

WordPress’ updated widget editor allows users to “insert blocks and widgets into any of the Widget Areas or Sidebars” and move content blocks around them. So, an e-commerce site builder, for example, can customize their page around their widget, install plugins such as WooCommerce and enjoy a sleek design experience without impacting the functionality of their business. Build customizable forms within the WordPress Editor using the Gutenberg Forms plugin while remaining spam-free, as Google reCAPTCHA is already integrated. 

The Gutenberg Editor is an evolving product, so glitches can arise. One example lies with the Block Editor. Several factors can affect the functionality of the Editor, but before trying any fixes, ensure you have a backup of your WordPress website. So, before turning to your WordPress hosting and maintenance provider, look at these troubleshooting tips: 

• Deactivate your plugins from your site: If there is a conflict with one of your plugins, deactivate them all via the side panel tab titled “Plugins” on the main WordPress dashboard to find the source. 
• Revert to the WordPress default theme: If you think your chosen theme is to blame for an error, deactivate it and revert to the default WordPress theme. Find this via the Appearances button on your dashboard’s side panel. 
• Check your JavaScript: Check whether the JavaScript needs to be debugged by following these troubleshooting steps. This step is for coders, WordPress experts, or your WordPress maintenance support team.

Alternatively, ask the WordPress community or a WordPress support and maintenance company for recommendations on glitches and fixes.

Start Using the Gutenberg Editor

WordPress introduced the Gutenberg Editor to simplify and democratize the world of website building. We’ve given you an overview of the changes the Gutenberg Editor brings to WordPress and demonstrated how the Block Editor improves user experience with dynamic design and improved accessibility.

Don’t let this update be something to fear; instead, explore it and use it as a tool to optimize websites and businesses. Whether you’re new to WordPress, already maintain WordPress sites, or are a seasoned coder, join the community and share your insights, opinions, and experiences with the new Gutenberg Editor.

And, if you’re unsure where to begin, SiteCare‘s WordPress support and maintenance services will get you growing your website in no time. If you’re looking for simpler but secure WordPress maintenance at a low monthly cost, try Maintainn.com.

The post The Ultimate Guide to the Features and Benefits of the Gutenberg Editor appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

In this ultimate guide to the WordPress Gutenberg Editor, we’ll explore the various features and functions of the Editor and provide you with the information you need to get started creating content with WordPress. While we recommend using expert WordPress support and maintenance services when making changes to your website, the Gutenberg Editor will facilitate at least part of your site-building experience.

What is the WordPress Gutenberg Editor?

The WordPress Gutenberg Editor is an open-source content editor introduced in 2018 as part of the WordPress 5.0 update. It was designed to replace the classic WordPress editor, providing users with a more modern and intuitive way to create content. With its block-based system, improved accessibility features, and flexibility, the Gutenberg Editor is sure to revolutionize how WordPress websites are created.

Differences Between the Gutenberg Editor and the Classic Editor

The main difference between the two editors is that while the classic WordPress editor relies heavily on HTML coding to make changes to posts and pages, the Gutenberg block editor does not require any coding knowledge whatsoever. 

Instead of relying on shortcodes or HTML markup to build pages or posts, users can now drag and drop blocks into their content to add formatting options like headings and lists. Blocks can contain text, images, videos, audio, and much more, making it easy to create complex layouts with minimal effort. It allows users to create content in a more structured and modular way, which makes it easier to keep track of and make changes. 

In comparison, the classic WordPress editor’s TinyMCE does not offer many customization options and has limited options for font sizes, colors, text alignment, etc. It is difficult and time-consuming to embed content such as videos or images into a post or page with TinyMCE, and there is no drag-and-drop feature, which makes it more difficult to rearrange content. In addition, TinyMCE does not have features such as tables, columns, and galleries that are available in Gutenberg Block Editor and does not support blocks, which allow for more complex content organization and design elements. 

Key Features of the Gutenberg Editor

This powerful tool brings with it a host of features that can be used to create almost any type of web content quickly and efficiently. These features include custom CSS and HTML support, widgets, and third-party plugins.

• Custom CSS and HTML: Gutenberg allows you to add and customize CSS and HTML code directly within the editor. This is useful for customizing the design and layout of your website, as well as for creating custom blocks for further customization. 
• Widgets: Widgets are a great way to add dynamic content to your website, such as a calendar or contact form. Gutenberg provides a widget library that you can use to quickly add a wide range of widgets to your website (for example, adding social media buttons).
• Third-party Plugins: Gutenberg also allows you to install third-party plugins to enhance the capabilities of the editor. Plugins can be used to add additional features, such as content curation, custom blocks, contact forms, and more. This can help you create a more dynamic and engaging website.

With Gutenberg, you can:

• Create pages featuring multiple columns (great for displaying blog posts)
• Drag and drop YouTube videos into posts or pages (complete with autoplay!)
• Embed tweets into blog posts (perfect for promoting upcoming shows)
• And even build entire landing pages within minutes

Responsive Previews, Inline Editing and Versioning

Gutenberg also offers improved mobile optimization (you can preview how the page will look on mobile devices and adjust accordingly), enhanced accessibility features, and a live preview feature, which makes it easier to see changes made to content in real-time and adjust accordingly. 

The Gutenberg Editor’s inline editing and versioning features make it easier to manage content and make changes quickly. Its versioning features mean users can save versions of the page and return to them at any time, while inline editing enables users to edit content directly on the page rather than having to open up a separate editor window. The editor also allows you to add custom classes and IDs to blocks, giving you more control over their look and behavior. 

Keyboard Shortcuts

It offers a variety of keyboard shortcuts that make it easier to quickly and easily perform tasks, such as adding new blocks, formatting text, and more, and includes several accessibility features, such as support for screen readers, high-contrast mode, and more. To view a complete list of all available shortcuts, go to the WordPress Support page and search for “Gutenberg Editor Shortcuts” – this will give you a full list that includes saving posts, block management, and undo/redo commands.

Revamped User Interface

Since its release, Gutenberg’s user interface has been improved significantly, featuring a much cleaner and simpler look that enables users to focus on their content rather than the interface itself. The settings panel and sidebar have also been rearranged to give a more natural flow when editing text or navigating between blocks. 

Custom Colors

You can now choose from multiple colors when adding new blocks and customize them further with sliders for adjusting brightness, saturation, and hue and color pickers for finer control of colors that are unique to your post or page. Up until now, custom colors only worked on the Classic Editor via shortcode snippets which provided limited capabilities when compared with Gutenberg’s color selectors and palettes. 

Multilingual Support

When Gutenberg was first released, one of the biggest hurdles it faced was its need for more support for different languages. You can now write posts in any language – from English to Spanish, Mandarin, and even Hindi – without needing any additional plugins or settings changes! All you need is an installed version of WordPress in the language you wish to write in, and Gutenberg will take care of the rest.

With this multitude of options available at your disposal, you can easily craft optimized pages for mobile devices that still look stunning on desktop computers.

Customizing the WordPress Gutenberg Editor

The Gutenberg Editor is part of the core WordPress software. Users can customize the editor’s layout and design using blocks. They can add and format text, images, and other media with ease. The editor also allows users to create and customize different types of pages and posts, as well as specialized use cases such as e-commerce, forms, and more. Customizing the editor is simple and intuitive, making it a great choice for experienced developers and those just starting out. Simply add a new block by selecting it from the “Add Block” drop-down menu, where you’ll find content blocks divided into categories such as “Formatting” or “Widgets.” Once your block is added, click on it to bring up additional settings that allow you to customize your content according to aesthetics or function.

Web Design and Development Made Easy with the Gutenberg WordPress Editor

The WordPress Gutenberg editor provides an easy-to-use platform for creating modern webpages without relying on complex coding knowledge, shortcodes, or WordPress support and maintenance providers. Its simple drag-and-drop interface makes it easy for anyone – from novice users to experienced developers, to professional WP maintenance services – to design beautiful webpages quickly and easily using nothing but their mouse! And with its improved mobile optimization capabilities and enhanced accessibility features built right in, it’s no wonder why so many people are turning to this powerful new tool for all their website designing needs!

While the Gutenberg Editor is user-friendly, maintaining a full WordPress site comes with its complications. If you want to give your online business the attention and care it deserves, speak to our experts. SiteCare’s WordPress hosting and maintenance plans will get your website on the path to success. And, if you find yourself needing WordPress maintenance support, our team’s rapid turnaround time will find a resolution to your problem in no time. If you prefer a basic, budget-friendly maintenance service, then visit Maintainn.com, you can sign up quickly and easily without any hassle.

The post Harnessing the Power of the Gutenberg Block Editor appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

According to a recent study on Statista, there are nearly 290 million cellphone users in the US. Of these users, 46% of them are on their mobile phones for five to six hours a day, and an additional 11% spend seven or more hours on their phones daily. That’s a ton of time on social media, game apps, search engines, and websites like yours!

The numbers above should lead you to one conclusion: having a mobile-friendly (aka “responsive”) website is imperative for online success. This means optimizing your site for shorter load times, writing content for a mobile user’s attention span, eliminating pop-ups, and, of course, cleaning up a cluttered layout.

Here are three additional reasons why you should care about how your WordPress site performs on mobile.

1. Mobile sites drive eCommerce

The faster and easier your website is for online shopping, the better sales conversions you’ll see; a fast, clean website can significantly increase revenue. This cannot be stressed enough, as a study conducted in 2021 showed that 41% of people used their smartphones to shop, a figure likely to rise. In short, an updated user interface provides a smoother and more reliable shopping experience for your customers and is great news for your bottom line!

2. Consumers are increasingly impatient

It’s no secret our culture is becoming more impatient. I am no different! If a web page doesn’t load quickly enough for me, I bounce. The same is true for millions of other online users. The frustration and sense of urgency caused by a slow website can cause searchers to turn away, discouraging Google from ranking your page higher, which leads me to my next point.

3. Google prioritizes mobile indexing

The key to getting found by users online is to get indexed on Google — without this step, there’s no chance of organic success. Many people prioritize using their mobile devices over desktops for online searches, and as a result, Google has stated its preference for mobile indexing here. I recommend reading more about the top tips for mobile-first indexing.

How mobile-friendly is your WordPress site?

Do you need to dish out cash for a web designer or marketer to redesign your site? My answer is vague but true: it depends.

Start by running a Page SpeedInsights test and a mobile-friendly test. You can also check your Core Web Vitals for page speed insights and overall performance recommendations. If you aren’t liking the results, it’s time to either invest in an agency or learn how to optimize your site for mobile-friendly search yourself.

SiteCare’s professionals can assist you at every step of your mobile optimization journey and ensure that you get the best possible results. Let us know how you’d like us to help you optimize your WordPress site today.

The post Why Mobile-Friendly Websites Matter appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

Gunning for top billing on search engine results page (SERP) rankings can seem like a quixotic pursuit, but there is a method to the internet’s madness. By learning which WordPress tasks and tidbits propel websites to the top of the hierarchy, your site can give SEO victors a run for their ranking and summit the most coveted SERP positions. 

What Does Google Look for to Determine SEO Rankings?

As the leading search engine, SERP rankings are overwhelmingly determined by Google. But what factors does Google consider when deciding who ranks where?

Note: If you already have a solid understanding of SEO ranking factors and want to fast-track to our WordPress SEO Checklist, scroll down to our section on “WordPress SEO Priorities.”

Google relies on a proprietary artificial intelligence system called RankBrain to evaluate user searches and sort the results they display. Since RankBrain was introduced, outré “SEO hacks” —like keyword stuffing and reams of page tags—no longer work to artificially bolster rankings. Nowadays, sites are indexed based on performance, content, and their relevance to user intent. 

While SEO today is a much more honest competition, Google intentionally keeps RankBrain’s inner workings sphinxlike. The algorithm is continuously adjusted, and it can be tough for publishers to crack the code.

That said, we do have a few clues as to how RankBrain picks their top contenders. According to Search Engine Journal, the top 5 factors influencing SERP performance are:

1. On-page optimization
2. High-quality content
3. Page experience and speed
4. Mobile-first design
5. Internal and external links

If you’re here to make off with some quick-and-dirty SEO hacks, we hate to break it to you, but there’s no cheat code for the sophisticated sorting hat that is RankBrain. 

Earning a spot in the SERP pantheon takes deliberate, diligent, and perpetual effort. WordPress provides all the tools you need to surge up the rankings ladder at a steady pace—and thankfully, many of them are available for free.

WordPress SEO Priorities

Mastering WordPress’s site setup and configuration is one of the most effective initiatives you can deploy to improve your site’s ranking. These techniques fall into five key categories: 

• [#1] Site health and updates
• [#2] Site settings
• [#3] SEO-friendly and performance-optimized theme
• [#4] Site architecture
• [#4] Mobile optimization

Properly configuring your site will make your ongoing SEO management tasks significantly less time-intensive and establish the foundation for long-term SERP success.

#1 Site Health, Updates, and Settings

When you’re just beginning to build a new website, it may be too early to optimize your content for SEO. To that end, your first order of business is to:

• Partner with a reliable hosting provider – The more reliable your hosting provider is, the better your site will perform with visitors. In our experience, there are three flagship providers who are exceptionally dependable in their support, performance, and tenacity as hosts:
  • WP Engine
  • Pagely
  • Kinsta

• Run the latest PHP version – The more current your PHP, the better your website will run for users. The latest PHP version is 8.1, so be sure to make it your site’s lingua franca to optimize performance speeds

• Install a TLS or SSL certificate – A Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate secures and encrypts communications. These certificates are available from certificate authorities (CA) and require minimal information to acquire. They’re crucial for obtaining an “HTTPS” web address, which tells visitors—and Google’s SEO ranking algorithm—they can safely visit your site.

If you’re migrating an existing site to WordPress, you’ll want to use the Site Health screen—located in the navigation bar on the left side of your dashboard—or a dedicated Health Check plugin. 

These tools will inform you of any necessary fixes preventing you from maximizing performance, availability, security, and SEO results. Once you’ve built your new site, be sure to periodically monitor your site health for ongoing maintenance. 

#2 Site Settings—Readability and Permalink Structure

You’ll find one of the most important SEO settings by navigating to “Settings” in your left-hand navigation panel and clicking “Reading.”

This “Reading” setting ensures that Google and other search engines can index your site. However, if you’re in the early stages of page building with WordPress, you may want to hold off enabling it until more content has been published.

Next up is your “Permalink structure,” which refers to the entire website address found in the browser’s address bar. 

WordPress’s default permalink uses a simplified structure that’s not (truth be told) the most SEO-friendly. To optimize, you’ll want to use one of two permalink configurations:

• Post name – E.g., https://yourwebsite.com/sample-post/
• Custom structure – E.g., https://yourwebsiste.com/category/sample-post/

Regardless of which permalink structure you start with, WordPress will automatically update them if you change your mind later on.

#3 Choosing a WordPress SEO Optimized Theme

Site themes can be a tricky balance to strike. 

Yes, you want to ensure that your theme is on-brand and captivating to visitors—but clunky code or laggy functionality will just wind up slowing things down. And when it comes to SEO, technical performance demerits will cost you (heavily).

To that end, WordPress has 1000s of themes to choose from, making it tough to determine which templates offer the best performance. Fortunately, Search Engine Journal highlighted several criteria you can use when choosing your theme. Make sure you find one that:

• Is mobile-friendly
• Integrates with most plugins for extensive functionality additions
• Passes a “clean code” check from the “Theme Check” plugin, which facilitates faster:
  • Load times
  • Google crawl speeds and updates (e.g., page ranking assessments and updates)
• Supports multiple browsers, which can be checked on “Power Mapper”
• Simplifies page building by leveraging the native Gutenberg WordPress editor
• Is updated regularly to ensure continued integration optimization and functionality

On the other hand, beware of “kitchen sink” WordPress themes that promise to do it all, as well as themes that rely heavily on page builder plugins.

Ideally, your theme choice—like your hosting provider—is a one-time decision that sets you up for WordPress SEO success moving forward. If you need a bit of guidance with your decision, contact us for a free theme consultation for your new website.

#4 Site Architecture—Organization, Categories, Menus, and Breadcrumbs

There aren’t many actionable items regarding your site’s architecture in the initial stages of development, but it’s paramount to draft a rough sketch of your Categories and their hierarchy. 

This will help guide your page-building efforts and create organizational integrity from the outset. As you continue building your WordPress site, you’ll want to periodically check the page organization to ensure it adheres to the architecture you’ve outlined—or whether that architecture needs to be adjusted. 

Establishing an intuitive and navigable site structure will help boost SERPs when Google indexes your site. It also helps improve “dwell time” (i.e., how long readers remain on your page), a metric Google uses to determine how much value you’re giving your visitors.  

You also want to build out a robust internal linking structure that directs visitors to other pages, especially if they’re looking for supplementary information on a specific term, concept, event, or mention (we’ll break down internal and external links further below). 

When you’re organizing your WordPress site’s structure, you want to utilize (in hierarchical order) your:

• Homepage
• “Categories” for broad groups (e.g., Services/Products, Blog, About Us)
• Pages

Your website’s menu should reflect this hierarchy to ensure that your visitors can seamlessly find what they’re looking for. The site’s navigation should never invite confusion. 

Additionally, you can configure “breadcrumbs” for on-page display to help them backtrack through the hierarchy (e.g., Blog>June 2022>Blog Title).

For the most seamless navigation, be sure to add “tags” to each page you publish. Doing so allows visitors to search and filter according to those associated with individual pages.

#5 Mobile Optimization and Responsive Design for WordPress Sites

Last year, mobile devices accounted for roughly 54% of all web traffic. So to rank well on search results and provide visitors with an optimal experience, you’ll need to keep mobile optimization and responsive design at the top of your priorities. 

To rank well on SERPs and provide visitors with an incredible experience, responsive design—or a website’s adaptability to a variety of device screens and browsing window sizes—needs to be holistic. 

Choosing the right theme is the first step in establishing whether or not your WordPress site will render beautifully on an array of mobile devices. After that, make it a point to:

• Simplify menu navigation
• Minimize pop-ups—quantity and size
• Compress images or delay their loading until they’re on-screen (to reduce latency)
• Consider enabling Google’s “Accelerated Mobile Pages” (AMP)
• Regularly check your mobile optimization with plugins or Google’s MF test

Ongoing WordPress SEO Tasks

The SEO priorities detailed above are only “more important” because they should be determined when laying the foundation of a WordPress site. They’re the configurations and settings that largely determine WordPress’ automations and prepopulated information.

Think of the initial priorities as the “foundation layer” and what we’re about to walk you through below as the “application layer.” 

That means that the rest of your SEO efforts are cumulative—still incredibly important, but they’ll be less intensive if you can implement them over time. Overall, they include: 

• [#1] On-page and pre-publishing tasks
• [#2] Regularly publishing engaging, SEO-optimized content
• [#3] Adding SEO plugins for content
• [#4] Curating your content with updated information
• [#5] Adding images and alt. Text
• [#6] Refining site structure and organization with internal and external links
• [#7] Promoting your website

[#1] On-Page and Pre-Publishing SEO Tasks

As with many endeavors requiring steady, ongoing effort, it’s easier to adopt sound SEO habits when first building your site pages than to retroactively perform updates. 

Spending an extra 10-15 minutes on a quick pre-publishing SEO checklist will save enormous time in the long run. So before you push your pages live, be sure to confirm you have relevant and consistent content for the following fields:

• Title tag – The page title search engines will display on their results pages

• Meta description – The snippet providing more context below the title tag

• Permalinks/URL slugs – Your permalink structure will prepopulate based on your configuration, but you may want to customize them per page before publishing (e.g., removing hyphens and conjunctions)

• Categories and tags – To establish site hierarchies and simplify navigation

At the bare minimum, each page should include this data. Thankfully, WordPress provides easy-to-find fields at the bottom of the page builder to do so. 

There are also set locations to provide “excerpts,” which can display as direct answers to questions searched on Google and additional information about a page that might influence your internal linking structure (see #6 below). 

[#2] Publish Engaging Content—Relevancy, Frequency, and Thoroughness

Your on-page SEO efforts must be accompanied by high-quality content, which you can curate by adding new blog posts and pages to your WordPress site. 

When you do, be sure to structure each section’s header based on an intuitive hierarchy—and only use one H1 so that Google clearly recognizes the title of the page.

Length plays a factor in how your blog articles rank, but topic relevancy, posting frequency, and information thoroughness will affect your SERP performance even more. Short pages can rank highly if the content is robust.

Further, you don’t have to publish new articles daily. It’s more important to find a frequency that works best for your company’s schedule (e.g., weekly, monthly). To that end, Google will recognize that newly published content and reward you with higher placement.

[#3] Add an SEO Plugin for Content

Among the thousands of WordPress plugins available, some SEO guides will help you write content likelier to rank higher on search engines. The free version of SEO plugins, like Yoast and AIOSEO, can provide everything you need to perform basic SEO content optimization.

Technically, adding an SEO plugin should be one of the first implementations alongside the SEO priorities outlined above—you’ll be interacting with the plugin every time you build a new page and write more content for your WordPress site.

These SEO plugins remove a substantial amount of guesswork from writing and publishing SEO-optimized pages, allowing you to quickly build a site-wide content foundation that will likely rank higher upon your first or next indexing.

These plugins will automatically fill or suggest titles, metadata, and more to help streamline your pre-publishing checklist, along with providing scores on readability and optimal keyword presence. They also offer streamlined social media post formatting and publishing.

Between your initial indexing and developing sound SEO habits, SEO plugins offer a headstart as you endeavor to achieve first-page rankings.

[#4] Updates and Evergreen Content

In addition to posting frequency, periodic page updates affect how Google ranks your site. When Google recognizes page updates during each indexing, it acknowledges your active curation efforts to keep the on-page information relevant to your visitors.

Sometimes page updates are as easy as 1-2-3. 

For example, suppose there’s an upcoming event relevant to your company’s audience. On the same web page, you could announce it, then later update that published content with more information as it becomes available (e.g., schedules, venue changes, an image gallery).

However, these pages might be difficult to update in perpetuity, as they’re specifically relevant to set dates and times. Pages covering news, trends, and events like this are considered “timely content.”

In contrast, you also want to ensure your WordPress site contains pages with “evergreen content”—or information that remains relevant regardless of when the initial publishing occurred. These types of pages provide an opportunity to periodically make minor updates that further boost rankings. Examples of evergreen content include:

• Your “About Us” pages
• “101” or “What is?” blog articles and similar primers for unfamiliar audiences
• Everyday advice

[#5] Images and Alt. Text

Alongside written content, you want to enhance your pages with images. Not only do they engage visitors, they’re another consideration that Google accounts for when crawling and indexing your site. 

To that end, on-page images reinforce topic relevancy and help you rank well for image searches. And when building pages with images, there are some essential to-dos to remember.

Every time you upload a new image into your WordPress image library, be sure to provide a title and alternative text (“alt. text”). If images fail to load, alt. text will appear in their place, preserving site performance during indexing.

Descriptive names and alt. text help Google build new associations based on people’s searches and are far more likely to place top results for a relevant topic.

These tasks don’t take much time after each image upload, but adding them retroactively can be a massive hassle. Additionally, providing specific image names allows you to search for those you’ll frequently reuse across your site.

[#6] Internal and External Linking

Links embedded in your content can bolster site authority, especially when they direct to robust, highly regarded pages. And when it comes to this practice, links are typically divided into two categories:

• Internal links – Directing visitors to another page on your website (or an “anchored” location somewhere else on the same page)

• External links – Directing visitors to another website’s page

Internal links demonstrate an easily navigable site and a deep repository of relevant information. WordPress makes it easy to add them by searching for page names rather than forcing you to remember—or find—the exact URL.

External links also help SEO performance, but the most coveted are “backlinks” that direct visitors on other sites to yours (essentially having a traffic hub that’s linking out to your brand). 

Backlinks can be created with SEO strategies utilizing “third-party placement”—like thought leadership pieces or interviews hosted on other publications. 

The more you publish authoritative, relevant, and informative content on your site, the more backlinks you’ll generate—other sites will want to link to yours or cite your authored content.

[#7] Promotion—Social Sharing for Organic Boosts and Paid Placement

Lastly, when it comes to content, if you aren’t self-promoting across your social media channels, you’re doing yourself a major disservice. You can promote your SEO-optimized pages at no cost by posting from your own handles to help drive organic traffic to your site.

When Google sees high volumes of organic traffic, it ascribes greater domain authority to your site, giving a lift to your SERP rankings. Social media sharing is a way to potentially climb a few more spots further up on Google’s results.

Alternatively, you can create a budget for promotion, with search engine social ads linked to specific keywords or interests. 

Utilize Straightforward and Simple SEO Strategies with SiteCare

Adhering to a diligent SEO strategy with the accessible efforts outlined above will help any website gradually perform better with its SERP rankings. 

Alas, significantly bolstering your site’s SEO requires expert insight into various nuances, keywords, and changing algorithmic criteria that determine where you rank.

Anyone can start improving their WordPress site’s SEO, but SiteCare is here when you want to elevate beyond the basics.

Our team of WordPress experts will help you manage your site on the backend while providing data-driven SEO advisory ranging from suggested keywords to implementing structured data on every page and beyond.

Contact us today to start climbing SERP rankings with haste.

The post How to Improve WordPress SEO – The Accessible Basics appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

Google announced its plans to retire Universal Analytics, replacing it with Google Analytics 4 (GA4) by July 1, 2023. All Universal Analytics properties will no longer collect data beginning on that date.

Individuals and businesses that wish to keep using Google Analytics to track their metrics after these dates will have to switch to Google Analytics 4. 

Making the Switch to GA4

Google has made a lot of updates to its Analytics program over the last two decades. And unlike previous updates, Google will no longer support older versions of their tracking code with each new release.  

So, why is Google dropping Universal Analytics? 

Google is changing the way it collects and processes user data. In short, it’s a massive change. 

With Universal Analytics, Google primarily depended on cookies and user sessions to collect data. As technology has evolved, this methodology has grown to be outdated, inaccurate, and invasive of some countries’ privacy protections.  

With GA4, however, the approach is different. Instead of depending on cookies and browser sessions, GA4 uses events to capture data and deliver that information on the analytics dashboard. And unlike in Universal Analytics, GA4 does not store users’ IP addresses. 

Benefits of migrating to GA4

• Cookieless data collection and better privacy controls
• Better access to predictive insights
• Data-driven attribution can lead to more accurate ROI calculations

What Next?

The move to GA4 is inevitable. And, it’s best to begin planning early so there’s no interruption to your analytics tracking.  

To make the transition smooth and seamless, we recommend approaching the transition as a phased process. 

And it’s important to keep in mind that historical data will only become available once you implement GA4 on your website and applications.  

Our Suggested Process:

To help ensure a smooth transition to GA4, we recommend:

1. Develop a plan to handle the migration
   Before beginning the process, determine what needs to be measured and why before implementing GA4. Get external help from SiteCare if you believe your team needs assistance.   
2. Understand your customers’ behavior and preferences
   Study your customers’ behavior and preference across different touchpoints to help get the most out of GA4.
3. Set up GA4 on your website and applications
4. Know your privacy limits
   Breaching your users’ privacy can lose their trust in your company and potentially incur legal consequences. Fortunately, GA4 offers lots of privacy controls. However, knowing your privacy limits and your government regulations is still important. 
5. Create an implementation plan
   Once you have determined the metrics you want to track, the next thing you will want to do is to document the steps to track them. 
6. Testing
   You want to be sure that GA4 is working as it should when implemented on your properties, and the best way to do that is to run tests to confirm the accuracy of the event tracking.
7. Train your team
   Adopting new technologies and processes can be a challenge. Provide a training session, informational guides, and videos to your team so they can understand what GA4 changes will mean for them.
8. Disable Universal Analytics
   Remove any legacy code and API connections to use GA4 once the tests and training have proven successful.   

We understand that Google Analytics is a critical part of the reporting for many of our clients. We highly recommend beginning the migration process as soon as possible to give your team the time to become comfortable with the new reporting and to avoid the last-minute rush to GA4. 

If you need assistance with the migration to GA4, please feel free to contact our team at hello@sitecare.com.

The post Google is sunsetting Universal Analytics appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

Why is that? Most often, it comes down to an overlooked bottleneck in your SEO strategy: title tags and meta descriptions.

With clickable content in the lead, title tags are considered the second most important factor driving click-throughs to a website.

Without attractive and relevant website copy displayed on a search engine results page (SERP), potential customers could pass over your weblink – even if you obtain the most prominent search position. High-converting title tags and meta descriptions offer clear value to your priority customers and encourage click-throughs.

Find out how to maximize your title tags and meta descriptions to create a strong CTR and boost your website’s volume of organic traffic. 

Table of contents

• Best practices for SEO title tags
  • What is a title tag?
  • What makes a good title tag for SEO?
  • 5 SEO myths for title tags
  • A/B testing and title tags
• Best practices for SEO meta descriptions
  • What is a meta description?
  • How long should a meta description be?
  • How to craft catchy meta descriptions that stand out
  • How can I discover my target customer’s questions?

Best practices for title tags

What is a title tag?  

In technical terms, a title tag is a snippet of HTML that denotes your website or web page title. It tells the visitors and search engines what they can expect to find on the page. You might recognize a title tag as the visible headline entry that you click on a search engine results page (SERP) to visit a domain or navigate to an app. 

Google presents the first 50-60 characters of your title tag on a SERP, so you want a simple, clear, and easy-to-read headline that accurately describes your web page.

Search engines want to show entries that have high relevance to the user’s search query, so how your page or post is titled can have an extensive impact on your ranking. Plus, the title tag also appears at the top of your browser, and in social shares, bookmarks, and shortcuts, helping to reinforce online branding. 

What makes a good title tag?

A high-performing title tag generates clicks. Luckily there are several ways that you can craft your titles to help drive more traffic.

1. Include a question.

Title tags that include a question (who, what, where, when, why) enjoy a 14.1% higher CTR. Questions pique curiosity, and they often can directly relate to a customer’s pain point. Fostering emotional resonance with an issue and presenting a possible solution helps drive more traffic to your website. 

2. Keep your titles positive.

Emotions play an integral role in any marketing strategy, and you can use that to your advantage with upbeat title tags. Positive emotion delivers better results (good news spreads far faster than negative news) and can increase your CTR by 7%. 

3. Leverage long-tailed keywords.

Searches with long-tailed keywords enjoyed an immediate 3-5% bump in click-through ratings. Keywords are a central part of being crawled by a search engine and located on relevant client searches, so include your high-priority keywords in a title tag to help boost your ranking and customer action. 

4. Include your brand name.

Titles that include or at least reference their brand name perform better than non-branded tags, with the results multiplying the further up the SERP you are ranked (first-place entries with a brand name converted at 35% compared to non branded at 27%). Customers rely on brand trust when taking action through a sales pipeline, and if you have generated company goodwill, that can help increase the click-through rating of your title tag.

5 SEO myths for title tags

To help keep your title tags relevant to your customers, here are five common myths about title tags that have now been debunked: 

Myth 1: ALWAYS put your keyword in your title tag.

While leveraging your keywords can be useful, keyword stuffing can be just as detrimental. Search engines now understand conversational language and variations on a keyword; multiple keywords stuffed into a title tag can reach the wrong or unintended audience. Title tags do best when they are relevant to the user and clearly announce the purpose of your website. 

Myth 2: ALWAYS have your brand name at the end of each title tag.

To increase awareness, many companies started to input boilerplates at the end of title tags. The strategy can help select brands with their target relevance, but it has no guarantees to increase online customer traction. In many cases, you can receive a 20% CTR increase without a named boilerplate. Factors such as clickability, brand appeal, and brand relevance will determine whether you should include a boilerplate in your title tag.

Myth 3: Long titles encourage higher click-throughs.

You can fit more information in a longer title tag, but that does not translate to greater efficacy. Keep titles simple and direct. Title tags of 15-40 characters have an 8% CTR increase compared to long and overdrawn headlines. 

Myth 4: Using power words in your title tags improves click-through ratings.

Testing the use of power words (i.e., amazing, great, best, top) resulted in a 13.9% decrease in CTRs. Using too many power words can give the impression of salesmanship and untrustworthiness. A well-placed power word can create impact, but be sparing when and where you use it. 

Myth 5: The more emotional your title tag, the higher your CTR.

A positive and accurate message will help you connect with your audience, but over-the-top sentimentality can block your key messaging. Certain brands may benefit from negative sensationalism, but there is no direct increase in CTR in most cases. Test how much emotion is appropriate for you and your brand. 

A/B testing and title tags

An A/B test sends half of your audience one type of title tag and the other half a second type. With two different title versions, you can compare and contrast the results. If you make small, nuanced changes to already effective title tags and test them against two groups, you can locate which SEO and title tag practices fit best within your brand and target audience. The more A/B testing you perform, the more accurate your title tags will become, leading to an even better click-through rating.

Best practices for meta descriptions

What is a meta description?

A meta description is an HTML attribute that summarizes the content of a particular web page or app. It describes what a search engine or user will find if they click a headline entry on a results page. The HTML tag itself is around 155 characters, and search engines crawl that text to find relevant phrases that match a search query (search query keywords are bolded within the meta description for the user).

Above is an example of a meta description on a SERP for the Formula 1 (F1) site, inviting online users to “relive” their favorite F1 moments by clicking on the link provided to the 2021 F1 schedule. The description explains exactly what readers (and Google) can expect to find on the page if they click.

Meta descriptions also offer you more opportunities to add key information or “ad copy” that can help increase your CTR and gain more organic traffic. Pages with a meta description experience 5.8% more clicks than those that don’t, so there is a lot of value in including a well-worded snippet with your title tags. 

How long should a meta description be?

The recommended length of a meta description is between 150-160 characters, though they can be longer. You have no control over how much text the search engine shows (Google has used up to 275 characters before), but the accepted standard is 150.

The ideal length will vary for every unique webpage, but your snippet should be descriptive enough, drive value, and help generate clicks with 150 characters. The purpose is to offer compelling and supporting evidence of why a customer should click the headline — anything beyond that can cause distractions and confuses search engines. 

How to craft catchy meta descriptions that stand out

Putting together a good meta description has a lot to do with the behavior of your target audience, their pain points, and your unique selling proposition. Still, the following techniques are known to improve your click-through rating: 

1. Incorporate a call-to-action

While catching the reader’s attention and offering value hooks your prospective customer’s attention, you need to insert a call-to-action (CTA) to encourage a click. Online users will commit to doing something if the opportunity is presented to them (rather than searching for it themselves). A well-crafted CTA can be the very thing separating you from explosive CTR growth.

Take for example the description used for the New York Institute of Photography (NYIP) classes: the reader is invited to “view the selection of online photography classes” that the NYIP has to offer, with further encouragement that these online course can be completed at one’s own pace.

2. Don’t make false promises

Your meta description (and, more importantly, your CTA) should connect with what your user will find if they click through to your page. If you are offering a free trial, but the link sends your customer to your homepage, you have just created friction that could result in a quick bounce. Additionally, any half-truths or false promises will cause frustration in your customers and hurt brand trust. Ensure that each word in your snippet has clear, honest, and accurate information about what the searcher will find if they click your headline entry. Your title tag, meta description, and CTA should all have a level of marketing coherence, meaning they follow a logical and consistent flow.  

3. Solve the reader’s questions

Organic traffic comes from people typing search queries into a search engine. These prospects have a question that they need answering, and they want the search engine to provide the best solutions. The searched questions are almost always directly related to the customer’s pain point — if you can provide the answer, you have a far higher chance of creating a conversion. Craft your meta descriptions with the customer’s problem in mind, and demonstrate how your business can uniquely resolve that problem. 

How can I discover my target customer’s questions?

Keyword and client research can help you locate and understand the questions your target customers are asking. There are also several online tools you can take advantage of: 

1. Google Answer Boxes – Google takes snippets from highly-ranked SEO pages and offers them as direct answers to a search query. Whichever website helped answer the search question earns the featured snippet space. As you use keyword research and better understand your buyer personas, enter those search queries for yourself and view the ideal answers provided by Google. 
2. Ahrefs – Ahrefs has several high-level SEO tools that you can use to understand your target audience better. Input keywords, compare SEO strategies with leaders in your industry, or track your results page rankings with Ahrefs suite of resources.  
3. Quora – Quora allows users to ask questions within an open forum. You can search through topics related to your business and targeted keywords, and will most likely get a better understanding of what your target audience wants to know. Questions submitted on Quora are conversational and informal, and they have no search engine filters attached to them, offering you an accurate depiction of how potential customers think and speak. 
4. Exploding Topics – Exploding Topics indexes trends as they rise and fall online. Multiple browser extensions can compile popular search queries and keywords across several different SEO platforms. You can discover plenty of insights with this popular tool. 

With relevant headlines and supporting copy, you are sure to increase your click-through rating. Plus, search engines can better understand your website’s offerings and its unique selling proposition, which will help you rank higher on results pages.

If you need more information about how to craft title tags and meta descriptions, or if you need expert advice regarding a custom SEO strategy, contact SiteCare today.

The post The Importance of Title Tags and Descriptions: Going Beyond Just Ranking appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.