Six Things You Can Do Today to Improve WordPress!

Over the years that I've written online, I've used various platforms.
Like a lot of people, I started out with LiveJournal. I've also dabbled with tumblr, for about two seconds I had a Vox account, and a few years ago I registered my own Blogger - which I still continue to use.
Since Blogger, I have also become a user of WordPress, which very quickly became my go-to for blogging needs. The most difficult thing about WordPress is how incredibly sharp of a learning curve there is in learning to use it.
So today, I'm sharing six things that I recommend doing to all WordPress blogs - whether they're freshly made, or just looking for a quick face lift!

1. Deactivate and then delete all of the plugins you don't like, or aren't using.
Benefit: Not only will your blog run faster, it will also be more secure! One of the most well-known ways of compromising WordPress blogs are through deactivated files that haven't yet been deleted, so cut your chances from the get go and get those files gone.
2. Change the default settings on your Permalinks page
Benefit: Your posts will rank higher in SEO.
WordPress default (for some reason) is to file your posts by /year/month/date/your-post-name. Change it to just /your-post-name and your content will automatically become more likely to be crawled successfully by Google's search index program.
3. Limit yourself in categories, not Tags
Benefit: Your content will be easier to discover.
Think about your categories as genres, and your tags as ways to narrow those genres down. This will allow your reader to discover more content (via category), yet still find specific content when they want it (via tag).
4. Make WordPress work for you and your content!
Benefit: You can spend more time writing, promoting, and networking.
Install an Editor's Calendar plug-in to schedule posts ahead of time, find social network plug-ins so your content is automatically published to Twitter, Google, and Facebook, and automate as much SEO as you can! Make your blog "work for you" and you'll cover more ground in success in a shorter amount of time.
5. Remove your beginning widgets, and start fresh
Benefit: Your blog will have a cleaner, more customized look
Removing your starter widgets will allow you to decide the flow of your website that you'd most like your reader to follow. What is more important to you for your reader to see first: Instagram photos? Your pins?
Also, remember to remove the "meta" widget. Not only do you not really need to display it, if you do, you'll basically be showcasing a direct link to your admin panel to those who may use it for not-so-nice purposes.
6. Start adding META information to each image
Benefit: Increased ranking in Google Image Search
When you upload post photos or graphics, type in some keywords or even an image caption into the various ALT values that are there. Google will scan through your keywords whenever someone searches with Google Images, and can potentially be a great source of traffic if you nail the right words!

That's it! My six favourite tips. What are yours? Feel free to leave your own in the comments.

Introduction to Wordpress

It may seem odd that I am using Blogger to talk about WordPress, but all of us at B.You thought it would be a great idea to diversify the content of this site and provide information to you both for Blogger and WordPress. It seems foreign for me to be typing a post in Blogger because all I know is WordPress. I can't say that I have a preference for one or the other because I am not familiar with each of them on the same level, so I will stick to what I know and tell you a little bit about WordPress. I started my blog on WordPress.com back in February. There are two different ways to start a blog through the WordPress publishing application. One way is through their dot com site. This is the approach I took when I started. There are many benefits to this approach. First of all, it is free ninety-free. Who doesn't like free stuff?! Secondly, it gives you the option to publicize your posts on multiple different social media sites (e.g., Facebook and Twitter). And, my favorite part is that you can track your stats within the application through the built in "site stats" page. 

The other approach to starting a site with WordPress is for more advanced users (in my opinion). It involves downloading the software and signing up for website hosting. This is done through a web hosting service. There are many hosting companies out there. Do your research before you sign up with one. Web site hosting will usually run you between $4 and $8 per month, and many companies offer free trials. If you choose this route, you have more options for customizing your website. It is more work for sure, but the benefit is that you have full control of your content, your design, and your space on the internet. The WordPress platform is the industry standard and is used by many businesses and bloggers. With this option, you will be able to advertise on your blog, whereas you do not have that capability through the dot com option.

I want to touch on design for a second. Both options allow you to choose a pre-designed template for your site; however, with the dot com option, you can only customize a few things within the template, so what you see is pretty much what you get. However, with the self-hosted option, you have the ability to edit the coding of the template to change way more stuff. This is part of the process that will take more advanced knowledge to navigate through or you can hire a web designer to create your site if you don't have the desire and/or time to design it yourself.

So, in the end, the best thing to do before starting a blog with WordPress is to decide what you want to accomplish with your blog and how much time you want to put into it. If you just want a place to share your thoughts with others and do not have much time to dedicate or money to put into it, the dot com option may be best for you. If you want to have a place that feels more like your own and you don't mind spending hours of your time creating your space to be exactly how you want it (or hiring a designer), then you might want to check out the self-hosting option. 

I know this is a lot of information and it may be a bit confusing at first, but if you are really interested in starting your own blog, I urge you to do your research and find out which option best suits your needs. I started with the more basic dot com option. I love it, and it was great for me for a while, but I found that I wanted something that felt more like my own, something that I could call mine and mold into my happy place. So right now I am in the process of transitioning to a self-hosted site using the WordPress software. It has taken me countless hours to design the site because I have had to learn so much along the way. It will take me many more hours to finish it, but it will be mine and it will be worth it to me. 

How To: Install Social Media Icons on Blogger

A while back the lovely Torrie shared how to create social media icons... today I am going to show you how to install those social media icons on Blogger. 

Once you've followed her tutorial, you'll want to upload your images to an image hosting site. I use Flickr. To grab the link for the code, click on the image >> actions >> view all sizes. Once you're on the screen where you can select different sizes, select the size that will fit in your sidebar. You're going to right click that image and then you will have the link for your code. 

This is the code you will need for your social media icons. 

<a href="URLFORICON" target="_blank"><img src="IMAGEURL" alt="TITLE" width="165" height="55" /></a>

Change the information in red. In this tutorial I am demonstrating with our 'Twitter' social media icon so in the 'URLFORICON' section of the code I am going to put the URL for our Twitter account making sure to stay within the quotations. The image URL link you'll want to copy and paste [shown in photo above] in the 'IMAGEURL' section of the code being sure to stay within the quotations. The 'TITLE' section is just where you can put either 'Twitter' or which ever social media site this icon will be connected to. Or you could just put your blog name. Where the 'width' and 'height' numbers are in red is where you will input the image size for your sidebar. This is what your code should look like after all of the information is added:

<a href="https://twitter.com/byourownblog" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8472/8434386280_3d51d80d0d_m.jpg" alt="B.You" width="165" height="55" /></a>

Repeat these steps for all other social media icons, making sure to save the complete code in Notepad or Word. Once you have all the codes completed, head on over to Blogger and go to 'Layout'. In your sidebar select 'add gadget'.

Then choose 'HTNL/JavaScript'

Copy and paste all of your codes then select 'add'. Be sure to preview your blog before you save to make sure that it all looks right. If it does, and everything is in place, select 'save arrangement' and then head back to your blog to make sure that the links work. If they don't, be sure that you copied the codes over correctly and that you stayed within the quotations when entering your information. If everything is running smoothly then you're good to go. You'll have a pretty new addition to your sidebar that represents you and all things connected to you. 

If you have any questions about the installation process or need help at all, let us know. You can leave us a comment below or send us an email at b.you.blog [at] gmail [dot] com.

Blog Tips: Promote Your Posts

Writing a blog post usually doesn't take 10 minutes and then you're done, ready to publish. Typically you spend hours writing it up, finding or making graphics, uploading and positioning photos. Sometimes a post develops over a couple of days. So when you hit publish, you want to make sure that you're getting the most out of your blog post - the most out of all that work - by promoting it as much as you can. I'll show you a few ways to do that to gain maximum exposure. 

Tagging - You want to make sure that before you even publish your post that you have tagged it appropriately. Take key words from your post, title, and subject and use them as tags. One word tags are best, as they keep it general and not too specific. The more specific you get the harder it is for your post to come up later. Most blogging platforms let you search for blog posts related to specific tags, which opens your posts to the entire blogging community. Not just that, but tags allow your posts to get exposure in Google searches. The more popular your posts get, the higher up on the search list they become. This is the biggest and best way to promote your posts.

Google+ - The first thing you're going to want to do after you hit publish {if you have Blogger and it  prompts automatically} is to share it with your Google+ peeps. When I hit publish on any of the blogs I write, a little box will pop up with a comment form for me to write a brief description of my post and who I want to share it with on Google+. I just fill that out and hit share. The people in my circles will get a notification that I shared a post with them and they'll go and check it out. If you have Blogger and that little box doesn't automatically pop up, head on over to your posts section and underneath the post you just wrote click 'share' and that box will pop up. What's great about sharing on Google+ is that Blogger makes it very easy for you to spread your posts to the people in your circle. It's almost effortless because there is no copying and pasting links. If you don't have Blogger, but are on Google+, simply head on over to your Google+ profile and share the post on your 'wall'. Everyone in your circle will see your update and will check out your post. 

Twitter - Once you've shared on Google+, you're going to want to share with your Twitter friends too. The best way to do this is to head on over to your posts and underneath the one you just wrote click 'view' and a new tab will open with that post. Scroll down to the bottom of the post and click on the Twitter share button. It will automatically share your post title with the link without you having to copy and paste anything. We like effortless, don't we? If you don't have that option of sharing at the bottom of each post, simply log in to Twitter and paste the link URL and share. If your Tweets are automatically shared on your Facebook wall, then great! One less step for you to promote your post.

Facebook - You can share on either your personal Facebook wall to let all your friends know about this awesome recipe you just put together or if you have a Facebook page for your blog, share it there. Or you can share on both accounts. My posts are promoted on both my personal and my blogs' pages so that my posts get maximum exposure. Your friends might get a little tired of seeing it on your personal page, but hey; they're your friends! They should support you, right? 

Pinterest - If your posts consist of images and/or graphics at least half of the time, you should create a board for your blog on Pinterest. We have one for B.You {a group board} that we each pin to that gets a lot of exposure. What is great about Pinterest and promoting your posts on it is that your pinned image for your post can get seen by not just the people following you, but by the entire Pinterest public as well with two ways; repins and your descriptions. Lets say you write a blog post about a recipe for a crock pot apple pie {does this exist, cause if it does I am soooo making it!}. You write up the post and include a photo graphic to pin and pin it to your blog board. In the pins description you write 'B.You: Easy Crock Pot Apple Pie Recipe'. Someone hops on Pinterest and searches either 'easy crock pot recipes' or easy apple pie recipes'; your pin will come up. People will check it out, love it and repin it. The more repins it gets, the more popular it becomes and the more exposure it will get. And chances are that if someone has taken the step to visit your pin, they're going to check out the rest of your blog too. 

Instagram - So, remember that awesome post you wrote about an easy crock pot apple pie recipe? Take that photo graphic and share it on Instagram. Write a comment saying something like 'Shared this easy apple pie crockpot recipe today on the blog! Check it out! (Link in profile) #crockpotrecipe #applepierecipe #food #byou #foodblog #desserts'... you get the picture. Your friends are going to see it, they're going to want to check it out, maybe even share it and recommend it to their friends. And all those hashtags you used? People who don't follow you will find your photo, like it, then head on over to your blog post to check it out. I've gained a lot of followers and views on Chevron Stitches just by using hashtags in my photos. It's like 'tagging' on your blog posts, but for pictures. 

Digg, Delicious, and Reddit - These bookmarking sites are great to promote your posts on because like Google search, your posts becomes open to the public searching for related posts. Submit each post and you will start seeing your traffic pick up within just a few days. 

Contacts - Belong to a group on Facebook that is a community of bloggers and networkers? Share your post on the wall. Have a list of blog contacts? Send out an email with your latest blog post to them and ask them what they think. Add your latest blog post to the signature of your email. Are a part of a blogging community like the Better Blogger Network or Networked Blogs or Blog Catalog? Share your post with your friends or exchange links with other bloggers. 

Other Blogs - Maybe you have a chance to guest post on another blog; share a post from your blog on theirs linking back to your blog. Another way to promote with other blogs is by commenting on relevant blog posts linking back to your post. Remember to keep it genuine and authentic - that blogger isn't going to want to visit your blog if you sound fake. 

Other Websites - There are websites out there that will allow you to submit your blog for their visitors to see. Amazon, IFITT, Alltop, Syndic8, and Demand Studios are examples of websites that allow submissions of blogs and posts to be distributed and shared with other websites. Amazon will even pay you if someone reads what you have submitted through their Kindle Vendor section! I highly recommend visiting these sites and checking them out as a way to promote your posts. You could also search for 'syndicate websites for bloggers' and a whole list will come up with other websites to submit your blogs on. Remember to also visit those blog network sites to gain a following like the ones mentioned above in the contacts section as well as Bloglovin'!

It might seem like a lot and incredibly overwhelming, but you don't have to utilize every single option here. More than half of these options have scheduling posts, updates, etc available which will give you more time to brainstorm more posts! 

Check back soon as we will share with you how to schedule posts, updates and more or multiple social media websites! 

Blog Tips: Social Media

 So you have your blog up and running. Your followers are slowly trickling in, slower than you might like but they are there. I am sure you are wondering, "How do I get my blog out for all to see??!" Well this is where Social Media comes in. Don't be scared, social media will be come your partner in crime in this blogging world! It's time to embrace it and use it to your advantage. I like to think of social media as free advertisement in away, you just have to know how to use it to receive it's full benefits.

 I will share some tips and tricks for a few of the major social media outlets that are out there and how you can use them to gain more traffic to your lovely blog.

Facebook
 We all know about Facebook, unless you live under a rock of course. If you haven't already, you should get yourself a Facebook Fan Page. Yes, you now have FANS! Creating a page for your blog is a great way to help share with others your posts and direct traffic back to your blog. But it is also a way for you to stay connected with your readers, where you can ask questions, share fun things/ideas and such.

When you get to this create a page section, you want to use the Brand or Product section. You will then select Website in the drop down window and then type in your blog name in the allowed area, agree with the Facebook terms and TADA! You have a fan page. From there Facebook guides you through how to get it all set up: how to post, invite friends to be fans, update information, add a picture and cover photo, etc.

 I suggest that you keep the same design scheme you have on your blog over on you Facebook page.  If your blog and Facebook page look completely different, it might be confusing and your readers might not think they even go together, which might mean less followers. Use the same photo you have on your blog as your profile picture, if they see your photo they will automatically connect the 2. Also, try and have your blog header as your cover photo. You can easily do this through PicMonkey:

 You can arrange the photos to your liking, until you think it reflects the look on your blog. Then plug it in on your fan page. PicMonkey's FB Cover is perfect, because the size is perfect so your image wont look wonky or distorted once you have uploaded it.
 Now you can start sharing your page to share all your posts. Just copy and past the post's URL link into your status area. I like to give my new posts a brief description with something to draw the reader in to want to read more, but don't give to much away, that's what the entire blog post is for. Once you start gaining more fans, you can start interacting with them more. Stuck on what to write for a new blog post, ask them a question and get feedback, this is a great way to get your brain going.
 When you are logged into you fan page account (not your personal) go and like other blog's fan pages, and comment on their pages with your blog account. It's a great way for not only the other bloggers to see you have a page, but also for those bloggers fans to see it too. Which then will direct traffic to your Facebook page, which will eventually mean back to your blog. Win/Win situation!

Twitter
 Twitter is probably one of the best known social media tools used by bloggers. It's another great way to stay connected and follow all your favorite blogs. When starting up a Twitter account or if you already have one, you want your Twitter handle to go with your blog (just like your Facebook page). The nice thing about if you already have an account, you can easily change it to match your blogs name. If they already know your blog name, when they go to interact with you via Twitter they will automatically think to type in your blog name. So if it's different, they may have a hard time finding you or even just remembering what it is. For example: My blog name is Antlers & Roses so my Twitter handle is @antlersandroses.
 Like I mentioned above with keeping the same design going on your Facebook page, you're going to want to do the same on Twitter too. Since starting my Twitter account a few years back, they have made some great changes which allows you to design your profile page.

 I used my header as my background and the same photo that I have on my blog. You can then plug in your blog address to link it all back to your blog, home base!
 Now when sharing your posts, I have found that using Bitly to shorten my URL posts is the best method. Not only does it shorten your link and help you track clicks, but it leaves you more room to add more info with in that 140 character window. If you don't use Bitly, definitely check it out.
 Of course interaction with others on Twitter is always a must. I pop on through out the day to see what's new and reply back to those who have caught my attention. I have made new "friends" on Twitter by just browsing and checking out what's "happening" in the world of Twitter, which then led me to find their blogs and in turn them following mine.
 Another great thing on Twitter is you can do fun shout outs to either your followers or to those who have ad spaces on your blog (if you are doing them). Most of them that I have noticed tend to fall on a Friday, Follow Friday. Use the hash tag #FF and tag all of those wonderful blogs who you want to show some love too! Now of course you can do this any day of the week, not just Friday. We all love getting special shout outs when it's unexpected too.

Pinterest
 Pinterest, the best thing since sliced bread! Or as my Husband likes to call it, a ridiculous waste of time (he's obviously never used it before!) Pinterest is the best way to keep all those projects that are floating around the web organized and in one easy accessible spot. I am sure you have tons of boards for various things; DIY, Food, Fashion, Hair & Make Up, Organizing... The list can go on and on really. Now it's time to use Pinterest to your advantage!
 If you don't already have a special board for you blog alone, then you need to! I have mine named after my blog itself which keeps it pretty easy to find when pinning and those that are following that board know that that board contains posts directly from my blog. When ever you have a new post that you feel is "Pin Worthy" go ahead and pin it to your blog board! I usually title with with "New Post" and a brief description for it too. Now what I also do, that I have seen that some others don't agree with, is I post it to other boards it applies to. Say it's a DIY post then I will also pin it to my DIY board. If it contains some good information as well, I will also pin it to my Good To Know board as well. Some say that this is Pinterest spam, and that no one wants to see the same pin pinned 5 different times. But most of the time those that are following you, aren't following all your boards. Say you only pin that DIY project only onto your Blog board and there are say 20 people who only follow your DIY board and don't follow your Blog board, then you are missing out sharing this post with those 20 people. It's all a matter of opinion on how much to pin or not. Use your own judgement.

Instagram
 Instagram is probably one of my MOST favorite of all Social Media! I am constantly on there posting pictures of the kids, what's new, the typical outfit post, and of course information on new blog posts! Yes, use Instagram to share your blog posts! Now of course you're going to want to get your Instagram account to mesh with all of your other media outlets. Same picture, add your blog URL, you know the drill. I find it's best to post what best reflects your blog. So I blog about family, creative projects, fashion outfits, home life. So I try make sure my photos reflect that.
 Now like I mentioned, you can also share your blog post through your Intsagram photos. Most of the posts I share from my blog have pictures in them. So I get on my blog through Safari and save the picture I want to share. Then load it on to Instagram with a brief description and then let those know who are viewing the picture that I have a link to my blog in my profile.
Example:

Also, if you haven't started using Hash Tags yet, you need to start. Hash tags are key words used for searching specific things. As you can see I used the hash tags #blog #blogger #blogpost #blogging #antlersandroses When some one is searching these hash tags on Instagram (and/or Twitter) this photo will be in the list of results. Which then leads them to see that I have a link for them to check out (my blog). If your profile is private however, hash tags will not benefit you because your account is private and photos cannot be viewed by those who are searching.
 Sometimes you might write up a post that doesn't contain a photo. So how do you share that you have a new blog post?? Take a photo that you feel reflects that post. You can get really creative with it too, something that is eye catching always draws in those who want to find out more about the photo.

 I think I covered the basics to getting started with Social Media. There really is no right or wrong way to go about it. It's really about what works for you. Don't be scared to follow others and interact by commenting or "liking". It's all about getting your foot in the door to get you and your blog out there and noticed! And now that you have all your media accounts set up, you can create Media buttons for your blog that will direct  followers to which ever social media you are using. We can share all that in a different post!

If there was a topic that pertains to Social Media that wasn't talked about but you would like to know more or you just have questions you would like answered, feel free to leave a comment below!