Trying to decide between WooCommerce vs Shopify for your eCommerce store? These two are the biggest eCommerce platforms by far and both can help you build a great-looking, effective eCommerce store. But while they have a lot of similarities, there are also some very important differences between Shopify and WooCommerce. In our Shopify vs WooCommerce comparison, we’re going to try…. Continue Reading
Are you looking to recover your WordPress site from a Google search penalty?
Google penalties are a dreaded nightmare for any website owner. Your web pages can be removed from search results or dropped down in search rankings, causing the organic traffic to fall significantly.
In this article, we will show you how to recover a WordPress site from a Google Search Penalty.
What is Google Search Penalty?
A search penalty is a punishment that Google delivers to websites that violate its guidelines.
Google’s goal is to present the best search results to its users. However, sites that try to manipulate or cheat the system to achieve higher search rankings through unethical means are usually given search penalties.
As a result, penalized WordPress sites might see a drop in search rankings or be de-listed from the search results in extreme cases.
Google imposes 2 types of penalties:
Manual penalties – These are imposed by Google’s internal team, and you are notified of any offense. It can be for things like spam content, cloaked images, hidden text, unnatural internal and external links, and other violations against the Google Search Essentials guidelines.
Algorithm penalties – An algorithm penalty is when Google rolls out an update to the search algorithm to provide better search results. This type of penalty is hard to diagnose because you don’t get any notification from Google.
Since this is a comprehensive guide, we’ve added a table of contents. You can click the links below to easily navigate to any section you’re interested in:
If your WordPress site is hit with a Google search penalty and you’re not sure how to check it, then there are different ways you can try.
Check for Manual Actions in Google Search Console
First, you can log in to your Google Search Console account and look for manual penalties imposed by the search engine.
Simply head to Security & Manual Actions » Manual actions from the Search Console menu on the left. Here, you’ll see any manual penalty given by Google.
If you see the ‘No issues detected’ message, then you’re in the clear.
That said, here’s a list of manual actions that Google can apply to your site:
Site abused by third-party spam
User-generated spam
Spammy free host
Structured data issue
Unnatural links to and from your site
Thin content with little or no added value
Pure Spam
Cloaking or sneaky redirects
Cloaked images
AMP content mismatch
Sneaky mobile redirects
Hidden text or keyword stuffing
News and Discover policy violations
Check Google Analytics for a Drop in Organic Traffic
Next, you can check your site’s organic traffic in Google Analytics. If there is a considerable drop, then it could be a result of a search penalty.
This method is useful to check for algorithm penalties, especially after Google releases a new update.
In Google Analytics 4, you can go to Reports » Acquisition » Traffic acquisition and look at the Organic Search figures.
You can edit the date range at the top and compare it to a previous period to look for a decline in traffic.
To drill down further, you can use a keyword tracker tool and see search term rankings for your website. If you notice a drop in different keyword rankings, then it could mean you’ve been hit with a search penalty.
Search Your Website and Content on Google
Lastly, if you’re not seeing your web pages appear in Google search results, then there is a way to check if it’s been banned or delisted.
Simply enter ‘site: example.com’ in Google and see if your site appears. Just replace example.com with your own site URL.
If you don’t see your website appearing in the search results, then it could be delisted due to a search penalty.
You can also search for some of the text from your most important pages on Google. This will also help check for delisting or decline in search rankings for core pages.
Having that said, let’s look at different ways you can recover a WordPress website from a Google search penalty.
1. Perform an SEO Audit to Find Critical Issues
An SEO audit is a process of finding out whether your WordPress website is correctly optimized for search engines.
Running an SEO audit can help uncover critical SEO issues and errors on your site. This way, you can quickly fix them and recover your site from a search penalty.
A simple way to conduct an SEO audit in WordPress is by using the All in One SEO (AIOSEO) plugin. It is the best SEO WordPress plugin that helps set up your site for search engines without technical knowledge.
With AIOSEO, you can use its SEO Analysis tool inside the WordPress dashboard to run an audit. It checks your site on different parameters and highlights any critical issues. Plus, you get recommendations for fixing errors, which will help recover your site from a penalty.
One of the most common reasons why Google issues a search penalty is because of unnatural links to and from your WordPress website.
Sites that have bought spammy links or participate in different link schemes to boost their search engine rankings are mainly penalized by Google. This could be either through a manual action or an algorithm update.
A quick way to recover your site from such penalties is by identifying and removing spammy backlinks. However, this can be a time-consuming task, especially if you have to visit every page on your site to remove the backlink.
An easier way to go about this is by using AIOSEO. It offers a powerful Link Assistant feature that helps you see all the internal and external links on your site.
First, you’d need to go to All in One SEO » Link Assistant from your WordPress admin panel. After that, you can click on the ‘Domains Report’ tab at the top.
Next, you can view all the domains linking to your website.
On this page, domains that look unnatural or spammy are highlighted. Next, you can select the domain, click the Bulk Actions dropdown menu, and choose the ‘Delete’ option.
After that, you can click the ‘Apply’ button to remove links from a particular domain.
You can also click on any of the websites to view which pages they’re linking to on your site. Next, you can click the trash can icon to remove a backlink from a particular page or post.
If you are unable to remove an unnatural, spammy, or artificial link, then you can disavow them using Google’s disavow links tool.
Do note that this method is for users with technical knowledge and is unsuitable for beginners. For more details, you read Google’s instructions on how to disavow links to your site.
3. Perform a Content Audit
Another way to recover your website from Google search penalties is by auditing your content.
Here are a few things you can look into and fix on your website.
Fix Thin and Duplicate Content
Google will penalize sites with thin content with little or no value for users. This includes low-quality content that’s auto-generated or spun through software. Or affiliate pages with a few paragraphs and a link to promote the product.
Similarly, if you have duplicate content or articles scraped from other websites, then Google can also hand you a search penalty.
A simple way to fix this is by identifying pages that have relevant or thin content and then rewriting them. You can use Google Analytics to uncover pages with very low or no traffic.
Simply head to the Reports » Engagement » Landing page in Google Analytics.
After uncovering content with thin content, you can then add more value by covering the topic in depth, making the content engaging using images and videos, and ensuring you have unique content.
On the other hand, you can find pages that have duplicate or auto-generated content and simply remove them from your website. Simply copy some of the text and enter it on Google. The search will show all the pages and posts on your site with the same content.
If your site’s text doesn’t make sense and is filled with search terms to rank higher, then you can also get a search penalty for keyword stuffing. Similarly, websites with hidden text and keywords in your site’s CSS styling can also be penalized by Google.
You can easily fix this issue by removing or editing content that has keyword stuffing. Try using variations and avoid repeating the same search terms. You can also use keyword research tools like Semrush to find different keywords to use on your content.
Semrush also offers an SEO writing assistant tool that helps you discover LSI and related keywords, readability score, language tone, and more to help you create optimized content.
Remove User Generated Spam
Next, you need to check your website for spam comments. These are comments that have advertising links, spammy user names, auto-generated or off-topic comments, and other irrelevant links.
In WordPress, you can simply go to Comments from your WordPress dashboard and then mark the comment as Spam. You can also select the Trash option and remove the comment.
Google’s search crawlers use links on your website to find new content and build a contextual relationship between your new and old content.
Auditing the internal links helps recover your WordPress site from an algorithm penalty. For instance, if there are no or few internal links on a page, then you can add internal links to other relevant pages and boost their rankings.
Using the AIOSEO link assistant, you can improve internal linking on your website. It will show you existing links and also provide new linking opportunities. Besides that, you can also highlight orphaned pages that have no internal links.
When conducting an audit, you should also check your website load time. While a slow-loading site would not lead to a Google search penalty, it will impact your search engine rankings.
That’s because Google now uses page load speed as a ranking factor. Sites that load fast will have an advantage over slow-loading websites.
You can use IsItWP’s free website speed test tool for auditing page load speed. The tool will show an overall score and provide suggestions for improving page speed.
If your WordPress website is hacked and injected with malicious code that can be deceptive to Google’s guidelines, then you can get a penalty.
Usually, hackers would add scripts or pieces of code that would create sneaky redirects on your website. Since this goes against the guidelines, your websites might be deindexed from the search results.
You can check for security issues in Google Search Console by heading to the Security & Manual Actions » Security issues section.
Besides that, you can run a WordPress security audit to uncover any issues that might result in a penalty. For example, you can scan your site for malware and other security vulnerabilities.
We recommend using a WordPress security plugin like Sucuri to prevent an attack on your website. It also checks your site’s files for suspicious code and helps clean up your website.
Lastly, if you see a drop in traffic or search rankings after a Google update, then you might be hit with an algorithm penalty.
Unlike a manual penalty, it is very hard to diagnose the impact of an algorithm change. Google won’t tell you the reason for the drop in rankings or traffic for your site.
However, you can research the latest Google algorithm update and see what has changed. After that, you can audit your site’s SEO, content, and security to fix any issues.
The best way to stay updated with the latest algorithm changes and adjustments is by following WordPress blogs. There are many popular marketing and SEO blogs that share the latest news, case studies, and other information about Google’s algorithm changes.
Submit a Reconsideration Request to Lift Penalties
After you’ve fixed an issue that led to Google search penalties, the next step is to submit a reconsideration request and lift the penalties.
This step is fairly simple if you receive a manual penalty. You can head to your Google Search Console account, view the Security and Manual actions section, and request a review for the particle issue.
When submitting the reconsideration request, we recommend that you cover the following things:
Explain that you understand Google’s guidelines and best practices in detail. You can share links to answers in Google forums, YouTube videos, and other documentation offered by Google regarding the manual action.
Show that you’ve done everything that you can to fix the issue, like removing unnatural links. You can include screenshots, a list of links removed, and provide other evidence to present your case.
Reassure that your site is made for users and not search engines, and you won’t make the same mistake again. You can also ensure that all other activities on your website are within Google’s guidelines.
Once you’ve submitted a consideration request, Google will review it. The response time usually depends on the severity of the penalty. It can take days, weeks, and even months to hear back from Google and find out whether your penalty has been lifted or not.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Do you want to customize colors on your WordPress website?
Colors play a vital role in making your website aesthetically pleasing and establishing its brand identity. Luckily, WordPress makes it super easy to customize colors across your entire site.
In this article, we will show you how to easily customize colors on your WordPress website, including background, header, text, and link colors.
What Is Color Theory?
Before you can start customizing colors on your WordPress website, it is important to understand color theory.
Color theory is the study of colors and how they work together. It helps designers create color combinations that complement each other.
When designing a website, you need to choose colors that look good together. This will make your website look more attractive to your visitors, which can improve user experience and increase engagement.
Different colors can create different emotions and feelings in people, and color theory can help you choose the right combination for your website.
For instance, red is often used to represent food and restaurants. On the other hand, blue is usually used on banking and financial websites.
That is because red can create feelings of warmth, energy, and passion, whereas blue signifies trust, security, and calmness.
Apart from complementing colors, you can also use color contrast to draw attention to important areas of your WordPress blog.
This allows you to make your content more readable, establish a strong brand identity, and create a specific mood on the website.
What Are WordPress Themes, and Can You Change Theme Colors?
WordPress themes control how your website looks to the user. A typical WordPress theme is a set of pre-designed templates you install on your website to change its appearance and layout.
Themes make your website more attractive, easier to use, and increase engagement.
You can customize colors in WordPress using many different methods, including the theme customizer, the full site editor, custom CSS, page builder plugins, and more.
First, visit the Appearance » Customize page from the admin sidebar.
Note: If you cannot find the ‘Customize’ tab in your WordPress dashboard, then this means that you are using a block theme. Scroll down to the next section of this tutorial to find out how to change colors in a block theme.
For this tutorial, we will be using the default Twenty Twenty-One theme.
Remember that the theme customizer may look different depending on the theme you are currently using.
For example, the Twenty Twenty-One theme comes with a ‘Colors and Dark Mode’ panel that allows users to select a background color and customize dark mode.
After opening the panel, simply click on the ‘Select Color’ option. This will open up the Color Picker, where you can choose your preferred background color.
Once you are done, don’t forget to click the ‘Publish’ button at the top to save your changes and make them live on your website.
Change Colors in the Full Site Editor
If you are using a block-based theme, then you won’t have access to the theme customizer. However, you can use the full site editor (FSE) to change colors on your website.
First, head to the Appearance » Editor screen from the admin sidebar to launch the full site editor.
Now, you have to click on the ‘Styles’ icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
This will open the ‘Styles’ column, where you need to click on the ‘Colors’ panel.
You can change the theme’s background, text, link, heading, and button colors from here.
Once you are done, click the ‘Save’ button to store your settings.
Change Colors Using Custom CSS
CSS is a language that you can use to change the visual appearance of your website, including its colors. You can save custom CSS in your theme settings to apply your customizations to your entire site.
However, the custom CSS code will no longer apply if you switch themes on your website or update your existing theme.
That’s why we recommend using the WPCode plugin, which is the best WordPress code snippets plugin on the market. It is the easiest way to add custom CSS code, and it will allow you to safely customize colors on your WordPress website.
First, you will need to install and activate the WPCode plugin. For more instructions, please see our beginner’s guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Note: There is also a free version of WPCode that you can use. However, we recommend upgrading to a paid plan to unlock the full potential of the plugin.
Once you have activated WPCode, you need to visit the Code Snippets » + Add Snippets page from the admin sidebar.
Simply click the ‘Use snippet’ button under the ‘Add Your Custom Code (New Snippet)’ heading.
Once you are on the ‘Create Custom Snippet’ page, you can start by typing a name for your code.
After that, just select ‘CSS Snippet’ as the ‘Code Type’ from the dropdown menu.
Next, you must add the custom CSS code in the ‘Code Preview’ box.
For this section, we are adding custom CSS code that changes the text color on the website:
p { color:#990000; }
Once you have done that, scroll down to the ‘Insertion’ section.
Here, you can choose the ‘Auto Insert’ option if you want the code to be executed automatically upon activation.
You can also add a shortcode to specific WordPress pages or posts.
Once you are done, simply scroll back to the top of the page and toggle the ‘Inactive’ switch to ‘Active’.
Finally, you need to click the ‘Save Snippet’ button to apply the CSS code to your website.
Change Colors Using SeedProd
You can also customize colors using the SeedProd plugin.
It is the best WordPress page builder on the market that allows you to create themes from scratch without using any code.
Many WordPress themes come with a built-in header at the top of the page. It usually contains important page links, social icons, CTAs, and more.
If you are using a block theme, then you can easily customize the WordPress header using the full site editor.
First, you need to visit the Appearance » Editor screen from the admin sidebar to launch the full site editor. Once there, select the ‘Header’ template at the top by double-clicking on it.
From here, simply scroll down to the ‘Color’ section and click on the ‘Background’ option.
This will open a popup where you can choose a default color for your header.
You can also select a custom color by opening the Color Picker tool.
To customize your header using a color gradient, you need to switch to the ‘Gradient’ tab.
After that, you can choose a default gradient option or customize your own using the Color Picker.
Finally, click on the ‘Save’ button to store your settings.
If you want to change the header color using the theme customizer or additional CSS, then you may want to read our beginner’s guide on how to customize your WordPress header.
How to Change the Text Color in WordPress
Changing the text color can help improve the readability of your WordPress blog.
If you are using a block theme, then you will have to change the text color using the full site editor.
You can start by visiting the Appearance » Editor screen from the admin sidebar. This will launch the full site editor, where you must click the ‘Styles’ icon in the top-right corner.
Next, you need to click on the ‘Colors’ panel to access the additional settings.
Once you are there, go ahead and click on the ‘Text’ option under the ‘Elements’ section.
Once the text color settings have opened, you will be able to see a number of text colors under the ‘Default’ section.
Alternatively, you can also use a custom text color by clicking on the Custom Color tool and opening up the Color Picker.
Once you have made your choice, simply click on the ‘Save’ button to store the changes.
Bonus Tip: You can use the WebAIM Contrast Checker tool to check if your background and text color work together. The tool can help you improve text readability on your website.
How to Change the Text Selection Color in WordPress
When a visitor selects text on your website, it will show a background color. The default color is blue.
However, sometimes the color may not blend well with your WordPress theme, and you might want to change it.
Adding CSS code to your theme files can easily change the text selection color. However, keep in mind that switching to another theme or updating your current theme will make the CSS code disappear.
That’s why we recommend using the WPCode plugin, which is the best WordPress code snippets plugin on the market.
You can also change the admin color scheme in WordPress if you want. This method can be helpful if you want the admin dashboard to match your website’s branding or use your favorite colors.
However, keep in mind that changing the color scheme of the WordPress dashboard will not affect the visible part of your website.
To change the admin color scheme, simply visit the Users » Profile page from the admin sidebar.
You will see multiple color schemes next to the ‘Admin Color Scheme’ option.
Choose the one you prefer and then click the ‘Update Profile’ button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Do you want to fix the issue of redirecting to an old domain?
When you migrate a WordPress website to a new domain, there is a possibility that users will be redirected back to the old domain.
In this article, we will show you how to fix WordPress redirecting to an old domain after migration.
What Causes Redirection to Old Domain After Migration Issue?
When you’re moving your WordPress website to a new domain, it is important to set up redirection. This way, users automatically land on the new location, and you get to keep your keyword rankings and traffic.
However, redirection to a new domain may not work properly, and your visitors would be redirected back to the old domain.
One of the main causes for this issue is that your site URL and home URL values are different in the WordPress database tables. You need to make sure that both these values lead to your new domain.
Besides that, DNS issues can also cause users to redirect to the old domain after migration. If the DNS server is not responding or DNS records haven’t been updated, then your visitors won’t be able to view your new website URL.
That said, let’s see how you can fix WordPress redirecting to the old domain after migration. We will cover different methods, so you can click the links below to jump ahead to your preferred section.
Method 1: Update the Site Address in WordPress Settings
The easiest way to fix this issue is by ensuring that the WordPress address and site address is the same in your WordPress settings.
If your Site Address (URL) still shows the old domain, then users will be redirected to the previous URL after migration.
To fix this, simply head to Settings » General from your WordPress admin panel. After that, enter your new domain under the ‘Site Address (URL)’ field.
Once you’re done, simply save your changes and visit the new domain to see if the problem is resolved.
If, however, the URL fields are greyed out and won’t let you type a new address, continue reading and use one of the other methods to redirect your domain.
Method 2: Changing Site URL in WordPress Database
Another method of fixing the redirecting to the old domain issue is by updating the site URL in the WordPress database tables.
You can easily access the database using the cPanel provided by the WordPress hosting service. For this tutorial, we will be using Bluehost as an example, but the process is similar for other hosting companies like Hostinger, SiteGround, etc.
First, you’ll need to log in to the hosting service control panel. After that, simply click on the ‘Advanced’ tab from the menu on your left.
Next, you can scroll down to the Databases section and click the ‘phpMyAdmin’ option.
You will need to wait for a few seconds until phpMyAdmin opens.
Once it opens, you will need to go to the wp_options table from the navigational panel on your left.
Do note that each hosting service has a different naming convention for database tables. However, the one you’re looking for will always end in ‘_options.”
For example, in this tutorial, we will click the ‘staging_45f_options’ table in Bluehost’s phpMyAdmin.
Next, you will need to edit the ‘siteurl’ and ‘home’ options.
First, go ahead and click the ‘Edit’ button for ‘siteurl’ option.
After that, you will need to enter the new domain name in the option_value field. Once that’s done, simply click the ‘Go’ button.
Now, you can return to the main wp_options page and edit the ‘home’ option.
Next, you will need to enter the new domain in the option_value field.
After entering the value, click the ‘Go’ button.
Method 3: Flush DNS Cache on Your PC
If you’re still unable to resolve the issue of the old domain redirecting after migration, then you should check the DNS settings.
At times, it can take up to 12 to 48 hours for the change of domain name to take effect. As a result, internet providers that don’t have updated DNS records will redirect users to the old domain.
You simply flush the DNS cache so that it gets the latest information and the new website URL. This also helps resolve the DNS server not responding issue.
Pro Tip: Use SEO Plugin to Perform Full Site Redirect
When you manually perform redirection to a new domain, then there is always a chance of errors. As a result, users would still be redirected to the old domain.
An easier way of setting up redirection is by using an WordPress SEO plugin like All in One SEO (AIOSEO). It offers a powerful redirection manager that you can use to redirect your entire site to a new domain without any issues.
This tool was built by our team, and it is what we use when we’re migrating websites to a new domain or merging two sites into one. You can learn more by following our step by step guide on how to properly do a full site redirect in WordPress.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
A target audience is a group of people that a business wants to reach with its products, services, or content.
This group of people would have similar interests, needs, demographics, or other characteristics that make them more likely to be interested in what your business has to offer.
Whether you are starting a blog or an online business, choosing a target audience helps you create effective messaging that really connects with that intended audience.
For instance, a blog about tennis or football may want to reach out to an audience interested in that particular sport, rather than sports content in general.
Similarly, an online store selling pet toys may want to target people who have pets and live around the areas where the store can easily ship products.
Why Choosing a Target Audience is Important
Choosing a target audience is important for a blog or online business because it helps them create content and products tailored to that particular group of people.
This means that the content and products will be more valuable and relevant to the audience which can lead to more user engagement, higher conversions, and increased sales.
Another benefit of choosing the right target audience is that it allows you to plan a more consistent and focused marketing strategy.
By understanding the interests, age, gender, and location, you can reach the right audience by creating organic content or running paid ads on Google or Facebook.
Not choosing a target audience has some significant disadvantages as well.
For instance, you may end up creating content that does not fit any specific customer persona and doesn’t motivate users to spend more time on your blog or WordPress website.
You may also end up wasting time and resources acquiring leads and customers who may not find your content or products relevant to their needs.
That being said, let’s understand what some common types of target audiences are and how you would go about finding the right target audience for your blog or online business.
Types of Target Audience for Your Blog or Business
Marketers categorize their target audience based on their intent, interests, location, and other information.
Following are a few examples of different types of target audiences:
1. Buying Intent Audience
This type of target audience is looking to make a purchase.
For example, let’s say you run an eCommerce store selling gym equipment. You may want to target an audience more interested in buying equipment.
To do that, you will need to create content like a sales funnel to drive customers toward making a purchase.
2. Information / Educational Audience
This type of target audience is looking for information about specific topics.
For instance, they may need information about workout plans, healthy food recipes, fitness advice, and more.
To target this audience, you’ll need to create content that provides this informational and educational value.
Now as you can see, you can still have an eCommerce store selling gym equipment, yet you have two different types of target audiences that you can create content for.
3. Demographic Target Audience
This type of target audience is selected based on their demographic information, such as age, gender, location, occupation, income group, and more.
For instance, you may have certain products women are more interested in. Similarly, you may want to reach people in specific locations where you can ship products.
Now let’s say you want to run Google or Facebook Ads. You can target these specific demographics to make your ads more effective.
To summarize:
Target audience types can be segmented based on their intents, challenges, and segments.
A business can have multiple target audiences with different intents.
Each target audience can be further divided into narrower segments to make your campaigns even more effective.
Finding Your Target Audience
Most blog and business owners already have some very basic idea of who their target audience is.
For instance, if you run a travel blog, then you may already have some idea of your target audience and what their interests are.
However, often it is just guesswork and may not be enough to get you the desired user engagement and customer acquisition that you seek.
Finding Your Target Audience Using Google Analytics
Smart marketers rely on actual marketing data to choose their target audience and learn more about them.
It is a free tool provided by Google that allows you to see where your website visitors are coming from, what they look at, where they are located, and more.
You can also use it to collect demographic data, which allows you to see your audience’s age, gender, and interests as well.
Setting Up Google Analytics for Audience Insights
The easiest way to set up Google Analytics on your blog is by using MonsterInsights. It is the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress and allows you to easily set up Google Analytics for your WordPress blog.
Note: There is also a free version of the plugin called MonsterInsights Lite that you can try. However, we recommend upgrading to the pro version to take full advantage of the plugin.
Once you have activated the plugin, visit the Insights » Settings page in your WordPress admin area and then click on the Connect MonsterInsights button.
After that, you can follow the on-screen instructions to connect Google Analytics to your WordPress website.
Once you have connected to Google Analytics. You’ll need to turn on demographics data in your Google Analytics account settings.
Simply log in to your Google Analytics account and click on the Admin gear in the lower corner.
Next, under the property column, click on Data Settings » Data Collection menu.
This will slide open the Data Collection page. From here, you need to turn on the ‘Google signals data collection’ option.
Google Analytics will now start collecting demographic data for your website visitors.
To view this report on your WordPress website, switch back to your WordPress admin area and go to the Insights » Settings page.
From here, you need to click on the Engagement tab and turn on the checkbox next to the ‘Enable Demographics and Interests Reports for Remarketing and Advertising’ option.
Don’t forget to click on the Save Changes button to store your settings.
Viewing Google Analytics Reports for Your Target Audience
Now that you have set up Google Analytics and turned on demographics data, you’ll need to wait for Google Analytics to collect some data.
After a while, you can visit the Insights » Reports page. Under the overview tab, you’ll see the overall traffic performance of your website.
You can also see new vs returning users and a device breakdown chart.
The device breakdown chart will show you what kind of device your users are using Desktop, tablet, or mobile.
You’ll also find the top countries your visitors are coming from and your top posts and pages.
Next, you need to switch to the Publisher tab and scroll down a little. From here, you’ll see Age and Gender charts.
The chart will show you a breakdown of users by age and gender.
Note: It is normal to have a large chunk of users marked as unknown. Google only collects data from users who are logged in and have opted in for ad personalization.
Below that, you’ll find the Interests report. This data is collected by Google Signals to help marketers target the right audience. It also helps publishers see the interests of their current website audience.
This gives you an idea of what topics interest your target audience the most.
You can further drill down these reports inside the Google Analytics dashboard. Simply go to the Demographics » Demographic details report under your Google Analytics account.
From here you can narrow down your audience by country and city. You can also see more detailed reports of interests, age, and gender breakdowns.
All of this data gives you a much clearer image of your website’s current audience and from here you can choose the target audience that you want to focus on.
Building Customer Personas for Your Target Audience
Building ‘Customer Personas’, also known as buyer personas, is a marketing exercise that helps you better understand your target audience.
These customer profiles use the target audience based on the data you have collected in the earlier step.
A good customer persona focuses on the following key elements.
Goals – What the user wants to achieve?
Pain points – What are the hurdles and challenges they face in achieving those goals?
Values and motivations – What drives them to achieve their goals? For instance, it could be personal, professional, or business growth, faith, beliefs, lifestyle, or more.
Solutions – How your product, services, or content can help them?
There are many ways to generate customer profiles using surveys, customer feedback, and other data sources.
You can also use customer persona generators to fill in the data.
Perhaps the best way to create a target audience profile is by collecting user data directly on your website. You can do so by running surveys, polls, Net Promoter score surveys, feedback forms, and more.
WPForms is the best WordPress form builder on the market that allows you to create all types of survey and feedback forms for your website.
It comes with built-in templates to quickly create forms and surveys.
Plus, you can save form data, export it, and use it in other third-party apps to better understand your website audience.
This downloadable cheat sheet helps you fill in a template to generate a customer avatar for your target audiences.
You can provide a name to each customer persona and fill in their average age, gender, and location based on the demographics data you collected using Google Analytics.
After that, you will need to answer the four main sections about their goals, challenges, objections, and sources of information.
The purpose of the exercise is not only to give you a better understanding of each customer persona but also to help you answer and address their objections.
Make My Persona is a free tool created by HubSpot. It allows you to simply answer a few questions to generate a persona for your target audience.
You can then edit the template by manually creating your own sections and adding information to them.
Depending on your business needs, you can then segment your target audience into different categories and create different reader profiles for each segment.
Creating Content for Your Target Audience
Once you have chosen your target audience, the next step is to reach out to them with the right content.
You can now narrow down your list of content ideas to match your target audience’s goals and pain points.
For instance, your audience’s goal could be “losing weight,” and their challenge is that they cannot go to the gym.
This allows you to look for ideas around ‘working out at home’ and ‘exercising without gym equipment.’
Bringing your target audience to your website is only the first part of the customer journey. Next, you need to convince them to make a purchase or sign up.
Research shows that more than 70% of people visiting your website will leave in merely a few seconds without making a purchase.
Luckily, there are tools like OptinMonster. It is the best conversion optimization software on the market. It allows you to easily convert your target audience into paying customers and subscribers.
It allows you to use intuitive marketing tools like lightbox popups, countdown timers, header and footer banners, and more to convert users.
Now let’s say you want to run an ad campaign for upcoming holidays. This campaign targets a specific segment of your target audience.
However, sending them directly to your homepage doesn’t show them the most relevant and effective content.
This is where SeedProd can help. It is the best WordPress page builder plugin on the market and allows you to create beautiful landing pages for your website quickly.
It uses an intuitive drag-and-drop design tool and comes with dozens of templates that are optimized for sales and conversions.
It comes with support for WooCommerce and dozens of ready-made templates to easily create any kind of page you need.
As a marketer, your goal is to open a communication channel with your users before they leave your website.
There are a bunch of tools you can use to achieve this. This includes social media marketing, email marketing, paid search campaigns, or push notifications.
Push notifications are custom messages with links that you can send as notifications to users’ web browsers.
PushEngage is the best push notification software on the market. It enables you to send push notifications to your users regardless of which device they are using (mobile or desktop).
It comes with powerful targeting features that allow you to send personalized messages to your users. Plus, you can automatically segment your target audience for more effective messaging.
We hope this article helped you learn how to choose a target audience for blogs. You may also want to see our complete WordPress SEO guide or take a look at our tutorial on how to get more traffic to your website.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Do you want to change block height and width in WordPress?
By default, WordPress makes it easy to create beautiful content layouts for your posts and pages using blocks. However, sometimes you may want to resize blocks to make them look better.
In this article, we will show you how to easily change block height and width in WordPress.
Why Change Block Height and Width in WordPress?
The block editor enables you to add content to your WordPress website using different blocks, including headings, paragraphs, images, videos, audio, and more.
However, sometimes you may want to change the width or height of a specific block to improve its appearance or the layout of the overall content.
Adjusting block sizes can also ensure that your content is responsive and displays properly on all devices, including phones, tablets, and laptops.
For example, you may have uploaded an image in the content editor, but it is too large and makes the page look unappealing.
Or, you might want to change the size of the heading block to align it better with the content.
By adjusting the width and height of the blocks, you can make your posts and pages look more aesthetically pleasing.
That being said, let’s see how you can easily change block height and width in WordPress.
Method 1: Change the Block Height and Width Using Block Settings
For this method, we will show you how to change a block’s height and width using the default settings offered by WordPress.
Currently, WordPress does not offer the same resizing options for all of the blocks. However, the block editor provides many ways to resize the height and width of different blocks.
Let’s start with the Image block in WordPress.
First, you can change the alignment of the Image block by clicking on the ‘Align’ button in the toolbar above the block.
Here, choosing the ‘Wide Width’ option will make the block the same width as the container.
Or, the ‘Full Width’ alignment option will make the block the entire width of the page.
You can also resize a block by going to the ‘Block Settings’ panel on the right and scrolling down to the ‘Settings’ section. From here, you can resize a block from the ‘Image Size’ dropdown menu.
You can also adjust the block’s width and height by typing the preferred pixel size into the ‘Width’ and ‘Height’ boxes in the ‘Image dimensions’ section.
Below that, you can also adjust the block’s size by percentage.
Another way to resize an Image block is by clicking on the image itself to bring up a blue border with circular anchors.
Then, simply drag these anchors to change the height and width of the image block.
Once you are done, click on the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button to store your settings.
Method 2: Change the Block Height and Width Using the Columns Block
If the block you want to resize does not come with alignment buttons or resize settings, then this method is for you.
For this method, we will place our block inside the Columns block. It acts as a container where you can add blocks in each column. Then, you can resize those blocks by adjusting the height and width of the columns.
First, you will need to click on the ‘Add Block’ (+) button in the top left corner of the screen.
From here, simply locate and add the Columns block to the content editor. Then, you will be asked to choose a variation.
After that, the column layout will be displayed on the screen, and you can now add the block you want by clicking on the ‘Add Block (+)’ button inside a column.
Once the block has been added, you can resize it by using the ‘Column settings’ located in the right panel.
Once you are done, simply click the ‘Publish’ button to store your changes.
This is how the content looked on our demo website after resizing and aligning two paragraph blocks inside a two-column block.
Method 3: Change the Block Height and Width Using the Group Block
You can also adjust the width and height of blocks using the Group block. It allows you to group different blocks and style them together.
First, you will need to click on the ‘Add Block’ (+) button at the top. Next, you must locate and add the Group block to the content editor.
Once you do that, the Group block will display three different layout options that you can choose from. For this tutorial, we will use the ‘Group’ layout.
After that, the ‘Add Block’ button will be displayed on the screen. You can now add any block you want.
In this tutorial, we will be adding and resizing a Heading block, a Paragraph block, and an Image block.
To add multiple blocks to the Group, you must click on the ‘Select Group’ button from the block toolbar.
Once the Group is selected, simply click on the ‘Add Block’ button (+) at the bottom.
Clicking on the ‘Select Group’ button also opens up the block settings in the right column. From here, you can easily adjust the layout, justification, and orientation of all the blocks.
Changing the layout will also change the different block sizes. You can configure these settings until you are happy with the result.
Once you are done, click on the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button to store your settings.
This is how the Group block looked on our demo website.
Method 4: Change the Block Height Using the Cover Block
This resizing method is for you if you want to use the Cover block. It enables you to display text and other content on top of an image or video.
First, you will need to click on the ‘Add Block’ (+) button at the top and find the Cover block.
Once you have done that, you will be asked to choose a color or upload an image from the WordPress media library. This image or color will be used as the background for the Cover block.
Next, simply drag and drop any block you want into the Cover block.
After that, you need to click on the Cover block to open up its block settings in the right column.
From here, scroll down to the ‘Dimensions’ panel, where you can adjust the height of the Cover block using pixels.
Finally, don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.
Bonus: Create Beautiful Pages Using Advanced Blocks in SeedProd
You can easily create beautiful and aesthetically-pleasing pages using the SeedProd plugin.
It is the best WordPress page builder on the market that allows you to create landing pages using blocks. These blocks are also super easy to customize and resize according to your needs.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Recently one of our readers asked what is a website URL, and is it different from a domain name?
A URL is simply the address of a website on the internet. It is made up of a domain name, along with some other elements such as subdomains or subdirectories. Whether your URL has these other parts will depend on the choices you make when installing WordPress.
In this article, we’ll explain what is a website URL, describe the main parts that make up a URL, and show you how to choose and register a domain name for your website.
What Is a Website URL?
Every website is uniquely identified by a URL, or uniform resource locator. In simple terms, if you think of your WordPress website as a house, then the URL would be its address.
Every post, page, image, product, and resource on your website also has a unique URL. These are formed by adding characters after the website URL.
For example, the URL to a WordPress post looks like this:
https://example.com/this-is-a-blog-post/
There are three important parts of a URL. It starts with the protocol used to connect to the website, which will be HTTP or HTTPS. These days, you will mostly see HTTPS because it is more secure.
After that comes the domain name that identifies the website itself, and then the path to a specific post or resource on your website.
A URL may also contain other information, such as a subdomain or subdirectory, a query or other parameters, and an anchor to a specific part of a web page.
With that being said, let’s take a closer look at the 3 main parts that make up a URL, along with some optional elements:
The first part of a URL is the protocol. This identifies the set of rules that will be used to transfer information between the server and the user’s browser. The protocol used for websites is HTTP or HTTPS.
The protocol is followed by a colon and two forward slashes, like this:
https://
HTTP stands for ‘hypertext transfer protocol’. This protocol is a set of rules that allow the user’s web browser to communicate with your website.
HTTPS stands for ‘hypertext transfer protocol secure’ and is used when the website is operating over a secure connection. This is especially important if you wish to collect payments on your website.
Users don’t need to type the protocol when entering your website’s URL into their web browser. These characters will be added automatically.
Should My Website Use a Secure HTTPS Connection?
Every day we share our personal information with different websites whether it’s making a purchase or simply logging in. In order to protect the data transfer, a secure connection needs to be created. That’s where HTTPS comes in.
HTTPS is an encryption method that secures the connection between users’ browsers and your server. This makes it harder for hackers to eavesdrop on the connection.
If you want to accept payments online on your eCommerce website, then you need to use HTTPS. That’s because most payment companies like Stripe, PayPal Pro, and Authorize.net require a secure connection before accepting payments.
But we encourage everyone to move their website from HTTP to HTTPS immediately, even if you don’t run an online store. That’s because Google ranks websites using HTTPS higher than those using HTTP.
Also, Google displays a ‘Not Secure’ warning when you visit an HTTP website in Chrome. When your users see this notice, it gives them a bad impression of your business.
How Can I Move My Website to a Secure HTTPS Connection?
When you’re ready to set up a secure HTTPS connection for your website, you need to purchase an SSL certificate. SSL stands for ‘Secure Sockets Layer’ and is the standard technology for keeping an internet connection secure.
You may already be paying for an SSL certificate with your web hosting since many of the best WordPress hosting companies offer them free for all their users. For more details, see our guide on how to get a free SSL certificate for your WordPress website.
After you have enabled the SSL certificate on your domain name, you will need to set up WordPress to use SSL and HTTPS protocols on your website.
The second important part of a website URL is the domain name. This is the address that internet users type in their web browsers to visit your website, like this:
example.com
The user’s web browser will automatically add the correct protocol.
https://example.com
You need to choose a domain name when you first create your website. You should make sure that it’s easy to remember and not already being used by another website.
Once you’ve chosen your domain name, you will need to register it. This involves a small fee that you will need to pay to the domain registrar you choose.
What Are the Different Parts of a Domain Name?
A domain name is made up of two or three parts:
The top-level domain (TLD) is the extension of your domain name such as .com, .org, .net. There are other TLDs, but they are less common and we don’t recommend them.
The second-level domain (SLD) refers to the name that comes before the top-level domain or TLD. For example, for our website, ‘wpbeginner’ is the second-level domain and ‘.com’ is the top-level domain.
Some websites also use a ‘country code top-level domain’ or ccTLD to target their local audience. These include .uk for the United Kingdom, .de for Germany, and .in for India.
What’s the Difference Between a Domain Name and Hosting?
When you first create a website, you need both a domain name and web hosting. Many beginners are not sure what the difference is.
We said that a domain name is like the address that helps visitors find your house. Well, hosting is like the house itself. It is the place where your website posts, pages, images, and other resources actually live.
How Can I Choose the Best Domain Name for My Website?
Choosing the right domain name for your website is crucial for your success. Get it right the first time because changing it later is difficult and can hurt your brand and search rankings.
Try to make it short and easy to remember. Ideally, it should be less than 15 characters. It should be easy to spell and pronounce, otherwise, users might make a mistake when typing it and will see an error message or be taken to the wrong website.
If you are having trouble coming up with a good domain name, you might like to use a domain name generator. These free tools automatically search for your defined keywords to find hundreds of clever domain name ideas.
We recommend using Nameboy, which is one of the oldest and most popular domain name generator tools online.
Once you choose a domain name, you will need to register it with a reputable domain registrar. These are companies accredited by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) that allow you to purchase and register domain names.
All domain name records are stored in a centralized database. For a domain name to be recognized, it needs to be added to that database with all related information about it.
In our research, the best domain registrar is Domain.com if you’re just buying a domain name, or Bluehost if you’re looking to build a website because they give you a domain name for free.
We mentioned earlier that it is difficult to change your website’s domain name, but it is not impossible. However, it needs to be done with care, or it will badly impact your SEO rankings.
Even when done carefully, changing your site’s domain name will temporarily affect your search engine rankings since Google and other search engines will need to adjust to the changes. It will also temporarily affect your search traffic.
The good news is that it is possible to dramatically minimize the impact and quickly regain your search traffic and rankings. You will need to notify Google and your users of the change and use an SEO plugin like All in One SEO to set up a full site redirect.
Your domain name will take visitors straight to your website’s homepage. But what if they want to visit a certain post or page? This is done by adding the path to that page in the URL after the domain name, like this:
https://example.com/this-is-a-blog-post
In WordPress, these are called permalinks, and the part of the address that appears after the domain name is called the slug.
Ideally, a permalink should be easy for both humans and search engines to understand. When done right, they will help your posts rank higher on search engine results pages.
That means you should avoid permalinks like these:
https://example.com/index.php?p=4556
How Can I Create an SEO-Friendly URL Structure in WordPress?
WordPress permalinks now use the post name by default. This is the most SEO-friendly URL structure because it is readable by both humans and search engines, and contains keywords that explain the article.
Some of our readers are interested in creating custom permalinks, so they have more control over the URLs used on their WordPress website.
Aside from changing the main permalink structure, WordPress also offers ways to customize the individual URLs of posts, pages, categories, tags, and other areas of your website.
You can also use WordPress plugins to create completely custom permalinks for specific sections of your website that override the default WordPress settings.
Should I Use a URL Shortener to Make Long Post URLs Easier to Share?
Sharing your web content on social media can build user engagement and bring new users to your website. But pasting in long links or URLs isn’t always the best way.
That’s why URL shortener services like Bitly and TinyURL were originally created. They take a long link and make it shorter so that it doesn’t take up as much space.
On WPBeginner, we use a custom domain, wpbeg.in, for our short links, which is a bit more technical to set up and would require you to purchase another domain. We have a separate tutorial on how to create your own customized short URL.
Optional Parts of a Website URL
We’ve just taken a look at the 3 important parts that make up a website URL: the protocol, domain name, and permalink.
However, there are also several optional parts that can be used in a web address. Let’s have a look at the main ones now, and why you might like to use them.
Should You Include ‘www’ in Your Website URL?
You may have noticed that many website URLs start with ‘www’, and wonder whether there is an SEO benefit when you include it.
https://www.example.com
The fact is, there are absolutely no SEO benefits of using ‘www’ or not using it. You can choose whichever you prefer.
What is important is that you don’t change your mind after starting your website.
Why Do Some Businesses Install WordPress in a Subdomain or Subdirectory?
Some businesses want to create several websites under the same domain name. One way to do this is by using a subdomain, which places a word before your domain name like this:
https://myblog.example.com
You can create as many subdomains as you like, or choose not to use them at all. For example, some businesses use different subdomains for their blog and online store, such as https://blog.example.com and https://store.example.com.
Another way to create multiple websites on the same domain is to install WordPress in different subdirectories, like this.
https://example.com/myblog
The difference is that Google sees subdomains as separate websites and subdirectories as part of the same website. That means that search engines will rank your subdomains separately, while your SEO ranking will be shared between your domain and subdirectories.
For bloggers, startups, or small businesses with limited time and resources, using subdirectories will help you rank your website faster than using a subdomain.
Some users accidentally install WordPress in a subdirectory. This happens when they install WordPress manually and copy the actual ‘wordpress’ folder instead of its contents onto their website. Their website URL will look like this:
Can a URL Take Users Directly to a Section of a Post or Page?
Finally, you can add some characters to the end of a URL to help users quickly jump to the section of a post they want to read. These are called ‘anchor links’, and are formed by adding a hash character and anchor after the permalink like this:
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Do you want to make sure that your WordPress site is properly optimized for search engines?
Going through a search engine optimization (SEO) checklist can help you follow best practices and ensure you don’t miss out on small details. This way, you can rank higher on Google and grow website traffic.
In this article, we will share a WordPress SEO checklist for beginners.
Why Follow a WordPress SEO Checklist?
Search engines are often the largest source of traffic for many websites. However, the idea of optimizing your site for WordPress SEO can be intimidating, especially for beginners.
There are many technical terms, SEO tactics, and new trends that can put off new website owners from optimizing their sites and ranking higher in search engines.
This is where a WordPress SEO checklist can help you out. It covers all the basics and makes sure you follow SEO best practices. Plus, there are many tools and plugins that can optimize your site and take care of technical SEO for you.
You can use the checklist by going through each point step by step. After that, make changes to ensure search engines can easily crawl and index your content.
That said, let’s look at the WordPress SEO checklist for beginners. Here are all the things we’ll cover, so you can simply click the links below to jump ahead to your preferred section:
An SEO plugin can help configure your WordPress site for search engines. It ensures that you follow the best practices and handles all the technical SEO optimizations.
It is also the SEO plugin we also use on WPBeginner.
AIOSEO offers lots of powerful features. For instance, you can use it to create an XML sitemap, add schema markup, integrate social media, breadcrumb navigation, TruSEO On-Page analysis score, robots.txt editor, local SEO, WooCommerce SEO, link assistant, track broken links, and much more.
You can also use AIOSEO to conduct an SEO audit. The plugin will monitor and highlight crucial issues. Plus, you’ll get actionable insights for resolving these issues and boosting organic traffic on your site.
Next, you’ll need to set up different search engines’ webmaster tools, like Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, and Yandex Webmaster Tools.
These free tools help you track your site’s organic search performance. You can use them to see which keywords people are using to find your website, check rankings, submit sitemaps, uncover errors that might be preventing your site from ranking in search engines, and more.
For example, Google Search Console shows which pages are indexed in the search results. You can then find out why Google doesn’t index other pages, fix any issues, and submit pages for indexing.
You can follow these guides to add your WordPress site to each webmaster tool:
Another vital tool to set up on your WordPress website is Google Analytics. It is a free tool that shows how people behave on your site, where they’re coming from, which pages they view, and a lot more.
Google Analytics can help you track your WordPress SEO efforts and see the number of visitors that come from organic searches. It is an excellent tool for tracking website traffic and keeping an eye on all the traffic spikes and dips.
Besides that, you can use it to find high-converting pages and improve their SEO, look for opportunities to boost organic traffic, track 404 errors, and more.
The easiest way of setting up Google Analytics in WordPress is by using MonsterInsights. It is the best Analytics solution for WordPress, and you don’t have to edit any code or hire a developer to configure Google Analytics.
The best part, you can get started with the MonsterInsights Lite version for free to add analytics to your site. The plugin also offers a premium version and helps set up advanced tracking features like eCommerce tracking, form conversions, and more.
Keyword research is a technique that content creators and SEO experts use to discover topics your audience is interested in using search engine data.
Many beginners will use their best guesses to come up with topics that they think people might like. Instead, you should do proper keyword research and find search terms for each page on your website.
It is important that you define a primary target keyword for your blog post or landing page. Having too many different search terms can make it harder for search engines to understand the content.
You can use many keyword research tools to find a primary search term. We recommend Semrush because it offers in-depth keyword data, keyword position tracking, competitor analysis, related keywords, questions, and more.
5. Use LSI Keywords and Check for Keyword Stuffing
Now that you’ve found a focus keyphrase for your content, the next thing to do is find Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords. These are related search queries to your primary keyword.
The easiest way of finding LSI keywords is through Google Search. Simply scroll down to the bottom of the search results and see the ‘Related searches’ section.
You can then use these terms throughout your content and cover the overall topic in depth. This also helps search engines better understand your content.
That said, it is vital that you don’t stuff the keywords. Using the exact search term repeatedly doesn’t provide a great reading experience for users, and search engines are pretty clever at detecting keyword stuffing.
6. Optimize Your SEO Title and Meta Description
The next WordPress SEO checklist item is whether your SEO titles and meta descriptions are optimized.
The title of your WordPress blog post or product page plays an essential role in search rankings. A compelling title will encourage the user to click on the link.
The meta description also provides more information to users about the page and helps improve the organic click-through rate (CTR). As more people click on your site’s link, it will send a positive signal to Google and help you achieve higher rankings.
It is an SEO best practice to include the primary keyword in your SEO title, meta description, and URLs. Plus, you should ensure that your titles are not more than 55 characters and meta descriptions are not more than 155 characters. Otherwise, Google will truncate your headline and description.
If you’re using AIOSEO, then you can use the headline analyzer to create engaging title tags. It shows a score for your headline and offers tips for improving your SEO title.
You should also optimize the URLs of your blog posts and landing pages for SEO.
Creating short and descriptive permalinks helps searchers to understand what’s the page about in the search results. Besides that, it is also a good practice to include the primary keyword in your URL.
For example, here is what an SEO-friendly URL should look like:
On the other hand, here’s what a URL that’s not optimized for SEO would look like:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/articles/651472
You can change these in your WordPress permalink settings.
8. Make Sure to Add Alt-Text to Your Images
Optimizing your images for search engines is also important in WordPress SEO. One way of doing that is by ensuring that your photos have descriptive alternative or alt text.
Alt text helps Google and other search engines understand the image’s subject matter. This way, your pictures can appear in Google Images and help you get more organic traffic.
In WordPress, you can easily add alt text to your images. When you upload a picture in the WordPress content editor using the Image block, you’ll see the Alt Text option in the settings panel on the right.
You can also go to Media » Library from the admin panel.
After that, simply select any image and enter the ‘Alt Text’ in the right side panel.
Aside from that, you can also use an image compression tool to reduce the size of your pictures. This will help your site to load faster and provide a great user experience.
Note: Using the block editor to add alt text will only add it to that specific use of the image. If you want to add the same alt text to the image no matter where on your site it’s used, use the media library.
When going through the WordPress SEO checklist, another important thing to check is the internal links in your content. Internal links are pages you link from your own website.
Search engines use these links to find and index content on your website. It also helps pass authority from one page to another.
Additionally, it assists your visitors in navigating your website, reading related posts, finding sources for statistics, and discovering old articles and pages.
If you’re using AIOSEO, then you can use its Link Assistant feature to uncover internal linking opportunities. It will show orphaned pages with no internal links, provide suggestions and anchor text, and allow you to insert links in a single click.
When checking for on-page SEO, it is essential that your content is easy to read. It plays a massive role in getting higher rankings because blogs that are easier to read often rank higher than those that are hard to read.
Studies show that people spend less than a second deciding whether to exit or stay on the page. This means they scan through your content, and you have a very short time to convince them to stay on your website.
By improving the readability of your content, you can help users quickly scan your articles. A simple way of doing that is by grouping sections of your content under headings (H2, H3, H4, and so on).
Besides that, you can write short sentences, use bulleted lists, break long chunks of paragraphs into smaller paragraphs, and add a table of contents. Adding images, videos, and other multimedia can also enhance readability and make your content more engaging.
With AIOSEO, you can analyze readability issues inside the content editor and get suggestions on improving your content.
You can also use grammar checker tools like Grammarly to make sure your content is free from spelling mistakes, missing punctuation, and grammatical errors.
11. Ensure that Search Engines Can Easily Find Your Website
Now that your content and on-page SEO is optimized, there are a few technical elements you should also check as part of the WordPress SEO checklist.
First, you should make it easier for search engines to find your website and index your site. WordPress has a built-in option that stops search engines from crawling your site. If it is enabled, Google and other search engines will not list your site in the search results.
You can check this by heading to Settings » Reading from your WordPress dashboard, and scrolling down to the ‘Search engine visibility’ section. Just make sure that the ‘Discourage search engines from indexing this site’ option is not checked.
Another way you can help search engines find content on your site for crawling and indexing is by creating a sitemap.
An XML sitemap tells search engines about the most important pages on your site, so they can quickly discover new content and index them in the search results.
With AIOSEO, it is very easy to create a sitemap. The plugin lets you set up sitemaps for videos, news, RSS feeds, and HTML.
Next, your WordPress website speed is critical in ranking higher in Google. That’s because page load time is now a ranking factor, and Google will rank faster-loading sites higher compared to slow-loading sites.
A simple way of checking load time is by using MonsterInsights. It lets you run a website speed test and shows a Site Speed report inside your WordPress dashboard.
You can see an overall score for mobile and desktop, along with other important metrics for measuring how fast your site loads.
The plugin also shows suggestions and benchmark goals for improving each metric. For example, you can use a content delivery network (CDN) to improve site speed,
The last WordPress SEO checklist item you need to check is whether your site is mobile responsive.
Google has now gone mobile-first. What that means is that it will use your site’s mobile version for indexing instead of the desktop version. You will lose out on higher rankings if your site is not mobile-ready.
The free tool will analyze your site and tell you whether the website is mobile-responsive or not.
You can simply enter your site’s URL in the tool and click the ‘Test URL’ button.
If your site isn’t mobile-ready, then you can start by changing the theme. There are many responsive WordPress themes designed for mobile. You can follow our guide on how to change a WordPress theme without losing data or traffic.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Do you want to start a successful YouTube channel for your business?
YouTube is one of the biggest video-sharing and social media platforms in the world. It can help you bring more customers and sales to your business.
In this article, we’ll show you how to easily start a successful YouTube channel for your business with practical tips to promote and grow it.
Why Start a YouTube Channel for Your Business
YouTube is one of the biggest video-sharing and social media platforms in the world. With more than 2 Billion active users, it is also the second most popular search engine on the market after Google.
With such a huge user base, YouTube is the perfect place to promote your business and acquire new customers and followers.
Following are some of the top benefits of creating a YouTube channel.
Increased brand recognition – A YouTube channel helps you promote your brand and strengthen brand recognition among your audiences.
Increased sales – Videos are the most engaging content for any marketing strategy and engaged audiences are more likely to make a buying decision. This means more sales for your business.
Increased website traffic – YouTube videos can help promote your website on one of the biggest social platforms and search engines. You can add links to your products, services, landing pages, or blog posts in your video descriptions with a direct call to action.
Promote products/services – YouTube videos provide more opportunities to educate customers about your products or services. These videos can be embedded on your support docs which can reduce support requests while making sure that your customers make the most out of your products.
Build a loyal following – A YouTube channel helps you build a more engaging community around your brand and products.
Adds an extra source of revenue – YouTube Monetization options can add an extra source of revenue for your business. Your video content can also unlock many potential partnership opportunities with other businesses.
Starting a YouTube channel requires commitment. You’ll need to create a consistent content strategy and stick to it in order to make a successful YouTube channel.
That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily start a YouTube channel step by step.
Here is an overview of all the steps we’ll walk you through to create a YouTube channel.
YouTube makes it super easy to create a channel. You can make a channel by simply visiting the YouTube website and signing in with a Google Account.
Once signed in, you can click on your profile icon in the top-right corner of the screen and then select the “Create a Channel” option.
This will bring up a popup to fill out basic information for your channel.
You’ll need to choose a channel name and handle, and upload a profile photo.
Now, we want you to take a few minutes before choosing a channel name and handle.
Tips on Choosing The Perfect YouTube Channel Name
Your channel name and handle may help it appear in YouTube and Google Search results.
That’s why you need to use keywords in your channel name and handle. Keywords are the search terms that users would enter when looking for videos.
You may also want to consider what kind of videos you’ll be uploading when choosing a channel name.
For instance, will you be uploading tips & advice, general entertainment, infotainment, interviews, podcasts, documentary-style videos, and more?
Let’s say you want to create a YouTube channel for your gardening business. In that case, using gardening in the channel name and handle will increase the chances of YouTube algorithm displaying your channel in search results.
You can also use the existing brand name that you use on your business website. This helps strengthen your brand identity and keeps things consistent across different platforms (your website and social profiles).
For instance, we use our brand name for our YouTube channel with keywords that explain what our channel is all about (i.e. ‘WPBeginner – WordPress Tutorials‘).
Tips on Making YouTube Profile Photo
Your YouTube profile photo appears across the YouTube platform next to your channel name. This includes your channel homepage, below each video, and in the search results.
Many small businesses use their logo as their YouTube channel profile photo.
If you don’t already have a business logo that you can use, then you can create a YouTube channel photo using Canva.
This free online image editor comes with ready-to-use templates for different social networks including YouTube.
If you want to use any other image editing software or your own logo, then make sure that your channel photo is a square image with at least 800×800 pixels in size.
Once you have entered the channel name, handle, and photo, simply click on the Create Channel button to continue.
Youtube will now create the channel and redirect you to your new YouTube channel’s page.
2. Securing Your Brand Name
Before you upload your first video and start promoting your YouTube channel, it is important to secure your brand name.
This includes purchasing a domain name that matches your YouTube Channel name, making a WordPress website, and creating social media accounts for your channel.
Doing this protects your business from copyright infringement and blocks scammers from impersonating your brand on social media platforms.
Let’s start with a domain name and a website.
1. Making a Website for YouTube Channel
To make a website for your YouTube channel, you’ll need the following items.
A domain name. This is what users will type in their browsers to visit your website (e.g. wpbeginner.com)
Web hosting account. This is where all your website files will be stored.
Normally, a domain costs $14.99 per year and web hosting plans start at $7.99 per month (usually paid for a full year).
This is a significant amount and if you are just starting out then this may look a bit excessive.
Luckily, the folks over at Bluehost have agreed to offer WPBeginner users a free domain name with a generous discount on hosting.
Basically, you can get started for $2.75 per month.
Once you have chosen the domain name, click on the Next button to continue and finalize your purchase.
From here, you’ll first provide your personal information. After that, you can choose a plan duration (the 12-month plan gives you the best value).
Below that, don’t forget to uncheck all the options under Package Extras to further reduce the costs. Don’t worry you can always add them later when needed.
Finally, fill in your payment information to complete the purchase.
Bluehost will now register your domain name and set up your web hosting account. It will also automatically install WordPress, which is the best website builder on the market.
You’ll receive an email with instructions on how to log in to your hosting account.
For more details, see our step-by-step tutorial on how to make a website for beginners.
Remember, the goal here is to just get started with a basic website at first. You can work on your website later on as needed.
2. Securing Your Social Media Profiles
If your business doesn’t already have social media profiles, then it is time to create those and protect your brand.
Depending on your target audience you can choose which platforms would work best for your social media marketing strategy.
For instance, you would definitely want to create a profile on Facebook and Twitter. Optionally, you can choose to sign up for other platforms that may be useful for your businesses.
For instance, a business organization may want to sign up for LinkedIn, a lifestyle business may find Pinterest and Instagram more useful, and an educational website may want to build a community on Redditt as well.
It is important to choose the same brand name that you use for your business and your YouTube channel.
3. Making Artwork for YouTube Channel
Now let’s get back to your newly created YouTube channel which would be empty at the moment.
You can start working on your YouTube channel by creating channel art like a banner or cover image. This image appears at the top of your YouTube channel.
Once again, you can use Canva to create a very professional-looking cover art for your YouTube channel.
Canva comes with hundreds of built-in templates for YouTube channel covers to choose from.
Once you have found a template that matches your channel thumbnail and logo colors you can edit it using Canva’s built-in editor.
More advanced users can create their own cover images using image editing software like Photoshop, Illustrator, or Affinity.
Make sure that your YouTube banner image is 2048 x 1152 pixels in dimensions and no more than 6MB in file size.
Once your image is ready you can go to your YouTube channel page and click on the Customize Channel button.
This will bring you to the Channel Customization page. From here, you need to switch to the Branding tab.
You’ll notice that the channel profile photo you created earlier is already there. Next, click on the Upload button next to the banner image option.
Optionally, you can also add a watermark to your YouTube videos. It appears on your videos in the right-hand corner of the video player.
You can upload the watermark image from the Branding tab. Most channels typically use their channel profile photo or their business logo. Some also use watermarks as a reminder for viewers to subscribe.
You’ll need a square image with dimensions of at least 150×150 pixels. We recommend using a transparent image so that it doesn’t take up much on-screen space.
4. Creating a Featured Video and YouTube Channel Trailer
A YouTube channel trailer is an impactful way to introduce new users to your channel. A good channel trailer provides users with a glimpse into what kind of content your channel offers.
When enabled, this trailer appears at the top of your channel page and automatically plays for new users.
Similarly, you can also create a separate featured video for users who have already subscribed to your channel.
The downside is that they will not see this video at the top of your channel if they have already watched it.
These videos can be uploaded by visiting the YouTube Studio page.
From here, you can switch to the Customization tab and then upload your trailer or a featured video.
Not ready to make a video yet? Don’t worry we’ll talk more about making videos later in this article.
5. What Do You Need to Make Great YouTube Videos
You may have noticed the very high quality of videos uploaded by the most popular YouTube channels such as Mr. Beast, Lemmino, Veritasium, and more.
These videos are made using top-of-the-line cameras, professional lighting, custom-made graphics, and really good editing.
However, the vast majority of videos uploaded on YouTube are not as high-quality as you may think.
You can basically just shoot a YouTube video using your phone camera. Most modern phones are equipped with very capable cameras.
With a little effort and some inexpensive equipment, you can easily make very polished YouTube videos all by yourself.
Here is a list of equipment that you can use to get started.
1. A Good Camera
Digital cameras are becoming quite inexpensive and can shoot high-resolution 4k videos. If you are looking to spend some money then we recommend these starter digital cameras:
However, if you cannot afford a separate camera, then most modern phones come with very capable built-in cameras.
With an inexpensive tripod, some basic lighting, and an inexpensive microphone, you can easily use your own phone to shoot high-quality YouTube videos.
This brings us to other equipment that you may want to look into.
2. An Affordable Tripod or Camera Stand
A tripod or camera stand allows you to firmly place your camera or phone in one place to shoot videos.
There are hundreds of tripods, gimbal stabilizers, and selfie sticks available on Amazon.
Ideally, you would want to buy one that works with your camera or mobile phone and offers different heights and adjustments to shoot a variety of video styles.
For mobile users, Rode Vlogging Kit can be a good starting point. It comes with a 3.5mm audio jack to capture better sound quality and has a separate version for iOS devices.
3. A basic lighting setup
If you are planning to shoot most of your videos indoors, then adding some extra lighting can make a huge difference in video quality.
However, professional-grade lighting equipment can be very expensive. Luckily, there are a ton of inexpensive options that can do the trick.
For beginners, we recommend starting out with ring lights. These portable LED lights come in different shapes and sizes and include adjustments like tripods and extendable heights.
4. A Video Editing Software
Once you have shot your video, you’ll need to edit it to add graphics, background music, credits, and more. You may also want to cut out some parts or merge multiple video files.
Now you may have heard popular YouTubers talking about Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro. These are very powerful video editing software but they are also quite expensive and come with a learning curve.
Luckily, your computer may already have basic and easy-to-use video editing software installed on it.
Mac computers come with the iMovie app which is a very capable video editing software. It also has a trimmed-down version available for iOS devices.
iMovie includes some basic transition effects, the ability to add sounds and music overlays, trim clips, adjust the screen size, and more.
Similarly, Windows users can use Clipchamp which is a great free video editor and comes with dozens of ready-to-use templates for different video platforms including YouTube.
Alternately, the popular design tool Canva also comes with a built-in video editor. It includes a huge library of images, videos, transitions, and other elements that you can use in your videos.
Plus, it works on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices as well. It is extremely easy to use and a good option for absolute beginners.
All these video editing software options are beginner friendly and will allow you to create professional-looking videos for your YouTube channel.
6. How to Edit YouTube Videos
As we mentioned earlier that the vast majority of YouTube videos don’t have the production levels of the most popular YouTubers.
As a YouTube beginner, you just need to learn some video editing basics to polish your YouTube videos before uploading.
Let’s start with the shooting first.
Shooting Videos with Editing in Mind
When you are shooting your videos always record them in the highest quality settings available on your camera.
Use a tripod or gimbal to avoid shaky footage.
Use manual focus whenever possible to make sure that the subject of your video is always in focus.
Record in a quiet space or use a microphone to avoid background noise.
Editing Videos for Your YouTube Channel
Now that you have your video ready let’s bring it into your video editing software.
First, you would want to cut and trim the portions that you don’t want to include in the video.
Add background music when you need it.
Use transition effects to merge two video footage
Add text, images, and graphics to provide more context if needed.
Your video editing software will show you a live preview of your changes as you make them. Once you are satisfied with the changes you have made it is time to export your video.
Finding Media to Use in Your YouTube Videos
YouTube takes copyright violations seriously and can take down your videos or entire channel for any violations.
Make sure that all the media (images, video clips, sounds, and music) that you use in your video are royalty free or that you have written permission to use them in your video.
Luckily there are many open-source and royalty-free sources that you can use in your videos. Most video editing software choices we mentioned above include royalty-free media that you can add to your videos.
YouTube also has its own audio library with thousands of music and audio files that you can use in your videos.
You can find the audio library under YouTube Studio. From here, you can search or browse the audio files and download them to your computer.
After that, you can add them to your video using your video editing software.
Saving Video to Upload on YouTube
By default, YouTube allows you to upload videos of 15 minutes duration. Verified users can upload longer videos.
The video file size limit for YouTube is 256 GB or 12 hours duration, whichever is less.
Make sure that you export your video from your video editor software using the highest quality settings. Using H.264 (mp4 file format) for compression produces higher-quality results with a smaller file size.
Depending on your video duration and file size, it may take a while for your video editing software to process the video.
7. Video Editing Best Practices to Follow
As you edit more videos for your YouTube channel, you’ll be able to pick up new tips and tricks on the way to produce better results.
Following are just some of the very basic tips that you should keep in mind.
Always save your videos in the highest quality. This allows YouTube to display your video in the best possible quality to your users.
Longer videos take more time to process on your computer. Make sure that your computer is connected to a power source to avoid any interruption.
Similarly, video files are massive and may take some time to upload. Make sure you have a faster and more stable internet connection before you begin uploading the video to YouTube.
8. Making Thumbnails for YouTube Videos
A YouTube video thumbnail is the image used as a placeholder for your video across the YouTube platform.
They play the most significant role in boosting a video’s click-through rate.
Most experienced users spend a lot of their time creating and experimenting with different YouTube video thumbnail styles.
YouTube allows you to pick a thumbnail from your video after you upload the video. However, it is not recommended to use a video still as your thumbnail.
You’ll need to use an image editing tool like Photoshop or Canva to create your YouTube thumbnail. It needs to be at least 1280×720 in dimensions.
Here are some of the tips you can use when making a thumbnail for YouTube videos.
1. Use Hi-res Images – It is important to use high-quality images in your video thumbnail so that they look good in all sizes on all devices.
2. Grab user attention – You’ll need to make your images eye catchy by using bold colors, strong contrast, or emotional reactions. That’s why so many popular YouTubers have an image showing their surprised, amazed, disappointed, and other reactions.
3. Showcase Key Event – Show the main subject or event of your video in the thumbnail to build anticipation and provide users with a preview of the video.
4. Use Text Cleverly – Use text whenever needed to provide more context or insert an engagement hook for your audiences.
5. Keep it Simple – Avoid adding too many elements to your thumbnail to keep it clean and easy on the eyes. Cluttered elements in thumbnails can make it look unpolished to your users.
Once you have created a thumbnail for your video, you can add it after your video upload is complete.
You can also change the thumbnail for a video by editing it in YouTube Studio.
9. Uploading Your First YouTube Video
You can upload your video by visiting the YouTube Studio page.
Then, you just need to click on the Upload Videos button.
This will bring up a popup where you need to select the video file(s) you have saved on your computer.
Simply click on the Select Files button to continue. You can upload more than one video at a time if you want.
However, it is better to upload one video at a time to avoid any interruptions during the upload.
YouTube will now start uploading your video in the background. Meanwhile, you can fill in the video details such as the video title, description, thumbnail, and tags.
Once you are satisfied with the settings click on the Next button to continue.
Now, you’ll be asked to provide additional information about your video. For instance, you can add subtitles, choose an end screen, and add video cards to promote other content during your video playback.
All these video elements help you promote your videos and grow your channel.
After that, you need to click on the Next button to continue. YouTube will now check your video for common issues such as copyright infringements or inappropriate content.
If everything looks good, click on the next button to continue.
Now, you can choose how you want to publish your YouTube video. You can make a video private, unlisted, or public so that everyone on the internet can view it.
You can also schedule the video to become public at a specific time. This helps you schedule videos for the future and get ahead on your video calendar.
Finally, click on the Publish button to save your video. You can now preview your video on YouTube.
10. Mastering YouTube SEO
As we mentioned earlier, YouTube is not only a video-sharing platform but also the second most popular search engine.
It receives more searches than any other search engine on the market except for Google itself.
This is why you need to pay attention to YouTube SEO from day one.
This helps your videos and channel appear in YouTube searches more often.
YouTube SEO best practices will also help your channel appear in Google video results and you may even appear in featured snippets.
Following are some of the basic YouTube SEO tips that will help you optimize your videos for higher search rankings.
Use keywords in Title & Description – Keywords are search terms that users type to search for something. Using them in your video’s title and description increases its potential to appear for those search terms. You can also use your keywords in channel description, about page, and other areas to improve your YouTube SEO.
Add a custom YouTube Video Thumbnail – A good custom video thumbnail can provide search engines with more context about your video. It boosts your click-through rate which helps you rank even higher.
Add closed captions and subtitles – Subtitles and closed captions help you provide a video transcript for your video. This provides YouTube with plenty of context to match with the search terms.
Add Tags to Your Videos – Tags help you organize your videos into topics using them strategically has the potential to appear higher for relevant search terms.
Use Given Character Limit – YouTube has character limits for titles, descriptions, tags, and other fields. Make sure that you utilize these fields to provide more detailed information about your video. Here is a quick breakdown of character limits:
Video Title – 100, make sure that you use all of them and try to replicate the style of other popular YouTubers in your industry.
Description – 5000, use the description field to write a catchy but more detailed description of your video. You can also include links here to your website, relevant blog posts, products, affiliate links, and more.
Tags – 500, tags can help users find your content by categorizing it and letting YouTube know who to promote it to.
YouTube SEO is a highly sought-after skill and as you work on growing your YouTube channel you’ll pick up more tips and tricks along the way.
11. Growing Your YouTube Channel
Growing a successful YouTube channel takes time, some effort, and patience. In most cases success will not come overnight, rather your channel will grow bit by bit slowly and steadily.
Following are a few tips that will help you keep up the momentum and grow your YouTube channel.
1. Create High-Quality Videos
This goes without saying that users will abandon your YouTube videos if they don’t find your content useful or entertaining.
Producing higher quality content that answers users’ questions, provides them value (information, education, or entertainment), and keeps them hooked is the key to keep gaining subscribers for your YouTube channel.
2. Upload Regularly
Publishing regularly is one of the most common traits of almost all successful YouTube channels.
For beginners, this may seem hard at first. We recommend committing to at least one video per week. As you work regularly on your videos you will be able to pick up more tricks to produce higher-quality videos more quickly.
Whatever frequency you choose, you need to stick to it. This helps you keep your existing subscribers engaged which leads to acquiring new subscribers and more views.
3. Engage with Your Audience
YouTube is a social media platform as well. In the US alone, 62% of internet users access YouTube daily and the majority of them access it several times a day.
The easiest way to keep your audience engaged is through YouTube comments. Asking users questions in your videos or replying to them via comments helps you bring back those users. They are also more likely to view more of your content in the future.
4. Curate Your Content in Playlists
As your videos increase it will become harder for users to find all your videos on a similar topic.
For instance, let’s say you run a gardening channel with several videos about budget landscaping. You can help your users find them all by creating a playlist.
Creating playlists also helps with YouTube SEO as these playlists often appear in search engines.
5. Dig Down the Analytics
YouTube offers built-in analytics tools to track the performance of your videos. This helps you gain insights into your audience.
From here, you can analyze important data such as views, watch time, and demographics to improve your content and reach more viewers.
6. Promote Your Videos
To grow your YouTube channel you cannot just upload videos and wait for viewers to come.
You need to proactively promote your videos across all your digital marketing channels, email marketing, and through your website.
This brings us to our next section.
12. Using Your Website to Promote YouTube Videos
All popular YouTube channels have a website.
This helps them to continuously bring traffic to their business website from their Youtube channel which leads to more sales and growth for their business.
It also helps them send more users to their YouTube channel by promoting videos and helping new users discover their YouTube channel.
Here is a step-by-step playbook that you can apply to your website to grow your YouTube channel.
1. Start a Blog To Promote Your YouTube Channel
For many businesses, starting a blog allows them to consistently cover topics that their potential customers will be looking for in search.
This helps them gain free organic search traffic to their website which they can then convert into customers and subscribers.
Adding a blog to your website helps you repurpose content you have used in your videos and make them into articles. This increases your potential to rank for those particular keywords and get traffic to both your video and blog content.
Upon activation, the plugin will launch a setup wizard which will walk you through the basic setup.
Need more help? We have a step-by-step WordPress SEO guide for beginners, which will help you properly optimize your website for SEO.
3. Embed Your Videos in Blog Posts to Get More Subscribers
An easy way to get more views and subscribers for your YouTube channel is by embedding videos in your blog posts.
WordPress makes it super easy. Simply copy the URL of your video and edit the post or page where you want to embed the video.
On the post editor screen, paste the URL on the line where you want to display the video.
WordPress will automatically fetch the required embed code and display your video.
4. Submit Video Sitemaps for Better Rankings
Video Sitemaps are like regular XML sitemaps but only for your video posts. The include links to your WordPress posts or pages containing YouTube video embeds.
You can then submit this sitemap using Google Search Console. Google could then display your article with an enhanced snippet with a video preview.
Now adding YouTube videos to your blog posts and pages is quite simple. However, it is quite boring and doesn’t add any social sharing features to your video embeds.
SmashBalloon offers separate plugins for different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. You can also buy the all-access plan to get all plugins.
First, you need to install and activate the SmashBalloon YouTube Feed Pro plugin. Upon activation, head over to YouTube Feed » Settings page and provide your plugin license key. You can find this information under your account on the Smash Balloon website.
After that, you need to click on the ‘Add Source’ button to connect your WordPress website to your YouTube account.
Smash Balloon will ask for your permission to access your channel information under your Google Account.
Simply follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup and get your channel name added as the source.
Next, you need to visit YouTube Feed » All Feeds page and click on the ‘Add New’ button to add a YouTube feed that you want to display.
Follow the on-screen instructions to select a source, template, and style for your feed.
Once finished, Smash Balloon will show you a live preview of your YouTube feed.
If everything looks good, then you can click on the Embed button to continue.
The plugin will now show you a shortcode that you can add to any post or page to display your YouTube feed. Optionally, you can also add it directly to a widget or a page.
Here is how it looked on our test website.
We changed the video template color scheme from light to dark and used the carousel-style gallery.
Smash Balloon allows you to fetch video feeds for your own channel, any other public channel, search term, or favorite videos.
It also works great on mobile devices and will automatically adjust your Gallery width for your smaller screens.
You’ll need to consistently upload new videos in order to make a successful YouTube channel.
You can choose your own frequency which gives you plenty of time to make a video. Many beginners start with one or two videos each month and increase it gradually to one video per week.
You can choose a day and time to publish your videos. This way your users would know when to expect a new video from your channel.
Now the real challenge for most beginners is to come up with ideas for new videos.
Following are a few easy tips to generate video ideas for your YouTube channel.
1. View YouTube Analytics – You can see what kind of content your users like by viewing your YouTube Channel Analytics. Then branch out your most viewed videos into deeper and related topics.
2. Get Hints by YouTube Search – As you type a keyword in YouTube search it would start suggesting popular search terms. These are the search terms that users are already looking for and they can be immensely helpful in generating new video ideas.
3. YouTube Comments – Your users would often post questions in the comments section below your YouTube videos. You can convert the most common questions into separate videos.
4. Your WordPress Blog – You can repurpose your most popular blog content into YouTube videos.
5. Ask Your Users – You can ask your users on social media profiles about what topics they would like you to cover next. Similarly, you can run surveys and polls on your website to gather user feedback.
6. Online Communities – Forums such as Reddit, Facebook Groups, LinkedIn, and Twitter are the discussion hubs of the internet. You can join the communities covering similar topics as your YouTube channel and see which topics come up more frequently under discussion.
Advanced users can use third-party tools to perform deeper keyword research. Following are some of the most popular keyword research tools for YouTubers.
Semrush – It offers a keyword magic tool where you can sort ideas by SERP features and select Video to explore video ideas.
2. vidIQ – A keyword research and video ideas generator platform made specifically for video content creators.
3. TubeBuddy – Offers YouTube SEO, video optimization, and keyword research tools as a browser extension.
14. Experiment with Different Video Styles and Formats
A YouTube channel doesn’t become successful overnight. It will take some time and effort until you find out what kind of content strategy works for your audience.
Meanwhile, we recommend trying different video formats to see which one of them brings you more user engagement, views, or likes.
You can try YouTube shorts to experiment with shorter video formats.
You can also try how-tos, interviews, video podcasts, essays, commentaries, and more.
Switching styles will help you figure out what your audience finds more engaging and then you can create more such videos.
Similarly, you can experiment by changing thumbnails for your older videos that are not getting any views.
You can also try different video titles and descriptions to see if they help you grab user attention.
15. Frequently Asked Questions About Creating a YouTube Channel
Now that your YouTube channel is up and running following are some of the most commonly asked questions asked by beginner YouTube creators.
1. How many views do I need to get paid on YouTube?
You’ll need at least 4000 public watch hours or 1000 subscribers in 12 months period to be eligible for the YouTube partner program, which gives you access to YouTube monetization tools including ad revenue sharing. For Shorts, you’ll need at least 10 million views in the last 90 days.
2. Can I start a YouTube Channel with my phone?
Yes, you can start a YouTube channel using your mobile phone. YouTube app for smartphones makes it super easy to create a channel, record live videos, or upload videos from your phone.
3. How to make money online using YouTube?
The easiest way to make money online using YouTube is by joining the YouTube partner program. Once you are approved, you become eligible to get paid for revenue sharing on ads displayed during your videos.
4. Can I start a YouTube channel without showing my face?
Yes, you can start a YouTube channel and upload videos without showing your face.
5. Do I need an LLC to start a YouTube channel for my business?
No, you don’t need an LLC to start a YouTube channel for your business. You’ll automatically be considered a sole proprietor for the YouTube channel and all your earnings from YouTube will be subjected to local taxes like income tax. However, some YouTube channels may register as a limited liability company (LLC) to protect their business from potential liabilities, insurance reasons, and other legal and financial reasons.
We hope this article helped you learn how to easily start a successful YouTube channel for your business. You may also want to see our list of other popular online business ideas or learn how to create and sell online courses to generate passive income.
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Are you wondering how to use OpenAI and ChatGPT on your WordPress website?
OpenAI can help with everything from generating meta descriptions for your posts to writing email sales copy. You can use OpenAI on your WordPress site to save time, cut costs, improve your SEO and workflows, and grow your business!
In this article, we will show you 14 of the best ways to use OpenAI on your WordPress website.
A (Brief) Introduction to OpenAI
You have probably heard the terms “OpenAI” and “ChatGPT” used interchangeably, but they’re not exactly the same.
OpenAI is the research laboratory (read: a group of very smart people) behind the chatbot ChatGPT and the deep-learning, image-generating model DALL-E 2, among other AI-powered products.
The team over at OpenAI created ChatGPT which is an AI assistant to help streamline your workflows and save you time.
It can write email newsletters for you, suggest blog post ideas, do keyword research, automate your workflows, and so much more.
To improve your WordPress website workflows with artificial intelligence, you will first need to create an account with OpenAI. Getting signed up is FREE. All you will need is an email and a password.
1. Generate Titles and Meta Descriptions with AIOSEO
All in One SEO (AIOSEO) is the best SEO plugin for WordPress, and it just got an AI-powered boost. After adding your keywords to your blog posts, let AIOSEO and OpenAI further optimize your content for search engines.
Then, from within the WordPress post editor, you can tell OpenAI to generate titles and meta descriptions that best fit your content with the click of a button.
Simply go to the ‘AIOSEO Settings’ at the bottom of your page and find the ‘Post Title’ box.
Next, you need to click on the robot icon. If you hover your mouse over it, you will be able to see a ‘Use AI Generator’ message.
Now, you can see 5 post title suggestions. Simply click on the ‘+’ icon next to one to use it for your post.
If you don’t like any of the suggestions, you can also click ‘Generate New Titles’ to see new ones.
Then, simply repeat the same steps by clicking on the robot icon in the ‘Meta Description’ box. AIOSEO will then suggest a few meta descriptions for your post.
Plus, connecting your OpenAI account to your AIOSEO account is as easy as copying and pasting an API key. You can check out AIOSEO’s documentation for more details.
2. Generate Ad Copy and Product Descriptions
Due to GPT-3’s talent for SEO, it is probably no surprise that it can handle more of your content creation needs. You can use OpenAI to create short, effective ad copy that matches your brand or long-form product descriptions for your WooCommerce store.
For example, we prompted ChatGPT to describe the need for running shoes using the “problem-agitate-solve” framework.
Simply edit the text to match your preferred sentence structure, include your keywords, throw in some on-brand and product-specific language, and then watch your sales increase!
3. Generate Blog Post Ideas
If you are anything like us, then coming up with content ideas for your WordPress blog can be time consuming. Fortunately, OpenAI runs on one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers.
So, you can ask it to come up with ideas for new content on your blog.
In our previous examples, we used OpenAI to help with tasks by inputting prompts directly into ChatGPT.
In our next few examples, we will look at how to integrate OpenAI directly into your WordPress workflow, truly leveraging the power of automation and AI to save time and resources.
For this example, we will use OpenAI with Uncanny Automator to generate ideas for new content based on a user’s form submission. Then, we will automatically send OpenAI’s response to your content management spreadsheet or database, like Google Sheets or Airtable, for the whole team to access.
If you don’t already have Uncanny Automator, you can download the Automator plugin for FREE to try on your WordPress site.
Once you have downloaded Automator, you will need to connect Automator to OpenAI. Then we will build the automation recipe below.
First, you need to create a new form using a contact form plugin like WPForms. From your WordPress admin sidebar, navigate to WPForms » Add New.
Then, create a new contact form and make sure to add two number fields labeled ‘Temperature’ and ‘Maximum length’, and one single line text field labeled ‘Open AI Prompt’.
Now, you must head to Automator » Add New. In the pop-up window that appears, simply select ‘Logged-in users’, followed by ‘Confirm’.
Next, give your new recipe a title that makes it easy to recognize. For example, we have named our recipe ‘OpenAI Content Ideation’.
In the ‘Triggers’ panel, you need to select ‘WPForms’. From the drop-down list that appears, select ‘A user submits a form’ and choose the WPForms form that you just made. When you are finished, just click ‘Save’.
After that, in the ‘Actions’ panel, you have to select ‘OpenAI’.
From the drop-down list that appears, choose ‘Use a prompt to generate text with the Davinci model’.
In the Actions section, map the fields from the WPForms form to the Temperature, Length, and Prompt fields in the OpenAI action.
To do this, click the ‘*’ icon to the right of each field to choose the correct token associated with the trigger.
When you are finished, simply click Save.
To send the blog post ideas to an external spreadsheet, you will need to add a second Action. To do this, click ‘Add action’ in the ‘Actions’ panel.
From the menu of available integrations, simply choose Google Sheets.
Then, from the drop-down list, select ‘Create a row in a Google Sheet’.
In the editor, you must select your content management spreadsheet. Then, click ‘Get columns’ and add the OpenAI Response token to the appropriate column(s).
Make sure to click ‘Save’ when you are done.
Finally, in the top right corner, toggle your recipe from ‘Draft’ to ‘Live.’
Now, whenever you enter information into your blog post idea generator form, Automator will tell OpenAI to suggest new content ideas and send them to your Google Sheets spreadsheet.
In our example, we entered “Give me 5 fun blog posts on pediatric dentistry” into the WPForms form.
Then, OpenAI generated a response, and Automator added it to the worksheet in the recipe.
4. Perform Sentiment Analysis
There is no way of knowing if AI has any feelings of its own. If we had to guess, we would say that it probably doesn’t. At least, not yet. But that doesn’t mean that it cannot understand human emotions.
You can use OpenAI to perform sentiment analysis by asking it to interpret the mood of your customers’ feedback.
But how can you use this with your WordPress website?
Maybe your contact forms are connected to a help desk plugin, and you want to assign priority based on the message urgency.
Alternatively, maybe you want to automatically approve positive blog comments. You could even quickly identify negative feedback in surveys powered by your favorite WordPress form plugin.
In both cases, you will be able to address negative feedback quicker, keep your customers happier, and improve your online reputation.
5. Automate Customer Support with Intelligent Sentiment Analysis
Now that you know how to use OpenAI to perform sentiment analysis, you can easily add it to your workflows. By combining OpenAI’s emotional intelligence with Uncanny Automator’s efficiency, you will be able to create a seamless customer support system.
Let’s put together an Automator recipe that creates tickets in our customer support plugin whenever a customer reviews a product.
First, we have OpenAI perform sentiment analysis on the reviews as they come in.
Then, using Automator’s Filters feature, we create tasks with different priority levels based on OpenAI’s assessment of the customer’s sentiment.
In this recipe, if OpenAI decides that a new WooCommerce product review is negative, then it creates a new help desk ticket in FluentCRM and adds an Urgent tag.
If you are ready to take things to the next level, you could even use the submission to create a draft reply for the ticket.
Just add an extra OpenAI action to generate a draft reply, then include that response as the ticket draft.
This works best with the GPT-3.5-Turbo model because you can use Automator to also send context. For example, you can tell it to answer the prompt as a helpful support agent from your website.
6. Create Event Summaries, Recap Podcast Episodes, and Take Meeting Minutes
Running special events on your WordPress website is easy with WordPress calendar plugins. Unfortunately, not every customer of yours can save the date.
After all, we cannot do everything and be everywhere all at once, but OpenAI can.
If your customers missed the big day, OpenAI can create event summaries for you. You can even choose the length and format of the summary you want OpenAI to make.
For example, we asked ChatGPT to create a 100-word summary of an October 2008 IMF town hall. In less than one minute, ChatGPT turned the 1,500-word opening remarks into a 100-word summary.
Alternatively, maybe you are trying to grow your podcast audience. To help your listeners who don’t have two hours a day to consume media, you can use OpenAI to recap your podcast episodes, hitting all of the highlights.
Using transcripts, we asked ChatGPT to summarize the first 15 minutes of a popular podcast.
Finally, some conference call tools, like Zoom and Google Meet, allow users to record their meetings with audio transcripts. You can then feed those transcripts into OpenAI and create meeting summaries in just a few seconds.
7. Draft Blog Posts (and Seamlessly Integrate Them Into Your Workflows)
For content writers (including us), few things are more stressful than a blank page. Thankfully, artificial intelligence is the sledgehammer that can break through any writer’s block.
Using one of our blog post ideas from our previous recipe, we told OpenAI to draft a blog post for us.
In this Automator recipe, a form submission (the trigger) tells OpenAI to draft a new blog post. Then, it messages the writer in Slack to let them know the draft is ready for them.
From your WordPress admin sidebar, simply go to WPForms » Add New.
Then, create a new form with at least two number fields labeled ‘Temperature’ and ‘Maximum length.’ You will also need two single-line text fields labeled ‘Title’ and ‘Open AI Prompt’.
Next, you must go to Automator » Add New. In the pop-up window that appears, select ‘Logged-in users’. Then, simply give your new recipe a title like ‘OpenAI Blog Post Draft’.
In the ‘Triggers’ panel, you need to select ‘WPForms’ From the drop-down list that appears, you must choose ‘A user submits a form’ and pick the form you just created.
When you are finished, make sure to click ‘Save’.
Moving on, in the ‘Actions’ panel, you must select ‘OpenAI’. From the drop-down list that appears, choose ‘Use a prompt to generate text with the Davinci model’.
In the editor, fill in the fields using the tokens from your form’s fields that match the fields in the editor. When you are finished, just click ‘Save.’
Now, it is time to set up an automatic blog post that will be created with the OpenAI content.
In the ‘Actions’ panel, simply click ‘Add action’. Then, from the menu of available integrations, select ‘WordPress’.
Next, from the drop-down list, hit ‘Create a post’. In the editor, you must fill in the ‘Title’ field with the Title token from your form and enter the OpenAI Response token into the ‘Content’ field.
Then, make sure to click ‘Save’.
Optional: You can also add a ClickUp action to your recipe to create a task with the post URL in the description.
Additionally, you can include a Slack action to notify your content writer that a new task and draft post is waiting for their review.
Finally, in the top right corner, toggle your recipe from ‘Draft’ to ‘Live’.
In our WPForms form, we then asked OpenAI to ‘Write a casual blog post on three ways to make dental visits fun for kids.’
And here is the draft that Automator created with OpenAI’s response.
We call that the anti- writer’s block recipe! You can also use AI to generate your SEO title, write a meta description, and even set up a featured image.
8. Draft Emails in Minutes
Writing carefully-worded emails takes time. Unless, of course, OpenAI is writing them for you.
Whether you are sending out an internal notice, responding to a customer’s questions, or reaching out to prospective clients, OpenAI can draft your email in seconds. After that, it is just a matter of proofreading and including specific information.
We prompted ChatGPT to “write a 300-word marketing email promoting a Black Friday sale on limited edition clothing.” Less than 30 seconds later, we had an email that we could easily customize to suit our branding and needs.
Promoting your blog posts on social media is important. However, sometimes, writing the appropriate character-length tweets and captions can be even more challenging than creating a whole article.
With OpenAI and Automator, you won’t have to stress about the perfect hashtags.
Here is an example of an action that takes a new blog post and sends it to OpenAI to generate a summary that can be shared on Twitter:
Automator will send that summary, complete with hashtags, to our WhatsApp account. There, we can review, edit, copy, and then paste the content into our social media accounts when we are ready to publish it.
For a post on connecting ChatGPT to LearnDash, OpenAI wrote this summary:
Embrace the robot revolution and use OpenAI and LearnDash to create the e-learning platform of your dreams. #AI revolution is here! Harness the power of AI for your #elearning platform w/ OpenAI & ChatGPT models. Automate content creation, create course outlines & answer students’ questions. Save time & money w/ Uncanny Automator! #LearnDash #NolejAI #RobotRevolution.
You could even extend your recipe to make Automator post the summary straight to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more.
10. Generate AI Images for Your Posts or Landing Pages
Are you tired of scrolling through stock photography databases trying to find the perfect image for your blog post? Or finding a picture and then realizing that every other article with your keywords is using the same image?
Fortunately, OpenAI’s image generator DALL-E 2 can create original images from descriptive plain text.
OpenAI’s Content Policy and Terms give you all of the rights to the images that you create with DALL-E 2, “including the right to reprint, sell, and merchandise.”
Using our original WPForms form with an added field for an image prompt, we used Automator to create a draft blog post complete with a featured image.
Here is that same blog post about dental visits with a featured image created by DALL-E.
As you can see, it has a fun graphic with a tooth, toothpaste, and different toothbrushes.
To make the process even easier, whenever you tell DALL-E to create an image using Uncanny Automator, Automator will add the image to your WordPress media library, with no hotlinking necessary.
11. Create Course Outlines in Your LMS
OpenAI is smart. After all, “intelligence” is in the name.
We asked OpenAI to create an advanced 8-week course outline on supercomputers, which, funnily enough, is kind of like an OpenAI autobiography.
Once you have your course outline, don’t forget to use AIOSEO’s OpenAI integration to write your meta description.
12. Create Lessons in Your LMS
Using a similar Uncanny Automator recipe to the previous one, you can easily fill in the course outline that you created with OpenAI-generated content.
We used OpenAI’s response from our previous recipe to help us create this lesson.
Here is the first part of it.
With the right prompts, you can also create a recipe that generates unique images for your lessons and uploads them automatically to your WordPress media library.
Using Automator tokens, you can also set your new DALL-E 2 generated image as the featured image for your lesson or include it somewhere in the lesson itself.
13. Create a Chatbot
As a natural language processor, OpenAI loves to talk. You can use this feature to communicate with customers in your online store or business website.
This can help you target users who are having problems on your site or want to learn more about your products and services.
14. Have Fun! Write Short Stories, Poems or Cook Up Recipes
Once you have fully integrated OpenAI and Uncanny Automator into your workflows, you will have enough time to do the things that really matter like growing your business or spending more quality time with family.
Playing around with OpenAI and trying out new things is a great way to learn how to create better prompts that get the results you are looking for, so you can continue to save time and optimize your workflows.
OpenAI and WordPress plugin development are in the super early stages right now, and there is so much more in the works. We will be sharing more details and updates in this guide in the coming months.
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