Insider Marketing Tips

This is easily one of the most important free online marketing articles I will ever write.

If you are using WordPress, you are needlessly engaging in this deadly game without even knowing it. Every day countless bloggers are shocked to find that their blog is lost forever because of a critical mistake; they didn’t backup their MYSQL database.

This database is THE single most important piece of data running your blog. Many bloggers simply don’t understand that their MYSQL database resides on a separate folder on the host server. They assume that downloading the WordPress folders to their hard drive is the proper way to backup their blog.

When faced with a server crash, these bloggers are then slapped with the harsh reality that their entire blog has been wiped out completely. Some people are even naive enough to think their hosts have made a backup of their databases. Three years ago, I was faced with this exact scenario when my Website host had a major server crash. My host told me that I needed to use my MYSQL database backups to restore my blogs, which of course I didn’t have (I did have plenty of salty tears, however).

Believe me when I say, you don’t ever want to be in this position! Years of hard work vanished down the virtual drain and I had to start over from scratch. However, the good news is that I am going to show you how to protect your all important WordPress databases with 10 minutes worth of work. You will then have your blog humming like one of those beautiful old muscle cars!

Ready? Set… Go…

Step one:

Go and download the “WordPress Database Backup” plugin here:

http://www.ilfilosofo.com/blog/wp-db-backup

Step two:

Install the plugin on your blog.

Step three:

Set the plugin to your desired specifications. I use either a weekly or daily backup, depending on how often I post to each specific blog. You can then have the backup file downloaded to your hard drive or sent to your email. If you use the email option, be sure to check the attachment file limit from your email provider. If the backup file attachments are over the limit, I suggest using another email account for this task.

Even if you took the time to grab a bite to eat, that should of taken about ten minutes. Ten minutes to save you from utter and complete hell, not to mention give you peace of mind. Now when faced with a server crash, you will have the required data to restore your blog quickly and easily.

No need to thank me, but feel free to send donations my way if you feel the urge.

Whenever we talk about Internet marketing, one of the most important aspects is Website promotion. However, very few marketers understand what a canonical url is and how it can effect your search engine rankings.

Canonicalization is basically the process the search engines use to pick the best url for your Website. As an example you can have the following urls leading back to your site:

www.yoursite.com
yoursite.com
yoursite.com/index.html

The search engines perceive each of these links as a separate url.

So why exactly should you be worried about this? It is well known that building backlinks to your Website helps to boost your rankings in the search engines and increase the size of your coin purse. However, if you are using various forms of your urls, it can have a negative effect on your rankings.

If you are guilty of improper url linking, you aren’t alone. A majority of marketers are making this crucial mistake every day simply because they aren’t aware of it. However, this is easily correctible.

You want to make it as easy as possible for the search engines to determine which url you prefer. Never, ever leave it up to a robot to make a decision about your site that you have total control of. In this business you need every little edge you can get over the competition.

To dictate to the search engines what url you prefer, you must be consistent anytime you are creating a link to your Website. Choose one format such as yoursite.com and use that link format exclusively for both internal and external links. All this means is that when you link to another page on your Website or you are promoting your site, use the same url structure each time.

As you can clearly see, domain canonicalization is really nothing to fear and is easily within your control. Remember, over time, little changes like this can have a big affect on your overall search engine rankings, so stay consistent and you will reap the rewards.