Akismet – this plugin is automatically available on WordPress blogs already. It protects your blog from trackback and comment spams, which can come in the thousands with today’s automated software. You still have to activate it for the tool to work though.

All in One SEO Pack – it remains as one of the most popular SEO tools for blogs today. There is a wide variety of plug-ins that offers similar features. But this plugin has something going for it – simplicity and proven effectiveness.

Contact Form 7 – if you don’t want to publish your email address on the site, using the contact form is a must. In many instances, it also serves to create a more professional feel for your blog site. There’s no need to hire an expensive developer to do the job, you can do it yourself by simply installing the Contact Form 7 on WordPress.

Easy Privacy Policy – many people are becoming concerned about the security of their data these days. By adding this section to your site, you can assure visitors that you care about their privacy. It also includes an Adsense compliance section already.

BulletProof Security – very few new bloggers think about hacker attacks. But as they say, prevention is better than cure. Install this plugin as soon as you can. It is simple to set-up, just follow the instructions.

Follow Me – it’s a must to install this plugin these days. It allows you to add your social media profiles on the WordPress blog. That way, it would be easy for readers to become subscribers. They’ll see the latest developments about your blog or know you more personally through social media.

Google XML Sitemaps – this plugin generates XML sitemaps for your blog automatically. It helps the search engines index your content better.

Ultimate Google Analytics – install this plugin and you’ll enable Google Analytics to run on your blog. This makes the process of tracking traffic easy and convenient.

Offers Enough Bandwidth and Data Storage

Hosting companies can offer you either unlimited or limited amount of storage and bandwidth depending on your plan. The subscription that you should get will depend on your blog’s needs and the type of content that you want to post. That’s why it is important to make sure that your hosting company offers data storage and bandwidth limit that will suit your site’s needs.

Allows Your Blog to Expand and Grow

Other than offering enough data storage and bandwidth, your hosting company should also provide features that can help your site grow. Your blog host should offer plans that allow you to add data storage, bandwidth and other features like SSL certification in the future. The topics that you cover and your blog’s domain should not be the only thing that’s expandable, your hosting company should also be part of it.

Complete and Convenient Features

A control panel is used when setting up and working on various parts of your blog. That’s why when choosing the right hosting company, it should offer complete and user-friendly tools that can help you manage your domains. Make sure that they have a control panel that is convenient to access and easy to learn.

Reliable

Every hosting company has their own set of customer support. Some offers email, ticketing systems, chat and phone support. Regardless of what they offer, you should be comfortable with their support options. It is also important that you can quickly get a support from your host. To make sure that your blog’s hosting company is reliable, do some research on the quality of support that they provide.

Affordable

Although there are a lot of hosting companies that offer affordable hosting fee, it would still depend whether it can deliver your blog’s needs. When it comes to pricing and packages, make sure that you are getting what you pay for. Otherwise, you will shell out more than what you earn from your blog.

Choosing the right hosting company for your blog is not just about which is popular or which is the most affordable. It should also be capable of allowing you to expand your site’s purpose, and it should offer features that are easy to learn and apply on your blog.

Source: http://blogmarketingbasics.com/2011/01/09/get-your-blog-on-line-selecting-a-hosting-company/

Whatever the case may be, it is important to prepare your site for this eventuality. Even if it seems unlikely for you right now, remember that it’s the Wild West out there. Nothing is safe with so many bad people trolling the internet these days. Some problems you may encounter include:

• Changes in WP username and password
• Your site may redirect to another website
• Defaced homepage – a lot of hackers leave Arabic writings and music on your handing page
• Changes in several WordPress files
• Domain name suspension
• Scripts to falsify and obtain financial information from visitors

These things can land you in big trouble since the domain name is registered under you. It’s important to resolve the problem and find ways to prevent it from happening in the future. So here are some tips you should follow to protect yourself from hackers:

Immediately after the site is hacked, you need to take off your website and set up a temporary page. Just login to the File Manager (FTP program) and rename the index.php section. Write a short message assuring visitors that your site will be back on once everything is restored.

Then reset your WP username and passport. You need to log in to the cPanel (provided by your hosting company) and set new account login details on the phpmyadmin section. This particular step may not be necessary if you can still use the “Forget Password” feature on WordPress itself. After this, you need to download the latest version of WordPress and update your plugins.

Since your old theme has been defaced, you need to re-install the WordPress them into the system. Be sure to back up all of your files. Then finally, you need to install security tools such as the BulletProof Security plugin. It will protect your site from people who might try to hack into your site next time.

Applying “Content is King” in SEO

The “content is king” statement is nothing new for the experienced blogger. It is the same with search engine optimization, because your blog posts are what attract your readers to your site. Your audience will type a specific search term to find relevant information, while the search engine result page will show a list of possible sources. In the end, they will choose sites that are fresh and unique.

Therefore, it is important that you keep your blog updated. Regularly create and post content that is related to your niche. It is also important to take note of your keyword density, but don’t overdo it. If you have a catchy blog, it will most likely draw your potential readers. If you want to garner loyal readers for your site, you should write a search engine-friendly post that will be beneficial for them..

Connect to Beneficial Blogs

Although your goal is to stand out from the rest of the blogs that are being published every day, always bear in mind that bloggers in your niche are not your competitors. Consider linking your post on their site to get favorable traffic for your blog. This will benefit your site in terms of traffic, SEO, and exposure. It is a free and easy way to expand your marketing activity without making it detrimental for your blog. Over the Internet, bloggers in the same niche are like business partners.

Consider Using Facebook, Twitter and Google+

In terms of generating traffic, Facebook, Twitter and Google+ remain source for various blogs. Most people spend their time online looking at their social media accounts. That’s why you should also share your content on your social media profile if you want to leverage its popularity. When you deliver a great blog, your followers, fans or friends are most likely to share it with their family and friends. This will give your content the exposure that it deserves.

When starting to promote a blog, it’s always better to start with the basics. This will give your content the foundation that it needs to become an online stop for your target readers.

Web design packages

You’ll obviously need to pay for the domain name and hosting if you want to start a professional-looking website, but beyond that, you can get everything else for free. There are countless themes that you can download and install on your site. A number of these themes are given away by professional designers to promote their business. The functionalities of a number of packages are top-notch. The key thing is to choose a template or theme that suits your business.

Search engine optimization tools

Once your website is finished, the next thing you want to do is promote the site. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) tools come into the picture. It is important to learn as much as you can about the latest SEO tactics. The basics involve link building, on-page keyword optimization, and proper keyword research. For each step of the process, there are free tools you can access readily.

For example, with regards to keyword research, Google offers a free keyword tool. On the other hand, on-page optimization involves sprinkling your content, meta tags, and descriptions with the chosen keywords – this can be done manually. Be sure to check out tools that can identify your Google PageRank (PR), links, and Alexa position. They are all available for free.

Outsourcing the rest

Unless you are into internet marketing full-time, it is time-consuming to promote your website because you need to do it every day. It may be a good idea to consider outsourcing. Yes, it takes money so make sure that you’ll get value from the work you get. First, you have the right system in place and have a staff that you can trust. So you will have to do everything yourself first.

Monitor your site’s progress and tweak as appropriate. Pretty soon, you’ll see an increase in your traffic stats and website ranking.

Hosting Single of Multiple Blogs

When choosing the right hosting company for your blog, you should decide whether you want to manage single or multiple sites. Since the capabilities and packages offered by hosting companies vary, it is a good idea to think about how many domains you’ll need or want to host.

Storing and Bandwidth

Each blog has its own posting style, so you have to think about the content that will be included in your own site. Will it be text-based, a photo blog or a video blog?

Aside from this, you have to anticipate your expected amount of traffic since not all hosts offer large bandwidth. Small bandwidth obviously cannot accommodate a huge number of readers because it will take a while to move data from the server to an Internet browser.

Email Services

There are hosting companies that offer “unlimited POP3 email accounts” or web-based email services. If you will use your blog host’s email services, make sure that they meet your needs and offer instructions on how you can easily set up your email service.

File Transfer Protocol

The File Transfer Protocol is needed to move your content to your blog site. That’s why it is also important that your host offers an easy way to set up and use FTP addresses. It would be better if you can use a “web explorer” in moving your files to and from your blog site without the help of a FTP program.

Data Backups

It is important that your data has backups, and you should do it regularly. It would also be a good idea if your backup has duplicate files. This means that your hosting company should also offer frequent backup of your blog site’s data.

When choosing the hosting company for your blog, it’s important to take note of whether they can meet all of your requirements. Although you can always upgrade after signing up, it is better that you take your blog’s needs into consideration. That way, you are sure that your site is performing well, and this will be beneficial for you and your readers in the long run.

It is also important for you to be aware that there are rampant myths and misconceptions surrounding internet marketing. Read on below to find out some of the common claims you shouldn’t fall for. That way, you can protect yourself from fraud and scams. Read on.

Run a hands-off internet business overnight

Barring exceptional luck and timing – which probably happens in 1 out of a billion people – it requires effort to set-up a business. The most successful people who made it online will tell you that you need to learn the ropes of the trade inside out before you can even hope to take a hands-off approach. In fact, even those who run large companies remain at the top of their game. The hands-off approach is a myth because you’ll still need to monitor your website performance regularly.

Investing thousands is a must

The saying that “it takes money to make money” might be true. However, this doesn’t mean that you should trustingly give away $1,000 to the first marketing coach you come across. There are people who make huge claims. The truth is though, is that they make a lot of money by taking money off people like you who want to believe them.

Spamming is the way to go

Common sense dictates that you shouldn’t spam subscriber emails or hound forums with spam comments. A lot of “gurus” will try to convince you otherwise. This is because spamming is easy. There are a lot of software tools that can generate thousands of links to your site within seconds. Some of them will stick on unprotected sites which can get you some traffic.

However, spam won’t get you anywhere over the long term. In fact, it might not even give you anything. In majority of cases, it is a waste of effort. People persist on doing it because it is an easy way to do “something”. Don’t fall for this claim.

Create a List of Possible Domain Names

When creating a domain name for your blog, you should put all the possible search terms that you got into three groups: High-level, Long-tail, Reader-friendly. High-level domains are specific terms that describe what your site is all about. So if you’re creating a blog about health, your high level domain would be “health.”

Long-tail domains will make your high-level blog names specific, like “health tips.” Adding a reader-friendly element on it allows you to drive readers to your content; for example—“health tips for women.” When you’re done, make sure that it complies with your criteria of a great blog domain name. If not, you have to work on your list further.

Register Your Domain Name

Once you have your list of possible domain names, the next thing you have to do is check if it’s available or not. Just head to a domain name registrar, check if anything on your list is available, and then purchase it. Make sure that you target .com domain extensions and safeguard your details if possible to avoid email and snail mail spamming.

If a .com is not available, you can take the .net extension. But if both extensions are available, you have to considering buying both. That way, you can prevent someone else from stealing your blog’s online identity.

You should also purchase the misspelled or hyphenated versions of your blog, so that you can redirect its visitors to your site. This is one way of making sure that all of your potential readers are landing on your content.

Things to Avoid When Creating a Domain Name for Your Blog

When creating a domain name for your blog, don’t include trademark terms like “Cadbury,” “iPod,” “Nutella” and many more. You might get a cease-and-desist order, which could be detrimental for your blog and the traffic that it generates. You might even face a copyright infringement suit.

Most importantly, avoid using hyphens and really long domain names. This will make your blog name difficult to remember and less shareable. As a result, it can ruin your search engine optimization efforts.

Creating a domain name for your blog is not as simple as thinking of a cute name and then registering it. You have to make sure that it’s both reader-friendly and search engine-friendly. That way, your content will surely have the exposure and reader base that it deserves.

They are mostly effective in stopping spam. Sites that receive significantly high traffic benefit greatly from captchas since they are targeted by spammers. Because of the high number of visitors, losing some traffic due to captchas may be worth it in many instances. The fact that the tool is fully automated makes it appeal to all types of webmasters. They just need to integrate it on their sites and leave it there. It will do a proper job of getting rid of spam.

While this tool might provide a lot of advantages for web owners and internet marketers, it is also important to note that it has some downsides. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of its weaknesses:

Captchas are annoying

Non-spammers hate captchas possibly as much as spammers do. They are forced to decipher hard-to-read images. It is a hassle and can turn some visitors off from registering on your site. A lot of people also perceive it as a waste of their time.

Captchas cannot stop every spammer

Companies and individuals who are intent on spamming won’t be stopped by captchas. They employ people to do “data entry work” which mostly just involves typing the number and letters they see. The pay may be low but people who are willing to do the job are numerous. That’s why this tactic proliferates to this date.

At the end of the day, it’s the decision of the webmaster to determine whether losing a bit of traffic is worth getting rid of thousands of spam a day. For many webmasters, it is.

This article is geared towards individuals who want to keep their costs as low as possible. So read on how find out how much you need to pay to get an initial internet venture going:

Domain Name

The cost of a .com domain name is around $9-$12 depending on which registrar you use. Extensions such as .net and .info are typically cheaper. If you’re running a blog or a basic website, using blogging platforms such as WordPress or Blogger are highly recommended. You can install these on the cPanel interface of your web host.

It is important to take note that creativity is a must in picking a domain name these days. Some of the best domains have already been taken by hoarders and large internet companies. If the name you want isn’t available, try to use an acronym of it or choose an alternate name. Purchasing the domain name you want can cost thousands if you buy it from an opportunist seller.

Web and Email Hosting

The basic hosting package usually costs $5-$10 a month. Be sure to check out articles and guidelines on how to choose a hosting company. Some factors you should consider include data storage capacity, bandwidth, and customer support. The number of sites they use on a server is also a concern. If too many sites are hosted on one server, your site can experience a lot of downtime cause of server crashes.

The hosting costs can go up to hundreds of dollars a month or even thousands depending on the level of traffic your site receives. Authority websites usually use dedicated servers to handle the load.

Website Design

Choose a web designer carefully. It means the difference between having a fully-functional and aesthetically-pleasing site and one that looks like it was created by a 5-year-old. So be sure to check the portfolio of the designer before hiring. A low rate doesn’t mean the designer isn’t good and similarly, paying a high rate doesn’t mean that the project will turn out the way you want it. With that being said, you should set aside anywhere from $100-$400 to hire a web designer.