Gordo Web Design

Web Designer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida - http://gordowebdesign.com

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Google Local Business Knowledge Panel Not Showing - Try This Fix By Gordo Web Design - Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing Service - Gordo Web Design

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Google Local Business Knowledge Panel Not Showing - Try This Fix By Gordo Web Design

Google’s small business platform “Google Local My Business” (GMB) has been around a while now.  It’s come a long way from it’s quasi-social media roots to it’s now current form.  With all of the recent changes to the platform, it has become a little confusing how it all works.

About a week ago I noticed that my business’s Google Local My Business Knowledge Panel was not displaying (getting an empty white block).  Even if you would search my unique business name “Gordo Web Design“, all of the organic listings would populate, however no knowledge panel.  So I searched some other local businesses to be certain.  Sure enough, it was only our Knowledge Panel that was missing.

At first this seemed a little mysterious, I thought the absence of my panel was some kind of error or possibly some update Google made to the GMB platform that I wasn’t aware of.  Obviously this was not the case…  It didn’t take long for me to realize that we were under some type of Google penalty (ohhhhhh noooooo!).

  What should you do if your Google Local Business Knowledge Panel is not showing? Here’s what I did!

Under the “info” section of GMB I noticed we had 4 categories listed:

Website Designer

Internet Marketing Agency

Graphic Designer

Advertising Agency

Upon careful consideration I decided to remove 2 of the 4 categories…  Within 90 seconds of removing the 2 categories, our “Gordo Web Design Knowledge Panel” returned in full.  Penalty lifted.

  If your Google Local My Business Knowledge Panel Does Not Display, Try This.

Login to your Google Local My Business manager account.

Select “info” on the left side panel.

Click the category edit button (looks like a pencil) under your business name (see screen shot).

Select one primary category and up to one additional category for your business.

  Having more than 2 categories selected clearly affects your Google listing negatively.  Should we really call this a penalty though? Upon correction of the categories in the Google My Business “info” section, the penalty was literally removed instantaneously.

So there you go, an easy fix to a potentially mysterious problem.

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K & M Realty Team - The Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing Service - Gordo Web Design

http://www.gordowebdesign.com/portfolio/realty-team/

K & M Realty Team

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Florida Keys Realty Group - The Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing Service - Gordo Web Design

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Florida Keys Realty Group

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Coastal Realty of the Florida Keys - The Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing Service - Gordo Web Design

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Coastal Realty of the Florida Keys

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What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? - The Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing Service - Gordo Web Design

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What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a digital marketing strategy used to gain visibility in organic search engine results. If you own a website, you need traffic to your site if you wish to share information, sell a product or service, or make money via ad revenue.

While there are other ways to boost traffic such as pay per click (PPC), these methods can be costly and ineffective long-term. When you use SEO, you have the potential to rank high in search engines like Google without spending a dime on premium advertising.

How does SEO Work?

Search engines use specialized formulas to analyze data from websites and determine which web pages match best with a web user’s search word or phrase. Web pages that rank high in the search engines often contain SEO techniques.

The goal of SEO is not to overload content with keywords. In fact, search engines will often penalize this behavior. Instead, you’ll want to keep it simple and choose 1 primary and up to five supporting keywords or key phrases for each page.

What are the Benefits of SEO?

Increased traffic

Cost-effective

Higher ROI

Better user experience

Brand awareness

More credibility

Permanent results

Higher conversation rates

Bypass competition

Long term success

No residual cost

Why Do You Need SEO?

The old motto ‘if you build it, they will come’ certainly doesn’t apply to websites. Without a solid strategy to gain readership, your website will likely never hit double digits in daily traffic. Optimizing your website can give you a prime advantage over non-optimized sites.

With billions of websites on the internet, you need yours to stand out. Competition in the digital world is fierce and only a well-designed, well-optimized website is going to cut it. Search engine optimization is a proven strategy that can boost growth with minimal risk. It is possible to get your website in one of Google’s exclusive top 5 spots. Good SEO can help you get there!

At Gordo Web Design we’ve spent years perfecting our methods and we still continue to improve them every day.  Let us put these methods to work for your business.  You will be happy with the results, just read our reviews and look at our portfolio for proof.

Give us a call today to learn more and get started!

[phone]

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How to Find Engaging Content to Post on Your Facebook - The Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing Service - Gordo Web Design

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How to Find Engaging Content to Post on Your Facebook

I read this great article the other day written by James Parsons on this website.  The author suggests that the majority of Facebook content is reposted and shared by other members and that only a small amount of content on Facebook is actually originally written.  This article is intended to promote content sharing and give you some ideas about where to find the most engaging and interesting content to share on your Facebook.

Who is your ideal Facebook audience? Having good content is important, but having a good audience view that content is more important.  Without the appropriate audience your content will not engage nor convert.  If your readers are receiving unrelated or uninteresting information they’re not going to subscribe and they most certainly are not going to purchase.  When building your Facebook audience it’s important to know who you’re going after and just as important to serve them the appropriate information.  Increase your audience relevancy and you’ll increase your reach, it’s that simple.

Facebook comments have more data than you think If you’re in need of direction, the best place to start is at home.  Check out your own page and comments to get into the minds of your readers.  People’s comments and posts are revealing as to how they use social media and to what they’re interests are.  Next time you find yourself looking for inspiration or data for a post, don’t forget to check your own page.

Review your competition on Facebook Not sure what works on Facebook?  Easy, check out your competitors.  More than likely with just a few minutes of searching you will be able to identify those who are succeeding on Facebook and those who aren’t.  A lot can be learned from a quick review of a successful competitor’s Facebook page.  But learn from them both.  The competitor who is thriving, study him inside and out.  And for the competition who is struggling, review them as well.   You can learn from them vicariously, see what’s not working without making the mistakes yourself.

If you like my summary of James Parson’s “How to Find Engaging Content to Post to Your Facebook” please share it.  And if you need more information about social media or SEO please contact us at Gordo Web Design for a free consultation [phone]

To read the full article click here

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How to Find Engaging Content to Post on Your Facebook - The Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing Service - Gordo Web Design

http://www.gordowebdesign.com/engaging-content-post-facebook/

How to Find Engaging Content to Post on Your Facebook

I read this great article the other day written by James Parsons on this website.  The author suggests that the majority of Facebook content is reposted and shared by other members and that only a small amount of content on Facebook is actually originally written.  This article is intended to promote content sharing and give you some ideas about where to find the most engaging and interesting content to share on your Facebook.

Who is your ideal Facebook audience? Having good content is important, but having a good audience view that content is more important.  Without the appropriate audience your content will not engage nor convert.  If your readers are receiving unrelated or uninteresting information they’re not going to subscribe and they most certainly are not going to purchase.  When building your Facebook audience it’s important to know who you’re going after and just as important to serve them the appropriate information.  Increase your audience relevancy and you’ll increase your reach, it’s that simple.

Facebook comments have more data than you think If you’re in need of direction, the best place to start is at home.  Check out your own page and comments to get into the minds of your readers.  People’s comments and posts are revealing as to how they use social media and to what they’re interests are.  Next time you find yourself looking for inspiration or data for a post, don’t forget to check your own page.

Review your competition on Facebook Not sure what works on Facebook?  Easy, check out your competitors.  More than likely with just a few minutes of searching you will be able to identify those who are succeeding on Facebook and those who aren’t.  A lot can be learned from a quick review of a successful competitor’s Facebook page.  But learn from them both.  The competitor who is thriving, study him inside and out.  And for the competition who is struggling, review them as well.   You can learn from them vicariously, see what’s not working without making the mistakes yourself.

If you like my summary of James Parson’s “How to Find Engaging Content to Post to Your Facebook” please share it.  And if you need more information about social media or SEO please contact us at Gordo Web Design for a free consultation [phone]

To read the full article click here

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Do I need a website if I have a Facebook page? - The Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing Service - Gordo Web Design

http://www.gordowebdesign.com/need-a-website-if-i-have-a-facebook-page/

Do I need a website if I have a Facebook page?

We’ve heard this question from small businesses before. “Do I need a website if I have a Facebook page?” They’re under the assumption that if they have a Facebook page for their business that they are “covered” on the online presence front.  They might have a tight budget and think advertising is a luxury (hint: when sales are down you should be spending MORE on advertising). Does a Facebook page replace a website? Absolutely not – let’s explain why.

Let’s start with the advantages of a Facebook business page. It’s free to create and post content. Boosting and premium advertising is a different story – we’ll get to that. The network is large and I’m sure most of the people you know are on it. It’s a great place to meet new people (potential customers) and get introduced to new services and products.

From a creative point of view there are obvious limitations. We are limited to basically changing our background and header image. There are also limits on what will be allowed on the network to be shared. If you truly want creative freedom, including your image and brand then you will need to get a website – there’s no way around it. If you want to sell your products and services digitally then you definitely need a website as well.

From a business point of view it can be a great way to interact with customers (if they want to interact with you). Keep in mind they will see your posts and updates once they’ve “liked” your page. We all must be careful, however, to not overwhelm those subscribed with too much as it’s doesn’t take much to prompt an unsubscribe or “hide from timeline.”

Let’s assume you have a page and have asked all your friends, family, and existing customers to like your page. Great. Now what? Now’s the time when one would have to begin with boosting & premium advertising. This can be a great way to get in front of the eyes of potential customers. Keep in mind, just like Google PPC, AdWords, and the others, that the visibility on Facebook stops when the paid promotion stops.

You’re probably saying, “Of course I understand that – but how do I get views that don’t dry up once I stop paid advertisement?” Good question. Let’s think about what it is that we are posting.

These posts, articles, videos, images, etc are all unique and original content. From a search engine optimization (SEO) point of view this “content” is gold. To our search engine friends at Google, Yahoo, and Bing, this original content (properly optimized) is what they crave and want to show to people searching on their networks. This is called “ranking organically”

Alas, here lies our main problem – our hard work created content is only helping Facebook to rank! Something tells me you would rather help increase your sales, not Mark Zuckerberg’s and the other billionaires at Facebook, Twitter, etc…

A light-bulb might have just went off when you realized that this article was written to show up organically (read: free) on your Google search (most likely something like “do i need a website if I have a Facebook page?”) That phrase you typed in, also known as a long-tail, is fruit ripe for the picking. The longer the phrase the more likely there is less competition, and also that you will rise to the top of the search results.

Tips, tricks, and other SEO strategies like this we will save for a different article and different day (and a search phrase *wink wink*) In summary, should you have a Facebook page? Of course you should (and many other platforms as well.) Just know that I foresee disappointment in your if you think it is a substitute or replacement for your very own website. Mr. Facebook and others will be reaping the benefits of your unique content while you’re left scratching your head wondering where all the inbound calls are.

–

Gordo Web Design is a website design and internet marketing agency in Fort Lauderdale. If you, or someone you know, needs help with web design, social media marketing, digital marketing, please contact us or call [phone] to get in touch with a committed and passionate team that wants to help you succeed online.

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DOES BLOGGING HELP SEO? – 3 SIMPLE ANSWERS - The Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing Service - Gordo Web Design

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DOES BLOGGING HELP SEO? – 3 SIMPLE ANSWERS

Does blogging help SEO?  Yes, of course blogging improves your SEO!  There are many reasons why blogging affects your SEO in a positive way. This article will touch base on 3 of those reasons.

1. Long tail keywords and originally written content is what google loves to serve

When you use unique words and phrases, google will help promote your content. Anything that is new and unused will get an applause from google. Try to find uncommon ways to get your point across. Think of creative content in your writing.

Don’t make the mistake of writing like a college research paper. Aim to write at a middle school level. It sounds strange to even mention, but your content should be readable to everyone. Remember, when someone searches online, they’re not going to dig into their college level English book to come up with a search term.

2. Natural use of relevant keyword phrases make effective SEO

A keyword phrase is a string of words that google uses to determine relevancy. This helps bring people to your website for something specific that they’re looking for. Perform a google search and see what people are searching by looking at keyword suggestions by google, this will give ideas on how other people word their searches. The more specific your keywords are to how they search, the more relevant traffic you will develop on your website. The more relevant traffic you have, the better your chances are for conversion to a subscriber or customer.

3. Long tail keywords reach a specific audience

Long tail keywords are the best way to reach a specific audience. Quality use of long tail keyword phrases in your blog title will directly affect your rating with google for that specific search term. Long tail keywords are just multiple keywords or phrases used together. They are precise and definitive to the audience you appeal to. For example, you want a potential consumer to buy your puppy food from your shop that contains many different puppy food brands, you would tailor your keywords to a specific brand rather than just advertising “puppy food”. You’d use a page title like, “Misa’s Delicious Puppy Crumbles are number one on the doggy ratings for puppy food”. This would help you capture specifically all the people searching for “Misa’s Delicious Puppy Crumbles”.

Blogging directly impacts your SEO

The idea is to write natural but to always include keywords and phrases. But it’s also important to connect to the reader and spark their interest in your website. Make your writing eye catching and intriguing. Grab their attention and reel them in with your creativity.

Does blogging help SEO?  Content is one of the most important elements google considers to determine your websites rank. So technically, blogging directly impacts your SEO. The more you blog, the more respect and trust you will gain with both the readers and from google.

Remember to use your individual writing style, keep the key phrases coming, and make sure your content is readable. Simple terms will attract a board range of readers. There is no set rules to building SEO, but blogging is a sure fire way to get the ball rolling in the right direction to be successful with your SEO campaign.

Thanks for reading, Misa Rose

  Misa Rose is an professional writer and SEO expert.  She writes commercially and specializes in website copy, blog articles, & product/service reviews.  She has a fine understanding of content marketing and its relationship to SEO.  If you would like to hire Misa for your next project please visit her website or e-mail her.

WEBSITE: http://seowriter.expert E-MAIL: [email protected]

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How To Setup Office 365 on Gmail - The Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing Service - Gordo Web Design

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How To Setup Office 365 on Gmail

If you are like us, you probably prefer the Gmail email application over the Microsoft email application.  It’s not that Office 365 is in any way inadequate, besides it’s lousey search function and horrid contact management.  We just prefer the simplicity of Google’s Gmail; the layout is clean, the search function is genious, and the automatic filtering/sorting of emails into tabs is amazing.

MS Office 365 on Google Gmail

The great part about using Office 365 to send emails is the robust Microsoft server and security that goes into your email service.  By utilizing the google interface, you do not sacrifice any of these innate benefits.  There are only things to gain by using gmail with a Microsoft 365 email.

In Short, yes, you can use your personalized domain email address on the Microsoft 365 email service provider all while leveraging Google’s gmail interface and features.

Here’s how:

Login to gmail using any google account

Go to Gmail app www.gmail.com

Select the settings gear and click “settings”

Select “Accounts and Imports“

Where it says Check mail from other accounts, Select “Add a mail account“

Enter your email address in the next window

Select POP3 or Gmailify

Enter your credentials into the respective fields

Username

Password

POP Server : “outlook.office365.com“

Port: “995“

SSL?

Select “Add Account“

Need help? Contact us, we are happy to assist!

Tel: [phone] Email: [email protected]

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WuCommerce - Code.Rules.Everything.Around.Me - C.R.E.A.M. - WooCommerce Parody - The Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing Service - Gordo Web Design

http://www.gordowebdesign.com/wucommerce-code-rules-everything-around-me-c-r-e-a-m-woocommerce-parody/

WuCommerce - Code.Rules.Everything.Around.Me - C.R.E.A.M. - WooCommerce Parody

WuCommerce is a parody image using the logo from WooCommerce and mixing it with the popular rap group and their logo, the Wu Tang Clan.  Their famous slogan C.R.E.A.M. Cash.Rules.Everything.Around.Me and our parody C.R.E.A.M. Code.Rules.Everything.Around.Me

We use the popular eCommerce platform, WooCommerce everyday for ourselves and our customers.  This software is one of the most flexible and robust platforms available for online sales.  Stock it provides a complete eCommerce solution for any WordPress website.

Here are some of the most notable features available with the WooCommerce software

Built for WordPress: WooCommerce is built to integrate seamlessly with WordPress, making it the obvious eCommerce choice for existing WordPress users and connecting you to the fast-growing WordPress ecosystem.

Sell anything, anywhere: From real products and digital downloads to subscriptions, content and even your time, you’ll be able to set up a WooCommerce store to sell worldwide (or by country, as you wish).

Mobile friendly: WooCommerce is designed to ensure your store and products look as good on a desktop computer as they do on your customers mobile phones. You can even turn your existing WooCommerce store into a mobile app with no custom coding by using a few third party tools/services.

Scalability: WooCommerce can scale with you as you grow your business. From selling one product to thousands, and from your first order to your millionth, WooCommerce will be able to scale and ride the wave with you.

Own your data: Keeping your data independent of any third party software platform gives you complete control of your business and future. It’s also a safer experience for your customers, as the only person they share their personal information with is you.

Secure code: WooCommerce is audited by Sucuri, the industry leader in plugin security, to ensure that it adheres to WordPress best practices and coding standards, and is kept secure and up-to-date.

Worldwide community: With more than 350 contributors to WooCommerce and over 7 million downloads to date, you’ll be joining one of the fastest-growing open source communities on the web.

Open source: WooCommerce is 100% open source which allows you to benefit from an active and growing community of contributors. With WooCommerce meetups taking place around the world now you can meet fellow WooCommerce users in real life. Find your one in your area here.

Customer support: Our dedicated support team are available and committed to helping our customers with whatever they need along the way.

Documentation: We have comprehensive documentation covering topics like Setup, Extending, Snippets, Theming, Third-Party Plugins, Using Webhooks, WooCommerce Cookies, SSL and HTTPS.

Free and paid extension marketplace: With over 300 free and paid extensions to choose from, you can extend your WooCommerce store with a vast number of features and integrations.

The popularity of WooCommerce and the vast number of available extensions creates limitless possibilities for your eCommerce business.

With WordPress and WooCommerce you could create all sorts of online businesses

Sell and ship any retail product

eCommerce wholesale store

Drop shipping eCommerce website

Membership website with subscriptions

Set Appointments with payments

Sell a downloadable product

Charge to view your website content

Set up an online school and charge for classes

Sell through Amazon affiliates

Auction products to eBay

So much more

The potential of WordPress plus WooCommerce is immense.  With a good idea and a little help from a good internet marketing agency anyone could be well on their way to earning money online.

If you have an interest in selling products or services online, we can help.  We will give you assistance, guidance, and the skills to become successful with eCommerce

Give us a call [phone]

http://GordoWebDesign.com

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WordPress: Jetpack Install Connect Fail Troubleshooting General - cURL error 28: Operation timed out after 1000 milliseconds with 0 bytes received, HTTP 403, and others [SOLVED] - Gordo Web Design Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing

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WordPress: Jetpack Install Connect Fail Troubleshooting General - cURL error 28: Operation timed out after 1000 milliseconds with 0 bytes received, HTTP 403, and others [SOLVED]

We’re going to talk about installing and troubleshooting a popular WordPress plugin called Jetpack. I’ll apologize in advance that this article isn’t full of reasons why you should have a (great) website and a (great) internet marketing plan.

Anyone who has done any support, troubleshooting, or development, could tell you how, many many times, they’ve been rescued from impending doom by a blog article, or forum post, from God-knows-where and posted God-knows-when on the ‘net.

I’ve endured some aggravation and squandered time today to eventually solve this problem. I figured it was my duty (or maybe restitution for the other times that I didn’t pay it forward) to post this last link in the chain to help some poor SOB who will probably run across this. This is practical SEO in action: someone Googles the error code (long tail), this blog article shows up, they read it, they fix their problem, they pass it on, the world keeps turning – everybody wins.

Why Jetpack?

I’ve been interested in trying out Jetpack for a short time now so I thought I’d hook it up on a test site and give it a whirl. It seems like they’re constantly rolling out updates and new features. We do A LOT of WordPress work in Fort Lauderdale and elsewhere and some of what it promised seemed useful: traffic monitoring, security tools, site management (bulk plugin installs/updates/management), CDN image delivery, and so on.

We typically do self-hosted WordPress.org installs but one of our clients brought up WordPress.com, and the shares, subscriptions, traffic referral, and other things that come along with a fully-hosted managed platform like that.

Anyway, I wanted to try it out initially for a silly reason – a directory theme I was using recommended CSS changes be done via Jetpack and not through the child theme style.css stylesheet.

I researched a little more and decided that now was as good of a time as any to make the account, install it, and see if it was worthwhile – and of course that’s where the fun started.

Installing Jetpack and its requirements

As far as the install of the Jetpack plugin itself there really isn’t much to it – it’s just as easy to download and install as your typical plugin. Here are the system/server requirements to run Jetpack:

The latest version of WordPress. If you’re running version 2.7 or later, you should get a prompt in your WordPress Dashboard asking you to upgrade. Click the link and follow the prompts to update to the latest version. If you’re using an even older version, or would prefer to update manually, you can download the latest version of WordPress from the WordPress.org downloads page.

A web host that uses PHP 5. Jetpack follows the WordPress host requirements.

A WordPress.com account. Sign up for one here.

A publicly accessible web site that does not require authentication.

XML-RPC enabled and publicly accessible.

Legacy WordPress.com/Automattic plugins should be disabled before installing Jetpack (ex. WordPress.com Stats, After the Deadline, Custom CSS).

The easiest way to install the plugin is the most routine and straightforward way to install most WordPress plugins – once logged in to the dashboard: Click the Plugins tab on the left admin sidebar and hit Add New Search for ‘Jetpack‘ and you’ll get the result from Automattic  with many million installs. Automattic is the same worldwide open source group who have developed the popular WordPress spam protection service Akismet, Gravatar, and contributed to WooCommerce (our favorite eCommerce platform.)

Mostly likely, if you installed WordPress on a hosting provider like HostGator or GoDaddy you used a deployment script like QuickInstall (or Softaculous or retired Fantastico.)

It’s installed.. now what?

Most likely you’ve run into a problem when you clicked Connect Jetpack There are quite a few possible errors you could encounter.

Please check the known conflict issues list, showing common plugins that will make the connection fail. Also check the error message explanation list if I missed it or you’re having another issue. Common conflicting plugins include iThemes Security, BulletProof Security, and W3 Total Cache.

Recommended next steps:

Here are the recommended troubleshooting steps to take, and if these don’t resolve the problem, and if you are using HostGator like I was, you’ll likely need to make an additional change:

Check if the error you received is listed on this page. If it is, you can follow the instructions there to solve the issue.

Disable all other plugins, then try connecting or using Jetpack. If Jetpack starts connecting or working properly, turn your plugins back on one-by-one until you start seeing the error again. Then note the plugin that caused this error and get in touch with us. Sometimes Jetpack and other plugins are incompatible; just let us know and we’ll see what we can do.

If you are having a display issue, or the plugin step above doesn’t help, try activating Twenty Fifteen or Twenty Sixteen (one of the default WordPress themes) as your theme. Then try again. If your action starts working, something in your theme is likely broken and you should get in touch with your theme’s author. Be sure to let them know the troubleshooting steps that you have tried.

Check your XMLRPC file. You can do this by going to your web site URL and adding “/xmlrpc.php” to the end (without the quotes). When it loads in your browser, you should see “XML-RPC server accepts POST requests only.” on a line by itself.

If you see this message, but it is not on a line by itself, a theme or plugin is displaying extra characters when it shouldn’t. See points 2 and 3 above for debugging steps.

If the XML-RPC appears correct it may be an issue with WordPress Address (URL) and/or Site Address (URL).

If you get an 404 Error Not Found message, contact your web host. They may have security in place that is blocking XML-RPC.

Check the Known Issues list and make sure you aren’t using a plugin or theme listed there.

If you were using Development Mode, check your wp-config.php file and make sure that define('JETPACK_DEV_DEBUG', true); is no longer present.

** If you are using CloudFlare or an SSL it may be worthwhile to check out the Jetpack help page on it or this thread.**

If you’ve made it this far everything you checked seemed to be OK: XML-RPC wasn’t blocked, .htaccess wasn’t blocking request (through a security plugin or otherwise), you disabled every plugin besides Jetpack, and activated Twenty Sixteen it’s probably time to get some debug output information.

Produce debug information to help with troubleshooting

There are a few places to get debug information to try to nail down the exact issue. It can help you troubleshoot it yourself and would also be needed for the Jetpack support team as well.

Error information is given when the Connect Jetpack fails:

“The Jetpack server was unable to communicate with your site”

The first error you may encounter is this: Error Details: The Jetpack server was unable to communicate with your site [HTTP 403]. Ask your web host if they allow connections from WordPress.com. If you need further assistance, contact Jetpack Support: http://jetpack.com/support/

If you’re getting the ‘403′ most likely it is a plugin conflict – see the list from the previous section.

The final one, the one that held me up, was this: cURL error 28: Operation timed out after 1000 milliseconds with 0 bytes received

One option is to visit https://jetpack.com/support/debug/ and input your website URL.

The other is to click ‘Debug‘ in the footer of the main Jetpack page or visit http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=jetpack-debugger

Scroll through the debug information and look for where you see a BAD response code and the associated error code with each.

For example I was able to determine a specific ‘400‘ error here:

Debug output snippet

  ...

IDENTITY_CRISIS

 PASS

SELF

 Array

 (

 [headers] => Requests_Utility_CaseInsensitiveDictionary Object

 (

 [data:protected] => Array

 (

 [server] => nginx

 [date] => Thu, 03 Nov 2016 08:33:08 GMT

 [content-type] => text/plain;charset=utf-8

 [expires] => Wed, 11 Jan 1984 05:00:00 GMT

 [cache-control] => no-cache, must-revalidate, max-age=60

 [x-hacker] => Jetpack Test

 [x-ac] => 3.dfw _dfw

 [strict-transport-security] => max-age=15552000

 )

)

[body] => "error":"Could not validate security token","error_description":"We were unable to validate a security token for Jetpack communication. Please try disconnecting Jetpack from your

 WordPress.com account, and connecting it again."

 [response] => Array

 ( 

[`code] => 400

 [message] => Bad Request

 )

 [cookies] => Array

 (

 )

[filename] =>

 [http_response] => WP_HTTP_Requests_Response Object

 (

 [response:protected] => Requests_Response Object

 (

 [body] => "error":"Could not validate security token","error_description":"We were unable to validate a security token for Jetpack communication. Please try disconnecting

 Jetpack from your WordPress.com account, and connecting it again."

 [raw] => HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request

...

The specific error information is helpful to continue your troubleshooting.

If you’re using a legacy version before April 10, 2014..

If your configuration prevented you from updating to a more recent version make sure to install the security update explained here.

output_buffering = 2048

You’ve probably already edited your php.ini to increase your memory limits too, something like this:

memory_limit = 512M upload_max_filesize = 100M post_max_size = 512M max_execution_time = 300 max_input_time = 300

At this point I was stumped – but had a hunch that it was some other php.ini configurations that needed changes. I Googled ‘jetpack php ini‘ hoping my intuition was right. The 5th or 6th result was actually a UNIX shared hosting FAQ from networksolutions. The only config change listed there beyond the normal set listed above was output_bufferring=2048 which was set to OFF in my default php.ini.

There are multiple ways to edit the file but most likely  you will be using a host with cPanel simliar to this guide.

Here is an outline of the steps:

Find ‘PHP Configuration‘ under ‘Advanced‘

Browse to /public_html/ and click ‘Edit custom php.ini‘

Make you changes in the text fields (for example output_buffering = 2048 and the others listed above like memory_limit = 512M) and make sure to hit ‘Apply Changes‘ at the bottom of the page.

If none of the information above helped you’re best off contacting Jetpack support or posting on the plugin support forum.

I hope this was useful for someone out there.

Please leave comments for those who make their way here if you’ve found something interesting.

If you’re interested in a new website, internet marketing plan, or have questions about your current website please give us a call.

Call [phone]

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10 Ways to Increase Your Twitter Engagement - Gordo Web Design Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing

http://www.gordowebdesign.com/10-ways-increase-twitter-engagement/

10 Ways to Increase Your Twitter Engagement

Do your tweets get noticed?

Are you getting enough engagement on Twitter?

Twitter’s true value is in its engagement. Unless people are engaging with you on Twitter, you’re wasting your time.

In this article I’ll share 10 tweeting techniques that lead to better engagement.

  #1: Keep Tweets Under 110 Characters 

Twitter’s legendary character restriction seems short, but if you’re maxing out your character count, your tweets are too long.

Shorter tweets with around 110 characters get 17% higher engagement, and there’s a reason for that. When you leave room in a tweet, it makes it easier for people to retweet you and add their own commentary. Learn 10 tips for increasing engagement on Twitter.

Jerry Low says:

If you are using all 140 characters in your tweet, your followers will need to edit your tweets before they can add in theirs and retweet. And, that’s not cool. People are lazy. Tweets that need extensive editing work simply get fewer retweets. Ideally, you should limit your tweets to between 80–110 characters.

  #2: Tweet During Daytime Hours 

The Twittersphere is active during the 11-12 hours of daytime in your audience’s time zone. Between 8am and 7pm, your tweets will have 30% higher interaction. (To find out exactly when your audience is most active, you can use the free tool from Tweriod.) Be mindful of where your audience lives. That means you must keep your target audience in mind and adjust your timing as needed. If your company’s social media person is in Bangalore catering to a West Coast USA audience, she will need to adjust or schedule her tweets accordingly.

  #3: Tweet on Saturday and Sunday

Weekends are not the time to take a break from Twitter. If you want engagement, schedule tweets for Saturday and Sunday. According to the data, engagement is 17% higher on the weekends than it is on weekdays.

Salesforce’s research determined that there is an inverse relationship between brands that tweet on the weekend and the engagement rates on the weekend. Weekends aren’t the time to take a Twitter break. But doesn’t this data conflict with the point above, regarding tweeting during working hours? Not exactly. As the data crunchers observed, the daytime tweet engagement is high even during weekends.

Salesforce reported,

When brands tweet during “busy hours” (8am–7pm), they receive 30% higher engagement than tweets that fall during “non-busy hours” (8pm–7am). This even includes tweets published on Saturday and Sunday.

  #4: Share Images 

Twitter’s rich Tweets give you higher levels of engagement for images and videos (e.g.,Vine videos). You can get a 150% increase in retweets just by including images.

Buffer conducted an A/B test of tweets with pictures (A) and tweets without pictures (B). In each test, tweets with pictures won by a huge margin.

Now sold on the idea of using images, Buffer is toying with the ratio of image to non-image tweets. They’ve settled on a ratio of 70/30 (pictures/text).

In-stream images aren’t anything new, but few users are making the most of the feature. It’s a lot easier to pop a few words into a tweet than to use images. However, if it’s engagement you want, you can’t afford to ignore the data.

  #5: Ask for Retweets 

People are understandably shy about asking for retweets. In fact, less than 1% of brands have asked for a retweet. This is a huge missed opportunity.

When you clearly ask your followers for a retweet, you have a good chance of getting one. Salesforce reports that asking results in 12 times more retweets.

Here’s a tip: Make sure to spell out the word retweet in its entirety, rather than using the abbreviation RT. The retweet rate for “retweet” requests is 23 times higher than the engagement rate for “RT” requests.

I would encourage caution, though. Don’t bombard your audience with constant requests to spread your message.

  #6: Use Hashtags 

Hashtags double your engagement rate—they are their own implicit call to action. Plus, they create higher visibility on Twitter.

What surprises me is that only 24% of tweets contain hashtags. I would caution you to limit yourself to two hashtags per tweet.

Tweets that use more than two hashtags have a 17% drop in engagement. You don’t want that to happen.

Stay in tune with trending or industry-specific hashtags to make sure you’re cashing in on a valuable source of engagement.

  #7: Include Links 

Using metrics from Buddy Media, Salesforce reports that 92% of all Twitter interaction (retweeting, replying, etc.) happens when readers click links. In fact, tweets with links get way more retweets—86% more, according to research! Links and hashtags make it easy for others to interact with your tweets. Since tweets with links have higher engagement metrics, you’d think sophisticated marketers would be using links a lot more. Surprisingly, the percentage of tweets with links is around 36% (compared with 25% in 2010). Clearly we need to tweet links more often.

How often? Twitter whiz Dan Zarrella’s analysis suggests you include links in 60-80% of your tweets as the “sweet spot for retweets.”

  #8: Stay Away From Lifestyle Tweets

While celebrities can get away with tweeting about their personal life, brands cannot. Twitter is less of a personal-life journal and more of a professional marketing platform. Be real, but don’t be banal.

Dan Zarrella compiled a list of the top 20 least engaging words on Twitter. These words—such as work, home, watching, tired and tomorrow—are nauseatingly narcissistic.

Your followers aren’t interested in your personal actions. Few people are going to engage with a tweet that declares that you’re bored or are going to bed.

  #9: Use Strong Calls to Action 

Zarrella also listed the most retweeted words, which have a high innate sense of engagement and most are calls to action. Words like please retweet, help, follow and how to are focused on the reader of the tweet rather than on the sender of the tweet.

Your followers are much more likely to interact if they are the focus on your tweet and you’re clearly asking for an action.

  #10: Send One to Four Tweets a Day 

There is a mistaken belief that the more you tweet, the more ROI you’ll get from Twitter.

Salesforce data shows you can get more engagement by tweeting less.

Actually, tweeting too often can result in very poor engagement. This is particularly true for brands, which need to be careful about coming on too strong with their marketing. Conclusion

These 10 powerful Twitter tactics will help you regain momentum on Twitter. By implementing these data-backed actionable tips, you’ll be able to create a compelling presence on Twitter in a very short amount of time.

READ MORE – Social Media Examiner 

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11 Email Etiquette Rules For Professionals - Gordo Web Design Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing

http://www.gordowebdesign.com/11-email-etiquette-rules-professionals/

11 Email Etiquette Rules For Professionals

1. Include a clear, direct subject line.

Examples of a good subject line include “Meeting date changed,” “Quick question about your presentation,” or “Suggestions for the proposal.”

“People often decide whether to open an email based on the subject line,” Pachter says. “Choose one that lets readers know you are addressing their concerns or business issues.”

2. Use a professional email address.

If you work for a company, you should use your company email address. But if you use a personal email account — whether you are self-employed or just like using it occasionally for work-related correspondences — you should be careful when choosing that address, Pachter says.

You should always have an email address that conveys your name so that the recipient knows exactly who is sending the email. Never use email addresses (perhaps remnants of your grade-school days) that are not appropriate for use in the workplace, such as “babygirl@…” or “beerlover@…” — no matter how much you love a cold brew.

3. Think twice before hitting “reply all.”

No one wants to read emails from 20 people that have nothing to do with them. Ignoring the emails can be difficult, with many people getting notifications of new messages on their smartphones or distracting pop-up messages on their computer screens. Refrain from hitting “reply all” unless you really think everyone on the list needs to receive the email, Pachter says.

4. Use professional salutations.

Don’t use laid-back, colloquial expressions like, “Hey you guys,” “Yo,” or “Hi folks.”

“The relaxed nature of our writings should not affect the salutation in an email,” she says. “Hey is a very informal salutation and generally it should not be used in the workplace. And Yo is not okay either. Use Hello instead.”

She also advises against shortening anyone’s name. Say “Hi Michael,” unless you’re certain he prefers to be called “Mike.”

5. Use exclamation points sparingly.

If you choose to use an exclamation point, use only one to convey excitement, Pachter says.

“People sometimes get carried away and put a number of exclamation points at the end of their sentences. The result can appear too emotional or immature,” she writes. “Exclamation points should be used sparingly in writing.”

6. Be cautious with humor.

Humor can easily get lost in translation without the right tone or facial expressions. In a professional exchange, it’s better to leave humor out of emails unless you know the recipient well. Also, something that you think is funny might not be funny to someone else.

Pachter says: “Something perceived as funny when spoken may come across very differently when written. When in doubt, leave it out.”

7. Know that people from different cultures speak and write differently.

Miscommunication can easily occur because of cultural differences, especially in the writing form when we can’t see one another’s body language. Tailor your message depending on the receiver’s cultural background or how well you know them.

A good rule to keep in mind, Pachter says, is that high-context cultures (Japanese, Arab, or Chinese) want to get to know you before doing business with you. Therefore, it may be common for business associates from these countries to be more personal in their writings. On the other hand, people from low-context cultures (German, American, or Scandinavian) prefer to get to the point very quickly.

8. Reply to your emails — even if the email wasn’t intended for you.

It’s difficult to reply to every email message ever sent to you, but you should try to, Pachter says. This includes when the email was accidentally sent to you, especially if the sender is expecting a reply. A reply isn’t necessary but serves as good email etiquette, especially if this person works in the same company or industry as you.

Here’s an example reply: “I know you’re very busy, but I don’t think you meant to send this email to me. And I wanted to let you know so you can send it to the correct person.”

9. Proofread every message.

Your mistakes won’t go unnoticed by the recipients of your email. “And, depending upon the recipient, you may be judged for making them,” Pachter says.

Don’t rely on spell-checkers. Read and re-read your email a few times, preferably aloud, before sending it off.

“One supervisor intended to write ‘Sorry for the inconvenience.’ But he relied on his spell-check and ended up writing ‘Sorry for the incontinence.'”

10. Add the email address last.

Kate Sumbler/flickr

“You don’t want to send an email accidentally before you have finished writing and proofing the message,” Pachter says. “Even when you are replying to a message, it’s a good precaution to delete the recipient’s address and insert it only when you are sure the message is ready to be sent.”

11. Double-check that you’ve selected the correct recipient.

Pachter says to pay careful attention when typing a name from your address book on the email’s “To” line. “It’s easy to select the wrong name, which can be embarrassing to you and to the person who receives the email by mistake.”

READ MORE – Business Insider

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Why are some websites more expensive than others - Gordo Web Design Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing

http://www.gordowebdesign.com/websites-expensive-others/

Why are some websites more expensive than others

As a business owner shopping for the best deal is always a concern. Buying a website can be a difficult task, with quotes ranging from $500 all the way up to several hundred thousand.

Some design agencies operate on large margins, prestige, and a laborious process that costs more. The $500 bid gets you people that either have no idea what they’re doing or they don’t pay attention to client needs, resulting in a random number thrown at the wall. It’s the company that does the best that wins and winning comes down to satisfying requirements. Requirements that make those extra tens of thousands of dollars well spent can consist of budget, whether the new system will work, and progress is communicated along the way.

Low budget projects usually mean elements usually get left out and future support is non-existent. We have clients come to us all the time because they weren’t happy with their previous agencies work.  Poor customer service, little to no results, incomplete and unfinished work to name a few.

“Quality doesn’t cost… it pays.”

We pride ourselves on charging correctly, while providing our clients with amazing support and technical knowledge. Our clients are proud to recommend us and quick to complement our work.

The bottom line is you get what you pay for with web design and development, like in many industries.

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Pokemon Go - How to REVOKE access to your google account - Gordo Web Design Fort Lauderdale Internet Marketing

http://www.gordowebdesign.com/pokemon-go-revoke-access-google-account/

Pokemon Go - How to REVOKE access to your google account

When you sign up for Pokemon Go with a Google account, Niantic and partners acquire full access to your entire Google account.

Here is what Niantec and their partners get access to on your Google Account while signed up for Pokemon Go:

There are several levels of access an application can have to your Google Account, but here are few examples:

Full account access When you grant full account access, the application can see and modify nearly all information in your Google Account (but it can’t change your password, delete your account, or pay with Google Wallet on your behalf).

Certain Google applications may be listed under full account access. For example, you might see that the Google Maps application you downloaded for your iPhone has full account access.

This “Full account access” privilege should only be granted to applications you fully trust, and which are installed on your personal computer, phone, or tablet.

If you’ve granted full account access to an app you don’t trust or recognize, we recommend that you revoke this permission by clicking the Revoke access button.

Here is how to revoke access to your google account for Pokemon Go:

Go to your Google Security Page (link)

Select Pokemon Go

Click “REMOVE“

Click “OK” to “Remove access“

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Instagram will start automatically translating image captions soon - Gordo Web Design - Internet Marketing

http://www.gordowebdesign.com/instagram-will-start-automatically-translating-image-captions-soon/

Instagram will start automatically translating image captions soon

On the heels of announcing that it has reached 500 million active monthly users, Instagram says it will soon add a translation feature to its app. Through a post on the image-sharing app, the company announced that within a month, users will be able to translate image captions, comments, and profile bios using a new translate button.

The Facebook-owned social media app will structure its translations similarly to its parent company. When you come across a post you want to translate into a language that isn’t your default language, you can hit the “See Translation” button to convert it into the language you’ve chosen in your profile’s language settings. Both Facebook and Twitter have translation features already, so this addition brings Instagram up to par with its competition in that respect. Considering that 80 percent of Instagram’s user base lives outside the United States, this feature will likely be welcomed by many.

Read more: http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/06/instagram-will-start-automatically-translating-image-captions-soon/