PLUS: Is your website safe? Four simple steps you must take today to protect yourself from hackers

Last week I discussed why authority websites are so exciting…

Well, I must have hit a nerve as a number of readers emailed me with a similar message:

‘Sara – surely you need to start from how you are going
to monetise it? You can have the best site in the world
but if it’s not making money then it’s not a business…’

Of course, this is absolutely correct! But I missed this out on purpose.

Why? The reason is simple: the method for making money with an authority site is so specific to the site itself, the creator (you) and the industry or niche it represents, that I couldn’t give one method that suited everyone.

What’s more, if your focus is solely on financial gain, then the passion and motivation needed to make it a long term success may be lacking.

Having said all of that, there are some common steps towards making money with an authority site that apply to us all.

Once a site is created, you want to develop and publish an abundance of content in all forms: text, video, infographics, photos…

Over time, your audience will learn to trust you because your content is accurate, fact-checked, and useful.

That is core to then making money from that audience.

Indeed, the fact that new content appears on a regular basis will endear you to your target market.

As you create content, consider the following important factors that will help you build a powerful and profitable authority site…

• Create inbound links – Use social media, guest blog posting, forum commenting, article marketing, as well as deep links inside your own website to create inbound links that will help your site rise in authority. Don’t be tricky: your comments and contributions to other mediums need to be high quality and useful to rank authority. Remember quality over quantity.
• Be consistent – Be very consistent when it comes to adding content to your website. Think of your website as the centre of the universe: all content should start there and everything else should link back to that content. Content must be created regularly and be consistent in not only timeliness, but quality as well.
• Quietly montise – Don’t make everything on your site about selling something. Instead, emphasise on providing good, accurate and focused information to your audience about your niche.
• Age matters – When it comes to building authority, the age of your site is a factor in how your website ranks. So keep in mind that this just takes time.
  Of course, if you want to speed up the whole process, one option is to purchase a domain name that is already established.

There are pros and cons to that, so do your homework. But remember that sticking around matters. Creating an authority site is not a short-term task. It is a long-term project that needs your focus, dedication and skill to make a success.

You can do it if you make a plan and stick it: to act every single day on adding to and improving your site.

Four simple ways to keep your WordPress site secure

One problem I’ve lately come across with a few readers’ questions relate to security issues, hacking and problems with sites that revolve around security.

It’s something you are concerned about, and so this week I thought we’d look at how to protect ourselves.

‘But I’ve created my website with WordPress,’ you protest: ‘There’s no way hackers can do anything to a platform so big!’

There is some truth in that. But WordPress probably aren’t hosting your site. Besides, much of the site’s security is down to YOU as its owner and creator.

So you need to make sure you have taken these four security precautions with all of your WordPress blogs and sites:

1. Install the Akismet comment spam filter

If you don’t already have it installed, you can easily find it by searching the ‘Add New’ function in your WordPress plugins dashboard section.

Your one Akismet API key can be used for all your sites, after you install the plugin on these, too. (Just make sure you go through your comments regularly and delete spam comments that Akismet has caught and held!)

2. Install a reputable WordPress security plugin

There are several good security plugins to install, and it depends on your comfort level with WordPress functions. One of the easiest to install is All in One WP Security and Firewall. http://wordpress.org/support/view/plugin-reviews/all-in-one-wp-security-and-firewall

Other reputable WordPress security plugins include iThemes Security and BulletProof Security – a really simple plugin that needs no configuration.

All can be found and installed easily through your dashboard plugins search box.

3. Make sure your login name is not ‘Admin’

One WordPress expert cited the ‘admin’ login name as where 90% of all WordPress hackers gain access – it shortens hacking time considerably when you know your victim’s username.

The best time to designate a new username is while you are actually setting up a new WordPress blog. If you try to change your login name later, you can occasionally find yourself locked out of your site.

The other way you can make sure this doesn’t happen is to install the All in One WP Security and Firewall plugin first – one of its many features is allowing you to change your admin name without conflicts!

4. Update your plugins and WordPress version regularly

Another small but essential security precaution: check your WordPress-based sites at least once a week to make sure your WordPress version and plugins don’t require updates.

If they do – if you see a little numbers in circles – you need to click on these and update whatever is required.

This is what you NEVER want to see when you access your WordPress blog or site dashboard:

?Of course, these are only small steps to take. But they can make a big difference to the security of your site.

I urge anyone with a WordPress site to take note of them and act now.

That’s it for today but, as always, if you have any comments, questions or ideas you’d like to share please don’t hesitate to contact me.