Kristy Crabtree, April 26-27 2011

1. WordPress for your Business More than just a Blogging Platform… Welcome to WordPress 1

2. Do You Use The Internet? Did you know… In 2010, 221 million people in the US will be online, about 71% of the total population. Their numbers will continue to grow, reaching 250 million in 2014—more than 77% of the population. …and more than 90% of consumers use search engines before making a purchase. 2

3. If You Have a Business You Best Get Yourself Online ASAP 10 Reasons you need to invest in a website You get to advertise to a pretty BIG audience Show off your expertise and demonstrate authority Build credibility among peers and competitors Share topics of interest any time of the day or night with the world Find your voice and build upon your identity Take a peak at who’s visiting through analytical tools You can share testimonials and references Build an audience and a subscriber base Network and build relationships It’s ‘Dirt Cheap’ in comparison to other marketing and advertising (…a well built website can last for 3 years or longer) 3

4. OK …First Things First A Step by Step Guide If you decide to move forward and develop a website here are a few steps to take in order to make it as painless as possible. Figure out what you want to talk about Choose a Domain Name ( www.DomainName.com ) Setup a Gmail Account using domain name (DomainName@gmail.com ) Register Domain Name Setup Hosting Setup WordPress One-click Install WordPress– What’s it all mean Select a Theme and more Add and publish content Start Networking Build Profiles on Local Pages Plus much more … 4

6. Your first and last name – (ex. KristyCrabtree.com)

7. Keyword specific phrase - (ex. WestwardDesignGroup.com)

8. Include location if targeting the local market – (ex. RenoWebDesign.com) Decide what keywords and/or phrase targets the visitors you are looking for, and that best describes what your business offers. 5

10. First Name: Kristy@DomainName.com

11. First Name Last Name: KristyCrabtree@DomainName.com

13. debbie07@hotmail.com6

15. Over 7+ gigs of space

16. Less Spam

17. Mobile access

18. Share Calendars

19. Create To-Do lists

20. Setup labels (aka folders)

21. Smarter search

22. Desktop email notifications

23. Integrated with other Google apps…and much more… 7

25. MediaTemple : http://MediaTemple.com

26. Network Solutions : http://NetworkSolutions.com

27. Dreamhost : http://www.dreamhost.com

28. Bluehost : http://bluehost.comI suggest that you register your domain name at the same place you setup your hosting account. 8

30. WordPress HostingUse the One Click Install - Setup in 4 simple steps 24 hour service – 7 days a week Backups of your website Recommend purchasing for three years if not longer. You save more overall. 9

32. Lots of support from lots of people

33. Regularly updated

34. Minimal financial investment

35. No additional software required

36. Accessible wherever there's internet connectivity

37. Flexible for growth

38. Multiple features

39. Hundreds of Free and Paid themes

40. Multiple plugins (including SEO plugins, Social Media plugins and eCommerceplugins)

41. Content Management System is pretty easy to use10

42. What About The Other Options? Sure… There are other options out there. Joomla and Drupal for example… WordPress is the easiest that I have experienced giving more ease of use and flexibility for businesses to be able to manage themselves. 11

43. WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org What’s the difference? WordPress.com – “Just Renting” A free account on wordpress.com or purchasing a url through them is like renting a house - you could be asked to leave at any time. Also there are restrictions with a free account. It is however great for a blog or to use to link back to your own site. WordPress.org – “I Own” Owning a self hosted account and using wordpress (wordpress.org) (it is free to download) is like owning a house. It is yours to do as you wish with and provided you keep the URL and hosting it always will be. 12

44. One Misconception About WordPress I hear this all the time… “WordPress is just a Blogging tool”… Not anymore… WordPress started as a blogging tool, Yes - that’s true, but it has evolved into a very customizable Content Management System allowing you to use it for different verticals: updating website pages editing a blog or… using it for both! Let me show you… http://wordpress.org/showcase/ 13

45. Custom Designed Websites using WordPress 14

46. Customized Themes using WordPress 15

47. Blog Themes using WordPress 16

48. Ok… Let’s Get Familiar with WordPress ‘Reverse Aging for Me’ http://Reverseagingforme.com http://Reverseagingforme.com/wp-login.php/ LOGIN Username: Admin Password: reverseaging29 17

50. Update Users

51. Install ‘Must Have’ Plugins

52. Akismet– one of the best SPAM Filters

53. All in One SEO Pack – ability to optimize individual pages

54. WordPress DB Backup – gives you ability to backup your website data

55. Install ‘Recommended’ Plugins

56. Google Analytics for WordPress– track visitors

57. Google XML Sitemaps – generates XML sitemap for submission to search engines18

59. Contact Form 7 – setup forms

60. WP-Testimonials – display random testimonials

61. ShareThis – email and posting to social bookmarking sites

62. SexyBookMarks (by Shareaholic) – compliant list of social bookmarking icons

63. Print Friendly and PDF – optimizes your pages for printing

64. Vipers Video Quicktags– make it easy to embed videos19

66. Creative

67. Corporate

68. Retail

69. Technology

70. NonProfit

71. Entertainment

72. Real Estate

73. Miscellaneous

74. and MoreWordPress Themes Free Themes Directory http://wordpress.org/extend/themes Themeforest http://themeforest.net/category/wordpress WooThemes http://www.woothemes.com DIY themes http://diythemes.com 20

75. Facebook Tools and References Buttons, Plugins, Badges, Likes and more… oh my Share your Facebook Likes, Fans and Friends with the use of Badges: http://www.facebook.com/badges/ Add social plugins to your site with just one line of HTML: http://developers.facebook.com/plugins Explore how sites integrate Facebook Learn how to drive growth and engagement through social and personalized features. http://developers.facebook.com/showcase/ 21

76. Twitter Tools and References Twitter Buttons, Widgets, logos and icons http://business.twitter.com/about/resources 22

77. Marketing - Setup a Gravatar Your Gravatar is an image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. http://en.gravatar.com 23

78. Marketing - Create a Quick Profile Page Create a Google and Yahoo Profile What do people see when they find you online? You can control how you appear in Google and Yahoo by creating a personal profile... Help people find the right information when they search for you on Google. Create a personal page that links to your blog and other profiles. Google Profile Page: http://www.google.com/profiles Yahoo Profile Page: http://profiles.yahoo.com 24

80. Add your logo

81. Add product photos

82. Add your hours

83. Create coupons (free)Google Places Google.com/profiles 25

84. Marketing - Claim Your Business …continued Claim your business Add links to sites, logos, services, products, coupons, and any additionalinformation like business hours..etc. http://www.google.com/places/ http://local.yahoo.com/ http://www.bing.com/businessportal/ http://www.yelp.com/ http://www.linkedin.com/directory/companies/ 26

85. Optimization Tips - SEO Checklist for Your New Website Title tags are the words that appear on site visitor’s browser tabs as they navigate through your site. Clearly define your title tags for each individual web page making sure that it is accurate and descriptive of the page’s content. Keep it 70 characters or less. The meta description is the primary source of information search engines review, and this is also the information that appears along with your site name in the search engine results. Clearly define your meta descriptions for each individual web page making sure that it too is accurate and descriptive of the page’s content. Keep it 155 characters or less Develop keyword rich content on all pages including the keyword and/or phrase within the content Use descriptive words for your navigation when it makes sense Name all images on website with descriptive image names: (Example) chocolate-lab-running.jpg vs. img0893.jpg The title tags are the words that visitor’s click to reach the hyperlinks behind them. Add descriptive title tags to anchor links: (Example) title=” Descriptive Title Tag” vs. title=”Click Here” Setup Google Analytics and see who’s visiting your website and who’s giving you referral’s: http://www.google.com/analytics Create a sitemap and submit to Google Webmaster Tools and other search engines. The free tools give you a look under the hood at your website performance: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools Add new website to local free business listings and other free directory sites 27

87. Update content frequently

88. Share information that matters

89. Strengthen your online presence you will attract people to you…

90. Connect with other peopleIf you have any questions on anything we’ve discussed please feel free to connect with me. Kristy Crabtree Phone: (775) 626-8330 Website: WestwardStrategy.com Email: info@westwardstrategy.com Twitter: twitter.com/gowestward 28