When Did You Last Do a Website BackUp?

Have you ever lost a Word document? Lost an email maybe? It happens, right! And it’s an absolute pain in the butt!

Not only do you lose a heap of time looking for it but there’s the stress and drama that goes with it.

Imagine if you lost your website!

And it happened to a colleague not so long ago. The story gets worse!

There was a server crash and he lost about 30 websites – yup, that’s thirty, as in 3 and 0. He swore… a lot!

What made it worse was there was no up to date backups. And get this, most were client sites.

Here’s the reality, a server is just a hard disc drive essentially, and they fail, it happens. Surely you’ve had a PC issue at some point… “touch wood”, same deal, they break.

I back up my own sites, and all my clients sites of course, on a regular basis.

But how do we back them up?

I have a strategic plan. I have to account for the fact that I might get hit by a Mac Truck, God forbid. If I’m as thin as sliced cheese and my clients can’t get to their back up  that’s not going to help them get their website “live” again.

There are 2 parts to a website backup, this is in real simple layman’s terms.

There is all the database stuff which is all the techy in the cogs and behind the scenes coding and stuff and then there is the graphical elements and images. That’s the oversimplified version but that covers it.

So obviously we have 2 parts to our back up process, well, actually we have 3.

What we do is use a tool for all our websites, mine and my clients, that automatically does the database back up aspect. It even emails the back up out to them.

!Note for Smarter Website clients! You will now get a weekly email that contains a file with this database file. The attached file will look something like – “yourdomain_wrdp1_30102009_xxx.sql.gz”

I was having these all sent to me on a weekly basis but then I had a close shave with a Mac Truck. No, not really. I just figured that no-one knows all the stuff we do behind the scenes to keep your sites up and running and it was about time to blow our trumpet.

What do you do with this email! File it, just in case. (and pray I don’t get hit by a truck)

So what are the other 2 parts to the website back up?

The next is all the files and folders, where all the graphical and other stuff is. We back them up to a separate disc on the server, sort of like a mirror image of the first server drive. That way if there is an issue it flicks over to the other drive so your site is “live” at all times. No down time plus a safe back up.

The last part is to back them up externally, as in “off-site”. Server centres are very secure, they have fire protection and all manner of safety stuff in place but you just never know, especially in today’s world.

So what is your back up plan? Don’t do the “it’ll never happen to me” thing. Look, most shared servers and hosting do have auto back ups done but it is worth asking the question.

Here’s the “Sell” if there is one in this post! (This part either fits for you or it doesn’t)

We now do “reseller plans” so you can actually make money out of web hosting! It’s all on our very fast and sexy “dedicated server”. A “reseller plan” means you can make money from selling web hosting without having to do anything – money for nothing and forever.

I’m not going to go into the techy stuff but if you have multiple websites or reckon you have the opportunity to direct people to or sell good hosting then we need to talk. Contact me through that link or give me a call on 0413 733 272.

How Many Pages of Your Website Has Google Been To?

A quick simple exercise to see how many pages the mighty Google has “indexed” or visited on your website.

How much of “you” does the world really see? Well worth keeping a check on.

Some folk think that just because your website is “live” and you’re getting some web traffic that Google have been there. Not necessarily so.

This subject came up again while we were doing a rebuild for a client. I like to do a “status report” before we even touch a thing. I mean, how can rave about how well a site is ranking if I don’t have a starting point?

The first thing I do is check how many pages are “indexed”. How many pages does Google “see”?

Here’s how to find out –

• Open up your browser window, Firefox, Internet Explorer, whatever.
• Go to Google.
• In the search window type in site:www.yourdomainname.com.au

In the case of our client it was this

site:www.annettestanton.com

and guess what? This was the result that came back

- Your search – site:www.annettestanton.com – did not match any documents.

So if someone searches for Annette Stanton on the internet will they find her? Umm, NO! Well, not her website anyway.

How can they? Google don’t even recognise this as a website yet! And get this. The site has been live for nearly a year!

What did I find? Annette’s Facebook profile!

I’ll update you in another post and show you how quickly we get a heap of pages “indexed” by Google. We’re doing an indepth case study of Annette’s site – The “4 Week Website Work Over”.

So do a check now on your own site. Remember, in Google search put in – site:www.yourwebsite.com/au

Let me know what you find and how many pages you have indexed!

Wordpress Update Alert!

Here is what you need to know right now.

UPDATE NOW! Like immediately if not sooner.

Reports are that this attack impacts ALL versions of WordPress up to 2.8.4, which is the most recent release.

What Version Am I Using? If you are using a WordPress version after 2.7, at the top of the admin page you’ll see the little prompt to upgrade. Like this –

WordPress 2.8.4 is available! Please update now.

If your site has been upgraded you’ll see the version listed here…

The WordPress Community is Vigilant:

WordPress is incredibly secure and monitored constantly by experts in web security. This attack was picked up quickly and response was swift – WordPress 2.8.4 is secure. If necessary, WordPress will immediately release a update with further security improvements. WordPress is used by governments, huge corporations, and me, around the world. Millions of bloggers are using WordPress.com. Have faith they are working overtime to monitor this situation and protect your website and blog.

All Smarter Websites Clients Sites Have Been Upgraded So Don’t Panic!

If there are any other security issues we’ll update you.

How Do I Know If My Site Has Already Been Attacked?

There are two clues that your WordPress site has been attacked.

There are strange additions to the pretty permalinks, the website extensions in your browser address bar will be bizarre – something like www.yourdomain.com/andarangeofbizarreletters/numbersandcharacters

The second clue is that another “Administrator” has been created. Check your site users for “Administrator (2)” or a name you do not recognize. You will probably be unable to access that account.

If you want to read up on this go to the main Wordpress Site.

But – For All the Smarter Websites Clients – Your Sites Have All Been Upgraded So Just Keep On Blogging!

How hard is it to build your list and get other professionals in your “funnel”?

One of the most frustrating things when you’re a professional is to get other professionals and people you meet to sign up for your stuff!

List building can be one of the toughest and most arduous tasks in business building.

Let’s say you’re at a function and you meet some great prospects. You know that they are perfect candidates for your stuff, even if it’s not right now, but when they are ready you want them to think of you first. Right!

You also know that unless they are hearing from you on a regular basis then you’re not “positioning” yourself how you could or even should. And to charge that premium rate that you deserve, you need to be in that “prime position”! Do I hear an “Amen” to that?

How many times have we heard that the money is in the “list” so we design our website to do that, have all the name capture stuff, the right double-opt in form protocols. Have to abide by the Spam rules and regulations right?

That’s great for your online visitors but what if you’re out networking?

Having the right opt in forms, auto-responders and email newsletter is a must for every serious professional and their website but how do you get these networking contacts into the same email list building stuff when you’re out and about? How do you overcome this issue?

I have tried it all when I’m at a function or even meetings like BNI (Business Network International) and the like.

You hand them your business card and say something like “Oh, go to my site and click on the big blue button and I’ll send you my Free Report.” And they never do!

So then you try signing them up yourself and say “I’ll send you my Free Report and all you need to do is to click on the confirmation email you’ll get”. And they never do!

Yes, you can add them into ACT or Outlook and even create contact groups but you’d still prefer them in that one list where you can manage them easily without it becoming a huge CRM (Client Relationship Management) drama.

What about an email marketing system designed from the ground up with the professional in mind! Awesome!

Solution! – Smart Email Marketing! Why is it awesome?

Because you can over ride the double opt in process is why! Do I recommend that for your online stuff? Absolutely not, you’d have to have rocks in your head.

BUT IMAGINE THIS! You can now say “Look, I have some info that will address that exact issue plus I have some other stuff coming out soon which I really don’t want you to miss out on. I’ll get that to you this afternoon. Is that soon enough?” and you grab their business card … or everyone in the group’s business cards!

You get back to your office, open up your Smart Email System and enter all their details and hit “send” and the auto-responder sequence begins, plus now they’re automatically in your newsletter list too. But this is where it gets even sexier – no other email marketing software will let you “log an event” so you can actually record that you met them in person and they said yes to your stuff and you did a manual entry.

Talk about guard your butt in these contentious times. It really doesn’t get any better than this. Here’s a short list of just some of the other sexy features:

• Completely browser based (You manage it from wherever you are)
• No per email fees
• No list size limits or fees
• Dozens of built-in templates
• Step-by-step campaign wizard
• Custom fields for personalization
• Unlimited autoresponders
• Split test email campaigns
• Powerful, automated triggers
• Full campaign statistics
• Google Analytics integration
• Automated bounced email processing
• Full WYSIWYG campaign editing
• Easily import/export contacts
• Pause and resume sending
• Automatic event logging
• Built-in CRM functionality
• Google Calendar integration
• RSS email campaign archive

Here’s what Josh Williams of www.AdsOnVids.com.au fame said only last week…

“I have been helping businesses with online marketing for the last 6 years and have never seen a better email marketing and CRM system to recommend to my clients. When Peter first told me about this I thought it would be like most of the ones I’ve seen before, but I was blown away within the first few minutes of using the system. This is a truly phenomenal product. SmartEmail is very easy to use and offers amazing value. I recommend this to all of my clients – if you haven’t signed up yet for a free trial, do it now! I’m sure like me, you’ll find investing in Smart Email one of the easiest decisions you could make in online marketing today.”

So what’s holding you back on getting serious about building your business? You know the money is in the list and with a Free Trial valued at $49.50 plus a coaching call with me it’s a no brainer really!

I’m only offering 3 Free Trails for September so call NOW To Reserve Your Spot! Like Right NOW! (Why only 3 Free Trials?  – because I will actually guide you through how to get started, as in me personally and I’m very busy – I’m writing this at 9.10 on a Monday night!)

You can either call me on 0413 733 272 or Book My Smart Email Trial NOW!

Or you can wait until October! And only then if you’re lucky and quick! Don’t miss out!

Attention: Independent Mortgage Brokers

Attention: Independent Mortgage Brokers!

Are You Attracting Enough New Clients?

We professionals and independent business owners have 3 things in common…

The need for a steady stream of fresh leads and new clients.

We love referrals.

We love qualified leads. (That’s why we love referrals)

Hi, I’m Peter Butler of the Smarter Websites Group of Companies. Why did I create this website?

Out of the sheer frustration I see every day in the eyes of Independent Mortgage Brokers that need more qualified leads and new clients. Also out of my annoyance at designers and websites that aren’t built with a “get me leads and make me money” approach so they just don’t “work” for their money.

Is it a struggle for you to attract enough new clients?

Are some potential clients slipping through your fingers?

Do you notice that you spend too much time and effort on qualifying some of those leads only to not get the deal?

Here’s the Cruncher Question:

Do you wish new clients were phoning YOU as opposed to you chasing THEM?

If you’re like most Independent Professionals you’re very good at what you do but you probably realize you haven’t got a really good handle on your marketing yet.

Trouble is, you’re not quite sure how to deal with it. Where do you start? You know there are gaps in your marketing systems but it’s not something you’ve ever been trained in. Some of what you’ve tried may have worked but there’s just too long between signing up new clients.

Here’s the thing. The harder we try the harder it seems to be. What is that about?

Look, it’s really not your fault, none of us were trained in marketing. I’m not talking the “normal marketing” model but real marketing, relationship marketing, as in really trying to relate to your prospects which wins their confidence meaning you truly “connect” with them.

If you can help them fix their finance issue or problem – well, who doesn’t want that? We all want our problems or issues fixed and sorted! BUT, if we approach this problem solving the wrong way it may come across as “a sell” and none of us want to be sold to…

BUT, We Do All Want a Solution To Our Problem!

Click Here To Find Out That SOLUTION!

OMG, my Facebook account got hacked… and then suspended.

Are You at Risk? We hear about these things but never really think it’ll happen to us. It just happened to me!

I got an email with this as the subject line – “Security Alert from Facebook”. I thought it was a scam, “Yeah right, like I’m going to fall for that one”.

This was the opening dialogue – “Hi Peter,

Our systems indicate that your Facebook account has been compromised by cybercriminals attempting to impersonate you. These criminals often will try to trick your friends into sending them money by claiming that you are stuck in a far away location and need assistance. It is possible that your email account was compromised as well…”

It had a strange reply email address along with an odd web address to “update” your info. You can understand my scepticism.

I was just going to ignore it and move on but when I went to log in to my Facebook account – “Account Disabled!”

OMG, it was true. I was “Facebook-LESS”. The short story version of the “fix” was I replied to the email, updated all my email passwords and followed all the other instructions but I had to wait another 36 hours before my account was reactivated. Luckily, everything was still intact in my account, I was sweating on that cause I’d loaded a lot of video’s and stuff.

The other worry was “Had these criminals tricked any friends into sending money?” Apparently not, that was lucky! I’d hate to see your money wasted with a stranger. But, hey, if you’re feeling generous, I’m always good for more cash – Let’s go with that part – my PayPal account is xx xxx xx.

The moral of the story is stuff like this can happen to you and does happen to people close to you.

We help clients get better SEO rankings and one of the ways is by leveraging off Social Media Marketing. My password portfolio is over 500 passwords. I’ve set up dozens of different social media accounts for clients and linked them to their website so obviously I needed access to those accounts.

Imagine trying to keep a handle on your own plus dozens of client’s details. Obviously security is a major issue – I use RoboForm and couldn’t manage without it.

So, don’t let this happen to you. Get safe and secure and update your passwords regularly, RoboForm will help you keep a handle on it all.

They have a free version; you can get that here -

RoboForm Freebie

or you can go Pro which has no limitations on passwords stored and a few extra bonuses like password backups and stuff – you can see that here –

RoboForm Pro

Most of us are resistant to updating passwords because we get to “know” them and it can be a pain to do but identity fraud is becoming more common and is now a global problem, do be on guard.

To sort out the aftermath of a hacker is a lot more of a pain, let me tell you!

Are the leads that you’re harvesting “qualified”, or anywhere near the mark of the “Ideal Client” for you?

I made a “Post” blunder on Monday on my www.SmarterWebsites.com.au site. I stuffed up.

I needed to narrow the niche that I’m marketing too so I was refining my lead generation “Funnel” on my site. Trouble is I forgot that the auto update was turned “On” so the edit that I did went out automatically to my list.

This would have been the starter of the email you got…

Attention: Self Employed Professionals & Small Business Owners!

Really am sorry about that, it was just an internal site edit and wasn’t supposed to go out.

Anyway, the blessing is that it’s a good subject for a post.

Are the leads that you’re harvesting “qualified”, or anywhere near the mark of the “Ideal Client” for you?

It’s a valid question.

I had people signing up left, right and centre but in running them through my “process” I realized that in building this list some of these leads weren’t after what I was offering. Now, you could argue that it doesn’t matter because it’s all done online that it doesn’t cost me anything.

Well, yes, and the extra traffic to my site can be a good thing for ranking but obviously if we can all refine our process to attract that “Ideal Client” then the faster our business will grow and the quicker we’ll slip into the serious money stream.

Un-qualified traffic can also be a negative too – if they come to your site and leave quickly that will increase your “bounce rate” which is the percentage of single page visits. This is bad if it’s too high, it means they’re not finding what they came for. Google God demerit point!

The point being, always “Test and Measure”.

• Check your offer – how many clicks on your offer (Your button or newsletter opt-in) compared to new visitors?
• How many people are then following through and filling in their details to get your stuff?
• How many “unsubscribes” down the track?
• How many convert into a paying client?

Here’s a quick starter check hit list – In Google Analytics (which we install on all our sites – that was subtle “sell” on one of the many sexy things we do) you should be looking to compare – “new visits” to “click throughs to your opt in page” to “actual opt ins”.

Test and measure and refine always. Websites are a work in progress!

A Quick Update… You’re Now On Wordpress 2.8…

Just a quick update to my WordPress “Smarter Website” Clients…

Our Fanatical and even bordering on Obsessive Service has now updated you to the new sexier WordPress 2.8 Version.

No, you don’t have to do a thing because that’s what we do. What’s new?

Mostly the “widgets” area actually. It’s a lot easier to edit and change stuff to your hearts delight.

Here’s the short story verson of the update but needless to say your site will be found by more people more often and all in the organic search results. Yippee, free traffic!

• New drag-and-drop widgets admin interface and new widgets API
• Syntax highlighting and function lookup built into plugin and theme editors
• Browse the theme directory and install themes from the admin
• Allow the dashboard widgets to be arranged in up to four columns
• Allow configuring the number of items to show on management pages with an option in Screen Options
• Support timezones and automatic daylight savings time adjustment
• Support IIS 7.0 URL Rewrite Module
• Faster loading of admin pages via script compression and concatenation

If you want the techy stuff you can have a look here.

http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_2.8

Facebook Name Grab This Weekend

Get YOUR NAMED Facebook account this Saturday Lunch (for Aussie’s)

Up until now your Facebook profile link was just random characters like this

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=703908113

That’s memorable… not!

For the savvy people you could use the ‘profile to’ application which would look like this

http://profile.to/peterbutler/

which is certainly a lot sexier. (Especially with my name in it )

But Facebook are releasing this weekend the chance to grab your specific named Facebook username URL which will look like this

http://www.facebook.com/username/

This can either be your name or your niche or group name. Facebook have protection in place to guard against name squatting and you can read about that right here on their blog

http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=90316352130

The Facebook countdown link is here

http://www.facebook.com/username/

Now, if your a client of mine then make sure you get signed up. Onece you’ve secured your names Facebook account let me know the URL so I can update your links on your site. If you’re technogically handicapped then get back to me by close of business tomorrow so we can schedule time to help you get registered.

Peter Butler on “Imagine the Stress… being # 7 Web Developer!!!”

Imagine the Stress… being # 7 Web Developer!!!

Yup, that means 7 rebuilds on Ivor’s website.

It seems we have a knack for getting websites right the first time round… and we’ve had this comment a lot…

Why? Marketing focus first followed by design.

It’s all about getting leads and prospects to say “Yes, I want to know more”.

Why would you spend so much money on a promotional tool in your business and not expect a return? I mean, you wouldn’t spend even $500 on a newspaper ad and not expect a few enquiries and new clients… right?

Yet business owners continue to throw money at their websites and supposed web experts and designers to make it look sexier than their competitors and live in the hope that it’ll bring in some money. Good luck with that – it’s called dreaming or maybe “hope is a strategy”… not!

If you don’t have a clear cut path or journey that you want to take your prospects on then how can you expect your reader, viewer or listener to know? You have to hold your prospects by the hand and guide them through, step by step, so that you get their details and they get some “stuff” and you start building the relationship.

Quick check on your own “process” or “journey” for your clients.

Out of 100 visitors to your website how many are you now able to market to?

Look, I’m not going to “drill down” into the specifics of this today but needless to say that the following rave is a common response we get. Why? Like I said - Marketing focus first followed by design.

Hit the big blue button on the right to find out more.

Just had this rave from a client come in.

We have been developing our website since 2000.

About 6 different web developers have been involved over that time.

I met Peter recently, and he came over as being first and foremost, a marketer, and then a web developer. This approach was totally different from my previous web site programmers.

We have now started my website rebuild with Peter, and it is looking great. Simple things that used to be buried in the context are now visible on all pages.

All the important information is right there on the front page and I just know because it’s now so clear and simple to follow that my lead conversions will be better.

The site has a clear sense of direction that a visitor can follow. The colours are nice and eye catching as are the images displayed of the front page. I really like the slide show gallery on the main page.

Ivor Kosowitz
Managing Director – Fast Track Computer Solutions.

Fast Track Computer Solutions are Winners of:
•    Australia Post Stirling Small Business Award 2004.
•    Finalists in 2 categories in 2007.
•    Australia Post Stirling Small Business Award 2008.
•    Overall Best Business Finalist 2008.

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