Staging to Live: SEO-Safe WordPress Launch with SiteGround Without Losing Rankings

Rolling a rebuilt or significantly redesigned WordPress site from a SiteGround staging copy to live doesn’t have to tank your rankings. Many site owners experience traffic drops after migrations due to preventable SEO mistakes. Follow the plan below to give the developer the access they need, protect your data, and maintain your rankings.

Jump to section:

• Developer Access
• Backup Strategy
• Staging SEO Preparation
• Launch Checklist
• Developer Handover
• Post-Launch Monitoring

1. Give the developer the right access

Add them as a Collaborator in SiteGround. They get their own login, can use Site Tools and Support, but can’t see billing or email.

• In “Client Area → Manage Users → Add New User”, pick Collaborator, tick Site Tools and Staging, then create an SFTP key limited to this site (if needed).
• Estimated time: 5-10 minutes

2. Back up before anything moves

• Run an on-demand backup of the live site inside SiteGround.
• Crawl the site with a tool like Screaming Frog and save the URL list.
• Download the database dump and wp-content/uploads to local storage.
• Estimated time: 15-30 minutes depending on site size

3. Prep the staging copy for SEO

Estimated time: 1-2 hours

4. Final launch checklist

1. Freeze edits on live and staging.
2. Take a fresh backup of the live site.
3. In Site Tools → WordPress → Staging pick Deploy → Custom deploy. Untick log/analytics tables so you don’t overwrite recent data.
4. Put the site in maintenance mode, then push staging live.

Immediately after deployment:

• Delete any noindex tag.
• Replace the staging robots.txt with the production one.
• Regenerate the XML sitemap and submit it in Search Console.
• Check SSL, mixed content and that the canonical tag now shows the live domain.
• Crawl the live site, compare with the pre-launch crawl and add 301 redirects for any changed URLs.
• Verify Search Console ownership is maintained.
• Check htaccess files have been properly transferred.

SiteGround-specific optimizations:

• Configure SG Optimizer plugin settings for caching
• Set up CDN if using SiteGround’s Cloudflare integration
• Verify SuperCacher settings are appropriate for the new build

Estimated time: 30-45 minutes

5. Hand-over and ongoing access

• Keep the developer as a collaborator for snag-fixing and maintenance (if agreed).
• If there are any staff changes, and the developer is no longer working on the account, delete their user profile and rotate SFTP keys.
• Store a copy of the final backup off-site.
• Estimated time: 10 minutes

6. Post-launch monitoring: SEO checks

Expected ranking behaviour:

It’s normal to see some ranking fluctuations for 7-14 days after a major site update as Google reprocesses your site. Monitor closely but avoid making additional major changes during this stabilization period.

Emergency rollback plan:

If serious issues occur, be prepared to restore from your pre-migration backup. Document the specific steps for your SiteGround setup before beginning the migration.

View the original article Staging to Live: SEO‑Safe WordPress Launch with Siteground

We're re-sizing the images using the free editing tool Paint.net (https://www.getpaint.net/). But you can use whatever image editing tool you have on your computer.

The images shown are by my very talented friend Hannah Rankine, and if you like them, you can order prints and gifts with the designs from http://rocknrollbabies.co.uk.

For Digital Marketing training, get in touch at https://www.digitangle.co.uk/.

View the original article How to Resize Images that have been cropped in WordPress Gallery Thumbnail

I’ve been asked “why has my traffic gone up/down?” many times, and although this isn’t an exhaustive list, it’s a good starting point for further investigation.

View the original article Why has my traffic gone down or up?

Google has a really useful demo dataset available.

The account has been set up by the experts, so in theory should be what you’re aiming for with your own implementation.

The demo Analytics account makes use of most of the advanced features such as Enhanced Ecommerce Analytics, checkout funnels, event tracking and integration with Google Search Console, AdWords and coupons.

And if you’re presenting features to an audience, the last thing you want to worry about is what you might find when you load up your own account (eek spiders!)

You can find out more about the demo account and how to access it on the Google Analytics Support section.

Or if you want to jump straight to it, you can follow the steps here:

1. Add the demo account using this link.
2. Login, or if you do not have a Google account, you’ll be prompted to create an account, then log in.
3. Click around to your heart’s content.

Once you’ve added the demo account, you can do almost anything that you could do if you owned the account, but you only have read/analyse access so you can’t make any changes to the data. Some examples of what you can dig into:

View the original article Google Analytics Demo Data

But whichever side of the arrangement you’re on, managing those who work remotely or working remotely yourself, there are always ways to improve efficiency and get things done better.

It can be difficult to communicate, coordinate on projects and develop trust and agreement. However, the benefits can be substantial; a study by Aon Consulting found that by using virtual teams, employee productivity can be improved, with some organisations have seeing improvements of up to 43%.

How do you successfully work remotely?

Firstly, setting up social-emotional processes are useful for making sure team members feel included and therefore want to commit to overall goals. By making individuals feel part of a team, goals can be achieved with more cohesion.

Getting the balance right between these social-emotional processes and task-related processes is essential in increasing levels of mutual support, member effort, work coordination, balance of member contributions and communication.

Secondly, whilst working remotely can be incredibly productive, there are key points in a project where there isn’t a substitution for getting together to discuss, whether this is in person or using a service such as Google Hangouts – but more on that later! These points are as follows;

1. Kickoff: An initial meeting to introduce teammates, set expectations and clarify team goals and behavioural guidelines.
2. On-boarding: Give new employees the same in-person welcome you gave the rest of the group. Encourage them to video conference with the rest of their teammates.
3. Milestones: Get people together to celebrate the achievement of short-term goals or to crack tough problems to prevent team members from feeling disconnected and less engaged. Visual cues and body language help prevent misunderstandings.

What tools can streamline the process?

How do you look after the health of remote workers?

Eyelevel screen – If you’re using a laptop, add a stand, separate keyboard and mouse. I use a musician’s keyboard stand at home, and a Roost superlight laptop stand for when I’m out and about. I use the logitech K810 keyboard (It’s lightweight and works via bluetooth with my phone, laptop and iPad), and the Logitech M220 silent mouse.

Daily carry – Ensure your laptop bag is as light as possible and use a backpack rather than a stylish side thing. It may not be as attractive, but you won’t regret it. I use the Slimfold laptop bag, keep contents to a minimum and stick to the lightest accessories wherever possible.

Mobile phone – Avoid reading or working on your phone for long periods of time – you can end up hunching over and straining your neck muscles. I use an app called Offtime (Android), which alerts me if I’ve been on my phone for more than 180 minutes a the day.

Move and stretch – Try to move around at regular intervals. Yoga or Pilates are excellent for maintaining mobility.

Eye health – Schedule regular eye tests. Check and adjust the lighting conditions to ensure you’re not squinting. Make sure you take a break from your screen regularly and drink plenty of water throughout the day. Tea and coffee can be very dehydrating, so try to sneak in some non-caffeinated drinks.

Circadian Rhythms – Routine can sound boring, but it can help improve your quality of sleep, which has a huge impact on your health. Work out when you are most creative, productive or energised, and schedule appropriate tasks at those times. Be mindful of light – aim to ‘consume’ bright natural light in the morning and tone down any blue light at night. I use Twilight for mobile (Android) and Flux for laptop (PC), both adjust the light to mimic the stage that the sun is in. I also use a Philips sunrise simulator alarm clock.

View the original article Working Remotely: Productivity Tips

Goal tracking

If you’re using WordPress, with Contact Form 7 and Google Analytics, here are some quick steps to put goal tracking in place.
This will to allow you to see conversions (i.e. how many people submitted an enquiry), and where those people are coming from.

It’ll involve a bit of fiddling with settings (or development time from your web team), but it’ll be worth seeing the number of conversions and visits in the one place.
———————————————————–

In WordPress

on_sent_ok: "_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'Contact Form', 'Submit']);"

In Google Analytics

1. Add a new goal;
2. Select the enquiry/contact us template
3. Select “event” as the goal type
4. Add “Contact Form” as the category
5. Add “Submit” as the action.
6. Create the goal.

Put through a test submission and check the following day.

View the original article How To Track Goals In Google Analytics Using Contact Form 7

I stumbled upon this short video from the lovely Heidi Grant Halvorson, which sums up the ‘Growth Mindset’.

This is my favourite quote from her talk:

“People are good at things because they devote their time & energy to developing their skills”.

With the example that the people who are good at maths* are only good at maths because they practice.

The research on the effect of mindset on performance was really interesting – and it suggests how you can motivate or de-motivate people with simple changes to the way that you give feedback. For example, if you focus praise or negative feedback on the effort, the process followed or preparation made, then you’re more likely to instil the ‘growth mindset’ rather than making people feel like they are at a set point (that they are inherently good or bad at something). The growth mindset encourages people to search for ways to improve their performance.

The study of how people deal with (or don’t deal with) problems was also fascinating. It explains why we may sulk, dwell and don’t make changes when we’re in an unhappy situation. 🙁

Carol Dweck explores the power of giving feedback using statements like ‘not yet’ rather than ‘failed’ to help students develop a growth mindset and improve their performance.

Heidi’s presentation reminded me of Teresa Amabile’s book ‘The Progress Principle’. Teresa and her co-author Steven Kramer analysed approximately 12,000 diary entries and came up with a number of insights into performance and creativity.

They identified obstacles to progress, for example, toxic relationships and meaningless tasks [hello HMRC admin 😉 ]. They also explain how to enable progress on project work, for example, by establishing autonomy and setting clear goals; and how to uplift your team with encouragement and demonstration of respect.

So, what motivates you?

Further information

*OK, so Heidi said “people are good at math”… I just couldn’t bring myself to call ‘maths’ ‘math’ on this side of the pond.

View the original article Swap the ‘Be Good’ for the ‘Growth’ Mindset

I’ve had the opportunity to work with some exceptional young marketers.

I’ve been working with The White Room to deliver the training for Creative Pioneers, a national Apprenticeship programme driven by the IPA for the Advertising, Marketing and Digital Media sector.

The apprentices are working towards a Level 3 NVQ and so far, among other things, they have:

If you were thinking of recruiting a junior creative, marketing or web development position, then opening that opportunity to apprentices can be a great way to find and grow your own talent.

There are no costs to the business for the training and you get a £1500 grant to fund their development.

Here are comments from some of our current group:

I have really enjoyed the diversity of the creative pioneers course, it has been great to get involved in all sorts of live briefs which I can relate to my experience in the workplace.

Laura Horne
Junior Account Executive
TBWA Manchester

I know that the guys last week really enjoyed doing the Buzzfeed posts because we had free reign on what we could do and how we could do it. This meant that there were an infinite number of possibilities on the type of content we created.

Quincey Lawrence-Bernard
Digital Media Apprentice
Nine Lives Media

Lauren Adams
Project Management Apprentice
Access Advertising Marketing & Design

I also like listening to other people’s ideas that they pitch as it’s interesting to see what other people have come up with.

Ben Lester
Insight Apprentice, Planning
MEC

Sophie Chay-O’Neill
Junior Account Executive
C21 Ltd

Richard Bolton
Online Digital Marketing Apprentice
Creative England

View the original article Young Marketing Stars: Creative Pioneers Apprentices

Dr. Robert B. Cialdini, Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University, has spent his entire career researching the science of influence.

He studied the strategies of sales professionals, charity workers, marketers, advertising professionals and recruitment consultants – to find out why potential customers whose initial response is often one of indifference, or who may even be locked in “no” mode, eventually move to a “yes”.

Dr Cialdini came up with 6 principles of persuasion that guide human behaviour – here’s a quick run-through:

Consider how you can adapt these principles and apply them to your marketing campaigns.

1. Reciprocity
People are more likely to help you if you help them first.
Can you add value by giving your audience tips on how to use your products? Can you offer a free trial? An unexpected gift? A useful white paper, a persuasive printable or a compelling visual guide?

2. Commitment (and Consistency)
Once we’ve made a commitment to something, we’re more likely to want to continue.
Can you encourage your audience to dip their toe in the waters with a little commitment? Is there something small but significant you can ask of your users? Why not suggest they register as a free limited user, or ‘like’ your page on Facebook; why not offer them the chance to sign up to an email newsletter?

3. Social Proof
We’re more likely to sign up if we know other people have done so.
Can you demonstrate your Facebook ‘likes’ or quote testimonials from happy customers on your website? Or make it easy for people to write reviews?

4. Liking
We’re more likely to be influenced by people we like.
Do your marketing messages speak directly to your audience? Are they likely to smile when they see your brand?
Consider segmenting your audience to allow for custom marketing messages and landing pages rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach. If you’re trying to please everyone, you’re going to please no-one.

5. Authority
We trust the opinion of people in positions of credible authority.
Have you won any awards? Are you accredited by any well-known industry organisations or member of any respected professional associations? Try using these credentials on landing pages or in marketing messages.

6. Scarcity
We are more attracted to things when availability is limited, or when we fear we  may miss out on an outstanding or unique opportunity. Why not experiment with time limited offers or events, or display your stock levels?

With any of these principles, it’s important to act ethically.

If you persuade someone to sign up when you know they won’t benefit from your product or service, it may look good for that day’s results, but the effect on your brand will be dreadful… and you’ll need a few mugs of Horlicks to sleep at night!

View the original article Principles of Persuasion… Are You Missing Vital Elements in Your Marketing Messages?

I loved Tim’s first book ‘The Four Hour Work Week’; it’s all about improving efficiency, prioritising, removing “work for work’s sake” and questioning common practice.

Tim used smart tactics to design the title, strapline and book cover – anyone interested in the Lean Startup or Conversion Rate Optimisation would be proud of him:

1. He used a Google AdWords campaign to test the book title and strapline. He set up adverts and tested different headlines (the book titles), and descriptions (the straplines).  He went with the version that people clicked on most for the final title of his book.
2. And as Eric Ries would say, he ‘got out of the building’, to test his book cover. He wrapped the same sized books in different versions of the cover, and sat in a bookshop with a clicker to see how many people picked up the book in each design.

The resulting book went on to become a number one New York Times best-seller.

He has a new book out at the moment – The Four Hour Chef; which isn’t really a cook-book. It’s a book about ‘meta learning’, or learning how to learn effectively, and covers cooking (of course), as well as language learning, dancing and improving your memory.

As I hoped and wondered whether there was an audio version out yet, I found he’s actually giving this away for free.

In the spirit of continual testing and refinement, he gave drafts of his new book away for free, and found that 880 thousand people who received the material actually clicked through and bought the hardcover version of the book on Amazon. This supports what Dr Robert Cialdini was saying about the principles of persuasion – people are designed to reciprocate.

If you’re anything like my mum, you will freak if you watch him wipe his nose as he’s cooking… he actually has a disclaimer about food handling in the first page… but anyway, here’s the trailer:

So I’ve fallen for the persuasion of reciprocation! It’s a great read with some interesting ideas – and the hardcover is on order for my dad’s birthday!

More on Tim:

Also mentioned in this post – Eric Ries and The Lean Startup, and for more information about Conversion Rate Optimisation – check out Conversion Rate Experts, Digital Tonic and the ConversionXL Blog.

View the original article Smart Tactics In Book Marketing – Tim Ferriss’s Free Audiobook