How to Prepare for Another WFH Quarter

 

2020 has been a year filled with personal and professional challenges. To promote social distancing, many companies have gone to a work from home (WFH) model. The longer employees complete tasks from the comfort of their homes, the more likely it is they’ll want to continue for the foreseeable future.

According to Stanford economic researcher Nicholas Bloom, 42% of Americans now work from home, with only 26% working in essential positions and service jobs. There are also many still unemployed due to lockdowns and the subsequent recession.

Bloom points out that there are both positives and negatives with a WFH-centric economy. As we near the one-year mark of being on a pandemic shutdown, here are some ways you can prepare for another quarter of remote work for your business and employees.

1. Audit Your Expenses

Although the first coronavirus vaccines have arrived in some areas of the country, it may be many months before everyone gets an injection and life returns somewhat to normal. It’s also possible that another virus or threat arrives at the tail end of COVID-19, throwing the country into a longer social distancing period.

Now is a great time to look ahead and decide if you want some roles to continue in remote work even after the threat eases. If so, you may be able to reduce some of your expenses. Do you need such a large office space if you have half the workers in the building?

2. Offer Better Security

One concern many people working from home have is how to keep their network secure. They don’t have an IT department in their home as they have in an office building. They may worry about accidentally spilling company secrets or someone getting on their private network and tapping into their personal computers and smart speakers.

Research shows that about 50% of all remote workers fear security threats in a new setting. Tactics such as multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, and biometrics help ease these worries.

3. Encourage Communication

There are pros and cons to not having someone in the same building as you. One big drawback is that you can’t talk to them anytime you want without picking up a phone or initiating an online meeting. One significant advantage is that you can’t distract your workers by constantly popping into their office for a chat.

How do you encourage communication without taking valuable productivity time away? You can host stand-up meetings via Zoom to start each day. Each person gives a quick update on where they’re at, and you offer some words of inspiration. These meetings should be short and to the point.

You should also have an open-door policy where your remote workers can text, instant message, or email you throughout the day. Make responding a priority, even if you have to assign one person to chat with employees and help with issues.

4. Utilize Third-Party Project Management

Using third-party project management tools keeps all your employees on the same page. Cloud-based solutions update in real-time. So, if your graphic artist logs in, she can see if there are notes on her phase of the project and implement them, thereby avoiding wasted time and effort.

Sites such as Trello, Basecamp, and Asana help everyone stay on track. See at a glance where you are on a project. It’s one of the best ways for people from different locations to work together without confusion. You can even loop in a client to approve a graphic or mockup.

5. Onboard Everyone

Many of your employees may have been thrown into the role of a remote worker when they never planned to work from home. Their initial training was likely in-person through the human resources department. Now, they face a situation where they may not feel fully equipped to finish tasks independently.

The Human Capital Institute conducted their 2020 Talent Pulse Priorities survey with 462 human resources leaders. They found the biggest priority is retaining high performers. The best way to ensure engagement is excellent and applicable onboarding.

Your onboarding process must look different for remote work. Go through some basic concepts with everyone, such as securing their computers, protecting passwords, and what a nondisclosure agreement really means.

6. Improve Time Management Skills

One of the biggest challenges your employees face is time management. For many working parents, their children are home and may even be doing e-learning at the moment. Juggling family responsibilities and work is challenging.

You can help them navigate this time by allowing for some flexibility in the schedule. Let them start the day early before the kids wake up. Give them longer breaks so they can ensure their children sign on to meet with their teachers. Allow them to work later into the evening.

You can encourage higher productivity and loyalty if you provide flexible scheduling. This only works for some types of positions, though. A salesperson must call prospects when they’re most likely to answer the phone, for example. However, someone working on a graphic for a new website design can do the work at any time, as long as they meet deadlines.

Ask for Input

Going from an in-person office setting to a remote environment presents unique challenges. Be open to ideas from your workers. Ask for input on how to improve every process. They deal with co-workers and clients daily. They can see where any wasted time goes and pinpoint a better method to complete tasks on time.

The more you give your staff ownership of projects, the more likely it is they’ll develop brilliant ideas. Anything that improves productivity and team morale is a positive change for your brand, especially when everyone works from home.

Lexie is a digital nomad and graphic designer. If she’s not traveling to various parts of the country, you can find her at the local flea markets or hiking with her Goldendoodle. Check out her design blog, Design Roast, and connect with her on Twitter @lexieludesigner.

Content is originally posted at https://www.pxmediainc.com/how-to-prepare-for-another-wfh-quarter/

Critical Technology Options Your Small Business Can’t Afford to Ignore

This probably isn’t the first time you’ve heard about how you need to use tech so your small business can keep up with the times. There’s no question there are expensive tech trends being used today that may not help your business all that much. However, not all tech is created equal, and some of it is downright critical for small businesses to realize their potential.

If you’re a small business owner who wants to make the right decisions on what tech you should invest in, look no further. This article will cover some of the most important tech options that can end up saving (and making) your company money.

Point-of-Sale System

Nowadays, customers expect a fast and easy checkout experience whenever they make a purchase. Also, they expect to be given a variety of payment options. That’s why it’s so important that your point-of-sale system is up to date for your in-person and online transactions. A good POS system, such as the one offered by Square, will not only help you provide the quick and seamless checkout experience that customers want, but it will also enable you to securely accept several types of payment, as well as manage your inventory across locations. 

PHP Development 

When it comes to having a reliable website that works well for users, it doesn’t matter what type of business you run — you need one. Hiring a PHP developer will help make your site more powerful through back-end development. PHP is the most-used website coding language (most popular websites use it). If you choose a qualified PHP developer, you can have a powerful site with an easy-to-use interface; that way, you can make changes yourself and not have to hire a developer every time the site needs updating.

Upwork points out that the PHP developers you consider should be experienced with different PHP frameworks (Zend, Laravel, etc.) and possess a thorough understanding of web fundamentals, among other desirable skills. When you talk to a candidate, be clear on how much work you require and the skills they’ll need to complete the project. Also, when putting together a budget, it’s important to keep in mind that hiring a good PHP developer can range anywhere from $25 to $150 per hour. 

Website Design

You also want to make sure your website is secure and attractive; nearly 85 percent of consumers won’t make a purchase from a website that isn’t secure. And if you own a brick-and-mortar shop, this statistic may grab your attention: 97 percent of consumers have used the internet to search for a local business, and 54 percent do it at least once a month. Having a secure website helps your company show up in search results, which, in turn, helps increase the traffic coming through your site.

It’s essential that your website looks professional. A lot of potential customers will judge the credibility of your company based on what your site looks like. Plus, your website will be a primary source for showcasing your products and services, and you want this done in the most attractive way possible. There are several user-friendly platforms that allow you to design your own website, but it takes time. If you want to ultimately save time and money, invest in bringing in a web designer so that you can focus on growing the business.

Every tech trend out there is not beneficial to every kind of business, but some of them certainly are. Make sure you have an updated POS system so you can provide the optimal checkout experience for your customers. Consider investing in a PHP developer to add essential back-end support so that your site functions well. Finally, consider investing in website design to make your site more attractive and take advantage of increased traffic. Each of these options may cost money up front, but they will make you money in the long run.

Photo Credit: Burst

Content is originally posted at https://www.pxmediainc.com/critical-technology-options-your-small-business-cant-afford-to-ignore/

How to Get Secure Before Google Announces Your Vulnerabilities to the Public

It’s no secret that Google is putting forth a herculean effort to ensure that populated websites are secure for site visitors. Specifically, Google has influenced websites to migrate to HTTPS to promote widespread online security among Internet users. Initially, Google has made it an option for websites to switch from HTTP to HTTPS.

IMPORTANT!, Google is going to mandate all webmasters to switch to HTTPS, effectively beginning in July 2018. For webmasters and website owners, this edict from the Internet giant is a serious requirement that could have severe implications for those that choose to ignore it.

Google will mark any website that doesn’t migrate to HTTPS as unsecuredin the upcoming release of Chrome 68. This marking will become visible to any Internet user trying to gain access to your website, which can ultimately give your business an unprofessional vibe. Understandably, no one wants their website to be blacklisted by Google.

However, the process of securing your website with a HTTPS label can be extensive. To familiarize you with the concept, here is how you can get your website secure before Google announces your vulnerabilities to the public.

Why is This Happening?

Google has actually been trying for years to entice webmasters to switch to HTTPS. It appears now that Google has gotten serious in this pursuit, but there is a reason for this. In July, Google will make some huge improvements to Chrome 68. It has been announced that Google will be incentivizing websites with higher web rankings for having fast page speeds.

Accordingly, Google has also taken the time to fix a concurrent search engine issue. That problem happens to be unsecured websites. The immense threat that an unsecure website can harbor is the high probability that transmitted and stored personal information can be leaked and stolen. Basically, HTTPS websites utilize SSL, which stands for Secure Socket Layer. This safety technology ensures that your personal information is encrypted between the web server and a browser.

In previous years, Google gave warning to Internet users who tried to access a HTTP website. In order to promote Internet safety and accountability, Google is now requiring all websites to switch to HTTPS. The threat of hackers who steal the sensitive data of Internet users is far too great for Google to ignore. Therefore, in order to optimize your search engine optimization, build credibility with your website visitors, and establish a professional online, switching to HTTPS is an ideal move for your business. Fortunately, the process of doing so isn’t that difficult and only requires some in-depth knowledge of the subject.

How to Check for HTTPS

On Google Chrome, you can easily identify websites that have a HTTPS label by checking the search engine bar at the top of the Chrome application.

In the previous Google Chrome versions, you could hardly distinguish the difference between secure websites and unsecured websites. With the newest Google Chrome update, this is now possible.

With Google’s new HTTPS mandate, website visitors will easily be able to detect if your website is secure or not. Therefore, it makes sense to switch to HTTPS before July, mainly because Google will expose your business as dangerous to website visitors.

How to Switch Your Website to HTTPS

In order to switch your website to HTTPS, you will first have to purchase a SSL certificate for your website. This certificate will basically flag your website as secure for visitors. Your SSL certificate will encrypt any important data being transferred over a server, protecting sensitive information such as credit card information, passwords, and even social security numbers.

You can purchase an SSL certificates from a number of big-name providers such as Symantec, DigiCert, and GeoTrust. You can also purchase a SSL certificate from third-party providers as well, such as Comodo and Namecheap.

Have it purchased and installed by a Security Support Professional at PX Media. If done incorrectly you actually might loose access to your site or it may go down completely.

Regardless of where you purchase your SSL certificate, be mindful not to obtain a “free certificate” or create one yourself. Doing so could lead to a website error every time a visitor attempts to access your website.

If you purchase a legitimate SSL certificate, simply install this certificate on your website host’s account. Once this is done, all you have to do is change your links from HTTP to HTTPS and set up 301 redirects to HTTPS to ensure that visitors will always access your secured website.

If you have a WordPress site it will require you to install a SSL plugin. Your host may have problems with this or may not even allow you to install. Quality hosting is a must so contact PX Media and we will help get your protected.

What Are the Benefits of SSL

SSL Certification may now be mandatory. However, this doesn’t mean that the safety feature doesn’t have its perks. As a matter of fact, Google implied years ago that secure websites could receive a small rankings boost. Rightfully so, having a SSL certificate installed will allow visitors to trust your website and your services.

By not having a SSL certificate, you could be exposing your visitors to hackers who diligently steal personal information from websites. Do you truly want to put your visitors at this type of risk? If Google is requiring users to switch from HTTP to HTTPS, your website’s ranking could substantially increase and replace unsecure websites

Overall, the requirement of HTTPS is a win-win situation for both websites and visitors. While your visitors are being protected by your website, your ranking will increase over your competitors who may lack this security.

In light of Google’s new HTTPS requirement, webmasters will now have to prioritize the online safety of their visitors. While many people may see this regulation as an inconvenience, the sudden topic of data breaches among popular internet services is starting to influence websites to make a concentrated effort to boosting the security and privacy of their visitors.

Nonetheless, obtaining an SSL certificate and securing your website will not only keep you in accordance to Google’s upcoming mandate, but it also has some positive benefits that can impact your website ranking.

If you require more information about a SSL certificate and would like to learn more about how PX Media can create a secure website for you, please call us today to speak to our friendly support staff.

Content is originally published at https://www.pxmediainc.com/how-to-get-secure-before-google-announces-your-vulnerabilities-to-the-public/

Using Different Versions Of Your Keyword Will Increase Your Website Ranking

It can’t be stressed enough that great SEO practice is essential to establishing a strong online presence. For businesses and other creatives, being found on the Internet generally leads to potential leads and sales opportunity. To that end, many individuals conduct keyword research to find the best keywords to implement in their content strategy.

Unfortunately, that’s not enough to secure a high ranking on most search engines. Granted, placing keywords in the right places leads to increased ROI, but using different versions of these keywords can heighten your website ranking. We have proof that different keyword versions can drastically improve your ranking, so keep reading on to figure out how.

Search Engines Value Variety. Get with the Program

To understand the core principles of SEO and begin using keywords that boost your website ranking, you must first understand that search engines reward websites that use high ranking keywords in different ways. The concept of this tactic is fairly simple, especially if you assume the role of potential customers. Let’s say you are searching for the best ice cream in Los Angeles.

There are a variety of keywords you can type in a search engine to find the best results. You could use keywords such as, “best ice cream in Los Angeles”, “Los Angeles best ice cream parlor”, or “ice cream Los Angeles”.

Billions of people use the Internet every day, and use different search terms to usually find a particular business or item. Therefore, your website’s ranking entirely depends on your keyword’s flexibility. In other words, search engines value variety, so you should get with the program in order to boost your website ranking.

The Results Speak for Itself

Using different versions of your keywords is a proven method of increasing your website ranking, and we have the data to prove it. We have attached the ranking statistics for our own website to give you a gist of how different keyword variations can affect your ranking.

If you simply take a look at the bottom of the graph, you can see some of our different keyword variations that best describes PX Media. One of our main keywords is “website design in pasadena”. As you can see, we used different versions of this keyword. This has resulted in a 22.9 percent increase in our visibility trend, which is largely ahead of our competitors.

These results have translated well to Google’s search rankings, where our ranking supersedes that of our competitors. After doing a quick Google search of our main keyword, “website design in Pasadena”, it’s no surprise that PX Media is ranked well above the top.

Interestingly, after doing a Google search on the keyword, “Pasadena web design”, our ranking was just as high as the primary keyword.

 

Essentially, different keyword variations accommodate Internet users who use different search terms to find a particular service. If you do your research and find alternative keywords to place on your website, your ranking will steadily increase above your competitors. That actually brings us to our next point.

Are You Doing Your Keyword Research Correctly?

Traditional keyword research is a common practice among businesses and individuals who care about their website ranking, but is it enough? Also, are you doing your keyword research correctly? Searching for the top keyword in your industry is a sufficient method of increasing your website ranking, but it does not ensure that your website will jump to the front page of search engines.

Considering that people generally don’t use the same keywords in search results, your keyword research should revolve around terms that are closely related to your primary keywords. Researching high ranking keywords that are similar to one another and using them in your website’s content gives your website more organic exposure in regards to SEO.

Though, with thousands of keyword varieties to choose from, it can be a daunting task choosing keyword variations that actually convert results. If finding the right, high-converting keywords is too difficult for you, don’t hesitate to choose our SEO services to increase your website ranking and see immediate results.

Try to Understand What Keywords Visitors Prefer and Why

Obtaining success using keywords is an intricate task, regardless of any method you employ. In this particular case, using different keywords increases your chance of ranking high on search engines. Nonetheless, when you receive data that pertains to your keyword usage, your success wholly depends on how you interpret it in relation to your competitors. In other words, you have to understand what keywords your visitors prefer and why.

Finding out why your visitors prefer a specific keyword variation is the key to your SEO efforts. You can usually find which keywords your visitors prefer by doing a quick check of your rankings overview and seeing the most high-ranking keywords on your website. After doing this search, experiment with your keywords and try to understand why your keywords use these terms to identify your business. Once you grasp this concept, it will become much easier determining your own effective SEO strategy.

Furthermore, it’s often best to experiment with different keyword variations and see what your data looks like. Make sure to compare this data to your competitors. After all, you are essentially fighting for ranking and online presence. In the graph above, PX Media ranks ahead of its competitors using the same keywords. After you do your research and find the right keywords to use, make it your goal to surpass your competitor’s ranking.

Overall, using different versions of your keywords will improve your ranking on major search engines. All in all, this success depends on your research and interpretation of your data. Using our own website ranking statistics as proof, you too can benefit from the use of similar keywords. All it takes is extensive research and a committed SEO approach.

If you would like to learn more about how we can help you improve your website ranking, please contact us today to speak to one of our specialists about your SEO project.

Content is originally published at https://www.pxmediainc.com/using-different-versions-of-your-keyword-will-increase-your-website-ranking/