Over the last few years, we’re fortunate to see the user-friendliness of websites improve, and as our lives get busier, we almost demand websites to be faster. If that does not happen, we tend to move to the next website.

When a website does not load quickly or work in the way you want it to, you will head over to the next business website to help you. It’s the nature of the internet these days, and as business owners, we have to find a way to improve how our users or viewers experience our site.

It might be the case that it was a delayed server or the owner’s internet service provider was slow, but the end-user will always blame your site and move on.

The reality is that we cannot play the blame game when customers’ attention and purchasing power is at stake. As the blog owner, you must understand how well your site performs in most conditions, proactively planning for downtime, and introducing the right setting and support so that every user has a fantastic browsing experience.

The browsing experience then leads to a click over to buy something you’re selling on your site.

A new trend has emerged of late where websites are not that inclusive, excluding a large part of the internet community, and that is why a recent ruling has come into play leveraging a policy called ADA. That’s precisely the topic for this blog post, and we’ll discuss how to make your website accessible for all users. Before we get into the “how,” let’s look at what ADA is.

What is ADA compliance?

The first step to improving your website’s experience and making it accessible and user friendly for everyone is to review the needs of individuals with disabilities and aim to meet those needs. It might be for a few reasons that site owners have overlooked equitable access to websites.

Therefore, many individuals cannot access the website when there are incorrect settings and features. When sites are not compliant, they do not cater to individuals who suffer from various disabilities like ADHD, blindness, and other visual impairments. That’s the main reason that many mandates have had to be put in place.

This is important for the end-user and mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Previously these mandates were not given the attention it deserved; however, more focus has been placed here and affected the American and global markets. The question you might be asking at this point: “What are the repercussions of not following the mandates?”

Let’s review this in more detail.

When sites are not compliant, then there is potential for lawsuits to occur. An excellent example of this was highlighted by Forbes, in reference to when Netflix, the Sydney Olympic Games, and Domino’s pizza had cases for not following the ADA guidelines. These popular sites did not build in the correct settings and customizations for their websites to support and aid people with disabilities to enjoy their content.

As it stands as a business owner, the best way forward is to get compliant, and in the next section, we’ll look at how you can apply simple steps to do.

Now that you understand what is the ADA and how to get compliant, we can consider some solutions to getting your blog accessible. Let’s look at some of the best ways to go about doing this.

How to Make your Website Accessible

Responsive functioning

If this doesn’t ring a bell for you, don’t worry, we’ll explain in detail what it means and how you can improve this on your site. As its name suggests, it’s really about your website being able to react quickly and respond to the end-users needs.

This becomes more important in the digital age as more devices become available such as smartphones, smart TVs, and tablets. You can see that each device has its scale and size, and your site must output the content using the right resolution and dimensions.

Keep in mind that your end-user will be happy and have a pleasant experience, and your site’s ranking on Google will also improve. Google aims to provide equitable access for all its users, and that means that Google will support you as you improve your site using tools like Mobile Site Check, which you can find here. You input your website address, and it will show you how accessible your site is based on a variety of devices.

It works because if you meet all the regulations and needs as discussed in ADA and WCAG, then your site is considered compliant, and Google shows your site as “Mobile-friendly.” If not, you will get a reason for this and how you might improve and fix these issues.

Overall, when you apply these simple yet effective methods to make your site mobile responsive, your site will benefit its users, and you will also rank higher in the search engine ranking pages (SERPs).

Online support

Another way to improve accessibility is to make it as easy as possible for all visitors and customers to get in touch with your business quickly. You want to ensure that you offer email, phone, chat support, or a how-to guide easy to access on your site. This will improve site usability as well as engagement overall. 

We’ve all been there before, where you’re ready to buy something online, but you have a question. Unfortunately, the answer isn’t readily available, so you pause your order and wait for feedback. Usually, a customer will be doing the same things, and this leads to a lost customer.

You can see how this would affect your bottom line. But the good news is that artificial intelligence and chatbots are helping to pave the way in better support.

And while most of the time, the options will not be used, it’s always a good idea to offer channels to support your customers.

We recommend the following options for best results:

• Online chat service support / Messenger service
• Live phone support service
• Email support with the communicated turn around times
• Marked frequently asked questions (FAQ)
• Social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Studies are increasingly showing that people prefer using live chat. The skew is roughly 40% of individuals; therefore, it’s best to have it available and the other channels just if the additional 60% of users want to get in touch. It’s also a good step for your business, which may not be in a position to provide all forms of support. You can then manage your customer’s expectations by mentioning your availability.

Offer Text Alternatives (alt text) for HTML websites

As many of your website users might have different disadvantages when accessing your site, you have to consider providing text alternatives, especially for your website’s photos and videos. For example, if someone does have a visual impairment, the alt text will come in handy and help them understand what was on that image and make sense.

This can usually be done editing your site’s codes or incorporated in individual pieces of content; you should tell your designer to update it accordingly. Or you could use an automated web accessibility software that provides improvement to the content such as larger scales, magnifiers, and improve the color scheme for individuals who have visual disabilities.

Through the use of their artificial intelligence platform, their solution and web accessibility tools are learning and improving all the time — thus allowing for improved user experiences on a daily basis. The most data and usage the platform learns from, the more it can provide assistance in translating different forms of content to those in need of such a solution.

Give users options to customize their experience

Most users will love the options available to view the site precisely the way they want to. This is especially true for disabled visitors.

When you offer alternatives like page orientation, text size options, or contrast options, your users will be happier with this, and they can choose their best view of the website. Navigation tends to become more accessible.

Additionally, many individuals who are disabled might be challenged in using a mouse or trackpad. Therefore, you have to allow for them to use keyboard shortcuts and support. This means that there should be an option to switch to keyboard mode and allow specific keys to be the selector instead of the mouse pad. This process can also be quickly completed using accessible tools that will enable you to customize controls within your website.

Solutions like accessiBe allow you to customize your website and enable the end-user to choose how they would like to view your website. They can choose to update fonts, colors, and activate audio reading. Although, if you don’t have this tool, the option is also to code these design features into your website by doing it yourself or hiring a web designer.

Final Thoughts on ADA Compliance

Statistics show that over 60 million Americans currently have a form of disability, which directly affects how they engage with a website. Generally, when sites understand the impact of their site’s interface on the end-user, they can then consider how this will impact individuals with special needs.

Many companies are taking swift action to make sure they can cater to the needs of all audiences, while also making sure they are ADA compliant in the process. On the other side of an improved site are happy customers who can now visit the site and take advantage of the features and deals that were previously unavailable to them.

This is just another example of a significant and positive trend that we can learn from. If you choose to focus your time and energy on improving your site either using AI technology or manually updating your site, you will be ADA and WCAG compliant. Generally, it means that you are saying to your site visitors that this site is open to everyone, no matter their situation. The result is that all users have a positive experience and are more likely to return and refer you to others.

We recommend using a combination of the methods indicated here for the best results. It is commonly said that it pays to audit your site, understand the vulnerabilities, create a list of actions, and then start tackling them one by one.

We hope this post gave you a better understanding of ADA compliance and how you can improve your site for a better user experience for everyone who visits. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below!

A company blog is a fantastic platform for informing and persuading readers to purchase a product or service, or simply building trust and thought leadership. While many company leaders know having a blog is key, they don’t always know how to properly implement one. This leads to mistakes that often turn consumers away.

But what exactly do these companies get wrong on their site? Below, 16 professionals from YEC explore some of the most common mistakes and issues they’ve seen with company blogs, and suggest ways to address those problems and help ensure blogging success.

1. Generating Content for the Sake of It

I see blogs that seem to generate content for the sake of churning out content. It’s crucial that blogs be part of a strategic communication plan, delivering the right information to the right leads at the right time. I’d encourage companies that utilize this type of “marketing by fire” to take a step back to understand their ideal leads and develop a strategy that speaks to their target audience.

– Traci Beach, Craft Impact

2. Trying to Publish Too Many Blogs

Trying to publish too many blogs doesn’t help. We made this mistake in the beginning and corrected it later. First, you should spend time researching the topics that are relevant to your audience and then write good, engaging content. Don’t try to write a blog in one or two hours and publish it. Once you write good content, you need to do some social marketing for it, as well.

– Piyush Jain, SIMpalm

3. Failing to Organize Your Content

Many company blogs fail to organize and publish their content accordingly. Trying to plan their content marketing strategy is a hassle because they don’t use an editorial calendar to track their progress. If you’re going to start a blog, then organization is necessary to ensure you receive the engagement and views you deserve. – Jared Atchison, WPForms

4. Lacking a Thoroughly Developed Funnel

A common mistake I see is the lack of a thoroughly developed funnel. Crafting chaotic content would not deliver marketing or sales results at the end of the day. Breaking content pieces across the different stages of the funnel enables the marketing team to create extensive campaigns that flow leads through different stages, including remarketing and lead generation efforts through multiple hoops.

– Mario Peshev, DevriX

5. Not Having a Consistent Schedule

I often see blogs making the mistake of not being consistent. As part of our digital marketing services, we review company blogs on a regular basis. The typical issue is inconsistency — the last blog post was two months ago and the previous one was six months ago. To fix it, set up a content calendar to consistently post to your blog.

– Jean Ginzburg, JeanGinzburg.com

6. Lacking Exciting Content

There is a real lack of exciting content. Just because one can blog does not mean one should blog. If you are going to put your company on the line (online) via a blog, make it worth your reader’s time. Get creative, show interesting content, make the content unique. Give your supporters a reason to follow along.

– Zach Binder, Bell + Ivy

7. Keeping a Narrow Focus

A company blog shouldn’t be too narrow. Remember, an entire lifestyle surrounds most industries. If you sell yoga mats, you’re in your wheelhouse to talk about the best herbal teas for wellness. If you sell coolers, a list of barbecue recipes for the perfect tailgate is a great piece. A blog is a place to inform about your products and services, but it’s also your company’s space to branch out.

– Tyler Bray, TK Trailer Parts

8. Not Creating Real Unique Value

Not creating any real unique value in the blog is a big mistake. It’s better when the content is, at a minimum, thematically focused. Ideally, you want to present information that is interesting — a lot of people just go after keywords and don’t really find real value. Another big issue is credibility and proper sourcing — it’s a terrible thing to not source information properly and instead claim it as your own.

– Nicole Munoz, Nicole Munoz Consulting, Inc.

9. Posting Only Promotional Content

Many company blogs only publish promotional content. If you’re trying to sell your product in every single post, readers can get turned off. Instead, provide a mix of promotional content and informational content that helps readers with their pain points and goals.

– Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster

10. Not Adding Actionable Advice

I’ve noticed that plenty of blogs fail to add actionable advice to their posts. When consumers find your content, they are likely looking for answers and a clear sense of direction. Before clicking the publish button, ask yourself, “Did I explain to my readers how to put my advice into practice?” If you’re still not sure, have someone outside of your industry read the post for clarity.

– Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights

11. Not Including a Call to Action

A mistake I often see blogs make is not including a call to action. The purpose of a blog is to nurture and build trust with your prospective clients or customers. If you don’t give them an easy option to subscribe or download a gated piece of content so that you have permission to contact them again, you are decreasing the chances they ever return. Make sure your blog is set up to convert readers into contacts!

– Kelsey Raymond, Influence & Co.

12. Failing to Optimize for SEO

Many blogs fail to optimize for SEO or create succinct and catchy titles. Google will rank your blogs depending on how well they appeal to readers, and you can reach more people as the top result for a certain keyword. Viewers will also see your title first. You want to appeal to them, so a catchy title designed for SEO will do the trick.

– Duran Inci, Optimum7

13. Not Including Personalization

Bloggers and business owners are missing out on a big opportunity by not including personalization in their content strategy. Consumers like getting recommendations for unique products, but content also plays a role in this situation. Group together relevant blog posts and offer content that matches users’ behavior on site.

– John Turner, SeedProd LLC

14. Using Poor Grammar and Spelling

I find so many company blogs that have grammatical errors. This is a problem that can be fixed very easily by taking an extra five minutes to read over the content or by hiring a proofreader.

– Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC

15. Failing to Provide Context

Failing to provide context and links to other content on their site is something we see when we first start working with clients. Your blog does not need to be a novel with one running narrative, but it does need to refer back to itself and your guiding principles and products frequently for links and for context.

– Matthew Capala, Alphametic

16. Being Too Professional

A lot of company blogs tend to be too professional. Your company blog shouldn’t read like an essay, it should be more like a conversation between two friends: you and the reader. Your writing should be more casual — this will help you connect with your potential customers more effectively.

– Josh Kohlbach, Wholesale Suite

How to Improve Your Site Content and Make It Even Better!

If you want to stand out from the crowd and make sure your site content is better than what’s already out there, you need to not only focus on your own content, but what’s already out there. Instead of pushing out as much content as possible, focus your efforts on creating better and longer articles and marketing them as much as possible.

With more than a billion active websites and blogs on the internet today, it’s now more important than ever before to make sure your content is of the highest quality and value possible. Be sure to follow all of the expert tips above to accomplish this in the best way possible.

Your website’s hosting is a crucial determinant of its success, reach, and visibility. Hosting providers decide the bandwidth you get, the RAM space you can use, and the maximum storage area your website may occupy. These features, along with multiple other aspects, decide how fast websites load for different audiences around the world. Generally, WordPress websites require a complete set of hosting assets that the hosting company has optimized to meet WordPress needs.

Otherwise, website users may experience exceptionally slow website speeds and performance. One such website hosting preferred by WordPress developers is Rocket.net. The hosting service has increased in popularity over the years. However, the crucial question remains – is it the fastest WordPress Hosting Solution. This article considers this debate in great depth.

Rocket.net is the Best Optimized Solution

Rocket.net offers the best and most comprehensive solution for WordPress websites today. Everything, from the servers to the software, is synchronized to improve WordPress-powered websites’ performance. Multiple features make this hosting provide fast service:

1. It offers three different tiers of hosting services. Additionally, each tier focuses on the projected traffic of the business. For example, if your business is amongst the top-tier brands that receive thousands of page views every day, you can purchase the Upper-tier service. This way, you get the resources that a heavily visited site requires to maintain page speed.
2. The most crucial tier is the middle-range tier. It supplies the user with ample bandwidth, RAM performance, and hard disk space for any website to work at the best specifications. Additionally, you get the liberty to install many plugins.
3. WordPress websites depend heavily on certain features other than the development itself to the word at full speed. For example, caching and SSL usage. The hosting offers complete usage of these features along with an integration of automatic updates, more than 200+ Edge locations, and a full-page caching system. 
4. Most users face difficulty in managing the resources of their backend system. Such resource management is crucial to ensure maximum WordPress website performance. To counter this issue, Rocket.net provides the user with a beautiful and easy to use customer panel. Here, you can spot-check your website’s performance statistics easily. Thus, your usage of the hosting resources improves magnanimously.

What about the servers? 

The location and quality of your hosting’s servers prove crucial in determining your WordPress website’s speed. Here, Rocket.net has a significant advantage. The service is part of the Global Edge Network. As such, the chances of a slow-speed performance at any location around the world are minimal. Let us sum up how the network works.

Currently, the servers of Rocket.net hosting have 15 different locations around the world. Additionally, they are adding more sites to their portfolio. Thus, accessing your website from any area will be served the webpage from the closest physical server location. This aspect reduces the data transfer issues, making your WordPress website super fast. 

Additionally, you can scale and specify the physical locations you are more interested in providing your website. As such, your website gets located on the location that is nearest to your physical market. For example, most of your customers are from New York. You require your website to be placed closest to New York to minimize the delivery time in such cases. Rocket.net allows you to accommodate this placement.

Furthermore, you do not get a stand-alone server without any protection. Instead, every server is malware and hacking protected. Consequently, the files of your WordPress hosting remain safe. This aspect resolves one of the major issues for faulty and slow WordPress websites: corrupt and hacked files.

Do Customers Consider Rocket.net to be the fastest WordPress hosting?

Trustpilot Reviews of Rocket.net WordPress hosting are generally positive, with most people commending its fast speed. One customer claimed that the difference in speed could be noticed as soon as you transfer your website to Rocket.net. Similarly, they provide an inbuilt Content Delivery Network system that optimizes WordPress content and website delivery speed.

In most cases, gtmetrix.com recommends that the site developer employs a CDN’s services to speed up their website. However, such CDN services can be costly if the developer purchases them from elsewhere. This issue gets solved with Rocket.net WordPress hosting that offers such CDN services as an inbuilt package. One customer mentioned this aspect as the prime reason he could focus on other aspects of his business, helping him make considerable returns.

Additionally, another customer placed Rocekt.net ahead of Cloudways, Flywheel, and Wordify in the fastest WordPress hosting services list. He focused on the exceptional technology and performance-optimized servers the company offers. Similarly, another customer considered his WordPress blog’s breakneck speed on Rocket.net’s servers to be the prime reason for high organic traffic diverting to his website. Thus, most customer reviews place Rocket.net at the top-tier of fast WordPress hosting services.

The Fast Service Comes At A Price

There are a few drawbacks of using Rocket.net WordPress hosting. The system does not provide the developer with an inbuilt file manager. Such a manager may not be required by amateur or new developers. However, certain high-level developers need access to the files to introduce custom changes to their platform.

Additionally, the user may have to use a file manager plugin within WordPress to counter the issue. In such cases, the site becomes prone to malware attacks as such plugins induce a vulnerability in your website that allows access to files.

Similarly, Rocekt.net does not offer an inbuilt email handling system. Consequently, you have to purchase either Outlook365 or G-suite services to get a working email for your website. This aspect increases the financial burden on the website owner.

Finally, a WordPress hosting server works only for WordPress websites. If you wish to host any other platform that powers your website, you will need to consider alternate hosting plans.

Final Verdict

The top-notch features and customer satisfaction shows that Rocket.net is amongst the fastest WordPress optimized hosting solution available today. If the platform’s drawbacks do not affect your business’s requirements, we strongly recommend that you give this hosting a try.

You may be considering how to check your Google rankings. The algorithm changes often so you always want to be studying how well your changes to content and keywords are ranking on Google.

Perhaps you do it the manual way, where you type your main keyword into Google and find your position. Alternatively, you may choose to wait for the report from the Google Search Console. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. There is a different approach which you’ll learn about in today’s post.

There are a few reasons why you cannot do it manually. Firstly, if you have a website that has grown extensively, it’s taxing to look up every keyword manually and to track it. That would entail pulling up an excel spreadsheet and compiling each keyword you wish to show up at the top of Google search results.

That’s where a SERP tool would come in handy. Instead of tracking every keyword, you would add it to your chosen tool, which I’ll share in this post and have the tool work for you.

Before we get into each SERP tool and break it down for you in the benefits, drawbacks, and costs associated – let’s take a deep dive into the definition of SERPs.

What are SERPs

This may be the first time you are introduced to SERPs, but don’t let it scare you away from improving your Google ranking. The acronym SERPs means Search Engine Results Page. If you decided to search Google or other search engines, you would find a list of search results that populate. The Google algorithm predetermines this list, and I’ll share more details on how this works later in this blog post.

Let’s look at an example so we can make it practical. If you had to search for the keyword “Yacht repairs,” then Google will serve up a list of the best posts, guides, and resources that matches your question about Yacht repairs. What will you find on the list? Since Google is pushing video content recently, you may find at the top of search a video on Yacht repairs, or how-to videos, or a process blog post from a reputable website. The critical aspect is that the person who is searching must have a good search experience.

Additionally, Google has various users, including SEO analysts, researchers, bloggers, and others who seek to show up at the top of the search engine results page. At a superficial level, it may appear to be an easy task, but when you take some time to look at the process behind improving your website ranking, you will find hours of analysis and checking. That’s where SERP tools can make your life easier as a blogging professional or business owner. Let’s now review why SERP checks are vital for your rankings on Google and other search engines.

Why are SERP Checks Important?

One of the best ways to understand how well your website is progressing is to check the SERPs. This vital step will tell whether you need to make changes to your content or if your readers have a poor experience using your site. Even more than that, a SERP checker will give you detailed information and help you better understand the Google algorithm and how to always be in its favour. As you know, Search Engines have rules that favor the end-user or reader, and as a blog owner, you have to follow those rules.

The good news is that if you’re comfortable creating great content and providing good experiences on your site, you will generally follow the search engine rules. Everyone needs help, though, and you can use a SERP checker to check under your site’s health. It shows you how to review your site’s processes and investigate any problems that prevent your site from ranking. It uses comparisons of the best websites and provides a way for you to improve your site using best practices.

When you have a SERP tool in place, you have the assistance to make sense of the SERPS. This sets you up for the next step of applying the best SEO practices to move your site to the top of Google swiftly.

Why are SERP Results Crucial?

• SERP tools have been designed to show you a broad range of keywords used tried and tested methods. When you use these keywords, it will help you improve your position in Google search.
• You get insight into what competitors might be doing at present to rank higher than you do on the SERPs. You learn best practice, and this can be used going forward.
• Since you will be making use of the SERP results daily or weekly, you gain valuable experience creating the best content for your audience. Once you create better content, you can keep your readers on your page, improve your site quality, and attract even more visitors.
• Your business can experience long-term success as you take a more strategic approach when making your site’s SEO decisions.

I mentioned earlier that we would be looking at how Google goes about ranking sites. Since you have a good understanding of the importance of SERP checks, understanding the Google algorithm will expand your knowledge and support you more when using the SERP tools I’ll present shortly.

How Google Ranks Sites in the Search Results

Google is an evolving company that has a sophisticated algorithm to manage their search engine. Without the algorithm, the indexing of data may be time-consuming, and often we will not get what we search for. Knowing this, let’s look at how the algorithm works exactly.

As soon as you access Google’s search engine, you are prompted to enter a keyword. Once you do, you will see a list of results, namely SERPs. Nowadays, the SERPs have evolved with organic and paid content. Your organic content would be a blog and video posts, select media, podcasts, and more. Paid content is visible by looking out for the word “ad” on the result. You’ll find those either above the organic entries or on the right-hand side of the webpage.

As a side note, paid content appears to be increasing over time as more and more business owners seek out specific ways to appear at the top of the search engine. We find that even if they appear at the top of the result, most users still prefer accessing the organic results. While this is not within the blog post’s scope, it’s also a good idea to pay attention to the paid content and how it could impact your ranking. Your main goal is, of course, to land at the top of organic results. The question remains, why do some sites show up at the top of organic results while other sites barely feature?

To answer this question, you must understand how Google ranks it’s search results. If Google did not exist, then websites would be lost on the web. Google is a middleman who helps you find the content you are looking for. Think of it as a library, which is indexed and alphabetized for ease of use. On the other end, Google also has an indexing system for 1.74 billion websites on the internet. They need it to ensure that they can review all content online and bring the best content to the surface and the end-user. This is Google’s purpose, to create a system that will check these websites and connect you with the one that answers your search question.

You would agree that the task sounds extensive. That’s why Google has an algorithm continually changing and evolving to prioritize high quality, superior authority, and regularly updated content. If Google’s requirements approve what your content offers, then you will show up higher on SERPs. The good news is that the Algorithm does the heaviest lifting in conjunction with manual checkers who audit sites. Knowing about the algorithm will help you understand SERPs and use the SERP tools more effectively.

Let’s take a look at 8 of the best SERP tools for Rank Tracking in 2020. This will help you achieve your goals to place first on Google search.

Zutrix

Zutrix is a one-of-a-kind SEO and SERP tool that makes the process of monitoring, tracking and improving SEO rankings a whole lot easier. Through the use of their detailed dashboard area, keyword lab, competitor analysis and more… the site quickly found it’s way to the top of our list.

We’ve also written a full review on Zutrix, which you can read to learn more about the platform.

Other benefits of the SERP tool include:

• Location Independent Results
• AI-Powered Accuracy
• On-Time Notifications
• Tracking Competitors
• Sharable Reports
• Keyword Lab for Ideas

Nightwatch

Nightwatch certainly does seem like a superhero name, and perhaps we can compare this SERP checker tool to a hero. It has many excellent features that will bring accuracy to your page rankings locally and globally. Recently Instagram launched the dark mode for their IOS devices, and it made the experience that much better. Nightwatch offers a similar colored interface to help you, especially if working late at night. If you don’t appreciate this look, you can toggle back to the standard white and black text. Let’s consider the features you’ll use when using this tool.

Features

• Offers backlink monitoring so that you can keep track of both your backlinks and those of your competitors.
• Comprehensive website audits help check your speed and any ranking issues that ultimately affect how you reflect on the Google algorithm.
• Shows your best practice by looking at how your competitor is currently ranking and what you could be doing to improve.
• Offers API access for peace of mind

Pricing options

• Immediate access to the trial version for free and without a credit card required for one month.
• Starter kit for freelancers = $24
• Optimize for SMBs and agencies = $59
• Agency for large business and agencies = $221

Pros

• You can trial the SERP checker before purchasing, and test the performance and the impact on your site.
• Nightwatch looks in-depth at your site’s performance and helps you measure your site’s metrics all in one place.
• Excellent analytic tools to indicate your ranking and the impact of your backlinks.
• Advanced detection software to make you aware of any issues with your site in advance.
• It provides a segmented view so you can track your rankings systematically.
• Focus is mainly on providing a catalyst for your site’s growth in the future.

Cons

• Once your trial is done, you will need to start paying a monthly premium to keep using the SERP checker.
• It may take some time to understand the interface, but it will be worth it.

AccuRanker

AccuRanker has been getting more robust over the last few years, where 25,000 agencies and other SEO experts trust it. This also includes brands like Mcdonalds and HBO. There is a marked update where it shows they provide fast, accurate rank tracking no matter where you may be on your site’s growth journey. Generally, when a SERP tool is quick, they can bring the valuable data you need within a click of a button. There are fewer wait times, and you can become more productive in your business. Not only is it available for Google, but all of the major search engines like Bing, Baidu, and Yahoo. We’ve seen that the most significant benefit of this tool is when you use it daily, as it is ready to give you the most updated details for your site. Let’s consider some of the other features of AccuRanker that support you in bringing up your rank on Google.

Features

• Has an intuitive design that brings on-demand ranking updates. The keywords are updated every 24-hours. You can also refresh the keywords every second hour.
• Excellent customer service that provides quick responses through chats and one-on-one best practice sessions. Additionally, they offer comprehensive help guides too.
• Easy to use API to support integration with your site.
• Gives you an advanced metric log across multiple landing pages
• Insightful yet straightforward data and trends are shared with you.
• Automated reporting and analysis served up to you on demand.

Pricing

• 14-day free trial (no credit card required)
• Transparent pricing where you pay according to the number of keywords you opt for.
• 1000 keywords – $99 per month (billed yearly)
• 2000 keywords – 189 per month (billed yearly)
• 5000 keywords – $384 per month (billed yearly)
• You may also choose a plan billed monthly, but it will cost you 10% more.

Pros

• Easy to navigate menus so you can quickly get the data you need.
• It offers YouTube tracking, and it works effectively to show your keyword performance on this platform.
• Shows you the search volume for each keyword the tracker populates
• Quickly export data and also brand the data for your clients using your company logo for personalized service.

Cons

• Since it’s a more expensive option, this tool is not as accessible to all buyers.
• They don’t have the trending report on the main page, and it requires a few clicks to access this detail.

Serpstat

Serpstat is known for having a broad base(Just under 420,000 active users), where their main focus is on keyword research, site audits, and backlink tracking. This tool’s powerful aspects do come with a price, but it does pack many useful features. It no longer tracks merely your rank and supports you in improving it, as we’ll show in the parts below.

Features

• Swiftly collect keywords for your site’s SEO. Serpstat will provide a list of well-tested and organized keywords to help you increase your rank in the search results.
• It helps you compare your keywords to various metrics like search volume and competition level.
• It allows you access to keyword variations and suggestions so you can enhance your web content and attract more of your ideal customer.
• Analyze keyword trends and get long-tail keywords without doing too much analysis.
• Gain access to global sites and use these benchmarks to draw international users to your site.

Pricing

• It offers a freemium model where you can trial the SERP checker.
• Lite plan is for professionals with a limited budget for $69 per month
• The Standard plan for established teams for $149 per month
• Advanced plan for large agencies for $299 per month
• They apply a 20% discount when you take an annual plan.

Pros

• Excellent features, including a visually pleasing view showing your ranking trends for specific keywords.
• You can find information quickly and make deductions since most of the data is present in graph form with attractive colors.
• It gives you updates from all integrated search engines like Google.
• A reputable company that has helped 420,000 people improve their site ranking on search engines.

Cons

• One of the more expensive tools on the market because they offer advanced functionality.
• The graphs are excellent; however, they can be confusing when you first browse the site.

You can now benefit from a broad range of experience and attract more customers to your site. Not only will you improve your content, but you will start to hone your skills in the SEO world.

ProRankTracker

ProRankTracker has been around for a long time, and many SEO professionals have come to know and love this tool to improve their SERPs. Since its inception, they have provided a SERP tracker for most popular search engines, including Amazon. Once we looked at this tool, we could see it had many powerful features, and at the same time, some features could not compare to others on the list. That said, you do get what you pay for because ProRankTracker can be a useful startup tool and will likely support you as you improve your rankings of the search engines. Let’s consider the main features.

Features

• Sophisticated rank tracking engine that provides high accuracy using a web-based tool.
• Gives you consistent daily reporting as well as on-demand reporting.
• Shares both local and international tracking data and come in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Dutch.
• Offers keyword suggestion tools, site audits, ranking discovery, and Keyword search volume.
• Advanced competitor analysis to get ahead of the other leaders in your industry.
• Reporting that integrates with Dropbox and Drive, so it’s easy to share reporting with your team.

Pricing

• Free 7 day trial plan
• Basic plan (200 keywords) = $25 per month.
• Starter standard plan (500 keywords) = $49 per month.
• Starter plan (1000 keywords) = $89 per month.
• A yearly plan will give you 10% off the price.

Pros

• Cost-effective since you can get 200 keyword lookups for $25.
• You have more flexibility when requesting ranking updates.
• Historical trends are available and can show you a more holistic view of your site.
• Works on a variety of platforms, including Amazon.

Cons

• The overall navigation on the site tends to be less intuitive and difficult to read. This makes for slower searches and can be time-consuming.
• Does not offer the latest Google updates related to SERPs such as featured snippets.

MorningScore

MorningScore is a great beginner tool to help out SEO best practices, and that generally means getting your site to rank higher on search engines. The software offers up a unique way to approach your site rankings. They use a benchmark of how much it would cost to run paid ads on your site to get the traffic needed. Overall the tool does an excellent job of providing a health check that scans broken links, tags, and SEO derailers. It’s not yet mobile-friendly, where you gain the most value on the desktop for Google. Let’s look at the features in greater detail. 

Features

• Offers a full SEO health check immediately after you join. This gives you the overall ranking of your site and how it is being impacted.
• It gives you the tools to scan your competitor’s inputs and then use it as best practice to improve your site’s rankings.
• Daily updates of keyword positions.
• Walk you step by step through the SERP checking process, they onboard you onto their system.

Pricing

• The 14-day trial that allows you to take MorningScore for a test drive.
• Lite plan (100 keywords) – $49 per month
• Business plan (500 keywords) – $79 per month
• Pro plan (2000 keywords) – $149 per month

Pros

• Good user interface and easy to navigate the tool
• They catered towards beginners, where they offer you useful tips and ideas to get the most from the tool.
• It helps you set ranking goals and then follows up with you on the progress you’ve made.
• Affordable prices for the value received.

Cons

• It does not have all the features needed, such as it does not include Google SERP requirements, which will help you rank better on Google.

SE Ranking

SERanking is a perfect all-in-one tool that will give you access to website audits, backlinks, and keyword research. Additionally, you have the option of generating marketing plans for your business. With a solid base of around 300,000 users, they have expertise in SERP ranking and have merged this with other features to improve your SEO. Let’s consider the main features.

Features

• Includes a website audit, so you know how well your site is performing.
• It monitors your keywords and their performance on all search engines.
• Keep track of all backlinks and make sure they are working for your site.
• Expand your reach with the keyword suggestion tool.
• A comprehensive competitor research tool that will help you learn from their best practice.

Pricing

• Free 14 day trial (No credit card required)
• Optimum plan (250 keywords) for $39 per month.
• Plus plan (1000 keywords) for $89 per month.
• Enterprise plan (2500 keywords) for $189 per month.
• Prices are discounted for annual plans up to 20%, and you have flexibility in how many keywords are needed based on the price options on the site.

Pros

• Ensures it has essential information on the main screen and shows the trends supporting your next SEO step.
• Flexible pricing to suit all budgets and needs.
• Works in conjunction with Google SERP features such as the website title and featured snippet.
• Mobile friendly as it has a mobile SERP tracker.
• It’s well organized to keep your tags, keywords in a suitable format, and ready for use.

Cons

• Multi steps needed to find reports, and the design for report generation could use some work.
• It tends to be slow at times, especially when there are more users online.

Mangools SERPWatcher

Mongools SERPWatcher might be the perfect companion tool to help you improve your ranking on Google. This tool does not have as many of the features as the previous SERP trackers on this list, but it does fulfill its primary purpose of tracking Google search results for you. Let’s review these features and see if it will suit your needs.

Features

• It requires necessary inputs such as the domain, location, platform, and keywords. You merely have to input this data for a comprehensive check on your site.
• If you have KWfinder, you can also import your keywords to SERPWatcher directly.
• The tool tracks both mobile and desktop results.
• You can download, share, and make use of comprehensive reports.
• It gives you a daily position keyword update, so you always know how your site is performing.

Pricing

• Ten-day free trial
• The basic plan for $49 per month for 100 keywords every 24 hours
• A premium plan for $69 per month for 500 keywords every 24 hours
• Agency plan for $129 per month for 1200 every 24 hours
• Annual programs attract a 40% discount rate.

Pros

• Easy to use and suitable for beginners as a startup tool.
• Integrates with KWFinder, and would be a great compliment to this product if you have it.
• Cost-effective when on an annual plan.

Cons

• It does not support you with Google SERP features yet.
• Tends to be more expensive with a month to month plan.

Final thoughts on SERP Checker Tools

Understanding your rankings on Google does not have to be too time-consuming. This list of SERP tools can help you improve your SERP rankings and the number of potential customers visiting your business. At first, it may take time to understand how to analyze the data, but once you’ve come to grips with the interface, you will find that it’s much easier to use. That’s when you will start to see the results of the time invested.

We’ve included a variety of tools to suit your needs. Some tools bring you a simple interface and are easier to navigate while others are more complex and provide more functionality. You would need to register to access the searches in some instances, while others don’t require you to log in. Keep these factors in mind when using the tools, and try out a few to find the one that meets your business needs.

If you enjoyed reading this blog post of the SERP tools to track your Google rankings, please don’t hesitate to leave us a comment below!

If you are looking to create the perfect under construction page for your new website or blog, UnderConstructionPage is a WordPress plugin with simple beginner-friendly navigation and a self-explanatory name. It is advertised as a tool that allows any WordPress user to easily create one of these pages in quite a short time. Its reviews on WordPress plugin store certainly speak in favour of these claims, as it has a firm five-star rating.

Additionally, its popularity is quite high according to the number of active installations which goes beyond 400,000. One of the first obvious proofs of the plugin’s quality are the frequent updates, and this diligence in updating is another reason to believe the advertised responsiveness of the support team.

A bit more on the technicalities – UnderConstructionPage is compatible with WordPress versions 4.0 and later. Also, when it comes to PHP, it will work with versions 5.2 or higher. This Under Construction Page option is quite similar to that of a coming soon page as well.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the options this plugin offers.

As its commands are divided into six tabs, we will give an overview of each of these sections separately.

Main Section

The central place in this section takes up the chart we have pictured above. It shows all views, sessions, and conversions once you start receiving traffic. This feature is immensely useful, especially as you get the report on stats for each date. 

This way, if you keep track of your promotional activities, you’ll have a clear picture of which tactic work the best for your brand, market, and audience. Besides, you’ll be able to test your conclusions easily, also by looking into your stats.

Additionally, there is a reset option for this chart, but it’s located under the Settings tab, i.e. its subsection titled Tools. Admittedly, it is a bit unintuitive to separate these two features, but adding the stats reset option was nonetheless a great decision.

Other two handy settings are Automatic Start Date & Time and Automatic End Date & Time. Although the names pretty much say everything there is to know about these settings, it’s worth mentioning that they don’t automatically activate the under construction mode itself. You’ll have to enable it manually while these two sub-settings just help you fine-tune dates and timing of the launch and cancellation of the page.

Appearance Section

UnderConstructionPage offers heaps of different templates, or to be more precise, over 220 of them. As you can see in the snippet above, the selection covers a wide range of areas. So, whatever your niche is, you will probably find just the perfect template. 

There are takeaway-themed templates, those for dentists, and also items more leaning towards creative professions such as blogging, music, and photography. We were stunned by the available collection that UCP offers. On top of this, you can import the templates from external sources through commands available under the other Appearance subsection titled Your Pages.

Additionally, personalising your under-construction page even further is possible by adding some of the 1 million free images available through the plugin. You can also play with the fonts and its colours. Adjust the notifications on your page so that the most important ones pop and those of secondary priority can slightly blend in with the background. And the navigation through all of these many adjustments is intuitive and simple so that even WP beginners can easily find their way.

So, if visual appearance is among your priorities, look no further.

However, UCP isn’t just about superficial beauty. It also offers elements that will make your under-construction page functional. UCP builder is mostly based on drag-and-drop principle, so you can add and edit elements smoothly. Include countdown to launch to create the dynamics and the sense of progress. Also, you can feature contact forms or newsletter sign-up boxes. This way, you’ll be collecting leads even while your website is inactive.

All in all, when it comes to the final appearance of your under-construction page and many of its user-facing functionalities, UCP has you covered.

Access Section

This section is especially useful in case you are working in a team on your website. Let’s say you are a site owner who wants to upgrade the site, and you hire a developer to do this for you. So, you’ll only give access to the actual site content to the developer, while everyone else will see the under-construction page. The first way to do this is to type in your and the developer’s IP addresses in the Whitelisted IP Addresses box. 

The second way is to tick the roles which will see the full site. Thus, depending on the role that the logged-in user has, they will either see the regular content or just the coming soon page. The third way to select who sees the website while it’s being edited is to list user by user who is allowed to follow the editing progress. This option might be a bit tiresome if there are a lot of people who you’re planning to whitelist. 

UCP also allows you to show only some pages of your website while keeping others under restricted view. URL Based Rules section gives you the option to list either the pages you want always to be visible, or the ones you want never to be visible when under construction mode is on. So, depending on your plans and desires, choose the option from the drop-down menu in the first box, and then list URL by URL in the second. This is a great half-way solution for those owners who can’t afford to completely hide some website pages, either for the sake of profit, information, or some other reasons.

All these options are quite useful for developers as well. When you are building or updating a website, you’ll want constant feedback from your client. Choosing some of these options is a great way to maintain high-quality collaboration while working remotely. However, in cases where the only people who will be able to see the site actual content are you – the developer – and the client, maybe the best option is to simply create a direct access link. UCP team thought about this as well, and you can find this option under the second tab in the Access section.

All in all, the access options are fully covered, and we can only say…Well done!

Settings Section

The Settings section is the broadest and has five subsections.

External Services

The first tab holds a MailChimp connection set-up, Zapier Webhook connection set-up, and set-up for universal autoresponder in case you have opted for other mailing services. When it comes to MailChimp, you’ll even be able to create user lists provided you disable the double opt-in option. This is a great way to continue properly personalised management of your communication with the audience.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous subsection offers two on-off options. The first one allows you to control Google Analytics tracking for your website. When turned on, it automatically gives you a field where you put in your Google Analytics ID and that’s it – you have your GA tracker activated. Smooth and easy. The other option allows you to apply a Discourage Search Engines from indexing your website while it’s in under construction mode. Although it depends on the engine whether it will follow your directive or not, it’s still a handy feature.

Advanced

This subsection offers several settings allowing you to control interactions of your website with third parties. It is also where redirection command is located, which allows you to redirect the users to another URL instead of showing them an under-construction page. This is a great additional ability for an under-construction plugin, and can come in useful at times.

Tools

Besides the Reset Statistics, the Tools subcategory also offers the option to reset all settings. Templates, leads, and stats are the only things not affected by this reset, which is hugely convenient. 

There will probably be times when you’ll want to delete all direct access links and other access or affiliate settings. It is a smart decision of the team behind the plugin that this reset saves the basic template settings and valuable data such as leads and statistics. But, beware, there is no undo, so think twice before you reach for this button.

Affiliate Links

This tab shows you all affiliate links which are currently active. In addition to the main section statistics chart, this is an extremely valuable conversion tracker, as it allows you to observe one visitor and their actions on the website during the course of sixty days. 

It also shows from where they were directed to your website in the first place. This kind of knowledge is truly valuable. Also, maintaining the continuity in the collection of this type of data, even while your site is in under construction mode, contributes to the overall promotional process.

Leads Section

This is where all your leads are compiled. Everyone who has left you their email address or sent you a message through a contact form will be listed here. All leads will be timestamped, and you’ll be able to see the location from which they contacted you. 

All these data are a great basis for future marketing campaigns. But don’t worry about backing them up as UCP allows you to export your lead lists in several formats. Yet another plus.

Support Section

This segment has two subdivisions into the FAQ and Contact Support. The FAQ goes shortly through some of the potential problems you might face. So, in case these short explanations don’t help, you can easily send a direct message to the UCP team just by going to the next subsection. This integrated contact form is certainly a nice touch and leaves an impression of dedication and care about the users.

The Verdict

In summary, we can freely say that this plugin delivers what its adds promise. Its ease of use is a result of good planning of features and clear commands. This means almost any WordPress site owner should be able to use it without any help. 

The professionals will also find it to be a great time-saving tool. On the whole, we can recommend this plugin to anyone who has a site under construction or one in need of renovation. It will provide all the necessary features and you’ll have an under-construction page up in a smooth and timely fashion.

We’ve all been in working scenarios where leadership changes happened. Whether it’s because of a retirement or a merger, the difference in leadership can cause uncertainty among employees. The feeling of insecurity this can generate can be disastrous for projects, teams and the incoming leaders.

How management deals with the transfer is a critical element in how the rest of the company accepts the new leadership. By making the transition easier on employees, leaders help improve buy-in on new processes, as well as help team members feel that the company cares about them — something highly important to retention.

How Leadership Changes Effect Everyone

Any type of changes in leadership can effect everyone differently. Whether it’s on a sports team, in a business or even at home, it’s likely to have a different ‘daily tasks’ and ’emotional’ influence for everyone. The same holds true for how we look at influencer marketers and business owners in the world today. Once a new change comes into effect at any big company or organization, we are all quick to provide our own opinions on how it will play out.

With everyone always having their own thoughts and experiences, we thought it would be a great idea to ask the experts for their optinion. We hand selected entrepreneurs from YEC to share several techniques management can implement to ease a transition in leadership.

Here’s what they had to say.

1. Keep Employees in the Loop

The best approach management can use to make a transition period easier is to brief the employees about everything that is happening and how things will or will not change in the company. Employees like to be taken into account, and if things go well or not so well during the transition period, they will be happy that they were informed of everything and that their opinions were taken into account.

– Alfredo Atanacio, Uassist.ME

2. Enable Gradual Change

Leadership changes can often cause confusion and stress within a company. If you want to make the process easier for your team, make your changes gradually. For example, if you plan on promoting from within the company, train in small increments so that employees and your new manager feel comfortable in their position.

– Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights

3. Open the Floor to Questions

When making any substantial change to your business, the last thing you want is for people to spread rumors. As soon as you can announce the transition in leadership, I recommend doing so and opening up the floor to questions from any employees. Clear communication like this will prevent any undue stress or unfounded gossip from spreading, which can be disastrous to company morale.

– Bryce Welker, The Big 4 Accounting Firms

4. Emphasize Unity

It can be overwhelming and even a little daunting to think about a shift in management, but it’s important to welcome the newcomer so they feel comfortable being the new leader. Talk to your team beforehand and let them know what’s going on before anyone else has the chance to. Emphasize welcoming new management and tell them what they can expect in the upcoming weeks or months.

– Jared Atchison, WPForms

5. Ensure Transparency

I’ve had a recent change in leadership at my company, and have found that transparency with the process has helped both the employees, as well as the incoming and outgoing leadership role. This has allowed everyone time to adjust and get comfortable with the changes, while asking questions and providing helpful input and feedback, making them feel involved and supported in the process.

– Rachel Beider, PRESS Modern Massage

6. Treat Everyone like a Person and Not a Number

I think one of the worst things that can happen when a new leader steps in, is for individuals and teams within the organization to start feeling like numbers and no longer part of the team. This often happens in much larger companies with hundreds of employees and staff, but it can still happen in smaller groups as well. No matter the size, this type of impression and treatment during a leadership change can quickly turn things sour.

– Zac Johnson, ZacJohnson.com

7. Involve All Staff

Everyone working needs to know about the changes in leadership or development. Host regular meetings that involve all of your employees and staff to notify them. Then everyone hears the facts and will have answers to their potential questions. Also, they will appreciate that management treats them with respect and honesty about potential uncertainties. Respect goes a long way to ease any concerns.

– Patrick Barnhill, Specialist ID, Inc.

8. Give Time for Productivity to Resume

Leadership transitions can be difficult to manage. During such change, giving time for normal productivity to resume is important. This takes the pressure off your employees who are coping with new faces and roles. Once everyone is settled in, productivity should resume. If it takes longer than 90 days for things to settle, there may be something else that needs to be addressed.

– Blair Williams, MemberPress

9. Hold One-on-One Meetings

A new manager will flourish if they have a good idea of what they’re walking into. Many managers come in too strong when they start at a new company and this can be intimidating for many employees. By setting up some one-on-one time with each of the key team members and the new hire, the manager and the team will be able to get a better measure of each other. This will help quell any uncertainty.

– Ismael Wrixen, FE International

10. Include the New Leader Early on

If a new manager is coming on board, make them part of the work process as early as possible. Have them come in, shadow you and work alongside you until it’s officially their turn to take over. That way, they meet the team, familiarize themselves with the company, and feel more comfortable in that space.

– Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

11. Embrace Empathy and Storytelling

In times of change, you must take time to understand the impact of the transition. Seek out a diversity of stakeholder opinions and listen for what is needed to remove friction. Embrace storytelling as the most powerful tool for inspiring confidence and shaping action. It’s an opportunity to not just provide clarity, but to help the organization make sense of what is to come. – Ryan Stoner, Phenomenon

12. Introduce the New Exec Before the Transition

Productivity and commitment are at risk when employees are uncertain of a company’s leadership and future. If there is no business reason to keep the changes private, it’s better to introduce a new leader to employees as soon as possible. Help them understand that they’re in safe hands and what the changes mean for them and their role in the company.

– Chris Madden, Matchnode

13. Instill Confidence in the New Leadership

The best thing you can do is instill confidence in the new leadership right away. The handing over of the mantle is very important. Years of trust building can be saved and potential conflict avoided by having someone who is already respected enthusiastically support the new leadership without reservation.

– Reuben Yonatan, GetVoIP

14. Provide Extra Training

When there’s a transition in the workplace, some employees may have to learn new processes or skills. So, it’s important that you provide extra training to your team. By training or retraining them for the transition, you’ll give them all of the skills and resources they need to be successful with the change.

– David Henzel, LTVPlus

What Makes a Great Thought Leader Great?

When looking at different thought leaders and entrepreneurs in the world today, what makes some of them great, while others are just mediocre?

Often times, it’s more than just the success and business aspect of things. It’s also how they deal with situations on a daily basis, and how other people around them feel.

Infleuncer marketing can also be looked at in the same way. Why are some influencers more popular than others? Again, this all comes down to preference and who you want to follow.

Keeping all of these considerations in mind, whenever you come across a new business leader or change within your organization, don’t make a first impression based on what you heard–but instead the first impression that you actually experience.