Tips Tuesday – AS3 Tutorials, Free Images, 10 HTTPS Mistakes, WP 4.8 Field Guide

Hello Happy Site Owners!

Tips this week include:

• New Amazon S3 Tutorials for Webmasters
• June Webinars, meetings, and Workshops
• Last chance on the May Specials for audits and Webmaster Training
• Livestreams added to Tips Tuesday
• Update on new livestreams and interviews
• WordPress 4.8 Field Guide
• Facebook now supporting Google AMP
• 10 most common HTTPS implementation mistakes
• Clarification on how non HTTPS sites are getting blacklisted by Google
• New JSON RSS feed
• Where to get free high quality images 

Listen to the podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

 

Watch the video recap

BlogAid Happenings

I hope everyone in the U.S. enjoyed the holiday weekend.

I took advantage of clients taking off and emails being lighter than normal to get new tutorials made and start shaping up new webinars and workshops for June.

Here’s a little preview of what’s coming from BlogAid over the next few weeks. 

Lots of New Video Tutorials

I was a video tutorial making maniac for 3 days.

Some of those video scripts required a lot of research and testing first. So, I didn’t get as many released as I had hoped, but I did get one full series out into the world, and most of the scripts made for the next series.

If you’re curious about what it takes to make really good video tutorials, it averages out to be about one hour per one minute of video. That’s a lot. But, I believe it is reflected in the quality of both the information and the production and I so appreciate those of you who let me know that too!! 

New Amazon S3 Tutorials

I had a very popular tutorial on how to setup an AS3 account to store your backup files.

But things have changed a lot since then.

• Amazon changed the look and function of their interface.
• Everything related to site security has changed since I made that video too.

So, I did a deep dive into researching the new security and ended up with 3 new tutorials.

Tutorials include how to:

• Create an AS3 Account and Bucket
• Create an IAM User and Restrict to One Bucket
• Set up Versioning and Auto Delete

I’ve already posted the new tutorials in Level 2 of the Webmaster Training courses.

I’ll be releasing the one for how to create an AS3 account and bucket to the public tomorrow.

And, I’ll have posts on why you need create an IAM user with its own set of security keys later this week too. Plus, how Versioning keeps your backup files safer. So, look for those. 

New UpdraftPlus Backup Tutorials

I also did a deep dive into all that the UpdraftPlus backup and Migrator add on plugin can do – and it’s a LOT.

So, I’m making a bunch of new tutorials for those plugins as well.

Look for those to start releasing right behind the AS3 tutorials.

The general backup one will be released to the public. And all the rest will be in the Webmaster Training courses because they are more technical. 

June Webinars, Meetings, and Workshops

As soon as I finish up with all of the new video tutorials, I’ll be putting together new webinars and workshops for the month of June.

DIY SEO Live Meetings

I sent a survey to the folks in my DIY SEO course about new tutorials and what they need the most help with. I’ll be following that up with a live meeting to go over those results and answer their SEO questions.

And I’ll be setting up a regular schedule for live meetings like this too.

I think this new series of live meetings is very important, because SEO is a broad topic and there are so many different kinds of site setups.

Sometimes it’s just not possible to cover all those variations in generic tutorials.

And it’s just easier and quicker to chat live, especially when we can screen share and all see the details. 

Secure Site Setup and HTTPS Workshops

I had sent a survey to my webmasters asking what types of workshops they would be most interested in.

Last month we did a workshop on how to conduct a site audit, and then how to do the common fixes.

They also indicated equal interest in a workshop on secure site setup and HTTPS conversion.

Even though all the tutorials for those are in the course, sometimes it just helps to see the whole process done at once, and to be able to ask questions.

I may very well open up those workshops to the public too. That will make a difference in what we cover, so I’m laying out the outlines now and will have announcements about that in the next few weeks.

Webmaster members will enjoy a significant discount on those workshops too. 

Last Chance on May Specials

Quick reminder that all of the discounts associated with the Seriously Old Plugin Challenge end tomorrow.

So, you’ve only got 24 hours to request your site audit at $20 off.

And there are substantial discounts on the Webmaster Training courses as well. Like $80 off Level 6.

So be sure to take advantage of those right away. 

Livestream Added for Tips Tuesday

I’ve been hearing from folks about how much they enjoy my video livestreams on the

• BlogAid Facebook page
• or watching the replays on the BlogAid YouTube Channel

You can see livestreams for:

• BlogAid Today Tips
• Tips Tuesday Recap

Some of the BlogAid Today streams are turning into vlogs, with breaking news.

I’ve decided to start including the Tips Tuesday video recap in the weekly post too.

I generally do those in the early evenings, and include late breaking news.

It’s a great way to join me live and ask questions and put your two cents into the conversation too.

So do Like the Facebook page so you can catch me live, and subscribe to the YouTube Channel so you never miss one. 

Live Interviews Update

I miss Blab so much. It was so easy to do interviews and chat with my peeps.

I’ve been looking into other ways to replicate that, but nothing has really suited the purpose, or the platforms are still in beta and too unstable to schedule events.

But, Zoom has added a way to stream webinars to Facebook and they’ve made lots of other improvements and integrations.

I already have the paid version to do meetings with my Webmasters https://webmaster.blogaid.net and other groups.

I’ll be contacting Zoom departments this week to see if I can fully replace GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar with a new combo of Zoom and Zapier.

Zapier lets me easily integrate different online platforms and services. I’ve been using it to place folks in an email list when they register for a webinar, or vice versa because it has a way to integrate GoToWebinar and MailChimp.

Zapier is adding new Zaps, or integrations all the time. And now I see that they have one for Zoom and ScheduleOnce, which is the online booking service I use.

Right now I have that integrated with my Google Calendar and GoToMeeting. That saves me a ton of admin time booking chats with clients.

And because I have the paid version of Zapier, I can set up 3 step integrations too. So, that may allow me to use Zoom to replace all of the current integrations I have and save some money doing it.

I’ll keep you posted as I continue to research and test.

Being able to chat with my peeps live is a big part of my business success and I really hope I can return to doing it on a regular basis, and not just rely on one-person livestreams. 

That’s all the news from around here. Let’s jump into this week’s tips. 

WordPress Tips 

WordPress 4.8 Field Guide

WordPress 4.8 is slated to release to the public on June 8.

As soon as I finish up my current video tutorial list I’ll be jumping into the current WP Release Candidate and making a video on all the new features.

But if you want a sneak peek now, check out this Field Guide from the WP devs. It covers all of the big changes, including the new widgets. 

SEO Tips 

Facebook SDK Now Supports Google AMP

I almost fell over when I read this.

Facebook is obviously reading the writing on the wall as to what’s holding back more sites from adopting their Instant Articles formatting for blog posts.

Instant Articles are a stripped down version of blog posts that allow them to be loaded like lightning fast on cell phones.

Right after Facebook released this feature, Google created its own version called AMP, or Accelerated Mobile Pages.

The problem was that the two did not agree on formatting code and they didn’t play well together.

And since Google has a mobile-first agenda, they are giving search engine preference to sites that are AMP formatted.

In other words, given a choice between the two, site owners are opting to go with Google.

To counter that shift, Facebook has adopted the AMP standard into their Instant Article code.

And, they will follow that by including support for Apple News in just a few weeks, which is Apple’s version of these stripped down post feeds.

Now, before you jump on this bandwagon, take a super hard look at whether the stripped down version of your post is going to do you any good or not. Be aware that all of your current CTAs and money makers won’t be in the stripped down version. And if folks just consume your post where they see it, instead of going to your site, you’re not doing yourself any favors

Yeah, you may get more eyeballs on your content, but not necessarily on your CTAs.

And, these things can be a booger bear to set up, and require you to change your post formatting.

I still think they’re only worthwhile to news sites and not us common content marketer bloggers. That said, I encourage you to do your own research and decide what’s best for you.

I do not offer help in setting these things up, though. So, you’ll need to research your own tech to help with it. And you will need help with it, especially for the Facebook code.

HTTPS Tips

10 HTTPS Implementation Mistakes – SEMrush Study

The folks at SEMrush have a case study with an infographic of the results that all site owners need to see.

The investigated 100,000 HTTPS sites and made a list of the 10 most common implementation errors.

I 100% guarantee that folks who did their conversion the free way have the two server issues listed at the bottom.

And I’m betting that at least 80% are suffering from at least half of the Website Architectural Issues they list too.

Do not let this be your site!!!!

Get your site actually converted to HTTPS, not a free hack job that cheats with chicken wire and duct tape. That’s what you get with the free way of doing it.

READ: Top 10 Reasons NOT to Use Free HTTPS Conversion for what else you’re missing trying to do this on the cheap. It will come back to bite you in the butt later.

And please do share that post with your blogger buddies and in groups, as that’s where most site owners are getting mislead about all of this with bad advice from non-techie people. 

New Non-HTTPS Websites Blacklisted for Phishy Password Practices

Sucuri has a new post out that I thought was more than a little misleading. If you’re not up on all the jargon and tech, it would make you think that Google is blacklisting any site that is not HTTPS yet.

Here are the facts.

Chrome and FireFox are giving warnings about passwords now.

But the only way to get blacklisted on Chrome is if the site had something happen that was egregious in the first place. And then it’s hard to get back into their good graces without adding HTTPS.

So, be careful how you interpret what Sucuri is telling you in this post. 

Content Marketing Tips 

JSON Feed Creators Aim to Revitalize Interest in the Open Web with RSS Alternative

I hope this catches on like wildfire.

A new open source project was released last week to replace RSS and Atom feeds with one developed on JSON. That’s Javascript based.

The reason I hope it catches on is that RSS uses XML, and that’s an input/output layer I’d like to see die due to security reasons.

While subscribing directly to RSS feeds has waned in popularity for anyone other than power blog readers like me who follow up to 100 blogs using Feedly or another reader, RSS to email is still very much alive for content marketers. It’s how folks subscribe to your blog posts via email.

I’ll be on the lookout for new JSON feed integrations with MailChimp and Aweber and other popular list subscribe services and keep you posted. 

Free High Quality Images

Sourcing images for your blog posts and social media or PPT slides and video backgrounds can be a real time suck.

The folks over at Social Media Today have compiled a super list of places to get really nice images.

I had not even heard of a few of them and will be checking them out this week.

Wrap Up

That’s a wrap for this week’s Tips Tuesday.

Find these tips helpful? Share them with your peeps!!!!

Subscribe to all BlogAid Posts

Subscribe on iTunes

Be sure to visit BlogAid.net for more tips and resources and I’ll see you online.