Erik Qualman's Blog, page 569

15 Tips To Use Joomla

As the second most popular content management system in the world, Joomla has proven itself to be a trusted and powerful resource for anyone looking to publish content online. While Joomla already comes equipped with a number of amazing features, why not get the most out of this free and open-source CMS? Why not switch to Joomla?

While that may sound easier said than done, it’s not as hard as it seems if you use the following 15 tips for your Joomla website.

1. Enable Joomla Cache

If you want to improve the experience of your visitors – and help conversion rates and increase search rankings – then one of the best places to start is by boosting the speed of your website. One of the easiest ways to do this is by enabling cache.  This stores the data for your site in user’s browser – which means all of the modules, extensions, and components on your site won’t have to load every time your visitors land on your site.

To enable cache, you can either change the setting to either Conservative or Progressive in your Global Configuration section or install an extension like CacheControl, JotCache or Cache Cleaner.

2. Enable Search Friendly URLs

If you want to improve your search rankings, then you want to make sure your site contains a search-friendly URL. Usually this is done by renaming the htacces.txt file. Because this may require a little bit of technical skill, you should review the following Joomla document to do this effectively.

3. Gzip Compression

Another way to improve the speed of your site is by compressing it. When you enable Gzip, the files on your site are compressed into a zip file, which will reduce the page file size and make it load faster. You can enable Gzip by simply going into Global Configuration and turning on Gzip Page Compression in the Server Settings.

4. Add Article Title to Read More Link

If your want to be more descriptive on your site, then consider adding article titles instead of just the generic “read more” text. This can be easily accomplished in the Article Management area:

Set it on your menu item:

Go to Menu management

Edit the menu item

Go to tab Advanced Options

Set “Show readmore” to Show

Set “Show title with readmore” to Show

Set it on Article management Options:

Go to Article management Options

Go to tab Articles

Set “Show readmore” to Show

Set “Show title with readmore” to Show

5. Keep Your Site Clean

While extensions can come in handy, you want to make sure you don’t get carried away. Having too many extensions on your site can slow it down – which will not make your visitors happy. Besides selecting only essential extensions for your site, you also may want to remove the extensions that are no longer needed.

You can painlessly remove extensions by following these steps:

Select “Extensions” and then “Extension Manager” from the dropdown menu

Select “Manage” on the left menu (3.0) or on the menu below the title “Extension Manager: Manage” (2.5)

Select the type of extension you wish to uninstall. You will have the choice between Components, Files, Modules, Plugins, Languages, and Templates.

Find the extension you wish to uninstall and check the checkbox to the left of the extension title.

Press “Uninstall” In the upper-right corner of the screen (2.5) or on below the title “Extension Manager: Manage” (3.0)

6. Install JCE Editor

If you’re looking to create and edit your content without having to worry about having the technical skills, you can utilize the JCE Editor. With this component you can do tasks like formatting; upload, rename, delete, cut/copy/paste images; create links in your site to Sections, Categories, Articles, Weblinks and Contacts;  and an integrated spell checker.

7. Optimize Images

While images can add a little jazz to your content, they can also slow down your site. To prevent this from happening, make sure you use images only as needed and keep them at an appropriate size. You can change the size of your images by using tools like Smush.it or TinyPNG.

8. Use Alt Tags

Speaking of keeping your images optimized, you’ll want to include descriptive text in your images – usually 4-8 words and at least one keyword. Not only will these Alt tags be seen by your visitors, they’ll also improve your search rankings since it will make crawling your site easier.

Since you’ve already downloaded the JCE editor, you can use that to add Alt tags and scale the dimensions of your images.

9. Optimize CSS Javascript

Since your site is bound to contain a fair amount of CSS and Javascript files, you’ll want to compress these files so your site will load quickly. You can remove these excess codes by using an Extension like JCH Optimize or a template like T3 Framework.

10. Use a CDN

A CDN (content delivery network), as defined by The Joomla! Community Magazine, “is a system of servers located around the world that serves images, CSS, Javascript and other file types to the site visitor.” This will help keep your site’s loading time at a favorable level, which will increase the experience of your users.

Some of the more popular CDNs for Joomla include CDN for Joomla by No Number, jomCDN by Core PHP and JA Amazon S3 by Joomlart.

11. Manage Meta Data

As you’re probably aware, meta keywords tags are still a big deal. To make your life easier, you can use a tool like SEO Boss to manage and monitor all of your meta data from one convenient interface.

12. Be Optimized For Mobile

While Joomla is already optimized for mobile devices, you still want to make sure that it’s at the appropriate speed. You can use PageSpeed Insights to check the speed of your site and utilize tools like NoNumber Adv  anced Module Manager to make any needed changes for mobile users.

13. Install Xmap

Xmap is a powerful Extension that allows you to create XML and HTML sitemaps for your Joomla site. Not only does this component give you the ability to generate XML sitemaps that are compatible with Google and Bing, it also give you statistical information regarding your site.

14. Choose www. or non-www. and Redirect

Unlike WordPress, Joomla will not redirect your site to either the www. or non-www. version. To correct this problem, just simply add the following code into your .htaccess file:

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. [NC]

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]

15. How to View Module Positions

As described by Brad Markle on InMotion Hosting, “The location a module shows up on a page is determined by the position the module is set to. For example, if you have a module position within your template named footer-1, to place a module there you will have to set the module’s position to footer-1. Likewise, setting a module’s position to position-7 will most likely place the module in your template’s sidebar.”

To view the module positions of any page, you’ll want to do the following:

In the administrative backend go to Extensions->Template Manager. Click on Options and set Preview Module Positions to Enabled.

Navigate to the website page you wish to see the module positions for in your web browser.

Click into the URL field in your browser.

Look for any “parameters” at the end of the URL. These are separated from the main part of the URL by a question mark. For example, in the URL http://mydomain.com/index.php?id=17, the “id=17″ is a parameter.

If there are no parameters, append “?tp=1″ to the URL and press RETURN. For example, http://mydomain.com/index.php?tp=1.

If there are already parameters in the URL, append “&tp=1″ to the URL and press RETURN. For example, http://mydomain.com/index.php?id=17&a....

The module positions will be outlined in red

Joomla is one of the most popular CMS available today, and with good reason! These tips will help make sure you get the most out of their platform.

 

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Trending: Disabling police tracking on Waze

Washington (AP) – Eileen Sullivan from The Associated Press reported that law enforcement is concerned that the popular Waze mobile traffic app by Google Inc., which provides real-time road conditions, can also be used to hunt and harm police.

Waze, purchased by Google for $966 million in 2013, is a combination of GPS navigation and social networking. They have fifty million users in 200 countries using the free service for warnings about nearby congestion, car accidents, speed traps, traffic cameras, construction zones, potholes, stalled vehicles or unsafe weather conditions.

Waze users mark police – who are generally working in public spaces – on maps without much distinction other than “visible” or “hidden.” Users see a police icon, but it’s not immediately clear whether police are there for a speed trap, a sobriety check or a lunch break.

To some in law enforcement, this feature amounts to a stalking app for people who want to harm police. They want Google to disable that feature. The growing concern is the latest twist in Google’s complicated relationship with government and law enforcement. It places the Internet giant, again, at the center of an ongoing global debate about public safety, consumer rights and privacy.

Do you think Waze should disable police tracking?

 

 

Image from waze.com

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Ice Cream Makers Scooping Up Social Media

When it comes to cold, tasty treats, everyone screams for ice cream, especially on social media.

Ice cream sales are double-scooping through the roof and it’s all thanks to manufacturers’ marketing efforts on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

With delicious desserts in mind, here’s a look at the ice cream industry and how it’s spreading the word on social media:

Ice Cream Sales in the U.S.

Food trends come and go, but one thing is constant: ice cream.

The cold treat has been topping the dessert sales charts for decades and isn’t looking to slow down any time soon.

According to the International Dairy Foods Association, the U.S. consumes more than 1.5 billion gallons of ice cream each year. In terms of revenue, that’s nearly $10 billion in ice cream sales for manufacturers all across the country.

With 70% of sales taking place on a regional level, it’s no surprise manufacturers are using social media to spread the word about their scoops.

Social Media and Ice Cream

Customer outreach is the key to marketing success and ice cream manufacturers know there’s no better way to get the word out about their tasty treats than with social media. In fact, a number of big ice cream brands or jumping on the social ice cream truck to market their frozen goods.

Ben & Jerry’s, Baskin Robbins, and Edy’s are just a few of the ice cream brands that use Facebook as a marketing tool. Likewise, Breyers, Cold Stone, and Carvel are taking to Twitter to put their scoops on display.

As the following article shows, the ice cream industry’s popularity on social media is proof we like ice cream all year long.

Popular Ice Cream Social Marketing Campaigns

Ice cream manufacturers are making sure they put their sweet products front and center to entice social audiences. That in combination with great promotions results in marketing success.

Here are just a few popular social media marketing campaigns from top ice cream manufacturers:

• Cold Stone – One of the most popular creameries in the U.S. is Cold Stone, which uses a frozen piece of marble to hand churn its flavor creations. Cold Stone Creamery posts discount codes and free ice cream contests on Facebook as well as gives fans a heads up about ice cream giveaways under the hashtag Random Acts of Cold Stone.

• Dreyer’s – In-store ice cream by the quart is just as popular as visiting the ice cream shop, which is where the Dreyer’s brand comes into play. Dreyer’s uses Facebook to promote its CheckPoints coupon app that saves hungry social media follower’s money on their in-store ice cream purchases.

• Ben & Jerry’s – The king of ice cream combinations is turning to its Facebook and Twitter followers to create new flavors. Known as the City Churned campaign, Ben & Jerry’s is encouraging Facebook fans to come up with the next great ice cream flavor based on their hometown.

It’s plain to see that social media and ice cream brands are the perfect marketing match … with sprinkles and a cherry on top.

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Put Your Customers First on Social Media

Whether you run a well-known company or one that most people have not heard of outside of your hometown, social media is essentially a free and very worthwhile tool that should always be on your marketing radar.

That said what are you doing to promote your social networking in 2015?

Even though many companies know that social media is a key component of their brand promotions, too many others have not invested the time and effort into social media. As a result, they are missing out on golden opportunities to put their brand in front of countless eyes.

So, is social media one of your marketing priorities?

Being Relevant and Interactive

In order to have a winning social media platform with which to work from, make sure the following is on your agenda:

Relevancy – Your tweets, shares, pins and more need to be relevant to what your brand is all about. Sure, it is okay to step outside the bounds from time to time, but consumers (most of them for that matter) will come to your social pages for information tied to what your business does. With that being the case, if you market clothing that includes the best bras and panties, you of course should be targeting women, but don’t write off the other gender just yet. Keep in mind, especially with holidays like Valentine’s Day right around the corner, many men shop for that special lady in their lives. As a result, social posts in this area should also be directed at a sizable segment of the male population;
Interaction – You can’t have a winning social media game if you’re not being interactive with the public. Face it; there is a reason someone tweets or shares something with you and your company. Even if it is a customer service issue and it seems like they’re unhappy, do not ignore them. In nine out of 10 cases, if you ignore them, your competition will not. Interaction also means tweeting/retweeting, sharing, pinning etc. information that will be worthwhile to consumers;
Consistency – Last but certainly not least, you need a consistent social media approach. For too many companies, they will tweet or share here, pin a little bit there, and so the beat goes on. If consumers look at your company Facebook or Twitter page and it has not been updated for days, perhaps even week in some extreme cases, do you really believe you look credible to the majority of them? Studies have shown that certain times and days of the week are best for social media activity, make sure you determine what is best for your company and brand to get that message out there regularly.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Trending: Google Fiber expands to new cities

TIME has reported that Google’s high-speed broadband service, Google Fiber, plans to expand to 4 new metro areas and 18 new cities. This areas include Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham.  It has also tapped Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Antonio and San Jose as five additional cities where Google Fiber may be rolled out in the future.  Google has not offered a timetable for when customers can start buying Google Fiber in the new cities just yet.

Google Fiber said that bringing Google Fiber to these cities is a long-term investment.  They work with the cities to create a detailed map of where they are able to put thousands of miles of fiber by using existing infrastructure such as utility poles and underground conduit and avoiding things like gas and water lines. Once done designing the network, which is expected to take a couple of months, construction will begin.

Google Fiber was launched three years ago in Kansas City and has since expanded to Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah. Google Fiber offers download and upload speeds of up to one gigabit per second, which the company says is 100 times faster than basic broad speeds, for $70 per month. The service has mostly been viewed as a way to shame traditional internet service providers into boosting their own broadband speeds. A speedier Internet benefits Google because it allows people to execute search queries faster, allowing Google to serve users more ads.

Image from googlefiberblog.blogspot.com

 

 

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Trending: Was Facebook hacked?

Facebook users from Asia, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom reported Monday night that they were unable to access the social media site as well as Facebook owned app Instagram and Facebook reliant app Tinder.  CNN reported that this temporary loss of Facebook, Instagram and Tinder brought users to Twitter to express their thoughts on the outage. Users joined the conversation with #facebookdown, which was trending for a few hours.

Popular hacking group, Lizard Squad, tweeted “Facebook, Instagram, Tinder, AIM, Hipchat #offline #LizardSquad” hinting that they were responsible for the outage. After debate about whether or not the site had been hacked Facebook told USA TODAY, “Earlier today many people had trouble accessing Facebook and Instagram. This was not the result of a third party attack but instead occurred after we introduced a change that affected our configuration systems. We moved quickly to fix the problem, and both services are back to 100% for everyone.”

This hour loss has been the biggest outage Facebook has had since September 24, 2010 when the site was down for two and a half hours.

 

Image from pcworld.com

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Should You Take a More Social Approach in Your Career?

People leave the workforce for all types of reasons – they may decide to stay home with children for a time, they may have moved and are having trouble finding a job, they may have switched industries and are struggling or they may simply have wanted a break from working.

Whatever the reason, it’s more important to focus on your skills and abilities rather than stress about your hiatus.

As the following article shows, to find a rewarding career after a long hiatus from the workforce will be challenging; it won’t be impossible.

To start, do some research in your desired industries and see what the requirements are.

You may need to return to school or get a certification, and at the very least, you’ll need to update your resume.

While it’s not necessary to explain gaps of unemployment in your resume, you should include what you have been doing that may be relevant – such as volunteering at your children’s school, helping care for an aging parent, taking a class, freelancing, etc.

Tips on Getting Back Into Workforce After a Break

Among the tips to keep in mind:

Network – The best thing you can do for yourself when trying to get back into the workforce is to network. You can network with friends, family members, old coworkers, neighbors and even via social media. Social media is an extremely powerful tool when it comes to finding a job. Follow your favorite companies and employers and don’t be afraid to reach out and start a conversation with someone. When it comes to getting a job, especially after a long break, it’s more about who you know than what you know.
Volunteer – Depending on what type of career you’re looking for, volunteering at that organization can be a great way to get your foot in the door. Once you establish solid relationships with the other employees, it can be relatively easy to get hired on as a full-time staff member. Organizations that seek volunteers include the health care industry, non-profit organizations and government agencies. A large number of these organizations are active on social media, informing the public of what they do and where they need assistance.
Start you own business – Perhaps instead of working for a company, you can start your own business and work for yourself. While running a business comes with its own set of challenges, the advantage is that you can start now without having to go through the application and interview process. Becoming self-employed may make the transition from being out of work to working again easier, too, since you can set your own hours and take time off when needed. Use social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more to promote your company.
Go back to school – When re-entering the workforce, it’s important to reassess your interests and see if you still want to work in the same field as you did before leaving. There is nothing wrong with making a career switch if you know it’s what you want to do. Explore your options before jumping into something you may no longer be satisfied with. If your new career of choice requires you to return to school, that can be a great transition prior to returning to work. Many top-notch schools nationwide are active on social media, promoting myriad of educational opportunities.

Take all of the options above into consideration when looking to return to the workforce.

You can be strategic about your plan and explore your options before making a final decision. Be confident in your abilities and apply what you learned during your time off to the workforce.

By focusing on your talents and skills, you’ll be certain to find a career in no time.

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Pinterest Boards Your Business Should Be Following in 2015

Now that the Pinterest buzz has been pushed aside for Instagram, infographics, and a new wave of mobile marketing excitement, it’s a good time to really stop and look at some of the boards businesses have created. Industry leaders are constantly talking about who you should be following on Twitter and what Facebook pages offer value, but Pinterest boards aren’t often discussed (despite the fact that these same industry leaders offered tons of advice about how to use Pinterest to improve your business). However, there are plenty of businesses out there that really got Pinterest right, and they’re continually uploading content that could help a business gain inspiration and knowledge about a particular industry.

If your business is trying to get more involved in the Pinterest scene, following the right boards and making the right connections is key. If you’ve created an account for your businesses but are unsure who to follow, don’t sweat it. Although the buzz might be over, you haven’t missed the Pinterest boat. The network is still going strong with 70 million users.

Top 7 Pinterest Boards Your Business Should be Following

It seems that Pinterest is really divided into three different categories: Design and art, serious business advice, and funny or inspirational quotes. While there are of course exceptions, the posts found on Pinterest can usually be filtered into one of these three categories. The third category isn’t usually helpful to businesses, but the first two certainly are.

Pinterest Boards For the Art Enthusiasts

Those who operate a design, fashion, food, or decorating business usually get the most out of Pinterest. On this front, many businesses have too many options when it comes time to follow certain boards. In most cases, it’s best to try and following your competition and other businesses similar to yours, not so you can copy what they are doing or sharing, but so you can make sure you’re bringing something unique to the table.

With that said, specific businesses will want to follow different boards. However, below are a few of the boards that have done it best, and they’re worth following just to see some great artwork and designs:

Workspace

Every business has some sort of workspace, and this board offers a bunch of cool ideas when it comes to designing where you will work. There is a good variety here for those with all different styles, and the board already has 3,621,050 followers.

Gifts

Boards about gifts are always great because they can serve several purposes including not only gift ideas, but creative designs and different ways to present a gift. You can really have fun with colors and patterns when giving a gift, so this is a great place for inspiration.

natural.green.fresh.alive

More and more people are becoming interested in natural. Whether it be organic foods, neutral color tones, or flowers and plants, the idea of nature is everywhere. This board offers great options for landscaping and outdoor décor that capitalizes on this new phenomenon.

Pinterest Boards For the Suit-and-Tie Businesses

Finding Pinterest boards that are similar to industries like marketing, technology, or sales is much more difficult to find on the network. These businesses have the opposite problem of businesses that put a lot of emphasis on the visual; however some of these suit-and-tie businesses have been able to make it work:

Marketing, Media, Etc.

This board is great because it offers a lot of great data and cool statistics along with infographics and links to articles. Many boards put a focus on infographics entirely, but this board always brings in a little bit of creativity.

The Future Is Here

This is a great board because it helps keep you updated with the latest technology gadgets and tools. Your could very well see something that could help grow your business on this board, so it’s good to keep up with. In fact, there are already 1,498,501 followers!

Infographics Twitter

This board is great because it is specific. Any company that has a Twitter account should follow this board to learn some new techniques. The board is full of infographics to help make all the information easy to understand.

 

Design Inspiration: Logos

This is one board that works great for designers as well as businesses. Every business needs a logo, and most business owners know that logos are not always easy to create. This board helps give businesses inspiration when it comes to logos.

Are there any Pinterest boards that you love to follow? What makes you love that business’ new posts? Let us know in the comments below!

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The Social Approach to Helping Military Members

Businesses are taking creative approaches to advertising and marketing strategies, using a variety of platforms and reaching out to a number of customers and potential customers in specific groups.

One of these ways of marketing is to use social media to reach out to current and former military members.

Often businesses want to show their support to the military, so they offer specials and deals to those who serve (and retired service members) and their families. Using social media is just one way to reach out.

Some Examples….

MilitaryAvenue is a site where companies can market directly to military families.

Frog in My Box is an online store that is taking full advantage of this platform. This store sells online baby, kid and maternity clothes, accessories and books. Everything is discounted, and it’s a great way for military members to stay within their budgets while getting what they need.

Because of the marketing strategies, Frog in My Box can easily reach out to military members.

Using social media is cost effective to the companies and reaches more of the audience than traditional advertising strategies.

Facebook, Twitter and More

Other companies also use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to target military families.

This way business can reach mobile audiences and offer discounts without adding cost to themselves with paper or other media advertising.  Using social media is also a way for military families to connect with one another through these businesses and offer support and engagement.

Companies can use Facebook promotions, Twitter feeds and Instagram posts to advertise and offer discounts. These formats are free and easily shared, so everyone benefits.

As the following article shows, Military Auto Loans on the Move are an attractive incentive to those in the military looking for a car loan.

Because cars can be such a big part of a budget, finding the right loan is important. With military car loans, lower interest rates are often offered, as are longer loan timelines, which can also lower payments.

Credit history is not always as important, either, so it’s a nice way for current or retired military to receive another benefit for their service. It’s a nice perk that only those with military service can receive.

Showing Gratitude

Even if businesses aren’t affiliated with the military, they often want to offer special rates, services and discounts to those who serve our country. It’s a nice way to show gratitude and appreciation for military members.

Whether it’s a special once a year discount on Veteran’s Day or an ongoing special price, it’s a great gesture.

With social media, the word can get out, be shared and military members can use it. With the ease of social media use, sharing and feedback, it’s a win-win situation for all involved.

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Social Media Revolution 2015

An update of Social Media Revolution video has come out for 2015. Check it out here!

 

Here’s a recap of what the video shares with us:

Mobile drives over 50% of ecommerce traffic | Stat found here
Over 1.35 billion users on Facebook | Stat found here
Over 50% of the world’s population is under 30-years-old | Stat found here
53% of millennial generation respondents (those born between 1981 and 2000) said they’d rather lose their sense of smell than their technology | Stat found here
More people own a mobile device than a toothbrush | Stat found here
By 2018 video will account for over 2/3 of mobile usage hence why 2/3 of orgs will increase spending on video this year | Stat found here
Every second 2 new members join LinkedIn | Stat found here
The LinkedIn age limit has been lowered to 13 | Stat found here
Grandparents are the fastest growing demographic on twitter | Stat found here
90% of buyers trust peer recommendations | Stat found here
The average attention span of a human is 7 seconds | Stat found here
The average attention span of a gold fish is 8 seconds. | Stat found here

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