Category: Tips

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What Size Images Do You Need for Facebook, Twitter and Google+

Get the low down on the image sizes you'll need for your social media.
Get the low down on the image sizes you’ll need for your social media.

I came across this great infographic and wanted to share it with you. It highlights all the sizes you need for the various social platforms. View it now.

To make it easy for you, I have broken it down so you can print this page as a very easy tip card.

Facebook
Profile image: 180 pixels wide by 180 pixels tall
Cover (big image for the header): 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels tall
Images you share in the content should be 1200 pixels wide by 900 pixels tall (width is most important)

Twitter
Profile image: 400 pixels wide by 400 pixels tall
Cover (big header image): 1500 pixels wide by 500 pixels tall
Images you share in the content should be 440 pixels wide by 220 pixels tall (width is most important)

Google+
Profile image: 250 pixels wide by 250 pixels tall
Cover (big header image): 1080 pixels wide by 608 pixels tall
Images you share in the content should be 497 pixels wide by 373 pixels tall

Note: on the images you share in content, I would not resize my images to fit these dimensions, but if you are buying images for use, you need to buy big enough versions so buy the 1200 pixel wide version as when you load the image to Twitter and Google+ it will be resized to fit properly but too small of an image will look bad in your content or may not even be able to be loaded.

For Pinterest, Tumblr and other social media sites make sure to check the infographic.

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Should You Buy a Previously Owned Domain Name?

Confused senior man

Don’t Make a Big Mistake, Do Your Research!

Be careful, very careful, even if a domain is offered to you for a great price and it really looks like a great keyword match, take a deep breath and do your homework before you jump on buying that domain name.

Why should I be careful?

It today’s environment when great domains become available it is typically because they have been burned out by spammers. A domain will carry history, it is not just a name and when you take it over thinking you are getting a fresh start; it may be banned by spam registries, Internet Service Providers, and been used and abused by spamming or black hat SEO’s.

Even $200 is too much to pay for a domain that has been abused. You may never be able to use the domain name in an email address and the history may be so tainted that you will never be able to remediate it and place on any search engine with it.

My recommendation is – No Go.

My candid recommendation on buying a used domain, based on how things are, is that I would pass. A domain name does not assure SEO placement, and if you really love the domain you may be able to buy it fresh and clean and never used before as a .us or .biz.

If the price tag is even higher, hire an expert to do due diligence for you. I’ve seen domains go for $10,000. You’d hate to pay that kind of money and find out that the domain had been horribly abused making its value to you nearly nothing. Be careful and do some Google searches on this topic before you plunk down your cash to buy.

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Hacking Explained – Why You Are Targeted

Hands with red frame reaches out from big heap of crumpled papers
You may need help from professionals to remediate a hack attack.

It’s the worst case scenario, you get a note from Google saying it looks like you’ve been hacked. Your website now has a tag on Google that says “this site has been hacked”, your traffic has plummeted and sales are way off. Why you!

Not all hacking is about stealing credit card information. Sometimes a hack is about stealing your traffic and your SEO juice. Only sites that are well-placed and popular are targeted for this type of hack. The hackers know that you are doing something right and have Google’s attention and they want a piece of that action for their own benefit.

What hackers will typically do in this case is to sneak in via WordPress and then move directly into your website, installing snippets of code that create folders on your server and a brand new XML site map full of spammy links pointing to websites that they are wanting to improve the placement on with Google.

Try to just delete the folder and you’re fine, think again. These scripts are propagating. Delete a folder and it will be back tomorrow in a new location with a new name. Plus the hackers will be logging in to add more junk and update their benefiting site list. It is all done to bleed off your traffic and steal the SEO juice you have.

The only way to solve this type of problem is by brute force. You’ll need to take everything down, wipe it clean and then reload only clean files plus a full new fresh update of all WordPress files. You may even have to clean your WordPress database and manually review each and every website page you put back.

When you do, make sure you are hardening your security, updating passwords and deleting files you don’t need where code may be hiding. These are smart, tricky, and unscrupulous people. They are not targeting you but for any other reason that your website is well-placed and popular.

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Try It Friday – Samsung’s WatchOn App

It’s been a while since my last Try It Friday video. It’s because I have to learn how to use something before I make my video for you and I have had some real fails that have simply not made the cut. However, this app has! WatchOn by Samsung is a real jewel. Watch my video below or at YouTube here http://youtu.be/OZZJWXgLuMo. You can also view it on my website here: http://www.mccordweb.com/video/index.php

What I love about this app is that it allows me to be purposeful about what I watch on TV. I don’t have cable and don’t get a TV guide, so I don’t know what great shows may be playing or coming up – but now I do.

I can even control Netflix with this app and if I wanted to buy movies to watch at Vudu.  I am now ready to throw out the 4 controllers I have for my TV as now I can control my TV, DVD player, DVR and any other auxiliaries (set top box if you had one) all with one master controller. Thanks Samsung I’ve got to say I love WatchOn.

Available for free at Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.watchon.phone&hl=en

iTunes: I am not sure you will find it here. Looks like it is just for Android – sorry.