Many years ago, I had an issue where my pet sitting website was being consistently hacked. That would mean the website would be down, resulting in lost sales and customer acquisition because I run my traffic through my website.

Today I have three things you can do to ensure your website stays safe, up and running, and makes money for you.

First thing is you want to keep your pet sitting website up to date.

This is by far the biggest risk when it comes to securities. New vulnerabilities are discovered in WordPress and its plugins and themes regularly; if your site is out of date, it is at risk.

Hackers actively search for outdated websites they can attack, so make it a point to keep your site up to date. This includes your plugins, your themes, and the WordPress software itself. It’s a regular thing that my virtual assistant does that keeps my website safe.

Use strong passwords.

I know you might be like, “Hello, duh,” but the truth is most people still aren’t using strong passwords. Hackers are always looking for weak passwords. They use something called a brute force attack.

Simply put, a hacker sets up computer programs to repeatedly attempt to log into your site, using thousands of the most commonly used passwords and what are known as dictionary words. This type of vulnerability can be easily avoided simply by choosing good passwords.

Ideally, your password should be 12 characters, contain upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, never be used for multiple sites, never be stored in plain text on your computer, and never be sent by email.

Also, consider using a password manager like LastPass, which I love. LastPass will generate and securely store good and strong passwords, and you’ll never have to worry about remembering your passwords, and you’re going to greatly reduce your risk of being hacked.

All right, so strong passwords and look into something like LastPass.

Be smart about your hosting.

All these companies say unlimited domains, space, and bandwidth for $8 a month. I’m sure you’ve seen these claims, but here’s the problem. The type of standard hosting is inexpensive only because they overload their servers with thousands of websites.

Just as close proximity in crowded classrooms allows human viruses to spread quickly, the close proximity of websites on a shared server means one infected site is a risk to all the others.

After my site was consistently hacked, and this was by a reputable company, I decided to move to a company that had added security. So, every day, they scan my site for any malware, attempted hacks, and so on.

After years and years and years of being with one of the most well-known companies, my site is constantly getting taken down. So, I love SiteGround hosting. Been with them for years and have not had a single problem. I’m going to link to this below the video.

Again, three things. Keep your site up to date, use strong passwords, and choose a smart host. I love SiteGround.

All right, guys. I’m always interested and happy to make videos for you, answer your questions, and support you in any way I can. If you have any questions about how to grow your pet-sitting business, please let me know.

So, either in the comments below, you can email me or post in our free Facebook group at petnannycoachcommunity.com. I am always here to serve you.

References:
Siteground.com

Before we jump into the six locations where you can use keywords, let’s talk about what keywords are. These are the terms your ideal clients are typing into Google or a search engine to find a pet sitter, a dog walker, or a house sitter in your area.

For example, they might type in “Pet sitter, Wayne, Pennsylvania,” Dog walker, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,” or “House sitter, Pennsylvania.” It is the service you provide and where you provide the service.

All right, six places where you can use keywords.

1. Page titles or subjects.

The subject is the keyword field to which Google and other search providers give the most weight. Keep this in mind if you’re tempted to use cute, clever blog post titles. Don’t waste that space with a clever turn of phrase. Instead, be clear and concise and say exactly what your article or post is about.

You may have an article on your website or a blog post, How to Find a Reputable Pet Sitter, in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Okay? So it’s clear and concise what the subject is, and those keywords are there.

2. Subheadings.

Not only do subheadings give your website visitor or your blog post reader a better bird’s eye view of the information they’re taking in, but Google also loves that information because, through your subheadings, you’re telling Google what your content is about. And that is what they’re going to index.

3. Titles and file names.

Search for nearly anything on Google, and you’ll see images appear at the top of the search results. These images will almost always have file names and titles corresponding to the keyword you’ve searched for. You can and should use your chosen keyword by naming any images appropriately and setting the titles, and all attributes to describe what the image is clearly.

So if you have, for example, images of your pet-sitting team on your website, you can give them a file name of Pet Sitter, Malvern, Pennsylvania, Dog Walker, Wayne, Pennsylvania, and so on. That image will come up when somebody types into Google, and that will click over and link back to your website. So remember to use your keywords on your image titles and file names.

4. Meta descriptions.

The meta description is the snippet of text that shows up below a listing in Google and other search engines. With WordPress, you can either explicitly declare a meta-description using a plugin such as WordPress SEO by Yoast or let Google decide what to use. While the meta description itself has no weight when it comes to your search result placement, it can have a great deal of impact on whether or not somebody clicks through to your site. Take care to write a compelling description that contains the keyword you want to be found for.

You know what this is. You go to Google. You type something in, you have a whole list of results that you can choose from. You’ll likely read the meta description before deciding actually to click. And that’s what they’re saying.

Take the time, use the keywords in those meta descriptions, and make them compelling so your prospects will click over to your site. What does it matter if you get found if people aren’t clicking over to your site if you know what I mean?

5. Inbound links.

As you’re creating new blog posts and pages on your site, it’s a good idea to link from one to another. This serves two purposes.

It helps readers learn more about a subject and helps search engines find and explore other content on your site. In both cases, it’s helpful to use keywords as the anchor text for these links. It’s a clear declaration to both human and non-human readers that the content linked is about a specific subject.

So inbound links, you want to connect two different pages on your website through those constantly. And you want to be using keywords.

6. Content.

Including a keyword in your content is important not only for the search engines but for the readers too. But don’t make the mistake of using the same phrase over and over again. Doing so will turn your readers off.

Instead, use variations of your keywords throughout your text or your article. You don’t want to bore your readers. Plus, you’ll reinforce your main point with the search engines, which are now smart enough to recognize synonyms and rank your content accordingly.

So you don’t want to overstuff your content on your website and your blog post. One, it’s painful to read as a visitor to your website. And they will know this was just created to be stuffed with keywords. Use them, have a good balance of them, is what they’re saying. Google will know when you’re trying to overstuff an article or a blog post, and that’s detrimental to you versus being able to help you get found.

The six places are page titles or subjects, subheadings, image titles and file names, meta descriptions, inbound links, and your content.