The SmallBizLady Buzz - Issue 25

How can you make your website more appealing? You start by checking your load speed. The best way to get a baseline test of your loading speed via a tool like Google Pagespeed Insights.

If your website loads slowly it could turn away visitors. Your website load speed matters. When your site loads slowly, you’ll not only provide a poor user experience, but you’ll also rank lower in the search engines.

1. Enable Caching

Whenever you visit a website, certain elements are stored in a cache, so the next time you visit the site, it can easily access those parts and load much faster. 

2. Remove Hog Plugins and Add-ons

If your site is currently running too many resource heavy plugins, you could potentially be slowing down your website. You might require a handful of plugins for your site to function the way you like, but chances are there are some you can ditch, especially if they’re resource hogs.

3. Optimize and Reduce the Size of Your Images

If your site has tons of images that aren’t optimized, then this will negatively impact your site’s loading speed. Before you begin uploading an image to your site, make sure to follow these image optimization rituals.

• Make sure the image and alternative text are relevant to the page.
• Choose the right file format. PNGs or JPEGs are best.
• Compress file size for faster page load speed.
• Make sure your on-page SEO elements (meta data, structured data, etc.) pair with your image.
• For crawlability, make sure your images are featured in your sitemap.

Optimizing images is important. Your entire site will benefit from taking the steps above with your images, plugins, enabling cashing.

This week’s featured article: How to Overcome Personal Challenges to Build a Successful Business. I had a great interview with one of my favorites experts from Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran, and she can inspire anyone. 

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How to Overcome Personal Challenges to Build a Successful Business

Small business owners tend to be some of the toughest and most resilient people you’ll ever meet, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have personal challenges to overcome. But is there a secret to overcoming challenges in a small business? I had the opportunity to chat with Barbara Corcoran, Real Estate Mogul, Entrepreneur, and Shark Tank Judge. I asked her, “How have you overcome personal challenges in your own business and what advice do you have for other business owners?” Continue reading....

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Is your website slow? Compress & Optimize Images!

This WordPress plugin ShortPixel is an easy to use, lightweight, install-and-forget-about-it image optimization plugin that can compress all your past images and PDF documents with a single click. New images are automatically resized/rescaled and optimized on the fly, in the background. It’s also compatible with any gallery, slider or ecommerce plugins.

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How to Protect Your Small Business From Cybercrime with Kristin Judge

Check out this week’s Podcast: How to Protect Your Small Business From Cybercrime.

Kristin Judge joins me to discuss cybersecurity best practices and how you can protect yourself and your business from cybercriminals which is on the rise since the Coronavirus pandemic started. Kristin Judge is a speaker, cybersecurity expert, and a dedicated advocate against cybercrime. She is the CEO and President of Cyber Crime Support Network and the Principal and owner of Opcio Solutions, LLC, both of which strive to promote cyber safety. Additionally, Kristin is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Partnership Against Cybercrime Alliance. Before her current work, Kristin worked with the National Cyber Security Alliance as a program lead. For more information www.cybercrimesupport.org

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It’s 4th quarter now, and there’s still time to turn things around in your small business and recover before the end of 2020. Don't got it alone. Enroll today for my 12-week Fix Your Business Online Course. It can put you on the right path to rebuilding a strong business, with great people and a sales process that keeps your pipeline full. Don’t miss out. I’m even offering my loyal readers at $500 coupon, good through September 30th - enter FYB500 at checkout. Sign up today.

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Melinda F. Emerson, “SmallBizLady” is America’s #1 Small Business Expert. She is an internationally renowned keynote speaker on small business development, marketing and social selling. Melinda is also the president of the Quintessence Group, an award-winning marketing consulting firm based in Philadelphia, PA, serving Fortune 500 brands who target small business market. LinkedIn named her a Top Voice for 2019 in Small Business and Entrepreneurship. In addition to being a former NY Times columnist, she is frequently quoted by media organizations including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, MSNBC, CNBC and Fox News. She is the host of #Smallbizchat LIVE and The SmallBizChat Podcast. A prolific writer, Melinda has published more than 5000 articles on her blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com. Her small business advice is widely read reaching more than 3 million entrepreneurs each week online. She is the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, 2nd Edition. Her latest book is Fix Your Business, a 90 Day Plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.