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10 Must See Tips for New WordPress Webmasters

By on September 20, 2011

I wish I had found these tips for WordPress webmasters when I first started out, but I didn’t. Unfortunately nothing existed and I had to learn the hard way. Do not be sad for me though, as I know everything deeply and have made every mistake possible along the way.

Now for you I have these tips so you are not left wondering why your website is not making money or pushed to give up on your venture prematurely. Small and often obvious mistakes can cause a lot of stress for the inexperienced webmaster.

Of course many of you will know some of these tips but hopefully not all.

#1. Manifest what you want!

Negative thoughts neither helped anyone! Think about your goals and what you want to achieve and go on and do it! Put a picture of your goal on the wall in front of you and look at it every day. Believe in yourself and only takes steps will take you closer to your goal.

#2. Learn how to choose a keyword

This is actually part of search engine optimization but I think it is the most important aspect of the whole business. Without the right keyword, you can do as much search engine optimization as you like, but it will not get you anywhere.New wordpress webmasters

How do I know this? I know because I have made mistakes like this before. This can even apply to a local business website. Often these small business websites are optimized for their business name and not what people are searching for in relation to the product sold.

#3. Understand that a website can have thousands of keywords

This is something that people do not mention enough. You might go for an overall keyword for your website but each and every page and post also has its own set of keywords. New WordPress webmasters presume that they have to target their main keyword on all their posts on a website, but this is not true.

On this website for example, I am targeting “WordPress website builder” as my main keyword. All of my posts relate to building websites or using WordPress. Therefore they are all targeted towards my main keyword but it is not always that obvious. I do write posts with the main keywords in them, but the focus is always on related keywords as the post titles. I do not like to go off topic.

#4. WordPress Webmasters – Question your niche

Many people do the keyword research and come across a keyword that they assume is going to be great because of the search volume. There are other factors to be considered. For example the keyword might have many people searching for it because it is similar to a brand name. Another reason can be that the search is simply too broad.

Choosing the wrong niche for your first website may cause you to fail at blogging. This in turn may cause you to give up blogging altogether, therefore it is very important that you choose a good niche to start with.

Here are some questions WordPress Webmasters can ask:

  1. Why are people searching for your keyword?
  2. Does your keyword solve a problem or educate?
  3. Are people searching for this keyword likely to buy?
  4. Is your keyword clear-cut, or can it mean something else?

#4. Learn what you need and move on

People often set out to learn one little task and end up learning everything there is to know about it. For example you might want to know how to build an anchor text link, but you end up studying how to write HTML code. Stop yourself from going any further and just learn what you need. You do not need to know things in depth as starting a website from scratch is not a difficult process when you can use WordPress.

Get the information you need fast and get out. Do not make things more difficult than they really are and simply stick to the task at hand.

#5. Don’t wait to be perfect

If I had waited to become perfect at writing articles, creating videos, or even search engine optimization, I probably would not be where I am today. You do not need to be perfect to be successful, you need to take action to be successful. You can fail along the way that if you do not give it a go you will never learn.

My first Youtube video took me about 5 hours to make and it really didn’t get any better within those five hours. This video is still on my you tube channel today and I often go and look at it and laugh. People have criticized the for the way I sound, what I say, and anything else they can think of. Luckily I did not let this stop me and my videos only got better with experience. Well kind of. I still say “umm” for every second word and have to cut out swearing, but they are doing the job that I intended.

#6. Install WordPress on a Server

No this does not mean the free WordPress at WordPress.com or a free blog at blogger.com, it means you go out and buy website hosting and install WordPress on that. If you do not want to invest $100 in your business then you must not want to start a business.. In fact it is a lot cheaper than that and this is for an entire year. If you cannot afford this then you should just stick to your day job! (Do not cry now, it has to be said)

As you know I use Hostgator Hosting and for anyone needing hosting I have a discount coupon code for you: MITZSave25 This Hostgator coupon code will give you 25% off.. And if you are really having trouble installing WordPress I will help you by giving you free WordPress installation.

#7. Decide on a WordPress theme

WordPress is great as you can chop and change your theme at the press of a button; however this is not always great. Some people change their WordPress themes like they change their undies and this is a massive time waster. This is the same as learning how to write HTML when it is not necessary. Stop playing with things that do not contribute to your goal.

Constantly tweaking and customizing your WordPress theme is not getting the job done. This is why I like to choose the best WordPress theme for me, learn how to customize it thoroughly, then use it on as many blogs as I want. I do also recommend using a premium WordPress theme as there are many benefits such as ongoing support and a network of people using the same theme.

#8. Learn search engine optimization

You can build a website, make it look fantastic and add great content, but you will need search engine optimization to be really successful. I know you are all probably sick of me talking about this subject. You cannot just hope that the search engines realize what your content is about and by performing search engine optimization, this will let them know exactly what is on your website. If you browse through the posts on this website you will find many articles about SEO tips that I have written from my own experiences.

 #9. Never paste content from MS Word

Many new Webmasters make this awful mistake. They simply copy and article straight from a Microsoft word document and paste it directly into the WordPress post editor. This not only adds weird code into your HTML section, but it can cause crazy errors and problems. Look around and you will see a small button on the post menu that looks like a MS Word icon. When you press on this a box will appear for you to paste your MS word text into to clean it up first.

Wordpress Webmasters

 #10. Place images wisely

Some themes do not allow you to post an image at the top of the post, while others will. This can cause problems when WordPress is trying to grab an excerpt but sees an image first. Also if your image has a caption, WordPress might grab the caption and put that in your excerpt.

You need to also take care that you do not place an image where an add or something else is meant to be. For example I have an Adsense ad set to be added to every post, under the post title, on the left with text wrapped. If I also place an image there this will slow my page loading time down because to things want to go into the one spot.

#11. Copying code into WordPress

Just say you have copied some html code from a website, you should not then simply paste this into the WordPress post HTML section. The actual code needs to be cleaned much like the MS Word text did. You can do this by pasting the HTML code into a Windows notepad file and then copy it from there to paste into your WordPress post. When you think that wierd things are happening to your code and it does not look like it should, try cleaning it first.

#12. Less is Better

KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid! new WordPress Webmasters often try to have everything and do everything that experienced Webmasters do. Knowing about less, but knowing what you know thoroughly, will see success for you quicker. Knowing a little bit about everything is not a good strategy.

When it comes to Internet marketing varies so much of everything. There are so many ways to monetize your website, there are so many different types of websites to make, and there are so many different designs to use.

Why not start with a website like the recent WordPress website case study I recently posted about?

 

 

About mitz

My name is Milica Pantic but everyone calls me Mitz. I am addicted to internet marketing and making money online. Who wouldn't want to live that life? I started out with one website as a hobby and now have over 20. Building websites and making money online is not that hard. You have to actually take action to make money...that is the biggest hurdle! :)

67 Comments

  1. Bernhard

    December 5, 2011 at 11:01 pm

    WordPress is perfect for blogger. You have a lot of themes and you can choose under a lot of useful plugins. There is also a great number of helpful information about blogging with wordpress.
    Bernhard recently posted..Transportbox Hunde Katzen Flugbox Hundebox Kunststoff von Gulliver Drybed (dofollow)

    Reply

  2. Rahul

    October 29, 2011 at 6:29 am

    For me the most difficult thing is theme selection, I do have couple of blogs running the default wordpress theme :P
    Rahul recently posted..Get Hostgator Black Friday Coupon Code 80% Off Today Only! (dofollow)

    Reply

    • mitz

      October 29, 2011 at 8:23 am

      Hi Rahul
      I have got a few themes like Elegant themes (60 themes) and I have thesis and a few others…I stick to these so I know what I am doing.

      Reply

      • Rahul

        October 29, 2011 at 4:14 pm

        I too have subscription for elegant themes, theme junkie, genesis but still the themes provided by them are too complicated, specially the elegant themes one.. Even I liked the K2 theme..
        Rahul recently posted..Get Hostgator Black Friday Coupon Code 80% Off Today Only! (dofollow)

        Reply

  3. Noel Addison

    October 11, 2011 at 9:43 pm

    Following the KISS principle is very important! It is advantageous both on the part of the web master and the website user. Keeping your design simple makes it easier for you edit and alter things in your website while on your visitor’s part it is easier for them to use and navigate your website.
    Noel Addison recently posted..Selling Ice Cubes to Eskimos (dofollow)

    Reply

  4. Mary

    October 10, 2011 at 5:31 pm

    Never paste content from MS Word is one of the most common mistakes of others. Based from my experience, some problems of directly copying contents from MS Word are the font size, font style and spacing. These are just 3 common problems I used to experienced before that’s why I make sure that everything is saved in a notepad.
    Mary recently posted..How To Slow Down Wrinkles And Keep Your Skin Younger (dofollow)

    Reply

    • mitz

      October 10, 2011 at 9:08 pm

      Hi Mary
      Yes this is such a simple thing that is hardly ever mentioned as people presume everyone knows. :)

      Reply

      • Mary

        October 25, 2011 at 5:03 pm

        haha yeah! I’m actually seeing some unrecognized text or irregularities of appearances on some posts of other bloggers but they don’t even mind it at all. Indeed a great point that we must always remember!
        Mary recently posted..Daily Anti-Aging Skin Care (dofollow)

        Reply

  5. Ricardus

    October 10, 2011 at 11:47 am

    If you guys are using plugins for SEO, I highly recommend WordPress SEO from Yoast. It’s very comprehensive and it’s good for beginners as well.
    Ricardus recently posted..Oktoberfest with 50% off for Freedom Plan (dofollow)

    Reply

  6. Marty

    October 9, 2011 at 7:30 pm

    Great tips here. Very useful for any starting blogger. I wish I found this article four years ago
    Marty recently posted..Best Android Browsers for Your Smartphone (dofollow)

    Reply

  7. Mark

    October 7, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    These tips would be invaluable for a beginner and I wish I’d had them when I started my WordPess site. By following them a beginner can avoid a lot of wasted time and effort. It would also be a good idea for the more experienced webmaster to refer to them now and again as well to make sure they are on track. I do this with my own notes, but I’ll be referring to these tips as well now. Thanks a lot.

    Reply

  8. Tomek

    October 6, 2011 at 11:06 pm

    Hey, Mitz!

    I’m a newbie blogger and these tips are really helpful for me. I appreciate you took the time to share tips with those that are just starting their online journey. Thanks, Tomek
    Tomek recently posted..Whey Protein Is All The Rage (dofollow)

    Reply

    • mitz

      October 7, 2011 at 6:17 am

      Hi Tomek
      Welcome! Glad you find this useful! :)

      Reply

  9. Gracelyn

    October 5, 2011 at 10:45 pm

    I am a newbbee in blogging, And your tips are great and it is so detailed that for someone like me would really understand. Thanks for your shared knowledge.
    Gracelyn recently posted..Ways To Boost Fertility (dofollow)

    Reply

  10. Nawaz

    October 1, 2011 at 1:34 am

    It is good not wait to be perfect in niche. One should start work at any level of perfection. As time passes, one will be too mature in niche.
    Nawaz recently posted..Modern Jewelry (dofollow)

    Reply

  11. Rammesh

    September 30, 2011 at 6:52 pm

    Great tips MItz, I agree with you and with many comments above that keywords selection plays very important roles to succeed in web business. I love Google webmaster tool features where you can monitor our target keywords position on Google SERPs and can do necessary optimization. Thanks for sharing useful info Mitz.
    Rammesh recently posted..Why You Must Know The SEO Secret to Make More Money

    Reply

    • mitz

      October 1, 2011 at 12:32 am

      Hi Rammesh
      Yes I love visiting Google webmaster tools too. You can find valuable information there! :)

      Reply

  12. Jean

    September 28, 2011 at 7:13 pm

    Good points. It is very important to choose the right keyword. One tip I can suggest to new users is to go for a long-tail keyword if your chosen niche is a highly competitive one. This will give you better odds of ranking higher in SEO. If your niche is a unique one without too much popularity, short-tail keywords are alright.

    -Jean
    Jean recently posted..The risks of driving on worn tires (dofollow)

    Reply

  13. Ifham khan

    September 28, 2011 at 2:25 am

    In my opinion choosing the right keyword with low competition and doing proper seo makes a wordpress blog perfect

    Reply

  14. Isha Singh

    September 27, 2011 at 1:57 am

    Hi mitz,

    I think choosing any keyword for blogging with interest and proper understanding of SEO with time can compete with high ranked blogs. And SEO can be learned with experience and following proper SEO articles!
    Isha Singh recently posted..Search Engine Optimization : Bing vs Google

    Reply

  15. Saka

    September 24, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    Hi Mitz, thanks for the advices! I choose my keywords : simple blogging tips and give me better results. Yes we mus realized that a website/blog may have thousand keywords, choosing the easy one for your blog is better.

    Reply

  16. Smith

    September 24, 2011 at 5:45 am

    In this article the most attractive phrase for me is “Negative thoughts neither helped anyone”.This is lesson for social life and professional life. You have explained the tips that are usually achieved from experience.
    Smith recently posted..Steam showers | steam saunas | steam cabins | steam shower

    Reply

  17. Abhishek

    September 24, 2011 at 2:25 am

    Well i am new to blogging and these kinda tips are really helpful to me.Thank u so much.
    Abhishek recently posted..Samsung MV800 Flipscreen Camera

    Reply

  18. Rick

    September 23, 2011 at 7:30 am

    I’ve been working online for three years now and I think that choosing the right niche with the right keywords is where most of my failures have come from. In some niches, visitors just don’t buy things.. they are just looking. And, once you find a niche where visitors do buy things, choosing the right keywords that will generate you enough traffic is important.

    Thanks for these 12 great tips…I’ll be back!

    Reply

    • mitz

      September 23, 2011 at 9:16 am

      Ah you are the only one that noticed I had 12 tips and not 10! I was waiting for people to tell me I could not count! :)

      Reply

      • Rick

        September 24, 2011 at 12:17 am

        Yes, I had seen that you had an error in your title. Oh well, I’m glad you had twelve tips instead of ten because they were all good tips…And, I also told you I would be back…many times! Thanks!

        Reply

  19. Richard Brown

    September 23, 2011 at 7:16 am

    #9 is really going to be a time saver for me. A few month back, I sat down for over 5 hours trying to figure out why my site was showing hyphens and quotation marks as weird characters on some browsers. I was never able to figure it out, but after reading #9 I think I know what I need to start doing! Thanks for that!
    Richard Brown recently posted..Financial Planning Tools You Can Choose From

    Reply

    • mitz

      September 25, 2011 at 9:09 am

      Hi Richard
      This tip seems simple to many people but not to others. I know hundreds of people that did not know this when I mentioned it to them… That is why I had to add it in here! :)
      mitz recently posted..Top 10 Firefox Add-ons to Get Blogging Done (dofollow)

      Reply

  20. Richard

    September 22, 2011 at 11:32 pm

    I believe the newer MS Word has a button to send to a blog. But if someone is on windows, I think livewriter is a way better option than MS Word and it’s free. On a Mac, there’s not as many options for free blogging software, but one can cut and past from textedit without weird html code showing up.
    Richard recently posted..Make Money When Visitors Leave Your Site

    Reply

    • mitz

      September 23, 2011 at 9:07 am

      I guess its a different situation for Mac users. Thanks for adding that Richard. I am not too sure about WLWriter though. I think it is a security risk. May have been fixed though???

      Reply

  21. Albert

    September 21, 2011 at 8:23 pm

    Awesome “for dummies” article!!!
    You have focused on what is really important!!
    Keyword research,design,hosting and some SEO techniques applied.
    Of course, as Micah wrote,content is the king!
    Analysing if a niche is worth money it’s also a must
    Albert recently posted..Social Networking Websites – How to Find Them

    Reply

    • mitz

      September 25, 2011 at 9:13 am

      Good tips Albert! :)

      Reply

  22. Toby

    September 22, 2011 at 1:05 am

    KeepItSimpleStupid. This is the only thing I remember from my “Economics in Energetics” :) ) Thanks for reminding :) )

    Reply

  23. Berna

    September 21, 2011 at 11:57 pm

    I’m so interested in Internet Marketing but as new in this business I find it kinda difficult. Thanks for sharing this tips. II hope It will work out for me. Looking forward to read from you soon.
    Berna recently posted..Trouble Getting Pregnant

    Reply

  24. Mark

    September 21, 2011 at 8:32 pm

    LOL! Mitz, I get submissions to my article directories all of the time where people copied and pasted from MS word.

    It literally destroys the article and fills it with tons of “markup garbage” that, in many cases, makes the article look horrible.

    Great suggestion. I think I’m going to Tweet it…;)

    Mark
    Mark recently posted..Social Media Optimization – Is It Worth The Effort? Nope.

    Reply

    • mitz

      September 21, 2011 at 10:55 pm

      Yes i know..i get guest bloggers on other sites doing the same thing…I go to edit their post and realize I have to strip the code out and start again…Really annoying and a big time waster.. Thankfully bloggers on this site know what they are doing… Anyway we all have to live and learn.

      Reply

      • Mark

        September 21, 2011 at 11:39 pm

        I am sure you know this already, but you can accelerate the process exponentially by copying it from MS word and pasting it to MSNotepad and then copying it from there to your blog.

        It strips all of the markup in one step…;)

        Mark

        Reply

        • mitz

          September 22, 2011 at 12:26 am

          Yes that’s how I do it but I guess its worse for me when there are step by step images in between..then the text has to be pasted into the right area..

          Reply

  25. Mark Testa

    September 21, 2011 at 8:03 pm

    Some of the tips apply even to people from other profession like #5 not waiting to be perfect. The learning process is one of trials and errors from which we learn so if we hesitate and step back without trying, we may never learn the fact. It was interesting to have read about what all tips webmaster should keep in mind.

    Reply

    • Reena

      September 21, 2011 at 11:54 pm

      You are so right Mark. Thanks for sharing your reply with us.
      Reena recently posted..Laptop huren

      Reply

  26. Ricardus

    September 21, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    Learn how to choose the keywords is very essential. Google robots now rank via your seo description. If your description and the overall data in your site have the keywords that you want Google to be able to analyze more than 50 times, chances are your site will lean towards that niche that you blog and tweak

    Reply

  27. ron

    September 21, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    I always find something very informational from your post, like this one.. As said before Mitz, I’m just starting to learn stuff with web design or web master and seo.. where i find SEO as a hustle before, but thinking about it and considering what you’ve advised to me before, SEO really does help myself development if i read quality post related to my career just like most of your post. And just want to let you know that I’m almost done with my client’s male escort service site which i used wordpress as the CSM and as what you suggested. I guess I’m doing better and better with wordpress, however my clients wants me to jump into joomla, which I’m okay with just for the sake of learning more things and not just sticking to one. However i find joomla a bit more complicated and it does took more time customizing it compared to wordpress, where its really so handy for me hardcoding the css,header.php, index.php, page.php and everything that needs to be tweaked to have the site look elegant and function. Thanks again for your advised mits, more power to you and good bless. I’m thinking about considering the KISS strategy, i just hope my client is cool with it..lolz!
    ron recently posted..Holla Ladies

    Reply

    • mitz

      September 25, 2011 at 9:24 am

      I hate Joomla…Sorry to say… But I clearly love WordPress as I have a website about it! :)

      Reply

  28. Micah

    September 21, 2011 at 2:53 am

    You’ve got some great tips here.

    WordPress is an excellent platform, and with a little basic knowledge, it’s really not all that hard to run a successful blog.

    It’s the simple stuff like basic keyword research, on page seo and backlinking that can make it all come together.

    Of course learning to write quality content if probably more important that anything :)
    Micah recently posted..9 Reasons Joining Network Marketing Is Like Getting Abducted By Aliens.

    Reply

    • mitz

      September 21, 2011 at 10:18 am

      Ha ha ha…did I forget to mention great content! :) Yep that should have been number one!

      Reply

      • Ana

        September 22, 2011 at 4:12 pm

        I was just about to say that! LOL!

        Mitz, as always your post is excellent. I like the fact that you say it as it is. If you don’t want to invest, then you mustn’t start a business. That is so true.
        Ana recently posted..Thesis Theme

        Reply

  29. Robert Benwell

    September 21, 2011 at 1:05 am

    Hello Mitz,
    Another great post. That”s why I keep on coming back here. I agree with all the things that you’ve discussed. In order to be a Webmaster you must know all these things.In additional,when choosing a Keyword,it should be catchy to the eyes of the readers.You should have the right attitude and your topic should be filed of your interest. Looking forward for more..

    Reply

  30. Priya

    September 20, 2011 at 8:17 pm

    Understanding of SEO is really important if you want to be a good wordpress webmaster, If a webmaster know what points are essential in a site for SEO purpose then he/she can easily make required adjustment which reduces the work load of SEO.
    Priya recently posted..Goa Holiday Packages

    Reply

    • mitz

      September 20, 2011 at 10:52 pm

      Hi Priya
      I love SEO and probably go on about it too much…Its just that it starts there…

      Reply

  31. Aanchal

    September 20, 2011 at 8:14 pm

    Keyword selection is really essential in all kind of website, without choosing right keywords you can’t expect any positive result.
    Aanchal recently posted..Website Design in India

    Reply

    • mitz

      September 20, 2011 at 10:54 pm

      Hi aanchal
      Yes it is true, keyword selection is important! And your right about choosing the correct keywords to expect good results.

      Reply

    • Dave

      September 21, 2011 at 1:43 am

      For me, this was the best tip on the list. Making sure that each page has a focused list of keywords that fit under the overall keyword theme of the website is the most critical. Map it out in a spreadsheet and make sure that all your keywords make sense and use the Google Adword keyword suggestion tool to find keywords that you may have forgotten!

      Reply

      • mitz

        September 21, 2011 at 10:22 am

        i have some spreadsheets I use. One for each website with many sheets within it for different things…I have a page for keywords, posts that I have done that target keywords, and keywords I need to do, and more….The list goes on…
        I also have the main posts listed with a graph of their rankings…all for each website… This is the most valuable information I have… I even have listed where I guest posted and where the links point to…LOL I am crazy!

        Reply

  32. Liane Markus

    September 21, 2011 at 12:31 am

    All the webmasters out there will surely receive great benefits from the tips that you have given here. with this various tips, webmasters will be able to improve and develop new skills which they can use with their work. In addition, the strategies that were shared will really be effective if they will be able to come up with a perfect decision making.
    Liane Markus recently posted..how to give a blowjob

    Reply

  33. welles

    September 20, 2011 at 10:27 pm

    Mitz! i agree with your point regarding Keyword Selection, in fact it is the most important and most crucial step. in this regard, one must have a thorough research for finding the most suitable keyword. revisit your own website only for the purpose of keyword research, visit competitors websites, use keyword analysis tools like Analytics or Spyfu. Interact with customers and find keywords in their comments, suggestions and queries.

    Reply

  34. Zhyra Bonete

    September 20, 2011 at 10:06 pm

    I do agree with you that Internet marketing varies so much everything. And I think a good wordpress webmaster is empathetic to the visitors needs. Making sure that the content is related to the keyword or keyword phrase because it is really important.
    Zhyra Bonete recently posted..ייעוץ זוגי

    Reply

  35. Raj

    September 20, 2011 at 9:44 pm

    I guess new web-masters spend too much time perfecting their content and website looks. While they are important, it is still ok if the website is not perfect during its initial stages. They ought to be concentrating more on the Content update frequency as much as their design. Also, getting feedback from readers (including friends, family members) can be very useful to spot certain design flaws that web masters are prone to miss.
    Raj recently posted..How To Get Paid To Blog: It Is Easier Than You Think It Might Be

    Reply

    • mitz

      September 25, 2011 at 9:17 am

      You are right Raj!
      Look at this website…Not that pretty at all. It just has a basic Thesis theme on it..Of course I will fix it but the website is still pumping with the things that really matter!
      mitz recently posted..5 Things you Should Look for in Premium Themes (dofollow)

      Reply

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