Do you want to connect your website to Yandex webmaster tools? Webmaster tools like search engine console from Google and Bing webmaster help you optimize your site, monitor the traffic, manage robot.txt, check site errors and more. In this article, we will share how to add your WordPress site in Yandex webmaster tools to monitor your search engine traffic.
What is Yandex?
Yandex is a popular search engine like Google and Bing based in Russia. You can optimize your site for SEO in Yandex to get more visitors from Russia.
Yandex has a range of tools like generalized search engine, image search, email, videos, maps and more. It also has webmaster tools to help you rank your site, monitor traffic stats, search queries, keywords, and more.
Before we start, you would need a Yandex Webmaster tools account to connect your site. Once you have created your account, you can login to your WordPress site to configure Yandex webmaster tools with Yoast SEO plugin.
Let’s take a look on how you can add your site in Yandex webmaster tools and start optimizing it right away.
Step 1: Create an Account at Yandex
First thing you need to do is login to your Yandex webmaster tools account. If you don’t have a Yandex account, then you can create one using this link.
After creating the account, you’ll see the Yandex Webmaster page. On this page, you need to click on the ‘+‘ button in top bar to add your site in Yandex.
In the site address field, you need to add your website’s full domain name and click on the Add button.
Note: If your main domain uses ‘www’ in the URL, then you need to add it before the domain (for example www.wpbeginner.com)
On the next page, you will be asked to verify website ownership by adding meta content in your WordPress site. Go ahead and copy the content code from this page because you will need it in Step 2.
Step 2: Login to WordPress Admin Area and Add the Code
Now you need to login to your WordPress admin area and add the verification code in the Yoast SEO webmaster settings.
Simply head over to the SEO » General area and click on the Webmaster tools tab.
Next, you need to paste the code in the Yandex verification code field and click on the Save Changes button.
After adding the code in your WordPress site, you need to go back to the Yandex Webmaster tools page where you copied the code from and click on the Check button to verify ownership.
After successful verification, it will show your username that has the rights to manage your site in Yandex Webmaster tools. You can also delegate the rights to other users by adding their username and clicking on the Delegate rights button.
Now that your site is verified and added in Yandex Webmaster tools, you can see traffic stats, search errors, search queries, internal and external links, site information, robot.txt analysis, audit pages for mobile, and more on the Yandex dashboard. You can use the menu on left side of the screen to find any information that you may need.
Yandex Webmaster tools have options for site optimization that are filtered from troubleshooting to important settings like robot.txt and .htaccess. You can further optimize your robot.txt for SEO separately and regularly perform WordPress maintenance tasks to keep your site up to date.
We hope this article helped you learn how to add your WordPress site in Yandex webmaster tools. You may also want to see our list of best WordPress SEO plugins and tools that you should use to rank your site in search engines.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Are you looking to use FOMO and social proof notifications on your WordPress site?
FOMO, short for fear of missing out, is basically a marketing technique used to create anticipation and excitement for a product. It uses a basic psychology principle to help customers make a buying decision faster.
In this article, we will show you how to properly use FOMO on your WordPress website to increase conversions and sales.
What is FOMO and How Does it help with Conversions?
FOMO or ‘fear of missing out’ is a psychological term that describes anxiety about missing out on something exciting and trendy.
As a WordPress website owner, you can take advantage of this human behavior in your marketing strategy and improve your conversions.
The concept of FOMO is not new. It’s actually been used by marketers even before the arrival of the internet. However, with online marketing, FOMO has become far easier to implement and much more effective.
For example, if you run an online store, then you can create anticipation about an upcoming sale and limited-time offers by adding social proof to your landing pages.
With that said, let’s take a look at how to easily add FOMO to your WordPress site. We will show you two techniques that we have successfully used on our own websites with incredible results.
Method 1: Adding FOMO with Social Proof by Using TrustPulse
People feel more comfortable with their buying decision when they know others have also bought the same product or service and had a good experience with it.
This is why smart business owners use social proof in their marketing.
TrustPulse allows you to display real-time user activity notifications on your website, such as products purchased, forms submitted, etc.
To get started, you’ll need to install and activate the TrustPulse plugin on your website. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
The plugin helps you connect your WordPress site to the TrustPulse app.
Upon activation, click on the TrustPulse menu from the WordPress admin sidebar and click the ‘Get started for free’ button to continue.
This will take you to the TrustPulse website, where you can sign up for a free account. The free plan is good for up to 500 sessions per month.
Once you sign up, you are ready to create your first campaign. Simply click on the ‘Create Campaign’ button to start your first FOMO campaign.
Next, you will need to provide a title for your campaign and select your website.
If you scroll down, then you can choose a campaign type.
TrustPulse offers 4 different campaign types to choose from.
These include showing recent activities, the number of people taking action, visitor analytics, or a static notification with helpful information.
After selecting a campaign type, don’t forget to click the ‘Next Step’ button.
You can now head to the ‘Appearance & Design’ tab and choose language and appearance options for your campaign. You can change the position, badge image, style, and more.
Once done, click on the next step to continue.
Next, you need to choose how you want to capture the activity.
We recommend using ‘AutoMagic,’ which allows you to select the activity that matches different conditions. For example, you can select your checkout page to automatically capture eCommerce activity.
You can also use Zapier to capture activities from 1000+ integrations.
Once done, click on the next step button to continue.
Next, you need to set up the display rules. You can display the badge on all pages or specific pages on your site. You can also choose the delay between notifications, run them as a loop, and enable mobile notifications.
After that, click on the ‘Publish’ tab at the top.
In the next step, simply click the ‘Launch your TrustPulse campaigns’ button.
Don’t forget to click the ‘Save’ button to store your changes and then exit the campaign builder.
You can now visit your website to see your FOMO campaign in action.
Method 2: Adding FOMO Countdown Timers with OptinMonster
We have all seen marketers using ‘Urgency’ to get customers’ attention. Whether it is your local grocery store or a big name-brand website, it is one of the oldest marketing techniques, which works just as effectively online.
Basically, you show users an offer with a sense of urgency, which triggers the fear of missing out on a valuable deal and helps users make a purchasing decision.
Urgency hacks can be used with limited-time offers, seasonal sale campaigns, one-time discounts, and more. To learn more, see this article on using urgency to hack conversion rates with proven methods.
The best way to add urgency timers in WordPress or WooCommerce is by using OptinMonster. It is the most popular conversion optimization and lead generation software that helps businesses turn potentially abandoning website visitors into subscribers and customers.
First, you will need to sign up for an OptinMonster account. It is a paid tool, and you will need at least the ‘Basic’ plan to use their Floating bar campaigns.
This plugin is a connector between your WordPress site and the OptinMonster application.
Upon activation, click on the ‘Connect Your Existing Account’ button on the OptinMonster welcome screen.
Next, you should see a new window open where you’ll be asked to connect your website.
Go ahead and click the ‘Connect to WordPress’ button.
After connecting your website, you will need to go to OptinMonster » Campaigns from your WordPress dashboard.
From here, click on the ‘Create Your First Campaign’ button to continue.
This will launch the OptinMonster campaign builder.
First, you will need to select an optin type and then select a theme. We will use a ‘Floating bar’ campaign with the ‘Countdown’ theme.
Next, you will be asked to choose a name for your campaign.
Once that’s done, simply click the ‘Start Building’ button.
On the next screen, you’ll see the drag-and-drop tool, where you can simply point and click to design your campaign.
You’ll see a live preview of your campaign in the right panel and a bunch of customization blocks and options in the left panel.
With the floating bar countdown campaign, the preview will appear near the bottom of the screen for you, just as it does for the users.
Go ahead and click on the countdown timer in the live preview to set the countdown style and end date. You can use two types of countdown timers: Static and Dynamic.
The static timer remains the same for all your users, while the Dynamic timer changes based on user behavior on your website.
For this tutorial, we will be using the static timer. Since we are using a floating bar with a countdown theme, we can move the floating bar to the bottom or the top.
You can just point and click to edit the text in your floating bar. You can add a coupon code, add links to special offers, and style it any way you want.
Next, you can go to the ‘Display Rule’ tab at the top. Here, you’ll see different options for showing your campaign.
For instance, you can select the ‘Time on Page’ option and show the floating bar after a user spends at least 5 seconds on your website.
Below that, you also get to select the location for your campaign. We’ll use the default setting where the countdown timer floating bar will appear on all the pages on your website.
Once you are satisfied, don’t forget to click on the ‘Save’ button at the top.
After that, head to the ‘Publish’ tab. Now, change the Publish Status from Draft to Publish.
Don’t forget to click the ‘Save’ button and close the campaign builder.
You will now see the WordPress Output settings for your recently created campaign.
By default, your campaign will be disabled, and you just have to click on the Status dropdown menu to change it from Pending to Published.
Once that’s done, click the ‘Save Changes’ button.
You can now visit your website to see your countdown timer FOMO campaign in action.
Tracking Your Conversions in WordPress
FOMO techniques work really well for conversions, but how do you keep track of their performance? Without tracking, you wouldn’t know how many sales or leads were generated because of these campaigns.
The easiest way to use Google Analytics in WordPress is through MonsterInsights. It is the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress and makes it super easy to track conversions on your website.
For instance, it has an eCommerce addon, which helps you track your eCommerce performance without leaving the WordPress dashboard. Plus, you can also track form conversions, link clicks, and more with MonsterInsights.
We hope this article helped you learn how to add FOMO to your WordPress website and boost conversions. You may also want to see our list of must-have WordPress plugins for business websites and how to start a WordPress blog.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Do you want to embed a Facebook video in WordPress?
The videos that you post to Facebook also make great content for your website. By embedding a Facebook video feed, you can keep your site fresh and interesting while also growing your Facebook following.
In this article, we’ll show you an easy way to embed Facebook videos in WordPress.
Why Add Facebook Videos in WordPress?
Videos are a great way to connect with your audience and keep them engaged. This is true no matter whether you’re running a personal blog or a business website.
Creating engaging and entertaining videos takes time and effort so if you’re posting videos to Facebook, then it makes sense to re-use them on your WordPress website.
By linking your website to your Facebook account, any new videos that you post to Facebook will appear on your website automatically. In this way, you can keep your website fresh with very little day-to-day effort.
Embedded videos can even help grow your Facebook page. If website visitors see lots of interesting videos and playlists then they’ll want to follow you on Facebook. This can get you some extra followers and more engagement.
With that being said, let’s see how you can easily embed a Facebook video in WordPress.
Installing a Facebook Video Plugin in WordPress
The easiest way to embed a Facebook video in WordPress is by using the Custom Facebook Feed Pro plugin.
In this guide, we’ll be using the pro version of Smash Balloon as it allows you to embed videos in WordPress including HD, 360o, and Facebook Live videos.
Smash Balloon Pro also lets you show photos in a custom Facebook feed, and display the total number of likes, shares, comments, and reactions below each post. However, if you’re just starting out and have a limited budget, then there’s also a free version you can use.
Upon activation, head over to Facebook Feed » Settings and enter your license key into the ‘License Key’ field.
You’ll find this information under your account on the Smash Balloon website.
After entering the key, click on the ‘Activate’ button.
Connect Your Facebook Page or Group to WordPress
Smash Balloon Custom Facebook Feed allows you to embed videos from Facebook pages and groups. You can even show the videos in a lightbox popup so people can watch the full video directly on your WordPress website.
The first step is connecting your Facebook page or group to WordPress, so go to Facebook Feed » All Feeds and then click on ‘Add New.’
Smash Balloon lets you show posts from your Facebook timeline, photo albums, Facebook statuses, events, and more.
Since we want to embed Facebook videos in WordPress, you’ll need to select ‘Videos’ and then click on ‘Next.’
Now, you need to select the Facebook page or group where you’ll get the videos from.
To do this, click on ‘Add New.’
Next, choose whether you want to show videos from a Facebook page or group.
Once you’ve done that, click on ‘Connect to Facebook.’
This opens a popup where you can log into your Facebook account and choose the pages or groups that you want to use with Smash Balloon.
After that, click on ‘Next.’
Now, Facebook will show all the information that Smash Balloon will have access to, and the actions it can perform.
To restrict Smash Balloon’s access to your Facebook account, simply click to disable any of the switches.
Just be aware that this may affect the videos that you can embed on your WordPress blog or website so we recommend leaving all the switches enabled.
When you’re happy with how the permissions are set up, click on ‘Done.’
After a few moments, you should see a message confirming that you’ve connected your WordPress website to Facebook.
With that done, you’re ready to click on ‘OK.’
Smash Balloon will now return you to the WordPress dashboard automatically.
How to Embed Facebook Videos in WordPress
At this point, you’ll see a popup with the Facebook group or page that you just linked to your website. Simply select the radio button next to the page or group you want to use and then click on the ‘Add’ button.
If you accidentally closed the popup, don’t worry. You can simply refresh the page to reopen the popup.
Once you’ve done that, WordPress will take you back to the Facebook Feed » All Feeds page automatically. Just like before, click on ‘Add New,’ select ‘Videos’ and then click on the ‘Next’ button.
Now, select your Facebook page or group, and click on ‘Next.’
On this screen, you can choose the template that you want to use for the video feed.
All of these templates are fully customizable so you can fine-tune the design depending on how you want to show the Facebook videos on your website.
We’re using the ‘Default’ template, but you can choose any template you want. After making your selection, click on ‘Next.’
After that, you can choose whether to show all the videos from your Facebook page or group or just the videos from a specific playlist.
If you choose ‘Show from a specific playlist,’ then you’ll need to enter that playlist’s URL.
Once you’ve made a decision, go ahead and click on the ‘Next’ button.
Smash Balloon will now create a feed based on your source and the template you’ve chosen. This is a good start, but you may want to fine-tune how the videos appear on your site.
How to Customize Your Embedded Facebook Videos
The Smash Balloon Custom Facebook Feed plugin gives you lots of ways to customize how the videos appear on your website. That being said, it’s worth taking a look at these settings.
In the WordPress dashboard, go to Facebook Feed » All Feeds. Here, find the video feed you just created and click on the ‘Edit’ button next to it, which looks like a small pencil.
This opens the Smash Balloon feed editor, which shows a preview of your Facebook video feed to the right.
On the left-hand side, you’ll see all the different settings you can use to customize how these videos appear on your WordPress website. Most of these settings are self-explanatory, but we’ll quickly cover the major areas.
If you want to change the template, then click on ‘Template.’
Then, select the ‘Change’ button.
This opens a popup showing all the different templates you can use for your video feed.
Simply select the design you want to use instead, and then click on ‘Update.’
The next setting is ‘Feed Type,’ which allows you to show different content in your feed. For example, you might decide to show photos, albums, or events instead of videos.
Since we want to embed Facebook videos, you’ll typically want to ignore this area.
Next, click on ‘Feed Layout.’
Here, you can choose between different layouts, such as masonry and grid, and change the feed height.
As you make changes, the preview will update automatically so you can try different settings to see what looks the best.
By default, Smash Balloon will show the same number of videos on desktop computers and mobile devices such as smartphones.
You can preview how your videos will look on desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones using the row of buttons in the upper-right corner.
Mobile devices usually have smaller screens and may struggle to process lots of large, high-resolution videos. Visitors may also be using their mobile data rather than free Wi-Fi.
With that being said, you may want to show fewer videos on smartphones and tablets. To do this, simply type a different number into the ‘Mobile’ field under ‘Number of Posts.’
By default, the Facebook feed shows fewer columns on smartphones and tablets, compared to desktop computers. This helps all your videos fit comfortably on smaller screens.
You can change the number of columns that Smash Balloon uses on tablets, mobiles, and desktop computers using the ‘Columns’ settings.
The next settings page is ‘Color Scheme.’
Smash Balloon uses the colors inherited from your WordPress theme by default, but on this screen, you can switch to a ‘Light’ or ‘Dark’ color scheme instead.
Smash Balloon can add a header to your feed, which is your Facebook profile picture and the name of the page or group. This lets visitors know where the embedded videos come from, and where they can find this content on Facebook.
To add this section, click on ‘Header’ in the left-hand menu.
You can then click on the ‘Enable’ toggle.
After adding a header you can change how this area looks, including hiding or adding your Facebook profile picture, changing the size of the bio text, and more.
If you want to remove the header completely, then click to turn off the ‘Enable’ toggle.
By default, Smash Balloon shows the title of each video. If you want to hide the title, then select ‘Posts’ from the main Smash Balloon editor menu.
Then, go ahead and click on ‘Post Style.’
On this screen, you can hide the video titles by clicking on the ‘Show Video Title’ slider.
This can be useful if you haven’t added titles to all your videos, or your titles don’t make sense outside of Facebook.
On this screen, you can also hide or show the video descriptions. For example, you may use these descriptions to provide extra information about the video.
To add the description, simply click to enable the ‘Show Video Description’ switch.
By default, Smash Balloon doesn’t add the Facebook ‘like’ button to your video feed. If visitors like your embedded videos then they may want to follow you on Facebook.
With that being said, you may want to add a ‘like’ button to the feed, by selecting ‘Like Box’ from the editor’s left-hand menu.
After that, simply click on the ‘Enable’ button so that it turns blue.
Smash Balloon adds this button below your video feed, but you can change this by opening the ‘Position’ dropdown and choosing ‘Top.’
On this screen, you can also change how the ‘like’ section looks including changing its width, showing how many people follow you on Facebook, adding a custom call to action, and more.
When you’re happy with how the button looks, you can move on to the next settings page by selecting ‘Load More Button.’
The Load More button encourages visitors to scroll through more of your video feed, so Smash Balloon adds it to your embedded Facebook feed by default.
Since it’s such an important button, you may want to customize this button by changing its background color, hover state, label, and more.
Another option is to remove the button completely, by clicking the ‘Enable’ toggle. For example, you might remove this button and then encourage visitors to check out your Facebook page in order to see more of your videos.
By default, Smash Balloon allows visitors to watch your Facebook videos without leaving your WordPress website.
They can simply click on any video thumbnail to open it in a lightbox, as you can see in the following image
Visitors can scroll through the videos in your feed using the arrows.
If they want to like a photo, leave a comment, or share the video to their page, then they can click on the ‘View on Facebook’ link.
There are a few different ways that you can customize Smash Balloon’s default lightbox.
To see your options, click on ‘Lightbox’ in the left-hand menu.
Here, you can change the color of the lightbox’s text, links, and background colors.
The lightbox feature allows visitors to watch your videos in a popup. If you prefer, then you can disable the lightbox so that all your videos play as small thumbnails, embedded inside the page content.
In this way, you can encourage people to visit your Facebook page, to see the full-size video. To disable the lightbox, simply click on the ‘Enable’ toggle to turn it from blue to grey.
When you’re happy with how the video feed looks, don’t forget to click on ‘Save.’
You’re now ready to embed the Smash Balloon feed in your website.
How to Add Facebook Videos to WordPress
With Smash Balloon, you can add the video feed to your WordPress website using a block, widget, or shortcode.
If you’ve created more than one feed using Smash Balloon, then you’ll need to know the feed’s code if you’re going to use a widget or block.
To get this code, go to Facebook Feed »All Feeds and then look at the feed="" part of the shortcode. You’ll need to add this code to the block or widget, so make a note of it.
In the following image, we’ll need to use feed="6"
If you want to embed your Facebook feed in a page or post, then we recommend using the Custom Facebook Feed block.
Just open the page or post where you want to embed your Facebook videos. Then, click on the ‘+’ icon to add a new block and start typing ‘Custom Facebook Feed.’
When the right block appears, click to add it to the page or post.
The block will show one of your Smash Balloon feeds by default. If you want to use a different video feed instead, then find ‘Shortcode Settings’ in the right-hand menu.
Here, simply add the feed="" code and then click on ‘Apply Changes.’
The block will now show the videos from your Facebook page or group. Just publish or update the page to make the video feed live on your website.
Another option is to add the feed to any widget-ready area, such as the sidebar or similar section. This allows visitors to watch your Facebook videos from any page of your site.
Simply go to Appearance » Widgets and then click on the blue ‘+’ button.
After that, find the ‘Custom Facebook Feed’ widget.
Then, just drag it onto the area where you want to show the video feed.
The widget will show one of your Smash Balloon feeds automatically.
To show a different feed instead, type or paste the feed’s code into the ‘Shortcode Settings’ box and then click ‘Apply Changes.’
You can now make the widget live by clicking on the ‘Update’ button. For more information, please see our step-by-step guide on how to add and use widgets in WordPress.
Finally, you can embed videos on any page, post, or widget-ready area using a shortcode.
Simply go to Facebook Feed »All Feeds and copy the code in the ‘Shortcode’ column. You can now add this code to any Shortcode block.
Sometimes you may want to embed a specific Facebook video in a page or post. For example, you might have a Facebook video that talks about the same topics as your latest blog, or a promotional video showing the product you’ve just launched on your online store.
To embed a specific video, you’ll need to buy and install the Featured Posts extension as it allows you to display a particular post or event using its ID.
To start, go to Facebook Feed » Extensions.
Here, find the ‘Featured Posts’ extension and click on its ‘Add’ button.
This will open the Smash Balloon website in a new tab, with instructions on how to purchase the extension.
Once you have the extension, you can install it in exactly the same way you install a plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
After activating the plugin, go to Facebook Feed » All Feeds and click on ‘Add New.’
Under ‘Advanced Feed Types,’ select ‘Single Featured Post’ and then click ‘Next.’
You can now choose the page or group that you want to use as your source by following the same process described above.
On the next page, you’ll need to enter the ID of the video that you want to embed.
To get this ID, visit Facebook in a new tab and then open the video that you want to embed.
You can now go ahead and copy the URL.
After that, just post the URL into your WordPress dashboard and click on ‘Next.’
Once you’ve done that, you can style the video and then add it to your site following the same process described above.
Are you seeing the HTTP error while uploading media in WordPress? This error usually occurs when you are uploading an image or other files to WordPress using the built-in media uploader. In this article, we will show you how to easily fix the HTTP image upload error in WordPress.
What Causes HTTP Error During Media Upload in WordPress?
There are a number of things that could lead to a HTTP error when you are trying to upload files using the WordPress media uploader. Basically, WordPress is unable to figure out the cause and that’s why it displays the generic ‘HTTP error’ message.
The frustrating part is that this error message doesn’t give you any clue as to what may have caused it. This means that you will have to try different solutions to find the cause and fix the error.
That being said, let’s take a look at how to troubleshoot and fix the HTTP error during media upload in WordPress.
1. Make Sure The HTTP Error is Not Temporary
First, you should wait a few minutes and then try uploading your image file again. This error is sometimes caused by unusual traffic and low server resources, which are automatically fixed on most WordPress hosting servers.
If that doesn’t work, then you may want to try uploading a different image file. If the other file uploads successfully, then try saving your original image file to a smaller size and retry uploading.
Lastly, you may want to try saving the file to a different format. For example, change jpeg to png using an image editing software. After that, retry uploading the file.
If all these steps result in the HTTP error, then this means that the error is not caused by a temporary glitch and definitely needs your immediate attention.
2. Increase WordPress Memory Limit
The most common cause of this error is lack of memory available for WordPress to use. To fix this, you need to increase the amount of memory PHP can use on your server.
You can do this by adding the following code to your wp-config.php file.
define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' );
This code increases the WordPress memory limit to 256MB, which would be enough to fix any memory limit issues.
3. Change Image Editor Library Used by WordPress
WordPress runs on PHP which uses two modules to handle images. These modules are called GD Library and Imagick. WordPress may use either one of them depending on which one is available.
However, Imagick is known to often run into memory issues causing the http error during image uploads. To fix this, you can make the GD Library your default image editor.
After adding this code, you can retry uploading files using the media uploader. If this doesn’t solve the issue, then you can remove this code and try other methods described in this article.
4. Using The .htaccess Method
This method allows you to control how Imagick uses server resources. Many shared hosting providers limit Imagick’s ability to use multiple threads for faster image processing. However, this would result in you seeing the http error when uploading images.
An easy fix is be to add the following code in your .htaccess file:
SetEnv MAGICK_THREAD_LIMIT 1
This code simply limits Imagick to use a single thread to process images.
We hope this article helped you fix the HTTP error during media upload in WordPress. You may also want to see our WordPress troubleshooting guide as well as the ultimate list of most common WordPress errors and how to fix them.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Do you want to sell ads on your WordPress blog? Selling ads on a blog or website is one of the most common ways to make money online. In this article, we will show you how to sell adds on your WordPress blog and explain the different types of ad options available to you.
What Do You Need to Sell Ads on Your WordPress Blog?
First, you need to make sure you are using the right blogging platform. There are two types of WordPress blogs, WordPress.com which is a hosted blogging service and WordPress.org also called self-hosted WordPress. See the difference in our comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.
WordPress.com have their own WordAds program and only allows third-party ads if you sign up for the business plan.
On the other hand, you can run ads on your self-hosted WordPress.org website out of the box.
If you don’t yet have a WordPress.org website, then follow the instructions in our guide on how to start a WordPress blog, and you will be up and running in no time.
That being said, let’s take a look at what kind of ads you can sell on your WordPress blog.
Types of Ads You Can Sell on Your WordPress Blog
There are different types of ads that you can sell on your WordPress blog. One ad type may work better than the other depending on your website’s topic, audience, and overall traffic.
You can also choose to combine different ad types to create an effective monetization strategy for your blog.
1. CPC or Cost-Per-Click Ads
Cost-per-click ads are the most common type of ads displayed on the majority of websites. Ads are sold on a per-click basis which means you are only eligible to get paid when a user clicks on the ad.
The reason this ad type is so successful is that it works effectively for both publishers and advertisers. Advertisers get traffic to their websites which they can use to generate leads or increase sales. The publisher is able to get paid for sending traffic.
Advertising programs like Google AdSense allow you to easily sell cost per click ads on your website. Once you sign up with the Google AdSense program, your website will become available to Google’s enormous network of advertisers.
One downside is that if you have low traffic, or your ads are not placed at strategic locations, then you may get a very low click-through rate for ads on your website. However, many website owners quickly overcome this by optimizing their ads in WordPress.
2. CPM or Cost-Per-Thousand-Impressions Ads
CPM (cost per mille) or cost-per-thousand-impression are ads that are sold based on how many times they are displayed. This means you get paid for displaying ads on your website whether users click on them or not.
CPM ads often fail to generate the same amount of revenue as you would generate with cost-per-click ads alone. However, they can be a significant source of income if you have a high traffic website, and you don’t want to place ads too close to your content.
Advertisers are particularly keen on buying CPM ads on websites with a high reputation among their target audiences.
3. Flat Fee Ads
Flat fee ads allow you to sell ad spots on your website for a specific time-period. You can price your ads based on how much traffic your website generates on an average.
This type of ads provide more impressions and clicks to advertisers and allow website owners to know exactly how much they will earn at the end of the period.
Advertisers usually purchase this type of ads on websites with higher traffic matching their target demographics. You can sell ads directly through your website by creating an ‘Advertise Here’ page. Alternatively, you can also join programs like BuySellAds or DoubleClick by Google.
4. Affiliate Ads
Affiliate ads can also be called action based ads. Basically, you send traffic to an advertiser’s website, but you only get paid if a user completes an action. This action could be anything like making a purchase, downloading software, creating an account, etc.
Affiliate programs provide you a unique URL with your referral ID. You can then use this URL to create banners, graphics, or add links directly in your articles.
The benefit of affiliate ads is that you get paid substantially higher than what you would get paid on a cost per click or cost per mille ad.
You can sign up for affiliate programs of different products and services that you want to promote. Each product, service, and affiliate program comes with its own commission rates, terms, and conditions.
For example, WPEngine’s affiliate program allows you to earn on each new sign up you send their way. Your commission will be based on the user’s entire first month payment or fixed $200 whichever is higher.
After looking at the different ad types you can come up with a monetization strategy that works for you. Don’t worry if you are still not sure which is the right choice for you.
Most website owners use multiple ad types and then prioritize them based on their earning potential.
Once you have chosen a monetization strategy, you are now ready to add banner ads to your website. WordPress has several really good ad management plugins that you can use.
We recommend using AdSanity, it is one of the most beginner-friendly ad management plugin for WordPress.
Upon activation, simply go to Adsanity » Create Ad to create your first ad.
AdSanity allows you to create any kind of ad. You can create a self-hosted ad, local ad, or add the ad code provided by an ad program like Google AdSense.
If you are running a local ad, then you can upload a banner image and graphics. If it is a third-party ad, then you can go ahead and enter the ad code.
Under the publish meta box, you can also schedule the ad to run for a specific period or allow it to run indefinitely. Don’t forget to click on the publish or update button to save your changes.
AdSanity allows you to display ads anywhere on your website using widgets and shortcodes. Simply go to Appearance » Widgets page and drag and drop the AdSanity single ad widget to a sidebar.
We hope this article helped you learn how to sell ads on your WordPress blog. You may also want to see our guide on more ways to make money online using WordPress.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Recently one of our readers asked if it was possible to automatically change WordPress SALT keys? WordPress security authentication or SALT keys are the encrypted code that secure your login information. One way to enhance your WordPress security is by automatically changing your SALT keys. In this article, we will show you how to automatically change WordPress SALT keys without any code.
What are SALT Security Keys?
Salt Keys aka security keys in WordPress are the variables that store your login credentials in an encrypted form. By default, WordPress saves your login information in cookies which given the right conditions can be compromised specially when using public computers.
One way to stay ahead of this risk is to change your security keys manually from your wp-config.php file that is available in the root folder of your WordPress site. The security and SALT keys will look like this:
We recommend changing these codes on a regular basis to improve your website security (every 3 – 6 months). You can manually generate the Salt keys from WordPress.org secret-key service.
While changing the keys manually isn’t hard, it’s still time consuming to manually edit a core file and upload via FTP. In case, you don’t have coding knowledge, or don’t have the time, then this solution is for you.
Let’s take a look at how easily you can set an automated process to change security and SALT keys in WordPress:
Once the plugin is activated, you need to go to Tools » Salt Shaker page in your WordPress admin to set a schedule for changing the SALT keys.
You need to check the option for automatically changing the Salt keys and then select your schedule from the dropdown. You can automatically change the authentication keys daily, weekly, and monthly.
In case you want to change the security and Salt keys manually, then you can do so by clicking on the Change Now button.
Note: Every time your WordPress SALT keys are changed, you and other users will be automatically logged out from your WordPress site on all devices. You can easily re-login to your WordPress dashboard by going to the WordPress login page.
We hope this article helped you automatically change the WordPress SALT keys. You may also want to see our ultimate WordPress security guide to improve your website security.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Do you want to learn how to use cookies on your WordPress site? Cookies are a useful tool to store temporary information in user’s browser and then use this information to enhance user experience through personalization and behavioral targeting. In this ultimate guide, we will show you how to set, get, and delete WordPress cookies like a pro.
Note: This is an advanced tutorial. It requires you to have proficient understanding of HTML, CSS, WordPress site, and PHP.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are plain text files that are created and stored in users browser when they visit a website. Cookies are used to add different features on a website.
Following are some of the common usage of cookies on various websites.
Store and manage user’s login information
Store temporary session information during a users visit
Ecommerce stores use cookies to remember cart items during a user’s visit
Track user activity on a site to offer personalized user experience
and more
As you can see, cookies are highly useful tool for website owners, but they can also be a bit invasive. Recent trends in email marketing, growth hacking, and online marketing as a whole allow websites to set cookies that act as a beacon and can be used to store and even share user activity across websites.
This is why European Union enacted the EU Cookie Law, which requires website owners to declare that they use cookies to store information.
How Cookies are Used in a Typical WordPress Website
By default, WordPress uses cookies to manage logged-in user sessions and authentication. It also uses cookies to remember a user’s name and email address if they fill out a comment form.
However, many WordPress plugins on your website may also set their own cookies. For example, OptinMonster allows you to show different email optin forms to new vs returning visitors, and it does that by using cookies.
If you are using third party services on your website like Google Analytics or Google AdSense, then they may also set cookies on your website.
You can view all website cookies in your browser’s settings. For example, in Google Chrome you need to go to settings and search for ‘content settings’.
Under content settings, you will need to click on ‘Cookies’ to open the cookies settings page.
Next, you need to click on the ‘All cookies and site data’ option.
On the next page, you will see a list of all cookies and site data stored on your browser by all websites you visited.
You can type a website address in the search box, and it will show you the data stored by that website.
Clicking on a single item will show you more details about individual cookies and their contents.
First we will use the setcookie() function in PHP. This function accepts the following parameters.
Cookie name
Cookie value
Expire (Optional: sets a time period after which cookie expires)
Path (Optional, by default it will use the site’s root)
Domain (Optional, by default uses your website’s domain)
Secure (Optional, If true then only transfers cookie data via HTTPS)
httponly (Optional, when set true the cookie is only accessible via HTTP and cannot be used by scripts)
Now let’s add a code snippet to your WordPress site. This code stores the exact timestamp when a user visited your website in a cookie.
function wpb_cookies_tutorial1() {
$visit_time = date('F j, Y g:i a');
if(!isset($_COOKIE[$wpb_visit_time])) {
// set a cookie for 1 year
setcookie('wpb_visit_time', $current_time, time()+31556926);
}
}
You can now visit your website and then check your browser cookies. You will find a cookie with the name wpb_visit_time.
How to Get a Cookie and Use it in WordPress
Now that we have created this cookie that’s stored in user’s browser for 1 year, let’s take a look at how can we use this information on our website.
If you know the name of a cookie, then you can easily call it anywhere in PHP using the $_COOKIE[] variable. Let’s add some code that not only sets the cookie but also uses it to do something on your website.
function wpb_cookies_tutorial2() {
// Time of user's visit
$visit_time = date('F j, Y g:i a');
// Check if cookie is already set
if(isset($_COOKIE['wpb_visit_time'])) {
// Do this if cookie is set
function visitor_greeting() {
// Use information stored in the cookie
$lastvisit = $_COOKIE['wpb_visit_time'];
$string .= 'You last visited our website '. $lastvisit .'. Check out whats new';
return $string;
}
} else {
// Do this if the cookie doesn't exist
function visitor_greeting() {
$string .= 'New here? Check out these resources...' ;
return $string;
}
// Set the cookie
setcookie('wpb_visit_time', $visit_time, time()+31556926);
}
// Add a shortcode
add_shortcode('greet_me', 'visitor_greeting');
}
add_action('init', 'wpb_cookies_tutorial2');
We have commented the code to show you what each part does. This code uses the information stored in the cookie and outputs it using the shortcode. You can now add shortcode [greet_me] anywhere on your website, and it will show when a user last visited.
Feel free to modify the code to make it more useful for your website. For example, you can show recent posts to returning users and popular posts to new users.
Deleting a Cookie in WordPress
So far we have learned how to set a cookie and use it later in your website. Now let’s take a look at how to delete a cookie.
To delete a cookie, you need to add the following line to your code.
unset($_COOKIE['wpb_visit_time']);
Don’t forget to replace wpb_visit_time with the name of the cookie you are trying to delete.
Let’s put this code in some context using the same sample code we used above. This time we will delete a cookie and set it again with new information.
function wpb_cookies_tutorial2() {
// Time of user's visit
$visit_time = date('F j, Y g:i a');
// Check if cookie is already set
if(isset($_COOKIE['wpb_visit_time'])) {
// Do this if cookie is set
function visitor_greeting() {
// Use information stored in the cookie
$lastvisit = $_COOKIE['wpb_visit_time'];
$string .= 'You last visited our website '. $lastvisit .'. Check out whats new';
// Delete the old cookie so that we can set it again with updated time
unset($_COOKIE['wpb_visit_time']);
return $string;
}
} else {
// Do this if the cookie doesn't exist
function visitor_greeting() {
$string .= 'New here? Check out these resources...' ;
return $string;
}
}
add_shortcode('greet_me', 'visitor_greeting');
// Set or Reset the cookie
setcookie('wpb_visit_time', $visit_time, time()+31556926);
}
add_action('init', 'wpb_cookies_tutorial2');
As you can see, this code deletes the cookie once we have used the information stored inside. Later we set the cookie again with the updated time information.
Do you want to create a shortlink of your WordPress blog posts or pages? WordPress shortlinks are useful for sharing in your emails, facebook messages, or even text messages. It was a default feature until WordPress version 4.4. Recently, one of our readers asked how to bring back the get shortlink feature in WordPress. In this tutorial, we will share how to restore the get shortlink button in WordPress.
What is the Get Shortlink Button in WordPress?
Get Shortlink button is a WordPress feature that allows you to easily get a short link of your WordPress blog post or page. It used to be located right next to the permalink area in the post edit screen.
However if you recently started your blog, then you will not see this feature on your WordPress site because it was removed after WordPress version 4.4.
We find this feature to be quite useful for easily getting shortlinks for our blog posts that look like this:
http://wpbeg.in/2csN1pj
If you want to bring back the get shortlink feature on your WordPress site, then you’re in the right place.
Let’s take a look at how to bring back the get shortlink button back in WordPress.
Method 1: Using WP Bitly plugin to Add Get Shortlink Button
This method is easier and recommended for most users. This method also allows you to create custom branded short URLs for your website.
Upon activation, this plugin will automatically add the Get Shortlink button on your post edit screen.
Once you click on this button, it will show you the shortlink for your WordPress posts and pages. This shortlink can be shared in your emails and messages, so your audience can reach directly to the page.
This method requires you to add code to your WordPress files. If you haven’t done this before, then please take a look at our guide on how to copy and paste code in WordPress.
Do you want to get more subscribers on your YouTube channel? Having a subscribe button on your blog makes it easy for your visitors to find your videos and subscribe to your channel. In this article, we will show you how to add a YouTube subscribe button in WordPress.
The first thing you need to do is visit the YouTube subscribe button page on the Google Developer’s website.
On this page, you will need to enter your YouTube channel’s name, select a layout, theme, and subscriber count option. It will display a live preview of how your button will look on the website. Once you are satisfied, simply scroll down to copy the embed code.
Next, you need to login to the WordPress admin area of your site and go to Appearance » Widgets. There you will need to drag and drop a text widget to your widget area, and paste the YouTube subscribe button code inside the widget.
Once you are done, don’t forget to save your changes and visit your website to see the YouTube subscribe button in action.
Method 2: Using Plugin to Add a YouTube Subscribe Bar
Another way to add a YouTube subscribe button on your website is by adding it below every YouTube video on your site. This offers additional exposure and can help you significantly increase your subscribers.
Upon activating the plugin, you need to go to Settings » YouTube Subscribe Bar to add your YouTube channel ID. You will also need to style the button layout, choose a button theme, and show subscribers count.
The YouTube subscribe bar plugin allows you to add some text before the button and edit its styling. You can use this area to add a call to action like “Subscribe to My Channel”.
Once you are done, make sure to click on the Save Changes button to save your settings.
This plugin will automatically display your YouTube Subscribe bar below every YouTube video on your site. The YouTube Subscribe bar will appear on the videos from your channel and third-party channels, so you can share useful video content on your site and get more subscribers on your YouTube channel.
Note: The YouTube subscribe bar plugin only works with oEmbed videos. It will not work with videos embedded via iFrame.
Do you want to change the default search URL slug in WordPress? By default, WordPress search URLs are not user friendly. In this article, we will show you how to easily change the default search url slug in WordPress and make it more SEO and user friendly.
Why Change Default Search URL Slug in WordPress
WordPress uses SEO friendly URL structure for all pages on your website. Typical SEO friendly WordPress URLs look like this:
As you can see, these URLs are quite easy to understand for users as well as search engines.
However, WordPress still uses non-friendly URL for search results page. A typical search URL in WordPress looks like this:
http://example.com/?s=search-term
This URL structure doesn’t match the rest of your website URLs. While some WordPress search plugins improve the search results, most don’t do anything about the search URL itself.
What if you can make your search URL look like:
http://example.com/search/your-search-term/
Let’s take a look at how to make the WordPress search page URL slug more SEO friendly.
Changing Search Page URL Slug in WordPress
For this tutorial you will need to edit your WordPress theme files. If you haven’t done this before, then please take a look at our guide on how to copy and paste code in WordPress.
Method 1. Change WordPress Search URL Slug via Functions File
This method is easier and recommended for most users.
You can now go to your website and try using the search feature. You will notice that the search URL looks like this:
http://example.com/search/your-search-query/
Method 2. Change Search URL Slug via htaccess File
The .htaccess file is often used to set up redirects and other website configuration tasks. You can also use it to change the default search URL slug in WordPress.
Your .htaccess file is located in your website’s root folder, and you will need to use FTP or File Manager app in cPanel to edit it. Refer to this guide, if you can’t find the .htaccess file.
In your .htaccess file, you need to paste the following code at the bottom:
