Digital Marketing Can Be As Simple As A Thanksgiving Dinner

Here’s How Digital Marketing Can Be As Simple As A Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving for 2018 is already here and we don’t really know where the time flew away. An occasion to sit together with family and give thanks for everything you have Thanksgiving is indeed an occasion looked forward to the whole year. For starters, it marks the proximity of holidays and in the middle of tight schedules, as the people have today, a little break is all they need to reflect and unwind. This year, we decided to keep things simple for Digital Marketers and couldn’t help but bring similarities between the famous tradition and virtual marketing. Here are some ways Digital Marketing is so eerily similar to organizing a Thanksgiving dinner, that you might be tempted to use it as a tool.

 

Planning and preparation is everything:
If you are someone organizing a Thanksgiving dinner for even an average of 7 people, it takes a lot of planning and preparation beforehand. Making a shopping list, dividing work for each family member, designing a cooking schedule and dinner menu, in mind at least. If you are someone who enjoys inviting people over then another list to add is the guest list. And the errands run long
In digital marketing too, the tasks have to be prepared beforehand, planned with intricacy. Running a business is a 24×7 job and you could put up a website, post on social media, even write a few blogs every now and then but unless you have a strategy based on what has worked in the past and what can work now, it won’t add up to anything. Which is why planning and preparation being the base of a digital marketing strategy.

 

Choose a recipe:
You have to boil down to a recipe of the turkey or choose your Aunt’s famous apple pie for the menu. It is on the basis of a recipe that you can design a proper shopping list to avoid on time hassle. In DM too you have to get the right mix of tools at hand to make it work You have to think of multiple combinations of Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Blog Writing, Web development to get the perfect recipe in hand. Keep in mind you may not get it right the first time, but keep on trying and you may hit the jackpot!

 

Make the invitations ready!
Yes you have a guest list in hand but they are not going to show up uninvited unless they come in your inner circle. You have to drive traffic to websites and your product online by making a call. Usually, it is the integrated work of Social media and SEO that generates traffic on a website. But email and paid marketing show great deals of results too. You have to make alluring content and get there out on the field to ensure the audience shows up.

 

End of Dinner and star of the night:
At the end of the dinner, you will be able to tell for sure whether your famous mashed potatoes did the magic or not or the special tuna dish you tried for the first time worked. You usually are able to gauge it by simply looking at the casserole. Wiped clean? That’s your star! In digital marketing too, a few things will work others won’t. Analytics will be able to tell you what is working for your traffic and what isn’t. You could also come up with your own engagement metrics based on the social media trends.

 

Leftovers are loved:
Who took the leftover turkey and turned it into a sandwich for lunch the other day? Well whoever did, they are a saint. Everyone loves leftovers and so should you. Analyze what well have worked in the past for you and tweak them a little here and there to breathe new life into them. Do you have a blog that went viral? Make a video series of it. Once you open your mind to creativity, the possibilities are endless! You could use the same tricks after a certain period of time, create a trend probably an annual online event that people wait for. Rack your brains enough and you can have a brand-new idea.

 

You could always order:
Suddenly your guest list looks too long to follow through and you start doubting if at all you would be able to pull it off. At times like these, just pick up your favorite food place and order away! You could order mashed potatoes or the dessert or you could order the complete dinner. In the corporate world, we call that outsourcing. If you can’t find what is best for your digital marketing strategy, let someone else do it. Firms provide SEO, SMM, App development, Website development, and PPC services in packages or modules. You can choose whichever is best for your business and start right away!

 

About the author:

Win Infosoft is a Digital Marketing agency with years of experience in providing the best possible services in PPC, SEO, SMM, UX, UI designing Website and App developments. If you are looking for someone to convert your website into HTTPS, contact us today for a smooth transition.

All you need to know about latest Google AdWords Updation

All you need to know about latest Google AdWords Updation

After the GDPR implementation announcement in 2016, Google has released the new Google AdWords Updation in compliance with it, Know with the opinion of Wininfosoft PPC Expert. Before,  in March, the company had introduced the first phase of changes that specified contracts, product changes and how it aims to comply with the regulations that are to be implemented by 25th may 2018. This latest change deals with guiding advertisers on solutions to help them gather consent, informing new publishers about the consent tools approach on the content of non-Google exchanges etc.

What is GDPR?

General data protection regulation or GDPR is a regulation passed by EU that protects every individual in the European Union from personal data and privacy breaches. The regulation was adopted in 2016 to give control of private data to its citizens along with trying to make the regulatory environment for international businesses simple. Although the GDPR is not a directive and is not therefore mandatory for National governments to issue an announcement, it still is binding and directly applicable. The scope of this regulation is extended to even foreign companies outside of the EU that deal with the information and data of the residents of the European Union. Breach of this regulation will be met with strict consequences with either 4% of the worldwide turnover or €20 million, whichever is higher. Are you getting now Google AdWords Updation

Google’s Latest Policy Change

The latest change is broadly specified in three sections. They have also put in some recommended actions that can help you browse through the changes and make decision likewise. The specified changes have been explained briefly.

Consent Solutions

They have updated their Help Center to help you understand how to implement the updated EU policy. They also have new guidebooks in cookieschoices.org with respect to language and some already available consent solutions from Third Parties. Google has also mentioned deciding how is your company thinking of gathering consent over your sites and apps. You can develop and use your own mechanisms or work with some solutions provided by cookieschoices.org.

New Controls for publishers

The update mentions a few new controls for publishers and ways of integration which if you are using third party ad serving and tracking platform, can potentially affect where your ads appear.

  1. Non-Personalized Ads:
  • They will be launching Provider Controls in Ad Technology for publishers through DFP/AdX, AdMob, AdSense etc.
  • Using the controls, advertisers and publishers will be able to choose the ad technology providers who are to be supported to serve, track ads on their sites and apps for users in the European Economic Area (EEA).
  • Every listed provider has already shared information essential for the GDPR. The company has urged to encourage your provider to do the same in case they haven’t. Google has also provided a process guide for all ad tech providers.
  • A list of Ad Technology Providers will be provided under the ‘commonly used’ section of the policy(Google AdWords Updation) which can be referred by companies that wish to choose their own and not engage with the controls.
  • Your campaigns will be serving for an ad impression in the EEA if the publisher supports the Ad Technology Providers you use.
  1. Non-Personalized Ads:
  • Google will soon be launching this feature for DFP/AdX, AdMob, and AdSense for publishers to give a choice to their EEA users between personalized ads and non-personalized ads. This feature is discussed in depth in their Help Center Page.
  1. Integrations With Third-Party Ad Exchanges:
  • The company will be pairing up with third-party exchanges who utilize the IAB’s GDPR Transparency and Consent Framework. This will also be applicable to those who are subject to their EU User Consent Policy. The recommendation includes reviewing your use of third-party ad servers and/or pixels with vendors that are not part of the Ad Technology Provider Controls to avoid unnecessary delay and breach of the regulation.

 

Other Important details about Google AdWords Updation

  • In case you are using Google Analytics 360 or DoubleClick do the review and/or accept data processing terms available in each account you manage.
  • For Google Analytics (Standard or 360) review the retention controls of data so as to allow you to manage how long your user and event data is held on Google’s servers. Data deletions will then be processed by the company based on your settings from May 25th.

In case of any further queries, one can visit the official Google Help Center Page.

About the author:

Win Infosoft is a Digital Marketing agency with years of experience in providing the best possible services in PPC, SEO, SMM, Website and App developments. If you are looking for someone to convert your website into HTTPS, contact us today for a smooth transition.

 

first step to hire android app designer for increasing your digital presence. Some rely on the reference to others while many roam around browsing several websites to get quotations for the same.

Tips To Keep In Mind To Hire Android App Designer

You must wonder what should be the first step to hire android app designer for increasing your digital presence. Some rely on the reference to others while many roam around browsing several websites to get quotations for the same. But hiring an Android app designer is a process which has to be carefully undertaken to ensure that whatever work you require of them, is easily and flawlessly delivered. Here are some essential tips to keep in mind before hiring an expert for app designing.

 

  1. Do Your Research
    Do your fair amount of research on which company has a good reputation, what is their profile, how many clients have they served and how is their monetary requirement. You can acquire these details from the internet or ask your closest friends and acquaintances for references. Once the list is ready, move on to the next step.
  2. Decide Your Parameters
    Make a list of parameters that are important to you. If you are just starting then money is very scarce and you need someone who’ll do a good job in less expense. If you are looking to move your business online quickly, time is of importance and your main parameter would be to find someone who is efficient. Decide your list of parameters and shortlist the companies accordingly.
  3. Focus On Their Work
    No matter what your priority is, always focus on their previous work and profile. It speaks a lot about their experience, quality, and skill of executing the job. Look for someone who has already delivered many projects or varies types. The last point is important too as it reflects the amount of creativity that they can instill in making your app appealing or user-friendly to the customers.
  4. Have A Call Or A Meeting
    Have an initial call or meeting with the shortlisted companies to give them an idea of what you want and how much will they charge. By now based on the research even you get an idea of how much is okay to spend on an app. Talk to them and gauge how easily can they understand your need. This will help you decide on one company. Although, one thing you must keep in mind is quality work must be always paid well. So if you are looking for a good job, you shouldn’t work on saving money but be willing to spend a little more if needed.
  5. Decide Your Pick
    Now that you have all the information you need, you are in a position to decide on a company which
    – Understands just what your company needs
    – Is creative with all its clients
    – Has a very good work profile
    – Has a good reputation for delivering on time
    – Is easy on the pockets
    – Provides guarantee of good work within the deadline

 

Once you are done with all these, you can easily point out the best android app developing expert for you. Win Infosoft is an expert in developing android apps with skilled personnel and expertise. Contact us if you want to take your business to another level and get yourself an app.

 

About the author:

Win Infosoft is a Digital Marketing agency with years of experience in providing the best possible services in PPC, SEO, SMM, Website and App developments. If you are looking for someone to convert your website into HTTPS, contact us today for a smooth transition.

Boost your business with android app Designing

Boost Your Business With Android App Designing

Today, Android App Designing is one of the most wanted tasks when you boost your business or set up a start-up. Sometimes, the nature of the business demands you to develop an app even before you set up the rest of the structure. Educational, gaming, e-commerce and many such businesses rely on the sales they’ll gain from a primary accessible source which is an app.

Why an application?
Studies show that by 2017, 2.34 billion people used smartphones.
This opens a huge market for enterprises to target. A great number of people are watching their phones for the latest updates, news, and features then they are at the hoarding at the corner of the street. Catching a customer’s eye has never been easier with just simply designing an app they can download on their phones. This easy access to customers has forced almost every business to make their digital presence felt. Websites that are mobile friendly for users are useful for enterprises that have products to sell or information to give. However, apps are a must for businesses whose primary source of income is based on the behavioral patterns of customers on their phones.

Android app development is a primary task
Overall in the world, there are over 1.4 billion active Android phone users.
Although several countries have iPhone as a dominant company, the majority of the countries with the highest populace in the world are dominated by the android market. Similarly, in a country like India, the mobile phone market is divided between iPhone, Android and One plus users highest of which even today remains Android. A major reason for this can be attributed to the fact that it is cheaper in comparison to other phones. This is why developing an Android app is important if your company needs an app to run the show.

Android app designing
Several third-party companies offer designing services but only a fewer are able to give you the best quality app designing services. The secret lies in the way an Android application is built. The process is not completed overnight and requires the hard work and dedication of a team to achieve the following tasks.

 

  • Determine the objective to be fulfilled, customer demographics and research on the need
  • Invest in User experience to make the app user-friendly
  • Work on User Interface to give a better performing app.
  • Coding, coding, coding
  • Run the app as a testing
  • Find bugs related to it and fix them
  • Release it to the world.

 

Though the tasks seem simple they require the utmost attention to detail and precise coding. Android app development is a niche area which is why very few companies are known to be good at it. One of it is Win Infosoft that has many satisfied clients with requirements of an Android app. Our technical team and expertise of years allow us to provide quality work with ease. This means only one thing, the job comes to us naturally.

If you are someone looking to hire someone for android app designing to contact us today!

About the author:

Win Infosoft is a Digital Marketing agency with years of experience in providing the best possible services in PPC, SEO, SMM, Website and App developments. If you are looking for someone to convert your website into HTTPS, contact us today for a smooth transition.

 

Working in the industry for several years now, an iOS app designing company says Apple has an equal market just as Android. The whole world is divided into segments of markets for the operating system for smartphones.

Apple Has A Huge Market – Says iOS App Designing Company

Working in the industry for several years now, an iOS app designing company says Apple has an equal market just as Android. The whole world is divided into segments of markets for the operating system for smartphones. While the majority of the world uses Android for its easy availability, user-friendliness, and smart prices, iOS has an almost equal market too. A good number of people in every country and a majority of people in the US use Apple iPhone as opposed to other smartphones. This trend is seen due to various reasons, some technical and others social. Here is why investing in iOS app development is as fruitful as Android.

Why an iPhone?
Studies indicate the number of people who use iPhone is a whopping 505 million active.
This number is a little too huge to ignore if you are a business. Users all around the world use an iPhone for various reasons but two of the biggest influencers in the market are: better performance and status quo. The iPhone built by the parent company Apple is said to be superior in technology when it comes to speed and performance in comparison with its counterparts. The phone has a separate RAM only for operations which remains unaffected by the amount of data the phone stores. Add to it an enormous capacity of data storage, one cannot help but drool. Although the apps have to be paid for in this phone, it’s superiority in RAM usage, speed and longevity gives it an edge over other phones especially Android.
Because it has a good technical background, it comes at a price. Today having an iPhone no matter what age it was manufactured at, is seen as a sign of class. People also buy it for keeping up with the trends in the market which is why Apple has a growth spurt every time it releases a new model.

iOS app designing
Because it has a huge market, companies cannot simply ignore apps for the Apple store. A majority of your customer base is divided in Android and iOS which is why one must also focus on designing an app for iOS. It requires hiring experts who know how the technology in the phone works and to make the best use of it. The process is not completed overnight and requires the hard work and dedication of a team to achieve the following tasks.

  • Determine the objective to be fulfilled, customer demographics and research on the need
  • Invest in User experience to make the app user-friendly
  • Work on User Interface to give a better performing app.
  • Coding, coding, coding
  • Run the app as a test
  • Find bugs related to it and fix them
  • Release it to the world.

It is one of the most important tasks to be undertaken and hence must require experts who have years of work and skill to do so. Win Infosoft has been working in the field for years now and has a skilled team to ensure you get the desired result. If you are looking for someone to design an iOS app for you, contact us today!

About the author:

Win Infosoft is a Digital Marketing agency with years of experience in providing the best possible services in PPC, SEO, SMM, Website and App developments. If you are looking for someone to convert your website into HTTPS, contact us today for a smooth transition.

Is Your Social Media Declining? – Here Is What You Can Do About ItIs Your Social Media Declining? – Here Is What You Can Do About It

Is Your Social Media Declining? – Here Is What You Can Do About It

As a business and that too, a growing one, it is understandable that one may not be able to invest as much in social media. This has become a necessity, however, ever since the Facebook algorithms changed and organic reach now seems impossible. In 2016, the number of organic reaches on Facebook declined by 52%. This means one cannot reach the number of customers it did before only base on your content.  Every post which appears on your timeline has to be boosted by some amount so that it reaches the audience it is supposed to. If you are facing a rapid decline in the number of organic reaches for your company, here are some pointers to help you come back in the race.

Unique content for each platform:

Understand where your audience is. It makes no sense to take your audience away from a social media that they love interacting in. Reports show that more and more consumers share media on their favorite social media platforms and network communities. Delivering them with the content directly in their comfort zone is one way to ensure organic growth.

This is also commonly known as distributed content strategy. Create unique content for each platform. Instead of redirecting the customers to your blogs on the website each time, create a visual image with the basic gist of the link if they wish to see more. This works tremendously for platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. For other platforms like Twitter and Facebook, one can use the blog links to redirect them as it does not really take them away from their network.

Every once in a while feature someone else’s content:

The traditional belief is that if you constantly keep sharing your own content and push it across, your consumers will finally be attentive to everything you have to say. This is somewhat wrong. Social media is all about being social which means the users expect their brands to be social as well. The key is to understand what clicks with your customers and sharing or featuring that content every once in a while. As long as the curated content does not go against what the brand stands for, it is okay to look at what others are posting that is liked to buy your consumers. Sometimes, it is okay to share an article or blog of some other company that has valuable information about the industry, it showcases your thoughtfulness and willingness to stay up to date with the industry.

Study algorithms:

You must have noticed that once you log in to any social media platform, the news feed contains posts and content based on the previous engagements you had on the social media. As a marketer, it is useful to understand just how these algorithms work to be able to provide a specific strategy that increases your customer base. Algorithm insights for some of the platforms are:

  • Facebook posts are ranked such that posts by family and friends are featured first followed by information posts and then entertainment.
  • For Instagram, the posts are based on your interest in a particular content, how likely you are to respond to a particular post, your relationship with the user who posts and the regular timeline.
  • The feed is customized based on your preferences and features the best tweets on the news feed while you were away from the app. The company is still working on how to make the algorithm perfect for recognizing the best tweets for an individual user.

Keep your content budgeted:

Social media ads, sponsored and boosted content are the best way to reach your audience as the organic reach decreases. A report by Nielsen Brand Effect found that among the 475 social media campaigns they evaluated, Instagram proved to be a better choice of an ad as much as three times. It showed that the ads on the app were more memorable for people thus making them far more likely to click on the ads. Here are some reasons to use advertising on social media.

  • Get higher conversion rates:
    Ads help you target the people to whom the ads must be sent to. With greater options on the area, demographic and when it goes out, it is easier to send ads to specific groups that can potentially buy your product.
  • Create different ad types:
    Facebook provides us with a range of ad types to produce like the slideshow; carousel, video etc. use every ad type and see which one works best for you.
  • See results:
    Get specific data on which ads are giving the most leads and which are engaging for your customers. Get a report on metrics that are important and your top performing ads.
  • Make it mobile friendly:
    About 80% of the social media users access them through their smartphones. Create ads that are friendly for the website as well as mobile.

Use these tips to tweak your social media a little here and there and you will find a considerable increase in the engagements of your customers with the brand.

About the author:
Win Infosoft is a digital marketing agency that provides marketing services in SEO, SMM, PPC and services in Mobile app development and website development.

Air-Gapped Computers Can Exchange Data Via A MOSQUITO Attack

Air-Gapped Computers Can Exchange Data Via A MOSQUITO Attack

Air-gapped computers which were believed to be the most secure kind of systems can be hacked too according to a new study that has emerged recently. Though the idea has been here for a long time and the same team demonstrated how hackers can listen to private conversations via reversed headphones in air-gapped computers. This has brought a series of questions forward as to how do they do it and what are the probable solutions to avoid such attack.

Air-gapped computers

This is a security measure which is employed on one or more computers in an isolated environment. This is done to avoid interference, attacks or hacking via the public internet or even local network. The idea is separating the computer systems physically with no connection to each other whatsoever. The only way to interact these computers with one another is through USBs or external devices. This security measure is taken up when the computers contain sensitive and classified data that one doesn’t want to be shared out of the setting of the system. Up until recently, these were believed to be the safest way of storing data. After the demonstration of the possibility of tapping in air capped computers, now the team has established even data can be exchanged in such systems. This has released many questions.

The MOSQUITO Technique

The technique by the team of researchers in Israel’s Ben Gurion University has been named MOSQUITO. This technique reverses the role of a passive speaker (Headphones or earphones) into a microphone. The team in their research revealed that in the absence of a microphone or even if it is muted or tapped off, a headphone can covertly be reversed to be used as a microphone. This is possible as some headphones, earphones, and speakers are responsive to the Ultra Sound range of 18KHz to 24KHz, they can be reversed. Such inaudible ultrasound waves can be easily used to listen to secret communication between a speaker to another speaker.

The Cyber Security Research Center of Ben Gurion which was led by a 38-year-old Mordechai Guri made two speakers talk via ultrasound waves despite a high-level f isolation. The team in one of their proof-of-theory videos explained a scenario where 2 air-gapped computers are infected by the malware but cannot exchange the data physically thus slashing the attacker’s objectives. In this attack case, a speaker to speaker, speaker t headphone, and headphone to headphone case was conducted using the MOSQUITO technique. The results were astounding.

“Our results show that the speaker-to-speaker communication can be used to covertly transmit data between two air-gapped computers positioned a maximum of nine meters away from one another,” the team told.  “Moreover, we show that two (microphone-less) headphones can exchange data from a distance of three meters apart.”

What is more amazing is that the team found a rate of 10 to 166 bit per second exchange rate of data when loudspeakers were used in 2 air-gapped computers 8 meters away.

Ben Gurion is a known name in partaking covert experiments to target the air-capped theory. Their research as enlightening as it also includes several other bases:

  • an aIR-Jumper attack that steals sensitive data from air-gapped computers with the help of infrared-equipped night vision CCTV cameras.
  • DiskFiltration can steal data using sound signals emitted from the hard disk drive (HDD) of air-gapped computers.
  • Transmitter technique uses noise emitted by a computer fan to transmit data.
  • GSMem attack that depends on cellular frequencies.
  • USBee can be used to steal data from air-gapped computers using radio frequency transmissions from USB connectors.
  • AirHopper that captures keystrokes by turning a computer’s video card into an FM transmitter.
  • BitWhisper which depends on heat exchange between two computers to invisibly exchange passwords and security keys.

 

About the author:

Win Infosoft is a Digital Marketing agency with years of experience in providing the best possible services in PPC, SEO, SMM, Website and App developments. If you are looking for someone to convert your website into HTTPS, contact us today for a smooth transition.

 

 

5 Unknown Facts About International Women’s Day

5 Unknown Facts About International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is celebrated March 8 every year as an ode to all the women across the world and to celebrate their achievements. Today even companies make special provisions and policies to ensure women are empowered to keep their best foot forward. The road to equal rights for women has been a difficult one and it started more than 100 years ago. Here are some lesser-known facts about International Women’s day

  • The day was originally called International Working Women’s Day and was first celebrated on 28 February in 1909. This was to commemorate a strike that happened a year ago in 1908 which saw a whopping 15,000 women workers from the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union. These women included even immigrants from many parts of the world and came to organize the march in New York. The women organized the March for equal social and political rights.
  • The first-ever official international women’s day was celebrated 4 years after the first one in 1914. The day was March 8 because it was a Sunday and maximum working women had the day off to march in the city and organize activities for spreading awareness. The day has been celebrated as International Women’s Day ever since.
  • The day was named a holiday in the Soviet Union in 1917. It was celebrated in most socialist movements and communist countries before UN went ahead and adapted it in 1977. UN officially recognized 8 March of each year as a day dedicated to women. Now, since 1996, the UN gives a theme to each year’s IWD. This year’s theme is “Press for Progress.”
  • The UN specifies and defines International Women’s Day as “a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.
  • The amazing fact is that many countries have declared this day as a holiday which includes Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Zambia, and Mongolia. There are other countries that give the holiday only for women and this list includes Nepal, China, and Madagascar.

It is true women are an important part of the world, half of the human population on this planet comprises of women. It is therefore imaginable that the contribution that each and every woman will bring to the society will double the level at which we are today. Accepting them as equals and ensuring no discrimination can lead to a healthy economic, social and collective world.

 

About the author:

Win Infosoft is a Digital Marketing agency with years of experience in providing the best possible services in PPC, SEO, SMM, Website and App developments. If you are looking for someone to help you with digital marketing, contact us today!

Different Types of Redirects in SEO

Different Types of Redirects in SEO

Redirects are very important in the business of SEO. With changing times, site owners more often than not, are faced with the option of generating a new site, changing the link address or even deleting content. This is usually done for a major change or simplicity or you might not need a page anymore. Here is where Redirects come into play. When you change your URL for any of the reasons, it is important to let the search engine robots know that the contents of the page or the page itself is available somewhere else, temporary or even permanently unavailable. Here we have a list of redirects that can be helpful based on your needs.

Reasons for using Redirects

While regularly maintaining your site, you will often come across tasks that will require redirects. Some of the reasons that will come up more often are:

  • When you want to delete a site or a post
  • When you want to change your domain
  • When you no longer wish to use www in your link address
  • When you merge certain websites
  • When your CMS is changed
  • When you change your URL structure or
  • When you have to enable Permalinks in WordPress

HTTP Redirect Codes

Every redirect has a specific code. This is a 3 number code which specifies the nature and purpose of redirect. S for example if you see a 404 error, it means the page has not been found. The 503 redirect means the site is under maintenance. These codes are present in 5 different ranges.

  • 1xx – Informal
  • 2xx – Success
  • 3xx – Redirection
  • 4xx – Client Error
  • 5xx – Server Error

Commonly used HTTP redirects

Although due to the range of HTTP codes, the list of redirects can be endless, given below are the most commonly used redirects and their main purposes.

 

  • 301: Permanently Moved
    This happens a lot as the URL address of our pages change from time to time. It is important to set this redirect which automatically transfers the Old URL to the new one. In case this is not done, the server will show a 404 Error Page not Found which is something we don’t want our site users to see.
  • 302: Page Found
    This redirect is used when you have temporarily shifted the page to some other URL. It means the destination of the page requested has been found however the location is unclear. This redirect is vague as it doesn’t mention if the situation is temporary or not. One should only use this redirect when they want the URL transferred to a new one temporarily. This means the search engines will not change the old link address t the new one and the old URL can be used again.
  • 307: Temporary Redirect
    This is more like 302 as it mentions that the page has been moved however it is more specific and the nature of redirect is temporary. You can use this when you want to direct the user to a new link while still keeping the old request method functioning. The request may change over time so it is essential for a client to keep using the old URL.
  • 403: Forbidden
    This redirect is for sensitive information provided on a web page which is not accessible for certain users. If the credentials are not approved by the site requirements, this error appears and the page remains forbidden for the user.
  • 404: Page not Found
    This error specifies that the content has been deleted and the page cannot be found. As this puts a dent in the user experience, it is better to redirect the page to a new URL so that you don’t miss out on the site users. It is important to monitor these pages and keep them at a low number as much as possible. A number of such pages is seen as a bad sign by the Google console. This might affect your rankings very badly.
  • 410: Gone
    This redirect gives a straight answer to a users query. This means the page has been permanently deleted and cannot be found. This is also a way of telling search engines that the URL should be deleted from the index so that users do not click on it. However, if the information has been shifted elsewhere, a permanent redirect would be a better option. Even if not, try to improve the contents of the page and keep it.
  • 451: Unavailable due to legal reasons
    There are instances where judges request particular page r content to be taken down from the internet. If your page is one of them, use this redirect to specifically let the search engines know that it is down due to legal reasons.
  • 500: Internal Server Error
    This redirect means that something went wrong while the request was being processed and the request could not be fulfilled due to the same. This redirect does not specify the reason so it could be many reasons. The server is acting funny or there is a problem with the script. Servers must be checked for the problem and resolved as soon as possible.
  • 503: Service Unavailable
    This redirect straightaway means that the site cannot serve you for the time being due to overload or outage. The best use of this is when your site is under maintenance. This also means that the search engines can come later and that the site will be in service again after the maintenance is done.

About the author:

Win Infosoft is a Digital Marketing agency with years of experience in providing the best possible services in PPC, SEO, SMM, Website and App developments. If you are looking for someone to convert your website into HTTPS, contact us today for a smooth transition.

Convert your website from HTTP to HTTPS in quick easy steps

Convert Your Website From HTTP to HTTPS in Quick Easy Steps

In the latest development from Google, the tech giant recently announced that it will give a ranking boost to websites with HTTPS extensions over the ones with HTTP. For developers all over it is a good news as every one of them knows for sure HTTPS is better than HTTP. Before Google sets in motion it’s announcement, every website must convert itself to HTTPS. We have compiled a list of quick and easy steps you can use to convert your website.

 

  1. Keep yourself ready

This involves covering and considering various aspects of your current website before jumping into the conversion

  • Check if the Sales team is ready. If your site is seasonal, it would make sense to not make the switch at peak times. You must expect downtime and make a decision on the timing of switch.
  • Check if your host is ready. Many hosts might need some extra configurations before going to HTTPS. Make sure they can deliver a HTTPS website.
  • Get your team ready. Communicate to your team that they should expect a downtime as the website will be under maintenance. This means the developer team you need help from for the switch, the Sales team and even your customers.
  • Make sure you are ready. This task is long and requires continuous efforts. Once you start on the path of conversion of website going back may not be an option. Remain available for problems that may come up and do not schedule this for the last moment.

 

  1. Get yourself an SSL certificate

This is one of the quickest steps and most of the times the hosts sell it with extra service of configurations. The rate of the certificate depends on what you want. A standard SSL certificate will not cover www.abc.com and abc.com for you. However an expensive Wild Card certificate might do the job, but this isn’t necessary for many setups. If you feel you may need a special kind of SSL certificate then hire a professional company to do the job that you trust. This is very rare though. One last thing about pricier SSL certificates especially the ‘Extended’ types is that they show a green lock at your address bar. Whether it boosts the Sales or not is impossible to say but you know now why it’s that way.

 

  1. Configure hosting with SSL certificate

In case the website host does not configure the SSL certificate, it is only about pass keys you can get from the seller. However, be mindful of the spaces you fill and ask for help wherever needed. Part of the money you pay the the website host is for their help in configuring your site with an SSL certificate. Once this is done, you won’t see the invalid certificate message on the HTTPS websites. For this change, clear your cache and not just that of private browsing. You can also ask someone with the HTTPS link to try it out. However this will direct them to your HTTP website as the switch isn’t complete. Website hosts work very differently so you must keep and open mind.

 

  1. Change your links to HTTPS

Now you will know why people say “do not hard code your links” or “use relative links”. Here is how the Content Management System will help save some time for you (CMS). Considering the SSL certificate for your website is all setup,

 

5. Fix all the non CMS pages to how they should be

  • Find the links that are not generated by CMS, pages like CDN, photos or even JavaScript, basically anything your website will use.
  • Change the link paths to relative. If your site link is “www.abc.com/link” change it to “/link”. This way, the link will work on both HTTPS and HTTP if the switch is not completed or stopped in between. Make sure the links start with that first “/”.
  • Test it by clearing your cache and clicking on the link. Test to make sure where does it work, on HTTP or HTTPS. Either way it’s only a test.

 

6. Fix all CMS generated links

Changing the links vary from platform to platform. Given below are the changes made through Magneto and WordPress on regular installations. In case you have some different CMS, you may have to refer to the documentation or take help.

  • Take a look at all your CMS generated links, posts, images, template files etc for improper links. Many times the CMS auto generates the URL for the page which can be a wrong link. Example, a URL in Magneto can be {{unsercure_base_url}}abc.html. This should be changes to a relative link “/abc.html”
  • For Magneto users, follow the below instructions and login to the to back end system through System > Configuration > Web > Secure to verify if the setting are okay.
  • Base URL ends in slash. So for your HTTPS website it’ll be https://abc.com/. Use Secure URLs in front end : Yes. Use Secure URLs in Admin : Yes
  • For WordPress users, you’ll have to change the URL and add some code to force HTTPS in Admin and go on to install plugin. The plugins vary very much in WordPress so you might have to go have a look at the documentation for that.

 

7.  Look for potential errors

You’ll be lucky if all your site links work with HTTPS on the first try. You’ll have to open a browser Chrome or Firefox or Safari, go to your website links and Inspect element. In case there are any errors in the HTTPS conversions the errors in linking will be highlighted. Another way to do the checking would be to individually check the source code of each page for HTTP extension. You should be able to correct the errors easily.

8. Setup redirects or use HSTS

The next step would be to setup Redirect 301 for all the HTTP links so that they lead to your HTTPS links. In Apache based websites, this redirection of incoming traffic is fairly easy. All you have to do is to add a code on top of your .htaccess file to your root folder.

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off

RewriteRule (.*) https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]

Once this is done, test all the sites if they are going to HTTPS URLs or not.

 

If you aren’t worried about a handful of users being affected and want to use the latest technology, HSTS (HTTPS Strict Transport Security) is for you. It basically works like the Redirect mentioned above but does so in a standardized way. Internet explorer is yet to be accustomed to this however other browsers are up to speed with HSTS and it can be a possible standard for websites in future.

 

Migration of your site to HTTPS can be a herculean task but thankfully there are many out there to provide help. Google for example provides special documents for the conversion especially for HTTP sites. With an experienced conversion host and minimal cost per year, you can stay on top of your game by maintaining the outreach your business requires.

 

About the author:

Win Infosoft is a Digital Marketing agency with years of experience in providing the best possible services in PPC, SEO, SMM, Website and App developments. If you are looking for someone to convert your website into HTTPS, contact us today for a smooth transition.