Page caching is a technique of speeding up your load times. In addition, it will reduce the processing load on your server, as well as help with your search engine rankings. Below are the different kinds of caching and how you can apply this technique to your blog or website:

Caching and Types of Caching

Caching is the act of taking repetitive PHP code and turning it into HTML so that it doesn’t have to be run through the server every time to display the same kind of page. Let’s say you run a website that uses PHP code to determine what your viewer’s IP address is and then show that back to them.

Every time someone loads your web page, the page would first determine the viewer’s PHP, turn it into HTML code, and then display that code to the user. If you cach the page the first time around, however, it will simply save that HTML so that it doesn’t have to execute the PHP command again the second time around.

In more complex web apps, as well as WordPress blogs which run on a lot of complex PHP, the speed difference and server load difference between cached and non-cached pages can be very significant.

There are three main types of caching:

1. Output caching – This is where the entire page is cached and turned from PHP to HTML.

2. Fragment caching – This is where only a portion of the page is cached. Generally this technique is used by more tech-savvy designers who want to cache just specific processing-intensive parts of a website.

3. Data caching – This is where certain data, such as comments, are cached instead of pulling it from the server every time the page is visited.

Caching Tools and Applications

If you are running a WordPress blog, you will have a lot of tools available to you for caching and speeding up your pages. Two of the most popular plug-ins are WP Super Cache and Quick Cache.

WP Super Cache is a plug-in that will take the majority of your dynamic pages and turn them into static HTML pages. It will then bypass your PHP server completely and just serve up HTML whenever it can. Although users probably won’t notice a difference right away, it can make a huge difference during peak times or if you are on a shared server.

Quick Cache is similar to WP Super Cache. Quick Cache has a complex “decision engine” (computer brain) that decides when it should and shouldn’t serve up a cached page. Anytime someone needs up-to-date data, Quick Cache will know and serve up PHP. On the other hand, anytime someone just needs a normal page, it will display the page from the cache instead.

Setting up caching on a non-WordPress website requires a decent level of PHP proficiency. Perhaps the easiest tool to set up caching on a non-WordPress platform is the Alternative PHP Cache (APC). APC is a code framework that allows developers to specify which part(s) of their website they want to cache and write their own caching code.

You now know what caching is, along with a few popular tools for setting up caching on your own website. If you are using a processing-heavy website set-up that often outputs static pages, then you could speed up your website a lot by using caching.

A blog makeover may be just what you need to take your blog to the next level, but transitioning from an old design to a new one can sometimes be shocking to regular readers. Here are a few tips for doing a successful blog makeover to make sure the transition is a pleasant one and that your readers will like your new design:

Start with the “Why”

Perhaps the most common mistake blog owners make with makeovers is to do a makeover when one isn’t necessary. It is easy to get bored of a blog’s design when you are looking at the same thing many hours a day. Your users, however, who may just spend an hour or two on your blog a week, won’t get bored of your design as easily. Before you launch a makeover, it is crucial to ask yourself why. If you have a good reason, such as you are rebranding yourself or you need a more corporate-looking website, then be clear about that goal as you begin the design process. Don’t change a good working design unless there’s a real business reason to do so.

Stage It and Work Out the Bugs

Don’t just push a makeover live. Instead, stage it in a subfolder. There are several WordPress plug-ins that can create a staging blog for you on a subdomain. Alternatively, you can just copy your entire website to a new domain and work with it from there. This allows you to work out the technical and design bugs before the new design goes live. Oftentimes makeovers may seem to work perfectly on the surface, but invariably there will be one or two bugs in the system.

Get Some Feedback

Before you push it live, get some feedback from your loyal readers with whom you have a personal connection, and some of your friends as well. Ask them for their overall first impressions. Then ask them to browse the website to determine how easy it is to navigate, whether they got stuck anywhere, and if they have any suggestions. Once you have the answers, make a round of changes before going live.

Watch Your Statistics

After your blog goes live, watch your statistics. See if your bounce rate or length of time stayed goes up or down. If people are staying longer on your website, that probably means people liked your new layout and found it easy to use. On the other hand, if people are leaving quickly, that probably means they found your new design harder to use. Watch your statistics carefully in the first couple of weeks after a new design goes live. The numbers can tell you a lot about your visitors’ reaction.

In summary, start your redesign process with a purpose. Create the design, then stage it and work out the bugs. Ask for feedback from fans and friends. Finally, watch your statistics after you push your blog live. Do your makeover this way and you will eliminate most of the problems that often come with a major website overhaul.

Having top-notch search engine optimization (SEO) practices in place for your business blog is crucial. The difference between a well-optimized website and a poorly optimized one could be tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Here is why it is so important for a business blog to have phenomenal SEO:

You Face Stiff Competition

In some industries, it is all right to have poor SEO simply because other websites have similarly poor SEO, but the business industry isn’t like that. No matter what your specific topic is, chances are you are going to be facing people who know what they are doing in the search engines. If you don’t have top-notch SEO practices, your chances of ranking are virtually zero in the business space. In other industries, it is very possible to accidentally rank. In business, the chances of that happening are slim to none. Pay attention to SEO, if for no other reason than the fact that your competition is paying careful attention.

You Are Setting an Example

If you run a business blog, then business owners reading your blog will expect you to “walk the walk.” You can’t talk about building a great business if your own website isn’t properly optimized. It is not just about rankings. A business blog needs to be well optimized to set an example and to demonstrate credibility. One of the biggest advantages of working with business people is that they have money to spend. The downside, however, is that you have to demonstrate that you know what you are talking about before they will part with their money. Showing that you know what you’re doing with SEO can help establish that credibility.

You Never Know When You Will Land a “Big Money” Visitor

Rather than the sales or advertising revenue, the biggest benefit to running a business blog often comes in the form of contacts. Your future mentor might meet you through your blog, or someone might like what you are up to and decide to offer to make a large investment in your business. They may also decide they like your product enough to buy it in bulk, or they might be just step away from someone you want to meet. Therefore, since you never know who might be reading your blog is why it is so crucial that you do everything in your power to get as many visitors as possible.

It takes time, energy and effort to SEO-optimize your blog. If that’s what it takes to get your blog in front of the right people, then it is worth it and you owe it to yourself to put in that time.

There are many ways to increase traffic to your blog. You can advertise your blog, you can optimize your content for the search engines, and you can take advantage of social networking sites such as Digg. In fact, social networking interaction is often the easiest and most effective traffic-generation tactic.

When Using Digg, Submit Your Most Compelling Blog Posts

Submitting everything you write to Digg is a good way to alienate people. If you want users to take you seriously, then submit only content that is entertaining, very informative or useful.

Submit Other Content, Too

Digg is a social networking website. As you might have already experienced on other social networking sites, individuals who only promote and don’t interact don’t have too many fans. Once you have registered with Digg, install the Digg toolbar on your browser. Spend a few minutes every day submitting relevant and useful content. This is a key way to build your profile and to interact with other users.

Build a Compelling Profile

Simply being a Digg user and contributor will drive some traffic to your website. People will want to know who you are and what you are about.

Install Digg Buttons

Integrate Digg buttons into your post and blog. You can prompt visitors to “Digg this.” Each time a post is submitted, it moves up the results. You reach more people and increase your search engine ranking.

Use Your Resources

The more Digg votes your posts receive, the higher they move in up the results and the higher up they are, the more people see them. This in turn drives traffic to your blog which is your ultimate goal. Don’t hesitate to ask for Diggs from your readers, customers and prospects.

Optimize Your Submissions

When you submit a post from your own blog, optimize the title and description with keywords. Choose the right category for your niche and consider including a photograph.

Make Friends

Digg is a social networking website and that means interacting with other members. Get online and chat with fellow Digg members. Ask for reviews or votes and reciprocate when fellow members connect with you.

Digg is a great way to promote your blog and drive traffic. It’s free, powerful and can be your most effective traffic-generation tool in your marketing strategy.

When done correctly, podcasting can be an effective way to build an audience. When done poorly, you can turn off your listeners very quickly. Many of the mistakes that podcasters make are relatively simple to spot and correct. Here are a few of the most common podcasting mistakes, along with tips for avoiding them.

Microphone and Positioning

You don’t need studio quality for your podcast, but if your listeners would need to strain to understand your speech, then you need to buy a real microphone. Any microphone that came with a computer isn’t going to be of sufficient quality; the same goes for your iPhone microphone and any microphone that came with a cheap headset.

Also, make sure you are positioned correctly. If you are speaking too close to the microphone, it will pick up spitting sounds and the sounds of your lips opening and closing; too far and your voice will sound muffled. Use the levels gauge to see whether you are too close or too far. Position the microphone slightly to the side rather than right in front to avoid popping sounds.

Long-Winded Introductions

Podcasters who don’t get to the point within the first three minutes are going to lose audience. Don’t spend too much time introducing yourself, your topic, selling the audience, etc. Your audience knows who you are and is there to hear the content. Don’t keep them waiting.

Unscripted Podcasts

Recording a podcast completely off the cuff just doesn’t work. Having a script can really help smooth out your presentation. A “script” in this case is just a list of topics and main points in those topics. Never script out an entire conversation, as your audience will easily pick up rehearsed content. Instead, by having a list of main points ready, you will be able to create a smoothly flowing conversation without ever stumbling on what to say.

Monotone

Having a monotonous podcast is another guaranteed way to chase away your listener base. For one, doing a podcast solo is much harder than doing one with a co-host. A co-host provides another voice and another perspective, which is much more entertaining to the listener than just one voice. If you insist on doing a solo podcast, however, make sure to modulate your voice. Take on different emotions, different stances and different personalities to keep your audience engaged.

These are a few of the most common mistakes podcasters make. Make sure you have good sound by buying and properly using a good microphone. Get to the point quickly. Have a detailed outline of each podcast before you start. Finally, keep your audience engaged with different voices, opinions and emotions.