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Looking to up the traffic on your WordPress site? Marketing Integrations or Plug-ins are the best options when it comes to taking your business to the next level. You might be asking, with so many different integrations to choose from, where should you begin. To start with, what are your needs? If you are a beginner, you are probably needing to start with basic integrations. However, if you have been up and running, you are probably wanting to add Plug-ins to increase traffic. Knowing your needs and which integrations are the most useful for your site will help you choose the correct plug-ins.
Choosing the Right Marketing Integrations
When it comes to choosing the right Marketing integrations for your website, there are several things to consider. First, and foremost, choosing the right integrations is important so as to not overload your site. WordPress offers over 50,000 plug-ins. Choosing too many can slow down the speed of your site and as a result detour visitors from staying or returning, so it’s important to choose the right integrations. Steve Olenski of Forbes Magazine reminds us that “the more plugins that get added to a site, the slower the website becomes. And since there is nothing more unprofessional than a website that won’t load half its content, you’ve got to be careful and choose wisely when selecting plugins for your site”. If you are starting to feel overwhelmed, don’t. There are WordPress courses you can take like the ones offered by Emily Journey and Associates that can help you have more confidence in choosing the right integrations and how to use them. In the meantime, here are some of the most useful integrations your WordPress website should have regardless of what stage of the process you are in.
Search Engine Optimization
Whether you are just starting off or have an existing Website, Search Engine Optimization, or SEOs, integrations are a must. Using a plug-in like Yoast SEO or AOISEO helps to bring attention to your site through keywords and keyword placement. Check into different plug-ins as some will allow you to connect to Google Analytics or other sites such as Facebook and Twitter analytics. Monitoring your data through these programs helps you to monitor traffic, which can help you analyze what is working and what is not.
BackUp
Having a backup is essential with a Website. Should something go wrong, you do not want to lose everything you have. Integrating plug-ins like WP-Backup or Updraft can help you recover lost content. Some of the plug-ins are free like WP-Backup, whereas some cost. Read over the different backup integrations WordPress has to offer and decide which is best for you and your finances. You can always upgrade to a better plug-in as your revenue increases. Whatever, the case, make sure you do not save your backup on the same server as your website. Using a third-party service like Google Drive can help you maintain your content should your website go down.
Security
Whether your website is e-commerce, service, or membership, you will want to protect yourself and your visitors or members from malicious attacks on your site. Attacks can range from basic login attacks to malware scanning. Integrating a security plug-in should be one of the first things you do before launching your site. WordPress offers plug-ins like Sucuri and SecuPress. Both offer free and paid versions. The free versions cover things such as login attempts, whereas the paid versions protect from malware.
Email and Newsletters
Being able to communicate with your subscribers is important. Communication helps to ensure return visitors. Having visitors subscribe to a newsletter is the best way to obtain emails and get your newsletters and updated information out. Integrating WordPress plug-ins like HubSpot, Newsletter, and Optin Monster allow you to stay in touch with your subscribers. If you are looking for pop-ups, Optin Monster will pop up as a visitor is leaving the page. On these pop-ups, you can add questions or comment making them second guess their departure.
Speed
Speed may not be something you think about, but it is important. Think about the times you went to a website and it was slow. You most likely left and didn’t return. Don’t lose visitors due to slow speed loading times. WP-Rocket is the most used WordPress plug-in. There is a fee of around $50 but it is worth it. If you are looking for a free one, Nitropack offers a free version but there is a badge added to the bottom of the page.
Bottom line, building a WordPress website can be overwhelming, but there are courses out there that can help you in creating your perfect website. When choosing plug-ins, stop and think about the websites you visit. What do you like about them? What do you not like? What makes you return? Don’t be afraid to get there and try. If you integrate a plug-in that does not work for you, you can always remove it. Just make sure you are monitoring your integrations, update them when needed, and have fun.
