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Why is Content Marketing Important for Your Brand?

The 30 Day Content Marketing EbookContent marketing is important for your brand because it is a powerful way to create brand awareness and allow customers to engage with you. Content marketing is a solid marketing strategy that has brought success to many brands and businesses from startup to much larger companies. When done correctly, content marketing creates an ongoing benefit that can be utilised for years to come.

Here are 5 ways content marketing can help your brand stand out from the crowd.

1.  Gain Your Audience’s Trust
2. Build Your Brand Identity
3. Showcase your authority in your industry
4. Improve Engagement
5. Google Loves Content

1. You’ll Gain Your Audience’s Trust

There is so much noise on the internet it can be confusing for your audience to know who to trust.

We all like to deal with people we

KNOW – LIKE – TRUST

However, how can you establish this trust when you have not come into contact with this potential customer before?

It can take a lot of work to gain people’s trust and content marketing is a great way to begin to establish this trust. By answering questions that your potential customer has in relation to your service (Using FAQ’s) and speaking their language the trust relationship will be created much quicker and often before they have even met you.

2. Build Your Brand Identity

BrandPeople will often buy products and service by brand recognition, this is why franchises work so well. Even though people may not have done business with a particular brand they will know what to expect ahead of time and that helps to reassure them. When people see that your brand has lots of content and can be found in many places online that will start to create brand awareness for you. Essentially you are letting the world know what your brand is all about and establishing an identity online. Solid brand recognition is a major factor in people’s buying decisions.

When in doubt your potential customer will default to the familiar which is why people often repeatedly use businesses even though they may not be very happy with their service or resulting product – they are familiar and so that makes it easy for them.

When people go looking for information on a product content marketing is an easy non-threatening way for people to research your company and the chances are people who can remember your brand will use you over your competitors when they recall your brand.

3. Showcase Your Authority In Your Industry

When you are looking for a solution to your problem you will generally look for an expert on the subject. Content marketing can successfully build your authority as an expert in your field and a trusted source for the solution to the problem.

The more content that you produce that is relevant to your business, the higher the likelihood that you will build trust with your audience. Content can help new audience members discover you for the first time and strengthen your reputation with your existing audience. By creating genuinely useful content you will have a great opportunity for your brand to be known as the solution to their problem and the place to go creating that know, like and trust that will be converted into sales.

4. Improve Engagement

EngagementEngagement is the name of the game if no one reads or cares about your content you have probably missed the mark with your audience. When you create a successful content marketing campaign that speaks to your audience you will have an excellent engagement rate from your audience and this can then be converted into sales if your offer is what they need.

5. Google Loves Content

Although your primary objective should be your audience, not Google, the reality is if you don’t play the “Google Game” how will people find you. Google loves content, there are plenty of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) benefits to content marketing. When you are consistently publishing valuable content, you will be able to rank for more keywords on search engines. Valuable content will bring traffic to your site when done correctly.

Traffic breeds traffic and the more traffic you get the more you will be able to establish your business and brand as a presence on the Internet and that will allow more to get to know about you.

Content marketing is a great way to bring in more people to your site because they will be interested in your solutions to their problem. These people will be highly engaged audience on your site, meaning they are less likely to bounce out right away after they land on your page. Another factor that Google counts when determining rankings and this will help boost your rankings on search pages.

Why is Content Marketing Important for Your Brand?

ApprovedAs you can see content marketing important for your brand and as your brand starts sticking in people’s minds, then it will be easier to gain their trust. You’ll find that when you have captured people’s trust, getting them to follow your content and take action to purchase becomes much easier.

By successfully positioned yourself and your brand as authorities in your industry you will be able to create content that resonates with your audience and that will ultimately convert into sales.

Want To Learn More About Content Marketing For Your Brand?

Why not try our The 30-Day Content Marketing Plan which is a is a is a step-by-step blueprint for creating fresh content that converts. This is the easiest way to chart your path from beginner to content marketing expert! Easy, actionable and you can do it. What are you waiting for, start your content marketing journey today?

The 30-Day Content Marketing Plan is the perfect guide for you, start now.

Article by Cathy Smith

3 easy ways to create unique content that your audience want to read

3 easy ways to create unique content that your audience want to readCreating content is a great way to keep your website up to date and a can be a great part of your content marketing strategy. However, creating content for the sake of creating content is a waste of your time.

You need to create content that your audience actually want to read and share. But how?

What happens when you start running out of ideas? Here are 3 simple ideas to help you create content ideas that your audience will want to read.

1. Ask Your Audience

2. How Tos

3. Have an Opinion

1. Ask Your Audience

What are the questions you get asked over and over?

What questions and repeat comments are you getting on social media?

Answer these questions for your content

questionAfter you have answered all your FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) then you could do a search and see what other questions please are asking. Go to one of the many questions and answer sites on the Internet like

  • Quora
  • Yahoo Answers
  • Reddit

There are plenty of forums that you can browse. Try Facebook for industry specific pages, groups and your competitor’s pages and see what questions are being asked.

Ask your audience either in person or via social media. What are your common challenges when looking for a product like ours . . . . ?

Once you start looking you will find plenty of ideas from these questions and answers; that you will be able to use to build your content on.

2. How Tos

Create how to videos or instruction sheets. If your product has specific things that need to have “how tos” are a great way to show your audience what needs to be done. You can also create “how tos” on complimentary services that may come before or after your product.

For example, if you sell planter boxes you could make a “how to” on soil types and how to get the most out of planting out your planter box with a particular type of plant and then giving water instructions.

3. Have an Opinion

OpinionNo one will read a boring wish washy article, you need to be firm and have an opinion. You could start by checking out the latest trends in your industry and discuss how you feel that this trend will affect your industry.

For example, I could discuss the ongoing changes in the Facebook algorithm and whether it is still worth spending time and money on marketing on Facebook?

Your bold and choose topics that are interesting to your audience have an opinion on current subjects that affect your industry.

Questions that you could answer would be where your industry is headed, any upcoming technologies and trends that you think are maybe going to happen, plus what is old hat and will going to get left behind.

3 easy ways to create unique content that your audience want to read

Creating content should be fun for you and interesting for your audience, by using the 3 ways listed above you will have many different areas to discover some really unique ideas to create content on.

Article by Cathy Smith

Is WordPress Safe for my Website?

WordpressYes, if you look after it!

I get asked all the time, is my WordPress safe? Like a car, if you maintain your WordPress website, it will be safe. No, not 100% safe as no computer software is; however the risks can be eliminated and maintained.

Website Hacking

Websites can be hacked in numerous ways, regardless of the platform that the website is built on eg. WordPress.

Websites can be hacked via:

  • File Uploads – malicious code
  • Brute Force Entry – trying to guess password+log in
  • Denial of Service – steady stream of traffic from hacker bots
  • Cross Site Scripting – code entered or executed from URL of a site.
  • Malware
  • And many more

(According to Wpmudev.org )

SecurityPrevent Hacking

To prevent your website from being hacked, start with protecting your computer.

Hackers prey on easy targets. Just like home security if your door is locked, the burglar will probably rattle the door and move on. If your computer is secured, you will be halfway there.

How to Maintain Your Computer to Prevent it From Being Hacked

To keep your website safe you need to start by maintaining your computer. Have up-to-date security on your computer.

  • Computer virus checkers
  • Scan your computer regularly
  • Install a firewall on your computer

Secure and Keep Your Website Updated

To maintain your WordPress website make sure you:

  • Use solid password lowercase, uppercase, number, special character eg & * ) % etc and not a password you use in other places.
  • Don’t use admin as your usernameSSL
  • Don’t log on to your WordPress admin on public unsecured WIFI
  • Have a security plugin on your website
  • Keep WordPress and all plugins updated
  • Backup your website regularly and test that your backup works
  • Choose trusted web hosting
  • Make sure you have an SSL certificate installed

Will my WordPress website be hacked?

That is a question few can answer. Yes, the chances of an attempt being made on your website any website no matter whether it is WordPress or not is probably high. If you follow the above advise and keep your website well looked after and maintained, the chances of a website hacking attempt being successful will be greatly reduced.

Best Ways to Prevent a WordPress Website Being Hacked?

Get a professional web designer with years of experience to set up your website; they will be able to add the correct security and implement the appropriate procedures to keep your site safe.

Website maintenance packages include core software updates, ongoing security, malware protection, back up services and more. If you don’t have the time or will to be consistently looking after your website, hire a professional to help you.

Where to get help looking after my website?

CATCO Enterprises have been building, running and maintaining a large range of websites for over 10 years.  Need help with your website, support or website maintenance, call Cathy and the team at CATCO Enterprises – first 30 mins is FREE!

Should my Small Business Have a Website?

WebsiteYes.

Even with social media, a website is still a very important tool for your business.

Think about your own behaviour – what do you do when you want to find something?

9 times out of 10, we “GOOGLE IT”.

Most people now use Google search like we used to use the phone book.

5 reasons why small business should have a website

Here are 5 reasons why your small business should have a website:

1. Credibility
2. Your Customer Expect It
3. 24/7 Salesman for Your Business
4. Answer FAQ’s
5. Showcase Your Services

1. Credibility

When looking for a product or service, most people will do a Google search as their way to find what they are looking for. Having a fast loading, nicely styled website that reflects your brand is immediately going to build your credibility in their eyes. Even when friends or family refer businesses to us, we still go their website to check the business out and see if we think they are credible before making a decision.

2. Your Customers Expect Your Business to Have a Website

Google searchA website has become a minimum standard for all businesses no matter the size and your customers will expect you to have one. Guess what it is almost certain that your competitors will have one and if by some odd chance that they don’t, what a perfect way to stand out from the crowd.

3. 24/7 Salesman for Your Business

With our modern lives, FIFO, spilt shift, lots of people don’t keep regular hours anymore, having a website means your business never has to close. Even better, you don’t always have to be behind the counter. Depending on the type of products/services you sell, you could be selling online to customers you have never met from all over the world. Even small micro business can benefit from a brochure style website.

4. Answer FAQ’s

Do you or your staff consistently get answered the same questions over and over again? Answering FAQ’s on your website makes that so much easier.

5. Showcase Your Products/Services

Online sellLet people have a good look at your products so they know that you have to offer. There are so many ways a website can reach customers that you may not normally have the opportunity to service otherwise from your physical location.

Should my Small Business Have A Website?

Absolutely, from extending your market share to servicing your current customer a small business website really is a must. It is no point having the most fantastic product, wonderful customer service and a great location if no one can find you.

Need help with your current small business website or need one for the first time?

Contact Cathy at CATCO Enterprises and have a chat, the first 30 minutes is FREE. What have you got to lose, start with a chat?

Does Your Business Need a Marketing Tuneup?

New ideaRunning a successful business is not always as glamourous as we are lead to believe. You have to try and work on the business while working in the business. In the beginning, you are “ the everything” and as time goes on, you need to learn to delegate and let some of these tasks go as other team members and staff are brought into the business.

Light Bulb Moment

Often we learn so much that we replace some of the things that we used to know. Have you ever been to a seminar or had a conversation with someone and listen to them talk about a subject and had a “light bulb” moment. Geez, I know that… How long ago was it since you had thought about it? Something the old becomes new again and maybe, just the solution you are looking for.

Having someone look from the outside into your business might be just what you need. Not because you didn’t know how to run your business or know what the solution is. For that matter you even knew you that had a problem, an outside perspective will always be different. Not right, not better but different and together, you may be amazed at the ideas you can come up with.

WritingThings We Know?

As part of my job, I write / check, post a lot of articles. These articles need to be 300 words or more. Way back when someone showed me to check the word count by going review/word count in the word so that is always how I do it. Today, my new assistant watched me do that and said: “I always just look at the bottom of the screen”. Bottom left is the word count.

Did I know this?
I have no idea, if I did, I sure have forgotten it!

Does Your Business Need a Marketing Tuneup?

What have you missed? Not seen the forest for the trees?

Maybe your website needs a fresh look, an outside perspective?
Contact CATCO Enterprises for a free website audit.

4 Mistakes That Will Cause Your Website to Underperform

All websites are not created equal.Bad User Experience

Here are 4 mistakes that will cause your website to underperform.

  1. Bad user experience
  2. Designs that Don’t Work
  3. Slow Loading Pages
  4. Pages that All Look The Same

Bad User Experience

Your viewers are impatient, they want what they want and they want it NOW!

The worst indicator for Google is the back button. When a viewer comes to your website and hits the back button and bounces straight back out, Google sees that as a bad sign. Now to be fair, the viewer may only be looking for your phone number and they got exactly what they needed; however, in most cases, they bounce because they didn’t get what they were looking for.

Google is a business too and if your website is not making their customers happy by delivering them with what they are looking for, Google will send them to other websites that do.

Designs That Don’t WorkBad Design

If your design is too hard to navigate around or your viewers are left confused, it is unlikely that they will find what they are looking for and probably will leave. People are impatient and have lots of choices, so are more likely to leave than try and find it within your site.

Your design needs to be clear, concise and on brand so that you don’t confuse your viewer.

Be careful going too MINIMALIST, or you won’t have enough information for Google to verify that your website is trustworthy. Minimalist design looks great however, you still need to provide “the meat in the sandwich”; the content that backs up your images and let Google and your viewers now they are in the right place.

Let your viewers know that you can help them with your products and services to solve the problem they are looking to have solved.

Slow Loading PagesWant a better experience

With a lot of people are viewing your website on mobile devices, slow loading pages will be the death of your website. There are many things that can cause your pages to load slowly.

  • Large image file sizes
  • Old and redundant code in the back of your website
  • Bad code
  • Badly designed pages
  • Videos that haven’t been optimised or embedded properly
  • And many other reasons

If you only do 1 thing to fix your current website, check out your page loading speed.

Pages that Look All the Same

If all your pages have the same large header that takes up most of the top of the page and it is all your viewer will see when the page first loads. Your viewers won’t know that a different page has loaded.

Don't let your website be another mistake

Large headers are a great visual on your homepage, it gives immediate validation that your viewer is in the right place.  Once your viewer clicks on something else and wants to learn more, you need to show them a different look so that they know they have loaded a new page. If your product is very visual, you may want to stay with a large image at the top of the page (although there are better ways to do this). If you do stay with a large image, then make sure that you can change the images for each page so that there is no doubt that a new page has loaded.

4 Mistakes That Will Cause Your Website to Underperform

By correcting these 4 common mistakes, your website will give the user a much better experience and they stay longer on your site because they are getting the results they want; finding the information they need to solve their problems.

Need help with your website?

Contact Cathy and the team at CATCO Enterprises for a website audit of your current website.

Message in a bottle - How to get your website found

6 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website

All websites need traffic, people to find you and your services. Read on to find 6 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website.

Video, brings the Know Like and Trust Factor very quickly

Woo hoo! Your website is finished, what next?

Your lovely new website is finished and looks great, so what is the next step. Now you need to tell people where to find your website and bring in traffic.

Here are 6 ways to drive traffic to your website:

  1. Yes, video is the most the scariest way however it works.

Getting onto video will shorten the trust learning curve dramatically. Your protentional customers can “meet” you, see how you talk, how you look, how you dress and get to know you very quickly without ever being in the same room as you. We all hate to make a wrong decision or feel like we have been ripped off and video can make the jump to KNOW – LIKE – TRUST a short journey.

Once you have made your video you have multiple place you can share it. Start by creating a YouTube channel and upload your videos there, write a

description and add your keywords. Once you have your videos on your YouTube channel then you can add then to a page on your website. Don’t forget Facebook looks native video, this means videos that you have uploaded directly into Facebook and yes it can all be the same video.

  1. EngagementLet's start a conversation

Social media is called social for a reason, you need to engage, start a conversation.

Posting funny cat videos, what you had for dinner or even relevant information about your business is not enough unless you engage with your audience.

We have all been on Facebook pages that how thousands of Likes however noone ever visits the page and I bet you bounced out of there super quickly too, why because it was boring.

Engagement is the answer.

Write posts in the same fashion as you would if you were telling a friend about this great new product or service that you have just found. Explain to them the benefits and the great value it has and how it solves your problem.

Then get people to engage with your content, ask questions, offer solutions to their problems and make your page fun. Give your audience a reason to keep coming back.

  1. PartnershipsPartnerships, a great way to build business relationships

People buy from people they KNOW – LIKE – TRUST.

When you are looking to buy a product or service for the first time or looking for a new supplier what do you do? You ask your friends or business colleagues, we trust referrals.

Who can you partner with to get more referrals?

Can leverage off an influencer in your space, a business network club, sporting club or other memberships you may have?

Can you partner with another type of business whose customers may benefit from your content? Write articles for your local chamber of commerce magazine, be featured in a blog, shared on a group or be recommended on Facebook page with a large following.

Who can you partner to be able to have a long term business relationship with that will benefit both their customers and you?  For example an Accountant that is located near a coffee shop may offer free coffee’s to people how fill in a survey form that is located at the coffee shop. Win Win, coffees and referrals.

  1. Email

Just over three-fifths of respondents (those 25 or older in particular) would prefer to be contacted by brands via email. According to the Adobe Consumer Email Survey Report 2017.

Email is a very powerful business tool. How often do you check your email every day? I’m betting lots; most people have their alerts on to tell them “they have mail”.

Do you open all your email?

On average 60% of emails are opened and the rate is even higher when you take into account that most email services are set so you can read the email in preview mode without having the open the actual email. All in all, getting your message across by email is very effective.

One of the best ways to drive traffic to your website is to email your prospects and current customers regularly with helpful information which could be a brief description and link to your blog article, a feature product, how to information and so one.

Email marketing is a powerful way to reach your current and potential customers however a word of warning – One half of respondents (and more than half of females) find being emailed too often by a marketer as the most annoying when receiving email offers. According to the Adobe Consumer Email Survey Report 2017.

  1. Be Helpful

Answer your customer’s questions. You can answer questions by having an FAQ’s section on your website, then use these FAQ’s as content for your social media posts.

What are the questions you get asked over and over about your products or services?

Answer questions that are being asked in Facebook groups and forums that relate to your expertise or topic.

  1. Guest posting

Guest posting is where you write articles for other people’s blogs. The advantage of guest posting is you may be able to leverage their audience. Magazine style blogs are always looking for guest posts Sourcebottle is a service that is always looking for people to write content.

Here are 6 ways to drive traffic to your website are:

  1. Video
  2. Engagement
  3. Partnerships
  4. Email
  5. Be Helpful
  6. Guest posting

Just remember help and serve people (not go straight for the sell); then you will be able to find many ways to bring traffic to your website.

Need help? Give Cathy and the Team at CATCO Enterprises a call on 9797 0889.

Is Your Business A Secret? Is Your Website Heading For The Google Grave Yard?

grave yardCan Google find you?

Is Your Business A Secret? As business owners’ we are often very busy trying to do many different roles within our businesses; marketing, social media and our website don’t always get the priority they need. Not because we don’t want to just that we lack the time.

Websites are wonderful marketing tools and they can be anything from a lovely visual brochure to a fully functional online shop; however all websites depend on 2 things:

  • Being found by Google
  • Being found by your customers

If no-one can find you it doesn’t matter how great your products are, how beautiful your website is or how fabulous your customer services is; your business will not flourish. You wouldn’t dream of having a shop front and keeping the doors locked and not turning on the lights each morning.

Lots of small businesses don’t understand the importance that their website and social media platforms play in building their business.

3 mistakes that small business owners make

  1. Using a Gmail address not their domain name
  2. Not having clear keywords on the website
  3. Not having a social media plan

Using a Gmail address not their domain name

EmailIn business the impression you make is everything. You only get 1 chance to make a first impression. When you get an email from your phone provider, utility providers, car dealers or any other business these emails always come from the company’s domain name, not Gmail or Yahoo.

By sending your email from Gmail, Yahoo or your service provider you give the impression of being small, part-time or untrustworthy. Serious businesses always use their domain name for their emails.

When choosing your email address, stay away from the generic of sales@ admin@ office@ info@ because these type of email address are what spammers use and your email will get lumped in the same basket often getting caught in spam filters meaning that your emails will not be delivered.

Generic email addresses are fine just be a bit more creative and use your location, job description, description of service etc.

Not having clear keywords on the website

SMART Goals for business websites. Is Your Business A Secret?

Google land is very busy with thousands of websites competing for your keyword all the time. You need to give Google a very clear message of what your website is all about and who you would like your website shown too.

1 keyword per page. Write the content of your page around 1 main theme or idea.

If Google can’t clearly determine what your page is about they are unlikely to return it as a result to someone’s search and no matter how lovely your website is you will be doomed to the back corner of the Google grave yard.

Not having a social media plan

Social media, in particular, Facebook is a must have business tool; unfortunately, a huge percentage of small businesses don’t use their Facebook presence to their best advantage.

Posting what you had for dinner, your gorgeous cat or your wonderful children’s sporting activity is not going to make your business page a success. Even if you are posting wonderful business content here and there but you don’t have a strategic constant plan you are unlikely to see a meaningful result. Like any form of marketing, you need to have a SMART Goal to achieve a consistent outcome.

SMART  S – specific, M – measurable, A – achievable R – realistic T – time-based

Is Your Website Heading for The Google Grave Yard?

Is Your Business A Secret? With a little bit of planning, forethought and structure your website can be a wonderful digital marketing tool for your business and not another money drain. Work out your end goal and then plan backwards and remember to follow Googles’ best practices.

Not sure where to start?

CATCO Enterprises offers a range of social media and web design services from 1/2 day strategy sessions to teach you how and what to implement in this busy digital space;
to full done for you marketing services. Give Cathy and the team a call on 0409 489 464 for more information.

Are you listening to your customers?

When I was a kid we moved into a new, old home. New to us, however 50+ years old, at the end of the front verandah was a black rose. Yes black, not dark red, deep purple or any other colour but BLACK.

My Mum took a photo of it and after 12 photos were taken, off she went to the local chemist to have it sent away to the photo lad to be processed for $24. That might not sound as if it was much but it was a huge deal; in late 1970’s a price of a loaf of bread was 54c and that was from the bakery not a big subsidised supermarket.

The photos came back red. My Mum was devastated, she had spent all this time getting the right light, the composure, the angle on these photos of this precious BLACK rose. She repeated this process again and this time took it directly to the local photo and told the salesperson that the photos were of a BLACK rose and not a red rose and please don’t correct the colours. As you can imagine the cost was even higher this time unfortunately, the result was the same and the photos came back red again.

ListeningAre you listening to your customers?

The reason I tell you this story is because these 2 service providers didn’t listen to their customer, my Mum and assumed they know what she wanted? As a business owner have you ever made that assumption?

This product would be better for the client because they can’t afford the other one.

We have all hear stories of rich business people going into expensive car sales rooms in their garden clothes to see if they will get real service or not?

Customers like to buy not be sold too!

When offering your products and services are you giving enough information so that your customer can make a choice:

  1. To buy
  2. What to buy
  3. Have options

Customers of today are very savvy and can obtain reams of information in a heartbeat, are you being part of there sale journey, do you have the information they need on your website, promotional material?

Tell your customer what they want to know.

Customers often just need a little more information to help them with their choice. If you are being asked the same questions over and over the easiest way to address this have a Frequency Asked Questions (FAQ) section on your website.

Generally, the people that ask are just the tip of the iceberg and many more potential and current customers want to know but don’t want the hassle of asking, so just move on.

What do my customers want to know?

Ask. It is a good practice to ask your customers if they are happy with your service, your products and if there are other things you could be doing to help them. It is far cheaper to keep loyal customers and get them to buy from you again than try to convince new customers to buy from you.

A lot of business’ spend far to much time and money trying to attract new customers with – this discount or that offer and quite often this approach can drive your existing customers to your competition because they are offering their “New” customers a better deal.

People are creatures of habit and we like easy.

The number 1 reason customers leave is indifference!

Customer will go through all the effort of finding a new supplier and leave your business when they think you don’t care. Caring, this is why a lot of big brand have loyalty programs where they are emailing, messaging and sending you things by snail mail to make you feel special and make sure you remember them.

Are you listening to your customers?

Today’s tip of the day is to listen to your customers, really listen and ask them questions about what they want and like. Go through your database and contact some old customers who you haven’t seen for a while and find out how you can help them now.

People like to deal with businesses they KNOW – LIKE – TRUST. To build trust is not as hard as you might think, start with the little things, start by listening to your current customers, make them feel special.

Need help? Contact Cathy and the team at CATCO Enterprises.

Why Was My WordPress Website Hacked?

Why was my WordPress website hacked; it’s often an issue with the security that leaves the door open for the burglars to get in.

Hackers are burglars; they are usually trying to gain momentary benefit from hacking your website. If you aren’t keeping a constant eye on it, you stand to lose a lot more than just your money and it won’t happen to me as I am just a small business unfortunately just won’t cut it. This is a worldwide problem that is not limited to the rich and famous, your identity is valuable and can be sold.

Why Was My WordPress Website Hacked? Is a common question.

3 most common ways that hackers can hack into your WordPress site include:

  • Security breaches in 3rd party plugins
  • Non-secure passwords and logins
  • Old, unattended sites

Security Breaches in 3rd Party Plugins

Plugins are the little programs that help to run your website

All plugins available on WordPress are third party program, which means someone else (not WordPress wrote the code to plugin). Plugins are the little programs that help to run your website, make the forms work, the social media button, let you see your analytics etc.

Any plugins that you install on your website are 3rd party and carry some amount of the risk of your website being hacked. Don’t get me wrong plugins are awesome and can make your life so much easier and your website run really well with all the bells and whistles, however be aware that you are letting a stranger knock at your door and you need to run a few checks before inviting them in and letting them contribute to the functionality of your website.

How to check the creditability of a plugin before downloading:

  • Good reviews from other users
  • Regularly updated
  • Has been downloaded a lot

If your plugin ticks these boxes, then you will be ok and you can be sure of its authenticity and safety. Remember you must keep your plugins updated to protect your website..

Non-secure Passwords and Logins

Do you use the same password for everything?

Is it something obvious or easy to guess?

Change it now!

Brute force is one the hackers favourite ways to try and get into your website and a weak password is like leaving the door open. Make sure you don’t use the default “admin” as your login name either.

According to The Telegraph in the UK, the most common passwords still are not very strong.

  • 123456
  • 123456789
  • qwerty
  • 12345678
  • 111111
  • 1234567890
  • 1234567
  • password

A lot of software and websites are now forcing you to have stronger passwords by making you have a Capital letter, a number and a special character; yes it’s a pain in the butt however it might just save your ASS! You should make it a blanket rule to uses these type of passwords (PASSWORDS plural – not the same one for everything).

Old Unattended Sites

If you aren’t keeping an eye on your website, someone else will be and for all the wrong reasons. If you are unaware of the health of your website you won’t know something is wrong until its really, really wrong.

Here are some common tell-tale signs of a site being hacked that you won’t pick up unless you regularly check your website:

  • Malware warning popups
  • Your website disappears
  • The website loads really slow or just crashes
  • Your website redirects
  • Extra links or your site is covered in ads to unrelated products
  • Hacker code left behind – gibberish text at the bottom or top of the page
  • Emails being sent to spam
  • Lots of undelivered emails to addresses you don’t know.


There are plenty of other ways that are less obvious and could be damaging your site or mean your site is being used to forward on harmful information.

To minimise your WordPress website being hacked

Make sure it is backed up and kept your website up to date, have a reputable security system installed and follow the information in this article. Have you upgraded to HTTPS for you website, that is another great way to help protect your website, read our HTTPS article for more information?

Need help? Contact Cathy and the team at CATCO Enterprises.

 

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