Tips Tuesday – Image SEO, ADA Compliance, IndexNow, Viral Video, WP Performance

Hello Happy Site Owners and Webmasters!

Tips this week include:

• Image SEO workshop is this week
• What’s up with the video platform monetization copycat strategy happening
• On update on my TikTok journey
• Why I’m giving up on YouTube Shorts
• Code Name Ida is revealed
• What’s coming with WP 6.0 accessibility
• Why now is the time to go all Gutenberg blocks
• Update on the WP Performance team and what I’ll be testing
• Yoast calls out IndexNow to prove its claims
• Why CVS filing for NFT and metaverse trademarks matters to you
• Why you need to learn about crypto burner wallets
• The difference in Web3 and crypto
• What you can learn and monetize from a sandwich video review that went viral
• How to create a better course you can charge more for

Listen to the Podcast

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Spill the Beans Livestream tonight

Do join us live tonight at 8pm ET / 5pm PT on the BlogAid LIVE YouTube channel, which is a sister to the regular BlogAid YouTube channel. So, be sure to subscribe to BlogAid LIVE so you get notifications on live events and so you can join in the live chat. We spill the beans on this week’s news, breaking stories for the day too, and special info just for those who watch. And the replay is available here on this Tips Tuesday post later too. But the live party is so much more fun.

Replay

Who I Help

All BlogAid posts and tutorials are intended to assist business-minded, hands-on bloggers and webmaster designers who are serious about making money and who want to stay up-to-date with site changes. And our BB Hub is a private member site and Facebook group for my site audit clients that has lots of extra perks and support.

BlogAid Happenings

It’s been a warm, spring-like week around here and, boy, does that ever energize me!! I even got out in the back meadow with the neighbor to start gathering all the limbs that had fallen from the old trees and we had a nice bonfire. I sure have missed that physical activity, and feeling the breeze and the sun, and hearing the birdies tweet. It’s a wonderful break from my day job and gives me that full body tired, mind relaxed feeling, which I’ve also missed.

How about you?

Do you have something you enjoy doing that gives you a nice break from all your site biz stuff? 

I find that it helps me focus my time and mental energy more when I’m back at my desk too. And we all need those little surges of momentum to keep fresh energy in our projects, don’t we?

Images SEO Workshop this week

Images are such a huge part of my client’s site success.

And this week we will start our 2-part workshop on image SEO.

Did you know that there are 10+ SEO elements available for every image?

It goes way past alt text!!!!!!!!

If images are a big part of your site, it’s never too late to join us in the course.

Video Platform Monetization Copycat Strategy

It’s so funny to me to see every social and video platform try to emulate what is working on all other platforms instead of just staying in their lane with what made them great in the first place.

TikTok has gone from 15 and 30 second videos to 60 second. And recently they just made 10 minute videos available.

TikTok is very nimble when it comes to innovation and they keep their ear to the ground with what their creators say they want – and then they deliver it – like a way to organize videos you saved to favorites and such. Many creators save a video to use an effect or sound in it, or to duet like I did on one that went viral last week.

But, they are getting blowback from creators on this 10 minute length thing, and most of them won’t be using it. 

Why?

Well, TikTok is well aware that their platform is used to create short clips to draw interest in a creator’s longer form video content over on YouTube. And they are very well aware that creators are saying YouTube pays better for that longer-form content there.

So, TikTok wants to encourage longer-form content, which will hopefully keep more eyeballs on their platform, which is better for their advertising dollar bottom line.

It’s not better for the creator’s wallets, though.

They know that viewers prefer shorter TikTok videos and that they will still be paid more over on YouTube for the longer-form content.

If this move by TikTok doesn’t work, I expect them to start devaluing content that points away from their platform, just like all other platforms do.

My TikTok Status

But what this change means for me is that TikTok wants to push content onto the feed that is longer than 60 seconds.

And I find that 60-90 seconds is about the right length for the time it takes me to deliver the kind of message that has real effect on TikTok.

And this change means that my vids are getting more views.

I’m up to about 50 real followers now and getting an average of 200+ views per video. Some are going over 400.

One went up to 4800+ views. It was a duet I did with a very popular product photographer who showed a trick that I knew my foodie and crafter folks would love.

I’ve been posting at least 4 videos a week consistently, but I took a few days off to see what would happen.

And yep, new views and new followers slowed down dramatically.

So, I’m definitely going to start batch making videos for the week again.

And my Tips Tuesday overview vids are doing very well, and now I’ll experiment with telling folks about the podcast and livestream and see how that works to increase those audiences. But I’ll be doing so with an eye on how TikTok responds to sending folks off their platform too.

And then I’ll add in my spur of the moment vids, like that Duet, and that should allow me to post at least once a day, which is my goal for now.

Overall, I’m very pleased with how things are going on TikTok. I’m just sorry that I missed getting my link in bio before they changed their ToS on that and now require 1,000 followers for personal and business accounts.

I’m sticking with a personal account for now, due to the availability of other features, and less restrictions. I’ll let you know if I change my mind on that.

Why I’m Giving Up on YouTube Shorts

Now that I know that a 60-90 second delivery works best for me in most cases, I’m giving up on YouTube Shorts, which have to be no more than 60 seconds.

I’m just not getting the views on them that I want.

But, I am getting views on the repurposed TikTok ones that are a little longer than 60 seconds.

So, I’m going to move all of my “shorts” over to the BlogAid Today playlist. 

And then make a new playlist for Tips or maybe niche even more for the different topics I cover.

I’m still thinking that through before I make the change.

All I know is that I’m getting more followers, likes, and sales from TikTok, and that’s where I plan to keep my main focus when creating these short videos.

And I’ll focus on making more long-form tutorials for my regular BlogAid channel, as that’s what folks want to see most from it.

What’s Happening with Your Videos?

I hope that me sharing my experiments with video and platforms helps you with your video making journey.

Let us know how you’re doing with it in the comments, or anywhere you see this post online.

That’s all the happenings around here. Let’s jump into this week’s tips.

User Experience Tips

Code Name Ida Revealed

I am beyond delighted to finally be able to reveal what Code Name Ida is all about with you.

It’s the ADA Compliance project that my fellow webmasters, and super designers Michelle Phillips of Codefetti and Marcy Diaz of Amethyst Website Design have been working super hard on for the last 5 months.

And now you know the reason why we had a code name for it.

Any sites that talk about ADA compliance become a target for those who are looking for folks to sue over it.

So, we had to complete the investigation first and come up with the fixes, plus apply them to our sites before publicly talking about it.

Then Michelle granted private access to her superb posts with all manner of information and a testing checklist to my BB Hub site audit clients and then to the DIY SEO course members so they could give feedback.

Everyone said how wonderful the instruction was and how thorough the testing and checklist were. 

And now Michelle has published those posts on her site and I’m delighted to be able to share them with you!!!!

ADA Compliance Posts:

• Why You Need an Accessible Website – a super primer with deep insight
• How to Make Your WordPress Website Accessible – tests and checklist

The info in these 2 posts far exceed anything else you’ll find online, or even in dedicated courses.

Both Michelle and Marcy stand ready to help you bring your site into compliance too. And that’s the route I took with doing some of it myself and outsourcing some of it.

But, it’s super important for me to know how to run my own testing because any forward-facing change I make in the future also has to be ADA compliant.

Those changes include things like my cookie notification or optin or such.

And, I will also warn you that if you got a free plugin to help make your site ADA compliant, you most definitely need to read these posts because they will open your eyes to the false sense of security you think you have and the target that is now on your site.

WordPress Tips

WordPress 6.0 Accessibility Team Refocuses

Back when the Gutenberg editor was first released in late 2018, the WP Accessibility Team screamed their heads off that it was not ADA compliant. 

And they kept screaming that every new release totally blew up all the work they had done to fix the previous release’s compliance too.

The situation was so bad that the head of the Accessibility team resigned and issued a public statement about it.

Since then, WP has been more cognizant of ADA compliance, but it still has a ways to go.

And that is now the main focus of the Accessibility Team with the upcoming WP 6.0 release.

And there are things still on my sites that we are waiting for WP to fix, as it deals with the core code on things like elements in the comments and such. Or things at the core code block level, such as the Buttons block, where I’m having to use a plugin for screen reader text on CTAs where the words incite action, but don’t really describe where the link goes.

Go Gute 

I will also say that the WP team is focused squarely on making Gutenberg blocks compliant.

I had to rebuild several landing pages on BlogAid that were still in the Classic block because there was no way to make some of those elements compliant as easily as I could do it in Gutenberg.

That was okay with me because it was time to refresh the content on those pages anyway.

So, I would strongly encourage you to get on the Gute train if you haven’t already.

And my Gutenberg Ninja course is the fast, fun way to learn it.

Performance Tips

WP Performance Team Update

The WP Performance Team started out with 21 areas of focus.

After 5 months they are now down to 4 main areas that have heavy workflow on them including:

• Measurement
• Images
• Server-side Object Caching
• Infrastructure

They are very close to releasing a plugin. And I’ll be testing the different aspects of it individually.

My main concern is what they plan to do with images to speed things up by making all thumbnails WebP.

I’ve been opposed to this change being rolled into core because they are basically recreating what image optimization plugins do, and I think it should remain in the plugin realm.

I’ll be testing for:

• How much duplicate image bloat it causes
• What happens if you’re already using an image optimization plugin
• What happens to image quality
• What format PNGs are switched to

I’m also on the Measurement team and have offered my testing setup and ways of gathering data and reporting it multiple times, but have been blocked out by the lead of that part of the team who has basically done very little and is now backing out as the lead.

In my mind, the Measurement team should have been the ONLY focus on this project so that we could all come into agreement about setup and testing methods to ensure that all of the proposed changes did indeed have the desired effect.

Not having this critical team and methodology in place is exactly what lead to WP’s poor implementation of lazy load that actually increased LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) time.

THIS is why I joined the Performance team – to ensure they don’t bork our sites.

I’ll keep you posted on my findings once the plugin is released for testing.

SEO Tips

Yoast Calls for Proof that IndexNow Meets Its Claims

Yoast is stirring the pot with regard to IndexNow’s claims to improve crawl efficiency and give you more traffic.

That’s because his tests reveal the exact opposite.

And I have also warned not to use IndexNow because it does not cooperate with your SEO settings, on-page settings, or your XML sitemap – and Yoast has confirmed my initial test results on this too.

Google is still testing IndexNow, but they are not finding it to be a good solution for their crawl needs either, at least so far.

Other SEO plugins have integrated IndexNow, like All in One SEO and RankMath – which is just one more reason not to use those plugins.

Cloudflare has an option for it too – and none of my clients have it turned on.

I think all of these folks have shiny new syndrome and have not done due diligence with their testing.

So, if you hear other bloggers talking about adding this thing – ask them where they got their test data to show that it is actually working and if they have checked their Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools reports to verify that there is no collateral damage with new crawl issues – because that’s exactly what both me and Yoast found when we tested it. I imagine that Google has found the same and I await their report on it, if they ever release their full findings. 

What I expect Google to do if there is any promise to this thing is to create their own version of it – just like they do with so many other “me too” copycat projects they make.

And I’ll be keeping you posted on what happens either way.

Web3 Tips

CVS Files for NFT and Metaverse Trademarks

The static image NFT fad may be a bubble that is on its way to popping, but the utility side of NFTs are picking up steam big time.

And here’s an example of another real-world problem being solved with NFTs.

CVS is following in the footsteps of Walmart to offer virtual goods to get trademarks for NFTs of things it is already selling, like health, wellness, and beauty.

They are also getting trademarks and NFTs for things like personal care and prescription drugs so they can open a metaverse health clinic.

I believe this is an outgrowth of the tele-nurse practitioner industry that has boomed like crazy since CoVid coop up hit. You can chat with a healthcare professional via a virtual meeting for minor health issues rather than have to go in-person to a clinic.

They are also looking to trademark a virtual service for providing nutrition and wellness coaching, wellness programs, nutrition advisory services.

Early Web3 Adopters Make Bank

So, why am I sharing this CVS news with you?

To emphasize 2 things.

• Web3 is being normalized fast.
• Early adopters make the most money.

The Walmart and CVS trademark moves are strategic to ensure they tie up their little corner of the Web3 world, which is the metaverse and NFT marketplace.

That’s a huge clue how much money is already flowing into these elements, and how many more trillions of dollars will be rolling in.

Secret Tip Coming

And there is something that y’all need to be super strategic about and jump on early with Web3 too.

In fact, it could be a make or break thing for your online business down the road.

I’ll be doing it soon and documenting my process on it and sharing it privately with my BB Hubbers and Webmasters as soon as I can, so they can secure these things for themselves and their clients.

And I’ll keep you posted on when I can publicly release what this is about.

Just like Code Name Ida, when I can tell you about it, you’ll understand why I had to keep it under wraps, as it could put a target on folks, including me, if we don’t do it before I make it public.

Learn About Crypto Burner Wallets

What I can tell you now is that it will involve purchasing a wee bit of crypto currency first.

And that part I won’t be covering, as far as how-to.

So, now is the time for you to start your research on how to do that safely.

And I suggest you also learn how to use a MetaMask or other such burner wallet too.

These are things you need to learn to get into the NFT space as well. In fact, researching NFT creation and purchase might be a great way to learn how to do things safely, especially with burner wallets.

Difference in Web3 and Crypto

There is one other thing I want y’all to keep in mind with all of this Web3 stuff.

Web3 and crypto are intertwined with one another, but they are 2 different things.

Think of Web3 like the flood of .com startups went bonkers in the late 1990s.

They have trillions of dollars in venture capital.

Many are also offering crypto tokens that function sort of like stocks so other investors can get in on the profits these things will eventually produce.

This year there has been a ton of volatility in crypto, mainly due to Bitcoin and others being adopted as currency in some countries, and the need for regulation on DeFi projects and such, and the pinch that is being put on common banking and other regulated financial institutions.

But, no matter what happens to the “tokenomics” of a Web3 project, they have the money backing to continue building it.

Many will fail. Just like many .coms failed. Just like many startups of any kind fail.

But, out of the burning pile of them will rise the next Amazon and the next Google and such.

So, when the crypto market zooms up and then crashes again this year, Web3 will keep going.

And more investors and builders will continue to onboard, just like Walmart, CVS, and so many others are doing right now.

And more companies will continue adopting the utility side of NFTs for things like their supply chain management, ticket sales, and so much more.

Video Tips

Video Review of Sandwich Goes Viral

Foodie bloggers and affiliate bloggers, listen up.

Tabitha Brown did a video review of a Whole Foods vegan BLT and it went absolutely viral with 1 million views.

Plus, her book “Feeding the Soul” hit the New York Times best-seller list too.

You’ll want to check out the whole story over on The Tilt.

THIS is why you want to have your own product for sale and use video for marketing.

The whole thing can explode for you.

Affiliate marketers, keep in mind that both YouTube and Google are promoting the heck out of video reviews of products too.

This is where knowing the stuff in my Video SEO Booster course really pays off to ensure that your video is perfectly optimized for the 2 biggest search engines on the planet – YouTube and Google.

Member Site Tips

Create a Better Course That You Can Charge More For

In my deep dive on membership site research, I wanted to see what others are doing to create high dollar courses and retain their members.

I came across a podcast on the How I Built It site that addresses these very things.

And a lot of what he talks about is why I do live workshops for the DIY SEO course and why I have active Facebook groups for my BB Hub site audit clients and Webmasters.

So, if you’re thinking about creating a membership this year, definitely give this podcast a listen.

Wrap Up

That’s a wrap for this week’s Tips Tuesday.

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Be sure to visit BlogAid.net for more tips and resources and I’ll see you online.