Well hello friends!

Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Blogging.

We've got more great news to share with you this week, so let's jump right to it!

Google's Security Maturity

Site security isn't a very sexy topic, that is unless you're the purveyors of a weekly blogging newsletter. To us, sadly, it's as sexy as it gets. 

We don't know whether Google is also lustfully wooed by the intricacies of securing your site and accounts, but we do know that they're prioritizing it. 

This week, Google announced that they'll be adding a password checkup tool to the security checkup dashboard. 

In short, Google discovered that a whopping 52% of people reuse the same password for multiple accounts, and realized that could be problematic. They'll be looking to aid people in creating unique and difficult passwords to crack and, at the same time, regularly checking to ensure that your stored login information is never part of a data breach. 

Of course, as bloggers, it's crucial that our sites and accounts are secure. However, it's one of those topics that can often spur what we'll call "instant anxiety," as well as healthy doses of avoidance. 

Well, "instant anxiety" be damned. We're going to offer you some actionable security tips in layman's terms that you can easily put into action. 

How to Up Your Security Game

Our guess is that many of our beloved TWIB content creators are already making use of some of these suggestions, but, just in case, let's rattle off a few. 

Many of these don't take all that long to implement, but can make a world of difference. If you struggle with anything, just reply to this email, and we'll make sure to help you out and point you in the right direction. 

1. Ensure your site has an SSL certificate. Most hosting companies now offer the SSL certification as part of the package, but if not, you can check out this guide on getting a free SSL certificate for your Wordpress site, or Google's guide to getting an SSL certificate for your domain. When in doubt, ask your host.
2. Keep all plug-ins up to date and deactivate any old ones you are no longer using. It is also recommended to switch out older plugins which may no longer be supported as security flaws could develop over time.
• We do recommend waiting a couple of days or weeks with new plugin updates in case critical bugs are present.
3. Consider using a password manager. Simply put, it's a program that helps you generate and remember passwords for your sites and accounts. We'd recommend LastPass or 1Password.
4. Use a reputable host that offers security features built-in. We're fans of BigScoots* for Managed Wordpress hosting.
5. Backup your website regularly. It's a good idea to periodically download copies of your site and store them in multiple locations (both local and via online services). Some hosts include continual online backup over a fixed period (often the previous 7-30 days).
6. Use a web-based vulnerability scanner to see if you've got any notable weaknesses. This free, light scan isn't a bad place to start, even to just get familiar with what makes a site vulnerable. 

While only just a start, these will get you on your way to running your blog a bit more securely!

Disclosure: Links denoted with * are affiliate links. We may receive a commission from purchases made via these links.

INSIDE THE MAINFRAME

We caught up with our friends at BigScoots to talk about site security.

What are a few programs bloggers can use to help secure their sites?

CloudFlare Pro is a fantastic paid option that works well as you can access the Web Application Firewall (WAF). This will sit in front of the server, so any and all load this would normally cause to the site with a plugin is handled entirely off server, resulting in zero impact for your website.

One final tip- always use secure passwords. Using a password manager is a fantastic way to create long and secure passwords without running into the issue of forgetting them."

- Justin Catello, Co-founder and SVP, BigScoots*

How 'Bout The News?

• Canonical linking is probably one of the most confusing topics out there with regard to SEO. Thankfully, Yoast just published a comprehensive guide that walks through everything you need to know canonical linking.
• There was an initial report that Safari would block Google Analytics as a privacy feature, but clarifications seem to suggest GA will work just fine.
• Facebook has rolled out new features to its live streaming service including graphic overlays, links, and more.
• Another product being launched by Facebook is Forecasts (beta). It will allow users to ask questions and then poll the community for large-scale predictions.
• Twitter is adding an audio option for tweets as a supplement to text.
• Agora Pulse put together a pretty compelling article for why you should send your static Instagram posts to your Instagram Stories.
• TikTok published a guide with a rough explanation of how their algorithm selects videos to show users. They also launched TikTok for Business with a number of new AR features.
• Google has changed its Location History data storage to maximum 18-month retention for new users. Current users have the option to change their settings- this update is only for new activations of the tool.
• Google also announced a licensing program to support the news industry that will be coming out later this year. How this will affect search results and non-featured publishers remains to be seen.
• A final Google note- one study indicates that their ad revenue may go down for the first time in their history. 

How to Find New Keywords in Keysearch

You may know that Keysearch* is a great keyword research tool to help you find search volumes and difficulty scores for your SEO research. But did you also know you can use it to find what keywords any site ranks for?

If you go under the Explorer tab you can input any URL, search with the "Entire Domain" drop-down selected, and click "Search." Once the data loads, head to the "Organic Keywords" section and click the orange button "View Keywords" to see up to 1,000 unique keywords and their respective search volume and position for any given domain!

Need more help with this one? We've got an image-based step-by-step guide on our site to walk you through how you can use this feature!

Need to pick up a subscription to Keysearch? Click here* and be sure to use the discount code KSDISC at checkout to take 20% off your order!

That's it for the week! Check your inbox next week for another update from:

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to reply directly to this email. Chris has been getting bored talking to himself in the mirror every day.

-Chris and Jeremy

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Disclosures: Links denoted with * contain affiliate information. We may receive a commission on purchases through these links. Additional affiliate and sponsorship disclosures are also featured above as necessary.