Say, one fine morning you wake up from sleep, get your quintessential cup of morning coffee and sit down at your workstation, only to find that the ranking of a huge chunk of your website has dropped. Now, before you freak out, make sure it’s actually an SEO ranking drop.

Even the smartest of the SEOs make the mistake of fretting and wasting time in the first few hours. For this reason, we have put together a small guide to help you manage dropped rankings successfully.

Is there an SEO ranking drop at all?

This is the first thing you should check once your website indicates a drop in traffic and sales. Over the years at NYC SEO Authority, we have seen rank trackers not localized properly or being bamboozled by one of Google’s new SEO experiments to give false hits.

If this is the case, you need to find out…

Has organic traffic dropped in your concerned pages?

Compare the organic traffic of your affected pages before and after drop. Note the changes in traffic since after your rankings have dropped and think about possible factors, like Holidays and festivities, that could have brought the changes.

See Also: Effective Ways To Attract Web Traffic Even When On a Small SEO Budget

Does your ranking tracker show a drop in rankings as well?

We recommend our followers to keep a track of their regular keyword rankings to see if the ranking drop stays for a few days.

Once you are sure that the ranking tools are showing a sharp drop but your GSC clicks are still high, then it could be a natural fluctuation.

However, if you can see the ranking change along with the GSC clicks, then there are a few more things you ought to do:

1. Check if a new Google algorithm has kicked in

Google is notorious for getting new algorithms every season and sometimes one has a completely different set of SEO rules from another. Quite a few blogs document even the minor changes in the SEO algorithm.

You can check out the following for all the latest news on Google SEO:

• Moz
• Search Engine Watch
• Search Engine Land

2. Is the problem on your end?

You need to understand why Google is penalizing your website or why your website is not earning any more brownie points from Google. If the trouble is on your end, you will need to change your SEO plan to boost your website ranking.

Here are a few factors on your end that can cause an SEO ranking drop:

Have you changed internal links of the affected pages?

Internal links are the main contributors of high page ranks and if you changed the locations of your pages without updating your XML maps, Google may be penalizing you without any warning. This can happen when site navigation is updated or key pages are updated, too.

What changes have you made to the affected pages?

From changing URLs to removing H1 and H2 targeted keywords, these things can negatively affect your site’s ranking. Therefore, if your team has changed any of these things or even your pages’ keyword density, there’s a good chance you’ll experience a drop in your SEO rankings.

One thing you can do is check if Google spiders can still access your site and check Google search console for recent crawl reports.

Has there been a site-wide link loss?

This is another very common factor that drives the ranks of all websites. If your website has lost external links, then it will reflect on your site’s SEO rankings.

You can run Screaming Frog on your affected pages to check which other pages link internally to them. You can use Majestic or Ahrefs to find all websites that link to the targeted pages. If this is your problem area, you have no other way than to work towards getting those links back in place.

Has your competition website made any recent changes?

Sometimes you may see your SEO ranking drop after your competitors optimized their websites. In this case, there’s nothing more you can do than suck it up and revise your SEO plans.

You can use tools like Versionista and Wayback Machine to find all recent changes made on your competitor websites. You can spot which of your competitors gained traffic and which ones changed internal link structure from these tools.

Take note of what you learn from studying competitor websites. Learn from the improvements made by your competitor sites and implement the same on your pages to make it rank better.

We know it is difficult to stay calm when your Google ranking is challenged. However, these are a few things we do at our firm to make sure that our website always stay on top, even after having our Seo ranking drop.

See Also: The Future of SEO – Predictions and Premonitions That Will Dominate 2017

The post Drop In SEO Rankings: A Guide To Complete Recovery appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Success has a different meaning for everyone, but, fundamentally, it means achieving the results that you want. It can involve finances, relationships and other personal goals.

Almost everyone struggles to be successful and most people associate the struggles they experience as as essential to their success. You can see this more commonly in social media. You’ll find people constantly talking about ‘hustling’ and ‘working hard’.

Although working can help you achieve your goals, it’s not really always the case. Some people worked really hard but still fail to get what they really want in life.

For example:

When I first started out coaching, I was (still am) passionate about business coaching and so I planned my next move. Through an intuitive process, I realized that my next step was to make a status on Facebook to offer my coaching services to businesses.

I never really trusted social media to give me the results I wanted but I went ahead with it anyway. And to my surprise, one of my friends got in touch with me and said that her dad was looking for a coach for his business.

SIMPLE!

After the easy part, I encountered a bit of difficulty when I was preparing my presentation. That is the point where I realized that hard work is necessary for success but it should be handled at the right time.

But, why is that?

This can be explained by one of the hermetic premises I taught in my book ‘8 Lessons to Succeed at Anything’. This book covers 8 premises that can support you in creating the results that you want, regardless of what your circumstances are.

For this article, I will be covering the premise of ‘Tension Seeks Resolution’.

Tension Seeks Resolution

Tension is as common to life as breathing these days. We are always tensed up about something.

Basic human instinct suggests that if you experience tension, you’ll be compelled to resolve it. People do that through smoking, drinking, gambling and even shopping.

Tension has always had a negative perception from society. In reality, however, tension can be a great driving force for creativity.

Without tension, there’ll be no energy; without energy, there’ll be no creation.

Here’s an example to help you understand tension better.

Imagine that I have an elastic band between my two index fingers. The more I drive my fingers apart, the more the band stretches and the more energy (tension) it has.

Elastic bands tend to come back to their original shape/position. For the one in my fingers, this can happen in 3 ways:

-My hands get tired and I let the stretch go.
-The elastic band breaks.
-I let it go from one finger and it flies off in the direction of the other finger.

If the elastic band isn’t stretched, then it isn’t going anywhere.

You can see a very simple example of this in the life of a student.

It doesn’t matter how much time a student has to study for an exam. You can give him a couple of days, week, month and even a year, but he’ll probably not start studying or working hard till he comes close to the deadline. It is tension that makes students work hard and pull off all-nighters.

In general, there are 2 types of tension:

Psychological Tension

Psychological tension consists of your fears, anxieties, anger, sadness and similar emotions. This tension is the first to show up every time you go for something important. It comes from your unconscious limiting beliefs about yourself and the world.

For example:

I am not a very outspoken person. Personally, I don’t like putting myself out there in public where everyone can see me. I am always afraid of embarrassing myself that I initially only told a handful of people that I had become a coach.

So, guess what happened when I had to put out that status on Facebook offering my services?

I panicked and came up with a million and one reasons on why I should not do this. I had almost convinced myself that it wouldn’t work and that I would get nothing out of it.

But because I was trained, I knew that it wasn’t reality. It was just my fear telling me that I was insignificant (my limiting belief). So, I went along with posting the status anyway and, as a result, the company that contacted me became my first very big client.

The effects of people acting out on their psychological tension can be seen and have been seen all over the world, especially with people such as Robin Williams. These people have psychological tension that is so big and out of control that they were forced to commit suicide.

Creative Tension

The second type of tension is creative tension. It happens when you establish where you are and where you want to be. It involves taking very specific actions.

For example:

Recently, my partner and I found ourselves in a situation where we had to move out of our flat in 3 days but we had nowhere to go. We planned on going to her dad’s place and live in the spare room, but he refused.

And because we had assumed that he would let us stay, we ended up spending the money we had which could have gone for rent. The situation was bad. We could have been homeless and living in the airport in 3 days.

This created a lot of tension for us, especially psychological tension. To set up creative tension, we chose what we wanted and it was to live in a supportive and affordable place. We were extremely tensed and panicking for 2 days that we couldn’t find anything- except a small room 50 km away from the city.

This is when we decided to just let go for a bit and go out to have a coffee in a nice coffee shop. This is when my partner came up with the idea of texting a client of hers who was a local.

It was not long before her client called back, saying that she was ‘randomly’ shown a very nice room by a friend of hers a week before. It was affordable and located in the center of the city. She immediately gave us the contact details and within 24 hours we rented it.

So, don’t just do something for the sake of solving an issue. Wait for the right moment to take the right action.

But, how do you do this? How do you set up this tension? How do you make it work?

Imagination

The brain doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality. For example: Thinking of having sex will have the same effect on you as having sex.

If you imagine where you are and where you want to be, it will create both psychological and creative tension for you. You can use them to propel you towards your goals.

The post Tension And Resolution: How To Make Success Effortless appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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When we were toddlers, we didn’t understand much of this world. Our minds were too young to understand the way things worked. Because of our fragile age, we were often told how to think, behave, and even how to perceive our lives. The media, our environment, and social system taught us how to live our lives so we can fit in.

This is dangerous and disempowering.

You see, believe it or not, most of us have a lot of bad habits that we continue to practice each day. If you want to improve your life, you need to take those habits out of your life immediately!

In today’s article, we’ll talk about 7 negative habits that are bringing you down and limiting your potential. To get the most out of this list, I suggest you take down some notes and create a deadline for incorporating them in your life.

Here we go:

Memorizing Your To-Do List

One of the negative habits a lot of people perform is keeping to-do lists in their heads. They never write down any of their plans and actions.

This is certainly not ideal, especially since it’s relatively easy to forget ideas and commitments. You might even end up experiencing a lot of stress trying recall important events.

Tip: Keep a monthly, weekly, and daily to-do list. Keeping a monthly list will give you an overview of what you need to add on your weekly list. The weekly list, on the other hand, will direct what you should accomplish in a specific day.

See Also: Todo List Apps for People Who Don’t Like Todo Lists

Neglecting Your Early Morning Hours

Our morning rituals dictate the quality of our days.

If your start fresh, you’re going to stay fresh the whole day. If you woke up late and spent your entire morning feeling lazy, your productivity for the day can suffer.

There are those good morning habits and also the bad ones. Before you start choosing which habits you should incorporate in your mornings, its best if you can learn how to sleep early.

Getting enough sleep doesn’t only make you more productive; it also makes you happier and more relaxed.

Avoid drinking excessive coffee, especially a few hours before your bed time. Refrain from watching TV and smoking packs of cigarettes before going to and ending your work.

These habits will prevent you from living a healthier and happier life.

Being Online Too Often

Another bad habit most millennials have is overusing technology. They spend too much time on their social media profiles, instant messaging apps, and other online sites.

Although using technology and being online can help with your work, you should still pay attention to how much time you actually spend on your gadgets. Instead of spending most of your time scrolling through your friends’ profiles, put more focus on more purposeful actions, such as your education and personal growth.

Not Having Enough Sleep

Our sleep schedules are extremely important to our well-being and it’s not only because of the health issues. If we keep an organized sleeping cycle, we’re most likely to be more energized and productive during the day.

We can improve our lives just by making sure that we sleep enough hours and go to bed at approximately the same time each day.

Unfortunately, so many students and professionals are dealing with chaotic schedules. Their sleep cycle is extremely irregular, and that’s not so good for the human body and mind. If you happen to possess this bad habit, you must seriously consider maintaining an organized schedule.

See Also: Are You Sleep Deprived? 8 Health Risks Of Poor Sleep

Ignoring Pressing Matters

While some people are experienced in dealing with problems in their lives, others tend to ignore and bury them deep inside. Eventually, these issues will show up unexpectedly and they will make that person’s life miserable. They will come back even stronger than they were the moment they were supposed to be fixed.

When you have personal or professional issues and pressing matters, do not ignore them. Do not leave them for “tomorrow” or for “next week”. It’s a lie, and you know it; you must take full responsibility and start fixing them right away.

Going With The Flow At The Wrong Time

Some of us are distracted by the smallest things. It could be a smell, thought, song or the people you encounter in a day. Whatever you are working on, it’s important that you don’t get distracted by any of these things. One good solution you can try is to take frequent short breaks and then immediately get back to work.

Taking breaks, however, is quite tricky. Since it’s relatively easy to lose track of time, your state of focus may have probably disappeared before you can get back to work. You’ll have to start over and this can kill productivity.

Not Appreciating The Good Habits

One of the bad habits some people have is neglecting to cultivate good habits in their lives. Take, for example, most millennials. Although they realize that good habits can offer a better life, they still choose not to focus and appreciate small consistent positive actions that can lead to success.

If you don’t have good habits in your life, consider developing some. Exercising three times a week or reading 30 pages of non-fiction a day are considered good habits.

Some people believe that in order to start getting healthy, they need external help from their spouses, friend,s and families. They tie their progress to other people, which is actually a big mistake.

If you truly want to change your way of living, it has to start from your own initiative. It must begin in your head. If you cultivate a successful mindset, your habits will also generate success.

Differentiating between good and bad habits is not difficult. However, removing those bad habits and replacing them with better ones, well…that’s not that simple. You must put up a lot of effort and commitment. Never give up and remember why you’ve first started!

The post 7 Mentally Damaging Habits You Need To Let Go appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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If you’re in the arts or the Environmental Protection Agency, you might be feeling apprehensive about your future. Donald Trump’s recent Federal Budget had some bad news for you.

But if one door closes, you should expect another one to open.

To help you out, here are five top jobs that are likely to boom in the next few years and some advice on how to get started in them.

Oil and Natural Gas Engineers

It’s no secret that Republicans love their hydrocarbons. Trump is a fan of the Dakota Access Pipeline and during the election made it clear that he’d like to give more life back to the energy sector. This promises more job opportunities for careers related to oil, natural gas and coal.

Trump’s not keen on solar or wind and his administration is going to make it much easier for companies to drill.

His confrontational foreign policy style might be a catalyst for rising oil prices, and when oil goes up, so does the demand for Petroleum Engineers. With starting salaries in 6-figures, that’s good news for those lucky enough to have the right degree.

Any bright students interested in this tough, lucrative career should check out the leading websites on the subject.

See Also: A Guide to Developing Your Career Prospect

Military

One of the pledges Trump made during the election was to rebuild the military. There are two obstacles to that: money and manpower.

The first issue was ‘solved’ when more than 50 billion dollars has been added to the Defense Department’s coffers. The second aspect – manpower – is where YOU come in.

Trump wants an army with 60,000 active soldiers and 12,000 additional Marines. There will also be more recruits needed to man the extra ships the Navy will get.

Suffice to say, any young people looking around their crumbling towns and fearing the worst will be able to escape and see the world in the military.

Another option would be anything involved with working with Veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs had their budget increased by 6%. Call your local recruiting center for a patriotic pitch.

Correctional Officers

One of the central policies of the administration is to enforce stricter immigration laws and deport illegal aliens. With 11 million people to usher out of the country, this is a gold rush for prisons, detention centers, and those who work in them.

The average salary for a correctional officer is $41,000. With 4% more jobs set to be created in a sector with high staff turnover, there should be abundant opportunities for hard workers.

Oh, and I seem to remember Trump saying something about a wall. The specifics escape me, but there will be no escape from the 1,500 new Border Patrol agents who will be hired next year. To get started, you’ll need to be a US citizen with a clean record and pass the CBP Border Patrol test.

Construction Workers

Prior to taking his office, you might have heard Trump lay out his plan to invest $1 trillion in infrastructure. While the idea seems ambitious, Senate Democrats have proposed a bill for a similar amount.

And who can forget the wall?

A 2000-mile wall to stand along the border of United States and Mexico can only mean more construction jobs. Just imagine how much manpower, steel, and concrete that project will need. The estimated cost ranges from $15 to $25 billion and Trump’s Federal Budget contains $2.6B to get the wall started.

As a result of all this infrastructure spending, construction firms are now showing willingness to expand their payrolls to keep up with the expected demand. Check want ads in your local newspaper or relevant websites.

Lawyers

Despite the cutbacks in the 2018 budget for the Justice Department, lawyers, (particularly civil liberties lawyers) can expect their chargeable hours to go through the roof. Trump’s treatment of the media and his unique interpretation of the constitution will make sure of that.

One good example is his recent travel ban. There was a flurry of work for immigration lawyers, plus lawsuits and counter-suits, plus actions from judges leading to ‘refined’ new versions of the ban. Who’s filling in all that paperwork?

Well, it could be you! If you’ve ever felt your spine tingle at the dramatic courtroom scenes on the silver screen, just think. With a little bit of study, you’ll have a high-paying job with great prospects and job security, too.

See Also: Top 5 Uncommon Jobs In The US And How To Get Them

The post 5 Top Jobs to Pursue Under Trump-onomics appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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If you suffer from any type of chronic illness, then you know that your body can play a strong role when it comes to the plans you make for yourself. It can also feel as though your decisions are not always your own to make.

You might find yourself falling out of routine or worrying about the possibility of an acute attack. There’ll be missed deadlines, appointments, and weekend plans. With disappointment after disappointment, it’s easy to let the condition take hold of your schedule, ambitions, mood, and even goals.

This, however, doesn’t always have to happen.

After years of dealing with chronic migraine, I’ve learned to employ five positive habits that have helped me be more in control of migraine. My chronic illness no longer has control over me and my effectiveness as a professional, friend, and partner has greatly increased.

Keeping these positive habits has helped keep my migraine attacks at bay and adopting them into your life may bring you similar relief. Here are a few of my practices that helped me in coping with chronic illness.

Meditate daily

Making time for myself to be alone is still a major challenge, especially when the world is quite literally at my fingertips – thanks to technology.

It’s easy to experience FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) when you disconnect but I’ve found the payoffs to be worth it.

Giving myself ten minutes of quiet time in the morning rather than immediately plugging in and overloading on content allows my mind to stay in control and focused throughout the day.

Eat clean at least 80% of the time

Although junk foods are tempting, the ingredients in many processed foods can be a recipe for disaster.

One wrong bite and I could be sent into hours of agony with a debilitating migraine attack.

Finding and eating real foods might be more challenging than you think at first. In reality, however, they are those foods that don’t require labels and frequently kept in the fresh food section.

Vegetables, fruits, and unprocessed foods can leave you feeling much better. Even though they aren’t always what you’re craving, your mind and body will thank you later.

Exercise at least 3 to 4 times per week

This has been one of my secret weapons. It was critically important in my recovery from chronic migraine.

There is no question that we were designed to move. We need to exercise.

Everyday isn’t realistic for most, so try 3 to 4 times at week for 30 minutes. The benefits that exercise has on the body are profound. It reduces our sensitivity to pain and releases our natural feel-good chemicals in the brain which give us a greater sense of well being and happiness.

See Also: 10 Brain Damaging Activities You Need To Stop Doing Now

The trick is to start small and build up gradually. Don’t start from scratch and then try running 5 miles. That’s only going to result in injury. Be sensible and start by walking outdoors for a few minutes each day and build from there.

Limit the amount of time you work in a day

Work, and how much we work, can have a huge impact on our mental and physical health. Even if it’s something you love, stress can quickly follow and it’s important to not allow it to have a lasting effect on your day.

Know when to step back, close the laptop, and stop working.

Take regular breaks throughout the day. When you break for lunch, try to have lunch away from your desk.

Remember, our work should be sustainable.

Get consistent, restful sleep each night

I’ve found this habit to be the most effective in preventing migraine but it’s also the easiest to break.

There’s always one more episode to watch or one more photo to scroll past.

To avoid distractions, I set an alarm 15 minutes before I want to be in bed with the lights out. Using this alarm as a reminder to start powering down for the day helps to prepare my mind for sleep.

I know that in the morning, I’ll be happier and more prepared for the coming day, physically and mentally.

See Also: Get Strong, Sleep, Repeat: The Importance Of Sleeping

Keep a daily diary

A daily diary lets you form a habit. It lets you discover patterns that you wouldn’t otherwise find and make connections that you wouldn’t otherwise see.

It only needs take 30 seconds each morning or night, but it will quickly become the most valuable 30 seconds of your day once you know what to record.

Depending on your health condition, you should record how well you’re feeling that day. Write down your symptoms, treatment (including your dose), any triggers and protectors you’ve experienced.

For your convenience, you can also create a graph or chart. It might be in Excel, Google Sheets or an app specific to your condition.

Make a habit out of it and stick with it for at least 3 weeks straight no matter what. Just chart your stats, then thank me later.

What you’ll learn about yourself will surprise you.

Not only have these habits brought me greater peace and control in my relationship with migraine, they’ve also allowed me to effectively work for myself and at my own blog. It’s improved my quality of life and if you can stick with it at least for a few weeks, I’m confident you’ll see a few improvements yourself.

Good luck!

The post Coping With Chronic Illness: 6 Ways You Can Stay Effective appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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The fear of success is a counter intuitive mindset. It’s one of those things in life that keeps us stuck in a rut or in a downward spiral. Part of us wants to do something and another part says we shouldn’t. So, how can we break the cycle?

In this article, I’m going to share with you some theories in overcoming fear of success.

Change your level of conscious awareness

In the 1970s, the most successful ad was a single frame image of Coca Cola placed within a movie which lasted 1/24^th of a second. It appeared so fast that not everyone might have seen it properly.

Despite its speed, half the audience headed out to the candy bar to purchase their Coke after the movie and likely didn’t question why.

The exposure is so short that it is below the level of conscious awareness of the people. Because they didn’t realize they have been triggered, they didn’t have any defense.

So, the trick to overcoming the fear of success is to begin changing your level of conscious awareness around these subjects. As much as possible, try to build up your resistance.

It is common for people to fear forging ahead and standing out, especially if those things meant affecting their family, relationships, or life’s status quo. Others may fear failing or change, so they remain stuck, stagnant, and often miserable.

Become more aware of your behavior and their reasons. Give yourself the space to forge on. Back yourself, and take the leap towards success.

Humans are extraordinary problem-solving machines but once we experience fear, the mind that makes us so powerful begins to derail us.

Let go of what you fear you may lose

When I decided to become an entrepreneur, I knew I’d have to evolve, take on more pro-active personality traits, and learn new skills. One of my identified fears was speaking to strangers. At the same time, I figured that if I were to become successful in my new venture, I need to have positive communication and interpersonal skills.

Those are two different things and just the idea of making the switch made me feel very uncomfortable.

I realized, however, that I had to rise above that and create my success. I needed to move forward and accept what might happen.

I had to release my attachment to the things I was afraid of losing for me to start overcoming the fear of success.

See Also: 5 Things You Need To Get Rid Of To Become Successful In Life

Play out the worst-case scenario

The more you hide from potential pain, the more you fear it and the more power it has to stop you in your life. So for me, I painted a worst-case scenario and played it through.

What’s life going to look like 1 or 20 years from now? What type of person am I going to become? Where will I end up if I don’t follow my own true worth and passion?

Take on the responsibility

Fear of success is a reflection of your fear of other people’s reactions to your achievements. This is often coupled with the fear of responsibility.

Since these things can easily slow you down, don’t let other people’s opinions place doubt in your mind. Stand your ground in a proactive way and be steadfast on your path to success.

In life, you can be pro-active or reactive. When you’re reactive, things will pan out the way you’re afraid they will. When you become pro-active, you take control, become empowered and start attracting the people and opportunities that will support your success.

Embrace change

Ultimately, the fear of success is the fear of change. You can’t predict or control it but you can choose to be optimistic, work on your conscious awareness, and believe this path is going to be better.

I have found this to be absolutely true. You can’t do it if you’re not willing to surrender to what’s going to happen.

Find out for yourself.  Let go and see what life delivers.

See Also: The Call for Change: Time to Step Out of the Comfort Zone

The post How To Conquer The Fear Of Success (Or Failure) appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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When was the last time you felt happy? Not just a shadow of the pleasant feeling, but truly happy?

You could say that most of our actions are fueled by our motivation to feel good. Unfortunately, however, it’s not all the time that we feel happy. There are days when we just can’t resist feeling low.

If that is your case today, these simple happiness hacks can give you that extra shot of joy.

Let Your Inner Child Take the Lead

Children’s faces usually light up at the seemingly smallest things.

Take, for example, the silly faces their older sibling makes at them across the dinner table. The big hug they get when their dad arrives home from work and the feeling of flying in the air while they are on the playground’s swing set make them giggle with laughter, too.

If you want to put yourself in a happy place, try doing an activity that you enjoyed as a child. You’ll be amazed at how quickly this can spike your happy chemicals.

Enjoy Strange Interactions

The “stranger danger” warnings handed down to us during childhood can permanently hinder our interactions with people we don’t know.

However, if you make an effort to push through the discomfort and regularly interact with strangers, you’ll find yourself feeling happier during the day. A study conducted by behavioral scientists in Chicago found that individuals who made small talk with strangers during a ride on public transportation rated their experience as more positive than those who did not.

When we take the time to connect with other people, even when we don’t know them, it tends to increase our happiness.

Take A Risk On Something New

When was the last time you tried something that you’ve never done before?

If it’s been a while, then you may want to give this happiness hack a shot. Taking the time to try something you’ve always wanted to do, like getting a new hobby, is not only stimulating but can lead to increased happiness.

Feelings of accomplishment and boosted confidence can also contribute to the smile on your face. Whether you’ve always wanted to try alligator wrestling, knife throwing, or sewing Halloween costumes for your dog, now’s the time to do it.

See Also: How to Start a New Hobby Without Wasting Money

Hold Onto Those Pennies

Spending money when you feel bad can be an easy way to give yourself a quick high. However, once the initial high wears off, people tend to crash pretty hard, especially if they had a hard time earning it.

Rather than splurging on that new toy, try making a habit of regularly saving a part of your earnings. According to a recent survey, the more often people save money, the happier they tend to be. Saving money is also a good way to enhance feelings of self-control, security, and overall well being.

See Also: 10 Ways To Save Money Without Compromising Your Lifestyle

Celebrate Small Goals

By setting and achieving small goals on a regular basis, you will not only be more productive but feel happier as well.

Setting our sight on massive goals often results in feelings of failure and depression. So, rather than focusing on your end goals, try chopping them up into several small goals that you can easily achieve and celebrate. Keep in mind that the more specific you are with your goals, the better.

As you get started with these happiness hacks, try to keep your focus on the positive things in your life and use gratitude to your advantage. As you increase your own happiness, you will notice that the people around you will begin to smile and laugh more often as well.

The post 5 Happiness Hacks That You Need To Try Today appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Yes, spirits and ghosts do exist. While some may be friendly, others may give you spooky and spine-chilling experiences. If these experiences don’t frighten you, then here are 7 of the most haunted places in the world to feed your wanderlust.

Take a trip or stay the night to experience the eerie presence of the ghosts and spirits in these places.

Borgvattnet (The Haunted Vicarage), Sweden

Witness the ghost of the lady in gray wandering through the rooms, or the apparition of the three women staring without a flicker of the eye. You can also experience cold touches at midnight here.

If the mere ideas of these events brought a chill down the spine, imagine how scary the real encounter would be. These ghost encounters are so creepy that the keepers are even offering certificates to those who would dare stay the night.

Surprise Guests

Built in 1876, this vicarage has had a fair share of ghost encounters since 1927. You would be visited by the spirit of the old vicar and crying women at night.

Castle Of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa

Having a rich history attracts tons of visitors. Unfortunately, the first guests in this place are spirits.

The gruesome history of torturous punishments inflicted on the soldiers has made this place a dwelling ground for their souls. The Castle of Good Hope or the Goede Hoop houses a number of haunted places within its precincts. This includes the battlements, bastion grounds, bell tower, and even the parapets.

You can find the spirits’ presence everywhere.

Surprise Guests

Built in 1666, this castle has a number of eerie spirits wandering through the grounds.

You will be visited by the ghosts of a tall man, a sad woman, and the ghost of Lady Anne Barnard. You can also encounter the Lady in Grey and even the strange apparition of the black hound.

Stanley Hotel-Estes Park, USA

Room no. 217, which is infamous for its eerie happenings and supernatural events, would definitely send chills down the spine. Like every other haunted place, this hotel also has tons of mysterious stories as to how the chambermaid’s spirit started wandering there.

We dare you to stay the night in the same room if you are an unmarried couple.

Surprise Guests

Mrs. Elizabeth Wilson, the head chambermaid, who was injured in the gas blast that took place in the infamous room no. 217 would visit you at night and do her routine work. Sometimes, she’d do way more than that!

Ancient Ram Inn-Gloucestershire, England

Built over an ancient burial ground, Ancient Ram Inn is one of the most haunted houses in the world. The countless tales of devil worshiping and a gruesome history of murders and deaths impart a spooky presence.

Take a tour of this place to witness ancient graves, stuffed animal heads, and other unnatural things that would haunt your dreams for nights to come.

Surprise Guests

Being a thousand-year-old house, the Ancient Ram has a number of evil spirits and spooky entities that would make their presence felt from time to time. You can experience the presence of a witch, a bishop, and several other child ghosts there.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium-Kentucky, United States

This place is an old tuberculosis sanatorium where thousands of patients were exposed to brutal experiments. With more than 6,000 people killed there, it is believed to be filled with spirits.

While this story creeps us, the story of room no. 502, where a nurse committed suicide, is way more spooky. Footsteps thumping, screaming voices, and flickering lights are common there. Some people even experienced hearing balls rolling, muffled conversations, and other paranormal activities in the place.

Surprise Guests

With the death of over 6,000 people, it wouldn’t be a surprise if one of their souls decides to visit you while you’re there. Add to that number is the nurse’s spirit in 502.

Banff Springs Hotel-Alberta, Canada

Seeing an apparition of a bride dancing with her gown in flames can give goosebumps to any visitor. Located amidst a picturesque surrounding, hotel Banff Springs is one of the most haunted places in Canada. These uncanny and hair-raising presences can scare even the bravest of hearts.

Surprise Guests

Be prepared to be accompanied by several ghosts. While the spirit of the bellman would serve you in a friendly manner, the family of room no. 873 would haunt with their presence. And do not to forget the dancing bride!

Bhangarh Fort-Rajasthan, India

A warning signboard denying the permission to stay after sunset and before sunrise would welcome you to this fort. Legends say that the eerie state of the fort is because of a black magician’s spell (or curse). This curse lives on and no spirit has ever lived here in peace.

Surprise Guest

While some can feel a strange presence watching them throughout the trip, others have seen the apparition of a small boy locked inside a dark room.

Are you ready to take a trip to these haunted places and see for yourself?

The post 7 Of The Most Haunted Places In The World appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Establishing daily healthy habits is one good way to boost your physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health. They can get you through life’s problems, inconveniences and stress. Despite the benefits they offer, these habits aren’t easy to develop, especially if you’ve been quite used to your way of life.

To help you make the necessary changes, here’s an in-depth guide on how to get healthier habits.

Wake up early

Sleep, one of human’s five basic needs for survival, is incredibly important to your health and happiness. Getting the proper amount of sleep will keep you energized and alert throughout the day.

By waking up early at the same time every day, you’ll be able to establish a good sleep routine. This will allow your body to sleep and wake naturally and give you a more restorative sleep.

Life’s fast pace can be exhausting as we are constantly receiving input and stimulation. It is important to find time during the day to ground yourself, detox your mind and refocus your energy.

The early morning is a perfect time to put this attention on ourselves. It’s also the best time for planning and strategic thinking.

When you wake up early, you’ll have time to prioritize and review your goals so that you can be productive. This will save you from wasting time and making bad decisions throughout the day.

Mornings are very important as they set the tone for the rest of day. Avoid the stress of rushing and the fear of being late by waking up early and going about your morning in a calm, collected manner. Starting the day with this small victory will help your mood and outlook going forward.

If you have to travel to work or school, you can avoid traffic by waking up early and travelling during non-peak hours. This will cut down on your overall time spent commuting, a time when we are generally nonproductive.

Time is our most valuable resource and we should value it enough to stay away from rush hour.

Get clean

Bathe often. You don’t necessarily need to shower every day, but you should clean your body and shampoo your hair on a schedule that works best for you. Showering too often can strip your body of necessary oils so do so fittingly. Make sure you spend time on the frequently neglected areas of your body, such as the ears and feet.

Take care of your skin. Your skin is incredibly important. It covers your body and protects everything inside. Condition your skin with products that coordinate with your skin type. This will keep you feeling healthy and looking well.

Brush your teeth thoroughly and floss daily. Brushing keeps bacteria from accumulating in your mouth and flossing helps maintain strong, healthy gums. Scrape your tongue and rinse with mouthwash to keep your breath fresh. Always have lip balm handy to avoid dry or chapped lips.

Stay clean cut. Maintaining a well-groomed, presentable appearance will certainly make people think more highly of you. It will make you feel better about yourself, too. Always keep your hairstyle fresh and be in control of your facial hair. It can make all the difference.

Address your allergies. Sneezing, sniffling and coughing are all signs of an infection and they can be incredibly repulsive when done in public. Pick up some allergy pills and nasal spray over the counter to keep those problems at bay.

Always wash your hands before eating and after using the toilet. Keeping your hands clean is vital in preventing the spread of germs and bacteria. Keep sanitizing gel close by for when soap and water aren’t available.

Maintain healthy nails on both your hands and feet. We do everything with our hands and feet and problems such as hangnails and infected nail beds can be an absolute nuisance. Make sure your nails and the skin around them are clean. Always keep them trimmed to build strength and drop the bad habit of biting them.

Always smell good. We are perceptual beings and our sense of smell has the power to impact feelings and evoke emotions. Keep the mood light by using deodorant to control your body odor and choosing a fragrance that compliments you.

Keep your clothing clean. Your clothes will surely affect the way you smell, so make sure you keep up with your laundry. And don’t forget your bedding, too. Some recommend washing your bedding once a week.

Dress well

The way you dress reflects your personality and can cite a number of reactions from people. When you dress well, you demand respect and people are quicker to trust you. After all, it’s hard to assume you can get things done right when you can’t even get your clothes right.

Dress slightly above the occasion, make sure your clothes fit well and wear appropriate, good-looking shoes. Shoes are the key to every outfit. In addition to that, keeping your feet comfortable can ensure their health, too.

Well-chosen accessories can compliment your look. Try to invest in a nice pair of sunglasses and a quality wristwatch.

Eat better

Proper nutrition is crucial to your health, but eating healthy can seem like a massive undertaking. To make it simpler, choose an area of your diet where you need to make changes and stay there until the work is done. Move at your own pace, stay encouraged and you will be eating better in no time.

Exercise

The benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are impossible to ignore. From physical and mental health benefits to social opportunities, exercising is arguably the most rewarding thing you can do with your time.

Exercise four to five days a week if your schedule allows and get the most out of off-days by recovering actively.

See Also: 19 Ways to Get Motivated to Exercise

Serve

We all want to live a meaningful life. We want to make a difference and have a positive impact on the world around us. To be valued and appreciated is a feeling that we all need, but we don’t have to conquer the world to get it.

By simply serving the people around you, you could make a difference in someone’s life. By serving your community, you can help strengthen your surroundings.

Sometimes it’s as simple as reaching out to a neighbor in need, performing a random act of kindness or picking up that piece of trash along the sidewalk. As Mark Twain said, “Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” So, spread love and don’t dismiss even the smallest acts of kindness.

Read

Reading is one of the best things to do in your spare time as it benefits your mental health. Reading stimulates your mind, improves your memory and enhances your focus and concentration.

An active mind is a healthy mind since it can slow down or even prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Reading also helps improve your imagination and allows you to find yourself as a person.

With the infinite number of different perspectives and experiences in books, you’ll have the opportunity to see the world through someone else’s eyes. Reading makes you smarter, too. As Socrates said, “Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.”

See Also: 7 Reasons To Start Reading Books? Here’s why!

Meditate

Meditation, or the quieting of the mind in an attempt to achieve a heightened awareness, can help you gain a higher level of consciousness and live a more fulfilling life. When you meditate, you become consciously aware of what you think, why you think it, and how you feel about what you think.

Our thoughts, both conscious and unconscious, make us who we are. This reflects what René Descartes, regarded as the father of modern philosophy, said, “Cogito ergo sum. (I think, therefore I am.)”.

Clarity of mind is important in controlling your energy and understanding the connections of everything in your life. With steady meditation, you’ll be able to evaluate yourself and ensure that you are spending your energy in ways that benefit your psyche.

The post Daily Habits That Will Improve Your Life appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Creating a new e-commerce website with the WYSIWYG website builders is a cakewalk these days. However, maintaining it and optimizing its user experience is a different story. Without a planned strategy, your dream of running an optimized e-commerce website can very soon turn into a nightmare.

The key to running an e-commerce website with a regular inflow of traffic and healthy conversion rates is the prioritization of SEO (search engine optimization). This is very different from UEO (user experience optimization).

Confused already? Let’s elaborate it for you.

Get a bit creative with product descriptions

You don’t need to be overly expressive in describing your products. In fact, just a few, but quality, lines can do the trick.

Make your product descriptions informative, fun to read and engaging. Cover all features within 150-300 words and write in a way that focuses on your target audience’s perspective.

For example, if you are selling shoes, think of what your target buyers would look for in your shoes. Find out what search keywords they could use and make sure to include them in your product description.

Do not forget to include your products or niche when writing subheadings. This will make it much easier for crawlers to index the products on your site.

See Also: The Average Joe’s Guide To Setting Up An Online Business

Do not shy away from including product reviews

Including good reviews with every product may seem like blowing your own trumpet, but this is an absolute necessity in the world of digital marketing. Each and every positive review can add credibility to your products and can also provide quite an effective way to improve your content.

When looking for reviews, you should consider Amazon. Some of their top products have thousands of reviews, making them the favorite of search engine spiders.

Moreover, online shoppers give a lot of importance to fellow shopper’s reviews before making a purchase. It is similar to the personal “touch” shoppers experience at a physical store.

If the products you are promoting don’t have any reviews yet, you can send follow up emails to your customers urging them to review your products and their shopping experience.

Do not stuff keywords into your content

Although the newest updates of Google may not penalize you, stuffing ill-fitting keywords into your content may not give you benefits, too. Instead of putting senseless keywords in your posts, it’s a good idea if you can take time to write about keywords that are truly relevant to your site and products. They should be contextual and have a healthy density.

Since we are recommending a 300-word description for each product, we will not advise a keyword density of more than 1%. So, instead of focusing on keywords, pay more attention on giving your customers a complete description of your product. This will improve user experience and boost your organic authority over time.

Include alternate text for images

Do not leave the original text for the product images. Access your back-end editor and change the name of each image to a relevant text. We suggest using names or terms you are aspiring to rank for but steer clear of stuffing keywords.

Image alt texts are hardly 3 to 4 words and we would rather advise you to include a descriptive name that is relevant. For example, “leather tan boots with 2 inch heels – XYZ (brand name)”.

Put on your thinking hat for titles and URLs

Titles are more important for SEO than you can ever imagine. They help in indexing and SERP ranking by enabling search engines to understand the purpose of every landing page in your website.

So, steer clear of duplication by skipping vendor titles and manufacturer titles since your competitors may use the same. We would suggest you go a little creative when it comes to creating titles for each of your landing page.

While making URLs, keep your customers in mind. Use simple names and special descriptions for your URLs that will help your visitors easily find their way to your products.

Create XML maps and share with search engines

Your website builder might have this as a built-in option. If not, use a simple plug-in that can generate an XML map of your website indexing all the pages, subpages etc. Update any existing map to give the search engines an easy route through your website and new products.

Most of the CMS platforms that are dedicated to catering to e-commerce websites have automated sitemap generation options. This is to levy the stress most site crawlers are subjected to when you continuously update your inventory and make changes to the content of your site. Keep your XML sitemaps updated to keep your site in the good books of all search engines.

Internal linking to quality content

The days of “blackhat” SEO are over. Now, if you stuff keywords repeatedly from other sources, you may not be penalized actively but your SRL ranking can decrease tremendously.

Today, it’s better if you can focus on meaningful content with wise use of contextual keywords. Since the introduction of Hummingbird, the keyword game has changed and the current algorithms focus more on the meaning of an entire sentence rather than isolated phrases or words.

Do not forget to use active and good quality backlinks while constructing your articles or product content. This builds reputation and credibility. Including backlinks from reputable websites builds consumer trust and helps in boosting customer conversion rate magnificently.

See Also: The Future of SEO – Predictions and Premonitions That Will Dominate 2017

Be ready to make new friends

Many website owners may not believe it just yet, but Schema is going to be your new best friend. Schema.org is designed to fabricate, maintain and advertise structured data online. These are most commonly used by the likes of Google and other search engines to make sure the consumers get more than they can chew on. You can consider including Schema into the following places:

• Brand
• Offers
• Rating and reviews
• Product

Content website definitely needs more focus in the coming year if you want to make your e-commerce website a raging success. You must remember that there are thousands of successful online shopping portals people search for every day and you must always one-up them in every aspect to make yourself visible. Serve your target audience exactly what they are looking for and use e-commerce SEO to boost incoming traffic and conversion rates.

The post Get One Step Closer To Success: How To Make A Difference in e-Commerce SEO appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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