There has been a notable uptick in hacked content in search results that has given even the most internet-savvy of Millennials pause. Take some advice from our internet marketing company to protect yourself from any unwarranted security breaches.
2016 has brought with it a rising wave of hacks, viruses, and malware, all of which threaten the online reputation of your business, along with the security of your client’s information. Recent reports have surfaced about hacked and spam content appearing even in Google’s SERPs (search engine results pages). This is unthinkable to those who thought of the Google monster as an impregnable entity. It’s a valuable reminder to stay vigilant in the virtual world, and a perfect lead in to the following six tips from our internet marketing agency.
6 Virtual Security Tips to Keep Your Business Safe
Our internet marketing company is very in tune with the workings of the internet security world; one of our partners has been involved with various licensed, ethical hacking operations ordered by enterprise-level companies, and many of our clients come from the web design and app security industries. We collaborated on some of the most cost-efficient strategies business owners can use to elevate their virtual security:
- Stay vigilant! One of the most fundamental security strategies in any field is vigilance. Whether you’re protecting your residential property, trying to deter vandalism on a public building, or guarding against malware, you should keep your eyes out for trouble. Watch your website every day and assess its health, SEO, and usability status. Try to run a daily security scan as well. This may require the help of a dedicated asset in-house, or the hiring of a separate security agency. We recommend scheduling a site performance test when possible.
- Make use of Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Both of these platforms offer some excellent diagnostics that can help you stay apprised of the security status and overall “health” of your website, as well as expediting any site recovery issues. Consider these two more tools to add to your arsenal in the fight against malware.
- Stay on top of software updates. This tip is shared so often that it’s easy to overlook. Update minders always seem to pop up at the worst of times, but we urge you not to procrastinate when they do! Hackers consider any sites with outdated software to be juicy targets. Make sure your platform, plugins, add-ons, and the like are all updated frequently.
- Beef up your passwords. The days of “password” passwords are long gone. If your password isn’t strong, long, and unique, you’re in trouble. Be sure to mix in letters, numbers, and symbols to throw malicious internet interlopers off your trail.
- Be discerning about your hosting provider. When it comes to internet hosting, you get what you pay for. Choose a well-known provider who offers quality security, and won’t shun you when you need support.
- Back it up. Hackers are a highly competitive bunch. If they really want to take your site down, there’s often little you can do outside of hiring a special security team. And why would you bother paying these premiums when you can just backup your data instead? Back it up and store it elsewhere so you can revert back to previous versions in the case of a catastrophic security breach.
Do you have any more questions about how to market your business without compromising its online security? Call (416)-619-7935 – let’s talk!