Building an Online Betting App 101

Online betting has grown a lot since 2002, with the advent of the internet snatching away the business of physical shops and casinos to the digital world and into the personal computers of bettors at home. Back then it was thought this was the end of bookies and their business, but 15 years later it seems the odds keeper and the internet have made their peace to grow together on a scale never before imagined.

The market volume is said to hit $56.05 billion in 2018, double of what it was in 2009. Online gaming had a lot to do about that, but now smartphones seem to be dwarfing that market growth with a leap growth. In 2017 mobile betting accounts for one third of the business, by 2020 it is said to surpass 50% with an estimate of $100 billion in wagers placed.

Casinos and sports betting sites have been quick to adapt, first with downloadable platforms into their computers, then with online flash play, and now with mobile friendly sites and apps, which have been a late comer into the market not thanks to Apple and Android policies of non-gambling apps. To know more click here.

But they market is hungrily asking for betting apps and they can still be developed even if the main online stores for apps will not take them, although Android has already tested with fantasy sports betting apps in 2016 which can be an indication that soon the market will change.

Big name sportsbooks like William Hill have developed their own app downloadable only from their own site, they even give instructions of how to bypass Android security settings when it detects the app was not downloaded from their own store and displays a “warning” message since it wasn´t reviewed by their own staff. If you want to try it and wager, visit this page to see all William Hill Apps available for your current device!

Basics on Building an Online Betting App

Basically you will need to develop a customer-facing front end, and back end to handle transactions and bet setup. Users should be able to register and manage their accounts, safely deposit and withdraw funds with multiple services like e-wallets, and track results.

As an industry standard there should also be bonus offerings like first time deposit bonus, free bets and cash-backs. A customer service program should be in place, with an online chat being the best and ticket system the minimum to offer. A FAQ section should also be available to answer all frequent questions.

Platform

Many of the newest online gambling platforms are mainly designed for mobile use only; this can be determined by the design. But they should also be accessible via online from any device like computers. A modern website is needed with the availability of placing bets via SMS and in USD.

The app should be developed at least for Android devices but is also recommend to do so for iOS. As said before the app cannot be openly offered in the iTunes or Android stores, so you will need to offer it on your own site and provide the instructions to installation just like William Hill does.

Safety

There must be a secured payment method as well as information encryption with superior SSL and privacy policies. A very secure hosting must be in place with extra security settings to protect from a strong wave of hackers and bots.

Responsible Gambling

Depending on your company established location, mainly if its USA, Europe or catering to any of those markets, you will need to be credited by a third party. This is not a must, must, but experienced players and review websites look for these as a major safety sign. eCogra and Gamaware and two agencies in Europe that group responsible betting websites.

The USA has its own complex array of monitor systems as well as taxing. This is why many companies decide to localize off-shore on places like Panama, Costa Rica, Caiman Islands for the US; and Isle of Man and Gibraltar for Europe.

Customization

This focuses on the hard aspects of development, like managing real-time odds, bet tracking, payouts and online support. The management system will require continuous improvement and evolution while avoiding downtime. It would be best to focus on just one geographical market during the early beginning, say for example Spain or USA. Then open up when you have everything ready as this will help manage the customer support times and system down time.

Payments

The deposit and withdrawal system are a critical aspect. Most bettors will be worried about your payment reputation considering all the tricky small sprint online casinos and sportsbooks use to block withdrawals from clients once they claim a bonus. Most importantly is account verification, this will require a fast and efficient process from your staff.

For payment gateways begin with the one most widely used by your focus market, an e-wallet like PayPal or Skrill. Bitcoin is in big use nowadays but the amount of users are still small. Bank wire and credit cards are also a must.

The portal should be compliant with PCI Security Standards.

Should you Develop?

There are a number of third party providers that will lease a professional betting platform for your purposes with different plans according as to how much services you will need. Some even take care of your payments and support platforms.

 

How Efficient Coding Has Caused the Evolution of Browser Games

In simplest terms, coding is telling a computer what you want it to do. It involves typing step by step commands for computer to follow. Human beings are cleaver but computers are very obedient. When you give them commands, they do exactly as you ask so long as you show them how to do it correctly. Coding has powered the digital world. Every website, computer program, smartphone app, calculator among many others relies on code to operate.Continue reading →

Launching Successful Web Presence for Home Services

Like many American cities, Boston’s sewer system is one of the oldest in the country, and leaves room for a huge amount of business for contractors across the country. But how can this business be captured, and where do potential customers look to find someone who can provide it? It’s quite simple, they search via a mobile device. The simple fact is that when there is a toilet overflowing in a house, or a blocked drain, that is the first place a potential customer looks to find a solution, typically delivered via Google. As a result, good web design is key to capture any of the demand coming into a site via those transactional searches.

Home repair and anything to do with underground plumbing is notoriously expensive, and as a result customers will tend to shop around. Three factors determine whether or not a potential customer will retain a given service; trust, cost, and availability. These are not terribly different from any other online purchase, but they matter far more with high value items (a sewer replacement can cost up to $30,000). To that end, a site must not only look professional, but contain extensive information that is relevant to the topic at hand.

Building Trust in the Digital Space

For example, an explanation from the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, centered around the fats the city has two types of sewer systems: separate and combined. The separate system carrying only sanitary flow, and the combined system carries sanitary and storm drain flow would be excellent. The fact this combined drainage system is more prone to blockages and service problems. In addition, this combined system is the oldest in the city and represents 20% of the city’s sewer system, so may explain to a customer why they are having so many issues with their home, and thereby inspiring trust and forming the first part of the require three elements to generate a sale.

2.) Justifying Cost in the Digital Space

Pipe replacement can be expensive, and a potential customer will always seek an estimate first. This functionality is key for any successful site, but even more important is an explanation of what method is being offered and why it offers the best value for money.

For example, the content below details a plan to replace the old combined sewer systems using a trenchless sewer repair method, or one where no large scale excavation is required saving thousands of dollars in labor and landscaping. That means that the customer would be investing in a solution that not only will save them time and money, it will also guarantee that the new pipes last for decades. However, the next few sections offer insight into a business experience.

Ex. How We Do It (Show Previous Experience)

At New England Pipe Restoration, we specialize in trenchless sewer repair services for the entire Boston area. We have use the trenchless rehabilitation method to renew the sewer pipes of the Cumberland County Civic Center, and Montclair University, just the name a couple of examples.

Ex. Benefits of a Trenchless Sewer Repair Service (Show Value of Service)

Traditional pipe repair methods are so ingrained in our minds that talking about a different method may be faced with resistance. No matter how effective the trenchless repair method is, unless we see the benefits one by one.

It is Faster

Digging a trench takes days. Plus the time it takes to repair or replace the damaged sewer pipe, and the time it takes to put everything back together. In the end, you’re looking at weeks of work just to patch a small sewer leak.

Our trenchless solution takes hours to finish. We are in and out of your property in the same day.

It is Cheaper

The biggest cost of a traditional sewer repair is digging. Take that off the table and you save a big chunk of money. Even if the trenchless repair cost per square meter is a big higher than the traditional alternative, you can still get your entire sewer system renewed for half the cost of what the old way would have cost you.

It is Better

Digging a trench causes shifts underground that you have no way to know how they’re going to react over the years. That, and if all the repair crew did was patch up the old pipe, you have no way of knowing how long it’s going to be before you are calling the repair guys again.

Instead, we like giving our Boston people the guarantee that your new trenchless pipe will last at least 50 years.

It is Cleaner (Note the Call to Action Below in Red)

This one is an obvious point, but if we don’t have to dig anything, we don’t have to make a mess. So no dealing with dirt around your property or bad sewer smells. Seriously, all that sewer water should stay underground.  We think that the best way to do things is going trenchless. Call us at 866-553-9182 to schedule an appointment or get a free estimate. No need to dig it out.

3.) Availability and Customer Service

The final piece of the puzzle of inspiring a customer to make a purchase decision is related to availability, which can be easily solved via design. A simple live calendar showing the current booking of your service, much like a hotel would have, will solve many headaches in terms of scheduling conflicts, is easy to build or install via plugin or extension to your site, and allows for a better customer experience. If you follow these three simple guidelines, you too can build a successful service focused site for any client, leading to future business. You can view a live example of some our previous work here and if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment.

On-page and Off-page SEO Strategy You Should Apply to Your Business

The world of internet is very competitive and it has always created a special strategy that helps the small business organizations to compete with the large ones. A common issue is that the smaller organizations can never have the same budget as that of the enterprises for their marketing campaign so how they can compete with them.

The best solution to their issue is the SEO. There are two different types of SEO the on-page and off-page. They have different techniques that you can apply to your business to help it succeed. So here we have discussed some of the strategies that might help you out.

On-Page SEO strategies

The first thing that you have to do is to search for the keywords related to your products and services. The next step is that you begin to optimize your website according to the keywords. Keep in mind that google will not accept your website if it is simply stuffed with keywords. You have to utilize the right approach to make that possible.

Quality content to read and not to rank

Whatever type of content that you write for the website whether it is a blog, landing page or the about us page make sure that it is information. Google wants you to ensure that all the content is 100% unique and authentic. If you will use the copied content it will ruin the reputation of your website as well as the ranking will lower.

Make sure that you write interesting and descriptive content that can be optimized with the keywords in such a way that they look like the part of the content. Apart from that, you have to make sure that you are aware of all the changes that Google has made to the rules of SEO so that you can update your website accordingly.

Make sure that the title of the blog is so attractive that it will make the customer read your content. It should be something that has been never available on Google.

Descriptions, URLS, Heading, Tags

You will get many SEO benefits when you focus on the small details of your websites. In most of the cases, the business owners do not pay attention towards the proper descriptions, tags, and headings. So to help you out here we have some of the tips:

  1. Make sure that a small description about your services and products is included on the website. That would be the Meta description so the length of the content should 150 to 160 words.
  2. The URL should be optimized in such a way that it should be a display of the content that you have shared on your page
  3. In order to keep the focus of your customers on the content, it is important that you properly add the headings like H1, H2, H3 and many others. The important parts of the content should be bolded
  4. In order to keep the focus of the readers on the important parts of the content like the keywords make sure that proper tags label them.
  5. Make sure to add the image tags because that will keep the readers engaged

Off-page SEO strategies

Apart from Google, there are many other platforms that the customers will use to search for your products. So the presence of your business is very important on all such platforms.

Social media


In the present age, we cannot decline the importance of the social media marketing. As it is the platform that will allow you to attract as many customers as you can. So it is important that you have an active social media presence. Apart from that, the social media platforms should be professionally built so that the customers will get the idea that they are dealing with the authentic service provider. Some of the famous social media platforms that you must use are:

  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Google+

Keep in mind that not all the social media sites will work with the same strategies. You have to conduct the proper research to find out that how they will help you to utilize the right strategies and then apply the techniques using the required approach.

Link building

One of the most effective off-page SEO marketing tools is the link building technique. However, you have to be careful with the quality of the content that has the links directed towards your site. make sure that it will not lead you towards the poor link building sites because Google has the eyes of the Hawk and once it is detected it would be hard to protect your site.

Quick tips

Here we have a few quick basic SEO tips that will help you to take your business to the level of success that you have always dreamt about. So make sure that you pay attention.

  • Make sure that every word your write for your website is of high-quality. The readers should feel like that they are having the required information and the solution to their problems in the content that they are reading
  • The keywords that you select should be extraordinary and keep in mind that the long tail keywords are more effective
  • Make sure that your SEO is up to date and you should regularly check it to stay ahead

Conclusion

common mistake that many businesses’s owners make is that they use only one type of the SEO. However, they have to consider the fact that when they will need to use both on-page and off-page SEO for a better result. So they should focus on using and learn on-page and off-page SEO at the same time so that they can target their customers from all the platforms. Make sure to utilize authentic SEO service providers so that they will provide you with the best results at a budget that you can easily manage. Do everything in your power to make sure that your content will rank the highest.

Most Common Dissertation Writing Problems

As a student, you’ll have troubles with your essays from time to time, and will excitedly wish that someone could help you out. Luckily, there is a great resource for any student who’s having problem with writing a task – essay writing group. These services have success of experience in helping students like you solve their essay problem. But when there are so many companies, which one do you utilize? And when may you need to facilitate? Turn to https://dissertationhelp.com/custom-dissertation.html to help you find dissertation writing services to assist when you’re experiencing these general writing problems:Continue reading →

LEARNING IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Are you a CEO who is always ready to learn new skill? Or, are you someone who’s excited to change direction in your career? You’re in destiny, because the Internet makes learning easy and affordable in day by day. Read on to look at the world of education in the Digital Age.

We jump at the chance to think we can do pretty much anything on the web nowadays and basically can. We can pay bills, play games, stay in touch with old friends, ways business, share our personal life, do research, and take on just about any other activity you can visualize, all not including leaving our area. One area of online utility that a lot of us almost certainly don’t take full advantage of, however, is learning. Human beings have a superb capacity to never stop learning, and it is currently inarguably easier than ever to teach ourselves about new focus.Continue reading →

Choosing a WordPress Theme for Your Business, What to Consider?

WordPress offers great features to promote a business-friendly website. If you are a beginner, you will be overwhelmed with the available options. The help extended by experts will help you settle for the best product so that there will not be any issues. each theme is designed to cater to a specific set of users. Hence, business users should choose the most appropriate WordPress theme so that there will be great flexibility in managing the software and promotion of products and services.

Complement the content

The WordPress theme for business should complement the content on your website. The theme should enhance the readability so that visitors will go through the content very easily. There are various kinds of options to customize the content so that you will have great satisfaction.

There should not be any compromise on the performance of the website. If the page access rate is very slow, visitors are prone to search for information on your competitor’s website. The theme should serve the needs of the users as well as the search engine so that there will be great progress.

How to choose the suitable theme for your business?

The WordPress theme should be simple and it should have user-friendly features. If you choose a theme with complex layouts, it will be difficult to get the appreciation of visitors. You are advised to avoid flashy animations. The colors should be appropriate to your business. The color combination, font type, font style and font size should be consistent throughout the website.

If you go for a simple WordPress theme, there will be great sophistication. However, there should not be any compromise on the usability and other related features. Users should be able to find the information very easily. even though you choose a great theme and fail to generate new set of customers, the purpose of the theme will be unfulfilled. On the other hand, MagPress.com offered more than 450+ free responsive WordPress themes suitable for business and personal.

Responsive mobile friendly

The theme layout should be responsive. When you choose a responsive theme, the layout will be adjusted throughout the screen and it will be adapted as per the size of the screen. As the traffic generated through the mobile phones is very high, you should want to choose the mobile-friendly theme.

The theme should be updated and upgraded as per the changes in technology and changes in lifestyle. You should go for a premium theme which will serve the business needs on a long-term basis. if you go for a fixed width layouts, they will not be mobile-friendly and the purpose will not be served.

Customizable theme features

It is a plus features if the theme you chosen able to let you customize the theme’s fonts, colors and layout. Not everyone can edit the template or html easily and confidently without breaking the theme code and site appearance. You could choose to hire a theme coder to help customize your WordPress theme but that would cost you time and money.

You should choose a theme with built-in customize setting, best example would be free WordPress theme such as combomag that enable you to control your WordPress website’s fonts, colors on navigation, sidebar and links. It also have built-in SEO options such as schema.org data markup.

Testing a theme

Before deploying a theme, you should cross check the mobile friendly features of a theme. If you paste the URL in the Google’s Mobile Friendly Test page, the mobile-friendliness of the url can be verified. You should understand the fact that the theme will show many errors even though there are no considerable errors in the theme. However, you should look for discrepancy where the text stretches beyond the screen limit.

Browser compatibility

The WordPress theme for business should be compatible with various kinds of browsers. There should not be any broken theme on any device or browser. The developers will test themes on various models and platforms and they will be released after eliminated all kinds of errors.

Go for supported plug-ins

To experience the true potential of WordPress, you should choose the theme which support majority of other plug-ins. You can consult your theme developer to choose the most appropriate plug-in for your requirements.

Some plug-ins are available with translations as well. if you are catering to the needs of customers present in various countries, the multi-language support theme will certainly enhance your business prospects. Hence, you are advised to choose a translation-ready theme.

SEO optimized theme

You should be able to promote your website or blog in online circles. Hence, you should go for SEO optimized WordPress theme for business. The site’s performance should not be compromised. The theme should produce high quality HTML code so that the interests of customers will be satisfied without any issues.

As beginners will find it difficult to understand the power of a search engine optimized theme, they should go for the advice offered by experts.

Go through the reviews and rankings

As you go through the information presented in reviews, you can choose the business-friendly free or paid premium WordPress theme very easily. You should read various reviews and feedback offered by other customers to assess the performance of themes. The business theme offered by reputed vendor will certainly fulfill your needs. Even though the initial cost of a theme is high, it will deliver good results in the long run and you should choose the best theme as per your business needs. Alternately there’s more than one place to download Free WordPress themes beside wordpress.org themes directory.

You should be able to setup and maintain the WordPress theme very easily and it should be cost-effective as well.

5 SEO tips to increase web traffic and increase conversions

Despite the widespread development of Internet technologies, shocking statistics: about half of all small businesses have no website. Given that, Google receives daily more than 3.5 billion different requests; such companies are losing many potential customers. Surely, someone is looking for, and your services.

If you belong to the group of entrepreneurs who feel the presence of an optional site, we hasten to disappoint you: today is your primary goal is to give your business a decent online presence.

If you were smart, and the site you have, one of your priorities should be to attract visitors to the site or page through the campaign. Regardless of how visually appealing and functional is your website is, without visitors, it will be a waste of resources.

How to encourage Internet users to choose among dozens of your page options in the search results? You need search engine optimization, i.e., a set of specific strategies and tactics used by webmasters to ensure the influx of visitors and make a site or page landing more attractive to search engines.

I am a regular reader and author of Local Advertising Journal, a magazine that has well defined the power of local advertising but for success, you will need few local SEO tips that really work – and here I will describe how you can start using them today to grow your business online to achieve.

Major brands distinguish thousands and thousands of dollars a year on a variety of SEO-procedure and, as a rule; they do successfully dominate the pages of search results. Small businesses to compete with big brands can seem hopeless. However, it is not so.

Here are some relatively simple solutions that will help increase traffic to your website or campaign page …

1) Conduct an audit

The first step in the process of SEO-Optimization is an audit of the current state of the site. Use tools like Google Analytics or the Google: Webmaster the Tools, selecting the options of the services that are best suited to promote your site.

Re-read the entire text content. Keep track of every link and write down all the obvious errors (non-download pages or images, grammatical errors, irrelevant information). First of all, start with correcting these problems.

Then use Google Analytics to analyze the contents of the most visited pages. Which pages get the largest percentage of “natural” traffic? If some areas have a low failure rate and long-term stay on the page, consider why visitors prefer it.

Perhaps they are attracted more engaging content and vivid image? Perhaps these pages include a clear call to action? Through trial and error, you will be able to determine what they find helpful and friendly, and then you will only have to repeat these techniques on all relevant pages of the resource.

Then connect to the process capabilities Webmaster Tools Google. Which search terms bring people to your site? What keywords visitors use to navigate through the pages of your site using the internal search engine? Are there those who come to your site looking for a service or product that you do not offer? How many users request a particular product or service? Compare this with the data from Analytics, and used to develop their strategy for SEO-updated, optimized content.

2) Secure your local presence

Imagine that your project is based in the attractive tourist beach town and is dedicated to surfing. Your target audience is fueled from two main sources: the community of local surfers and seasonal visitors on vacation. Most likely, the locals already know about your store, but it is doubtful that tourists have already found some information about it. Usually, the first thing that makes a tourist – to get a smartphone and looking for surf shops in the area.

If your site is not optimized for the competition with the local business, your store may not get there in the search results. What to do? Create profiles on social networks, if you have not already done so. If you already have profiles, make sure that they provide the correct address and links to your website. Register your project on Yelp, the Foursquare, the Bing the Places, Google+ the Local, Citysearch, and any other resources provided by the list of services in a particular location.

You may also like to read: Local Advertising: How Internet Changes The Investment

3) Optimize your keyword selection strategy

Many small companies make a big mistake by focusing only on frequently used, specific keywords and trying to place these keywords in the text as often as possible. This will lead you to search the crash. Even if you manage to achieve high rankings in the search results (which is quite tedious and difficult), it is unlikely to lead to high rates of conversion.

Let’s go back to the surf shop. It is safe to assume that you can hardly expect to bring to your shop farmer who grows potatoes in the outback. However, it is very likely that a farmer has a nephew who lives in your city. Nephew will soon be celebrating a birthday, and a farmer wanting to make it really worth the gift, will require the search engine to give him a list of specialty stores it in your town.

Instead of spending all of your time to optimize the list of the most popular queries, adapt your strategy so as to be in the lead on the issue verbose key phrases that have a really high potential for conversion.

Create sections on specific goods and services that you offer. Make sure that these pages actually entice visitors to action: online purchase, call for more information or visit the store.

4) Think of links placement strategy

When search engines crawl, new pages have appeared on the Internet, they move from page to page via links. Whenever scanning the specific page, they check it for the presence of any reference, and then followed for each of them to see if they are on pages that have not been validated.

In connection with this incredibly important to build up the internal connection. Links posted on your site should link to other pages on your site with similar or related information.

Imagine your site – it is a city, and a web page – this is the building. Links are streets that help you to move from one building to another. The more streets, the easier it will be moved. But do not overdo it: between optimization and surplus, there is a fine line, which we will describe in the next section of this article.

5) Stay man

In fact, SEO is a complex process and quite exciting game, but ask any SEO-experts – and he will tell you that the most important thing to be able to remain human. Work SEO-experts is not easy: they must keep in mind the balance of the human factor and the technical aspects. Create a website that people actually want to visit, fill it relevant content – and pretty soon you will begin to notice a clear improvement in the traffic issue.

5 Things Bloggers Can Do to Protect Their Website from Hackers

Cyber threats are all over the internet these days. It used to be that big businesses with lots to lose were the only ones affected – not the case anymore. Everyone is a target, and there are a lot more hackers stepping into the arena.

As a blogger, you might think there’s no way anyone would be interested in your website…but that’s where you’d be wrong. Hackers routinely break into and hold blogs for ransom. They also make their way into any private information you might have (credit cards, bank accounts, etc.) pertaining to yourself or your customers.

Needless to say, it’s important to stay protected from a cybersecurity standpoint. Here are 5 things you can do to protect your website from hackers.

  1. Use Strong Passwords

Brute force hacking is one of the most common means cyber criminals use to gain access to your information. The best thing you can do to safeguard against this is to use strong passwords. A strong password typically uses a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

Your web hosting panel, WordPress admin panel, and any other accounts associated with your blog should all use passwords that meet this criteria. As an added measure, you may want to consider two-factor authentication as well, especially if you have a lot of highly sensitive information to protect.

  1. Be Vigilant About Granting Access to Your Blog

WordPress admin accounts are hacked all the time by cyber criminals. One easy way they gain access is when you actually grant it to them yourself. You should always be careful and think twice about who you give access to in your admin panel.

Since outsourcing to freelancers is basically second nature these days, you need to limit and closely monitor the actions any contractors you hire take on your blog. Once the work is done and the user account is no longer needed, you should delete the account.

  1. Consider Installing Dedicated Cybersecurity Software

Contrary to popular belief, your computer isn’t the only thing that needs protection from cyber-attacks. When most people think of cybersecurity software, they think of the robust programs businesses use to protect their network and hardware, as well as serve as an internet usage monitor.

This is a little different. There are plenty of cybersecurity software options available just for your own blog. These prevent malware infections, provide cleanup and restoration in the event of a breach, scan for bad URLS, provide firewall protection, and much more.

  1. Keep Your Blogging Platform Updated

Anytime a new WordPress version is released, you should update it immediately. The same holds true for any other blogging engine.

New releases do more than just add features and improve usability. Some would argue that their main purpose is to patch security vulnerabilities and protect against known malware.

  1. Use Plugins Wisely

Without a doubt, plugins are what make WordPress so easy to use. Similar to apps for smartphones, there’s basically a plugin for just about anything.

The danger in plugins is that anyone can make one. If you’re using plugins to help manage your blog, here are a few general rules to follow:

  • Only install plugins from trusted sources
  • Keep them updated frequently
  • Delete olds ones that you don’t use or ones that haven’t been updated in a while
  • Always check reviews on WordPress.org to see the user rating and comments

Bringing It All Together

Blogs take a lot of work turning them into something special. Once you finally “make it”, would you want to lose it all to a cybersecurity breach? Use these tips as a jumpstart to protecting your site and take a proactive approach to safeguarding your precious information.

Three Ways to Keep Your Digital Data Safe

Digital data is a lot more like physical data than you think. It can be stolen or lost through many of the same vectors. Physical data can be physically damaged to the point of uselessness. It can suffer damage from water and fire. And it can be mistaken for something else and shredded.

Physical data can also be stolen. You might keep it safe by placing it in a strong box under a security code or lock and key. You might also keep it safe by making a duplicate copy, keeping the copy in a safe place in case something unpredictable happens to the primary.

The good news is that while all of the same threats exist for digital data, all of the same protections also exist. As with physical data, keeping your digital data safe begins with keeping it physically protected.

Physically Protecting Your Digital Data

Though your data is digital, it is still stored on a physical medium. That physical medium is housed in a physical device. The cloud is a lie. It is physical all the way down. And as such, it is subject to all of the threats to any other physical object.

Judging by the number of cracked iPhone screens one casually spies, the greatest danger to digital data may be dropping one’s smartphone on concrete. Because of their larger screen area and slippery grip, you have even more reason for an iPhone 6 screen protector than for previous iPhones.

If your one and only copy of digital data happens to be on your iPhone, you have to protect the device as well as the data. The same is true for tablets and laptops. Leaving these mobile devices unprotected is the same as leaving your data unprotected.

Multiple Copies

Because data loss cannot be entirely avoided, and because bad things happen to good devices, you cannot be content with a single copy of anything you consider important. You need multiple copies backed up and stored in multiple places.

The importance of data backup can’t be overstated, especially for small businesses. It also needs to be said and repeated that one backup is not enough. You need two copies of your data in your possession, and another in someone else’s.

One copy might be on your smartphone, and another on your computer. The outside copy might be on iCloud or DropBox. If you don’t store data on your smartphone, the secondary copy should be on an external hard drive backed up at least daily.

Always assume that one of your machines is on the verge of dying at any moment. With that in mind, you should always have a way of restoring your personal data. Don’t get too focused on backing up the OS, system files, and applications. Those can be reacquired via other means. It is that data which cannot be so easily restored that needs multiple copies.

Under Lock and Key

Finally, you should put your data in the strongest lock boxes possible. The strength of those locks is up to you. Start by ditching your 4-digit unlock passcode, and go to a minimum of 6. An alpha-numeric passphrase would be even better.

Always use strong passwords for everything that can have a password. And never recycle passwords across services. A password manager might be required. But maintaining good password hygiene is one the single most important things you can do to stay safe in the cloud.

Finally, beware of phishing scams. The strongest lock in the world is useless if you open the door for a burglar. Phishing scammers do not crack passwords. They get you to give them the password by pretending to be someone you trust.

Never follow the link to a trusted partner from an email. If you must check and see if your credentials really do need to be updated, go directly to the site from the browser. Never, ever enter secure data into a site you accessed from a link in your email.

No system is 100%. But you can increase your chances of data security by protecting your devices, making multiple copies, and using better password hygiene.