Day: October 16, 2020

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Page Speed Optimization: Speed Up Your Website to Increase Revenue

Page speed comprises one of the crucial components of search engine optimization as the business shifts online; optimization becomes an important part. It has been observed that 47% of the population expect the page to load in less than 2 seconds while another 43% of the population abandon the site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. How fast the content loads on the website page is considered as page speed. Read on to learn how to improve website loading speed.

Much emphasis is laid on page loading speed as it affects the traffic directed to the website. The faster the page loads, the higher are the chances of customers staying on the page. In this article, let’s talk about what exactly is page speed and why it is essential to bring about page speed optimization.

What is Page Speed?

Popularly it has been observed that page speed is at times confused with ‘site speed.’ The amount of time it takes for the content to appear fully is considered page speed. It is also the page load time. Just like site speed, page speed also forms a critical part of search engine rankings. It’s important to improve website loading speed. Page speed adds numerous advantages to the overall performance of the website. It makes it as smooth as a knife through the butter and helps in user delight.

Techniques to Improve Page Speed

Since page speed is an essential part of search engine optimization, maintaining it is also equally essential. The faster the page loads, the more enhanced is the user experience. It also increases the chance of traffic conversion. The following are some of the techniques to follow to improve website loading speed and page speed:

Compress the files

One of the techniques to improve page speed is compressing the page’s files. There are various tools available that can be used for this purpose. Compressing the files reduces their size. The lesser the file’s size on the page, the time it takes to load the content will be automatically reduced.

Optimize the codes

Various codes are employed for page development. By optimizing the codes, i.e., by removing the comma, spaces, and other unnecessary characters, the page’s speed improves. These extra substances present on the page are unnecessary and not required and only hamper the page speed. Reducing them will improve page speed.

Reduce page redirects

Whenever a user sends a request to redirect a page, there is some time lag for processing. This reduces the loading time of the page. The more you reduce the number of redirects to the page, the page speed will improve. Including backlinks to the website in the pages also improves website loading speed as extra time is devoted to the backlinks’ response.

Work on server response time

The server response time is affected by several factors like the amount of traffic that is being directed to the site, resources which the page use, and at times the hosting solution that is employed. Reducing the server response time increases the speed of the page and hence should be worked upon.

Optimize the images

For reducing the size of the image files, Photoshop software is put to use. Also, one needs to ensure that the size of the image that is put up is also in the correct format. Ensuring the above two allows the heavy image files to load in less time, and hence the speed of the page is improved.

Content distribution network

To distribute a load of content delivered, the content distribution network functions to do so. Copies of the site are created and kept at geographically different data centers for the users to have faster access to your website.

How to check Page Load Time?

There are several tools available online which provide the scope of checking the page speed. The URL of the page has to be entered, and in an instant, the page speed is displayed. Once you get an idea of the page speed, you can work on improving it. As George Will puts it, “the pursuit of perfection often impedes improvement” it is through continuous evaluation of the page speed which can bring about improvements.

Keep checking the page speed now and then improvise it to reduce the page’s time to load. Sometimes the fault arises in the heavy content that makes up the page. Larger content size impedes the page speed. Hence work should be done to reduce the content size and improve website loading speed.

Why is Page Speed Optimization Important?

Broadly considering, there are two significant factors because of which page speed is considered necessary, which are as follows:

Search Engines

With the concept of search engine optimization, which prefers sites with good page speed, search engines rank them higher. It is even because users gain enhanced experience with good page speed. Good page speed is like a cherry to the pudding.

While both search engines and users are fond of good page speed, it becomes mandatory for an online business to maintain one. This is because here, the search engines are not only providing information and answers but even a worthwhile user experience.

A noteworthy line “You cannot settle for a page 2 or page 10 ranking. If you want to grow your business, you need a page one ranking, which demands a fast website.” One cannot settle in for page 2 or page 10 of search engine results. If the business has to flourish, it becomes essential to achieve page 1 results.

Research has shown that 75% of the users remain glued to the first page, and 80% of the clicks go in for the top three results shown on the first page.

For every part of the purchasing funnel, including the discovery, research, and finally buying a product, people depend on search engines. 95% of online experience begins with a search engine. Any business that intends to generate leads from its online services needs to go in for page speed optimization.

User Experience

Any user that intends to use an online service expects a fantastic user experience. Imagine a scenario where you have typed a query on the search engine, and you have to wait to view the results.

Won’t you be annoyed?

In this situation, most of the users abandon the site. The online business is negatively impacted. Faster sites are reported to have 15% higher chances of conversion.

The user experience has to be according to the wants and demands of the people. If users are provided with a fast and smooth experience, they are more likely to purchase from you. And not only this, a high-class user experience allows the customer to keep coming back to your website, i.e., you even win customer loyalty.

Does it make a difference?

Here let us consider an essential factor.

Does page speed optimization add value to my business?

In a study conducted by Amazon, they discovered that a time difference of 100ms- a unit that humans can’t perceive is enough to bring down their sales by 1%.

Every second counts when it comes to sales. And it won’t stop there.

How fast your page loads has a direct impact on organic search results and pay per click. Your competitors have invested in that critical area and won’t mind eating your part.

Hence, for every stage of your business, having a good page speed contributes a lot to your business’s overall performance.

Additionally, website speed influences visibility. The Mobile-first index is something recently launched by search engines.

Here the search engines have started ranking pages based on the speed at which the page loads on a mobile phone. The mobile version of the websites is given more preference than the desktop version.

It is essential to spend some time with your website to determine the speed and the overall user experience. Remember, it is you who can best analyze your website.

The tips and techniques mentioned above will help you maintain your website speed and improve search engine rankings.

The entire idea is to recognize the gaps that hinder your page speed. Working through the gaps will improve page speed. You may consider some of these as minor changes, but when it comes to your business’s success and healthy conversion, small steps taken towards it will have a more significant impact.

The entire effort is dedicated to the seamless performance of your website and generates traffic for your business.

Read More: Off-Page SEO: How does Off Page Optimization helps increase traffic?

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Top 7 Social Media Mistakes All Brands should Avoid

Today we’re going to share with you the biggest social media mistakes that you’re making that’s causing you to not do well. We all know how big social media is these days, everyone’s on the social web. But why is it that no one follows your account, or you can’t get any traffic on your social profiles? Well, it’s about to change. Continue reading.

7 Social Media mistakes businesses make

Hey! This is my new product! Buy it!

Social media pages are more than advertising platforms. Posting other information relevant to the followers and fanbase is necessary to keep them in hold. Being overly self-promoting will make a company to be ignored as just another spammer.

Speaking to no one in particular

Being too general is too dangerous. Addressing a general population with no target audience is the best way to be ignored in the stampede of posts.

Failing to keep track

Analytics is the silver bullet to rectify all issues related to the number of visitors and conversion rates. Not tracking visitor’s data to observe what throws the followers away and what rivets them to the post is necessary to understand what they like to promote products relevant to them.

Shutting out negativity

Being positive is not a mistake. But trying to act like one is. No company is free of mistakes. Once it makes one, it is imperial to face them with polite assurances to rectify the issues. Deleting, ignoring, or censoring negative comments is just like letting a snowball to build up to flatten a company, later.

One-stop solution

Social media marketing is not a short-term goal. It requires a life-long commitment to deliver fresh, meaningful content to the audience. This can only be achieved with dedicated effort and resources. Having a social media marketing team is necessary to manage the profile and satisfy the viewers.

I’ll say whatever I want, just follow me!

When a company’s belief is incompatible with its customer’s belief, the audience will naturally lash at it by trolling and boycotting- both of them are very damaging to its business. Respecting the modern and most widely accepted norms like gender equality, and racial equality is necessary to survive online.

Jack of all trade, master of none

Companies try to grab as many followers as possible to get maximum outreach by posting on all available social media platforms will only result in lame content in all of them. Instead concentrating on one platform at a time is the best way to keep the audience engaged.

Why is Social Media important and how does it impacts your Business in 2020?

Same brand everywhere!

3.8 billion people are active in social media. Each person has an average of 8 profiles on various platforms. That means putting a word with a bunch of followers about a brand will give an impression of the brand being spoken by everyone. This will naturally attract buyers to the product.

Personalized for individuals

More than 91% percent of people are more likely to buy a product if it is catered and designed with their needs in consideration by personalizing their searches. Modern developments like Chatbots and AI has made it easier.

Increased loyalty of followers

Social media is now the best platform to review a new product launched by a company. These reviews, when are heard by the company, generates a group of loyal followers who would prefer to buy and refer to this company over others.

The wildfire spread of referrals

Referrals to a product from a familiar person is much likely to make a product sell than any other form of advertisement. What can now be better than social media to carry this word-of-mouth to all friends, families, and other potential buyers?

Opportunity to appear trust-worthy

Holding up to a cause and having a value is necessary to become a credible company. Social media helps people understand the company’s worth by judging the way it deals with the audience, especially negative reviews. This opportunity is easily available to all, unlike ever before.

Why hashtags are important on Social Media?

Spreading the word

The key strategy in any form of marketing is to disperse the word about your brand to as many relevant people as possible. Hashtags allow the people including the ones who are not a brand’s followers to get the information about the kind of solution they are looking for to solve their problems.

Knowing our opponent

Hashtags are not only for buyers. They can also be used by companies to study competing brands by analyzing their trending hashtags and thereby understanding the needs of the people looking for similar products, in real-time.

Confining the business to the local communities

Globalization is not always a good thing, especially for small businesses. Focusing on local communities by using the city’s name as a hashtag will save their resources and help them build their business within reachable distance.

Staying up-to-date

Today’s trending hashtag will be forgotten tomorrow. This constant change requiring constant effort from the marketer’s side will ensure a continuous flow of content and thereby earning more followers.

Self-explanatory

Hashtags by themselves are a trending subject. Using catchy, relevant, and short hashtags will be posted and reposted effortlessly by the company’s fan-base if it manages to please them in the first place.

 Read More: 5 ways how content marketing and social media work together 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

5 Simple Tips to Reduce Page load time and Speed up your Website

Have you been struggling with low ranks on search engines? Ever wondered why it is happening with your site? One of the possible reasons is the low page speed. It is important to reduce page load time. Page speed is entirely different from website speed. The amount of time it takes for the entire content to appear on the screen when the page is clicked is what we call page speed. 

The search engine ranks websites based on page speed. About 90% of the audience prefer search engines to look up for businesses online, and these are mostly displayed in the organic results. 

However, a point that should be considered here is that it is page one of searches where the websites are checked mainly by the users. It is said that “the best place to hide a dead body is page 2 of google search results” as no one ever looks at it. What search engines are specifically looking for is enhanced user experience. The faster the page loads, the more convenient users find it, and more are the chances of conversions.

With Search Engine Optimization where specific keywords are incorporated to improve the rankings, it becomes mandatory to bring about page speed optimization. A number of factors contribute to low page speed. 

The size of the content that constitutes the page is a major factor participating in low page speed. A number of tools and techniques are available today that help in bringing about page speed optimization. In the later part of the article, we will discuss that too. 

For users to have an enriching experience with your website, one must ensure that along with information and answers that your online business provides, the availability of content at a click of a second is the highlighted factor.

Tips To Reduce Page Load Time and Improve Website Speed

Compress the files

Most of the files that are present on the web pages are in the form of CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files. If you wish to improve your page speed, then decreasing the size of the files is an option. Various tools are available to achieve this. 

Server response time

Page speed is also affected by the time the server takes to respond. Slow server speed lowers the page speed too

Reduce the image size

The size of the image should be available in the correct format. The size could be compressed using various tools and techniques available. The smaller the image size, the better is the page speed.

Minify the codes

In order to minify the codes, it is essential to remove spaces, comma, unused code, comments, and formatting. Your SEO agency can do this for you. This will help reduce your page load time significantly.

Avoid redirects

Redirects lower the page speed as they go in for the HTTP request-response cycle. If used excessively, they hurt the page speed tremendously, which is why it becomes essential to keep the minimum.

Read More: Blogger Outreach: drive Traffic and Conversion