What Is Video Optimization? Video optimization refers to the process of making adjustments to a video to improve its visibility and performance on various platforms, such as search engines or social media. This includes making sure the video is properly formatted and compressed to ensure it can be easily viewed and shared.
Additionally, by optimizing the video for different platforms and devices, the video can be delivered in a format that is best suited for the viewerâs device and internet connection, which can help reduce buffering and improve viewing quality. Smaller video files require less bandwidth and load faster.
Another meaning of video optimization (which we do not cover in this article) is search optimization â adding titles, descriptions, and tags to help videos get indexed and ranked by search engines.
Why Is Video Optimization Important?
Video optimization is important for a few reasons:
Improved user experience: Optimized videos load faster, play smoothly, and are easy to find, which improves the overall user experience and increases the likelihood that viewers will watch the entire video.
Better visibility: Optimizing a videoâs title, description, and tags makes it more likely to appear in search engine results and in video platformsâ recommendation systems, increasing the videoâs visibility and the chances of it being watched.
Increased engagement: Videos that are optimized for user experience and visibility are more likely to be shared, liked, and commented on, which can lead to increased engagement and more opportunities for the video to be seen by new viewers. Optimized videos can also help to increase conversion rates, by providing more information to the customer and engaging them in a more dynamic way.
Cost effectiveness: Optimizing videos can reduce bandwidth costs, which can be significant for large websites.
What Are the Best Video Formats for the Web?
There are several video formats that are particularly suitable for websites, including:
MPEG-4: This is a popular format (MP4) that is supported by many devices and web browsers. It is known for its high compression rate, which allows for smaller file sizes and faster load times.
AVI: Audio Video Interleave (AVI) is a popular format for videos on Windows-based systems. It has a relatively large file size, but it offers high-quality video and is widely supported by web browsers.
HTML5: HTML5 is the latest version of the HTML standard and it supports video playback natively without the need for a plugin. It is supported by most modern web browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.
ASF: Advanced Systems Format (ASF) is a format used for streaming video on the web. It is supported by Windows Media Player and can be played on most web browsers.
Matroska: Matroska is an open-source format that is similar to MP4. It is widely supported on most web browsers and devices.
QuickTime: QuickTime is a format developed by Apple and is supported by most Apple devices and web browsers.
In general, MP4 and HTML5 are considered the most widely supported and versatile formats. They can be played on most devices and web browsers and are well suited for both streaming and progressive downloads.
5 Critical Video Optimization Best Practices
1.Compress Videos Compressing videos can help to reduce the file size of a video and make it faster to load and stream, which can help to improve the user experience. However, itâs important to preserve video quality as best as possible while compressing files. There are various video compression tools available, such as Handbrake or FFmpeg, that can be used to compress videos.
2.Convert Videos to an HTML5-Supported Format HTML5 is the latest version of the HTML standard and it supports video playback natively without the need for a plugin. Converting videos to an HTML5-supported format, such as MP4 or WebM, can help to ensure that they are compatible with most modern web browsers and devices.
3.Avoid Endless Loops Endless loops consume CPU resources and can be distracting, negatively impacting the user experience. It is important to avoid making videos loop endlessly by default, and instead give users the option to replay or loop the video if they choose to.
4.Optimize Videos for Mobile With the increasing number of mobile users, it is important to ensure that videos are optimized for mobile devices. This can include formatting the video to be compatible with mobile devices and compressing the video to reduce the file size, which can help to improve the loading times on mobile devices.
In some cases, creating a page design that looks good on every screen is impractical. Creating multiple versions of the website for different devices is challenging and time-consuming, even for experienced developers. Mobile devices should thus be a priority.
5.Let Users Control the Viewing Experience Giving users control over the video content they view, such as the ability to pause, rewind, or fast-forward, can help to improve the user experience. Additionally, allowing users to adjust the volume or turn on subtitles, can enhance the accessibility of the video content.
Most users prefer to have a choice of when to play videos, rather than having them play automatically when they open a page. For example, it can be embarrassing when loud music starts playing in an office setting. Other elements that improve the viewing experience include rewind and fast forward options and chapters or timestamps to help users navigate the video content.
See Additional Guides on Key Performance Testing Topics
Together with our content partners, we have authored in-depth guides on several other topics that can also be useful as you explore the world of performance testing.
Did you know that the global AI market is expected to reach a staggering $190.61 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 36.62 percent?
AI software is rapidly transforming our world, and this trend is only going to accelerate in the years to come.
Just like the recent trends in artificial intelligence, these are a few AI trends to keep an eye on this year in 2023. These include:
1. AI-Driven Development Boosts Productivity
AI brought huge news for developers in 2021. The launch of Github Copilot left everyone in awe of its pair programming capabilities because, even for its evident flaws, it felt like a game changer. Anyone paying attention to AI solutions for development teams knows that Copilot isnât the only AI solution of its type, with tools from Amazon, Salesforce, and other companies also pursuing similar objectives.
These scattered efforts will finally gain traction during 2023, mainly because of the broader availability of open source code that allows embedding these AI solutions into different frameworks and development platforms. But thatâs not all. While we might not see them in widespread action during this year, there already are ripe AI algorithms capable of translating code from one language to another.
Perhaps the most recognizable of these solutions is TransCoder, Metaâs (formerly Facebook) self-supervised neural transcompiler system. This solution leverages deep learning to successfully translate functions between C++, Java, and Python 3. Itâs to be expected that this and other solutions become more common as the year progresses.
2. Chatbots
When we talk about AI trends 2023, chatbots are right up there.
Chatbots, such as ChatGPT, one of the emerging trends in artificial intelligence grabbed the worldâs attention last year with their capability to answer queries presented by people in a lifelike manner.
The advancements were the product of years of study in the field of generative artificial intelligence, in which software generates material such as writings or images based on descriptions, and were made possible by developments in arithmetic, computer power, and novel approaches to teaching software.
According to many AI specialists, a greater number of such public-facing products will likely be released this year.
AI startups may potentially progress from text-to-speech mimicry to developing bots that may be sold as better helplines or virtual assistants.
3. Generative AI
Talking about AI trends, it will certainly be a defining moment for generative AI, as it will enable the development of new models that will replace repetitive tasks.
Generative models, such as the DALL-E digital picture generator, evaluate data and interpolate to generate something entirely new.
Yet, generative AI models are not limited to making digital visuals like DALL-E.
They are being utilized to develop novel materials for batteries, carbon sequestration, and a variety of other breakthroughs.
Generative AI, one of the recent trends in artificial intelligence, focuses on the creation of new material using machine learning techniques.
The attractiveness of generative AI systems arises from its capacity to produce fresh and inventive information for a wide range of applications, such as the creation of artwork, news stories, and even spontaneous dialogue for virtual assistants.
The development of massive language models such as GPT-3 has been a big step forward in the advancement of generative AI.
One of the key characteristics of generative artificial intelligence is the ability to save time, effort, and annoyance on repetitive or tedious tasks.
Expect considerable quality improvements in the future year as a result of enhanced algorithms, more complicated models created by new alternatives, higher predictive techniques, more efficient training techniques, better and more potent hardware, and bespoke software.
4. Cybersecurity
When a cyberattack hits a corporation, computers become useless.
Workers must abandon technology and return to manual skills for a period of time in order to continue working.
AI-enabled systems may be able to prevent unauthorized access to data, programs, networks, and computers.
Moreover, internet apps with AI capability can record cyberattack trends.
As AI discovers danger patterns, it may construct retaliation tools.
5. AI ethics
As AI grows more prevalent in our daily lives, we must consider not only the potential of cyber assaults, but also the ethics of how organizations employ this technology.
The development of more responsible and transparent AI models will be a top consideration in 2023.
People in charge of building AI systems will try harder to explain how they make judgments and the data they use to make them.
As businesses try to eradicate prejudice and injustice from their automated decision-making systems, AI ethics will become increasingly important.
6. Marketing and Sales
Hyper-quick sales and marketing content creation
Automated repetitive tasks, like keyword research, administrative work, content formatting, and data analysis
Sales enablement and custom materials. For example, analyzing clientâs profiles and creating tailored materials for enhanced sales success
Omnichannel strategy optimization to improve engagement
Customer insights with crm data through detection of patterns in user behaviors
Adjust training programs with custom training materials, role-play scenarios, and product knowledge sheets.
Conclusion
Generative AI is at the forefront of innovation, promising significant advancements for businesses. With its capability, it can revolutionize operations, marketing, sales, and other sectors. Generative AI trends in 2023 and beyond show how powerful and impactful the technology is.
In todayâs fast-paced digital world, website speed optimization is not just a desirable attribute; it is an essential requirement for successful engagement and business.
High-speed websites offer improved user experience, promoting retention, and simultaneously catering to the ever-decreasing patience of internet users.
Appropriate strategies can be effectively used to achieve optimal website speed, this guide will help you catch up on the state of affairs with some useful tips.
Table of Contents
What is Page Speed Optimization
What is an Optimal Website Speed?
How to Test Speed for your website
Why do you need Speed Optimization for your website?
What is Page Speed Optimization
The faster your website loads, the better experience users will have, which can lead to better engagement and higher conversion rates.
Optimizing website speed is a complex process involving strategic planning and decision making through a websiteâs life cycle.
What is an Optimal Website Speed?
The âoptimalâ speed for a website can depend on several factors, including the type of content on the website and the expectations of its users. However, as a general guideline, itâs commonly recommended that a web page should load within 2-6 seconds.
Why is it important you might think? Well hereâs why:
Bounce rate (%age users who leave without engagement) for a website increases to 32% when load speed changes from 1 to 3 seconds.
To achieve a bounce rate < 10%, a website should load within 2 sec.
79% of shopper are less likely to buy on a website that loads slowly.
47% of users expect websites to load under 3 sec
Itâs worth noting that these are abstract targets, and meeting them doesnât guarantee your website will rank highly in Googleâs search results. There are many other factors involved in search rankings, but speed is increasingly important.
Also, while improving speed is important, it shouldnât come at the expense of usability, aesthetics, or functionality. The ultimate goal is to provide a high-quality user experience, and speed is just one aspect of that.
How to Test Speed for your website
Testing website speed effectively involves using a combination of tools and techniques to identify areas where your siteâs performance can be improved. Here are some steps you can take to test your websiteâs speed effectively:
Test Speed During Development: You should ideally keep track of your websiteâs performance and speed metrics even before it is deployed.
This can easily be done by using the performance and speed testing tools built into the âDeveloper Toolsâ section of the browser you use while testing local developments.
For Example,
Use Online Tools: There are a number of online tools that can provide insights into your siteâs speed and overall performance:
Google PageSpeed Insights: This is a free tool from Google that analyzes the content of a web page and generates suggestions to make that page faster. It provides separate scores for mobile and desktop performance and offers suggestions for improvement.
Analyze Key Metrics: When using these tools, there are some key metrics to pay attention to, including:
Time to First Byte (TTFB): This is the time it takes for a userâs browser to receive the first byte of page data from the server. A high TTFB can indicate server issues.
First Contentful Paint (FCP): This is the time it takes for the first piece of content to appear on screen.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This measures the time it takes for the largest image or text block to become visible.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): This measures how much the elements on your page shift around during load time. A low CLS score means your site is visually stable.
Total Blocking Time (TBT) / Time to Interactive (TTI): These measure how long it takes for your page to become fully interactive.
Test Different Pages: Donât just test your home page. Test a variety of pages on your site, including product pages, blog posts, and your checkout page.
Test Mobile Performance: With more than half of web traffic now coming from mobile devices, itâs critical to test how your site performs for these users. Many of the tools mentioned above provide separate scores for mobile and desktop performance.
Regular Testing: Website speed testing shouldnât be a one-time task. It should be part of a regular routine. This is especially true if youâre regularly updating or adding to your site.
By using these steps, you can effectively test your website speed and identify areas where performance can be improved.
What Is a Good Website Speed?
Research shows that the amount of time a user will wait before losing focus is roughly from 0.3 to 3 seconds. That means that you should aim to show some content to the user in under 3 seconds. By using Core Web Vitals, then these are the recommended thresholds that you should aim for:
You can read more about what criteria Google used to arrive at these thresholds here.
Note that when measuring page load time itâs best to try to get as much data as possible, from all types of visits. For example, you will need to have data for both desktop and mobile devices. The reality is that you will most likely need to do extra work to get the same performance on mobile devices, even when the metrics for desktop devices are well under the thresholds mentioned above.
Why do you need Speed Optimization for your website?
The importance of testing and optimizing a websiteâs speed and performance has only increased over the years. As we laid out in numbers on bounce rate and conversion rates in a previous section, itâs clear why tech businesses are focused on it.
Here are some more logical reasons for you to consider improving your website speed and understand the reasons why it is even more critical in 2023:
User Experience (UX): Slow website speeds can frustrate users, leading to a decrease in user satisfaction and engagement. A smooth, responsive user experience can encourage users to stay on your site longer, interact more with your content, and be more likely to convert (for example, make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, etc.).
Mobile Internet Use: The use of mobile devices for internet browsing has grown exponentially. Mobile users often have different connectivity and speed conditions, making speed and performance optimization even more crucial.
SEO Ranking: Search engines, like Google, consider site speed as a ranking factor. Faster websites are more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), resulting in more visibility and traffic. Google implemented a new ranking algorithm called Core Web Vitals, which focuses on user experience, including loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.
Ecommerce Growth: The global pandemic in 2020 and 2021 has resulted in a substantial increase in online shopping and e-commerce activities, a trend that likely continues in 2023. For online retailers, website speed and performance directly impact sales and revenue.
Increasing Web Complexity: Web applications are becoming increasingly complex with more scripts, images, third-party integrations, and high-resolution content than ever before. Making it critical to prioritize speed and performance optimization to ensure the best user experience.
5G and Edge Computing: With the ongoing global roll-out of 5G technology and the rise of edge computing, usersâ expectations for website performance are higher than ever. These technologies promise significantly faster load times and lower latency.
Sustainability: Thereâs an increasing awareness of the environmental impact of digital technologies. More data means more energy consumed, so an optimized, efficient website could also be a more sustainable choice, reducing its carbon footprint.
Scalability: As your website grows, you will have more users, more page views, and more content. If your website is already slow, growth will only exacerbate the problem. Optimizing your websiteâs speed ensures that as you grow and scale, your website can handle the increased traffic and content.
Competitive Advantage: A faster website can give you a competitive advantage. If your website is faster than your competitorsâ, youâre more likely to retain and attract users. In the online world, where users can go from one site to another in seconds, speed can be a key differentiator.
Conversion Rates: Slow websites can have a direct impact on conversion rates. So if your website is an online store or relies on user conversions for revenue, optimizing your websiteâs speed is crucial.
20 Website Speed Optimization Strategies for 2023
Optimizing a websiteâs speed and performance requires a multifaceted approach, including the need to take dedicated steps at design, development, and deployment levels.
Here are 20 tips that will guide you to better outcomes in the exercise:
Design-Level Optimization
1. Design Mobile-First: Given the prevalence of mobile browsing, design your site with mobile users in mind first. These designs are typically more streamlined, which can improve speed.
2. Simplify Your Design: A simple, clean design is often faster. Limit the use of heavy design elements and stick to essentials.
3. Use Adaptive assets: Make sure images adapt to the screen size of the user, prefer vector formats like .svg and .webp over .jpeg and .png. etc. Web fonts can slow down your site so use them sparingly and only download the specific styles and characters sets you need.
4. Limit the Use of Animations: While animations can add visual interest, they can also slow down your site. Use them sparingly.
Development-Level Optimization
5. Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML: Removing unnecessary characters, line breaks, and spaces from these files can help reduce their size and improve loading speeds.
6. Use Asynchronous Loading for CSS and JavaScript Files: By default, CSS and JavaScript files are loaded synchronously, which can slow down page speed. Asynchronous loading allows multiple files to load simultaneously.
7. Reduce Redirects & API calls: Each redirect triggers an additional HTTP request, slowing down your page load speed. Eliminate unnecessary redirects and API calls like AJAX whenever possible.
8. Avoid or Limit the Use of Plugins and Widgets: Every plugin or widget you add requires resources to run. Use them sparingly and only when necessary.
9. Leverage Caching: Browser caching stores webpage resource files on a local computer when a user visits a webpage. Leveraging caching can make your site faster for repeat visitors.
10. Enable Compression: Use compression techniques like Gzip to reduce the size of your CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files.
11. Avoid Render-Blocking assets: Where possible, try to defer linked assets loading or use asynchronous loading to prevent it from blocking the first paint of your webpage.
12. Optimize Time to First Byte (TTFB): TTFB measures how long the browser waits before receiving the first byte of data from the server. Improving server response time can optimize your TTFB.
13. Use Latest Versions of Everything: If your site is built on WordPress or another CMS that uses PHP, using the latest version can provide a significant speed boost. Similarly for other technologies like NodeJS, React, Webpack, SSL/TLS, HTTP etc. use the latest versions to optimize speed and security.
Deployment-Level Optimization
14. Choose the right Hosting Provider: A good hosting provider is crucial for site speed. Shared hosting can be slow due to multiple sites on a single server. Consider using VPS or dedicated hosting.
15. Use Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN can distribute the load of delivering content by storing a cached version of your site in multiple geographical locations.
16. Implement Load Balancing: If your site has heavy traffic, using more than one server to balance the load can speed up response times.
17. Optimize Integrations: Regularly optimizing your database and other critical integrations can help improve your siteâs performance, particularly for dynamic websites. This can include tasks like removing unnecessary data/connections and running routine clean-ups.
General Best Practices:
18. Prioritize Above-The-Fold Content: Make sure that the content appearing on the screen first (above the fold) loads quickly for a better user experience.
19. Remove Unnecessary Metadata: Excess metadata in your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript can slow down your site. Remove anything thatâs not needed.
20. Implement Automated Tests, Audits and Reporting: Using automated tests to regularly check for speed and other vital metrics can save your Website from hiccups in performance, or in worst/best case, prevent a total disaster.
Conclusion
Web page speed optimization is a multi-faceted task, pivotal to the success of any website.
Staying ahead in the online world necessitates an ongoing commitment to optimizing website speed, ensuring a superior user experience, and ultimately, driving higher user engagement and conversions.
As the digital landscape becomes increasingly competitive, optimizing web page speed is not just an optional improvement but an indispensable necessity that directly impacts user experience, SEO rankings, and user engagement.
With the right combination of design, development, and deployment strategies, optimal website speed is indeed achievable.
The faster your website loads, displays content, and responds to user input, the lower your bounce rates and the higher your conversions. Here, incremental improvement is critical â while going from slow to supercharged doesnât happen overnight, any of our 20 website optimization strategies can help jumpstart your need for speed.
Off-page SEO (also called “off-site SEO”) refers to actions taken outside of your own website to impact your rankings within search engine results pages (SERPs) and to influence how people discover and engage with your content.
Is a strategy for bringing attention and authority to your site, and when combined with on-page SEO and technical SEO, off-page SEO can help you meet your goals for search visibility, crawling, indexing, traffic, and conversions.
Off-page optimization seeks to improve the perception both search engines and people have of a siteâs:
Expertise
Experience
Authoritativeness
Trustworthiness
Relevance
Popularity
Why does Off-Page SEO matter?
Off-page SEO is tremendously valuable because it tells search engines that your website is important to others on the web. Every link that you receive acts as an endorsement from another source that your website is quality.
This lets external sources act as tie-breakers for websites that have the same quality of on-page SEO so search engines know the best to rank websites on search engine results pages (SERPs)
Search engines like Google measure off-page SEO factors, like the number and quality of backlinks to websites. If one of the wedding websites has more backlinks from reputable sources, while the other site has received zero online mentions, the site with more backlinks (and better online reputation) will likely rank higher.
Using numerous off-page and on-page SEO factors, search engines determine how valuable pages are to searchersâ queries and return relevant results accordingly.
Just remember â a page without off-site optimization is like a wedding without invitations. Itâll become a no-show.
3 types of links for off-page SEO
Links are a critical component to off-page SEO. Before you start building or earning backlinks, itâs essential to understand the different types of links, as well as the factors that influence the equity of a link to your website.
The three types of links include:
Natural links
A natural link comes to your website naturally. Your team doesnât take any action or conduct any outreach to earn the link. The person writing that content decided to link to your content, whether because they follow your brand or discovered your content via search. Either way, they found your content valuable and worth highlighting.
Built Links
A built link comes to your website from outreach. Your team worked to earn this link, whether by reaching out to webmasters, publishers, or journalists. You may have even promoted the content with an ad campaign, providing it with the exposure that helped people uncover the content. Even though you built this link, you still created valuable content for users.
Created Links
A created link comes to your website from self-submissions on directories, forums, or press releases. Your team created this link intentionally and without conducting any outreach. This off-page SEO tactic for link building tends to register as a black-hat SEO practice because search engines look down on this kind of link building tactic. When building links, focus on natural or built links.
6 factors that influence link value for off-page SEO
You also want to think about the equity or value and authority passed by a link. While you could attract dozens of low-value links from spammy or untrustworthy websites, they wonât help your business rank well in search results. Thatâs why itâs essential to focus your off-page SEO link building efforts on trusted websites with excellent link equity.
The six factors that influence the equity passed by a link include:
The freshness or age of the link to your site
The number of links on the linking page
The relation between the linking siteâs subject matter and yours
The trustworthiness of the linking site
The authority of the linking site and the linking page
How to do off-page SEO for your SEO campaign
Now that weâve established how important off-page SEO is to a websiteâs success, we can delve into the specifics of how to improve off-page SEO:
Link building
The most popular technique of off-page SEO is backlinking, which aims to generate natural links to your page.
Getting reputable websites to link back to your website has two main benefits: driving traffic to your site and helping determine your rank. Links from reputable sites are hugely beneficial to your website.
These benefits occur because links are the primary way to navigate the internet. Links improve your usersâ experience. With links, your users can easily navigate to other information they find relevant.
Links are also the simplest way to measure the expertise, authority, and trust of a site. Thatâs why Google includes links as a part of search ranking factors.
But how do you convince others to link to you? You can try any (or all) of the following off-page search engine optimization strategies to start.
Join an association. This could be an industry association, or the local Chamber of Commerce. Make sure that your company gets a link on the associationâs website.
Create quality content. Making high-quality blog posts, infographics, videos, and more are all excellent ways to draw clicks and natural links to your site. Basically, if itâs interesting, they will come.
Reach out. Reaching out to journalists and bloggers as possible sources for their writing, or asking them to host something youâve created, provides future opportunities for you to earn links to your website.
Some links have more weight than others. For example, links from influencers in your audienceâs community have much more authority than links from spam sites.
Those high-quality links will tell Google that youâve earned the recognition â that your site knows its material â and Google will rank you higher.
Blogging
Blogging is an excellent way to start generating linkable content for your brand. Thereâs no other place on the web with a constant stream of long-form content than blogs.
On your blog, your audience can comment and share your content, making it easier to get noticed and start generating natural links and brand mentions.
And with the continuous posts, youâll become a knowledgeable leader in your industry. Your audience will look to you first for information about recent updates and trends, as well as how-to guides and informational articles.
Talk about generating loyalty!
Social media marketing
While social media links donât impact rank, social media sites are still some of the best places on the web to generate awareness for your brand.
Brands with a strong presence on social media feel open and approachable, which is something that is becoming increasingly important today for businesses.
If a brand is not easily approachable, not only does it come off as abrasive, its trustworthiness comes into question when users canât easily access information about it.
Instead of appearing as some aloof entity, let your brand come across like a friendly, neighborhood corner store.
You can do that by staying active on social media sites and by starting a blog where you can let your audience get a feel for your brandâs flair.
Also, generate content that is relevant and easy to read, and respond positively and sincerely to comments on both your blog and social media pages. Doing this will help your brand feel like a group of people instead of a robot.
Influencer marketing
How can off-page SEO influence online opinions?
Because of the emphasis on links as a method of accomplishing off-page SEO, many people tend to assume generating links is the goal of off-page SEO. The real goal of off-page SEO, however, is to boost ranking so that people can find, contact, and purchase from you. Off-page SEO will create positive engagement with your brand, whether that be through links, reviews, social media, or brand mentions.
Off-page SEO can be tricky, though, because those methods are ones you canât control, not without being considered black-hat, and no one wants to wear a black hat. Thereâs no surer way to plummet your brandâs credibility or your rank than with black-hat SEO methods like paying employees to post positive reviews or buying links to your site.
And since you canât control off-page SEO in the same way that you can control the on-page elements of your site, off-page SEO can turn into a frustrating waiting game where all you can do is hope the response from your audience is positive.
One of the ways you can combat negative reviews is by:
Reaching out to your customers, asking them for a review after a purchase
Implementing changes that will resolve the valid concerns of those negative reviews
By doing these two things, youâll improve your products and services and generate more reviews.
Writing for publications
Writing for external publications is a great way to show that youâre an authority in your industry while also promoting your own businessâs service. This kind of publicity gives you huge potential for attracting customers that otherwise may not have heard of you. Plus, it can give you a portfolio of writing that you can show to other publications to start writing for them, and so on.
Social bookmarking
Social bookmarking is the process of submitting your content to sites like Stumble Upon, Tumblr, Reddit, and others. These sites segment their content to appeal to certain niches, which you can use to appeal to customers in the specific demographics that you want to target. Before you submit any content, though, make sure to research the audiences and rules of each site.
Off-page SEO is the collection of strategies, tactics and efforts you undertake to promote your content on third-party sites across the web. This part of SEO focuses on getting your site, company and/or brand discussed on another website. Youâve most likely heard of off-page SEO before in the context of building links to your website. Itâs true that backlinks are very important, and weâll go over them a bit below, but thereâs much more to off-page SEO than just links.
Off-Page Factors:
Backlinks: Backlink quality and quantity are still some of the most important factors for off-page SEO. Backlinks are so important that Google has dedicated multiple algorithm updates to fighting link schemes and link spam. Links are important for off-page SEO because they pass whatâs known as âlink juiceâ to your site, helping it to appear more authoritative and trustworthy in the eyes of search engines. Thereâs a lot that goes into backlinks so we recommend our in-depth guides to building links, evaluating backlink quality and conducting a link audit.
Social media: While a pageâs ranking isnât directly influenced by how many shares, likes or comments it has, social media is still an important channel to promote your site online. Social media helps people find and engage with your company online and helps you reach new and existing customers. Plus, Google indexes pages on the major social media platforms, so consistently posting to these sites helps you control your brand SERP.
âUnlinked mentions: Unlinked mentions are any time an unaffiliated site mentions your company name or website online without linking back to your site. Itâs rare, pretty much impossible, for every mention of your site or brand online to include a backlink. In fact, if that were the case Google would probably find that very suspicious and levy a penalty against your site. However, that doesnât mean unlinked brand mentions donât have any value for off-page SEO. They can still function as citations for your siteâs authority and trust. Plus, mentions offer up a great opportunity to create new backlinks.
Google My Business: Google My Business (GMB for short) allows businesses to easily and simply provide important information directly to Google. This information includes location and/or service area, business type, contact information and opening hours. GMB is also how Google populates results for the Google local pack and Google Maps searches. As such, itâs a vital off-page SEO factor for any local business that relies on traffic from a specific geographical location. Set up your businessâs GMB listing to add it to Google Maps and take advantage of this important off-page and local SEO technique.
Start Optimizing Your On-Page and Off-Page SEO
Remember that a good SEO strategy isnât about choosing between on-page SEO and off-page SEO. That would be like trying to decide between putting tires or an engine in your car – you need both to get wherever you want to go. However, SEO works best if youâve got good on-page SEO before you spend too much time and effort (and not to mention money) on building links or promoting your site on social media.
With the data and insights available, youâll be able to create the perfect strategy to target both on-page SEO and off-page SEO to reach a wider audience and attract more visitors to your website.
One factor that plays a crucial role in providing users with a great experience is page speed. With a free and easy-to-use tool like Google PageSpeed Insights, you can find out your page speed instantly, plus get actionable advice for improving your Google page speed.
If youâre ready to learn more, keep reading, because this article covers:
What is Google Page Speed Insight ?
Why does page speed matter?
What can you do to improve page speed?
How does website hosting affect page speed?
How often should you use Google PagesPeed Insights?
Takeaways.
What is Google Page Speed Insight?
Google PageSpeed Insights is a free tool to help you find and fix issues slowing down your web application. An open-source tool called Lighthouse collects and analyzes lab data thatâs combined with real-world data from the Chrome User Experience Report dataset.
Page Speed
Page speed is the amount of time it takes between the browserâs request for a page until the browser completes processing and rendering the content. Many factors affect the speed of a given page including quantity and type of content, distance the data travels, connection type, device, operating system, and browser.
Why does page speed matter?
You may have already heard that page speed is important, but why does it really matter? There are numerous reasons that page speed is important to your business.
1.Users hate slow-loading pages
With the growth of the Internet, there is a high expectation for pages to load quickly. Users expect your page to load within a second because they want their information as fast as possible.
This means that businesses with slow-loading-pages lose out on leads because users donât want to wait for those pages to load. If your website doesnât load as quickly as the others, your leads will find alternative sites with pages that take less time to appear on their screens.
Page speed is especially important for your mobile visitors. Many users conduct mobile searches because they want answers quickly. You need to ensure that your page loads quickly, so these users stay on your site and learn more about your business.
2.Users spend less time on your page if itâs slow
If your page doesnât load quickly, users will spend less time on your site. Even if they wait for your page to load initially, they wonât wait for additional pages to load because they might not have time to wait for each page.
You will lose leads because your pages take too long to provide them with information. If many leads leave your page because it loads too slowly, you will significantly increase how quickly leads come to your page and leave, otherwise known as your bounce rate.
This will impact your siteâs ranking and make it harder for you to reach more audiences. To keep leads engaged and interested in your page, make sure your pages load quickly on your website.
3.It impacts your conversion rate
Your pageâs speed impacts your conversion rate. Since the goal of your business is to earn conversions, you wonât profit from a slow-loading page because leads wonât stick around to convert.
On the contrary, a fast-loading page has a great impact on conversions. Users will convert because the page is loading quickly and guiding them through each step. They wonât have to wait around for the page to load to make a purchase.
Your business could lose potential profit simply by having a page that loads seconds slower than the competition. Page speed affects your businessâ conversion rate and profits, so itâs important that you invest in helping you site run faster to avoid losing out on a profit.
4.It impacts your SEO ranking
If youâre using search engine optimization (SEO), page speed is a crucial element. Google recognizes that page speed is an important element for users and has started to move towards making page speed a top-ranking factor for SEO users.
If your site loads too slowly, Google wonât rank your page higher to reach more leads. When your pages load quickly, however, you improve your SEO ranking.
Factoring in your websiteâs page loading time will impact your search engine ranking and overall lead generation. By improving your page speed, you will drive in more valuable leads for your business.
5.It affects your quality score
Are you running a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign? If so, your page speed will affect your adâs quality score.
When you create a PPC campaign, your maximum bid and quality score determine your ads placement. If your quality score decreases, this will lower your adâs position and potentially increase your costs per click (CPC).
It is important to note that page speed affects multiple extensions of your website. Focus on getting your page running quickly to ensure that all other campaigns run smoothly.
6.Itâs the first impression users get of your business
When users come across your site for the first time, you want to give them a positive impression of your business. Creating fast-loading pages will build confidence with your audience and ensure them that your business is reliable.
Alternatively, a slow-loading page might trigger the opposite feeling. Leads will immediately back out of your page to find a company that promotes efficiency and professionalism.
If you want users to view your business as professional, you need to make sure your page is running quickly. This will create a positive impact on your audience and will keep them coming back to your website.
So, now that you know why page speed is crucial for your site, the next step is knowing how to fix it.
What can you do to improve page speed?
You may speed up the time it takes for a page to load on your website in a variety of ways. Here are a few examples:
Avoid landing page redirection because each one starts the HTTP request-response cycle and slows down the rendering of the page.
Allow your scripts and CSS to load in external files rather than preventing all web pages from loading.
Gzip compression should be enabled and tested on your web server.
Optimize your images and give your content first priority.
Regularly purge your cache.
How does website hosting affect page speed?
Choosing the correct host for your website is critical for a quality user experience. Youâll need to consider your options based on the type of content and the expected traffic.
Shared web hosting: Shared web hosting means your site shares a physical server with other websites. Activity on the other sites sharing the server may use up bandwidth and server resources slowing down the delivery of your content.
Cloud hosting: This option is like virtual private servers; except with cloud hosting, your site may exist over several different servers making the site more reliable, and traffic spikes have less impact on performance.
Dedicated hosting: Dedicated hosting gives you full control over the site infrastructure. Since only your site uses the server, you donât have to worry about drains on resources due to server competition from other websites.
Virtual private servers: With virtual private servers, your website gets its own virtual server. Your site may reside on the same machines as other sites, but they do not share an operating system making the site faster and more scalable.
If you see performance problems on your site, you may want to speak with your provider. In some cases, you may need to move your site to a different provider with a better service level agreement or upgrade your hosting plan.
How often should you use Google PagesPeed Insights?
Even if your page is performing well, you should conduct systematic tests because performance best practices are frequently revised and Google is constantly looking for ways to make PageSpeed Insights better.
Takeaways
Page speed is the amount of time it takes to request a page and have the page completely loaded in the browser.
Page speed affects the way users feel about a brand and its products and services.
Slow page speeds increase bounce rates.
Page speed is important to SEO.
Google makes some final ranking determinations based on page speed.
Users expect the same performance on both mobile and desktop.
Google makes some final ranking determinations based on page speed.
You canât make good decisions about content and infrastructure if you donât have baseline metrics and performance trends when making those decisions.
Your website hosting service and type may affect page speed.
Page speed can change quickly based on multiple factors. Synthetic website performance monitoring can capture performance lags you may not notice otherwise.
You can improve page speed quickly with some simple optimizations, such as controlling image file sizes and removing dead code.
As soon as you have opened this blog, we have just 15 seconds to grab your attention. Yes, yes, 15 seconds is the average time a user spends on a website. If it doesnât provide expected content or goes clunky, business owners must be ready to say goodbye to their potential customers.
8 Key Strategies for Optimizing Your Media Assets
Consider using a content management system (CMS): Certain CMS platforms, like WordPress, have plugins and other tools that are used to improve your media’s performance. These resources can help automate the optimization process and streamline media file management.
Lazy load your media: A method known as lazy loading involves only loading the media that can be seen on the screen right now. The quantity of data that needs to be loaded can be decreased and loading times can be improved as a result.
Compress your images: It’s crucial to compress your image files because they can increase the time it takes for your website to load. You may compress your images with the help of a number of programs without sacrificing quality. Kraken, ImageOptim, and TinyPNG are a few well-liked choices.
Use the right file format: For various sorts of photos, different file formats are more appropriate. For instance, PNG is better for drawings with transparent backgrounds whereas JPEG is better for pictures. Reducing the file size and speeding up the download can be accomplished by using the proper file format.
Use a content delivery network (CDN): Distributing your media assets from servers that are physically closer to your users, a CDN can help to increase the performance of your website. User experience can be enhanced, and loading times decreased as a result.
Use responsive images: Images that are optimized for various screen sizes are called responsive images. This can help to enhance mobile performance and guarantee that your website looks good across all platforms.
Enhance your video files for performance: If your website includes videos, it’s crucial to do so. This may entail using the appropriate video format and compressing the files as well as lowering their resolution.
Minimize the number of media files: The performance of your website may suffer if it has an excessive number of media files. Try to employ as few media files as possible; only include those that are absolutely necessary.
Conclusion
There are different website performance optimization that can be implemented to further improve the delivery and speed of your content. For your website is constantly perform at its best, it’s crucial to regularly review and adjust your media optimization tactics.
