Does your website boast slow loading pages?

Improving your conversion rates by increasing your loading speeds
SEO plays a pinnacle part in modern marketing however its importance should not be overstated.
Implementing an SEO strategy without considering how you are going to convert the traffic you
attain is completely pointless. You have to remember that it is your conversion rates that will
determine your profit margins.

Bespoke Web Development offers many intricate and complex ways to increase conversion rates
however its simplest solution lies in increasing page speeds. An area that you can easily optimise
yourself.

Why loading speeds have recently taken on extra importance
If a page takes several seconds to load many searchers consider the website not worth their time
and move on. In an age of fibre optic broadband today’s searchers have much higher expectations
of how a website should function. But as well as costing you direct sales, having slow loading pages
could also now be affecting your SEO results. Reports have suggested that the Panda update has also
incorporated usability signals into Google’s algorithms. Websites that are quick and clear have slowly
been rising up the SERP’s.

Below are some simple ways for you to improve your page loading speeds and capitalise on the new
Panda fever:
Minimise redirects: When you redirect your visitors you give them no choice but to endure several
seconds of loading time. Try to avoid using redirects at all costs in light of this.
Consider image file type and size: Look through your existing image and try exporting them in a
different file type. JPG usually requires more memory when the picture quality might be very similar
in a different file type. If you save just 50kb on a photo, and get thousands of visitors everyday day,
you’ll be saving 100’s of MB’s of bandwidths on a daily basis.

Take the time to learn good CSS: Although with respect to Web Development learning CSS might
be quite a simple task, it is not so easy to truly be an expert in. Google CSS techniques and find some
areas where you could improve. There will be something. Trust me! One common mistake that
webmasters make is importing CSS style sheets. They seriously kill your loading speeds, so avoid
them at all costs.

Update all software: Your pages might be slow to load simply because the software you are
depending on needs an update. The developers of software such as WordPress consistently write
more efficient code so it would be foolish to miss out on any improvements they release. Be sure to
test the upgrade on another server before you implement it on your own.

The important thing for you to remember is that SEO is only as effective as the CO that follows it.
Improving your loading speeds will increase the usability of your website and make your visitors
much more likely to part with their cash. They will see your website as quick, reliable and authentic;
traits that will be undoubtedly reflected onto the perception of your brand.

Why keeping faith in white hat SEO and good quality content is the way forward

Despite coming under heavy criticism the world’s leading search providers are still struggling to fill in the leaks that allow paid links to work, and poor quality content to stand. Although today’s algorithms are incredibly advanced, sympathisers of black hat SEO are still managing to cheat their way to the top of the SERP’s. But how?

The problem that the search providers face is the resilience that their users show. With every update that Google rolls out to combat issues with spam there is always also something new (from the update) for the black hat industry to prey on.

Remembering that ethical content production is the driving force behind all successful SEO

In amongst the chaos of content farms and search engine manipulation it’s easy for online marketers to forget that long term SEO success can only ever be found through ethical means. So before you give up on your morally sound methods and consider turning to the dark side, let me remind you of the one thing that will never change in the foundations of SEO. The importance of content. It will always be king.

Although your rivals might have cheated their way above you in the SERP’s not everything is the search engines fault. Google pay an awful lot of respect to the importance of good quality content in SEO and there is no reason why a website with the correct, and ethical, content strategy should be out beaten by a rival that depends on quantity. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and make sure that you can tick off every content technique listed below:

Blogging: If you have not got a blog then you simply don’t have a right to complain about SEO cheaters. The search engines reward websites greatly if they produce regular content that is fresh and relevant. A blog allows you to answer your consumer’s questions and maintain their attention without having to try and sell your services to them. Blogs are one example where the search engines have got it right. Produce a good quality, but keyword packed blog, and you’ll reap the rewards without losing your morality.

Social networking: Make sure that the content on your website is shareable, likable and ofcourse helpful. By incorporating these small aspects of web design, and by creating profiles on the likes of Facebook and Twitter, you will give your company the rare chance of having a face. Remember you need to keep your own sellers ego out of this social content. You have to make sure that you are writing to inform and not just sell on these sites.

Content with video: Another great, yet often overlooked way to increase your content count online is to utilise video sharing sites such as YouTube. From an SEO perspective the search engines will see your video’s titles, descriptions and tags. This ‘meat’ will add another dimension to the keyword strength of your website especially if you choose to embed the videos onto your own WebPages.

Making use of the FAQ format: Unlike you, your potential consumers do not work with your service every day and thus do not fully understand every detail like you do. Because of this, when they search for terms relevant to your service they will often ask them in the form of questions. You can take advantage of this by showing Google that you have relevant answers for all these searchers with the creation of an FAQ page on your website. If you check the search engine trends you can update this page on a monthly basis to keep it effective.

The above techniques are just a few of many ways for you to offer the search engines more quality content related to your website. The key is to keep faith in the power of quality, and to remember that long term SEO results come only from well written content that informs as much as it persuades. Black hat SEO really is a dying art, no matter what the forums are saying!