The Often Overlooked SEO Factor: Time and Speed

It isn’t just about key words and linking sites.

Search engines like to be fast. They like to display results quickly; some search engines even display how long it takes to display the search results (my last search was done in .25 seconds). Search engines also like to index websites quickly. In fact, if it takes too long for a page on your website to load a search engine may skip to the next one. A search engine won’t wait more than a second or two ��" humans won’t hang around much longer than that.

There are a number of things that can affect the time it takes for a webpage to load:

• Images - make sure graphics on your website are optimized to load as quickly as possible and still maintain the visual quality you need. Any animation or movies should also be optimized so to not increase the time it takes to display the web page.
• Coding - the way your page was coded may have an impact on the time it takes for your web page to load. Hand coded pages that rely on cascading style sheets to present the layout are often quicker than pages created using graphical “WYSIWYG” editors or templates that may use a lot of unnecessary code.
• Scripts - The use of certain scripts on your website may increase the time it takes for your website to load. Be careful if you use scripts for analytics or sharing content that those scripts don’t take too long to execute.
• Server Speed - Having a quality web server will help with your page load times, as well as the load that server is required to handle. If you use a “shared” hosting program, there may be other websites on the server that make your web pages slower.
• Network Speed - A number of things can come into play here: routers, switches, access to high bandwidth providers. A central location in relatively close proximity to the “internet backbone” is recommended.
  

Is Your Website Fast-Food Style or Gourmet?

The differences between an overnight template-based website solution and a well-planned, professionally designed website are vast - and they are readily apparent to your website visitors.

Imagine walking into any nationally recognized fast-food restaurant chain; we all know what that experience is like (at least you’re not hungry anymore)... Now envision dining at the gourmet restaurant you might visit on rare special occasions: visualize the high quality silver, flatware, fixtures, and ingredients that create the unique flavor and dining experience you can’t get anywhere else. How pleasurable and satisfying is that?

Differences in websites are becoming like this. Some websites definitely have the fast-food restaurant vibe to them - most of these are template-based, slightly customized websites. Do these website owners care about the customer and the products they offer? It looks like they are more interested in making a quick buck.

Gourmet websites are focused on providing customers with a quality experience; a unique flavor served up by experienced, quality-focused designers and developers. Owners of these website show they are committed about the quality of their product and extremely satisfied customers.

Here the interesting thing: most fast-food restaurant chains have gourmet websites…

So, what style is your website: fast-food or gourmet? What would you like it to be?

Integrate Facebook with Websites: The Possibilities

You’ve seen it coming: websites beginning to add Facebook logos and feeds to their content. Did you know people now spend more time on Facebook than on search engines? Did you know it is possible to add Facebook functionality to your website? More than just “Become A Fan” buttons, but actual integration with Facebook to allow a more social experience on your website.

Imagine what might be possible:

If you have an online store your customers may be able to add your product information (along with a link to the product page on your website) to their Facebook feed for all their friends to see.

You might be able to provide updates and other information directly to your customers Facebook pages (if your customers are generation “Y” or “Z” you know they think email and newsletters are obsolete).

Perhaps your customers can bring their Facebook friends to your online store and shop together; viewing and discussing your products while they shop. Perhaps this activity is posted to their feed for all their friends to see where they were shopping and what they were viewing. Or what they purchased.

Some of these things are already possible. There are different levels of integration with Facebook: some if it simple, other integrations are more complex. Capabilities seem to be constantly added and upgraded. If your business hasn’t using Facebook (and other social media), it may be time to consider doing just that…

How to Give Your Best Keywords and Search Terms to Your Competitors

What you get for free may cost you more than you think.

Do you use free website analytics provided by a search engine? If you do, you may be giving away information that would otherwise give you a competitive advantage. Let's think about this: Search engines make money by selling advertising that sends traffic to websites. One of the ways search engines sell this advertising is by showing their potential advertisers data such as website traffic, visitor locations, and search terms used to find websites. How do search engines get this information? One way is from the analytics software that they give away for free.

Essentially, after all of your marketing and search engine optimization efforts to find the best search terms to get the most effective traffic to your site, your search engine is going to give that information away to your competition.

Here is a scenario that illustrates my point:

1. You have a small local electronics store with a loyal customer base, and decide to launch your website with free website analytics from a search engine.


2. You send a mailing to your customer base announcing your great new website.


3. Your customer visits your website, and is excited by the new home theater system you offer, and plans to visit your store the next day.


4. The free analytics tool provided by a search engine stores this website visit, and also stores that the customer searched for or visited "home theater system" on your website.


5. Your customer continues his internet browsing, soon landing on a different site that has integrated advertisements from a search engine.


6. The search engine providing those ads now has enough information to present competitive ads to your customer, such as "Home Theater Systems On Sale - click here" from the data gathered from your customer visiting your website.

Using website analytics provided free by a search engine virtually guarantees that your customers will see competitor ads. Remember, search engines make nearly all of their revenue from advertising.

Do you buy advertising from a search engine and use their free website analytics tool? If so, do you really want the search engine to know how much money you make from each advertisement? If a search engine sees that you are making $250 from that $5 advertisement, do you think they will hesitate to start charging more for the same ad?

Bottom line: Using free website analytics tools from search engines may end up costing you customers (by leading your customers away to competitors) and increasing your advertising expense at the same time.