SEO News

Minify HTML for Faster Websites

by Mindy on May 17, 2013 in Conversion Rate Optimisation, HTML, Wed Development | No comments yet

Stopwatch 1

Quality content is the single most important factor in your search rankings, but a host of other aspects of web design, development, and performance play into how you appear in the SERPS. Speed is one of them, and it is critical because it so heavily impacts the user experience. One technique you can use is minifying HTML. This allows you to speed up your load times, reduce page size, and reduce network delays.

What does it mean to “minify” HTML? It basically removes whitespace, comments, and other non-essential elements. At the same time, it does not interfere with the content structure. The result is cleaner, speedier sites. The BBC, for instance, has a hefty site of 77,054 bytes. When it is minified, though, it drops 55,324 bytes, a 28.2 percent reduction. For a site that is so heavy on content and media, this is a tremendous difference.

There are several great online tools that you can use to minify your HTML. (Note: It is important to also minify CSS and JavaScript as well. Why not drop as much weight as possible?)

These minifiers offer a quick and easy solution to minifying your HTML code. When you can compress and cut out the excess weight, you can offer a lean, mean site for Google to index and for visitors to enjoy.

Should You Enable Persistent Shopping Carts?

by Mindy on May 17, 2013 in eCommerce, Online shopping | No comments yet

Shopping trolley 2Cart abandonment is a staggering problem for every e-retailer. Research shows that 57 percent of online shoppers never intended to make a purchase as they were window shopping, and nearly three-quarters (74 percent) abandoned items because of shipping costs. Just one more statistic: 56 percent of consumers have left items in their carts because they intended to come back later and purchase. That is a substantial figure, and it is one that e-businesses can use to their advantage. Persistent shopping carts enable consumers to come back, find their nice full cart, and complete the transaction.

Ecommerce platforms like Maginus or Magento support persistent shopping carts. While the steps will be different depending on your platform, let’s go through Magento’s process to give you an idea of what it will look like:

  1. Log into your Admin panel. System>Configuration.
  2. On the left, find Customers and select Persistent Shopping Cart.
  3. From there, click on General Options.
  4. Select use when prompted to Enable Persistence.
  5. Next, you will set your preferences for Persistence Lifetime. The maximum is one year (31,536,000 seconds), and that is the default setting. You can shorten this to weeks or months, if you prefer.
  6. Under Enable “Remember Me” you can choose Yes, which will create a Login page checkbox that customers can click on if they want their cart information saved. If you choose No, customers won’t have that option, and their items will be saved by default.
  7. You also have a choice to make for Clear Persistence on Log Out. Yes means the cart information is cleared when registered customers log out. No means it is saved after logout.
  8. One more yes/no. Persist Shopping Cart. Yes means that a guest can log in or create a new account, and their information is there. The session cookie expires, but the persistent cookie does not. No means it is not retained after the session cookie expires.
  9. Save Config, and there you have it.

Persistent shopping carts can help reduce cart abandonment and enhance user experience. If a customer fills his/her cart, goes to another site to check prices, and pops back to your site, it is essential that the items be waiting. If not, they are unlikely to take the time to put them back in – especially if the competing sites retain the items!

 

Tips for Utilising Mid-Funnel Content

by Mindy on May 9, 2013 in Content management, eCommerce, Online Marketing | No comments yet

Twisted directions“Content marketing is the only marketing left.” Seth Godin, author

The sales funnel concept holds that people go through different stages in the buying cycle. At the top, the widest part of the funnel, are those people who might be interested in your product or service. From there, it narrows into “hot” leads and, finally, customers. While the journey from unqualified lead to paying customer is not linear, this is a useful model because prospects have differing needs based on where they are in the sales cycle. Today we’ll talk about mid-funnel content to help you nurture leads.

Quickly, top-funnel content is educational; you are not going for a hard sell. Blog posts, tutorials, infographics, how-to-videos, and other content fits perfectly here because it delivers value to your customer without pitching. Bottom-funnel content is the time to break out the demo, discuss pricing, and, again, offer educational content to keep them interested and engaged.

In between, you have established trust with leads; they see you as a resource. They have completed a call to action, such as filling out a form or signing up for a newsletter. To capitalise on their interest, mid-funnel content focus on even greater value. Perhaps, in your top-funnel content, you discussed the importance of crafting a strong vision statement. In mid-funnel content, you can dive deeper into the subject. Perhaps you offer a case study; maybe you offer a step-by-step process they can follow. If you are in an industry that depends on research, you could offer a report or whitepaper on a specific topic.

Here are some strategies that you can use to optimise and leverage your mid-funnel content:

  • Try a drip email campaign. This delivers pre-developed messages appropriate for the recipients’ stage in the funnel. This, again, keeps you top of mind. Practice the soft sell, offering value to your prospects.
  • Offer a whitepaper to your top prospects. This must have information, data, and insights that they cannot find elsewhere, or which would take significant time for them to compile on their own. Other ideas include offering an exclusive video or access to a webinar or webcast.
  • Categorise your prospects into user personas; these are essentially fictional characters that represent the needs, desires, age, race, ethnic background, professional or career level, and other features of your real prospects. Once you have fleshed out these personas, generate topics specifically for them. Develop content based on persona and stage of the sales funnel.
  • Track your content. Are people reading your emails? Are they clicking on links you provide or downloading content you are sending? Which content seems to be sticking with them most effectively?
  • Make sure that your mid-funnel content does not have risk for the prospect. That is, they are not going to lose money, time, etc. if they take you up on an offer. Here is where  free works; whitepapers, videos, infographics, articles, and other valuable content drives your objectives, pushes them down the funnel, and keeps you top of mind.

Mid-funnel content sets the hook; you want to capitalise on the interest and trust you’ve built by continuing to offer more relevant, interesting content. You need to go deeper, and offer a bit more – not the whole farm; you still want something to sell at the end! At this stage of the game, though, it’s about positioning yourself as the expert, as the answer to questions and concerns, and as the logical next step.

Leveraging Browser Caching

by Mindy on May 9, 2013 in Content management, Conversion Rate Optimisation | No comments yet

Stopwatch 1Speed is an essential component of a positive user experience, and a positive user experience is a crucial factor in your ranking. Google has an unfathomable amount of data to comb through and offer to searchers; they want to supply only the highest quality results. Your content, and how fast it loads, makes you more attractive in the eyes of search engines and users. One way that you can make your site speedier is to leverage browser caching. Here’s the why and how.

When a browser loads a webpage, it has to load all of the elements that go into that page – the images, the HTML and CSS files, JavaScript, etc. – so it can display it to the visitor properly. The more files, and the larger those files are, the longer it takes to load. Browser caching works by “remembering” these files, or storing them in the user’s browser.

A first visit will result in the page being loaded at the normal time; but after that, the browser stores the files, so when the user comes back, refreshes, or navigates to a different page within the site, load times are much quicker. The browser has to download less, and there are fewer requests made to the server.

This works wonderfully with static content, like your logo, which is not going to change, or at least not frequently. It can also work with more dynamic content as long as you set the proper expiry dates. So let’s look at that now:

To tell the browser to store elements locally, you set expiry dates on the desired files.

  • Go to your htaccess file. You can edit this file with Notepad or a text editor.
  • Determine which files you would like to cache and for how long. It could be days, it could be a year. It is recommended that you opt for at least a month, and up to one year with static content.
  • Add the following code to the top of your htaccess file:

## EXPIRES CACHING ##
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
ExpiresActive On
ExpiresByType image/jpg “access 1 year”
ExpiresByType image/jpeg “access 1 year”
ExpiresByType image/gif “access 1 year”
ExpiresByType image/png “access 1 year”
ExpiresByType text/css “access 1 month”
ExpiresByType text/html “access 1 month”
ExpiresByType application/pdf “access 1 month”
ExpiresByType text/x-javascript “access 1 month”
ExpiresByType application/x-shockwave-flash “access 1 month”
ExpiresByType image/x-icon “access 1 year”
ExpiresDefault “access 1 month”
</IfModule>
## EXPIRES CACHING ##

The expiry dates are examples; you should set them to your preferred time periods. For  instance, if you want an image to be cached for one month instead of one year, simply change:

ExpiresByType image/jpg “access 1 year”

to:

ExpiresByType image/jpg “access 1 month”

Now, just save and refresh, and you’re done.  You can find some more details on Google’s webmaster resource page.

6 Tips for Product Page Optimisation

by Mindy on May 2, 2013 in eCommerce, Online Marketing, Online shopping | No comments yet

eccommerce concept 3A businessperson’s work is never done. There is always optimising to be done, whether you’re working on your site’s navigation, your keyword strategy, your content offerings, or your ecommerce site. Optimising your product pages is key because it allows potential customers to access the information they want – and be enticed by your products.

To ensure that your product pages are working their hardest for you:

  1. Use clear, focused images of your products. Make sure they are original or that you have secured permission from their owners. It is best to get high-quality shots of real people using the product and to ensure you have multiple angles. The good news is that if you cannot afford a professional photographer, you can take these pictures with a decent camera.
  2. While you’ve got the camera going, add video. If having video for each product is unfeasible then produce them for your top selling products – or those that are up-and-coming. People want the next big thing, so show it to them. Video content could be a box opening, a quick how-to, a testimonial, or other attention-grabbing format. It doesn’t have to be blockbuster  quality; but clear and professional is a must.
  3. Create clear product descriptions. Include most important features, bullet points, a quick summary, a more detailed description, and links to important information, such as shipping, returns, and FAQs. Don’t try to “sell” the product; just tell about it.
  4. Make sure the price is clearly listed. Price should be readily apparent. But don’t forget the shipping. Often, shipping prices come as a surprise when we’ve gone to our carts to check out. Make sure your customers know this information ahead of time to cut down on abandoned carts. Shipping calculators are always a great idea.
  5. Notify of restocking. If a product is out of stock but you are planning on restocking, let visitors opt in to receive an email when it is back. Then, when you have their email address for this purpose, do not abuse it. If they have signed up to receive updates or newsletters, fine. If they have not, don’t consider this license to send them any other emails.
  6. Encourage reviews. Make it easy to leave a rating or review. This is great user-generated content for search engines, and other customers trust these highly.

Your product pages are just one element of your overall site, but they are crucial to your success. Spend some time making your online store as inviting and helpful as you would a physical location.

Optimising for Comparison Shopping Engines

by Mindy on May 2, 2013 in eCommerce, Online shopping | No comments yet

 

Sale WebbuttonIt is estimated that UK shoppers will spend £87 ($138 billion) online this year, up from £78 ($123.7 billion) from 2012. It’s no surprise that mobile devices have pushed the trend. We love the convenience, ease, and ability to shop anytime, wearing any sort of pyjamas we like. Consumers hop on their favorite ecommerce sites, but they also frequent comparison shopping engines (CSE) so they can quickly compare product offerings, prices, shipping options, and more. Google Shopping, Nextag, PriceGrabber, Shopping.com, and other engines make it easy for consumers – but do they make it easy for merchants? Being noticed is difficult. These comparison shopping engine optimisation tips can help.

  • Watch the competition. Make sure your pricing and benefits are competitive. Consumers will be looking at them as a group, and you need to show that you are the best choice. That doesn’t necessarily mean lowest price; in fact, many consumers will eschew the lower price for the better shipping and return policies.
  • Be clear, concise, and original. Write detailed descriptions that accurately portray your products and benefits. Don’t just use the manufacturer’s description, and use keywords that your audience is actually looking for.
  • Choose the right CSE. Look for ease of use and cost, of course, but also make sure you’re listing on the engines that are most friendly to your product (and on which your competition is listing!). Also look for reviews and choose CSEs with high conversion rates.
  • Make sure your product information is up-to-date, old products are removed, and new ones added to the mix. Managing your feed is essential, and you can do it manually or with the help of a service.
  • Monitor your performance to get a sense of your ROI, and make adjustments as needed. This is an ongoing process.

About one-third of purchases are initiated with CSEs. It is a huge opportunity for merchants to gain visibility and, of course, profitability!

 

Google Link Penalty: Now What?

by Mindy on April 25, 2013 in Uncategorized | No comments yet

Broken ChainEvery website owner should applaud Google’s ongoing efforts to rid the world of spam, low-quality content, and poorly designed websites. Theoretically. In reality, though, some very good sites can get caught up in the search giant’s many algorithm updates. Because Google is the gateway to your website, getting knocked out of the SERPs can have a devastating effect. One area that Google is targeting with both algorithmic updates and manual penalties is links. Many people feel that the penalties imposed by Google are so severe that it is best to abandon your site and start over. That, too, can have negative effects. What can you do to reclaim your good name – and your good rank?

There are two types of link “penalty” that can impact your site:

  • Algorithmic. The Penguin Update targeted, among other things, link schemes. Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Webspam team tweeted that “Certainly links are a primary area to monitor.” These penalties are delivered algorithmically. That is, they are not subjective.  Google’s algorithm reads signals, and, for whatever reason, your site is sending a signal that external links are “unnatural.”  Sites affected will experience a precipitous drop in traffic and ranking for formerly strong keywords.
  • Manual. These penalties are assessed by a human when it is believed that a site is trying to manipulate search rankings by creating unnatural links. Google sends a notice, beginning, “We’ve detected that some of your site’s pages may be using techniques that are outside Google’s webmaster guidelines.”

Let’s back up for a moment. If Penguin has affected your site, it is not a “penalty,” per se. Links are a ranking factor, and if Google’s bots detect “bad” links, it is factored into your rank. It can be factored quite heavily too! But there is good news. An algorithmic “penalty” is easier to overcome. Sites can conduct a thorough link audit and worked to remove poor-quality links. The Link Disavow tool can be a site-saver.

Here’s what you do:

  • After your link audit, use the Link Disavow tool to tell Google that specific links to your site should not be used to determine your ranking. It is like saying of the obnoxious guests at your party, “We don’t know those people; we don’t associate with them!”
  • Wait for Google to process your request. This is frustrating as it is just a waiting game now. According to Danny Sullivan at SearchEngineLand, “Even if you’ve cleaned up your links with disavow, you have to wait until the Penguin Update is run again before you’ll see an impact.”

Waiting is difficult, but if you have disavowed and/or cleaned troublesome links, you will start to see a change for the better.

What about manual penalties, you ask? That can be a trickier process. Anything involving humans tends to be more complicated, doesn’t it?  Look for our upcoming whitepaper on removing Google penalties for “unnatural links.” You do not have to go to the extreme of abandoning your site to reclaim your reputation with Google.

Is Social Media the Most Time Consuming Activity in Your Agenda?

by Hitesh on March 26, 2013 in Content management, Facebook, Online Community, Online tools, Social Media, Time Management | No comments yet

Social Media is the addiction of our era, weather you use it for personal reasons or for business purposes. The good news is that, as opposed to many other offline addictions, using Social Media doesn’t affect your health (unless you tweet about a fire before your escape the building) and it can be rather beneficial for your bank account. If you can put it to its good use!

Social Media time managementThis being said, it is hard to imagine a business today that is not keen on increasing its web presence. And that means optimizing their content for search engines, posting, streaming, creating, updating and monitoring social media accounts, submitting social bookmarking profiles, following industry and competition news. And the list can go on forever.

But time is money. And time is becoming such a precious commodity, that we cannot afford to squander without serious consequences for the business. Social Media marketing is only part of your online marketing effort, and online marketing is only part of your overall marketing.

The question that rises is this: What is the optimum time you should allocate to Social Media, in order to achieve its maximum potential and still be able to focus on your core business?

The correct answer can be found only after you spend enough time (yes, time!) to effectively define your Social Media goals. Resist the temptation to run for the most popular on the web position! It takes way too much effort and it hardly brings benefits. Engage with your present and potential customers and you may have something going for you. Your consumer insights studies are some of your best allies here.

  • Schedule your social media. Allocate a number of hours weekly for all social media activities. Depending on your audience, it can be divided in a smaller number of hours everyday of the week or by selecting „activity” days, where you can spend alternatively an afternoon or a morning, to be able to engage within as many time zones as possible.
  • Develop your social date book. Implement and stick to a social media activity calendar. The biggest Social Media marketing sin is to set up pages and then abandon them. The second biggest is to update them irregularity. This is not cool with search engines and alienates your followers. You can use free online calendars, like Google Calendar, Yahoo! Calendar, or Mozilla Lightning to plan your activity and sync it with a larger team.
  • Disperse responsibilities. Build a team with specific tasks to implement your Social Media plan. In some cases, it is not only useful, but also necessary. For example, you need multiple employees to leverage a LinkedIn profile for B2B reasons.
  • Hire experts. On a long run, it can be cost-effective, and easier to handle than doing it all yourself. You need professionals in order to present yourself professionally and to ride the wave of the digital revolution. Experts can get you started by establishing a model for your staff to follow or you may want to hire them for long-term tasks, such as writing and editing your blogs for consistency.

 

Using social bookmarkings to leverage your web presence

by Hitesh on March 22, 2013 in Online Communication, Online Marketing, Online tools, Social Bookmarking, Social Media | No comments yet

How about if your friends send emails to all their friends, and their friends keep cascading emails to their friends, and friends of the friends, recommending the amazing quality of your products and services? Soon enough, the whole world will celebrate you!

online presenceUnless you died and went to the marketing heaven, the earthly reality cannot match this utopia. For all that, social bookmarkings may come quite close. We could also name them peer-to-peer referral networks, because they run on input from „real people”, as opposed to the soulless algorithms of a search engine.

There are several things that can be shared and recommended on the social bookmarkings, depending on their specificity: websites, blogs, photos, videos, products, and content. A user can make their own list of favourites, and they can also view their friends and other users favourites. Bookmarkings can be searched by tags, keywords, category, most recent, or most popular.

There are hundreds of such services, and it is up to you if you want to invest time to sign in to all of them. Some examples of popular bookmarkings are: StumbleUpon, Delicious, Fave or BonzoBox. On AddThis, you can take a good look at all those social bookmarkings out there. They can be sorted by trends, popularity, regions, and the type of services they provide.

Among the benefits of using them, the most important ones are:

    • higher search engine ranking
    • inbound links
    • readership
    • influence
    • traffic
    • visibility.

However, some services may not allow a direct submission of your own website or blog, and require the users to do so. In this case, you can feature a “badge” on your site, to inspire your viewers to submit your page.

How to decide which social bookmarking is for you?

As with any other marketing activity you undertake, you start with narrowing down to those tools that can get your closer to your client base. Alexa offers an easy and direct way to find out more demographics and traffic statistics for each bookmarking.

In accordance with your online marketing goals, a good social bookmark should have a lot of traffic, focus on your market niche and be able to attract your target consumers. Periodically, you may want to measure their efficiency and stay tuned for new up-and-coming social bookmarkings, as their world proves to be quite volatile.

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