The difference between a user staying on site and leaving as soon as they arrive comes down to website speed. With the majority of people receiving most of their information online, it’s expected that a site will load within a few seconds after clicking a link. Slowdown can be a company’s worst enemy from a digital media standpoint. Not only does it have a negative impact on search engine optimization, ensuring less visibility following search queries, but it can lead to frustration on the part of the user. In other words, it’s imperative that a website load and operate at an efficient pace.
This is where website speed optimization, one of the pillars of any Long Island SEO strategy, comes into play. By following certain practices, a site will be able to load quickly, both in regard to landing on a homepage and moving from one internal page to the other. This level of optimization will lead to a better user experience, ensuring that CTAs such as newsletter sign-ups, whitepaper downloads, and online transactions are completed. While every business will have unique goals, one of their commonalities should be an emphasis on website speed improvement. For a better understanding of how to improve your own website’s speed, here are a few tips to consider.
Ensure Proper Linking – One of the ways to improve website speed is with proper linking. In this sense, the most important factor is redirection. Keep in mind that when a link is broken on a site, a request must be made to direct the user to another page, which takes time to do. As a result, website speed will take a hit. In fact, certain redirects can lead to error pages, which increases the likelihood of a user leaving the site entirely, hurting SEO in the process. Ensure that proper linking is in place, eliminating any possibility of a redirect occurring.
Compress Media – Next, website owners should be mindful of the on-site media that they incorporate. From photos to embedded video, these can help improve engagement, especially for businesses that publish content. With that said, the aforementioned examples of media can be a collective detriment to website speed if they aren’t compressed. Images are perhaps the easiest files to compress, as they can be resized and saved in different file formats, allowing them to occupy less space. Video content should also be cut down in length, not to mention capped at a certain quality level so that it doesn’t take as long to process or play. Being mindful of media goes a long way in improving website speed.
Enable Browser Caching – In simplest terms, browser caching is the process by which certain website assets are stored in a computer’s hard drive. Such assets include, but aren’t limited to, images and HTML. Browser caching allows the hard drive to remember these assets, which results in better website speed and performance. Keep in mind that certain assets will only be stored for a certain length of time. However, given that certain ones are kept in the hard drive for up to one year, one shouldn’t have to concern themselves in this regard. Enabling browser caching will help improve website speed that much more.
Be Mindful of Plugins – Website plugins serve different purposes, some being more useful than others. Yoast, for example, can be an SEO specialist’s best friend, providing them with on-sight analysis, especially when developing content. Jetpack is comprised of several tools for content marketing agencies, including widgets and analytics. With these examples in mind, however, certain plugins can bring down the pace at which a website performs. It’s in a business owner’s best interest to determine which ones can be disabled, especially if several are active at once. Even removing a few from the equation can make a sizable difference in website speed improvement.
By following these tips, you will see a noticeable change in website speed improvement. It will benefit from a boost in speed, which positively impacts anyone that lands on your site. Just as importantly, it increases the likelihood that the aforementioned CTAs are included, which will lead to more business for you in the long term. For a better understanding of how to optimize your website, as well as other elements of your digital strategy, consult your local SEO agency.
About fishbat: fishbat is a full-service online marketing company that takes a holistic business approach to their clients’ digital marketing programs. The fishbat team understands the importance of business principles just as well as the nuances of the latest digital technologies. fishbat offers every digital marketing service available from digital marketing research and planning to brand development to website and asset creation through social media management and search engine optimization programs – all custom calibrated for both B2B and B2C businesses.
