You likely update your website regularly. From new products or posts to refreshed graphics and features, there are so many ways you or your team work to keep your website relevant. But are you missing a key factor?
SEO – search engine optimization – is the backbone of a successful site. These days, Google and its ranking system rule the internet. Optimizing websites to work with Google and other search engines is the best and arguably only way to find the traffic your business needs.
Why does this matter so much? What are the most important elements in a successful website? Here, we’ll give you some of our top tips for optimizing your website – and explain why it is so important.
Users Expect Speed
When you visit your favorite sites, you expect them to load properly. You also expect them to load quickly – and function correctly once they do.
This is exactly what your users or consumers expect. The average person is not willing to wait more than a few seconds for a website to load. In fact, the bounce rate – the rate at which people leave your site immediately after arriving there – will increase with each second that passes.
Keeping load time down and ensuring a streamlined experience throughout a person’s time on your site is critically important in delivering conversions and other positive outcomes. It is also important in Google’s assessment of your site and how often they serve that site as a search engine result!
First Impressions are Crucial
The world of web traffic is one where first impressions are more important than nearly anywhere else. This is because your consumer’s first glance at your site will determine whether they leave or stay. To convince them to stay, you have to make a good impression – and fast!
A quick-loading website is the best way to do this. Visual and text elements should load at essentially the same time and should be immediately visible when your consumer lands on the page. This way, they are ready to start reading, browsing, or buying from the first few seconds after they arrive.
A Poorly-Constructed Website Cannot Convert
How well does your website load on a computer? What about a tablet? How does the site function on a mobile device? These are all questions you need to know the answer to.
If you want to convert visitors into subscribers or customers, those answers better be good ones.
Optimizing not only the content of your site but the responsive design is necessary for a website that converts. The majority of web browsing happens on mobile devices these days; make sure your site is ready to meet consumers where they are!
File Sizes Make a Big Difference
You undoubtedly want eye-catching images and interactive design for your website. However, these elements can slow down your load speed tremendously. Balancing visual quality with size by optimizing images and other media will provide the best possible user experience.
Get Coding Right for the Best Experience
Most people know that their website contains code that helps it function. But far fewer understand that code or how it impacts the load time of their site.
Your site’s code not only contains everything that comprises the bones of the site – pages, headers, footers, backgrounds, and boxes- but also all of the text. Every post, comment, reply, and note on your page is contained here. Over time, this can add up to a lot of information!
That backed-up log of information can cause your page to load slowly. Consider working with a professional to modify and optimize your website’s code.
Even Ads Will Not Help a Slow Site
It is easy to think that investing in ads will improve the traffic your site sees. However, many social media ads now prioritize faster and more efficient websites.
By analyzing the links connected to advertisements, platforms like Facebook prioritize more efficient sites when serving content to users. This means that even if you are paying for ads, a slow site simply will not generate the return on that investment that a fast, streamlined site will.
Let Us Help You Speed Things Up
By now, you might be concerned that these pitfalls have befallen your website. Maybe that is why your traffic is not what it should be. But you do not have to suffer a slow site alone.
At ExxcelRank, we have the knowledge and experience you need to get your site off the ground and onto the top of the Google rankings.
When you are ready to learn more, contact us for your FREE proposal!
