Page Download Speed
As mentioned in a previous blog post there are several ranking factors pertaining to downloading speed of the web page that matter besides the core web vitals. Some of the factors are not within the reach of the developers and webmasters like the visitor’s Internet speed, router problems, hosting problems, and computer or browser errors but few other than core web vitals hamper downloading speed. Always check your router for slow routing and reconfigure.
44% of shoppers on eCommerce Sites that experience website performance especially load delays vow never to return. Even a one-second delay may impact 7% of online visitors to a site. The threshold is 3 seconds.
Distant servers are part of the delay since the response hops from one server to another before reaching your browser. Thus, CDN hosting servers are much preferred for active websites especially those designed for an online shopping experience. With a number of servers placed in different geographical locations chances of your site being called from the nearest one increases and thus, CDN offers quicker access, the abbrev stands for content delivery networks. Choose the best hosting servers that are up 24X7 with practically no outages. Have sufficient bandwidth to be visible all the time.
Certain on-page factors hamper speed as well. First thing in order to reduce server queries sent from the browser fewer on-page elements should be embedded and the cache with expiry date enabled. All online elements embedded on a page can hamper speed.
- Heavy Images
- Old Format Images
- Videos
- Heavy Scripts
- 3rd Party Codes
- CSS
- Content Placement
- Coding
For problems with scripts always optimize them and remove unused scripts. Use Gzip to compress files with a size greater than 150 kb. Compress image files using Photoshop or other tools. For reduction in HTTP requests use CSS Sprite to combine all images in one template that load at the same time. Remember to use next-gen formats for images. If you are using the common formats like PNG with 16 colors that go well with graphics and JPEG or JPG that do justice to images then always compress them without losing quality.
Remove unnecessary characters and codes on the web page. Remove code comments and unused codes. Keep redirects only if required they increase HTTP queries and slow the page.
If your web page is not constantly updating then configure the expire header. Use Yslow Tool to set an expiration for as long as you can before the next update.
Improve Server Response.
All your front-end elements and backend data are stored in the hosting server. Fix slow routing from the server, and keep robust memory to tackle slow response to queries lined up from the database. Certain database problems are technical in nature contact your server administrator to rectify them.
Thus, micromanagement of many on-site factors helps enhance the web page downloading speed. Pay attention to the on-page elements for success on the SERPs.
SEO: Content is King – Always Write for Readers
Although this has become a cliche, relevant content is the king. There is no space for any lethargy when publishing content on the web page. Well-formatted layout, and aesthetic fonts and colors impact the user experience.
Content should satisfy the intent, and there should be no duplicates or repeats. Use Copyscape of Siteliner to detect anomalies on published content. Avoid paraphrasing, and check for typos or spelling mistakes besides grammar. Use Grammarly for this purpose. Do not copy from other web pages, and always write unique content in your style. Unique contents aligned with the intent are certainly to rank well and attract higher traffic with repeat and unique visitors lining the doorstep. Though people prefer minimal content with few tag lines, the web page should have a minimum of 250 words saturated with keywords naturally and semantics. Preferred keyword saturation is 4 to 5 % more than that will lead to a penalty. Another advantage of having more words on the is it makes word to code ratio in your favor.
Highlight important headlines using H1 Tag and the sub-heading using H2 or H3 tags. Remember only one H1 tag should be used. Use bold and italics in extreme limitations, and only if the write-up demands.
Create important internal pages as pillar pages by creating in-depth information architecture and linking them to the pillar page. Remember, relevancy is an important factor in search engine optimization for better ranking.
Add Other On-Page Elements
The title is most important for SEO and it should describe in a few words what the page is about. Do not play with keywords here just add one for two and point to the location. Add meta tags. They are required but the description is most important, it helps visitors get more information about the web page. The description does not help in ranking anymore but is indispensable for visitors.
Most important add an “index and follow” the meta tag on all pages you intend the search engines to visit. Use the robot.txt file to exclude undesired pages from search engine robots. Always add an XML site map for search engines and an HTML site map for humans. The site maps enhance ranking.
