You may have already heard that Google is forcing websites to have an SSL Certificate or they will flag your site. While this may be frustrating, it makes sense because Google is just doing their job to keep users happy and making sure that they are visiting […]
With the very first responsive web design being introduced in 2010, it’s safe to say that this style of websites has certainly taken off in popularity. Apple launched the highly sought after mobile tablet devices called iPads which completely changed the way that we use the web today, and […]
Google has taught you a lot, and the truth is that if you aren’t staying up to date with their information, you’re missing out on the most optimal experience that can be provided from a search engine. Since there is a […]
Just because you have a visually appealing, SEO-rich website doesn’t always mean that you’re seen as high-ranking worthiness in Google’s eye. Many people forget about one of the important ranking factors out there; site speed, and although it isn’t as vital as some of the other 200 plus ranking […]
Without utilizing SEO practices on your website, you’re selling your success short. Google is basically the God of the Internet as they have completely transformed the online marketing industry with their consistent algorithm updates, tactics and tools used to engage viewership and traffic to your website. Now, the thing […]
If you loved the Android brand before, you’re about to have your gamer thumbs, channel-changing fingers shake with excitement because 2015 is bringing a whole new era of technology. Currently, Android offers a variety of gadgets available for the car, on your wrist, in your hands and soon enough, […]
There has been the never ending debate as to whether SEO or PPC is the better option to bring you the highest amount of potential success and traffic. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) definitely have their own set of pros and cons which will be […]
You may have already heard that Google is forcing websites to have an SSL Certificate or they will flag your site. While this may be frustrating, it makes sense because Google is just doing their job to keep users happy and making sure that they are visiting secure websites. Online security is essential these days and people are paying closer attention to ensure they don’t become a victim of spam, identity theft, hackers, and more. Without an SSL certificate, your site will pop up as “not secure,” and this could cause you to lose valuable customers. To help you get more information about SSL certificates and keep your website secure (and your visitors coming back), we’ve provided some details below.
Think of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) as a liaison between the web servers and browsers. The standard security technology is created using an encrypted link, and this link makes sure the data that is exchanged between the two are integral as well as private. With the SSL certificate, you can establish a secure connection and you’re digitally connected to a cryptographic key. Without it, though, you’ll send a message to your visitors that your website is not secure.
The primary benefit of having an SSL certificate is to ensure information is secure. Many cybercriminals utilize the fact that the data you send is passed around from different computers until reaching its destination, and this information, when not encrypted, can be compromised while on its journey. The SSL certificate prevents the data being sent from being readable until it reaches the destination of the server that you’re actually sending it to.
Those that are committing cyber crimes are always looking for gaps and weak spots to penetrate within the network so they can extract sensitive information while it’s moving from place to place on the internet. An SSL certification is a frontline of defense against these criminals.
On top of that, you simply give visitors the confidence to move forward on your website. When you have “not secure” warnings that pop up when people visit your website, then they are going to leave. After all, wouldn’t you leave a non-secure website or be hesitant to provide sensitive information on it, like your name and address or credit card number?
If you have a website that collects information in areas such as contact forms or if you have a search bar on your site or other spaces that require text input, make sure you have your SSL certification installed. Also, if you have an http:// at the front of your URL, you’ll need to get this task done sooner rather than later to ensure your visitors have a good experience and feel safe on your website. It will only take one visit showing that your site isn’t secure, and the potential customer will likely leave and never return. Get a pro web designer involved to help you secure your website so that both Google and your visitors are satisfied with your security levels.
With the very first responsive web design being introduced in 2010, it’s safe to say that this style of websites has certainly taken off in popularity. Apple launched the highly sought after mobile tablet devices called iPads which completely changed the way that we use the web today, and the way in which we communicate with one another. Things have definitely changed within the technology industry, and since the big peak of success with responsive design, it has only become much more widespread. Despite it’s popularity, many people actually have no idea what this term means, and focus solely on having a website that works properly. They don’t necessarily place importance on hyperlinks that can link to other pages with more specific information, or even on coding and imagery that takes too long to download. People just want to design a fast loading page that is easy to use, but very rarely do they know that they can still get that and so much more with a responsive design. Let’s take a look at your web design and see how we can improve it’s responsive design.
When it comes to investing time and design into your website, you always need to keep Google’s guidelines for ranking close in mind, and your mobile responsiveness is a ranking component. Only recently, Google announced that whether or not your website is user-friendly when viewed on mobile devices will be a ranking factor. So, as of April 21st, if you haven’t been placing importance, you may start seeing your Google search engine ranking taking a plunge which is never a good thing. This update has been nicknamed Mobilegeddon, and it’s so vital to your success that it has made news all over the world. To get you on the the ride, you need to first test the mobile responsiveness of your website, and find out what you can do to enhance it.
Everyone benefits from having a responsive design website; both the site owner and the viewers. If you don’t currently pay close attention to the information provided in Google Analytics, there’s no better time to start doing the opposite because with the data, you can find out how many people are visiting your site from specific devices, such as a mobile device or tablet, and you can also see how long they spend on your site. If the majority of mobile device users aren’t staying longer than a couple seconds or a minute, you may have just found the problem – you don’t have a responsive design website. Some Analytic settings also allow you to see how many of those users go on to purchase something from the site or join your mailing list. This is all important information to pay attention to at all times, but it could really be all you need to convince you that you need a responsive website.
Check your Google Analytics by going to the site, click on the site you wish to review, then select Audience > Mobile > Overview.
Somethings to check out include; Bounce Rate, Pages/Session, Avg Session Duration and Goal Conversion Rate. If your numbers are much lower than those associated with desktop usage, there’s one way to fix that, and it’s with a responsive design website because the data is telling you that people viewing your site on tablet and mobile devices are not receiving the best experience.
If you are unsure as to whether or not your website is mobile responsive, there are some tests and tools that you can do online that will see how your website runs and appears on mobile devices. However, let’s first focus on the simplest of tests to see if responsive design is definitely the issue. If you’re on a desktop, load your site that you want to test and make the browser narrower by dragging the bottom corner. If your website is responsive, the elements of the page will adjust so that they are still there. You just may have to scroll to see them. If you’re on a mobile device, go to the site that you want to test and see how it loads. If it takes a long time or if it looks exactly the same way as your desktop version (not shrunken down so you will likely have to do copious amounts of scrolling to see the entire thing), then you don’t have a responsive design. Everything should collapse to minimize the scrolling from left to right, allowing you to see everything as you scroll down.
Running simple tests is an excellent option to see if your site is responsive or not, but with the massive amounts of tech devices out there, from iPads to Google Tablets, Androids, iPhones and so much more, you want to be sure that your site appears properly across all of them. Here are some websites to use to test the performance of your website.
With this website, you can test your site with 6 popular mobile devices, such as the iPhone 5, and Google Nexus. All you have to do is click on the device you want to test, enter the URL of your website and within a couple of seconds, you’ll have your results with page links and other data, allowing you to browse the site via the emulator.
This emulator focuses mainly on Apple products, but does include some Android machines. The benefit of this website is that you don’t have to test each device individually. You just enter the URL, and scroll through the data provided.
The process is similar with this website; enter the URL and receive the results. However, you don’t have to scroll as the data for the generic devices are right at the top and you can click each to see more specific information and use the site as normal.
Of course, Google offers a testing tool as well and since Google’s regulations basically rule the internet, you can’t go wrong with this. It’s called Google Mobile Testing Tool and the process is simple to follow.
If you site shows that works across all devices, you’re good and there’s no need for you to do anything. However, if your site doesn’t work, there are a variety of options that you have. The first is to convert your website to a responsive one which can be very hard or very simple to do. So, definitely do your research and find a responsive theme. You can also opt for a mobile theme. Although, it will make your website responsive on mobile devices as well, you still aren’t considering tablets and other viewing devices out there. You can also redesign your site to have a mobile responsive theme from scratch. Although timely and not always the most affordable option, you can ultimately achieve the best results with this option.
So, you have selected and option and made your website responsive. Now, you have to test it. Some things to pay attention to is whether your website is easy for users to use, is the content easy to read and is it easy for the users to find and follow your Calls to Action? Give your site a detailed once-over as if you were an ordinary user yourself. Go through different pages and elements and fix any problems that you come across.
Google making the changes to place emphasis on websites that are responsive is truly a win-win for everyone. In fact, some even say that it is long overdue and since it is beneficial for everyone – from the designers and theme builders, to the website owners and users and everyone in between. With so many websites not being responsive, jumping on this trend can boost your ratings in Google and send you record-hitting traffic.
Google has taught you a lot, and the truth is that if you aren’t staying up to date with their information, you’re missing out on the most optimal experience that can be provided from a search engine. Since there is a significant increase in people using their mobile devices to access webpages, chances are that you too, pull out your phone to find the latest information. You’ve probably also been frustrated with not being able to find relevant and/or timely results because not all webpages are mobile-friendly. What’s worse is when you can’t even find the information you’re searching for. Google has launched two new changes that will help users find more mobile-friendly webpages, and whether you’re the one searching for some content, or a company providing it, these important changes are definitely worth listening to.
Google has a lot to do with the ranking within search engine results. As of April 21, they will be placing importance on how mobile-friendly a website is. As a result, businesses that provide a webpage that is up to date with mobile-use will have a better SEO ranking, and users will then be able to find such companies that provide relevant content. Google also provides a guide to help businesses provide a mobile-friendly webpage. Their webmaster tool also offers you the option to test just how mobile friendly your site is.
Google will now be using information from indexed apps to help determine the ranking for signed-in users that have the application installed. This change is effective right now. What this means for you is that Google will be able to find app content that is relevant to what the user is searching for. Again, giving businesses a better ranking in the search engines and providing users with more relevant information from their searches. If App indexing is all new to you, then it is highly recommended to check out Google’s easy-to-follow guide that will teach you how to apply App indexing.
Google is constantly changing things up, but it’s always for the better of businesses and the users of its search engine. This leaves those search results (and company webpages) that don’t place importance on their online marketing strategy and customers’ experience in the dust… Or at the very least, further in the search engine results.
Just because you have a visually appealing, SEO-rich website doesn’t always mean that you’re seen as high-ranking worthiness in Google’s eye. Many people forget about one of the important ranking factors out there; site speed, and although it isn’t as vital as some of the other 200 plus ranking factors, this element of your webpage shouldn’t be ignored. If you’re not sure where your website’s speed is, you can utilize Google’s free tools that allow you to test your pages for both desktop and mobile use. More importantly, it’ll provide you with suggestions as to how to enhance your website’s performance. Here is everything you need to know, whether you’re starting from the bottom up or already have a developed webpage and need to optimize it’s speed.
Your sites overall performance is a key factor in how Google ranks your website. If your landing page isn’t working effectively and quickly, your ranking is jeopardized, but what most people don’t know is that your Ad Rank and advertising costs are also going to be affected. With a slow website, people are likely to click that “back” button that gets them away from your website, and Google’s sees this as a poor user experience, which hurts your conversion rate.
What does this all mean? The following stats should will show you just how important your user’s experience is, not only in the eyes of Google but also in the eyes of your success.
There are a variety of suggestions you should work through to ensure that your website’s speed is working to its fastest possibility. These factors are as basic as selecting high quality website hosting, as complex as website design and everything in between like modifying your caching system. First, take advantage of Google’s tools; Pingdom and Pagespeed Insights to see where your site’s speed is at, and then work through these suggestions to enhance it.
Google offers many charts that show you vital information pertaining to the performance and success of your website. One of them combines the two and will show you the relationship between your slow website and user experience. Sometime as little as a large file can truly slow down the entire website significantly which decreases the user experience, but you’ll also be able to see how many of them wait to receive the content you provide.
Your website design can also play a huge part is slowing things down. While designing your very own website from ground up is a proud moment, investing in a web designer that knows how to create an incredible website and simplified coding that is timely. They’ll also be able to inform you if your web pages are just too busy, and as such, will be able to simplify that as well.
To instantly decrease the amount of time that is spent loading your website, try to reduce the size of images. This is actually a fairly easy process and there are many tools out there to get your images smaller without jeopardizing the appearance of them, or sacrificing your website’s visual appearance as a whole.
While you don’t have to purchase the most expensive hosting service out there, the cheapest really isn’t going to cut it today. You get what you pay for, so always choose hosting from a reputable company, and more importantly, one that is appropriate for the type of website and technology you are using.
These changes could be very simple for you to implement, or timely or costly depending on how severe your site’s speed is suffering, and although this is only a minor ranking factor within Google’s ranking regime, it shouldn’t be overlooked. Your user experience is a huge component to your success, and if everyone is clicking off of your website within seconds because it won’t load, your webpage really isn’t serving its purpose anyway, right?
Without utilizing SEO practices on your website, you’re selling your success short. Google is basically the God of the Internet as they have completely transformed the online marketing industry with their consistent algorithm updates, tactics and tools used to engage viewership and traffic to your website. Now, the thing that surprises many people is that there are 2 different kinds of SEO; onsite SEO(content) and offsite SEO (link building) – and between the two, there is on that is taking the spotlight as one of the most significant marketing practices.
While Google is constantly changing what’s the ‘best practice’ in the industry, SEO as a whole has always remained on top; alternating between onsite and offsite. Currently though, onsite SEO has taken the lead which means that you should be putting the link building lower on your priority list and placing higher importance on content put on the front page of the site. Offsite SEO comes with a lot of penalties, and ways to take advantage of the tools which is likely why it is taking a seat in the passenger side. By Google raising importance on Onsite SEO, they can eliminate those individuals out there who manipulate the rules and regulations to get higher rankings, and reward those who genuinely practice Google’s online marketing regimes.
It is no secret that you can spend hours on end optimizing your website to coincide with Onsite SEO, without seeing a huge change in traffic and ultimately, the success of your website. This is because there are two kinds of people who utilize this industry-winning marketing regime; those who understand SEO, and those who really don’t. Of course, you want to be the prior to ensure that your invested time is well worth it in the end.
You cannot go too far with Onsite SEO without knowing your keywords. You need to know what people are searching online for, and with that, you are able to create content formed around what people want; making your website a valuable source of information. So, start your SEO practices by determining what your website is talking about, and how people are going to go about finding such information; or in other words, what will they type into the search engine to find the content you are offering. Those are keywords.
Once you have your keywords down and have implemented them into your content, naturally (super vital), you need to make sure that your content is saying exactly what people are looking for. Does your content answer the questions of the keywords? For example; if you have a travel website and use the keyword ‘things to do’ but never actually answer the question, your SEO marketing game isn’t on point. It all goes back to utilizing keywords naturally while also providing the audience with what they’re looking for. A better example is to think about company website pages, such as a ‘service’ page. While the website may list the services, the actual keyword isn’t necessarily being used appropriately, thus, not actually working. To enhance the use of keywords and also answer the desires of the audience, the company will create individual pages for each service provided. It just elaborates the content. Some other important places to input your keyword(s) include; the title, meta description, headings, and image alt tags. Again, just be sure to input the keywords naturally.
One major component of Onsite SEO is the speed of your website and many people completely ignore this issue that can drastically decrease your Google ranking and SEO status. It’s not brain science though; when a site runs slow, people are less likely to use it as it isn’t as fulfilling. Use a website like webpagetest.org to ensure that your loading times are sufficient; not only for your audience and Google, but for your own success as well. Another vital thing to look for on your website is error pages; as that certainly puts the speed of your website and audience at a halt. Log into your Webmaster Tools and see if any of your pages have 404 errors. Many people have no idea that they’re site is full of dead ends, and Google isn’t a fan.
The rules of Google Onsite SEO may change frequently, but they’re extremely easy to follow and the benefits are incredible and will thoroughly increase your ranking and overall success of your site. Now, if you have considered manipulating the rules to enhance your SEO rankings, think again. Google is the God of the Internet again; and they will find any faults and penalize your website accordingly. Stick to these simple and easy to apply tips and your marketing regime will be smooth sailing.
If you loved the Android brand before, you’re about to have your gamer thumbs, channel-changing fingers shake with excitement because 2015 is bringing a whole new era of technology. Currently, Android offers a variety of gadgets available for the car, on your wrist, in your hands and soon enough, things are going to be taking to the big screen. The most recent development is the Android TV, which was recently showcased in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show, and what you’re about to hear should have you excited for what’s in store for television in 2015.
As of this Spring, major television brands such as Sony, Philips, Sharp and ToP Visions will start to ship out systems that are powered by Android TV specifically. The benefit of purchasing one is that the device is already set up and enthused with the Android capabilities. So, there is no need for you to plug in anything extra; and we all know that the maze of cords behind your entertainment system is driving you insane. That’s not the only way Android TV is going to make your life more simple though. The remote control that comes with the Android TV allows you to access everything from TV to movies, games, shows and even your apps that you’ve downloaded. Soda Crush on the big screen, anyone? More importantly, you can finally clear your coffee table of 5 different remotes! One of the coolest features is that you can find everything you want with the voice search feature. Gone are the days of channel-flicking; or rather, guide-page flipping. Life is getting simpler with Android TV.
If you don’t have an Android TV or feel the need or have the financial means to purchase one, it isn’t bad news for you either. Android has you covered. You can actually purchase a gaming console from Razer that is already powered by Android TV.This will allow you to get in on all the action without having to purchase an entire new TV. The high-performance specs of Razer’s Forge TV will provide you with that astonishing picture Android devices are highly recognized for, whether you’re playing the latest GTA, catching up on your reality TV, or busting some candy in Candy Crush. You will also receive a wireless game controller with this system, and can even stream your PC games right onto the TV itself. Again, simple living is a huge bonus of getting your hands on this tech device. Huawei is another company working to bring more features to the Android TV by adding a steaming media player, but this won’t be ready until later in the year.
Back in 2008, the Android was debuted as they launched a phone, and a couple of years later, the brand is collaborating with a variety of TV partners to even further the consumer’s experience utilizing their flawless and innovative features. It just keeps getting better, and the options get even more vast. Even the Android TV comes in a variety of different screen sizes, all that include 4K displays, to ensure that everyone can get their hands on the latest gadget. Android isn’t just a tech brand, but a way to make life easier for you to enjoy. This is probably why it has become as popular as it has today.
2015 is looking pretty good in regards to technology, and your soon-to-be less complex life. You basically get it all in one device which is the current trend of technology; allowing you to do it all with one device. With the vast evolution of Android products, one might say that this brand is a technology guru. It’s time to start reimagining your living room, folks.
There has been the never ending debate as to whether SEO or PPC is the better option to bring you the highest amount of potential success and traffic. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) definitely have their own set of pros and cons which will be broken down right now. You will soon be able to see which practice is the best option for you and your traffic goals.
The first benefit of utilizing SEO is that the benefits that come from the investment will continue to increase, even after PPC has reached the peak. Since SEO is based on a consistently using the practices, the more you use it, the more successful your traffic increases, and the more specific the ads become related to your field of interest. In addition, 85% of clicks online come from a search as opposed to paid ads, and 86% of people searching online trust SEO listings as opposed to any sponsored or paid listing such as PPC.
While SEO builds as you continue, PPC provides you with instant results and can ultimately generation a huge increase in visitors as soon as you complete the PPC action. You can also manage a budget and measure your return on investment much easier by utilizing PPC since you pay per clicks that you receive – Hence the name. In addition, 50% of people visiting a retailer’s site from a paid ad are more likely to buy than those who visit via a general link.
The biggest con of SEO is that you either have to invest your time or funds immediately, and wait for results. It can take awhile for you to receive the fullest potential of benefits that come from utilizing Search Engine Optimization. However, once you have bypassed that initial start up period with minimal results, they will continuously grow more and more. Another con that may determine whether SEO or PPC is for you is that if are any changes to what Google allows for SEO, you have to switch everything up. If you have invested a lot of time in a site that isn’t search engine friendly, you could be looking at a lengthy and costly process. You also can’t predict how you will rank in search engines by utilizing SEO. You can only follow the guidelines and continue to do so, in hopes to continually process on the ranking.
Although you can budget when using PPC, clicks can become expensive, and bidding wars can frequently occur. Since you have to pay for clicks per month, if your budget is exceeded, the ads are gone and so is the traffic that you would have received from the search engine. In addition, you also have to investment a significant amount of time in order to monitor and adjust your ads on a constant basis.
Picking a practice that suits your needs is to imperative to your amount of success and ultimately, your increase in traffic. You need to decide whether you want instant results, or continually growing benefits. You also need to consider your field of interest and determine who your targeted audience is, so you can target them effectively.
Until your website appears in Google’s search results, it’s difficult to develop traffic and sales. And until you site is indexed multiple times by Google’s web crawler, Googlebot, it won’t show up in the search results. Frequent return visits by the crawler are necessary to advance in the rankings so your site shows up earlier in searches. The objective of maintaining a website is to generate traffic, so an organized process to make sure your site is crawled frequently is a priority. The good news is that the techniques to get that job done are conventional SEO practices. Taking these steps will both get your site into the search results and, once it’s there, improve your position. The method to keep Google crawling your sites consists of just five simple steps.
1. Add additional content. Fresh content on your website is a magnet both for users and for search engines. The Googlebot loves fresh content and every time it visits your site it looks for it. If there’s nothing there to hold its interest, it might be a while before it comes back to check again. If it detects new stuff, it will return more often. A good example of this are newspaper websites where the content changes consistently, enticing Google to crawl the sites multiple times per day. Update the site whenever it’s logical to do so. Never add content as an end in itself. Always consider the quality of what you’re adding.
2. Use original content. Duplicating content to fill space is counterproductive if you’re seeking to improve your status on Google. The crawler detects duplicate material and may avoid your site if it finds enough of it. If there’s a compelling reason for duplicating information, place the duplicate material on a different page and utilize redirects to refer users to it.
3. Speed up your loading. Just like you, the Google crawler gets impatient with slow-loading sites. When it encounters one it may simply move on to the next site without waiting to see what it missed. This can be very bad for your prospects to earn a decent position in search results. The loading speed of a site carries an increasing amount of weight in the Google algorithm that determines who makes it into search results and how high they are ranked.
4. Map your site. If your website contains a site map, it makes it easier for Google to access all pages of your site. This results in more comprehensive indexing, a great advantage in the competition for a favorable place in the search results. A sitemap simply contains URLs to all the various pages and information on your site. HTML sitemaps are generally favored by Google over the XML equivalent.
5. Cultivate links to your site. The more times the Googlebot stumbles over links to your website incorporated in other sites, the more it will make a habit of returning to crawl your site. These return visits translate into more favorable positioning in search results. Of course, spreading your links far and wide on the web also increases user traffic and sales at your site.
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Google defaults are set to use your personal web history and browser information to personalize your search results. This means that your search results could be a bit different from someone else searching for the same term. Most people are fine with the personalized web results, but others may want to edit the settings or stop it completely. There are several different ways to do this:
1. Simply sign out of Google. If you aren’t logged in, Google can’t access your history. This is best for people who only need the personalization default turned off sometimes and don’t need to be logged in to Google to access other applications.
2. You can follow Google’s instructions for the official way they recommend for disabling personalization. You will first need to sign out of Google while searching. You will see “disable customization” under the “web history” tab in the top right corner of the search results screen. Click the box to disable the customization feature.
3. If you use FireFox, download an add-on called Google Global. This add-on allows you to stop Google from personalizing all of your web searches. It also allows you to see the results other countries receive to your web searches.
4. If you are a Google Chrome user you can use the Disable Google Personal Search plugin.
5. Finally, you can always insert the parameter “&pws=0” in the URL bar of your browser after performing a search (you’ll have hit the enter key or the search button again). This will remove the personalized web results feature for that search only.
So there you have it! Here’s how you can stop big brother from watching every step. In addition to that it’s a also a great way to track site rankings if you are running an SEO campaign.
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