A useful tip for my 2000th post...
- SEO |
I wanted to give back something of value for my 2000th post, especially something that could help those of you new to our line of business.
But, despite 2000 posts I'm by no means a guru and I don't have anything of such importance that it can go in the main forum. Having said that, here's something I've learned that has really boosted my SEO results over the last year:
Is your site hosted through one of those "cheapo" entry plans for as low as $3.95 a month? If the answer if yes - and that's especially likely if you're new to IM - you need to upgrade if you're really serious about SEO.
Almost everyone now acknowledges that the search engines factor in page loading time and other site performance factors. But most of the old hands will tell you that this is not a big factor and, therefore, stick with the cheapo plan, at least until you're making good money.
Don't believe it! Even the hosts themselves (at least the honest ones) will tell you that shared servers (the types used for cheapo hosting) are often overloaded and slow down dramatically at peak traffic times. Of course some hosts are better than others but it happens with all of them to some extent.
I was on a shared server for my first three years in business. I had tried several and even with the best I started noticing my page loading coming to a virtual standstill every morning and afternoon. After complaining, my host switched me to another server but the problems continued. At least they were honest when they told me: "That's just the way it is with shared hosting".
Then almost a year ago I decided to take the plunge and go for a high-performance VPS (virtual private server) that costs me $60 a month (you can find similar plans for much less but I went with the best I could find).
From day one the difference was like night and day. Not only is my site quick to load, despite lots of scripts and gizmos, but Google rewarded me almost immediately. My SERPs went up across the board and have held steady ever since. The change was so dramatic and wide-ranging that nobody can tell me it's not due to the new hosting with improved site performance.
In fact, I'm so thrilled with my discovery that I'll soon be stepping up to my own dedicated server at a cost of over $100 a month. It's worth every penny.
Of course my site is well-aged and has lots of content and other things beneficial to SEO. Those are still the most important factors. But site performance IS ALSO a big factor and it's all too often ignored.
But why ignore it? Of all the things you can do to promote your site it's by far the easiest and fastest. You can be up and running on a new host, or a better plan on the same host, within hours.
Sure, you have to spend some money but I wouldn't advise people to spend money on something unless I've personally experienced the value and benefits. And you can dramaticlly improve your site performance from as little as $30 a month. That's peanuts unless you're really starting from scratch.
If you're just developing a new site and it's not yet promoted and monetized, sure, shared hosting will do okay for you. After all, millions of websites are on these plans and they're fine for most.
But why run with the pack? Once you're ready to seriously promote your site and build traffic don't settle for "cheap". This is a concept you can apply to many areas of life.
And, I almost forgot, fast page loading can actually increase conversion too. It doesn't come into play so much with a single page salesletter but if you build a modern, content-rich site (the kind Google wants and rewards) it sure does.
Have you ever walked away from an online purchase because the order page wouldn't open?
Or skipped a site altogether because nothing happens after you click the search link?
These incidents used to happen to me regularly with cheapo shared hosting. So break away from the pack and stand out with a high-performance website.
But, despite 2000 posts I'm by no means a guru and I don't have anything of such importance that it can go in the main forum. Having said that, here's something I've learned that has really boosted my SEO results over the last year:
Is your site hosted through one of those "cheapo" entry plans for as low as $3.95 a month? If the answer if yes - and that's especially likely if you're new to IM - you need to upgrade if you're really serious about SEO.
Almost everyone now acknowledges that the search engines factor in page loading time and other site performance factors. But most of the old hands will tell you that this is not a big factor and, therefore, stick with the cheapo plan, at least until you're making good money.
Don't believe it! Even the hosts themselves (at least the honest ones) will tell you that shared servers (the types used for cheapo hosting) are often overloaded and slow down dramatically at peak traffic times. Of course some hosts are better than others but it happens with all of them to some extent.
I was on a shared server for my first three years in business. I had tried several and even with the best I started noticing my page loading coming to a virtual standstill every morning and afternoon. After complaining, my host switched me to another server but the problems continued. At least they were honest when they told me: "That's just the way it is with shared hosting".
Then almost a year ago I decided to take the plunge and go for a high-performance VPS (virtual private server) that costs me $60 a month (you can find similar plans for much less but I went with the best I could find).
From day one the difference was like night and day. Not only is my site quick to load, despite lots of scripts and gizmos, but Google rewarded me almost immediately. My SERPs went up across the board and have held steady ever since. The change was so dramatic and wide-ranging that nobody can tell me it's not due to the new hosting with improved site performance.
In fact, I'm so thrilled with my discovery that I'll soon be stepping up to my own dedicated server at a cost of over $100 a month. It's worth every penny.
Of course my site is well-aged and has lots of content and other things beneficial to SEO. Those are still the most important factors. But site performance IS ALSO a big factor and it's all too often ignored.
But why ignore it? Of all the things you can do to promote your site it's by far the easiest and fastest. You can be up and running on a new host, or a better plan on the same host, within hours.
Sure, you have to spend some money but I wouldn't advise people to spend money on something unless I've personally experienced the value and benefits. And you can dramaticlly improve your site performance from as little as $30 a month. That's peanuts unless you're really starting from scratch.
If you're just developing a new site and it's not yet promoted and monetized, sure, shared hosting will do okay for you. After all, millions of websites are on these plans and they're fine for most.
But why run with the pack? Once you're ready to seriously promote your site and build traffic don't settle for "cheap". This is a concept you can apply to many areas of life.
And, I almost forgot, fast page loading can actually increase conversion too. It doesn't come into play so much with a single page salesletter but if you build a modern, content-rich site (the kind Google wants and rewards) it sure does.
Have you ever walked away from an online purchase because the order page wouldn't open?
Or skipped a site altogether because nothing happens after you click the search link?
These incidents used to happen to me regularly with cheapo shared hosting. So break away from the pack and stand out with a high-performance website.
Who says you can't earn money as an eBay affiliate any more? My stats say otherwise