Comment posted on Need for speed: Search Engine Ranking Chase Gains Momentum by Ana Hoffman
You are so right, Marios - people don’t realize that “pretty” does not always mean user or search-engine friendly.
Pleasure to see you on my blog this morning; have a great Monday!
Ana
Ana Hoffman also commented
- That’s great Hector. I’m glad to hear that. It’s pretty awesome right?
Have a nice day!
Ana
- Wow Alex, thank you so much for sharing these additional tips. My readers will definitely love it. Me, personally gain a lot of ideas from your comment. You’re very nice.
Thanks for sharing,
Ana
- You’re welcome Aidys. I’m glad I was able to help you. I understand your concern since time is indeed very precious for us bloggers.
Have a nice day,
Ana
- Hello Dan,
I’am also glad you came by. I’m happy that you we’re able to gain some information from this post. I hope you will keep on coming back.
Cheers,
Ana
- Wow Alex thanks for doing that for me. I appreciate you for sharing this posts to others. I’m glad that you were able to find your way in my site. I’m happy to see you here. As for someone like you who is not used to doing technical aspect of this business, you did a great job with installing Page speed . It’s good to learn new things right?
All the Best,
Ana
Recent comments by Ana Hoffman
- Need For Site Speed: Practical Guide For The Average Blogger
Thanks for dropping by Bryan. I’m glad you find the tips I shared here very useful. That’s why I’m always inspired to posts more of it.Have a nice day,
Ana
- Need For Site Speed: Practical Guide For The Average Blogger
Thanks for the compliment Michel. I also agree with Samuel, that can really make a difference.Cheers,
Ana
- Need For Site Speed: Practical Guide For The Average Blogger
Hello Tia,Thanks for sharing additional tips. I really appreciate that. More options, the better.
All the Best,
Ana
- Treasure Island of Link Building: How to Find the Best Links Every Time
Would love to know how you do it, but then again, you are probably not sharing.
Thanks for coming by!
Ana
- Need For Site Speed: Practical Guide For The Average Blogger
I did the same, Karen, and then I noticed I started adding them again.Always have to watch myself; it’s addictive.
Ana
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Ana.. I actually started to work on this right after I saw that video and totally forgot to comment on it. You always seem to find the little things that I’m not doing, and get me to do them. So it’s done. I got Y-Slow and doubled my load page by configuring the Total Cache wordpress plugin.
Apparently the plugin’s default settings have the cache expire every hour. So I changed them all to 5 years.. and bam - Better Grade!
thanks for this awesome post
Hector
That’s great Hector. I’m glad to hear that. It’s pretty awesome right?
Have a nice day!
Ana
Nice tips Ana,
.
I would like to add some other tips if you don’t mind
As a blogger you can install the WP Super Cache plugin which caches your dynamically generated pages in html for faster responses (no backend execution).
If you can use a content delivery network (it doesn’t cost that much) for faster delivery of your images, javascript etc.
Minimize HTTP Requests, this happens when you have a lot of images, embed (flash components), iframes, css files. All this components need a new http request to be downloaded from the server. What you can do is, make css sprite for the layout images and if you use bigger images, you can try lazy load and load the images after the DOM loaded (the pages is completely loaded - the html part). You can also combine all the javascripts and css files in one file for each.
Don’t forget to check for duplicate scripts, if you insert two js scrips, both will have a new http request and both will be downloaded.
The next is kind of techie but you can search it. Try to use compression for your static components like css, javascript etc. and even your html files. All the browser support this kind of transfer this days and it can REALLY improve your page loads.
An other techie part is reducing dns lookups and serving your static content from cookie free domains (unless you have a badly configured BIND (the program that manages your dns queries) config and very big cookies this will improve your speed slightly).
There are more tips like putting css in the head section and javascript on the bottom. The logic behind this is that putting css on the head section can let the browser render your image while still loading components and putting js at the bottom can leave all the javascript part be executed after the DOM has loaded, and also this way javascript wont stop other more important things like images loading, because you can only have 2 parallel downloads per host. This brings me to an other tip, you can server your content from multiple subdomains for multiple parallel downloads.
Ok, I will stop here!
Alex@Jocuri´s last blog ..Scooby Doo skateboarding
Wow Alex, thank you so much for sharing these additional tips. My readers will definitely love it. Me, personally gain a lot of ideas from your comment. You’re very nice.
Thanks for sharing,
Ana
Thank you Anna. I am having problems in this specific department. I appreciate this post. I been meaning to get around to working on my page speed but there is just not enough time in the day! Thanks for making it easy to find this information.
AIDYs´s last blog ..A Night in the ‘Big Easy’ the finale with Dave Lombardo of Slayer
You’re welcome Aidys. I’m glad I was able to help you. I understand your concern since time is indeed very precious for us bloggers.
Have a nice day,
Ana
Ana,
this kind of post is the reason I keep coming back to your site! I probably never would have found this video, and in all likelyhood would only have heard of this after spending some money on a course by some “guru!”
I used to check the speed on some of my sites, using Google’s webmaster tools, but stopped when I realized I really didn’t know how to speed things up, other than perhaps use smaller image files. The tip she gave on caching is great, and I’ll probably start to roll that out on my sites in the coming month.
Thanks again!
Dan
Dan@R Duke Publishing´s last blog ..Denver Skate Park – Arecont Vision AV3105DN IP Camera 2
Hello Dan,
I’am also glad you came by. I’m happy that you we’re able to gain some information from this post. I hope you will keep on coming back.
Cheers,
Ana
Site speed has always been important and more so now that Google has recently indicated that it is equally important for ranking. What’s new to me is that you mentioned that it currently applies only to searches made on Google dot com and in English. That I did not know.
DiTesco´s last blog ..Google SEO Starter Guide Updated
Yes it does Ditesco. I just learned that. Thanks for stopping by.
By the way, your current post was wonderful, I’m glad you share those updates.
Keep it up,
Julie
Ana,
Wonderful video you included along with what seem to be some excellent tools for diagnosing any potential site load issues. Little attention to detail things like this can really help a site.
I think you hit this one out of the park!
Have a great week!
Steve@Lifestyle Design´s last blog ..How to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing
Wow thanks Steve. I’m so glad you like it. I’m happy to know that many people including you appreciate my ideas. It’s all worth the effort and time.
Cheers to that,
Ana
Hey Ana,
Awesome post, I totally agree with you that page loading speed is extremely important, not only to make your readers comfortable while they’re navigating your site but also due to the fact that so many services out there evaluate your site based on speed.
For example if you have a powerful site and that site has the potential to sell Ad space for a $1000/spot lets say, you could be losing so many customers and so many opportunities simply because your site is slow, that means that only a select few will be able to visit your site since other people on dial up or in other countries where Net speed is limited or have to pay for per/kbps will never ever waste time on you site.
That’s why you should always look at the total size of each one of your pages and ask yourself, is this accessible on dial-up for example? that way your site is open to all types of incoming connections.
I love the “List of Tools” you provided in the article, very nice, thank you.
Sayed´s last blog ..Updated Plugins List
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Sayed. Yes, you’re right and that was a great example of how you could lose readers and visitors due to speed problem.
Hope to see yo again,
Ana
Hey Ana,
Great post, as always and great video.
Loading speed is very important for any blog.
Thanks for sharing this awesome stuff Ana. Keep up the awesome work.
~Dev
Dev@Make Money Blogging´s last blog ..3 Twitter Tips to Help You Get More Results from Twitter
Thank you for the compliment Dev. I’m glad to see you here.
All the Best,
Ana
Hey Ana,
Great post, great video. Good to learn what to do if you have speed problems and why you should improve your speed.
Thanks for sharing the video and your insights.
All the best,
Mavis Nong
Mavis Nong @ Attraction Marketing Online´s last blog ..10 Effective Ways To Build Your List
Hello Mavis,
Thanks for stopping by. Me myself also love that video that’s why I decided to share it so that we can all learn from it.
Have a nice day
Ana
Pagespeed from FireBug is a great tool for coming up with ways to help. The caffeine update to Google’s algorithm did add on page speed as a factor in calculating SERPs. From what was said it only effected 1% of results. I feel like this percentage will continue to rise, so it’s a good idea to start factoring it now to stay ahead of the curve.
Brian@Charleston Marketing´s last blog ..Best Web Design Tip For Changing Website Features
Yes I think we need to do that Brian so as to maintain our position or to continue reaching for the top.
Glad you came by
Ana
I’ve followed some of your comments in various blogs that brought me to this page. First of all, thank you very much for taking the time to share some fantastic tips. Following some of your suggestions in this blog, I installed today Page Speed.
To do that I had to upgrade my browser to Firefox 3.6, then I had to install Firebug Firefox Add-on, a little tool that allows you to add Firebox plug-ins. The whole process did not take more than 3 minutes. My site’s speed was 71. So I guess I have to work on improving my speed.
I believe the 80/20 rule applies in improving your speed. For example 20% of the root cause is responsible for 80% of the speed loss. To identify that 80% I went to another tool you recommended, which was wepagetest. This is much easier to use, because it requires no installation. You just put your site url in the box and press Start Test. The location I selected was UK. The application takes several minutes to provide the waterfall and optimisation checklist. However, it identified what was responsible for 80% of my speed loss. That was the requests. Google recommended that to reduce time spent on requests I have to eliminate the “bad requests” which happens by removing broken links, or requests that result in 404/410 errors. This eliminates wasteful requests.
The Waterfall has produced a list of issues to address, which I will have to analyze and give to my techies to see how we can fix them.
I am not used to this kind of work, as I come from a background of investing and selling/buying online and offline assets. But seeing how little things like speed can improve the ranking of your site against your competition, and how this improves my assets’ cash-flow (and equity) is a new discovery for me. I have passed a link of your post to my colleagues.
Wow Alex thanks for doing that for me. I appreciate you for sharing this posts to others. I’m glad that you were able to find your way in my site. I’m happy to see you here. As for someone like you who is not used to doing technical aspect of this business, you did a great job with installing Page speed . It’s good to learn new things right?
All the Best,
Ana
Hey Ana,
From the point of view of someone searching on Google, the added algorithms might prove a blessing. For bloggers however this will turn in just the next obstacle to getting organic traffic. Tweaking widgets, optimizing templates, etc. for better speed will require a lot more time, which might prove especially problematic for part time bloggers that don’t have much of it. Some blogs will gain momentum, while others will lose the top positions. I got a bit carried away. LOL
Either way that was an interesting read Ana! Great work!
Daniel Sharkov@Blogging Tips´s last blog ..6 Warning Signs of Bad Writing Part Two
You have a point there Daniel. It might require more effort and time for us bloggers to compete especially for newbies whom I think need to double time but not for those who are consistent and totally dedicated. Well.. That’s the name of the game.
Cheers
Ana
Hi Ana,
Wow, what an interesting video. Thanks for sharing this! Not only did you give such valuable tools and links, but truly this video should not be ignored.
Thank you!
Susanna
Susanna Hess´s last blog ..Are Your Emails Getting Opened Improve Email Open Rate
Thanks for the compliment Susanna. I’m glad you find it informative.
Take care always
Ana
Hi Ana,
I knew that my site is pretty slow. Now I learned what to do about it and most importantly, why. Thanks for sharing this video and your personal insights.
Take care
Oliver
Oliver Tausend´s last blog ..Lessons From “Think And Grow Rich” – Chapter 2 “Desire”
You’re welcome Oliver. I’m glad that I was able to help you with that.
Keep it up
Ana
Yes, I do care on page load time. It is a very important aspect for a blog. There are several factors affect the page load time starting from the web host. Still I am tweaking my site to improve the page load time.
Sujith´s last blog ..The Internet TV Battle- Apple or Roku
I understand your concern Sujith since we all know how essential speed is. I’m certain that you will find a way.
Thanks for the comment
Ana
Ana, I do pay attention to page load speed, but I balance that against what I want my blogs to do.
For example, I have a hiking blog where many of the posts have several pictures. Since hiking is highly visual and pics are important, I go with larger pictures at higher resolution, and this, of course, increases my page loading time. But it’s worth it to me. I may take a small hit on SERP, but the visitors I do get will appreciate my site more.
John Soares´s last blog ..Setting Writing Priorities — What’s Most Important Now
Well done John. Balance is the key. Quality content will always be essential in a website. Continue blogging
All the Best
Ana
Site speed is definitely a ranking factor, thats why a free site speed tool is also provided in the google webmaster central.
However a clean and correct HTML can have a big effect on site speed already. Google basically just wants us to clean up our websites, delete unnecessary javascripts, etc.
You said it right Andreas. It is indeed our responsibility to manage our website and get rid of what is not useful.
Thanks for stopping by again
Take care
Ana
Hey Ana, Yes speed is everything, if I have to wait more then 2 seconds for your website to open I am gone. However bloggers are in luck, because most blogs are text heavy and photo light. The people who should worry about the speed are the designers and flash websites.
Marios
Marios´s last blog ..How To Find a Hungry Crowd of People
You are so right, Marios - people don’t realize that “pretty” does not always mean user or search-engine friendly.
Pleasure to see you on my blog this morning; have a great Monday!
Ana
Hi Ana,
So far, I don’t have a problem with my site loading slowly. But, I will keep this information for when and if it does. I know that it is imperative, because if a site loads slowly, I just go on to something else (unless it’s your site…heh, heh). Keep those cards and letters coming.
Lou Barba
Hi, Lou - actually you do have a problem.
It might not look like it to the naked eye, but you need to cut your page loading time at least in half.
You are right though, there are many much more important things you can and need to focus on before you go into site speed.
See ya!
Ana
Ana Hoffman´s last blog ..Need for speed- Search Engine Ranking Chase Gains Momentum
I definitely keep tabs on my site speed, Ana. If it ever creeps-up into the high two-second range, then I have to take a more in-depth look at what is going wrong. Most of the time, this is an incorrectly formated image, but I have also run into server problems that have forced me to change hosts.
Wow, sounds like you are quite technically advanced, Roy - I might have to ask you for your expertise on a few things!
Have a great week.
Ana
Hi Ana,
It is very true, Google are very fussy about speed. They have 200,000 computers at their headquarters to cater for the massive amount of bandwidth needed to generate and support the millions of users online.
Dan Lew´s last blog ..Keyword Winner – 36 Hours Before Pre-Launch
Isn’t it amazing what Google has become from a hole-in-someones-garage start?
All great ideas have to start somewhere…
Thanks for coming by, Dan.
Ana
Thanks for sharing additional information Dan. That’s very nice of you.
Have a great day,
Ana
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