In our previous blogs, we talked about why updating websites matter and continued those points in detail on data security and redesigning. Today we focus on another often overlooked aspect that one needs to take advantage of in the process of updating their website, namely website optimization and SEO.

Why is SEO important?

SEO or search engine optimization is a bunch of steps one needs to take in order to get their website rankings high on the search results. If your website ranks 5th on the first page, there are strong chances you are missing 85% of leads that the top 4 competitors are able to gain.

The bottom line is, SEO is a competition in which the winner takes all.

Search engine rankings changes, yes you heard it right!

Ranking on the search engine results is decided as per the keywords. Keywords are the query that a user enters in the search box. So let’s say if a person searched for digital marketing agencies in New Brunswick, and your website has a matching keyword, chances are your website will be ranked higher.

For example, your website has not been updated for the last 3 months and your competitor who updated his site just the other week may rank higher because Google (or any other search engine for that matter) may believe his content to be the latest and more relevant to the user. These changes in ranking happen overnight and are completely automated. You may not even know when your website fell from being the topmost searched to the bottom of the page. Hence, SEO is a continuous process. You can never rest and updating your content is the key.

But what is optimization?

True, content is the king but there is an army of a whole different set of things at play here. Did you know that more than 80% of browsing is done through mobile phones? So google for a long time has been prioritizing the results for websites that are mobile-friendly (responsive).

Another very important thing to consider is the bounce rate of users coming on your website, the more time they spend the higher the chances of a sale or inquiry. For this you’ll have to analyze from where are the users coming in, looking for what, are they on the correct page, or do you need to create a landing page? Etc. You need to make sure the users landing on your website see what they are looking for. The content should not be cluttered or hidden somewhere, it should be right there in the front. Maximizing user experience always leads to better results.

Loading speed is another critical factor to help you optimize your website and also help your user’s experience as well improve the search rankings. Choosing a reliable hosting provider is key to achieving this. Make sure you read all the reviews as well as ask the customer support questions that are relevant to hosting the type of website you plan and how approx delay and downtime would be.

With this, you should be able to fairly set up your website for proper optimization and SEO but the list of checkboxes is endless, sometimes even difficult to keep track of. If you need any kind of assistance or just a chat to help you get started do let me know here.

So you have finally decided to redesign your old website or maybe create a new one. If you are new to these you may be confused between all the options that are out there. Don’t sweat it, relax, sit back, and read on.

What are you trying to accomplish?

The above question is definitely a loaded one. The most common answer would be ‘to get more business or users’, which technically is correct but needs further probing.

Have you analyzed your existing user base? Who is your audience? Do you know what is not working that you need to change or redesign?

It may not be easy to answer these questions all at once. But it is necessary to begin only when you have some clarity.

Resonates with your brand.

Now, this is where a lot of creativity may come into play. Things like what fonts to use, colors, maybe keep it monochrome or make it colorful, etc. This will not just visually enhance your website but also present your brand to a wider audience, so you need to make sure that you choose only what defines your brand.

For example, lawyers will not prefer to add colors to their website but on the other hand, a kids nursery will, and add some more smileys on top.

Research all the latest technologies.

It is necessary that you know at least the basics of what you want to achieve and choose the platform that fulfills your requirements. If you are looking for E-commerce you should look out for Shopify or WooCommerce. Similarly, WordPress works great for blogs and informative websites plus it gives ample flexibility to update your website. You can always choose from widely available plugins to further enhance your site (plugins are both paid and free).

Then there are plenty more platforms like Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, etc.

Optimization.

There are some basics that you should take care of while setting up your website for the purpose of search engine optimization aka SEO (you can do this at a later stage as well but the sooner, the better)

A. Make sure you research all the relevant keywords and add them to your content.

B. Metadata (aka Meta description) is basically the information you tell your users what your website is about when they come across your links in search results.

C. Image Alt Text, you need to make sure to mention what exactly the image that you add on the website is, it may very well land in google image search and if relevant with the user’s search will help him help navigate to your website.

D. Mobile Responsiveness, google actually notes the time it takes for your website to load and whether it is optimized for mobile screens so that it could suggest them to mobile users.

E. Sitemap, is what conveys to google to scroll through (index) all the pages on the website. It should be noted that you must update the sitemap every time you add a new page (link) to your website.

There are still many more things to look out for when redesigning a website, a lot of coding, and other technical nitty gritty’s that are often overlooked by newbies. If you need a helping hand or an expert to consult, please write to us.

Websites get hacked. Period. It compromises your confidential business information as well as your users and customers. But how do you prevent it from happening?

Well, there is no single process of preventing a hack, but many steps that can help you minimize the risk and close as many loopholes as possible. Today we will look at a few prominent ones.

SSL certificate.

SSL certificates encrypt all communication between the server and the client. Only the intended recipient of the communication can actually view it. While dealing with sensitive data such as IDs, passwords, credit card numbers, etc., SSL helps you protect. As the data is turned into the undecipherable format by SSL. Moreover, a valid SSL helps you affirm your website’s identity and help in better search engine ranking aka SEO.

Update, Update & Update.

Countless websites go live every day using CMS (Content Management System) and these systems have made it really easy to create websites helping more and more people, businesses get online while making the whole process less cumbersome. But do you know that majority of websites that get hacked are actually due to some of the other loopholes in these CMS platforms? So what do you do?

Developers are smarter than hackers and to make sure you stay safe they update and close those gaps learning every time a hack takes place. So all you have to do is update your CMS and other related plugins as soon as an update is available making your website more secure.

Don’t invite hackers.

We all receive those spam emails, someday offering us too good to be true deals and someday making us win millions of dollars in the lottery (only if it were true!). So what is the number one rule while dealing with these pesky spammers (read hackers)?

No matter how delighting those offers sounds, never ever click those links, never. Almost 94% of malware’s are delivered via email, making it the number one tool for hackers. So as soon as you receive that email, not just delete them permanently but also report them as spam, making sure they don’t land in your inbox next time.

WAF – Website Application Firewalls.

The typical firewall, installed on every computer these days, sits on the edge of your network and filters out incoming and outcoming traffic. Similarly, a WAF protects your website filtering the traffic coming towards it. Some crucial areas where they work are;

Bots – Helping identify humans and automated traffic, automatic bots are used by hackers.

Cross-site Scripting – Blocks hackers from deploying client-side scripts.

Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks – All traffic is measured, preventing hackers to overwhelm your database.

SQL Injection – Hackers add code to forms and other input fields to gain access to the site’s database. WAF can be very helpful in preventing such attacks.

Anti-Malware – WAF is quite effective against malware used by hackers.

Hackers and their techniques keep evolving every other day, so it is necessary to always be on the lookout. After all, prevention is better than cure. Also, backup your website whenever possible.

But if you are at all confused about where to begin or what to do next, do not hesitate, we can help you provide all-round security protecting your data and the privacy of your customers. Know more here.

Is your website living up to expectations? Has the traffic grown? Are you getting any leads?

If you answered no to any of these questions as you have landed at the right place.

The majority of businesses, both small and large go through the cycle of ‘web stagnation,’ a lot of that has to do with their website. With the exponential growth of internet users in the past couple of decades, you cannot risk losing out. What many business owners do not understand is that the website is necessary not just to sell your goods or services but it is a platform to communicate with your prospect and if you miscommunicate with them, there will be no leads.

So let’s look at how you keeping your website updated will help your business generate more leads and revenue.

Design

They say we are living in an “Attention Economy”. Human attention is a scarce commodity. And research says you have about 8 seconds from the moment a person logs on your website to convey that you are the one he or she is looking for. So what do you show them in those 8 seconds means a great deal.

Having a creative and aesthetically pleasing website that resonates with your audience is key to make people hit inquiry pages. And given how fast the coding and other technology is advancing, more and more designs and features are now available helping ease the process.

SEO

Yes, when you created your website, you did all the keyword research and the best SEO practices were implemented but did you know that Google page ranking keeps changing? It can be for any number of reasons, maybe your competitor now has better and up-to-date content that matches your potential customer’s latest search terms or the keywords you added are no longer relevant. An updated website with new content has a much better chance of getting a higher page ranking.

For example, Two competing websites selling Chairs, both with similar keywords. But website A will rank higher because it was updated last week and website B was last updated 8 months ago. In other words, websites with the latest sitemap and content are considered up to date by search engines and more likely to be suggested over the once with old information.

Data Security

People are getting more and more conscious about privacy, and your website’s security is not just for the visitors but it is also important for your own business data. Critical information like your database, domain, server, and hosting details can be compromised. Even a year-old security technology may be overpowered by the latest hacking tools.

The most common tactics used by hackers to attack websites are through loopholes in plugins and form fields. Like all the websites forms are directly connected to all the data that your website holds. A code as little as two lines could help a hacker to enter the backend database. You also need to make sure every month if not weeks that all plugins and integrations like social media, Google analytics, payment gateways, CMS, etc. used on your website are updated to close those loopholes if any.

Optimization

Website optimization has not just to do with SEO, it means a lot more. Imagine a client walking into your office, how would you like to present your office space? Neat, clean, organized, etc. Correct?

Imagine your website as your virtual office. It should be decluttered, clean, and organized in a way that people find what they are looking for. Again, we are fighting for a scarce commodity, human attention. Other optimization strategies include reducing your page load rates. One of the most important factors often overlooked is the bounce rate. If your website’s bounce rate is high, there is definitely something wrong. Keeping your prospect on your website as long as possible is your best bet at achieving those leads.

In the coming weeks, I will be adding further individual blogs on each of these topics, giving further details that will help you make sure your website is securely and regularly updated. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or require any further help do let me know here.