Web page optimization used to be easy, but today you have to know a few things to compete for the top spot on Google search results. You used to be able to just place a couple hot keywords on each page and wah-lah! Web page optimization is a breeze, right?
Well, things are quite different now. Now you have to worry about your competitors, keyword density, and site speed. A simple Google search and you’ll find a plethora of all the supposed new trends that will help you rank higher. How are you supposed to know where to start? What are best techniques to get you off on the right foot?
This article is jam-packed with the best strategies and tools that will get your website supercharged for high ranking. The secret is in the combination of the best tactics, so take some notes and make sure your employee all these secrets as soon as possible.
Web Page Speed
Try Google Analytics and it will give you your site speed and how to improve it. Google doesn’t penalize you if you’re website isn’t as fast as your competitors, but you will be ranked lower if your website is slow.
Image Compression
Images are some of the biggest culprits of slow web pages. Yahoo says, 80% of a web page’s load time is spent downloading the different parts of the page, like images and stylesheets. They may look great, but the more complicated you make your website more it affects your web page optimization.
Here is a free tool you can use to make sure your images are running better. Optimazilla is a free image compressor. Just take the high-quality images and upload them into the online tool. 
Then check to see whether or not the compression did any good. With this screenshot, above, Optimazilla reduced the size of the file by 74% without reducing the quality of the image (see below).
Then download the images to your computer and load the images onto your website. Do this with all the images you put on your website. The bigger the file the slower your site will load. Too many of these huge files will cause your site to lag and ultimately lower your ranking.
Keyword Density
According to Yoast SEO, web page optimization is achieved when you have between 1 – 2.5% keyword density. Keyword density means the percentage of keywords in comparison to the rest of the web page.
What you’re looking to avoid is keyword stuffing. This is the overuse of keywords.
Here is a search engine optimization – SEO strategy that will work much better. Let’s say you’re interested in writing a blog on the term “keyword density.”
The old way to achieve the right keyword density is to stuff the phrase “keyword density” as many times as possible on the blog. Now you need to strategize how many times you use it and use phrases that are associated with the term to let Google know what you’re ranking for.
I love using this free tool from SEO Book
Step 1: Create a free account.
Step 2: Enter in the keyword or phrase you want to write about. Make sure you check the G Trends box too.
Step 3: Export the results to an Excel document.
Step 4: Analyze the G Trends at the bottom of the page to ensure you’re on the right track. Sometimes you might find out that people don’t really care about what you want to write about. If it’s on a downward trend then think of another topic.
Step 5: Create phrases that go well with your content strategy with analytics. The phrases surrounding the keyword you choose are more important than the initial keyword. Whenever you add a keyword to your blogs, try to not just use the basic keyword. Use only phrases that people search. Some of these phrases are also great for subheadings. You’ve probably seen many blogs start out with “What is …?” or “How to …”
Focus on User Experience
If you’re looking to monetize your website, think about the kinds of website that you love and the ones you don’t. Do you enjoy seeing a bunch of ads everytime you read an article? Of course, not.
Even if your company offers a lot of products and services or offers something that takes time to explain, you should still seek to make everything as simple as possible. This means the copywriting should be focused on making the process of buying or setting up an appointment to talk easy.
Too many companies that sell something in depth, explain what they sell in a way that confuses the people that view the site. Web page optimization is not just about site speed and images. It’s very much about whether or not your website “works” on a search engine optimation – SEO level and on a user experience level.
Web Page Optimization for Sales
When anyone comes to your website, the first thing they see should be what you do. It should be easily understood and be visually stimulating.
Taking this a step further, the opening statement should not be a feature. It should be the benefit of working with your company. If your product saves customers time, then talk about all the time they will save. If customers are looking for more money, talk about how much money they will make with your product. The key here is to be specific. Not just specific to your ideal customer, but specific in how much you can help your clients.
Moving forward with the web page optimization…
There is a great program to use that will help you understand how people are using your website. It’s called Crazy Egg and there is a fee, but you can try it for free for 15 days, so give it a shot. If you’re getting a lot of traffic and lacking in conversions then it’s a great tool to tell you why.
Maybe your copywriting is off on your product page, or maybe your customers are leaving after they check out your blog. Whatever it is, Crazy Egg will show you with heatmaps where they are getting stuck and help you make the necessary changes to get your web page optimization perfect.
User Interface
Crazy Egg is also a great tool to create your user interface with the customer experience in mind. By using the heatmapping tools, you’ll create a website that leads your clients on a slippery slope to getting their credit cards out. This might not sound like the most professional approach, but when it comes to selling online this is what’s necessary, because of the lack of human interaction.
Humans are wired to be skeptical when they think something is not right. This is why creating the perfect sales funnel is so important. It doesn’t matter if they are buying widgets online or trying to get them to call your sales team.
The process is the same.
- Get the client’s attention via PPC ads, social media, billboards, magazine ads, television commercials, direct mail, etc. Direct it towards your website.
- Enhance the interest your clients already have with more detailed content, like blogs, whitepapers, case studies, webinars, videos, etc. Place a call-to-action at the end of each content piece to get them to an aggressive sales message.
- Sell the clients with sales letters, phone calls, face-to-face presentations.
- Follow up with the client to make sure everything is going well and offer them more options to enhance their initial purchase.
- Keep up with the client to ensure the relationship is solid, and prepare them for future product upgrades.
Web page optimization requires a logical user interface. Each page should lead to the next step if the customer wishes to move forward. Along the way, if they decide to step out of the process, try and collect their information so you can reach out to them again and again to spark their interest and inspire a purchase.
Here’s a great tool to help you collect emails and offer them valuable content when they try to leave without making a purchase. Hello Bar is free and well worth the time to get set up.
The Future of Web Page Optimization
The more advanced the internet becomes, the more it becomes like real life. Think about the push that Facebook and Google are making to mobile and video. If you start thinking along these lines then you can really get a leg up on your competition.
The key is to think about what you would want when you are seeking a product or service. Do you want a bunch of popup ads or spam emails, just because you checked out a fidget spinner for your son or daughter? Of course, not!
Create your web pages with the customer in mind and you’ll have a brand with integrity. If you have a great product and the right branding you’ll do very well as long as you create content that works for the reader. For more information on understanding what is relevant for your customers, check out this article.
