âWeâve had a website for years now, but it hardly pays for itself.â
âOur siteâs pulling in more than 30% of our revenue, at a far lower cost than our other venues.â
Thereâs a world of difference between these two very real Internet experiences. Yet they provide a window into the landscape of web survival that plays out daily. Success is the result of a multitude of adaptations to this constantly changing environment. The fate of companies worldwide is at stake, yet few players grasp the full scope of the problem. Fewer still can clearly and thoroughly articulate its solution: website optimization.
Ultimately, website optimization (WSO) is about maximizing the (usually financial) return on a website investment. Research shows that attaining that ultimate goal is dependent upon fulfilling a set of known benchmarks, including making the site easier to find, easier to use, faster, more aesthetically pleasing, cheaper to run, and more compelling. Site stakeholders need accurate resources that spell out best-in-class, proven strategies and methods to reach those benchmarks, and thereby attain success.
I wrote this book to fill this need. By reading it, you will learn a comprehensive set of optimization techniques for transforming your website into a more successful profit-generation machine. Youâll save money by shifting your marketing budget from hit-or-miss mass marketing to highly targeted, online marketing with measurable results.
WSO will teach you how to engage more customers by making your site more compelling and easier for search engine users to find. Part I, Search Engine Marketing Optimization, will teach you how to use natural search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and conversion rate optimization (CRO) to boost your siteâs visibility and convert browsers into buyers. Part II, Web Performance Optimization, will help you optimize your HTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), multimedia, and Ajax to improve response times and reliability. You will learn that these two components of WSO have synergistic effects; faster sites convert more users, save money on bandwidth bills, and even improve potential search engine rankings, while search-friendly sites built with standards-based CSS are faster and more accessible.
Taken as a whole, WSO is a discipline of efficiency. Optimal search marketing makes the most of advertising budgets by boosting rankings, click-through rates (CTRs), and landing-page conversion rates. Optimum website performance makes the most efficient use of limited bandwidth and short attention spans. Youâll learn how to achieve an important key to website success: balancing aesthetic appeal with responsiveness, while delivering a persuasive message.
The secrets to successful sites are contained in these pages. This book breaks ground by gathering disparate and seemingly unrelated disciplines under one marquee: website optimization. If you master the techniques that youâll find here, you will achieve website success.
This book is intended for three distinct groups:
Web marketers
Web developers
Managers (project managers, business managers, site owners, etc.)
Different parts of the book are designed for these different audiences.
For web marketers, this book assumes the following:
You have some familiarity with SEO and the terminology thereof.
You know what PPC, CPC, CTR, and ROI stand for and how they work.
You understand that improving conversion rates is important to website success.
You are comfortable with using metrics to guide your decision making.
Web developers will find it helpful to have an understanding of:
HTML
CSS rule syntax and the principles behind the separation of presentation from content
JavaScript programming
Server-side scripting and modifying server configuration files
This book does not assume that you are an expert in all of these areas, but it does assume that you are able to figure these things out on your own, or that you can consult other resources to help you follow the examples. Server-side examples are generally done in PHP or text-based server configuration files. The figures (most of which are reproduced in color) as well as key code examples and chapter summaries are available on this bookâs companion website:
| http://www.websiteoptimization.com/secrets/ |
Managers need not be versed in all of the prerequisites just described, but we assume that you have some familiarity with SEM and the process of website development. Managers will probably want to spend more time on the bookâs first two chapters on SEO best practices, as well as on Chapter 5, to find out how to make the most of existing traffic. The introduction to Part II of the book shows how the psychology of performance, the size and complexity of web pages, and response time guidelines have changed over time. Finally, this book expects that Internet terms and phrases are familiar so that you can follow along with the examples provided.
This book has 10 chapters and consists of two parts, each focusing on different yet synergistic aspects of WSO: SEM and web performance. It is not necessary to read the book sequentially, although some chapters build on previous chapters (e.g., Chapters Chapter 2 and Chapter 4).
Part I, Search Engine Marketing Optimization, which comprises the first five chapters of the book, is for web marketers who want to increase the visibility and conversion rates of their sites. Part II, Web Performance Optimization, composed of the next four chapters, is designed for web developers who want to speed up their sites. Chapter 10 bridges the two topics. It explains how the effects of search engine marketing and web performance tuning can be quantified and optimized.
Part I, Search Engine Marketing Optimization, explains how to use best-practice techniques to boost the search engine visibility and conversion rate of your website. It consists of the following:
- Introduction to Part I, Search Engine Marketing Optimization
Briefly explores the behavior of users as they interact with search engine result pages, and how tight, front-loaded headlines and summaries help to improve natural referrals and PPC conversions for search result pages.
- Chapter 1, Natural Search Engine Optimization
Shows best practices for improving organic search engine visibility, as well as how to overcome the most common barriers to high rankings. The chapter demonstrates the 10 steps you can take to achieve high rankings, including writing optimized title tags, targeting specific keywords, and building popular inbound links. Youâll learn how to âbake inâ keywords, as well as the importance of using your primary keyphrase.
- Chapter 2, SEO Case Study: PhillyDentistry.com
Demonstrates the benefits of natural SEO and best-practice WSO techniques. In this chapter, youâll see how CRO, credibility-based design, natural SEO, and a dash of PPC were used to increase the number of new clients for a business by a factor of 47.
- Chapter 3, Pay-per-Click Optimization, written by the team at Pure Visibility Inc.
Explains how to boost the ROI of your paid-search advertising campaigns. Youâll learn how to become a successful PPC optimizer by developing targeted campaigns based on profit-driven goals. Through ad copy, auction bids, and landing-page optimization, you will maximize CTRs and increase conversions within a set budget.
- Chapter 4, PPC Case Study: BodyGlove.com, written by the team at Pure Visibility Inc.
Demonstrates best-practice PPC and CRO techniques. In this example, PPC and landing-page optimization increased conversions by more than 600%.
- Chapter 5, Conversion Rate Optimization, written by Matt Hockin and Andrew B. King
Reveals the top 10 factors to maximize the conversion rate of your site. Youâll learn how to use persuasive copywriting and credibility-based web design to turn your website into a more efficient sales tool. Through benefit-oriented copy, applied psychology, and source credibility, you can persuade visitors to take positive action and increase their desire to buy. This chapter also shows how to craft a unique selling proposition, use risk reversal, and leverage value hierarchies to get visitors to act.
Part II, Web Performance Optimization, discusses how to optimize the response time of your website:
- Introduction to Part II, Web Performance Optimization
Explores the benefits of high-performance websites and shows the effects of slow response times on user psychology. It provides perspective with average web page trends such as how the âspeed taxâ of object overhead dominates todayâs web page delays. Youâll learn why the 8- to 10-second rule has diverged into the haves and have-nots as broadband has become more widespread. Youâll also discover new response time guidelines based on the latest research.
- Chapter 6, Web Page Optimization
Reveals how web page optimization is not only about raw speed, but also about managing the userâs experience. Weâll show you how to streamline your pages so that they download and display faster. This chapter offers the top 10 web performance tips as well as a list of common problems to avoid. It covers HTML optimization, minimizing HTTP requests, graphics and multimedia optimization, and loading JavaScript asynchronously with an emphasis on standards-based design.
- Chapter 7, CSS Optimization
Reveals how to optimize and modularize your CSS to streamline your HTML by up to 50%. You will learn the top 10 tips for optimizing CSS, including shorthand properties and grouping, leveraging descendant selectors to replace inline style, and substituting CSS techniques for JavaScript behavior. This chapter also demonstrates how you can create CSS sprites, how to make CSS drop-down menus, how to use reset stylesheets, and how best to use CSS2.1 and CSS3 techniques.
- Chapter 8, Ajax Optimization, written by Thomas A. Powell
Demystifies the emerging technology that is Ajax, and explores ways to optimize JavaScript code and make Ajax applications more robust. Optimized use of JavaScript updates portions of pages asynchronously, boosts interactivity, and increases conversion rates. This chapter features example code, criteria for evaluating Ajax libraries, pointers on parallelism, and the advantages of different data formats.
- Chapter 9, Advanced Web Performance Optimization
Explores advanced server-side and client-side techniques for improving performance. Server-side techniques include improving parallelism, using cache control and HTTP compression, rewriting URLs, and using delta compression for RSS feeds. Client-side techniques include lazy-loading JavaScript, loading resources on demand, using progressive enhancement, and using inline images with data URIs to save HTTP requests.
Chapter 10 bridges the topics covered in Parts I and II:
- Chapter 10, Website Optimization Metrics, written by David Artz, Daniel Shields, and Andrew B. King
Illustrates the best metrics and tools for optimizing both search marketing campaigns and website performance. Here youâll learn the mantra âData trumps intuition,â how to use controlled experiments to compare website alternatives, how to maximize website success measures, and the importance of minimizing response time variability. This chapter also explains best-practice metrics such as PathLoss and cost per conversion, as well as presenting performance tools such as waterfall graphs and Pagetest to quash problems before they become trends.
The following typographical conventions are used in this book:
- Italic
Indicates new terms, URLs, filenames, file extensions, and occasionally, emphasis and keyword phrases.
Constant widthIndicates computer coding in a broad sense. This includes commands, options, variables, attributes, keys, requests, functions, methods, types, classes, modules, properties, parameters, values, objects, events, event handlers, XML and XHTML tags, macros, and keywords.
Constant width boldIndicates commands or other text that the user should type literally.
Constant width italicsIndicates text that should be replaced with user-supplied values or values determined by context.
This book is intended to help you optimize your website. In general, you may use the code in this book in your programs and documentation.
You do not need to contact the publisher for permission unless you are reproducing a significant portion of the code. For example, if you are writing a program that uses several chunks of code from this book you are not required to secure our permission. Answering a question by citing this book and quoting example code does not require permission.
Incorporating a significant amount of example code from this book into your productâs documentation does require permission. Selling or distributing a CD-ROM of examples from OâReilly books does require permission.
We appreciate, but do not require, attribution. An attribution usually includes the title, author, publisher, and ISBN. For example: "Website Optimization, by Andrew B. King. Copyright 2008 Andrew B. King, 978-0-596-51508-9.â
If you feel your proposed use of code examples falls outside fair use or the permission given here, feel free to contact us at permissions@oreilly.com.
Please address comments and questions concerning this book to the publisher:
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On the web page for this book we list errata, examples, and any additional information. You can access this page at:
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You can also download the examples from the authorâs website:
| http://www.websiteoptimization.com/secrets/ |
To comment or ask technical questions about this book, send email to:
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David Artz is Director of Optimization at AOL, LLC. His teamâs charter at AOL is to ensure that all experiences are optimized for speed, SEO, and browser accessibility. His team develops, maintains, and evangelizes a broad set of optimization tools, standards, and best practices that stretch across roles in design, development, and copywriting. Their innovative solutions have led to real results in page monetization for AOL.com, and their evangelism has paid off in lighter, more streamlined designs. Their ultimate goal is to infuse the optimization mindset and skillset into AOLâs workforce and their outsourcing partners and help drive and track results, maximizing revenue by optimizing pages. He is currently living in the DC area with his Brazilian wife, Janaina, and dog, Ziggy. See also http://www.artzstudio.com.
Interactive Marketing is an Internet Marketing company founded by Matt Hockin of beautiful Bend, Oregon in 1997 (http://www.interactivemarketinginc.com/). Hockinâs company helps business owners increase their sales by using website optimization strategies including conversion rate optimization, persuasive copywriting, and search engine marketing. In 1995, during the inception of e-commerce, Hockin gained a significant amount of his experience with Internet marketing while working with pioneers in the online marketplace such as John Audetteâs Multimedia Marketing Group, Inc. (MMGCO). He has worked on successful marketing and publicity campaigns for companies such as Intel, Art.com, and many others.
Thomas A. Powell is the CEO of PINT, Inc. (http://www.pint.com/), a web design and development agency with headquarters in southern California that has serviced corporations and educational institutions throughout the United States and Mexico since 1994. He is the author of numerous books on JavaScript, XHTML, site design process, and Ajax including Ajax: The Complete Reference (McGraw-Hill). Powell is a frequent instructor in web design, development, and programming languages for the University of California, San Diego Computer Science Department. His interest in site delivery optimization is well known, from his articles in Network World to his founding of Port80 software (http://www.port80software.com), a firm that develops numerous products for compression, caching, and code optimization used by developers worldwide.
Pure Visibility (http://www.purevisibility.com/) is an Internet marketing company based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, dedicated to growing businesses by connecting them to new qualified prospects online. Pure Visibilityâs Own Page One⢠methodology starts with a commitment to understanding the distinctive positioning of each customer, and surfacing those qualities to receptive audiences through industry-leading, analytics-based processes. Dedicated to discovering industry needsâand innovating to fill themâPure Visibilityâs combination of creativity, knowledge, and resolve to provide unbiased information on Internet strategies and techniques has earned it the rare combined status of both a Google Analytics certified consultant and AdWords-certified company.
Daniel Shields is the chief analyst and founder of Wicked Business Sciences in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (http://www.wickedsciences.com/). His company specializes in developing application measurement technologies to enhance function and increase metrics output from e-commerce web sites. He is frequently sought after for advanced multivariate testing services, strategic personalization analysis, and lab-based usability testing. He got his formal introduction to enterprise web analytics through CableOrganizer.com, where he was formerly manager of e-commerce initiatives.
This is my second book, the first being Speed Up Your Site: Web Site Optimization (New Riders). That book focused mainly on web performance. This book focuses on a broader set of issues in WSO, which is a combination of SEM optimization and web performance tuning.
For this book, I got a lot of help from many talented people. First, thanks to Louis Rosenfeld (http://www.lourosenfeld.com) for his help and early encouragement. I especially want to recognize and thank the chapter contributors: Matt Hockin of Interactive Marketing, Inc., who has been a tireless partner in our business, Website Optimization, LLC. Thanks also to chapter authors David Artz of AOL; Daniel Shields of Wicked Business Sciences; the team at Pure Visibility Inc. (namely, Catherine Juon, Linda Girard, Steve Loszewski [Chapter 3], Mark Williams [Chapter 4], Daniel OâNeil, Michael Beasley, Dunrie Greiling, and Edward Vielmetti); and Thomas A. Powell of PINT, Inc. David Artz also persuaded AOL to release Pagetest to the open source community. I am very grateful to them all.
I also want to thank Jim Sterne for his input and for writing the Foreword for this book. Iâd like to thank my editors who helped: Robert Peyser, Devon Persing, Shirley Kaiser, and Wendy Peck. Iâd like to thank my editor at OâReilly, Simon St.Laurent, for guiding me through the process, answering all my questions, offering encouragement, and accepting my proposal in the first place.
The following people also helped me substantially in crafting this book, and I am grateful for their help: Samson Adepoju, Bill Betcher, Gregory Cowley, Micah Dubinko, Bryan Eisenberg, David Flinn, Dennis Galletta, Bradley Glonka, Dr. William Haig, Lawrence Jordan, Jean King, John King, Ronny Kohavi, Ryan Levering, Jem Matzan, Peter Morville, Eric Peterson, Stephen Pierzchala, Peter Pirolli, Ben Rushlo, Danny Sullivan, Jeni Tennison, Tenni Theurer, and Jason Wolf.
Finally, thanks to Paul Holstein of CableOrganizer.com for letting me borrow his web analyst, Daniel Shields, and for permitting me to reveal new metrics and site examples.
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