Website Optimization

by King, Andrew B.

• ISBN13: 9780596515089
• ISBN10: 0596515081
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-07-01
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

This book is a comprehensive guide to the tips, techniques, standards, and methods of website optimization. From increasing site traffic to maximizing leads, from revving up responsiveness to increasing navigability, from prospect retention to closing more sales, the world of 21st century website optimization is explored, exemplified and explained. Website Optimization combines the disciplines of online marketing and site performance tuning to attain the competitive advantage necessary on today's Web. You'll learn how to improve your online marketing with effective paid and natural search engine visibility strategies, strengthened lead creation and conversion to sales methods, and gold- standard ad copywriting guidelines. Plus, your increased site speed, reduced download footprint, improved reliability, and improved navigability will work synergistically with those marketing methods to optimize your site's total effectiveness.

Author Biography

Andrew B. King is the President of Website Optimization, LLC, a Web Performance and Search Engine Marketing firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since 2002, team WSO has helped firms optimize the effectiveness of their websites to improve their ROI. Their clients include Bank of America, AOL, Time Warner, Net Zero, WhitePages.com, and Caravan Tours. For more information on website optimization and a book companion site go to: http://www.websiteoptimization.com.

Andy is the author of Speed Up Your Site: Web Site Optimization, a highly regarded book on web site performance tuning and search engine optimization. Mr. King holds a BSME and MSME from the University of Michigan specializing in design optimization of structures. He was recruited by NASA after graduation, but chose instead to join the fast-paced world of engineering consultant.

Since 1993, Mr. King has worked full time as a web professional applying and teaching web optimization and creation techniques. He is the founder and former Managing Editor of WebReference.com and JavaScript.com, two award-winning developer sites acquired by Mecklermedia in 1997 (now Jupitermedia).

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Search Engine Marketing Optimization
Natural Search Engine Optimization	p. 5
The Benefits of SEO	p. 5
Core SEO Techniques	p. 7
Ten Steps to Higher Search Engine Rankings	p. 11
Summary	p. 41
SEO Case Study: PhillyDentistry.com	p. 44
Original Site	p. 44
First Redesign: Mid-2004	p. 47
Second Redesign: Late 2007	p. 50
Summary	p. 54
Pay-per-Click Optimization	p. 55
Pay-per-Click Basics and Definitions	p. 56
Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Everybody Else	p. 58
Goal Setting, Measurement, Analytics Support, and Closing the Loop	p. 62
Keyword Discovery, Selection, and Analysis	p. 66
Organizing and Optimizing Ad Groups	p. 71
Optimizing Pay-per-Click Ads	p. 74
Optimizing Landing Pages	p. 81
Optimizing Bids	p. 86
Other Pay-per-Click Issues	p. 95
Summary	p. 100
PPC Case Study: BodyGlove.com	p. 103
Body Glove PPC Optimization	p. 103
Summary	p. 110
Conversion Rate Optimization	p. 111
The Benefits of CRO	p. 111
Best Practices for CRO	p. 112
Top 10 Factors to Maximize Conversion Rates	p. 118
Staging Your CRO Campaign	p. 127
Summary	p. 145
Web Performance Optimization
Web Page Optimization	p. 155
Common Web Page Problems	p. 156
How to Optimize Your Web Page Speed	p. 160
Summary	p. 185
CSS Optimization	p. 186
Build on a CSS Architecture	p. 186
Top 10 Tips for Optimizing CSS	p. 189
Summary	p. 214
Ajax Optimization	p. 216
Common Problems with Ajax	p. 217
Ajax: New and Improved JavaScript Communications	p. 218
Proper Application of Ajax	p. 218
Rolling Your Own Ajax Solution	p. 222
Relying on Ajax Libraries	p. 226
JavaScript Optimization	p. 230
Minimizing HTTP Requests	p. 243
Choosing Data Formats Wisely	p. 245
Addressing the Caching Quandary of Ajax	p. 248
Addressing Network Robustness	p. 250
Understanding the Ajax Architecture Effect	p. 254
Summary	p. 256
Advanced Web Performance Optimization	p. 257
Server-Side Optimization Techniques	p. 257
Client-Side Performance Techniques	p. 282
Summary	p. 296
Website Optimization Metrics	p. 297
Website Success Metrics	p. 298
Types of Web Analytics Software	p. 302
Search Engine Marketing Metrics	p. 310
Web Performance Metrics	p. 323
Summary	p. 347
Index	p. 349
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