WordPress SEO & Optimization Strategies
Joost De Valk’s presentation on SEO and optimization strategies for your installation of WordPress.
Google Wallet Product Launch
Square’s gone after the clunky old cash register. Now Google’s trying to reinvent how we pay for even more things. It’s just revealed Wallet, the first big-name, large scale rollout of NFC wireless wave-and-pay next generation credit cards.
The Evolution of Commerce – Google Commerce Search 3.0
New! Google Commerce Search 3.0 is a powerful search solution designed specifically with online and multi-channel retailers in mind.
Improve your shopping experience with fast, intuitive Google search technology.
- Engage visitors and help them find the right products
- Power browse and navigation modes on your website
- Easily implement merchandising strategies
- Set product boosts and promotions with no custom coding
- Display local inventory availability with your results
- Deploy search solution in days, and scale effortlessly
- Customize, track, and optimize performance
Google’s Stealth Approach on Social Media ~ Docs!
A few days ago, the Internet was abuzz with speculation that Google would have a splashy launch of a Facebook rival called “Google Circles” at South by Southwest. That didn’t materialize, with Google disputing that such a feature even existed. Michael Arrington at TechCrunch wrote a post called “Social Is Too Important For Google To Screw Up With A Big Launch Circus,” arguing that with Orkut and Buzz having more or less failed, Google wasn’t eager to swing hard and miss a third time. Rather, he wrote, “I’m guessing we’ll see more small releases over time.”
A Beginner’s Guide to Optimizing WordPress Websites
By default, WordPress websites are a lot like young athletes—skillful and full of promise, yet highly unrefined.
In order to help your site reach its potential, you must provide coaching and assistance in certain key areas:
- To rank well in search engines, you’ll need a great theme with streamlined, standards-based HTML output.
- To ensure page speed and provide a stellar user experience, you should call scripts from the most optimal locations.
- To increase conversions and improve engagement, you should focus on minimalist page design.
- To save bandwidth and improve loading times, you may wish to institute compression and, in some cases, a caching solution.
- For world-class speed, you can set up a Content Delivery Network (CDN), or you can opt for a more exotic dynamic DNS solution.
To a beginner, these points probably seem like a bunch of technical mumbo-jumbo, and that’s why I’ve created this simple guide to optimizing WordPress websites.
Regardless of your skill level, you’ll be able to use this handy guide to make effective changes to your site that will improve speed, search engine rankings, user experience, and potentially even sales and conversions!
As you read through the guide, please keep in mind that you don’t have to do everything in order to get positive results. Furthermore, some of the included tips, such as the ones on gzip compression and expires headers, can be implemented in under 5 minutes.
So, what are you waiting for? Use this guide to optimize your WordPress website and unleash its hidden potential!
Finally, if you go through the guide and still find yourself with the need for speed, be sure to check out our excellent guide to website performance and speed.