HTTP/2 is a newer protocol for transporting data that will drastically
speed up the web and can help your SEO. The ‘old’ HTTP1.1 protocol
only allows web servers to send files down a single line one at a time, and
that line has to open and close after each file has been sent – a process
that can take ages. HTTP/2 offers a dramatic speed boost as the line can be kept open and a lot of stuff can be sent at once.
How HTTP/2 works
HTTP/2 uses new technologies to take away one of the web’s biggest bottlenecks by introducing full multiplexing connections. Servers can now open a single connection with a browser and keep sending all a website’s files until everything is done. After that, the connection closes and the browser can render the site.
The process Whenever you click on a link to visit a site a request is made to the server. The server answers with a status message (header) and a file list for that website. After viewing that list, the browser asks for the files one at a time. The difference between HTTP 1.1 and HTTP/2 lies in what happens next. Say you want a new LEGO set. First, you go to the store to buy your LEGO. When you get home, you open the box and look at the instructions, which tell you what you have to do: one brick at a time. So for every brick you have to look at the instructions to see which brick to use next. The same for the next brick, and so on. This back-and-forth keeps happening until you have finished the entire LEGO set. If your set has 3,300 bricks, that’ll take quite a while. This is HTTP1.1 – the older standard – and still in use on many shared servers – like Godaddy, BlueHost, etc.
With HTTP/2 this changes quite a bit.
You go to the store to pick up your box. Open it, find the instructions and you can ask for all the bricks used on one section of the LEGO set. You can keep asking the instructions for more bricks, without having to look at the manual. “These bricks go together, so here they are.” If you want it really quickly, you could even get all the bricks at once so you can build the set in an instant.
HTTP/2 can handle many more things at once
HTTP/2 has a lot of cool features that can help speed up your loading times. The most important one, of course, is full multiplexing, which means that multiple requests can happen at the same time over a connection that stays open for the duration of the transfer process. Another cool thing is Server push; this starts as one request but when the server notices the HTML requires several assets, it can send these all at once without asking.
Like I said earlier, with HTTP1.1 a browser requests a site -> server sends a header back -> that header contains a status message and HTML body-> for every file needed to build the site, a single connection has to be opened and closed repeatedly. If a piece of this puzzle acts up it can hold up the rest, slowing the process down even further. This is called head-of-line blocking.
Site speed is important for SEO – and Usability
Site speed has been an SEO ranking factor for years. Now, with the introduction of the mobile-first index, Google will take a critical look at the loading speed of your mobile site. Sites have only gotten bigger over the past few years, and big sites have lots of assets like HTML, JavaScript, CSS, images and so on, which all mean longer loading time. There are some things you can do to improve site speed by fine-tuning how your server handles these things, but at its core, HTTP1.1 isn’t a very efficient process.
HTTP/2 makes this process a lot easier to manage for servers and browsers, therefore drastically speeding things up – and HTTP/2 is ALREADY ACTIVE ON OUR HOSTING SERVERS. (Also keep in mind that the advent of HTTP/2 does not retire HTTP1.1 as some browsers may still use the old protocol as
fallback.)
In response to recent world events, and the resulting increase in cybersecurity related incidents and hacking attempts occurring globally, BluErth has elected to implement a much higher level of SSL secure access.
Where all sites were previously secured with 2048-bit RSA Standard SSL/TLS key encryption, today we are upgrading all clients (both web and email services) to the higher level of 4096-bit, RSA Standard – literally doubling the level of encryption as standard practice going forward.
Services have already been upgraded for ALL clients, and going forward, all hosting plans will automatically include this elevated level of encryption.
This is an entirely elective process that we decided to implement to protect our clients – we are continuing to improve our security, and we hope this FREE upgrade helps to keep all clients safe and secure.
Your customers come to your website asking “What’s in it for me?” If they don’t see the answer to that question within 15 seconds, statistics tell us that they’ll leave. That’s how long you have to capture someone’s attention on your website – 15 seconds. So, if you haven’t captured their attention within this short time, then you’ve lost a potential sale.
Your homepage content can be divided into 5 sections that tell the story of your product and motivate your audience to a sale:
1. A Clear Header Statement
Clarity sells products and services, so its important to tell your potential customers up front, in the first glance, what your are selling. Don’t get cute, and don’t be vague. You want to immediately tell or show the product or service you are selling, and don’t make them hunt for
information. Keep it simple and succinct.
2. A Clear & Strong Call to Action
The easier you make it for your customers to give you money, the better. Just under your clear header statement, place a strong and clear call to action. Avoid asking questions, or cryptic statements like “find out why”, “Learn More”, etc, if you can. Just keep it simple, like “Buy Now” or “Sign Up Now”.
3. Create a Failure Scenario
Illustrate to your customers what problem you are solving, and show them what bad thing will happen if they do not buy your product or engage your services. For example, “Manual time card input wastes hundreds of man hours per year and costs you thousands of dollars”.
4. Create a Success Scenario
Illustrate to your customers how buying your product or hiring your services will make their lives easier and better. For example, “Our automatic time card entry service costs saves you time and money, so you can focus on more important things”. In this step you are delivering a message that appeals to the aspirations of the customer, so that they make an association between your product and their problems getting solved.
5. Spell Out A Plan
Show your customers how to engage with your product or your services. Make it look really easy – you want your customers to feel that you can make their lives easier, not more complicated. A stepped plan is typically the easiest to understand. For instance, “Step 1: Download the Software. Step 2: Install. Step 3: Sit back and relax!” Keep it really simple here! A common mistake people make is to provide too much information so the customer can make an informed decision. But in reality, this hardly ever works, and visitors will leave your site if they don’t know what to do. Make it dummy-proof.
Keep in mind that 65% of people are visual learners so the more you can add visual or graphic elements, the better you will hold their attention. If you keep your content relevant, user-friendly, simple, and appealing, you’ll see results.
Have you ever considered how a bad website design affects your business? Consider this statistic:
A user forms their first impression of your company within 1/20th of a second after viewing your website.
That’s faster than they can even read any content… this lightning-quick judgement is based entirely on the design. This strengthens the rule that your online appearance is everything. If your site looks good, then you look good, and in turn, your customers will have the confidence to purchase from you.
With 75% of consumers admitting they judge a business’ credibility based on their site’s design, it can make a real difference in making sure your site ranks well, and a well-designed website that not only has great visual appeal but also a seamless user flow will convert into higher sales.
How Does Bad Design Affect Your Business?
Poor design damages your credibility. You may be the best at what you do and your products may be the best on the market, but if your website doesn’t reflect that high quality, your credibility and professionalism may as well be non-existent. 75% of users make judgements about a company’s credibility based on their web design. It’s as simple as this: users will judge the quality of your services or products by the quality of your website.
Bad design makes you look out of touch with your audience. A dated website tells your customers you are behind the times, or worse, that you don’t care about what your customers want. Visitors could assume you’re out of touch with advancements in your industry, and may also think you’re neglecting other areas of your business. Users may also wonder if you’re still in business if things are years out of date.
A bad website will cost you sales. Period. 85% of customers search the web before making a purchase decision.Every time a potential customer navigates away in frustration (because of broken links, clutter, or confusing navigation), it is unlikely they will ever return. If your competitor offers the same products or services plus an intuitive website design, they will win the business you could be getting.
Elements that will cause visitors to abandon a site
No visual appeal. A poorly designed site misses the opportunity to gain instant trust and credibility.
Design does not cater to mobile users. Mobile optimization is no longer a buzzword or a trend, but a way of life.
Too much clutter. Sites that are overloaded with text and graphics are distracting, and end up communicating very little information. That’s the opposite of your website’s purpose.
Cliché or poor quality photos. Graphics and images can add a lot of value to websites, but low-quality images make the site look amateurish.
Bad user experiences. Confusing navigation makes it hard for visitors to find the information they want. No one wants to try to “figure out how to use your website”.
Too many colors and fonts. Too many colors and fonts will confuse users and make your website a headache to use.
Some examples of website design so bad, it makes me want to throw a brick at my screen:
“How do I get my site to show up in the search results?” If I had a dollar for every time I answered this question…
A large part of my job is educating my clients about SEO – what it is, why it is important, and how to implement it into a website. If you are depending on your website to attract new clients and customers, it is essential for you to understand the basics of SEO and how to optimize your website to utilize it for your company’s greatest benefit. So, below I will share with you BluErth’s SEO Basic Essentials: 5 Tips to Get Noticed in the Search Engines. This will give you a good understanding of what you need to do, but if you want more information or help implementing these practices, BluErth can help you create a plan for boosting your traffic and visibility in search results.
Google’s Chrome browser will soon begin displaying all sites that do not have an SSL certificate as ‘insecure’, which essentially flips the way the browser used to convey information about privacy and security to users. Instead of discreetly informing users that a site has HTTPS and is secure, they’ll flag all non-HTTPS sites as insecure, with a series of escalating alerts that will eventually display an exclamation point inside a red triangle – an icon that was chosen by the Chrome team specifically to alarm users.
The increased interest in encrypting all websites is part of a movement to increase the overall safety of all web users. In addition to protecting your site and it’s readers from hacking, spam, malware and identity theft, SSL certificates bring significant Search Engine Optimization benefits as well since encrypted sites are given priority in search results.
If your site is not currently encrypted with an SSL certificate, consider adding one. The cost is only $185 per year and the certificate installation is included, along with a dedicated IP address.
Given that more than 85% of Google’s search results are now mobile friendly and more than half of all internet searches now come from a mobile device, Google is prioritizing accordingly.
Google has confirmed that it will create a separate search index specifically for mobile. This new search index will be up and running in just a few months and will become the primary search index AND the most up-to-date version. Google says it will maintain a separate index for traditional desktop searches, however it will no longer be the dominant resource and won’t be as current.
Is your site mobile friendly?
Anyone with a site which isn’t fully optimized for mobile devices will likely suffer in the search results. To optimize your website for this new mobile search index:
make sure all pages in your site are optimized with responsive layouts
include structured markup in your site’s code
make sure your site doesn’t display a smaller or truncated version of itself on mobile devices, since this may hurt your visibility
Small businesses have a huge amount to gain from quality SEO – both in creating brand awareness and gaining new business. Search engine optimization (SEO) is vital to a successful online presence, and effective SEO helps to ensure your business is positioned properly in the market and directly targeting your key consumers.
93% of online experiences begin with a search engine
There are 3.42 billion internet users today – equivalent to 46% of the global population. And most of them start their online experience with a search. Studies show that 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results. If you don’t invest in SEO, potential clients probably will never find your site.
The world of SEO is a constantly shifting landscape. Algorithms are updated and machine learning grows more intuitive and powerful, which means that in order to be noticed online, you need to continually devote resources to your SEO to ensure you don’t fall short of the latest search engine standards and penalties.
But we’ve already ‘done’ SEO, you say?
SEO is not a one-time thing – it’s an ongoing, organic process that requires periodic revisiting to ensure quality and relevant links. To suggest you should only strive to be high quality and relevant once wouldn’t be something you’d even consider in other aspects of your business.
Like many worthwhile activities, SEO takes time to bear fruit, which means you can’t build up a positive search ranking overnight. You may not see immediate results, but you will see results! 100% of our clients have seen a significant improvement in their search result rankings. For some industries, it happens within 3 months, and for others it can take a bit longer. That’s why our Primary SEO is a 12-month program, because building up your ranking slowly and organically is the absolute best and most long-lasting way to improve your SEO.
1. Download plugins only from reputable sources. For free plugins, this means WordPress.org only! Since anyone can create a WordPress plugin, hackers can exploit this vulnerability to hide their own nefarious plugin. The WordPress.org plugin library will only offer plugins that are known to be safe. Other software sources that offer paid plugins such as CodeCanyon.com are generally safe. Be sure that the plugin you are purchasing has reviews or ratings.
2. Ensure all your plugins are up to date. Any time you see the option to update your software, do it! New version releases often contain security fixes that will protect you from malware, and old, outdated plugins can become gateways for hackers to gain access to your website.
3. Remove any unused plugins. Unused plugins tend to take up space on your server, slow down your site, and become vulnerable to hacking if they become out of date.
4. Check plugin performance. We recommend the plugin P3 (Plugin Performance Profiler) that scans your current plugins to determine if any of them are causing system-wide issues such as bandwidth hogging, slowing your site or clashing with system files. Keeping your site running smoothly has a great impact on your site’s SEO.
Keep these basic rules of thumb in mind while maintaining your website and you should have a healthy site!
WordPress has revolutionized the internet and provided easy-to-use access to millions of users with limited development capabilities. While it is perhaps one of the most useful tools out there, it is also one of the most vulnerable. WordPress works with a coding language called PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor which allows for scripts to be integrated into the site’s pages and executed on the server to generate HTML content. This means the code is more concise and easier for developers to work with, and allows for that neat Dashboard Control Panel on which you can control every aspect of your site content. There are so many pros to this type of site software, and one really big caveat: if your developer can manipulate the PHP to generate a beautiful site for you, a hacker can manipulate the PHP to redirect or even destroy your site.
