4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Ignore Your Website’s Page Speed

Have you ever landed on a website that seemed to take forever to load?

Didn’t you want to slam your head against your computer screen in frustration?

Have you ever considered that maybe your site is that site and that your web visitors are thinking the exact same thing?

You don’t want to be that site, the one that’s so slow to load that people abandon it before they can take action.

You want to deliver a user-friendly experience that leaves people feeling great about working with you—and page speed factors into that.

Not convinced that you need to speed up your site? Consider these reasons why you should start paying attention to it.

1. It affects your bounce rates

We all love taking a look at our bounce rates because they tell us if our site is working for our audience or not. High bounce rates mean more people are leaving your site quicker while low bounce rates mean you’re doing something right - people are sticking around, giving them more chances to buy from you.

But bounce rates aren’t all about the offer or your site’s design. People are more likely to abandon a slow-loading site, so even if the content on the page is out-of-this-world, smack-you-in-the-face fantastic, it still needs to load fast enough to satisfy visitors.

The stats don’t lie. Just a one-second decrease in load time could mean 11 percent fewer page views.

Furthermore, 25 percent of consumers abandon a site if the page doesn’t load within four seconds, and 46 percent of users will never return to poor performing websites.

Even if they get past the first page, the slow speeds can annoy users to no end. Of the 70 percent of online shopping carts that are abandoned annually, 46 percent of shoppers cite slow site speeds as a reason. That results in $3 billion in revenue lost each year, reports Hubspot.

2. It’s a Google ranking factor

In 2010, Google announced that site speed would be used as a ranking factor. While it’s not as strong a factor as relevancy, it still matters, and it may just give you that little extra push to put you ahead of your competition on search result pages.

In addition to using page speed as a ranking factor, slow pages affect how fast Google can index your site. That means it may index fewer pages overall, which will affect your rankings.

So if you want Google to send more traffic your way, you’ll want to look toward speeding up your site.

3. It impacts your conversion rates

Because people will abandon slow loading sites, conversions and profits will be lower the slower your site loads. Plus, faster sites tend to show up higher on Google rankings, which means the search engine will bring more traffic your way.

For every one second delay in page speed, you could see 7 percent fewer conversions and a 16 percent decrease in customer satisfaction.

Let’s take some examples of how faster pages mean better results:

• When Amazon decreased their page speed by 1 second, it resulted in a 2 percent increase in conversions, which means more profit!
• Mozilla saw the benefits, too. When they decreased their page speed by 2.2 seconds, they saw 60 million more Firefox downloads per year.
• Shopzilla managed to decrease their page speed by 3 seconds. That resulted in 25 percent more page views and 7 to 12 percent increase in revenue. Plus, they needed 50 percent less hardware to run the site!

The evidence is clear. If you want to see higher conversion rates and profits, you should start by speeding up your website.

4. It’s an indication of the quality of your web host

There are a lot of reasons why your website might be slow. If you’ve tried everything you can by combining stylesheets, compressing images, deleting unneeded plugins, etc. and you still can’t pinpoint the problem, the culprit may be your web host.

That’s because your user’s request has to connect with the server in which your website is hosted, but not all servers are created equal. For instance, shared web hosting typically means slower websites because there are multiple sites on one server using up the same resources.

The problem is that if your site is slow due to your web host, it’s an indication that other aspects of your host may not be top-notch either, such as storage space available, tech support, and other features.

While it may be of no consequence right now, you’ll start to notice the other lacking elements as your site grows and you choose to expand your features.

If your web host is the culprit, consider switching web hosts before your site grows to the point where you’re desperate for a better option. Research web hosts before you switch. Once you do, you should notice faster web speeds.

Bluehost is an example of a trusted web host with a good speed record.

What is a good page speed?

In general, you’ll want to keep your page speed below 3 seconds. 2 seconds is even better.

Ideally, your website should load in under 1 second.

3 to 7 seconds is pretty average, but you’ll also lose conversions and revenue if you leave it as-is. Anything higher than 10 and you know that something is wrong with your site! You’ll want to diagnose the problem and fix it as soon as possible.

Start by testing your page speed at Pingdom to see where you’re at. Then, you can help your page speed along by minimizing http requests, optimizing images, choosing a better hosting package, and reducing the amount of plugins you use on your site among other tactics. Consult with a web developer if you need help diagnosing your problem and fixing it.

While many site owners are focusing on web design and copywriting, too many are forgetting about the important factor of pace speed. Don’t ruin your users’ experience with a slow loading site!

How fast does your site load, and how will you improve your page speed?

Guest Author: Robert Mening is a web developer and designer from Sweden who helps people to build websites on http://websitesetup.org. He loves to chat about WordPress and marketing, you can get in touch with him via Twitter -http://twitter.com/robmening

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post

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Content Marketing Outsourcing: The Agency Vs Freelancer Question

Richard Branson once said: “Everything in your business can be outsourced, if you’re not emotionally attached to doing it.”

Indeed, any project type can be outsourced, including content creation and distribution.

CMO.com cites 10 reasons when outsourcing your marketing is a better choice than doing it yourself.

Here are five of them:

1. You don’t have the time or expertise.
2. You don’t have the technology.
3. You want to lower your marketing costs.
4. You’re on a rapid growth trajectory.
5. You’ve just expanded your business to operate in another customer channel or geography.

As your business grows and your content marketing needs become too much to tackle in-house, consider outsourcing.

Freelancer vs. content marketing agency

One question foremost on businesses’ minds when deciding to take the outsourcing route for their content marketing is:

Should I hire a freelancer or an agency?

This article will explore the advantages and disadvantages of hiring freelancers over agencies, and vice versa, so you can hopefully arrive at the best possible decision when confronted with the same dilemma.

Option 1: The freelancer

Freelancers can come in handy for any project type – writing, administrative assistance, design, data entry, or transcription services.

And with job sites like Freelancer, Upwork, and Craigslist carrying a diverse and massive pool of freelancers from all over the world, depending on your objectives and the amount you’re willing to pay to achieve them, there’s a freelancer that’s just right for you.

Advantages

1. Skill

You can hire freelancers for a specific skill set your full-time employees don’t possess. That said, you can hire as many freelancers with certain skill sets (e.g. subject matter experts, writers, editors, designers, video creators, community managers, and social media professionals) as you need.

If you already have a roster of freelancers to tap into, you can award projects to those whom you think are best qualified for the job.

2. Flexibility

When business is on the upside, keeping full-time staff to perform needed tasks and other activities is an advantage. It’s a different story, however, when the amount of work fluctuates.

Freelancers, on the other hand, can be hired per project or for a limited time. If you no longer need their services, you’re not obliged to keep them. You can always rehire them when business booms again.

 3. Lower costs

Freelancers have less overhead expenses compared to their agency counterparts, which explains why they normally charge less than the latter.

 Disadvantages

 Limited availability

There’s a saying among those seeking lifelong partners that goes, “All the good ones are probably already taken.”

This also applies to freelancers, who are known to juggle multiple projects and multiple clients.

There are good, dependable freelancers, and there are also those to avoid like the plague. Good freelancers take it upon themselves to regularly update you of their progress, while others can disappear into thin air when it suits them, without any way for you to contact them.

 A procedure that’s not entirely off your hands

Creating an organized, committed, and cohesive team of freelancers from different parts of the world, from different time zones is no easy feat. Face-to-face relationships with fellow workers are a necessary ingredient for successful teamwork.

This being the case, you must have the right tools and strategies in place for your team to effectively bond, collaborate, and communicate.

Also, if you hire multiple freelancers, you will have to take on the role of project manager to ensure everyone is on the same page.

 Time-consuming selection process

Choosing the most qualified freelancers involves time and attention. You will have to look through their work portfolios, ask for samples, and even check with their previous clients if they can be relied upon. As freelancers come and go, the vetting process will have to be done repeatedly.

Also, freelancers may be limited in terms of the things they can do and are willing to do. Often, the good ones are experts in their fields and possibly won’t take on projects that are beyond their field of specialization.

 Where to find freelancers

 Social media

LinkedIn is a good place to start when looking for freelancers. You may also post job openings to your Facebook or Google+ business pages.

If you have an email list, inform your subscribers of the opening, requesting them to also send your email to people they think are qualified, particularly if they themselves aren’t in the market.

 Job boards

There’s Craigslist, Upwork, and Freelancer, and they’re worth looking into if your content marketing budget isn’t much. Then again, like most marketers have already realized, you get what you pay for.

You can also look into advertising at Inbound.org, Smashing Magazine, and Problogger.

On blogs/online publications

Freelance content writers and marketers use guest blogging or run their own blogs to showcase their expertise and market their services. Take time to scour relevant blogs for skilled freelancers.

 Option 2: The agency

Freelancers, in general, work alone. Agencies, on the other hand, are composed of a group of people who are experts at certain fields. They can even be a team of skilled freelancers working together.

Agencies can range from three-member teams to full-service marketing agencies handling hundreds of content marketing projects simultaneously.

Advantages

Dependability

Content marketing involves a wide range of skills. The Content Marketing Team Matrix by Chris Lake, DueDil’s VP of Inbound Marketing, presents 16 roles and their required skills. Most people possess two or more of the said skills, but those who possess all of them are a rare gem.

Agencies, generally, are a one-stop shop. And they already have the necessary communication and collaboration tools in place, all you need is to lay down your objectives and expectations, and then measure their output against your ROI benchmarks.

Expertise

Besides being made up of a team of experts, agencies use specialized marketing tools and strategies to grow your digital presence on various channels. The tools at their disposal can include integrated reporting software, social media analytics tools, SEO software, even subscriptions to stock image sites.

Agencies also have structured processes and can easily scale.

Time savings

Because agencies are made up of multiple people with varying expertise, with a project manager to monitor each member’s progress, you don’t need to find and select the right people to create your own team.

Disadvantages

Higher costs

Compared to keeping an in-house content marketing team or organizing a team of expert freelancers, agency services generally cost more. In his article on Quick Sprout, Neil Patel says:

 “Typically, you’ll need to be spending at least a few thousand before an agency will take you on as a client.”

A process that’s completely off your hands

Delegating content marketing – and most other business processes, for that matter – to outside providers is an entrepreneur’s dream. However, there’s always the chance that an agency’s output, particularly if they’re not as familiar with your business and industry as you are, won’t hit the right note with your more savvy prospects and customers.

Hiring content marketing agencies specializing in your field is the safer bet.

Time invested on your projects may not be adequate

While this is in no way a generalization, agencies working on several projects at the same time may not afford you the dedication you expect of them, particularly if you’re not a “big fish”. Also, once your contract expires, you don’t get to keep their services until you renew your contract with them.

Conclusion

Gartner predicts that by 2020, 85% of all customer-brand relationships will be made without human interaction, which further reinforces the increasing value of content marketing.

If you’re not equipped with either the expertise or resources to tackle content marketing in-house, know that your budget, objectives, and the effort you’re willing to put in are essential to figuring out if it’s a freelancer or an agency you need to hire.

As to the lingering question of whether an agency is better than a freelancer, all I can say is this: I know of companies who have expressed disappointment over agency performance while lauding the efforts of independent freelancers.

Guest Author: Mariame Bakkouri is in charge of content marketing and public relations at Cloudswave. She loves writing about entrepreneurship and marketing. Follow Mariame on Twitter and LinkedIn.  

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9 Of The Best Places To Leverage Mobile Video Advertising

With the world having more than two billion smartphone subscribers, it is no wonder that mobile video ads are also rapidly growing. According to data from eMarketer, mobile video ad spending in the United States jumped from $720 million in 2013 to $1.5 billion in 2014 – doubling in value in just a year.

But the growth does not stop there: By 2018, mobile video ad spending is set to quadruple to a whopping $6 billion.

Mobile video is booming because it works. In fact, Millennial Media found that mobile video ads were five times more engaging than traditional standard banners. What this means is that every mobile marketer should at least explore video advertising. This article could be a good place to start.

Mobile video advertising on social media

Mobile and social are a match made in heaven. Everyone seems to be on Facebook, Twitter, or some other kind of social media network these days – especially when they are using their mobile devices, as the following pie chart shows:

When it comes to advertising, a study conducted by Opera MediaWorks and comScore revealed that viewing mobile video ads on native environments (where ads look like the regular content in terms of content, format and style – like on social) improves performance metrics such as mobile ad recall, purchase intent, and favorability. This explains why many social platforms are upping their video ad offerings lately.

The following networks dominate the scene.

Here’s what they have to offer:

1.  Facebook

Mobile advertising accounted for around 76 percent of Facebook’s revenue during the second quarter of 2015. Facebook has already run successful brand campaigns for companies like Under Armour and Procter & Gamble.

When running a mobile video campaign on Facebook, you can choose between Facebook’s Standard Video Ads, which are targeted the same way as regular Facebook ads, and Premium Video Ads, which allow advertisers to drive branding objectives while reaching a large audience – in the hope of unlocking big advertiser spend from top brands.

Premium video starts playing without sound but when tapped, it expands into a full-screen view and sound will start. These ads are bought like spots on television as they are based on TRPs (Targeted Gross Rating Points) to reach a specific audience over a short period of time.

You can target people based on location, demographics, interests, behaviors, and connections. Just recently, Facebook announced its support of the auto-play video ad format, as well as multi-image carousel ads and dynamic product ads. Videos can go as long as 45 minutes.

Facebook follows a flexible payment scheme that suits your daily budget, starting at a minimum of $5 per day. Ultimately, average CPI (cost per install) figures vary greatly depending on gender, age, interests, OS, and country.

2. YouTube

YouTube is the undisputed king of video content, so it makes a lot of sense to advertise on the platform. It boasts one billion unique users per month on mobile, with the average YouTube viewing session lasting a stunning 40 minutes. Viewers are targeted using the same AdWords Interface being used by Google.

YouTube has several ad formats, which include Mobile Roadblock, InStream Video Ads, and Brand Channel. Roadblocks allow you to see how many people viewed your ad on YouTube mobile for one day. InStream ads run when users play a video from a premium inventory partner on the Android YouTube app. Brand Channels are great in promoting brand engagement for both Android and iOS users. Video ad formats include skippable and non-skippable video ads.

Videos can run up to 45 minutes and performance can be measured using a built-in YouTube Analytics system. It has an average cost-per-view ranging from 10 to 30 cents.

3. Twitter

Since Twitter has always been a mobile-first platform, ad revenues from mobile advertising climbed as much as 88 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014. With a total of 700 million monthly users, the company can target users based on geography, gender, language, keyword, interest and username. You can also modify targeting settings according to mobile plan carrier, OS, and users on WiFi.

Brands can upload and distribute their own video ads by using Twitter’s Promoted Video, which appear in a user’s Twitter timeline. Some video clips appear as pre-roll or mid-roll ads. They can also auto-play.  In July, the social network allowed advertisers to drive app installs directly from promoted videos.

When it comes to cost, Twitter uses a cost-per-view buying model, which means you will only get charged when a user plays your video.

4. Instagram

Instagram enjoyed huge success when it introduced its video program in mid-2013, and it is expected to pull in $2 billion in mobile ad revenue next year, thanks to its 200 million monthly users. It makes use of native video ads that pretty much look the same as user-posted videos, which can now be viewed as landscape for a more cinematic feel.

The only difference is that it contains a “Sponsored” tag on the upper right corner. With a new video length of 30 seconds, you can adjust targeting according to various demographics like age, country, and gender.

One of the brands that first used Instagram’s video ads is Fox, which used the Marquee ad type to promote its newest horror series, “Scream Queens.” Marquee pushes the promos in front of a large number of users, helping advertisers reach a huge number of users quickly.

Mobile video ads in Instagram are not yet widely available, though the platform is currently working towards an ads API and tying up with Facebook’s ad buying interfaces. Marketers who have already tried the video advertising program say that they’re paying as little as 2 to 3 cents per view.

Mobile Analytics for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube campaigns

There are only two ways to measure your mobile video campaigns – whether app install or re-engagement – on the above social networks: you can either go in-house as all offer built-in analytics tools, or work with official mobile measurement partners that are used mainly to get deeper attribution and marketing analytics, and to compare all marketing channels, ad networks and campaigns in a central dashboard.

5. Snapchat

Boasting over 100 million monthly active users – the vast majority of whom are millennials – Snapchat uses the “disappearing model,” in which photos and videos uploaded by users vanish within a set limit of time.

Snapchat video ads appear in a user’s friends list under the Recent Updates section. Just like a normal Snapchat message, users need to tap the ad to play the video in full. This unique method of holding to play can help you know exactly at which point a user stops watching the ad.

Another way to run a video ad on Snapchat is through Discover, its news section. Ads automatically play as the user swipes to view the next piece of Discover content, although they can easily be swiped away if the user doesn’t want to watch the ad.

At present, targeting is limited to country, age and gender. It has a standard price of two cents for a 10-second video, but premium ads can run longer.

6. Pinterest

Instead of videos, photo sharing platform Pinterest uses Cinematic Pins, which are GIF-like animations that play backwards and forwards every time the user scrolls up and down. These are around 30 to 50 frames long – short enough to be played before the user scrolls past the ad.

At present, Cinematic Pins are not yet fully available for advertisers, although it is currently testing with select ad partners. It will be releasing a pricing model that allows marketers to pay for Promoted Pins based on engagement. Pinterest also has its own analytics platform, but it has not yet been upgraded for Cinematic Pins.

Mobile video advertising on mobile ad networks

In order to maximize reach and diversify your advertising efforts, you should always try to find a mix of social and “standard” mobile ad networks to work with. There are many networks out there that include video ads in their offering.

Here a few leading ones:

7. Vungle

Dubbed as “the leader of in-app video advertising,” Vungle is the top choice for web developers like Zeptolab and Mobjo. It uses programmatic advertising technology that automates buying, placement, and optimization of media inventory.

Vungle Premium is the company’s latest offering when it comes to mobile video ads. It has two main features: Vungle Score, which acts as a quality indicator that allows you to identify popular apps for advertising opportunities; and Vungle Billboard, which helps you find desired target audiences.

8. AdColony

Owned by mobile ad company Opera, AdColony is a leading mobile video advertising and monetization platform. According to the company, its instant-play video ad technology means that unlike other networks, there’s virtually no load time regardless of connection strength or device type.

9. AppLovin

With video making up about 35 percent of its business, the ad network is embracing data and real time programmatic advertising. The company claims that its algorithm allows for better targeting, increased conversion and reaching about 70 percent of your customers within just a week.

To sum up, mobile video advertising is red hot. It’s where a lot of marketing attention is going to these days, with more and more news about its effectiveness – particularly on mobile – coming out. To remain competitive in a hyper-competitive environment, it appears video is a must-have weapon in today’s app marketer arsenal.

Guest Author: Shani Rosenfelder is a senior marketing manager at AppsFlyer. He has over 10 years of experience in key content and marketing roles across a variety of leading online companies and startups. Combining creativity, analytical prowess and a strategic mindset, Shani is passionate about building a brand’s reputation and visibility through innovative, content-driven projects.

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6 Top Ways to Make Money Blogging in 2016

Blogging monetization and optimization has been a hot topic for a few years now, but with the ever-changing nature of the web, new ways for achieving that goal tend to pop up every day. To make things a bit easier (and much more effective), I gathered the ultimate monetization tools for 2016 – so you won’t get caught off guard!

1. Build a direct relationship with brands

There’s nothing like getting up-close and personal. Building direct relationships with brands can increase your blog’s value, authenticity and credibility, and eventually become a steady income source.

When it comes to cooperating with brands, you can start by offering to publish sponsored content – either sponsored reviews or paid posts – many companies are searching to create a good buzz about them, and are willing to pay for that extra push.

You can also become a brand ambassador – turn yourself into the “face” of the company, promote it and endorse it.

Hot Tip: Need help connecting with brands? Check out Blog meets brand, Ambassador and Brand Backer.

2. Try non-traditional ad solutions

Banner ads are the most straight-forward way to monetize your content. There are many traditional banner ad solutions, the largest one being Google AdSense, naturally. If you want to take things to the next level, you should try non-traditional smart ad solutions.

Hot Tip: Infolinks has a great suit of products that can help you really increase the revenue from your content.

3. Offer a service

One of the most effective ways to make more money from your blog is by offering your readers a service or a product.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be something obvious like T-shirts or “best dad ever” mugs – you can offer coaching services, counseling services and webinars. If you have a certain expertise, people might pay good many for your time and advice. You can offer one-on-one skype talks, on-demand video or live stream webinars.

Another effective option is offering premium membership-based content.

Hot Tip: Want to stream your knowledge to people? Try services like telestream or TechSmith.

4. Build an email list

A solid email list can take you and your business a long way – email marketing is a wonderful way to spread your content, generate leads and attract quality traffic to your blog or site.

Besides sending timely newsletters, you should create great email content, something you can be proud of. After you’ve got the content down, there are a few tips to building a larger email list:

Offer a freebie to attract new readers: people love gifts – I can’t help it. Offering a free product or service can help your email become more popular and attract new audiences.

Add a “join our newsletter” box to your blog: People that are already visiting your site would more likely sign up to your newsletter. Check out this WordPress plugin that might help.

Mass email tools: Let them do the dirty work for you. You can try Mailchimp, Send Blaster or SandGrid.

Hot Tip: Encourage readers to share your mailing list by using a customized call to action button, over at Da Button Factory.

5. Affiliate programs

Affiliate marketing has been going strong for a few years now, and it seems as though it’s just getting bigger and better. Basically, affiliate or referral programs are based on a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” principal – you can either sell someone else’s product or service, or refer traffic to that certain product or service. You can spread the word by writing posts about it, mentioning it on your social media platforms, adding a banner to your site with the information etc.

Hot Tip: Searching for the perfect program for you? Check out the Infolinks referral program or Amazon’s program.

6. Write a quality e-book

Quality content is a must, especially if you wish to become an expert on a certain subject and to create a stable and ever-growing community. If sharing your knowledge and celebrating your experience is one of the reasons you became a publisher – writing an e-book is just for you. A PDF e-book can either help you generate great leads – by asking readers for their email addresses in exchange for the file – or create actual revenue, by putting it up for sale.

There are a few things you should do before sitting down to write an e-book:

Think about your audience: Who’s going to read your e-book? What are their interests? How informed are they about your chosen topic? Once you figure out who your audience is, you can channel your efforts in the right direction.

Write what you know: Let’s be honest – people can independently look up just about anything these days, but there’s a huge advantage to nicely presented information, written by someone who knows what they’re doing. So write about the things you know and love, it will help your credibility and will probably be a lot more fun to do.

Promote it like crazy: Writing an e-book is not an easy task, so make sure you spread it all over the place. Send it as the main content piece in a newsletter, write a blog post about it, share it on your social media channels and add a downloadable link to relevant conversations online.

Hot Tip: Check out these two free e-book creation tools: iBook author for mac and iPad and Pressbook

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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