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PPC Optimization: Optimizing Smart Campaigns

You can optimize Google's Smart Campaigns with the proper setup and maintenance. Start with a limited number of text ads and product or service categories and prune undesired search phrases as necessary. more »

By website optimization on 29 Sep 2019 PM |

PPC Optimization: Dayparting Display Ads

Dayparting your PPC ads can make your campaigns more efficient. Learn how to schedule your display campaigns for the times when people are most likely to convert. more »

By website optimization on 6 Mar 2019 PM |

Third Party Services Slow Website Performance

The use of third party services is growing at a rate of nearly 42% per year. The reliance of third party services is increasing load times and performance variability across the Web. more »

By website optimization on 1 Feb 2019 PM |

The Tracker Tax: How Third Party Trackers Impact Website Speed in the United States

The use of tracking software has a significant compounding effect on website performance. In a recent tracking study, the page speed of the average top 500 website was greater than 2 times faster when trackers were blocked. Reducing the number of trackers on your website can give a significant boost to web page speed. more »

By website optimization on 19 Dec 2018 PM |

PPC Optimization: Localize Ad Text

Localizing ad text can boost CTR significantly. Adding some local geography to our text ads boosted CTR by over 90%. more »

By website optimization on 7 Dec 2018 AM |

Banner Ad Study: The Female Gaze

This eye tracking study found that females pay more attention to banner ads with discounts and models. more »

By website optimization on 19 Nov 2018 PM |

PPC Optimization: Excluding ZIP Codes by Income

Excluding lower income ZIP codes is a more precise way than Google's household income method. This article shows how to exclude lower income ZIP codes within your target geography in Google Ads. more »

By website optimization on 25 Oct 2018 AM |

Effectiveness of Search Engine Marketing Channels

Digital ads will make up 50% of all ad spending by the end of 2018. This article summarizes an empirical study that ranked digital advertising channels by their effectiveness on sales. Natural SEO and PPC came in first and second for sales effectiveness. more »

By website optimization on 1 Oct 2018 AM |

PPC Optimization: Avoid Over Optimization

Turns out you can go too far in PPC cost optimization. Learn how to avoid the dreaded "limited" campaign status in Google Adwords. more »

By website optimization on 12 Aug 2018 PM |

PPC Optimization: Enhanced CPC & Maximize Clicks

In this case study we tested a low-ball ECPC Max Clicks bid strategy against Target CPA. The low-ball strategy reduced the cost per conversion by more than 35%. more »

By website optimization on 14 Jun 2018 PM |

Optimizing PPC Campaigns with Experiments

Learn how to use PPC experiments to optimize the performance of your Adwords campaigns. In this dental case study we lowered our cost per conversion by 15% and improved our overall conversion rate by 7 percentage points, squeezing more leads our of our budget.

By website optimization on 31 May 2018 PM |

Optimizing PPC Callout Extensions

Optimizing ad callouts can improve PPC ad text performance. Learn best practices to writing and optimizing high performing callout extensions. more »

By website optimization on 15 Apr 2018 PM |

Case Study: Teachthought.com Dedicated Server Upgrade

In this case study, moving from a shared to dedicated server improved TTFB by 75% and repeat view load times by 70%. more »

By website optimization on 18 Jul 2017 PM |

Empirical Study of Web Site Speed on Search Engine Rankings

This article summarizes the results of a study on load time factors in Google search engine rankings. The empirical study found that website crawl time and its variability strongly correlates with search engine position. more »

By website optimization on 24 Feb 2015 PM |

Healthcare.gov One Year Performance Review

After one year of improvements, how fast is the healthcare.gov website? While the site is more available, response times have slowed down by 62% to 78% over the past year. We offer some triaged recommendations to improve the speed of healthcare.gov. more »

By website optimization on 19 Nov 2014 PM |

Case Study: PhiladelphiaOrthodontists.com Mobile Responsive Redesign

What happens when you convert a site to be mobile responsive? Mobile traffic increased by 24% and mobile browsers stayed 80% longer after a responsive redesign. more »

By website optimization on 13 Nov 2014 PM |

Case Study: Walkerworldtrade.com Server Upgrade

Moving to a faster server can cut page load times by more than half, and improve behavior metrics like conversion and exit rates. We use Google Analytics to test Walkerworldtrade.com before and after a server upgrade. more »

By website optimization on 30 Oct 2014 PM |

Form Conversion Rate Optimization

Learn how a combination of form optimization and speed improved conversion rates by more than 92%, more »

By website optimization on 23 Oct 2014 PM |

Upgrade to a Faster Server: Results

We further explore the results of upgrading to a faster server. Overall the site showed improved response speed and website "stickiness." Average page load times improved by 48% to 60% server response times improved by more than 60%, and people stayed longer, viewed more pages, and bounced less. more »

By website optimization on 30 Sep 2014 AM |

Upgrade to a Faster Server

Upgrading to a faster server can improve web page speed significantly, up to 66% faster for first paint time and 29% for load times. We moved an example site to a faster server to test the performance improvements. more »

By website optimization on 25 Aug 2014 PM |

Website Speed and SEO

Having a consistently "responsive" site will ensure that your site will be crawled and fully indexed, and will not suffer slow-loading ranking penalties. Optimizing the TTFB of your site is a good place to start to minimize the effects of speed on your SEO rankings more »

By website optimization on 31 Jul 2014 PM |

Average Web Page Breaks 1600K

The size of the average web page passed 1600K for the first time in July. Page size appears to inversely correlate with site traffic. more »

By website optimization on 18 Jul 2014 PM | | Comments (7)

Wordpress Performance Optimization

Learn how to speed optimize Wordpress for faster web pages and ultimately better conversions and rankings. Optimized hosting, performance plugins and modules, profilers, and other tools and software can help you pinpoint performance bottlenecks and speed up your site. more »

By website optimization on 16 Jun 2014 AM |

Avoid Mass Web Hosting

We investigate moving an example site from a slow mass host to a lightly loaded host and measure the results. Server response times were reduced by 82.1% and variability by about 7 fold. more »

By website optimization on 22 Jan 2014 PM |

Speedy Mobile Sites Impact Google Search Rankings

Google is now factoring in mobile friendliness and mobile website speed into their search engine rankings. more »

By website optimization on 26 Nov 2013 AM |

Use a Website Accelerator

Automated website acceleration products can speed up your site without developer intervention. We test the effectiveness of Radware's Fastview appliance on a test site and find significant improvements in speed. more »

By website optimization on 20 Nov 2013 PM |

Velocity 2013 New York City Highlights

The first Velocity Web Performance conference held in New York City was chock full of interesting talks and hands-on workshops. We've got highlights. more »

By website optimization on 23 Oct 2013 AM |

Healthcare.gov Performance Review

This article evaluates the website performance issues of the healthcare.gov site, and offers some solutions to improve speed. A brief analysis shows a number of issues that could be addressed to improve the user experience. more »

By website optimization on 2 Oct 2013 PM |

Optimize Start Render Time

HCI guidelines say load useful content within 1-2 seconds, do your pages measure up? Learn how to optimize the start render time of your web pages to speed up useful content display. more »

By website optimization on 26 Jun 2013 PM |

Flush HTML Early and Often

Developers can speed up start render times by flushing a portion of their HTML document to the client even before the entire HTML file is ready. Both Yahoo! Search and Google use this performance technique. more »

By website optimization on 20 May 2013 AM |

Average Web Video Duration 5.4 Minutes

The average web video has grown by 20% in the last 2 years. more »

By website optimization on 30 Jan 2013 PM |

Localize External Resources

Even popular offsite widgets can slow down or hang your web pages. Learn how to localize offsite resources to improve web page performance. more »

By website optimization on 26 Nov 2012 PM |

Average Number of Web Page Objects Breaks 100

The size and complexity of web pages has increased at an alarming rate. Despite increases in bandwidth, the load times of web pages has increased by 48% over the past two years. Reducing HTTP requests has become a critical skill in speeding up page load times. more »

By website optimization on 14 Nov 2012 PM |

Splitting PDF Files

Many email programs and gateways have size limits on attachments. Learn how to split larger PDF files into smaller ones using PDF tools. more »

By website optimization on 9 Jun 2012 PM |

Blocking JavaScript with Web Page Test

Learn how to simulate the elimination of JavaScript with Web Page Test. By eliminating, deferring or converting your JavaScript behavior into CSS you can speed up your page rendering and load times. more »

By website optimization on 28 Apr 2012 PM |

Blocking CSS with Web Page Test to Simulate Elimination of CSS

Learn how to simulate the elimination of CSS with Web Page Test. By eliminating, combining, and recoding your style sheets using modular or object oriented CSS you can speed up your page rendering and load times. more »

By website optimization on 29 Mar 2012 PM |

Diagnosing Slow Web Servers with Time to First Byte

Slow web servers can be caused by a number of factors. You can test for slow server response times with the time time to first byte metric. more »

By website optimization on 10 Dec 2011 PM |

JPEGmini: More Efficient Image Compression

JPEGmini is JPEG optimization software that reduces the size of photographs by up to 5 or 6 times, while maintaining their visual quality. WSO tests the free service and interviews the CTO of ICTV. more »

By website optimization on 29 Aug 2011 PM |

Velocity 2011 Web Performance Conference

Highlights from the 2011 installment of O'Reilly's Velocity web performance conference, held in Santa Clara, CA in June. The author sums up the tools and tips from the conference as well as a book signing. more »

By website optimization on 28 Jun 2011 PM |

Page Speed Online

The online version of Google's Page Speed browser extension features a new mobile web page analysis mode. more »

By website optimization on 30 Apr 2011 PM |

Serving 2012 Olympic Tickets: London2012 15, CoSport 0

The race is on to get tickets to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. Are the web sites handing the traffic as fast as the athletes they promote? more »

By website optimization on 18 Mar 2011 PM |

Speed Optimizing Google Analytics

Learn how to speed up web pages that use Google Analytics with a few simple changes, while maintaining its advantages for faster-loading sites. more »

By website optimization on 13 Feb 2011 PM |

ETags Revisited

Learn how to configure or eliminate ETags to improve website performance. more »

By website optimization on 31 Jan 2011 PM |

Automatically Speed Up Your Site with mod_pagespeed for Apache

mod_pagespeed is an open-source Apache module that automatically speeds up web sites. Through a number of filters, mod_pagespeed trims the fat off your HTML, CSS, JavaScript and images, reduces HTTP requests, and improves caching. In this article we introduce mod_pagespeed and summarize the available filters. more »

By website optimization on 12 Nov 2010 AM |

What to Expect from a Web Performance Audit

Google's new search rank measure, site speed, is one more reason to make sure your pages fly. For faster websites and higher rankings, many companies turn to a performance analysis. Find out what to look for in a web performance audit. more »

By website optimization on 30 Sep 2010 AM |

Andrew King Interviewed by Joshua Bixby of Strangeloop Networks

Joshua Bixby interviewed Andrew King about the web performance industry. Learn what to look for in a performance consultant and what to expect in an audit. more »

By website optimization on 29 Aug 2010 AM |

Velocity 2010 Web Performance Conference

Highlights from the Velocity 2010 conference on web performance. This sold-out event explored the latest technique for fast websites, and is a must-see for performance engineers. more »

By website optimization on 29 Jun 2010 AM |

Page Speed Factored into Google Search Rankings

Google's addition of a page speed signal to its search rankings algorithm officially links performance with search engine marketing. The loading speed of a web page affects user psychology in a number of ways, and now it can affect its rankings as well. more »

By website optimization on 11 Apr 2010 PM | | Comments (1)

PNG24 and PNG Optimization

Which program is the alpha transparency dog of PNG optimization? We put the front runners of the photo optimization pack through their paces. more »

By website optimization on 31 Mar 2010 AM | | Comments (2)

Anatomy of a Redesign

A behind the screens look at a recent redesign of WebsiteOptimization.com. Includes CSS sprites, Movable Type integration, and a three-dimensional look. more »

By website optimization on 23 Jan 2010 AM |

Memory Markers and the Subjective Duration of Experience

New research shows that Web developers need to balance the need to create rich, immersive experiences with tolerable download times and scant distractions. more »

By website optimization on 13 Oct 2009 AM | | Comments (1)

Web Page Performance Thesis

A Ph.D. thesis on web page performance quantifies the key factors in web page response times. Uses software to measure, model, and monitor response times and improve user satisfaction. more »

By website optimization on 31 Jul 2009 PM | | Comments (2)

Usability Study: Men Need Speed

In a recent usability survey, researchers from Southern Illinois University found that after ease of use, men prefer fast download speed to easy navigation. Women prefer ease of use, easy navigation, and accessibility. The researchers hypothesize that these different usability criteria are due to differences in how men and women use the Web. more »

By website optimization on 28 Apr 2009 AM | | Comments (11)

Study: Web Users Prefer Speed Over Customization

The most important interface design factor is speed, according to a new HCI study. Good interface design is essential for widespread user adoption and ultimately website success. more »

By website optimization on 31 Mar 2009 AM | | Comments (1)

Offload Resource Intensive Scripts to Improve Server Performance

This article shows how offloading resource intensive scripts can significantly improve web server performance. By offloading the Web Page Analyzer script to a separate server, we improved response times by over 98%, improved throughput by a factor of 40, and significantly reduced response time variability. more »

By website optimization on 31 Jan 2009 PM |

Average Top 100 Weblog Performance Survey

We compare the home page performance of the top 100 weblogs with the top 1000 websites. Updating a top 100 weblog survey, we find a correlation between popularity and page size. more »

By website optimization on 29 Dec 2008 AM |

Evolution of the Web from 2000 to 2007

In a comparative survey of data traces from 2000 and 2007, University of Twente researchers found that the nature of the Web has changed from a static one-way medium to a dynamic platform for interactive services such as photo and video sharing portals. more »

By website optimization on 30 Nov 2008 PM |

O'Reilly Books on Web Performance

We sum up the available books on web performance from O'Reilly. more »

By website optimization on 20 Oct 2008 PM | | Comments (1)

Solid-State Drive Web Server Test

We test a new server with solid-state drives and faster processors. Upgrading our dedicated server improved performance by 35% to 50%. more »

By website optimization on 17 Oct 2008 AM |

Optimize Drop Shadows

Learn how to create optimized drop-shadows in Photoshop to minimize the size of web graphics. more »

By website optimization on 18 Aug 2008 AM |

The Psychology of Web Performance

Users experience psychological and physiological effects when interacting with web pages, experiencing frustration when not completing tasks and engagement at faster web sites. Learn how web page response times affect user psychology and behavior. more »

By website optimization on 30 May 2008 AM |

Inline Images with Data URLs

Learn how to embed images into your web pages with data URLs. The data: URI scheme includes images directly into your XHTML pages using code instead of external files, saving valuable HTTP requests. more »

By website optimization on 28 Feb 2008 AM | | Comments (11)

The Cost of Banner Advertising on Web Performance

The cost of banner ads for the average website is about one-sixth more objects and one-third more latency. Learn how online advertising affects web page response times, user behavior, and satisfaction. more »

By website optimization on 31 Jan 2008 PM |

Optimize Parallel Downloads to Minimize Object Overhead

With the average web page growing past 50 external objects, object overhead now dominates most web page delays. Increasing parallel downloads by using multiple hostnames can realize up to a 40% improvement in web page latency. more »

By website optimization on 26 Dec 2007 AM | | Comments (10)

Use Delta Encoding to Compress RSS newsfeeds

Learn how to use delta encoding to compress your RSS XML newsfeeds. Save bandwidth by using delta compression for your RSS files. more »

By website optimization on 30 Nov 2007 PM |

Suture CSS or JavaScript Files to Reduce HTTP Requests

Learn how to "suture" CSS or JavaScript files together before delivery from the server to save HTTP requests. You'll have your organization and eat it too with this server-side approach to merging files. more »

By website optimization on 31 Oct 2007 PM | | Comments (3)

CSS Sprites: How Yahoo.com and AOL.com Improve Web Performance

Learn how AOL and Yahoo! use CSS sprites to improve performance for their busy home pages. CSS sprites save HTTP requests by using CSS positioning to selectively display composite background images. To maximize accessibility and usability, CSS sprites are best used for icons or decorative effects. more »

By website optimization on 26 Sep 2007 AM | | Comments (11)

Mono-Image CSS Rollovers

Learn how to create menu rollovers with different graphic backgrounds with one image. Save HTTP requests by combining on and off images into one mini-sprite and position with CSS. more »

By website optimization on 31 Aug 2007 PM | | Comments (5)

Minimize Noise to Maximize Graphic and Video Compression

Noise is the enemy of efficient multimedia optimization. Learn how to minimize the noise in your images and videos to maximize compression. more »

By website optimization on 30 Jul 2007 AM |

Web Video Optimization Tips

Optimizing web videos has become more important as the use and size of videos has increased on the Web. Learn some best practices to help optimize your videos. more »

By website optimization on 29 Jun 2007 AM | | Comments (1)

Home Page Usability and Credibility Survey

A usability survey revealed that high growth companies are not evaluating and improving their home page designs in a systematic way. By comparing the home pages of the Fortune 30 against Inc Magazine's fastest growing companies, researchers from Minnesota State University found the Fortune 30 had a usability score over 36% higher than the fast growing companies. more »

By website optimization on 31 May 2007 PM |

Replace GIF with PNG Images

PNGs are designed to be a more efficient, flexible, and patent-free replacement for GIFs. By replacing your GIFs with PNGs you can speed up your web pages and save bandwidth. more »

By website optimization on 31 Mar 2007 AM | | Comments (11)

Book Preview: Information Foraging Theory

We interview today's digital Darwin Peter Pirolli, summarizing his revolutionary new book Information Foraging Theory. Hungry minds are foraging for valuable information on the Web. Learn how to boost your website's information scent or risk becoming a missing link. more »

By website optimization on 5 Feb 2007 AM | | Comments (1)

Automated Color Harmony Tools

Make your designs sing in four-part color harmony with these automated color harmonization tools. We review a joint effort by Microsoft and Tel Aviv University to automatically enhance the color harmony of an image. more »

By website optimization on 16 Jan 2007 AM | | Comments (13)

Don't Let the Graphics Grinch Steal Your Christmas Bonus

Know what jolly old site owners get when they let their graphics get so plump they shake like a bowl full of jelly? A lump of coal for Christmas. Let our Rudolph guide your way to a merry Christmas and happy New Year with an inspirational rendering of 'Twas the night before Christmas. more »

By website optimization on 11 Dec 2006 PM |

The Interactive Effects of Website Delay, Breadth, and Familiarity

A recent study examined whether website delay, breadth, and familiarity have interactive effects on user psychology and performance. A significant three-way interaction among all three factors showed that the ill effects of delay can be dampened by familiarity and breadth. Developers are urged to consider site familiarity, breadth, and delay together rather than separately. more »

By website optimization on 29 Nov 2006 AM |

Use a Web Accelerator

We review google web accelerator to see how well it speeds up web browsing. Web accelerators speed up web browsers with look-ahead caching, http compression, and proxy servers. This tutorial includes webmaster information. more »

By website optimization on 25 Oct 2006 PM | | Comments (5)

Optimize PDF Files

We review Acrobat 8 Professional (pre-release) and PDF Enhancer 3.1 for optimizing PDF files. The new Acrobat features faster operations, smaller PDFs, a new interface, and the ability to combine different types of files into one PDF. Learn how to use PDF optimization tools to remove redundancies, subset and outline fonts, and compress text and images for faster downloads and higher user satisfaction. more »

By website optimization on 25 Sep 2006 AM | | Comments (94)

Clickstream Study Reveals Dynamic Web

A new browser study revealed a shift in how we interact with the Web. University of Hamburg researchers found the Web moving from static hypertext information to dynamic interactive services. Clickstream heatmaps and web page statistics show rapid interaction over smaller areas of the screen. The authors recommend that web developers create concise, flexible, and fast loading web pages to keep pace with the speed of web navigation. more »

By website optimization on 26 Jul 2006 AM | | Comments (19)

Highlight the Current Page with CSS: The Body ID/Class Method

This article shows how to automatically highlight menu items that correspond to the current page using CSS and XHTML. These "you are here" waypoints help orient users and improve usability. Using CSS avoids the need for complex scripting which simplifies maintenance and improves performance. more »

By website optimization on 30 Jun 2006 AM | | Comments (6)

Combine Images to Save HTTP Requests

Learn how to reduce the number of HTTP requests required by your web pages by combining adjacent images and optionally imagemapping the links. This tutorial shows both client and server side techniques you can use to save precious HTTP requests and speed up your site. more »

By website optimization on 31 May 2006 PM | | Comments (3)

CSS Overlays: Using CSS Positioning to Overlay Web Objects

Learn how to create an eye-catching overlay with CSS positioning. This CSS-layout technique is faster than image slicing requiring fewer HTTP requests. more »

By website optimization on 30 Apr 2006 PM | | Comments (8)

Accessible CSS Forms: Using CSS to Create a Two-Column Layout

Websites have become less accessible and more complex over time according to recent studies. Learn how to buck the trend by creating fast, accessible CSS forms that work with modern browsers and gracefully degrade. more »

By website optimization on 30 Mar 2006 AM | | Comments (45)

Bookend Lists: Using CSS to Float a Masthead

Learn how to create that 'bookend' look with lists and CSS positioning. This CSS-layout technique saves a significant amount of XHTML code over tables. more »

By website optimization on 25 Feb 2006 AM | | Comments (11)

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