Here is the hierarchy of optimization techniques listed by importance:

1. Completeness of information in your listing
2. Keywords included in your company name (don’t SPAM)
3. Website Optimization – use City and State keywords in your Titles and Meta Tags, add your address to your web pages, etc.
4. Category w/ Search Terms (cosmetic dentist, personal injury attorney)
5. Proximity to center of city – Think Locally – Having a business location in the CENTER of town helps you get to the top of the list. The closer your office is to the center of your city, the higher your listing is usually positioned on the Google Maps list. For example, if you view any Google Maps list, the first three listings returned (A,B & C) are located in the center of the city. The businesses listed further down the list migrate out from the center of town.
6. “Flair” – photos, videos, coupons, payment methods, parking instructions
7. Listings in directories that include local address info (SuperPages.com, YellowPages.com, CitySearch.com, etc.)
8. Number of In-Bound Links (IBLs) from local city websites and directories
9. Total number of reviews
10. High ratings in your Google reviews (More stars can mean higher positioning)

Do Not SPAM! – Google can and does delete listings of businesses that “SPAM” their system by submitting inaccurate information. Google Maps now has Local Business Center Guidelines to let you know what is allowed and what is NOT allowed in your Google Maps listing. Google’s new guidelines include the following:

• Represent your business exactly as it appears in real life.
• List information that provides as direct a path to your business as you can.
• Only include listings for businesses that you represent.
• Don’t participate in any behavior with the intention or result of listing your business more times than it exists. Service area businesses, for example, should not create a listing for every town they service.
• Use the description and custom attribute fields to include additional information about your listing. This type of content should never appear in your business’s title or address fields.

Here is some good diet tips for your website:

1. Call Us

Like every diet company some plans are better then others. Do you really need a trainer, diet coach, self motivator, health expert and so on. Get your code from the source or in this instance the guy who knows everything you need with out having to consult others. Why pay 5 people, when you can pay one to do the same job.

Give it the support it needs to go the mile.

2. Reduce HTTP Requests
3. Optimize the HTML DOM
4. Optimize the CSS
5. Optimize your Javascript
6. Externalize Javascript and CSS
7. LINK instead of @import CSS
8. Place scripts as low as possible
9. Set the Cache Controls
10. Avoid Dynamic Properties (CSS expressions)

Back in the days of dial-up and 14.4k modems, a page that was more than 100kb would be considered extremely bloated. Now things have changed; broadband is evermore ubiquitous and so is the demand for internet candy like Flash and Javascript. And just like the American waistline, the size of the average website has been expanding.

As busy web designers, it’s easy to get lazy and let our pages start putting on a little weight, so here are 9 tips for getting that website back in shape and able to fit into those skinny jeans again.

Reduce HTTP Requests

As a web page is loads into the browser, the HTML is parsed progressively. When a request for an asset is reached, the browser attempts to download it. Each of these assets (external files, images, Flash, etc.) is an HTTP Request with it’s own communication latency. Standard browsers are only configured to handle two HTTP Requests in parallel, per domain.

You can use a free tool like this one from Website Optimization to check how many HTTP Requests your web page makes. It will also give you the estimated download times for different web connections, and a few other things to help you decide what you need to trim.

Minimize HTTP requests by combining external scripts into a single file. Do the same with CSS files, merge them into a single stylesheet. For images, use CSS Sprites to reduce the number image requests. Using sprites has the added benefit of reducing overall download size as well.

Optimize the HTML DOM

Hopefully optimizing the DOM was done at the development stages of the site. Take a look at all the HTML tags in your website… are you looking at nested DIV and TABLE hell?

Parsing the DOM is the most processor intensive task when loading a web page. So the more DOM elements(HTML tags) the browser needs to parse through, the longer the process of loading the page is going to take. Ask yourself, do you really need all those divs for that flashy navigation? Are nested tables really the only way you can achieve that particular website design?

Watch out if your website was created with a WYSIWYG editor or rendered out by other software that writes the HTML for you. The code created by some of these programs is notoriously bloated. Some are better than others, but there is no substitute for a clever human with mad HTML skillz.

A bloated DOM will also slow your page when Javascript is used to modify or access the DOM, as is the case with DHTML and AJAX applications. Simply put, the more HTML elements you have, the longer DOM access takes.

Optimize the CSS

After the browser finishes parsing, it renders the page to your screen. As it does this, it renders the CSS in parallel. Speed up rendering time by consolidating and eliminating CSS rules.

Use a tool like Firebug to help you track down and eliminate any redundant CSS. Maximize the inheritance behaviors of CSS and trim any unnecessary rules that could be handled with inheritance instead.

Optimize your Javascript

Javascript is unique among other programming languages in that the source code is downloaded, parsed and executed with every pageload. So there is a performance cost for every line of code you write that doesn’t exist in other languages.

The obvious solution, write less code. Especially be on the lookout for Javascript bloating with third party scripts and script libraries. Lightbox and Scriptaculous for example. When you include these scripts in your HTML document, it’s not likely you will use each and every line of code. Delete any Javascript statements and functions that aren’t being called.

If you really want to geek out on optimizing Javascript, here is a great talk by Joseph Smarr: High-performance Javascript: Why Everything You’ve Been Taught is Wrong.

Externalize Javascript and CSS

Externalizing your Javascript and CSS files allows them to be cached by the browser. There is a trade-off to consider however because this means additional HTTP Requests. Once the these files are in the cache however, subsequent pages will be much faster. If the typical user behavior for your site is to visit multiple pages, the overhead is probably worth it. Verify your user behavior with a metrics tool like Google Analytics.

LINK instead of @import CSS

Just as important as reducing the actual download time of a web page is reducing the perceived download time of a web page. Users are much happier waiting 10 seconds for a page to download if they can see the page is doing stuff.

@import gained popularity is as one of the hacks in a web designers bag of tricks for hiding CSS from legacy browsers. Thankfully, with major sites beginning to drop support of these older browsers, we can all follow in suit and do the same. At this point the drawbacks for @import outweigh the benefits.

Using LINK instead of @import does two things: allows for progressive rendering, thus lowering a page’s perceived download time, and speeds up the rendering of the DOM.

Already mentioned is that CSS renders in parallel to the rendering of the DOM. But progressive rendering only occurs up until the point of where a CSS request occurs and then rendering starts over from the top. With a slow internet connection you can see this as an unstyled page that loads, then is quickly replaced by the CSS styled content.

For this reason it’s good practice to not only LINK to your stylesheet, but to place it as early in the HEAD section of the HTML document as possible.

It’s important to note that IE treats @import like a LINK that occurs at the bottom of the page, even if @import appears in the HEAD section. Another reason IE is the bane of existence for all web designers.

If you absolutely can’t get away from using @import, here is a great BlueRobot article on the FOUC problem.

Place scripts as low as possible

Scripts are problematic to the page load process for a couple reasons. First, they block parallel downloads, meaning that while a script is downloading, nothing else can download. Scripts also prevent any elements below them in the DOM from rendering while they are downloading and parsing.

Sometimes it isn’t possible, but in many cases a script can be placed just before the part of the DOM where they are required. Doing so allows at least part of the page to render, giving the user the impression that the page is doing something. Again, reducing perceived download time is as important if not more so than reducing actual download time.

Set the Cache Controls

Most web designers are probably happy to let browser defaults handle caching, or may think that because their website has dynamic content they don’t need to bother with caching. But, why not take advantage of the built in capabilities of the browser and network to create a faster experience for your most valuable visitors? Repeat visitors and conversions.

The simplest thing you can do is set the cache using a META tag that looks like this.

<META HTTP-EQUIV="expires" CONTENT="Wed, 26 Feb 2011 08:21:57 GMT">


Set the expires date to some far off date to be sure that caching is utilized.

It’s probably not a good idea to rely solely on this method however as it has the drawback of being ignored in many instances. For more precise control of caching, set an Expires or Cache-Control HTTP header. This involves messing your server a bit, but here is a great caching tutorial to help you get it done.

Avoid Dynamic Properties (CSS expressions)

Finally, where the previous tips have been centered on the trimming the page loading process, this tip is about trimming runtime performance.

CSS expressions are a proprietary property in IE 5-7 that allow you to assign a Javascript expression to a CSS property. It evolved as another hack in the bag of tricks to make IE work like a normal browser, for instance by faking support for the min-width CSS property. Did I mention IE is that bane of existence for all web designers?

Basically this hack was a short way to get CSS to respond to a browser event. The problem is that the Javascript expression is called on every browser event, causing it to be evaluated thousands of times during normal page interaction.

Here is a great post the was used as a reference for the above information.

http://www.meshack.com/2010/01/11/9-tips-to-slim-down-your-website/

This model saves design companies because the job is processed faster and has a clearer direction. Technology has a way of replacing positions and improving others. There are also tools like www.basecamphq.com which can track a project and eliminate the need for project coordinators and managers.

Sending work back and forth between designers and customers through sales people can be a nightmare if the salesperson has never designed or developed a website on their own before.

This is why…under a traditional model at an advertising agency, an account executive meets with customers, sells their marketing services and brings a customer’s ideas to a designer. The designer then builds the design or functionality. Not knowing all the angles why the particular design or program works well. The salesman will go off to try to explain to the client what is working. The message and approach gets diluted and time is lost on both ends.

Customers are giving a lot of positive feedback to firms that have designers do the talking. In this day in age, Big businesses need to cut cost. They are not going to high paid executives for reinsurance. They are going to the source because time is money.

By working directly with customers, designers at Digital Complexion are able to convey customers’ ideas more quickly and accurately. Digital Complexion specializes in Social Marketing, Hybrid Web Development, Digital Design and Print.

Some of Digital Complexion’s customers include the Apollo Aviation Group, Innovative American Technologies, Carmine’s Gourmet Market, Visit Palm Beach and recently added Dr. Gloria Barredo in Jupiter, Florida for a for social marketing web campaign.

Digital Complexion employs A/B testing to measure the performance of two, or more, completely different variations of your webpage. By using this testing method, Digital Complexion can determine which page users respond to more positively. Measuring your visitor feedback is one of the best ways to determine the effectiveness of your website, and then make necessary changes to improve visitor experience. By improving visitor experience, you thereby improve your conversions. This is why A/B testing is so useful, and critical, to improving your website’s results.
What is A/B Testing?

According to Google, “an A/B experiment allows you to test the performance of two (or more!) entirely different versions of a page. Start with your original test page — the page whose content you want to test – then create alternate versions of that page. You can change the content of a page, alter the look and feel, or move around the layout of your alternate pages – whatever you choose. We’ll vary traffic to your original page and your alternate versions, to see what users respond to best.”
Why is A/B Testing Necessary?

There are many benefits to using A/B testing for your website. A/B testing measures the behavior of your visitors by showing which webpage they prefer. If Page A generates more conversions than Page B, then clearly Page A is the webpage that is more effective and should be used on your website. A/B testing is not only beneficial to your business, but it is necessary. This testing removes the need to guess and assume which changes may or may not improve your conversions.

A/B testing provides you with significant results which you can use to improve visitor experience and increase sales, leads and conversions. However, understanding these results and knowing how to use them is where Digital Complexion’s expertise is required to reap the full benefits from A/B testing.

Digital Complexion understands:

* What to test
* How to test
* How to interpret the results
* How to use those results to improve your website’s effectiveness

A/B Testing Helps Improve Conversions

A/B testing is an invaluable tool Digital Complexion uses as part of our analytics and testing methods to improve your internet marketing program. Bottom line, you want to improve conversions. Digital Complexion helps you achieve this through testing your webpages to find the most effective way to make visitors take action. Digital Complexion has the expertise required to get the most out of A/B testing.

Description: Title tags are definitely one of the “big three” as far as the algorithmic weight given to them by search engines; they are equally as important as your visible text copy and the links pointing to your pages – perhaps even more so. Yet, even though this has been common knowledge among SEO professionals for at least 10 years, it is often overlooked by webmasters and others attempting to optimize their websites for targeted search engine traffic.

Here are the three main uses:

• Pefines a title in the browser toolbar
• Provides a title for the page when it is added to favorites
• Displays a title for the page in search-engine results

How to us: We have a video for the George Foreman 360 Grill and we want to use as our subject. When writing the Title, the most import information will be read left from right and typically can target around 3 phrases.

Example to promote the 360 Grill keyword:

1. 360 Grill by George Foreman Recipe Video

360 Grill Target #1 by George Foreman Target#2 Recipe Video Target#3

Example to promote the George Foreman 360 Grill keyword:

2. George Foreman 360 Grill Recipe Video

George Forman 360 Grill Target#2 Recipe Video Target#3

Meta Data: Description

Description: This meta data will support the title. It will be the 2nd most important information you will be filling out which will be the main supporting information that viewers will see.

How to us: Target 1-3 heavily-searched terms/phrases in the meta-description. The good rule of thumb is to write the most important phrases 1st and then try to have individual words which are apart of those keyword phrases stated again to support them. There will be a fine line between spamming a sentences and making it readable.

Example to promote the 360 Grill keyword and secondary keyword Recipe:

The 360 Grill by George Foreman was used by Chef John Smith. He is making delicious Chicken Quesadillas recipe. The 360 indoor electric grill makes this recipe fast and easy.

SEM Code Breakdown:

Title Tags

• Put the Search Term 1st and then product name.
• Keep the number of characters between 60 and 80.
• When creating a title tag make sure it is both unique and concise.
• Title tag needs to be readable to your website’s visitors.

URL

• URLs of a website should be static with no extraneous characters.
• 2. URLs naming scheme should contain keywords as long as they are relevant to the content.
• Remove extraneous characters from your URL (%&$?…)

Meta Description Tag

• Keywords – the keywords in the meta description tag should represent the content of the page.
• Length – the meta description should be short and to the point. Try not to make the meta description tag longer then 120 characters
• Do not use the same meta description tag throughout your site, each page should have a different tag. Many times it is best to just place the first one or two sentences from the content into the meta description tag.
• Sentences – make the description a complete sentence so it is easy to read and understand.
• If possible, use only a couple of keywords in your meta description and try to place them towards the beginning.

Headings

• Use H1, H2, and H3 tags for topics
• Keywords in the heading tags should represent the content of the page.
• Have a structure of what, how, features, and so on
• Use H1-H3 tags over H4 or lower tags.
• If you place a keyword in your heading tag, make sure that keyword is also in the content or at least related to the content of the page.
• Make headings short and to the point.

Content

• Keywords – there should already be keywords within the content if content is written for your visitors. There should also be variations in the keywords (apple, apples) as well as additional related keywords (apple, fruit) within the content.
• The earlier placement of keywords in the content the more likely that the content is related to these keywords.
• The content should be written for visitors.
• Links within the content should be related to the content.
• Fresh content that is updated more frequently may be more useful to searchers.
• Unique and original content will rank higher then duplicate content.
• Sites are better to have a few pages with quality..
• The content on a website should be based on similar topics or “themes”.
• The keyword density should be similar on context to other related websites.

Alt Tags

• Place alt tags on all images.
• Alt description should be relevant to the image.
• Alt tags should be short.

Internal Links

• Keywords – links that contain keywords should be related to the webpage they point to.
• Link should represent the linked page.

Indexing

• All the pages of that website should have the ability to be indexed.
• A sitemap should be created for all sites.

External Links

• If the main website links to another website, then that website will be considered relevant and valuable to end user.
• The longer a link has been on a website, the more valuable the link is.
• The more outbound links on a page, the less weight each link will have.
• Sites with important extensions such as .edu and .gov are considered to link to more valuable sites.
• If a site has outbound links and updates frequently, then even the old outbound links are considered to be valuable.
• Incoming links are considered very important to a site.
• Linking websites – links from related websites are better then links from non-related websites.
• DMOZ – websites that are in DMOZ and link out to other websites are considered to link to good sites.

Code

• The code should be efficient and not take up load time.
• Clean code usually loads up faster for users and helps the search engines index better.
• Use CSS and develop design strictly in external code file.

Website

The following are some factors that Google may look at in a negative way:

• Over optimization of keywords may not be relevant for any search terms.
• Websites with too many keywords stuffed into the content might be considered spam.
• Reciprocal links between each other too many times might be trying to cheat.
• Cloaking – websites that show Google a different page then what the viewer sees usually get banned.
• Anchor text – if all the websites linking to a website have the same anchor text, those links will not be considered natural.
• Websites that have tons of other websites redirecting into them might be trying to increase their link count to rank high, so Google may penalize these websites.