Hi, I’m Nate Babbel, and today I am going to answer the question:

How do I choose between a .com, .org, or .net domain name?

Generally speaking, you will always want to go with a .com domain name. .Com is by far the most common extension. Most people’s first assumption for your company website will be [your business name].com, unless of course your actual extension is in your business name. Plus, .com’s generally have the most clout with Google and keyword rankings.

The .org extension is a very good choice for charity or non-profit sites, this is its most common use. That being said there are successful for-profit sites that use the .org extension. If used correctly the .org can give you a bump in social credence or validation, as internet users could see a .org as a more benevolent site. But you will need to brand the .org with your site name, since as mentioned earlier, .com is the first extension users will assume for any company’s website. As far as google and keyword rankings go, .org’s will do well, though for most profit targeted categories they won’t have as much sway as a matching .com.

A .net extension would be the last choice of these 3 options. It has the disadvantages of the .org extension, but doesn’t have the advantages. From the SEO end of things, .net is better than other extensions, but has lower google rankings weight than the matching .com and .org extensions.

Do you have a question about SEO, internet marketing or social media? If so, post your questions on the SEO.com  Facebook page, Tweet us, or leave a comment on the SEO.com Google+ page. For Twitter and G+ use the hashtag #SEOCOMFAQ.  Maybe we will use one of your questions in a future video.

How Do I Choose Between a .com, .org, or .net Domain Name? is a post by SEO expert Nate Babbel. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Hi, I’m Nate Babbel, and today I am going to answer the question: How can I improve my page load speed?

Page load speed is incredibly important. A one second delay can cost your site as much as a 7% decrease in conversion rate. And on top of that, if your site is too slow, your Google rankings will be penalized.

I am going to go over 5 of the easiest and most impactful ways you can reduce your page load speed.

1. Minimize the amount of HTTP Requests: Get rid of Javascript and CSS files you aren’t using or don’t need, combine graphical images into an image sprite, and get rid of any other external http requests on your page that aren’t completely necessary. Some sites have all sorts of plugins and widgets, remember each external request to individual javascript and css files slows your site down and costs you money.
2. Make all JavaScript and CSS calls External: Put all of your inline CSS styling and javascript into external files. The more of these you put directly onto the html page, the slower your site will be, not to mention this is very bad coding practice.
3. Combine external CSS & JavaScript into as few files as possible: 1 CSS file and 1 Javascript file should be your goal. This also ties to the first recommendation I made of making as few HTTP requests as possible, plus it is always better to have less external files to load.
4. Put Javascript file requests at the Bottom of your page: Move as many of your Javascript file requests as possible to the bottom of the page, hopefully you only have 1! This doesn’t give you a faster overall page load speed, but it does give the appearance of a faster load speed. The browser renders your website in direct order of the code, javascript files are generally not needed for the initial site presentation, so it is better to load them after the layout and images.
5. Optimize your images: Reduce all images to the smallest possible size that still retain’s the original picture quality. Use Photoshop or other services such as jpegmini.com to save images into a jpeg format and then reduce the size to the lowest possible value that still retains the same quality and crispness.

I will cover more page load speed tips in a later video.

Do you have a question about SEO, internet marketing or social media? If so, post your questions on the SEO.com  Facebook page, Tweet us, or leave a comment on the SEO.com Google+ page. For Twitter and G+ use the hashtag #SEOCOMFAQ.  Maybe we will use one of your questions in a future video.

How Do I Improve My Page Load Speed? [Video FAQ] is a post by SEO expert Nate Babbel. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Hi, I’m Nate Babbel, and today I will be answering the question:

What Is Bounce Rate?

Bounce rate is the percentage of your website visitors that leave after only viewing 1 page of your site.

Some of the top reasons a visitor can “bounce” are:

1. Your website takes too long to load.
2. Your website design does not draw the visitor in, is outdated, or does not clearly show the purpose of the page.
3. Your site landing page has no clear calls to action to lead the visitor down your conversion funnel.
4. The ad copy or marketing message that has lead the visitor to your site, does not clearly match the message of the landing page.
5. The particular marketing channel that brought the visitor to your site was not targeted properly and the visitor was looking for something entirely different than what you offer.

Bounce rates can be a useful metric to determine the effectiveness of your website. A landing page with a low bounce rate means that the page effectively leads visitors deeper into your website.

According to an Inc.com article: “As a rule of thumb, a 50 percent bounce rate is average. If you surpass 60 percent, you should be concerned. If you’re in excess of 80 percent, you’ve got a major problem.”

I will discuss how to improve your bounce rate (also known as the conversion rate) of your website in a later video.

Do you have a question about SEO, internet marketing or social media? If so, post your questions on the SEO.com  Facebook page, Tweet us, or leave a comment on the SEO.com Google+ page. For Twitter and G+ use the hashtag #SEOCOMFAQ.  Maybe we will use one of your questions in a future video.

What is Bounce Rate? [Video FAQ] is a post by SEO expert Nate Babbel. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Hi, I’m Nate Babbel and today I will answer the question: What is Conversion Rate Optimization?

Conversion rate is the percentage of total visitors that “convert” while visiting your site. Now depending on what type of site you have, a “conversion” will be different things, it can be a sale, a lead capture, a registration, a sign-up for a service, or any other call to action you choose to implement. So, if you have 100 people visit your site and 1 of them completes your call to action, you have a 1% conversion rate, if 2 of those 100 convert that would be a 2% conversion rate.

As you can imagine, conversion rate is extremely important. If you go from a 1% to a 2% conversion rate you are effectively doubling your total output, if your target conversion is a sale, you are doubling your total revenue!

Conversion rate optimization or the acronym CRO, is the art/science of increasing your website conversion rate.

Here are the top reasons to perform Conversion Rate Optimization on your site:

1. You are getting more conversions from the exact same traffic you are already receiving.
2. You have an edge over your competitors; which could make all the difference in the world in you being profitable and them not.
3. If you are getting higher conversions with the exact same overhead this is a direct increase in PROFITS
4. More marketing channels open up to your business – since you have a higher ROI, more types of marketing becomes viable.
5. First mover advantage, if your competitors aren’t doing it now, they will be soon. So get started first!

We will discuss the best methodology for website conversion rate optimization in a later FAQ video.

Do you have a question about SEO, internet marketing or social media? If so, post your questions on the SEO.com  Facebook page, Tweet us, or leave a comment on the SEO.com Google+ page. For Twitter and G+ use the hashtag #SEOCOMFAQ.  Maybe we will use one of your questions in a future video.

What is Conversion Rate Optimization? [Video FAQ] is a post by SEO expert Nate Babbel. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.