Optimize your images for Search – Search Engine Optimization tips for Image Optimization:

Optimize your images for Search

It is really painful to sit and wait till the images load on the webpage. Especially in the scenario where websites are built on Web 2.0 techniques, you have only got a couple of seconds before your user hit that back button….

 

 

 

Here are 10 quick tips for decreasing the load time on your images and graphics.

 

1. Use Height and Width (Size) Attributes.

 

Example: width=”144″ height=”259″

 

Every time a browser loads a webpage it looks for the height and width attributes (size) of each image in your html code so it knows how to lay out the text and the graphics on that page. When the proper attributes are used, the browser loads the text before the graphics. If you don’t use the attributes, it causes a delay waiting for the browser to download the images first and then lay out the text. The browser has to play catch-up game. It can’t load text onto the screen until it has figured out the exact size of the graphics.

 

2. Size Your Image Correctly

 

Use an image editor to change the size of the image to the correct dimensions first. Then use the correct size attributes in your html. By resizing the image before you plug it into your html code, the file size will be smaller and the browser will load it quicker.

 

3. Animations

 

Animations are attention getters, but they quickly become annoying. They also slow down the loading of your page. Limit the number of animated graphics on your page and set your animation at a specific number of repetitions rather than allowing them to loop endlessly.

 

4. Use the Correct Image Format

If your image is simple with a small numbers of colors try converting it to a gif format. Good choices for this are clipart, bullets, buttons, charts and such. Not all images are suited for the gif format. Complex images, photos or those with enhancements such as reflections and drop shadows don’t display well in this format. The jpg format is suitable for complex images with lots of color variations.

 

5. Slice Those Images

 

Image slicing is a technique used to breakdown a large image into smaller pieces to make it load faster.

 

6. Limit the Number of Graphics you Place on Each Page.

 

If your pages are loading too slowly, consider removing some of the images. Keep only those that absolutely necessary.

 

7. Use Thumbnails

 

Use a java script to display a thumbnail and load the larger image only when the reader rolls their mouse over the thumbnail.

 

8. Browser Cache

 

Graphics and text are stored in what’s called cache on your hard drive. This makes it easier and quicker to load files that are displayed in your browser. It loads them from the cache rather than over the net each and every time, if it’s available. To improve your visitors experience, take advantage of their browser cache. The best way to do this is by not putting identical images in more than one folder, subfolder or directory on your server. If the browser always calls the image from the same folder, it loads much quicker.

 

9. Optimize Your Images

 

Optimizing your images is a great way to reduce the load time. Greater percentages of optimization may leave your images blotchy with speckled blocks of color. It will often make your colors look washed-out and you may lose some of the fine details.

 

10. Progressive Optimization

 

A sneaky little trick we can use is to select progressive settings when you’re optimizing your images. This doesn’t really make your images load faster; however, they do load first at a very low resolution and continue to load progressively, with more detail, until they are fully loaded.

 

Your visitor at least has something to view and content to read while the loading process finishes up.

Dwigger – Some thing more than Twitter

Dwigger is one of the next generation web 2.0 applications which combine the best of Digg and Twitter. It combines Microblogging Service and Information Aggregation for both Twitter and Digg lovers especially.

 

Dwigger puts Tweets into threaded conversation from Twitter and allows members to vote for these Tweets like Digg.

 

How to Start Dwigging??

 

Its so simple just create a Dwigger account with your Twitter account. Now you can start dwigging your Tweets from your Twitter account or create a new Tweet in Dwigger also. Now you can ask your Twitter friends to Dwigg your tweets. You can also start a Dwigger thread by sending SMS to the Twitter account “dwigger”. If you are a Dwigger.com member your SMS will be automatically submitted as a new Dwigger thread. To do this, just prefix your message with “d dwigger” and send the SMS to 40404.

 

Other Features:

 

Dwigger has a Hit list which is a collection of Tweets with a specific keyword of your interest. For eg: you can collect all the tweets regarding the keyword SEO or SMM. Dwigger also has tag clouds in the name called Zeit Cloud.

 

In short, Dwigger is hoping to bring back the social networking aspect inside Twitter.

Don’t loose your rankings in Search for the sake of Revamping:

Web Portal Redesigning and Revamping is something you cant avoid as the user need and the meaning for the portal to the targeted audience keeps on changing its mandatory to revamp the portal. But we often loose out in Search Engine rankings while we revamp our site. Let me list some of the essential things to be considered before revamp so that we don’t loose much:

 

• Check the Sections / Categories that are removed from the Portal – List down the pages that are waiting to be deleted.
• Check the Keywords affixed to the particular pages that are in plan for deletion –Check the ranking for the particular keywords in major search engines.
• Check out the Internal Links that we are going to loose because of the page deletion
• Check the alternative URLs that are assigned to be redirected to the deleted pages. Use 301 Permanent Re-direction.
• Check if the Site Architecture is changing. Plan based on the new Site Architecture
• Check out the pages that have prominence in the new Site Architecture. You’re your URL Structuring based on that.
• Check the loss in Internal Links to each page and make a plan for the compensation so that we don’t loose a lot due to revamp.
• Check the Title tags and Meta tags for the pages that are changing. Ensure that the pages are tagged properly based on the Keyword Architecture after the revamp.
• Check the Images/ Graphics and their corresponding tags, so that we don’t loose the traffic from them after revamp.
• Ensure that none of the page hits 404 Error after revamp. Ensure that the URLs which are deleted are redirected to the corresponding pages in the new structure

 

These are some of the factors that are to be considered before revamping any portal. Inspite of considering all these factors there will be a drop in Search in traffic when ever the Site Architecture changes radically. But if we consider these factors and manage them effectively Search Engine crawlers will locate the new pages and get our rankings back immediately.

 

 

Follow me in Twitter @ Balaji

 

Indian Search Marketing Industry is Booming

Indian Search Marketing Industry is Booming

As per the recent report published by IAMAI on Indian Search Market, the industry is expected to grow from the present $ 112 Mn to $ 175 Mn by 2009 and $ 225 Mn by 2010.

IAMAI has identified few critical parameters that leads to the growth of SEM Market in India. They are:

1. Increase in Internet user base : 29mn active users, expected to grow at a significant rate in the next few years.
2. Increase in amount of Searches happening in India
3. Increase in Internet awareness
4. Increase in sectors employing SEM tactics

 
Online search breakdown
Top 4 metros account for 40% of searches. Other 4 metros (40%), small metros (21%) and other cities result in 8%. School going kids account for 16%, College going students (26%), Young men (27%), Older men (14%), Working women (10%) and Not working women (7%)

IAMAI is betting big on outsourced SEM, but sees some hindrances:

Lack of information about India
Apprehensions of Data security
Erratic behavior of exchange rates-
Globally, SEM expenditures in North America including US and Canada will reach $25.2 billion in 2011 which stood at $12.7 billion in 2007.

The study, to my surprise doesn’t take into account the big sword that’s hanging all over in the global economy- recession.

Advertising spend is dropping globally and search ads, though preferred over banner ads too is facing the heat – US SEM market is witnessing a decline and so is UK – India, being a nascent market will also suffer as advertisers will prefer the traditional channel more than Internet.