TRAFFIC
If you are already using SSL, make
sure it’s set up properly because having
an incorrect implementation of an SSL
certificate can do more harm than good.
SSL Labs have a free server test for
checking your certificate: ssllabs.com/
ssltest/index.html
Test your site
If you have not connected your site
to Google Search Console, it’s worth
doing so as soon as possible. It will provide
you with firsthand information about the
errors Google finds while crawling
your site, let you test your robots.txt file,
submit your XML sitemaps, test your
structured markup and so on.
Furthermore, the new URL Inspection
tool, available through the latest version
of Google Search Console, lets you
analyse possible issues with individual
pages on your site.
Set the pace
Page speed is an important metric directly
influencing both your organic visibility
and your users’ experience on the site.
Google’s own PageSpeed Insights tool
(Figure 2) lets you test your site’s speed
for both mobile and desktop versions and
suggests improvements.
However, a one-off measurement might
not be that telling. A key question is how
reliable your server is when it comes to
providing a consistently speedy response to
all site visitors, anywhere and at any time.
Using another tool, Sistrix (Figure 3), you
can set up ongoing monitoring of your key
URLs for speed issues.
Figure 2: results shown in Google’s PageSpeed Insights
Figure 3: Sistrix resource-analysis results page
iGB Affiliate Issue 70 AUG/SEP 2018
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