Ready or not, the end of the year seems to always sneak up on us. Here’s everything you can do right now to optimize your site and make the most of Q4 with its high advertising spend and eCPM trends.
You should be on a hosting plan that keeps your site safe and running smoothly, especially during peak holiday traffic times. Our hosting platform partner, BigScoots, pairs cutting-edge hosting and optimized ad performance to unlock opportunities for increased site growth, speed, and revenue potential.
Not only do they operate specifically with independent publishers in mind, BigScoots offers a live customer support team, so you’ll always have the care you need, even in the midst of the holiday shuffle.
Learn more about why Mediavine recommends BigScoots for all hosting needs.
Getting familiar with your site speed is an important reference point for checking that everything is functioning properly, so your reader experience is the best it can be.
Your overall page load time should be under 2 seconds to keep readers engaged and on a page. You can use a speed test site like Google’s PageSpeed Insights search to easily view how your site is performing. Just type your site’s URL into the search bar to break down insights on both mobile and desktop reader experience.
Want a tool to help optimize load times? Consider a CDN (content delivery network). A CDN is like having copies of your website stored in servers all over the world. Instead of every visitor loading your site from one location, they get it from the server closest to them, leading to faster load times wherever your readers are located.
Want a more detailed approach to site speed? Hear from the experts! Our industry friends at Cloudflare have a great resource on the topic.
In addition to partnering with BigScoots for hosting, check out NerdPress for WordPress site management. Through our partnership, Mediavine publishers get exclusive access to NerdPress’s comprehensive website maintenance and support.
Focus on what you do best: creating amazing content. NerdPress handles all of the technical aspects of your site, from monitoring Core Web Vitals, keeping plug-ins up-to-date, and offering hands-on technical support to keep your site functioning at its best.
Find more information about our partnership with NerdPress.
Don’t forget, when you partner with either BigScoots or NerdPress, you also get access to Cloudflare Enterprise through Mediavine, a bundle of behind-the-scenes tools that make your site faster, safer, and more profitable.
Nothing turns off a reader more than clicking a broken link. Complete a website audit before the end of the year to ensure your links are still functioning properly.
Simply open your posts in a private browser window and select each link to make sure everything still works. Have hyperlinked images? Best to check those, too, while you’re at it. You can start with your highest-performing posts and work your way down.
Feeling overwhelmed at the number of pages you’ll have to go through? Try setting a goal of auditing a certain number of pages per day so you don’t spend too much time in one sitting. Alternatively, go through your pages on a seasonal basis. Ahead of Q4, review holiday content, while saving other seasonal topics for other times throughout the year.
If you’d like to automate this process, try using Google Search Console. This software searches your site for broken links and produces a report so you can easily fix them.
In the same vein as auditing your site’s links, ensure all your affiliate links still direct to the right places. Now’s a great time to check on your commissions and evaluate where you can better optimize your earnings before you see additional holiday traffic coming to your site.
What are you waiting for? Make the time to optimize your site’s potential. Your readers, and your wallet, will thank you!
While this list is designed with holiday traffic in mind, you can utilize it at any point in the year to make necessary updates that serve you and your readers better in the long run, too.
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