Welcome to the Q&A Forum

The 2012 article from Moz is still current. There are other more current dated articles but in short same outcome.

From what you are describing you are on the right track. Make sure you address the backlinks correctly. http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2207168/how-to-conduct-a-link-audit

You sound like you are in safe territory by taking a considered approach. Well done.

Let me know if any more queries.

Laura

The boys have you covered above. If looking for a specific "story" for the next plane ride - read the blog from Pete below.

https://moz.com/blog/the-colossus-update-waking-the-giant

This is what I am watching/monitoring, the unfolding impact of https -v- http

I am making it a rule - to recommend for all sites just in case.

Yes, correct - multiple CCS files & javascript will not affect server response time - I think ryan was referring to page load speed.

Patrick has nailed it.

I would also suggest a monthly retainer / signed contract 6 or 12 months and providing a monthly report.  We also offer an hours education - 1 on 1 every two weeks.  It is rarely taken up, but the customer loves the opportunity - used mainly when new marketing people join the team.  Gets them imbibed with the strategy you are implementing..

Good luck

No - there is no industry benchmarking.  It is a matter of budget and value proposition.  EGOL is correct in many instances PPC is a spend that does not appear to deliver on its value proposition.

That said there are always instances where PPC is a benefit. It is simply a matter of tailoring your PPC to your clients/websites needs. If you do not have much traffic then PPC is great because you can load up on traffic for two weeks - then analyse how the customers interacted with your site. Learn about consumer behavior. Find out site weaknesses.

Long tail "purchasing" keywords may deliver sales. Owning your "brand" maybe needed whilst you search for rankings. PPC is a valuable tool in the tool kit however it is just that a tool. You need to think about above the line advertising as well and branding your website.

In short do not discount PPC but do not over rely on it. Ranking your organic search results is the best method, but that takes time. The one thing I do know is that companies that focus on PPC to the detriment of all other mediums for advertising - invariably fail.

Old domains can be good value, especially if you know their history which it sounds like you do. The biggest issue with old domains is tracking their history and making sure bona fides.

Is the old domain re-vamp consistent with previous domain use at all. ie  the backlinks and anchor text relevant in any way?

Sarwan

similarweb.com is ok. You hit the geography tab and it provides a % list traffic from each countries.

As Lesley has pointed out there is nothing perfect out there. But if you are looking for insight then similarweb is the tool I would start with.

Any queries let me know.

Ryan

Yes. I do not worry about the speed variations - there are too many variables on each test. ie Which server did the test use?

My view on page speed is forget "time" and "time ranges" on various tools. If you have identified page speed as issue which you have focus on what you know you can and should fix. Don't just fix the minimum - on page speed fix the maximum. I believe page speed is a key factor on ranking.

Lesley is correct it is important to understand why the issues before you move forward.

I am not sure if you are familiar with tools.pingdom.com - but free test your site on tools.pingdom.  Then review the performance tab - and see what your loading problems are.  Also .2 of a second is best in class - if you can get below 2 seconds I would be happy with that. Not suggesting you do not go for .2 - just that it is onerous and likely not time efficient.

The positive is I have seen several times dropping a site from 6 seconds to 2 seconds gets me an uplift in rankings without doing anything else!

A strong DA. Are you ranking for those keywords already? or are you building a new page?

Nicos

A couple of things. The 5 reasons why people click on a typical SERP in order are:-

Page Rank

Brand

Title

Description

URL

The Title is far more important to clickability than the description.  Not suggesting disregard the description as it is important as well - where you have fun and place your CTA.  When targeting traffic it is always best to take a "beach head" first.  Most people go to Semrush or Adwords - and choose the word with most traffic and target it - and then never rank for it. Because it is too competitive.  If your website has a high DA do what you are doing - if it is a start-up then slow down - take a beach head. It might be "Luxury Apartments Chelsea" instead .

Next question what is your DA?  ie is over 25?

It is actually not a character limit - it is a pixel limit for the title.  512 pixels and then it truncates. ie WW's are a problem and II's are great.

On which one to choose.

They all look a bit spammy. There is an SEO -v- Clickability factor. You are thinking SEO not clickability.  Recommend you consider both.

The question I have is are you Leasing or selling or both?  What query are you answering to the consumer?

I would have the H1 as you state - "online psychic readings".

And yes on the final paragraph do there later. make sure you use the URL  zenory.com/psychic-readings - has great SEO value.

Backlinks! Backlinks and more quality backlinks!

Benefits are massive. You should be able to focus all your link buildings efforts to one domain - ultimately obtain a higher domain authority. Think of it this way you are now presently dividing your time between three sites. You may even feel guilty working on one site and forgetting the other two.

If you think of your websites like houses. Right now you need to maintain, clean and pay for three houses. Also travel between them. If you make one big house - sure you might have to change some rooms so the New Zealanders feel at home. But it is alot easier being in the same house...  Plus fix one room and it adds value to the whole house...

The big global brands - one big house... lots of great rooms accommodating different cultures.

Hopefully not too esoteric!  ps main benefit long term is Domain authority, time and cost..

Edward

The question you face is almost the classic SEO conundrum. Execute the consolidation poorly and you end up losing a lot of rankings and traffic. So it has risks and the first rule is do no harm.

I am what you call a hardliner however. I would consolidate. An eCommerce site doing well www.cottonon.com may be worth viewing. Same issue - global in different markets. One domain. Killing it.

Focusing on one domain long term will have significant benefits.

https://moz.com/blog/2-become-1-merging-two-domains-made-us-an-seo-killing

https://moz.com/blog/rebrand-or-redirect-my-site-consolidate-multiple-sites-whiteboard-friday

That said you have to consider it carefully - map out pro & cons etc. Move slowly and execute brilliantly. Certainly worth keeping on the radar. I would educate myself - talk to more people and then make a decision.

Below is a copy and paste of keywords relating to Arvixe obtained from Semrush. You should check them.  Coupon is very competitive, so I have skipped that. So I would suggest:-

Arvixe Hosting Review | Arvixe Coupon | Sitegeek

or

Arvixe Hosting Review | Arvixe Uptime Report | Sitegeek

You should include your brand name as google usually will do regardless. It really is a personal decision as you know your brand / company best. Hope this helps.

Keyword	Volume	CPC	SERP source
arvixe coupon	480	18.85
arvixe web hosting	170	6.10
arvixe control panel	90	24.38
arvixe hosting review	70	11.61
arvixe cpanel login

Edward

You should have a read of this blog post - considering your international expansion. I am firm believer in the one domain if at all possible concept.

https://moz.com/blog/why-cctlds-should-not-be-an-automatic-choice-for-international-

Edward

Your current title chases a more niche market - "online psychic readings" as compared to "psychic readings".  So any change to the title - ie deleting online - at the start could impact how you rank now for online psychic readings. It is actually a treacherous game playing with titles - especially if you rank well in key areas.

ie Big companies would do it, only whilst simultaneously running a massive above the line advertising campaign etc. Every click counts, cant afford to lose one.

Am trying to make the point a change to title is not to be done lightly. I built a tool so I can review titles, independently here is the link https://www.predikkta.com/products/free-serp-optimizer-tool.html - you can measure pixels and also see what your Ad looks like next to competitors.

All that said on your examples if you have created some strong backlinks I would jump to the latter one. But I am v concerned about your domain authority. Accordingly I would target niche until you have built up your DA a little more.  I am conservative though. ie the below title is 500 pixels. Then perhaps your H1 "psychic readings".

Online Psychic Readings | Tarot, Astrology & Chat | Zenory

Moving forward this way you keep your primary keyword insitu whilst keeping working on DA for the key pages.

It is a very difficult and nebulous business advising on titles. So you know your site best and what risks you are prepared to take.  The key focus for me looking at your site is DA, everything else looks reasonable...

Ask away though. Hope this is not too muddy.

Title tags are critical as you have pointed out. Like everything in SEO they have two competing features. The first is SEO - the words in the title are integral to tell google what you website is about. The second competing feature is clickability.  Often click ability and SEO do not "intertwine" neatly.

A basic and strong title tag would be

Important Keyword | Second most important Keyword | Brand name

Psychic Readings | Online Tarot or Chat Readings | Zenory (487 pixels)

The title should be no more than 512 pixels long, otherwise it usually truncates. So if you send through a couple of options as per the above. Happy to review and discuss with you.  When "deciding the title" you should always keep an eye on your H1 as they are related.

Ask away I love title tags and meta descriptions.

The first thing is a bit tragic and may be frowned up - you need to set up a female address sarah@brandname.com.  I find if you ask for a link as a male you receive a low response rate. If the email comes from a female - then the response rate is reasonable. A personal choice.

However that is for generic link building.

Of the 75 URL's you have collected I would create a strategy for each one - they are that important!  A phone call, begging, swapping services - whatever you need to do..  it is actually good fun, you will meet some great people. If you get a chance drop into their office.  Do free psychic readings... whatever it takes.

Each of those links has great SEO value.  The reality is it is just hard work but play to your strengths you know what they are.