1. Search Engine Marketing Optimization

   1. Chapter 1 Natural Search Engine Optimization

      1. The Benefits of SEO
      2. Core SEO Techniques
      3. Ten Steps to Higher Search Engine Rankings
      4. Summary

   2. Chapter 2 SEO Case Study: PhillyDentistry.com

      1. Original Site
      2. First Redesign: Mid-2004
      3. Second Redesign: Late 2007
      4. Summary

   3. Chapter 3 Pay-per-Click Optimization

      1. Pay-per-Click Basics and Definitions
      2. Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Everybody Else
      3. Goal Setting, Measurement, Analytics Support, and Closing the Loop
      4. Keyword Discovery, Selection, and Analysis
      5. Organizing and Optimizing Ad Groups
      6. Optimizing Pay-per-Click Ads
      7. Optimizing Landing Pages
      8. Optimizing Bids
      9. Other Pay-per-Click Issues
      10. Summary

   4. Chapter 4 PPC Case Study: BodyGlove.com

      1. Body Glove PPC Optimization
      2. Summary

   5. Chapter 5 Conversion Rate Optimization

      1. The Benefits of CRO
      2. Best Practices for CRO
      3. Top 10 Factors to Maximize Conversion Rates
      4. Staging Your CRO Campaign
      5. Summary

2. Web Performance Optimization

   1. Chapter 6 Web Page Optimization

      1. Common Web Page Problems
      2. How to Optimize Your Web Page Speed
      3. Summary

   2. Chapter 7 CSS Optimization

      1. Build on a CSS Architecture
      2. Top 10 Tips for Optimizing CSS
      3. Summary

   3. Chapter 8 Ajax Optimization

      1. Common Problems with Ajax
      2. Ajax: New and Improved JavaScript Communications
      3. Proper Application of Ajax
      4. Rolling Your Own Ajax Solution
      5. Relying on Ajax Libraries
      6. JavaScript Optimization
      7. Minimizing HTTP Requests
      8. Choosing Data Formats Wisely
      9. Addressing the Caching Quandary of Ajax
      10. Addressing Network Robustness
      11. Understanding the Ajax Architecture Effect
      12. Summary

   4. Chapter 9 Advanced Web Performance Optimization

      1. Server-Side Optimization Techniques
      2. Client-Side Performance Techniques
      3. Summary

   5. Chapter 10 Website Optimization Metrics

      1. Website Success Metrics
      2. Types of Web Analytics Software
      3. Search Engine Marketing Metrics
      4. Web Performance Metrics
      5. Summary

1. Colophon

The animal on the cover of Website Optimization is a common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor). Members of the nightjar family, nighthawks are medium-size birds, measuring 9 inches long and 2.2-3.5 ounces, with a wingspan of roughly 21 inches. They have large heads and tiny bills disguising a cavernous mouth. Like its nearest relative, the owl, the nighthawk's plumage comprises well-camouflaged shades of black, brown, and gray.

Common nighthawks inhabit all of North America, and are known by several other names depending on region. In many parts of the U.S. and particularly in the south, they are called bullbats; "bull" is believed to derive from the bellowing sound the male makes during the breeding ritual, and "bat" because nighthawks' erratic flight resembles that of a bat. Nighthawks are also known as "goatsuckers" due to an ancient belief that they fed on goats' milk at night. (In actuality, any evidence of the birds' presence near goats is likely attributable to the flying insects in the surrounding fields, which constitute much of the nighthawk diet.) Other names include the Louisiana French Creole crapau volans ("flying toad"), "pick-a-me-dick" (an imitation of one of the bird's notes), pisk, pork and beans, will-o'-wisp, burnt-land bird, and mosquito hawk.

Nighthawks are quite beneficial to humans, as they eat many of the insects that destroy vegetation or are otherwise harmful, such as beetles, boll-weevils, and mosquitoes. The nighthawk opens its beak as it flies through clouds of insects, scooping them into its enormous mouth. It can eat more than 2,000 insects at a time, and as many as 50 different species have been found in the stomach of one nighthawk.