Being part of a content delivery network (CDN), cloud uploaders shift data from central server facilities closer to local Internet exchange points. The resultant reduced latency is a major driver for improved customer satisfaction and online operation stability. However, using a file uploader comes with perks that you might not be aware of. Today, we unpack four handy uses of a cloud uploader.
Set up Remote Business Operations
The unexpected COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to shift from on-site to remote operations in 2020. With a 400% increase in the number of employees working remotely at least once a week, this trend is sure to remain on the rise, even post-pandemic. While 60% of companies had restricted remote work before the lockdown, over half of the managers claimed they are planning to increase permanent remote operations.
Getting the whole team on the same page and maintaining efficiency are two paramount tasks. With disparate hardware and software access across the board, sharing files and media becomes a challenge. A cloud uploader can resolve this issue by supporting multiple upload sources.
Instead of only using local disk storage, employees can upload files via direct links, cloud services, and even social media. Instant upload from an Instagram or a Dropbox account saves time on routine manual operations that don’t generate value but take hours out of every workweek. Moreover, simplifying and automating file upload across multiple sources has the potential to reduce expenses.
Read More: Beginners Guide to Cloud-Based Phone Systems
Improve customer experience
Ten years ago, Maile Ohye claimed that e-commerce websites should load in under two seconds, while Google aimed for under 0.5 seconds. Since then, site performance has become a major factor in Google search results ranking, and the battle for lowering page load time began. However, as websites become more saturated with media, we are left with few optimization avenues.
File uploaders and CDNs are handy for shifting the bulk of business assets like images, videos, JavaScript, and CSS to the edge, drastically reducing latency and cutting traffic costs. Besides giving your website better performance metrics, this approach improves customer experience. Instead of getting annoyed and leaving the slow site, users can navigate it quickly and go through the sales funnel you set up. Moreover, CDNs are perfect for making your media responsive and mobile-friendly, which is another point in favor of your site for Google and the customer. Considering that over 50% of all Internet traffic is now mobile, it’s a crucial advantage you can’t afford to miss.
Edit Media on the Fly
For media-rich online projects, image editing is yet another mundane task. It takes hours every week that would be better spent on value-generating activities. Instead of relying on offline software suites, businesses can use file uploaders with enhanced capabilities to perform necessary changes online. A
dvanced image editing features include cropping, resizing images for different media outlets and formats, rotating, and even converting them into Internet-appropriate formats. Enhancing and blurring are also possible. The latter is especially important for dealing with third-party images to distort facial features or identifying marks. After all, fines for improper personal data processing exceed millions of dollars and can turn into business killers.
AI-powered image recognition and handling is the best thing about using a file uploader instead of a combination of image editor and manual uploading. Smart algorithms can recognize faces and objects before performing automatic cropping or blurring. As a result, large batches of images can be analyzed, processed, and added to the website in a matter of minutes.
Make Google love your website
Google doesn’t make our lives easier by adding more and more factors to their website evaluation equation. It’s not enough to have the pages load lightning-fast; you have to work hard on every aspect of the page’s front-end and back-end. As an average Google search session lasts under 60 seconds, you need all the help to get into the top-10 ranking. Otherwise, you can likely forget about attracting organic traffic.
File uploaders with advanced editing capabilities can help you make Google like your website better. Compressing the images without losing quality is one way to make the page load faster without foregoing media content altogether. Adaptive delivery is also a useful feature that helps you cover all media bases with a single line of code instead of slogging through critical image handling tasks one by one.
Using meta tags, such as image title and alt text, as well as image captions, is also a well-established search engine optimization approach. Implementing these changes via a single media pipeline of a CDN is a major time-saver compared to manual input. While invisible to most users, these tiny SEO improvements can have a major positive impact on your website’s search result ranking.
The file uploader is a Must-Have
Content delivery networks and file uploaders are no longer a luxury but a necessity for media-rich online projects. Their key advantage lies in shifting your media assets closer to your prospects and caching large volumes of data to reduce latency significantly. This, in turn, improves operational stability and customer experience, both leading to increased revenue.
However, file uploaders can do much more for your business. Streamlining file uploads from various sources is crucial for companies shifting towards remote operations, while advanced online image editing using AI-powered algorithms is a major time-saver. Finally, integrating the best SEO practices into your media pipeline is a sure way to get into the top-10 of Google search results.
