PageSpeed: What You Need To Know About This New Ranking Factor

It is now official that from June 2018, mobile page speed will be a ranking factor. But what implication does this speed update have on websites? Well, the truth is that there is no more beating around the bush; you must work on making your mobile site easily accessible and fast. Mobile is arguably where many people spend their online time. Whether they want to pay a bill, plan their next vacation or look up a crucial stat on the internet. People are increasingly using their tablets and smartphones to complete their daily tasks.

Google is aware of the importance of web page loading speeds. A slow website will ruin other people’s user experience. It is for this reason that Google has made mobile site speed a crucial ranking factor by introducing the Speed Update Algorithm. These changes will take effect in July 2018 and will significantly affect the pages that provide the slowest experience to their users. According to Google, the average search user will probably not notice the difference.

Looking at some recent research, Google says that the average time a mobile landing page takes to load is about 22 seconds. When you compare that to the three seconds every visitor wants to spend on your website; there is apparently a considerable discrepancy. Most searchers are looking for something and want it immediately. While page speed is crucial for SEO, it is more important for user experience, conversions and general happiness of your customers.

Page Speed Will Be a Ranking Factor

Currently, page speed can be viewed as an indicator and not a ranking factor. And not unless you have an extremely slow website, you will still get some decent rankings with average load speeds. However, it has been proven on numerous occasions that the speedier your site, the better results you will receive. According to a research from Google, the bounce rate increases when a page load time exceeds 5 seconds which is a telltale indicator of the importance of having a high-speed website. While the details of how Google will evaluate page speed for mobile sites is still unknown, it is pretty much evident that it will not be far from making your site responsive, fast, well-structured, and filled with high-quality content.

How To Speed Up Your Site

With Google’s recent announcement, it is essential to do everything you can to increase the load speeds of your mobile websites. Everyone loves a speedy website, from search engines to SEOs, but of most importance is the customer. Here are some aspects you should work on to increase your sites load speed.

1. Reduce HTTP Requests

According to Google, more than 80% of a website’s loading time is spent trying to download various parts of the page, like scripts, style sheets, and images. Each of these elements has a specific HTTP request, so the more your on-page attributes, the longer it will take for your page to render. Reducing the number of requests sent by your website when a user searches any of your web pages will help increase your website’s load time.

2. Eliminate Any Unnecessary Plugins

If your website takes close to 10 seconds for it to load a specific page, it will be impossible to retain your visitor. The sensation of frustration, impatience, and the feeling of abandonment can keep a visitor from revisiting your website. With every plugin you add to your site, you must have the resources to run it, and more resources mean a slower website. If there are any plugins you find unnecessary, be sure to deactivate or delete them. Besides slowing down your website, too many plugins will result in website crashes and security issues.

Always bear in mind that your work will never be over. Your mobile website will never be too fast, and your customers will probably go elsewhere once you shave off a chunk of your site’s load time. Always work on your site load speed for a good user experience and increased conversions.
You can learn more about Ocean Epic and SEO in Maui, Hawaii by visiting https://oceanepic.com/ and take advantage of the complimentary Website Audit.