Does Page Speed Affect SEO?
In the lightning-fast world of the internet, website speed is no longer a luxury – it’s a necessity. But does a speedy website translate to higher search engine rankings? This guide dives into the connection between page speed and SEO, exploring how quickly your website loads can impact your search visibility and, ultimately, your bottom line. We’ll also explore the user experience side of things, because let’s face it, no one enjoys waiting for a slow website to load!
Page Speed Does Matter
Make it fast, make it a good experience.
For the longest time it was believed that pages that loaded quickly would get a boost in Google search rankings. Well, since 2018 it has been a confirmed ranking factor on both desktop and mobile and yes, it 100% affects your SEO.
Specifically, Google stated, “people want to be able to find answers to their questions as fast as possible — studies show that people really care about the speed of a page. Although speed has been used in ranking for some time, that signal was focused on desktop searches. Today we’re announcing that starting in July 2018, page speed will be a ranking factor for mobile searches”.
Is that all you really need to known though? No.
Page Speed Basics
All you need to know and more.
Sure, it’s great to know that Page Speed is an important part of SEO, but there is so much more to dig into.
Page speed is probably one of the best SEO factors to learn and optimize. You can improve your rankings, the user experience, and even conversion rates. Let’s look at a bit more information and then get some helpful recommendations on how to improve your page speed.
What Exactly Is Page Speed?
Page speed is a metric that determines how quickly the content of a webpage loads. A variety of conditions, such as the server your website is on, the size of your pages, and even elements that are found on your webpage, have an effect on the load speed.
There may also be variations between the desktop and mobile versions of a page’s load times. Google addresses this by using a mobile first approach where page speed is calculated based on your mobile version, not the desktop. This means you can better focus on improvements.
Why Is Page Speed Important?
Search engines have incorporated website speed into their algorithms for ranking websites as user experience (UX) has become a major focus. As we know, the overall performance makes up an integral part of the UX and a poor UX will put users off.
Overall, page speed affects your SEO because slow sites negatively impact the user experience. In fact, bounce rates significantly spike once load speeds hit the 3 second mark. Anything more and one might as well expect website traffic to stall.
How Is Page Speed Measured?
Measuring page speed is not as simple as measuring the time it takes for the page to open. A webpage will load at different times and rates. Therefore, there are multiple ways that page speed is measured. While the Core Web Vitals touch on page speed, we also consider:
- Time to First Byte (TTFB): How long it takes for the page to start loading.
- First Contentful Paint (FCP): How long it takes for the user to see the first element of a page.
- Onload time: How long it takes to fully load the content of a page.
Improve Your Website’s Page Speed
Make like Roadrunner and “beep beep”.
You want to increase page speed and improve your website’s performance but you’re not sure where to start? There are tons of ways to go about it but first, we recommend heading over to PageSpeed Insights so you can run a report and see where your page currently stands. You even receive information on where your webpage is showing speed issues.
This is where it gets more complicated though. Next, you have to go in and make the adjustments. Some areas we recommend focusing on include:
▼ Hosting
A web server needs to execute code, run database queries, and serve files. Cheap hosting can cause issues due to shared a server and reduced resources. Basically, when too many people are trying to pull information from the same server, it slows down.
A dedicated server can help with a lot of these issues including increased resources and faster processing times. Cloud hosting makes it easier than ever, if you know what to look for.
▼ File Sizes
It’s simple, larger files take longer to load. Therefore, compress images (.webp format) and other media to reduce the file size.
Even CSS and JavaScript files can be minimized. When trying to access certain JavaScript and CSS files, website visitors may face an excessive number of HTTP requests. This can cause serious lags in the way your website functions, since each request must be handled on its own by the user’s browser. Reducing the number of HTTP requests will help speed things up.
▼ Browser Caching
Caching means to place something in storage on the chance that it will be of use later. For websites, caching will store information including images (e.g. logos, pictures, backgrounds), HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on a user’s browser so that when they revisit the site later, it will take much less time to load.
▼ Plugins
Sometimes, you want your website to have certain features. We get it. However, integrating third-party features onto a website often requires the installation new Plugins. The more plugins, the more resources being used to keep them running. This may lead to the site slowing down and even some security risks emerging.
Honestly, too many plugins can also cause major compatibility issues down the line. You don’t want your website held together with tape.
Stay Speedy & Dominate SEO
Page speed isn’t just about user experience (although that’s important too!). It’s a confirmed ranking factor for search engines. Ready to see how fast your website loads and discover optimization tips?
Need more SEO insights?
Explore our FAQ like a delightful dessert buffet. Click a question for a single bite or savor the entire knowledge base!
▼ Beginner SEO FAQ
How to Learn SEO
What is an SEO Campaign Strategy?
How to Identify Keywords for SEO
What is SEO Copy & How to Write SEO Content?
What is an SEO Title?
What is Meta Tag in SEO?
Why is Having Duplicate Content an Issue for SEO?
What Is On-Page & Off-Page SEO?
Why are Internal Links Important for SEO?
What are Backlinks & Link Building in SEO?