We are living in a fast-paced internet age where people need instant information and as computers and mobiles have become more powerful and fast the expectations of users have increased too. Let’s talk about what is page speed and how it impacts SEO.
What is Page Speed?
Page speed, in simple terms, refers to the time it takes for a web page to fully load its content. This includes images, scripts, stylesheets, and other elements.
You can check your website page speed using Google’s PageSpeed insights tool.
Beyond the user perspective, page speed is quantified by metrics such as First Contentful Paint (FCP), Time to Interactive (TTI), and other core web vitals that indicate how quickly users can engage with your site.
How important is page speed for SEO?
Google follows a simple rule, do what is best for the user. If a user gets annoyed with a slow page load, it has a negative impact on SEO and hence it is very important.
A faster site enhances user experience, ensuring they find what they seek quickly and easily, and creating a positive impression.
Users often prefer and trust websites that load quickly. A faster site gives you a competitive advantage, potentially leading to higher conversion rates.
How does page speed impact SEO?
The speed at which your web pages load can significantly influence your site’s visibility on search engines.
Slow-loading page SEO impact
- Increased Bounce Rates: A slow-loading page may lead to high bounce rates. Users are more likely to abandon a page if it takes too long to load, signalling dissatisfaction and negatively impacting SEO.
- SEO Impact: Google’s algorithm factors in page speed as a ranking signal. Slow-loading pages may face a lower SEO ranking.
- Mobile Impact: With the rise of mobile searches, slow-loading pages on mobile devices can be particularly detrimental. Google’s mobile-first indexing prioritises mobile page speed for rankings.
Standard (OK) loading page
- Balanced User Experience: A standard loading page strikes a balance. While not exceptionally fast, it manages to keep bounce rates in check, providing users with an acceptable experience.
Fast-loading page SEO benefits
- Reduced Bounce Rates: Fast-loading pages experience lower bounce rates. Users are more likely to engage with content (provided good content is offered), leading to increased session durations and positively influencing SEO.
- SEO Benefit: Google rewards fast-loading pages with higher search rankings. The faster your pages load, the better your chances of getting that SEO signal.
- Enhanced Mobile Performance: Enhanced mobile user experience with speed and other factors benefited from search engines like Google.
Factors that affect your page speed
The speed at which a website loads is influenced by multiple factors, and understanding these aspects is crucial for optimising performance and, consequently, improving SEO.
Website design & theme
The design quality and theme of a website play a crucial role in determining its load time. Complex designs or poorly optimised themes can contribute to slower page speeds.
Prioritising simplicity, efficient design practices and lightweight themes enhance the overall speed and user experience.
Images & videos size
Large file sizes of images and videos are common reasons for slow-loading pages.
Optimising media content by compressing images and videos without compromising quality significantly contributes to faster load times.
Techniques such as lazy loading can further enhance performance by loading media elements as users scroll.
Poor coding structure
The efficiency of a website’s underlying code is critical. Poorly structured or redundant code can hinder load times. Clean, well-organised coding practices, utilising CSS and JavaScript minimisation, help streamline the codebase and improve website performance.
Excess use of plugins & apps
Plugins are important to run a website but excess use of plugins can increase the website load time.
Each plugin adds additional code, increasing the complexity of the website. Regularly reviewing and optimising the use of plugins ensures a faster-loading website.
Hosting Resources
The choice of hosting provider and the resources allocated to a website significantly influence its speed.
Opting for a reliable hosting service that offers sufficient bandwidth, processing power, and storage is essential.
Dedicated hosting or virtual private servers (VPS) often provide better performance compared to shared hosting.
