Your website’s loading speeds are more important than you think. A slow site has a major impact on user experience, provoking frustrated visitors clicking away in their droves.
Research consistently shows this, with one eye-opening stat in 2016 showing that 53% of mobile web visitors will leave if the page takes more than 3 seconds to load.
This in turn harms sales and conversions, and dents your brand reputation. Even the biggest companies take a hit when their sites can’t cope with the traffic, with Amazon admitting a few years ago that just 100 milliseconds of extra load time wipes out 1% of their sales.
But did you know that a slow website is also bad news for SEO? Here’s why.
The number one thing to know is that Google closely monitors site speed. It uses its findings in its ranking algorithms, so your site could drop down the search rankings if its loading speeds aren’t up to scratch.
What’s a good page load time?
The recommended page load time has been getting shorter and shorter over the years. In 2016, a decent speed for a page to load would be under 3 seconds. In 2020, Google recommended 2 seconds as an acceptable measure, according to an SEM Rush blog. But in a Google webmaster video, it also said that “At Google, we aim for under a half-second.”
In 2022, SEO consultancy Hobo recommends that the ideal website load time should be between 1-2 seconds. But of course, you should always be aiming for as zippy a site as possible.
How to test page loading speed
To test how fast your site is and to do it accurately, it’s best to use a tool. There are lots to choose from, including:
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- Google Analytics Site Speed
- Google Mobile Website Speed Testing Tool
- Pingdom
- WebPageTest
- GTMetrix
- KeyCDN Website Speed Test.
The third one on this list is an important tool to pay attention to. It’s just as important – if not more so – for your site to load quickly on a mobile device as it is for a desktop.
Key tips for improving website speed
If you’re disappointed with the results of your speed test, here are a few immediate actions you can take:
- Optimise the images on your site. Large image files could be the culprit if your site is slow, so you should aim to compress images without losing quality. Try a tool like TinyPNG or ImageMagick.
- Look into whether it’s your server at fault. It could be that you need to talk to your hosting provider about a different solution for your site.
- Clear up redirects. A buildup of different redirects could be slowing down your page load speed. A tool like Google PageSpeed Insights should highlight this if so.
Need help with SEO or optimising your website? Work with our network of talented specialists here at the Nextgen Marketing – email hello@nextgen-marketing.co.uk to find out more.
