Page speed performance plays an important role in your SEO campaigns, along with keyword research, link building, and content marketing. Google’s ranking algorithm has always included it since 2009. Page speed is now more important to Google when ranking pages, as Google puts more emphasis on user experience. As a result, optimizing page speed should be a top priority.
A lot of people get caught up in the visual design of their website, especially those who are new to digital marketing. Their websites often neglect the essential (but often considered boring) technical aspects. The lack of responsiveness and performance of your website may eventually result in little traffic or high bounce rates.
Be aware of any major issues with your site, such as errors or slow page loading times. The result will be a poor user experience and a penalty from Google for your site if you don’t address these issues.
These Are The Key Statistics You Need No Know About Page Speed
Over 98% of internet users expect websites to load in less than five seconds in today’s fast-paced digital world. When your website goes beyond that, your website visitors leave and look for other options (your competitors). This leads to a loss of sales and leads for your business. Here are some statistics to keep in mind:
• Only 15% of websites operate at an acceptable page speed, according to 2019 statistics
• When your site takes more than five seconds to load, more than 36% of visitors leave
• 70% of consumers say the loading speed of the site affects their purchase decision
• Conversion rates drop by 7% when there is a delay of one second
• 25% of business owners don’t properly monitor page speed
• Page speed optimization increases sales by 81% for business websites
• Site speed optimization has increased client retention by 68% among business owners
SEO’s Best Practices for Page Speed Optimization
The statistics above demonstrate the importance of enhancing page speed in terms of user experience, but also terms of SEO. Page speed now plays an even greater role in search rankings thanks to the latest search algorithm update. Furthermore, 15 to 25% of search rankings can be lost by slow pages.
Mobile and Desktop Page Speed Tests
You should evaluate the speed performance of your website as part of your digital marketing campaign. If your website does not work well across all devices, you will suffer from negative impacts. It is important to perform a speed test on both a desktop and a mobile device.
To check the speed performance of your site, you can use several online tools. You should choose a tool that offers insights and results for both your mobile and desktop versions.
Mobile page speed tests often produce lower scores than desktop tests. For low scores, site audits are recommended, but it could also be an issue with your internet connection.
A loading time of fewer than three seconds is optimal for mobile devices. The loading time of your site on desktop computers should not exceed two seconds.
Some of the best ways to speed up your website include:
1. Compress The File
It is recommended that developers use Gzip for file compression today. By using this software, you can reduce the size of your CCS, HTML, and JavaScript files by more than 150 bytes. On the other hand, this tool should not be used on image files, as it may negatively impact their quality. To maintain the quality of images, use specific graphic tools like Photoshop to compress them. When you compress your files properly, your page speed can improve by up to 90%.
2. Check Your Code
Code can sometimes be overlooked for the smallest details. This involves removing unnecessary characters such as spaces and commas. You can greatly improve the speed of your website by optimizing your code. It is also a good idea to check the code comments and formatting. You can identify and fix broken codes in your website’s backend by using CSSNano and UglifyJS, which Google recommends.
3. Reducing Redirects
Your website’s redirects are another factor that affects page speed. When a page redirects to another page, the HTTP server has to spend more time loading the new page. In the example above, if your mobile redirection pattern looks like “macjweb.com > www.macjweb.com > m.macjweb.com > m.macjweb.com/home”, the extra pathways make your page load slower.
4. Activate Browser Caching
By taking this step, you can enhance the overall browsing experience. If you enable browser caching, the system will save the visitor’s browser information. In other words, your website doesn’t need to send another HTTP request to the server whenever they visit your website again. As a result, overall page loading time is reduced.
As soon as the first page is stored in the system’s cache, subsequent pages only require downloading new elements (if they exist). Check if your cache expiration date has been set by using a browser caching tool such as YSlow. Using this tool, you can also set your cached information’s “expires” header. Most web developers set cache expiration for a year by default unless they frequently modify their designs.
Here are the recommended caching plugins for WordPress site builders:
• WP Rocket
• WP Super Cache
• W3 Total Cache
5. Improve Server Response Time
If you want to optimize your server’s response time, you need to check several things. Your web hosting platform, traffic volume, and elements used for each page are all factors to consider. You can identify these performance roadblocks by performing an in-depth site audit. There are usually two main issues you may experience during the process: a broken database query and a lack of memory space. Under 200ms is the optimal server response time. See this article for more information on optimizing your time.
6. Make Use Of A Content Distribution Network
It is possible to streamline the distribution process of content by using a content distribution network (CDN). As a result, your website’s overall content structure is resolved. Your site will be faster and more reliable if you use a CDN to organize your content in a database.
7. Image Optimization
It is not necessary to remove all the images from your website to improve page speed, but you should optimize them. Keeping your image format in check is one of the things you should do. Graphics with fewer than 16 colors are best in the PNG format, while photographs are best in the JPEG format. Check large and bulky images as well. Your web pages can be slowed down by these factors, and your site’s technical health can be negatively affected as a result.
Optimizing an image means reducing its size without sacrificing quality. Compressing the images before uploading them to your website is the simplest and most effective way to accomplish this.
You can also create templates for images you frequently use, such as buttons and icons. Check out CSS sprites, one of the most popular tools. Due to fewer HTTP requests, you can combine your images into one large image, reducing the loading time.
Lastly,
Building multiple backlinks is no longer enough to boost your site rankings. Compared to previous algorithm updates, Google has created smarter and stricter rules regarding site rankings, along with other major search engines. Also, it clearly states you should optimize both for users and search engines so that they can easily detect spam and blackhat (or unethical) SEO practices.
You should consider page speed when building your SEO campaign as one of the most important factors. Page speed optimization shouldn’t just be implemented because of algorithm updates. An excellent customer experience is a result of seamless browsing or shopping experience from a business perspective. Are you looking for expert advice? Call Mac J Web, a Las Vegas SEO agency.
