Quick quiz: how does Google decide how to rank web pages in search results? Write down as many things as you can think of. You have one minute. Go!
(One minute passes.)
How did you go? If you know a bit about SEO, you probably came up with some of the following answers:
All these things are certainly factors in Google’s ranking algorithm, and you should take them all into account when you’re developing your website. But there’s another ranking criterion that Google has recently started to use, one you may not be aware of:
Yep, Google has confirmed that page load speed is now a factor in its ranking algorithm. This means that, all else being equal, a page that takes half a second to load will rank higher in Google than one that take two seconds.
Of course, Google isn’t the only reason why you need a website that loads quickly – it’s not only Google but actual users that are turned off by slow-loading sites. Usability expert Gerry McGovern writes:
Practically every single piece of evidence I have gathered on customer behavior on the Web since 1994 can be summarized as follows: The customer is highly, highly impatient.
So regardless of what Google does, you should have a site that loads as quickly as possible. But this change by Google does give you one more reason to care about how quickly your site loads, and it’s a handy piece of leverage to use if your developer is trying to sell you on a site that’s so loaded with bells and whistles that it takes half a minute to load.
So what can you, as the website owner, do to make your site load more quickly?
How quickly your website loads also depends on where and how it’s hosted. Unfortunately, it’s difficult for website owners to make informed decisions about hosting – it’s a very technical field and there’s no easy way of comparing different providers. Different organisations have different hosting needs, depending on the size and functionality of their websites and how many visitors they have.
So control what you can control, and try to find a web developer you trust enough to give you good advice about hosting.
Above all, try to visit your website as often as possible, from as many different locations, networks and browsers as possible. If it feels like it’s taking too long to load, it probably is!
Weave acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their cultures and their elders past and present.