Why is PageSpeed Important for SEO?
Page speed is related to the user experience. If your website takes too long to load, consumers will leave and visit your competitors. Furthermore, the slower your page opens, the more Google will notice and penalise you in ranks.
You must understand how to improve page load speeds, as well as what page speed optimization is and why it is so important to your overall SEO campaign. Continue reading to learn more about these and other topics.
What exactly is pagespeed?
According to Moz:
“page speed can be described in either “page load time”, (the time it takes to fully display the content on a specific page) or “time to first byte” (how long it takes for your browser to receive the first byte of information from the webserver).”
https://moz.com/learn/seo/page-speed
The time it takes to load a whole page is commonly used to calculate load speed. This is influenced by factors such as server speed, internet connection, file size, and image compression, to name a few.
We propose the following pagespeed tools.
We propose three tools for testing your page performance and determining whether something is incorrect.
WebPageTest
The WebPageTest Tool is a powerful speedtesting tool which allows you to Instantly test your site’s speed, usability, and resilience in real browsers, devices, and locations around the world. We highly recommend this for South African website owners.
The free services they offer will give you a good idea of your page speed. The paid plan offers you a few additional features that are handy for any web developer to test no code, integrate API or skip the queue when waiting for results.
The waterfall is one of WebPageTest’s greatest features. This displays the order and speed of each element on your website. Web developers adore this feature because it delves into the specifics of which bits load faster than others and in what order.
There appear to be relatively few disadvantages to utilising WebPageTest, and those discovered by internet reviews are minor.
They have multiple locations across the globe and one specifically for Cape Town. What’s unique about WebPageTest is that you can test across multiple devices, change the bandwidth as well as test to specific locations. You can also test the first view and the repeat view to check the caching capabilities of your website if it makes use of a cache and pagespeed plugin.
There may be information overload, and you may not be able to recognise all of the critical facts you require.
Although it detects problems, some users believe it does not explain how to resolve them.
Page Speed on Google
https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
This website contains a wealth of information regarding your page speed. It is, nevertheless, a difficult judge on sites. Your Google Page Speed score may be lower than on other sites.
With the release of Google’s Core Web Vitals, page speed has suddenly become very important, so sites such as Google’s Page Speed are also important. It ranks right up there with the Core Web Vitals in terms of assisting you to rank high in SERPs.
The Google Page Speed tool, like WebPageTest, has few drawbacks. Feedback might include recommendations for resolving issues that are full of technical jargon and difficult for the average web user. Furthermore, some of the proposed performance requirements may be very hard to satisfy.
Site Audit by 19 Digital
https://19digital.co.za/contact
We offer website design and development services as well as specialist SEO services to help you make your website awesome, ranking and visible on search engines. A part of SEO includes a Site Audit to assist with Page Speed and identifying site issues.
It provides data in graphs and charts that are simple to understand. The report can diagnose any faults it discovers.
While it provides a lot of useful information that is presented well, it may require some technical knowledge to resolve any issues that are identified. You can browse a vast knowledge database, but it might be scary to the average online user.
How Does Page Speed Affect SEO?
Page speed has been considered an SEO factor since 2010. In 2018, Google raised the ante with its SPEED upgrade, which incorporated mobile variables in their ratings.
Higher Placement
Google ranks pages that have a better and quicker loading time higher. As a result, it is a direct ranking component for SERP. This speed is measured by Google in terms of time to the first byte.
Website Crawling
If a site loads faster, crawlers may crawl more pages. This ease of crawling and obtaining data aids in your ranking.
The User Experience
Page speed is affected by user experience. If a user is irritated by a slow-loading website, they will leave and visit your competitor. This bounce rate has a detrimental influence on your Google ranking.
Methods for Increasing Page Speed
How do you increase page speed now that you’ve used one of the tools and discovered your page is loading a little slowly and understand the importance of it?
Increasing the Speed of Mobile Pages
Page redirection should be minimised.
www.page.com redirects to m.page.com, which in turn redirects to m.page.com/home.
Each of these redirection slows down the loading of your website.
Enhance your photographs
Adjust the file size to fit the page.
Instead of loading slowly, use image tag attributes to improve a picture.
With mobile browsing on the rise and being a major component of Google’s speed update, having a fast page load for mobile users is critical and prudent.
Boosting Desktop Page Speed
Make sure your server is fast.
Enhance your photographs
As previously said, make sure the image file size is less.
And the placements are set in stone.
Have a well-structured website.
Optimise this so that the website loads logically and fast, with all graphics and links functioning properly.
Javascript and HTML should be minimised.
The more third-party code that must be loaded, the slower the entire process.
Google’s Web Essentials
Core Web Vitals is a major Google upgrade that will take place this year, in 2021. There is a lot of information available online about the ins and outs of this, but in a nutshell, Google is focusing on three key vitals in this update to help with ranking. They are as follows:
1. Stability of vision
Cumulative Layout Change (CLS).
When a page loads, how stable is it?
Do the pictures shift somewhat while the website loads?
Do links shift when you click on them, causing you to click someplace else?
This is an unsatisfactory User Experience. To resolve these difficulties, perform the following:
Set size properties are useful. Browsers will know precisely how large an element is and will not need to resize the page when it loads.
Advertising components have reserved space, so nothing loads and displays unexpectedly.
Add new items below the fold to avoid pushing things around when they load.
2. FID (First Input Delay)
This is the rate at which a user may interact with your page, such as:
Select a menu item.
Select a link.
Enter your email address here.
Access the accordion text via a mobile website.
This component is significant since it displays how actual people interact with your website. FID is unimportant for a page with largely passive content. If you have surveys, subscription forms, or the like, this is a critical element.
How can this be resolved?
Reduce the amount of javascript on your page.
Remove any unnecessary third-party scripts as well.
Make use of your browser’s cache.
LCP (Large Content Paint)
How long does it take for your website to load from the perspective of a user? This factor is closely related to Page Speed and what we’ve been discussing.
This metric differs from others in that it is USER CENTRIC, focusing on how a user can see and interact with a page.
If you discover any of these problems with your website, here are some solutions:
Improve your web host.
Set up ‘lazy loading,’ which means that pictures will only load when a user scrolls down your website.
Large page components should be removed.
What impact will Core Web Updates have on your website?
Search intent is now inextricably linked with user experience. The impression of what is the most useful website for consumers is getting refined.
You may have the best content, but if your website takes too long to load and the images shift and change, your ranking will suffer.
Work with your SEO professionals to generate reports and identify methods to improve the speed and user experience of your online presence.
Page Speed Comparison
Where should your page rank in terms of loading speed? What is the average speed of the websites with which you compete?
According to the Semrush article How fast is fast enough:
If your site loads in 5 seconds, it is quicker than around 25% of the web.
If your site loads in 2.9 seconds, it is quicker than roughly half of the web.
If your site loads in 1.7 seconds, it is quicker than around 75% of the web.
If your site loads in 0.8 seconds, it is quicker than around 94% of the web.
How Can Different CMS Improve Page Speed?
What are some of the popular Content Management Systems doing to help you with Page Speed in preparation for the Core Web Vitals update?
19 Digital Builder
19 Digital Builder is a unique drop and drag website builder which allows you to build your entire website visually. The builder makes use of AWS hosting and delivers a lightning fast delivery using the full AWS hosting and utilising the CDN offered by AWS across all sites built on it.
It offers powerful speed rivaling and often outperforming other CMS and website builder offering without needing to add any additional plugins / software or CDN requirements.
Build a unique store, make use of the pre-designed website templates for your business or eCommerce store and benefit from the amazing AWS website speed.
WordPress Page Speed.
WordPress powers more than 40% of the internet. It’s amazing that it’s open source. It implies that anybody with some programming knowledge may write plugins to improve your WordPress experience. The issue is that if you start installing a lot of widgets and plugins, they might significantly slow down your website.
Because many WordPress sites are static, such as blogs or photo albums, general tips for speeding up the site apply – image compression, structure, and so on.
Consider the following choices for individuals who have plugins and widgets:
- WordPress hosting with high performance.
- Examine your theme’s aerodynamics.
- Disable any functionality you don’t need or use.
- Theme for Mobile Devices.
- This is especially crucial with the forthcoming Core Web Vitals
- Quality plugins do not slow down your site as much.
- Quality might be costly, but it is worthwhile in the long term.
- Keep your blog entries to a minimum.
- There’s no need for 50 thumbnails for previous blogs.
- Consider server-side caching.
Shopify Page Speed
Shopify’s Site Speed functionality will be available in August 2020. When you’re signed into the CMS, there’s a speed dial at the bottom of your Shopify site. This measures your speed in relation to other Shopify shops.
Shopify is generally quick, and what you’re looking at is the speed of your site in comparison to others in your industry.
This speed score is calculated for you by Google Lighthouse.
Has this score, which appears to be poor, have an impact on sales? No, not at all. Is there a cause for the slowness? Images, most likely. Should you be so concerned about your Shopify store? No, in a nutshell.
The Bottom Line
Thanks to the upcoming Core Web Vitals, page speed is becoming a significantly more essential component in page ranking. Milliseconds are important.
As it is a reflection of User Experience, and the Mobile First approach is a big factor, the more streamlined you can make your website, the better it will serve you for Google ranking, and the better it can serve your future customers.
We have numerous other articles on our website to assist you with your SEO. If you want to learn more, have a transparent seo experience and have some awesome people work on your SEO, contact us today and get started.
