Is your website slow? Then optimize its speed!
Does your website need to be competitive in the race for those coveted top rankings, clicks, and conversions? If so, your website’s speed is a factor you simply cannot overlook.
You’re sure to be familiar with this scenario: you click on a page, the page loads— but, to put it simply, it’s too slow. So you click away and move on to the next suggestion in your Google search.
But how long does it take you to decide to click next?
I'll tell you that.
3 seconds. And 3 seconds doesn’t sound like much—but nonetheless, those 3 seconds are crucial in determining whether you’ll look elsewhere. Similarly, your potential customers will also end up with your competitors if this scenario plays out on your website.”
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Why does your website need to be fast?
There are several different reasons why your website needs to be fast. And I’m well aware that, as an SEO specialist, I naturally tend to factor SEO into almost everything. But—most importantly—your website’s speed actually affects your rankings on Google.
And let’s face it—most people know that the top of Google is where you want to be.
To be specific, a fast website offers you the following benefits:
Contributes to user-friendliness
You can’t talk about search engine optimization without mentioning user-friendliness—and a slow website is simply not user-friendly. Today, your website’s speed is one of Google’s PageRank factors. If your website is fast, it contributes to user-friendliness— and Google rewards that with higher rankings.
Increases your conversions
In addition, a user-friendly website will optimize your conversions. Visitors who are ready to make a purchase have neither the desire nor the patience to wait for your site to finish loading. Instead, they’ll go to your competitor.
Reduces the bounce rate
If your website is slow, I can tell you right now that you probably have a relatively high bounce rate. And a high bounce rate indicates that you’re not able to keep your visitors engaged. One of the reasons for this could be that your visitors don’t even get a chance to read your content—they get too impatient.
Why Is Your Website Slow—and What Can You Do About It?
There are several different reasons why your website might be slow— and often it’s a combination of these factors. Below, I’ll outline five factors that usually stand out when I evaluate a website’s speed.
- Image files that are too large
Images on websites are incredibly important, as they help keep visitors engaged while visually reinforcing your points and messages. But it’s just as important that they don’t take up too much space—at least if you want a fast-loading website. As a rule of thumb, an image should ideally not be larger than 100 KB. If you’re not a proficient Photoshop user, there are several different “drag-and-drop” programs that can do the work for you—for example, Short Pixel and Image Compressor. - All files are loaded at the same time
If a page has many files that need to be loaded, this can affect how quickly it loads. One solution to this problem is to use Lazy Loading. In short, Lazy Loading means that your files are loaded as the user scrolls down the page. For example, if you have an image at the bottom of a page, it won’t be loaded until your visitors reach that point. This way, not all your content is loaded at once, which increases speed and provides a better user experience. - Caching
Caching is a third factor that can affect your site’s speed. In short, caching means that once a user has loaded your page once, all CSS, image files, and JavaScript are saved. That way, they don’t need to be loaded the next time a user visits the page. If you have a WordPress website, there are several different plugins available to enable caching—for example, WP Rocket. - Code Takes Up Too Much Space
If your code takes up more space than necessary, it can have a negative impact on speed. It’s important to minify your CSS and JavaScript—without, of course, compromising functionality. - Your server isn't fast enough
There is a big difference in how fast a website loads, depending on which web host you use. If you have the wrong web host or a slow one, you should switch to a faster hosting solution. Ultimately, this affects whether the previous parameters optimize your website.
Here's How to Check Your Website's Speed
There are several different tools available for checking your website’s speed. You can use them if you suspect that your website is slow. Below, I’ll share two different tools that you can use for free to determine whether your website has speed issues that are preventing it from ranking at the top of Google.
- Google PageSpeed Insights
PageSpeed Insights is Google’s own tool. If you’d like a quick look at how your website is performing, this tool is perfect.
- Pingdom
If you’re looking for a slightly more “tech-oriented”—but also more in-depth—analysis, Pingdom is an excellent tool that you can use for free.
Both tools include explanations of the various concepts and solutions you can choose to implement or modify on your site.
Would you like help making your website faster?
I hope this helped you understand why it’s important to have a fast website. If you need help giving your website a checkup, feel free to contact Amplify today. Our SEO specialists and web designers are ready to give your website a speed check—and, just as importantly, optimize its speed if it can’t keep up with the competition.
Get help with your SEO strategy
A good start is half the battle. A bad start is… well, not good. If you don’t have the resources to develop a well-thought-out SEO strategy, you’re always welcome to send me an email atseo@amplify.dkor reach out to one of my colleagues atinfo@amplify.dk.
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