Speed Is the New SEO
If you’re website doesn’t load in one second, you’re web developer is building it wrong.
We are in the age of mobile devices. Nearly every person in this world uses a mobile device when looking for information online now. So for this reason alone, businesses have catered to the needs of the mobile users worldwide to ensure a positive and satisfying experience. Google gives a mobile-friendly site a boost in search engine ranking in relation to its recent algorithm update.
Google has updated the page speed ranking factor to look at the page speed of your mobile site.
But once a business has gained a competitive advantage by making its website mobile-friendly, what should be next?
Speed, and why it matters
Page speed is the to the time it takes a page to display its content (i.e. text, images, etc).
Google uses a point-based system that ranges from 0-100 that looks at two main components of page speed: time to above – the-fold load and time to full page load.
When optimised correctly, page speed can work amazingly for your brand. Fast sites that load faster, receive 25% more views in ads and lower bounce rates.
That’s why your page speed directly affects your sales and conversions. Basically, the faster your web page loads, the more revenue you’ll make.
Optimisation for speed
The first step to optimising a website’s speed is to analyse its current page loading. Then, if and after confirming it has a slow loading time, businesses can get started with speeding up their sites by optimising the images, using a caching system and minifying code.
One great way to guarantee a fast website is to use a website builder that has pre-designed with speed in mind. Then you don’t have to optimise page speed yourself, which can take a lot of time and effort, and knowledge.
There are a bunch of website builders that vary in performance in speed, these includes SquareSpace, WordPress, Weebly, Wix and Duda.
How fast does the site need to be?
Google looks for a minimum speed of less than half a second. But, to be fair they have set the threshold to around 2 seconds. Beyond that, your site is slow.
Because the best way to building speed is starting with a CMS platform that has already been optimised, we need to look at the actual Google PageSpeed Insights test results of the above leading selected website builders out in the market.
WordPress
WordPress scores 62/100 on a mobile device and 83/100 on a desktop. This was based on WordPress first theme (Edin) for businesses.
Weebly
Weebly scores 48/100on a mobile device and 58/100 on a desktop. The was based on Weebly’s LoveSeat theme.
Wix
Wix scores 48/100 on mobile device and 71/100 on a desktop. The was based on its Barista theme.
Duda
Duda scores 91/100 on mobile device and 97/100 on a desktop. The was based on one of Duda’s websites.
Out of the four, Duda has the highest score for speed performance.
Selling Speed to your clients
Small businesses have accepted mobile optimisation, and therefore followed the best steps to gain a loyal customer. The next ranking factor is page speed. While brands can tap into methods to speed up their sites, building their online businesses from the start while using a platform that’s designed to the latest speed advantages puts them ahead of the race.
Customers are making quick judgments about you the moment they arrive at your site. A few seconds of delay creates a strong negative impression.
Summary
So, speed is important and does already play an important role in SEO. Page speed is fast becoming the critical element that any online business cannot ignore. Make your customers web experiences enjoyable. Don’t give them any reason to choose your competitors because you failed to optimise your site for speed. Using a platform built for speed is a sensible way for you to guarantee a better and higher conversion, a better Google ranking makes customer satisfaction.