PageRank can seem pretty mysterious. SEO experts pore over the evidence to see how algorithms work and how they affect how your site ranks with Google and other search engines. Here is what we know about how page speed affects SEO ranking.
How Does Page Speed Affect Ranking?
A lot of people don’t realize that page speed can affect your ranking. There are two basic metrics for page speed, namely how long it takes to load the entire page and how long it takes for your browser to receive the first byte of information.
The average of a sample of page views makes site speed, and Google has admitted that site speed is used by its algorithm. Research indicates that this is time to the first byte, but it’s also worth realizing that slow load time may be noticeable by customers. Slow speed also affects how quickly the bot can index your site. Longer load time reduces time on page and conversions and increases bounce rate (the number of prospects who leave your site immediately).
Furthermore, Google has now announced that it may implement a scheme that warns users when a site may load slowly. Some kind of warning badge will tell users a site may be slow before they click. This is likely to cause users to keep scrolling. Google is also working on ways to reward sites that do load quickly.
Thus, page speed has a negative impact on both your SEO ranking and your user experience.
How Can You Tell if Your Site Is Slow?
It’s normal for a site to occasionally load slowly. High traffic, a problem with the internet, an issue with your server – all these things can cause a temporary slowdown.
Google offers a tool called PageSpeed Insights that gives a quick score of your site. Anything 49 or lower is a bad sign. There are a number of other speed tests out there, but Google’s tool presumably uses the same metrics Google uses to decide whether to downgrade your SEO ranking because your site is slow.
Other tools may, however, give you more details as to why your site is slow, and help you determine what steps you need to take to improve your website’s performance. Test loading your website isn’t necessarily helpful, as those tests might be affected by your local speed or what apps you are running on your device. Speed tools bypass this. Using multiple tools will help you spot all the problems.
How Can You Speed Your Site Up?
So, if your site is slow, or even not fast enough, what can you do? There are actually a good number of things you can do to speed your website up and thus improve your page speed and rank:
Use Gzip to Compress CSS, HTML, and JavaScript Files
Most browsers now support Gzip to compress any files over 150 bytes. By compressing these files you save a lot of bandwidth, especially for customers with slow internet. You should not, however, use Gzip to compress images, as it can downgrade their quality.
Cache Your WordPress
If you use WordPress, then you need caching. The easiest way to do this is with a free plugin called WP Super Cache. The plugin turns your web pages into single files that load much faster. It’s a little complicated to setup, but may be worth it, especially for mostly static sites that get few comments.
Optimize Images
It can be tempting to upload really nice, large, detailed images to your site. Resist! It’s easy to fall into the mistaken belief that because you have a responsive theme and scaled images, users are downloading only the size image that will be displayed. Not true. They’re downloading the full size image. Make sure that the image is no bigger than the maximum display size your theme allows or, if it’s an important image, no more than two times, to allow for good quality on Retina displays. Some WordPress themes do scale images properly. Make sure to use PNG only for logos and other basic graphics, as it takes up a lot of space when used for high-quality images.
Then run your images through a compression tool such as Compressor.io. Upload it without applying any CMS-level alterations, which can break things. Again, don’t try to optimize images using Gzip, as it will affect their quality.
Optimize Your Code
Make sure you are not using unnecessary CSS and JavaScript. Remove code comments, formatting, and unused code. Unused code still has to load and will clog up your site. Even removing unnecessary characters that are just to make the code more readable can help. This may be something you need professional help with.
You should also reduce page redirects. Some are unavoidable, for example some forms of mobile optimization, or ensuring that your site is served over https even if the person requests http. Minimize the use of “blocking” JavaScript, especially external scripts. Short scripts can and should be coded inline into the HTML document. If you do need a lot of JavaScript, you need to make it asynchronous, which is a simple HTML attribute that causes the script to load last rather than first. Scripts that are not necessary can be deferred until after the initial load. Yes, this is complex, and again you may need some help with it.
Use a Content Delivery Network
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) can dramatically increase your page load time. Essentially, it caches the static content of your site and hosts it on a number of different servers all over the world. This reduces latency caused by distance. Obviously, a CDN is going to cost you a little bit of money, but if you find the right provider it can also give advantages such as showing your customers static content even if your server is down, forcing https without significantly slowing speed, and load balancing (handy on Black Friday).
Learn More About Page Speed and SEO Ranking
Your website’s speed affects your page ranking significantly. With Google moving to penalize slow sites and reward fast ones, it’s even more important to optimize and maintain your website. If you need help with this and generally optimizing your website to attract the most customers, contact Campfire Digital for help. Our Foundation or Pilot Light Packages may be exactly what you need.