I know what you’re thinking – what the heck does a paid advertising company know about SEO and page speed?!
Well, prepare to be surprised. We know a thing or two because SEO and Page Speed are highly relevant to any type of paid marketing, whether it’s display ads, Google search ads, or even traditional media like TV and billboards. Why? Once you have a potential customer’s attention, you have to deliver a quick friendly user experience. That starts with page speed.
When a web page goes from taking 1 second or under to load to 5 seconds to load, the probability of the user leaving your site after seeing only the landing page (known as a ‘bounce’), increases 90%.
Source: Think with Google
90%! That’s crazy! Folks are extremely impatient to get the information they want. Having a site that is speedy, especially on mobile, is more important than ever.
In fact, so many people are using their mobile devices to surf the web that Google announced in March of this year that they will be rolling out Mobile First Indexing July 2018. What does Mobile First Indexing mean? It means Google is going to start looking at how well your site performs on mobile devices first instead of desktop. That’s a marked change for Google and it will affect search rankings. In other words, it’s a big deal.
What can you do?
Start by plugging your business’ site into the Page Speed Insights tool. PageSpeed Insights tells you exactly where you stand from a page optimization standpoint. Depending on how you’re doing, they will suggest compressing some images here, or eliminating render-blocking script there – or maybe you’ll discover even larger issues you need to tackle. Remember, knowing is half the battle.
If the recommendations Google has given you look confusing and disconcerting, like 9th-grade French class all over again, chat up your web developer. If you don’t have a web developer, consult one, or post in an online forum like Sitepoint. Heck, ask us.
If you’re in the top 50% or so of web pages on mobile already, don’t waste your time or money – you’re probably fine, and gains you make with changes will be negligible.
The Bottom Line
A successful website starts with a solid foundation. Part of that foundation is how fast your site loads. Speed matters. Trust us, there’s nothing worse than paying money for a user to click on a banner or search ad only to be frustrated with how slowly your site loads and leave without converting.
