Why Should You Care About Google’s Speed Update?
Site speed is one of the most important factors that drive search ranking on Google, as it has a clear relationship to user engagement. Put simply … websites that load quickly are ranked high on Google’s results pages.
The Importance of Site Speed
People prefer to go fast, and as page load time increased users simply go elsewhere. This increases your site’s bounce rate, the percentage of visitors who navigate away from your site after viewing just one page. Every bounce represents a missed opportunity with potential customer and affects the bottom line of your business. We miss 100% of the sales we don’t see. Google considers sites with high bounce rates unfavorably, as each bounce reflects on the quality of its search results and user experience.
Google Speed Update: Details
Google rolled out the Mobile Speed Update in July 2018. It is a part of its ongoing efforts to ensure that mobile users accessing websites via Google have as good an experience as desktop users.
The speed of your website will now be a ranking factor for both mobile device and desktop users. Google says that the update affects only the mobile search rankings of the slowest of websites. However, it doesn’t mention how it measures your site speed.
It says that you can use the Lighthouse tool and PageInsights tool to check performance. It also suggests that webmasters consider the metrics from the Chrome User Experience report (CrUX).
However, the CrUX page shows that Google now uses Real User Measurements (RUM), taken directly from CrUX, to score page speed. CrUX is aggregated from real-world users who visit your website using the Chrome browser. This means that Google’s page speed measurements and the results of other speed tests may differ.
Impact on Your Website
Your website could be considered slow for reasons , many based on real user performance in far off regions. Global page optimization requires accelerated global delivery — typically a job for traditional CDNs such as Cloudflare , Akamai and Fastly.
Your Response to the Speed Update
Focus on analyzing and improving your website.
Monitor page speed: Several tools, including free page speed tests, allow you to check various aspects of your page speed to make improvements. Google’s own tool, TestMySite, identifies areas where you can improve your mobile page load times.
Optimize for mobile: Use a responsive design. Switch to AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages), the Google-backed project designed to make mobile pages load faster.
Streamline your site: All components of your site correspond with an HTTP request. Each request adds to your site’s load time. Eliminate unnecessary components and files on your site or in the backend. Similarly, minimize the size of the remaining files, without sacrificing quality.
Use a good caching plugin: A great caching plugin will make your site snappier than before. EdgeCache goes one step further and extends caching logic and provides look ahead caching for your end users — anywhere on the global.
Make your site content better: Ensure that your site is user-friendly and has interesting content. Display your call-to-action, product and contact information prominently. Feature important keywords on your landing page and link them to apt elements. Avoid pop-ups.
Even if such efforts don’t elevate your search ranking, they have benefits, such as visitor retention, multiple page visits, actions that result in profits, and an improved reputation. You should bother about the Google Speed Update because regardless of its impact, it’s an opportunity to enhance your site’s performance.
More Resource Links:
https://neilpatel.com/blog/bounce-rate-accuracy/
https://searchenginewatch.com/2018/07/23/googles-speed-update-now-applies-for-all-users-how-does-it-affect-you/
