Next to Content, Site Speed is the #2 SEO Factor to Focus On
When it comes to developing, designing, and launching a business website there are two major things that most business owners focus on: Content and visuals.
While those are very important, there are some crucial behind-the-scenes aspects of efficient website design that are often overlooked but are still very important to your small business.
One of those underappreciated SEO factors is site speed, and it is absolutely CRITICAL to your SEO, site ranking, and overall small business success.
Here’s why….
1. SEARCH ENGINES LOVE FAST SITES
This is a BIG one. All major search engines give preference points to sites that load faster than the industry accepted standard of 3 seconds.
Google has officially named site speed as one of the markers that their robots use to determine the appropriate site and page rankings when delivering search results.
Plus, it’s a basic user expectation, and search engines cater to the user, not the website:
47% of people expect your site to load in less than 2 seconds.
40% will abandon it entirely if it takes longer than 3 seconds.(Source: BitCatcha)
2. FAST LOAD SPEEDS REDUCE BOUNCE RATE
Users are far more likely to stay and browse your website when it loads quickly, both from the search results and between pages. In fact, according to KissMetrics, 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.
This means that there will be a significant reduction in your bounce rate when you can improve your site load speed to three seconds or less.
3. FAST WEBSITES ARE MORE TRUSTWORTHY
When your site loads quickly and without error, your users are more likely to trust your site and refer it to friends and family because it is providing a positive user experience.
79% of web shoppers who have trouble with website performance say they won’t return to the site to buy again and around 44% of them would tell a friend if they had a poor experience shopping online. (Source: KissMetrics)
But, there’s more that goes into a great user experience than just site speed, so pay attention to all the moving parts that go into your website. Don’t rush it, and always test it.
TIP: Ask friends and family to review your website frequently to make sure that it is always on point.
4. PAGE LOAD RESPONSE AFFECTS CONVERSION RATES
Slow sites are bad for business, it’s a proven fact. Whether you’re an active e-commerce site or are simply looking for people to download a free ebook or sign up for your mailing list, these are conversions and they are directly impacted by site speed.
Seriously.
A 1-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions, according to a study done by KissMetrics.
That means that, if an e-commerce site is making $100,000 per day, a 1-second page delay could potentially cost you $2.5 million in lost sales every year.
(Source: KissMetrics)
That’s a huge drop in overall annual conversions and profitability because your site is a tiny bit slower than the competition.
5. UPDATING QUICK WEBSITES IS EASIER
Have you ever tried to update plugins or blog articles on a site that takes forever to load, update, or refresh? It’s mind-numbingly frustrating, right?
So, make sure your website is blazing fast and you’ll reap all sorts of ridiculous benefits, SEO and otherwise.
Is your site a little sluggish? Check your current speed grade here! We offer website maintenance and update services that will help you keep your site lightning fast and in good standing with all major search engines.
Here are a couple of examples of site speed improvements that we’ve performed for clients:
Let us know if we can help you boost your website load speed today!