Why Is Page Speed Important

The whole purpose of Google search is to get a user to the content being looked for in as little time as possible. Think of this as the shortest distance between two points. The user has a question and Google search provides the answer. Search engine optimization (SEO) is all about tuning the content on a website and then maximizing the efficiency of the delivery of that content so that Google values that website more. One of the most critical variables in the delivery of content is a metric called page speed.

Why speed matters

Beginning in 2018, Google started valuing websites on page speed, not just for desktop experiences but also for mobile devices. This adjustment to Google’s algorithm forced webmasters to start looking at how fast a website loaded on all platforms. Google knew that a majority of audiences would abandon a website if the page being requested didn’t load in 3 seconds or less. Google also understood that page speed would start to become more and more important to profits and success in eCommerce. If a page loads fast, the user is connected to the information being requested fast and happiness abounds. If a page does not load fast or if the audience experience is interrupted for any reason, the user is likely to adopt a negative view of the product, service, or organization associated with the bad user experience. Speed matters.

Page speed on mobile devices

Google also understands that more and more search is being performed on miniaturized devices like mobile phones and tablets. Today roughly 50% of all searches originate from mobile devices. This number will continue to increase, considering that globally, humans own more mobile phones than toothbrushes. As a result of this transition to mobile devices as the primary device, Google values the page speed metric for mobile devices in particular because of the bandwidth concerns associated with mobile devices.

Phones and their data plans

Mobile phones are typically tied to data plans that have thresholds so Google wants to see developers build websites that are not bloated with large images and inefficient HTML markup. Even a delay of just one second in the load time of a website can result in users abandoning a website. This is an important statement because, in the age of eCommerce, abandoned user sessions are abandoned opportunities to convert a sale of a product or a service. When page speed results in lost sales, business owners will take notice. The page speed metric helps Google enforce this preference for page speed and reward development teams that build tuned websites.

Page speed is just one factor

Keep in mind that Google uses many variables to evaluate and determine a website’s value. Page speed is one variable that must be honored. When a potential patient is looking at a new physician or medical facility website, if the page loads slowly, most likely the patient will form the opinion that the healthcare professionals are not up to speed on the latest medical developments either.