Does Your Website's Performance Score Really Matter?

Serhii Petrushko 16/5/2022 -

In a word, yes.

When it comes to Internet searches, speed really does play a factor in what you see on the results page. If your site is slow and pages take too long to load, it will rank lower on search engines like Google, Bing and DuckDuck Go.

Page speed has always been a factor for search engines, but until recently this only applied to desktop searches. However, the virtual landscape is changing fast. Mobile web browsing overtook desktop browsing in 2016, meaning more people now surf the internet with their phones than they do with computers. This led to Google deciding to prioritise mobile versions of websites over desktop ones when ranking and indexing their search results, and this “Speed Update” kicked in on July 2018.

Google’s Speed Optimisation Tools

Over 90% of all Internet searches are done on Google. If you've been looking at your company website primarily through the eyes of a desktop user, this news might seem worrying. Thankfully, while Google has set new standards with its Speed Update, they have also developed a vast array of new extensions and plugins to help users improve the speed of their website.

One such tool is Lighthouse, which makes it easier to optimise your pages individually. Accelerated Mobile Pages enables you to create lightweight, faster versions of your website for mobile browsers. By doubling down on the scripts, code and graphics, software like AMP can reduce page loading times by up to 85%.

This new standard for page speed may help if you currently use Google Ads. Slow landing pages with irrelevant information can cost a fortune if you pay Google’s Ads’ premium advertising rates, while maintaining appropriate keywords, easy navigation and quick loading times across all devices will produce far more cost-effective results. Just as safe driving keeps your car insurance costs low, so a fast and well-tuned website can keep your Google Ads’ fees down.

Why Not Try a Technical Audit?

If you're curious to see how your own website is currently performing, PageSpeed Insights scores your website on how smoothly it loads and makes effective suggestions for improvement. As Magento specialists, we're well-versed in mobile site improvements, including page-caching and SEO tools. For a technical audit of your current website, contact us today.

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