What’s the Importance of Site Speed?

A slow website can be detrimental to your marketing strategies. Don’t let months of effort go to waste because your website visitors are spending too many extra seconds stuck on loading screens. Keep reading to learn about the importance of site speed and how it can affect your online marketing efforts.

What is Site Speed?

Site speed is the length of time it takes for everything on your website to finish loading and appear on a user’s screen. Similarly, page speed is the time it takes for individual site pages to load. Various factors determine site and page speed, including file types and sizes, the number of plug-ins connected to your site, the quality of your web host, server, and coding, and much more. To ensure good site speed, you’ll want to actively optimize your content and do regular speed checks with a tool like Google Page Speed Insights.

Three Reasons Why Site Speed Matters

Site speed is the key to e-commerce success. Even so, it’s often focused on less than other digital aspects. To better understand its impact on your business, here are three reasons why site speed matters.

1. Speed Impacts User Experience

The time someone has to wait for a page to load on your site can make or break their experience. In an ever-evolving digital world, users expect things instantaneously. They won’t wait around for your site to finally start working, especially when they can easily go to a different one with the click of a button. You probably wouldn’t wait either! Making sure your site loads quickly is a great way to avoid frustrated users and ensure good impressions that lead to returning customers.

2. Speed Affects Conversions

Almost half of web users won’t wait more than two seconds for a site to load, and with each additional second of load time, conversion rates drop, and bounce rates increase. As a result, it’s essential to keep page load times low to lower the chances of customers abandoning their cart, leaving your site without making a purchase, or completing other important events.

3. Speed Affects SEO

Writing effective metadata and employing link-building strategies aren’t the only ways to boost your SEO rankings. Google also uses site speed as a ranking factor. So if you want to appear as high as possible on search results and reach more potential customers, make sure you have fast loading times. With the help of Core Web Signals, Google uses site speed to assess your site’s overall user experience directly. In addition, site speed can also indirectly affect SEO by impacting factors like bounce rate and session length.

Ensure Success With Top Website Performance

Want to make the most of your web presence? Front Porch Solutions has experienced SEO and web design teams ready to help you improve your digital presence, increase conversions, and drive your business to the top. Reach out to our digital marketing experts today to get started!