Google Now Factoring Page Load Speed for Rankings

May 13, 2010 - Fortunately for Web developers, most of the U.S. Internet users are on high-speed broadband connections. Gone (for most of us) are the dial-up days when you used to be able to make a sandwich while waiting for a webpage to load.

With the increase in Internet speed, users' attention spans seemed to decrease, with the average Web surfer allowing less than 10 seconds for a page to load before they get frustrated and move on to another search result.

Rumored back in 2009 as part of Google's ongoing quest for "organic search rankings," the time your website takes to load in the browser will now add to the extensive (and secret) list of things Google considers when ranking websites in search results. This will lead to faster pages appearing higher in search result rankings, which Google hopes will minimize the need for searchers to click back to the results and find a less time-consuming website to satisfy their needs.

So what slows down a website? Lots of things, many of them easily fixable:

• un-optimized graphics
• video
• content management systems
• online ad servers
• flash banners

If your website is experiencing sluggish load times, you may need to talk to your Web designer about optimizing your website. Graphics and flash banners can be reformatted, videos moved to an appropriate sub-page, and an overall tune-up of your imbedded systems (content and ads).

At We Do Web Content we know speed is the name of the game in Internet marketing. When paired with good SEO content, you'll see a boost in your search engine rankings. For affordable, quality content exclusive to YOUR website, blog and clients, contact us today!  1-888-521-3880