In May 2021 Google will be updating its algorithm and SEO ranking factors. As well as an increased focus on content relevance, mobile usability, secure search, CTA’s, core web vitals and alt text, Google have introduced a new ranking factor – “Page Experience” which includes page speed ranking.

 

What is Page Speed?

You may be thinking “What is page speed” and “How do I find out how fast my site currently loads?”. Page speed is one of the most important additions to the 2021 SEO update relating to the speed in which your site loads. Invariably this has a direct impact on how a visitor navigates through your site. 

Studies have shown that most website users will not wait longer than 3 seconds for a page to load before moving on to a site that loads faster & more effectively. This therefore means that page loading speed has a direct impact on how users view the reliability of a business, service or messaging. 

To find out how quickly your site loads, Google has developed a page speed indicator, Page Speed Insights, which has catagorised loading speeds ranging from 0-100 (0 being poor & 100 excellent).

How can I make my page speed faster?

Many different factors can affect the way in which your website will load, however a few of the main contributors to a slow page speed relate to the design, videos & images on each page. In layman’s terms, the more intricate the website, the longer your site will take to load. 

Although design and media assets on your website may be essential, there are ways you can increase your site speed without stripping back. Resizing images is a really simple way to do this & can help to improve site speed whilst maintaining a visually pleasing website experience. 

Another way to increase page speed is to introduce cloud based performance optimisation utilising advanced caching, image optimisation & proprietary speed algorithms. By applying these methods your site speed can increase fourfold resulting in great user experience for your website visitors.

 

How will the update affect my SEO? 

Due to Google’s SEO algorithm updating as of May 2021, page speed & user experience will now be factored into your sites ranking. In order to continue to grow your website’s SEO and encourage organic traffic to your site,  it is recommended that site speed optimisation should be increased, therefore preventing a drop in organic ranking.

 

Will the SEO algorithm change over night? 

Although Google’s algorithm will be changing from May 2021, Google’s Danny Sullivan has announced that the page experience update won’t be a quick process. The Google employee tweeted “it shouldn’t be the case that overnight, we flip some type of switch and there’s a massive change.”

He goes on to add that “it could become a more important factor over time than with an initial launch as a great page experience becomes more common to pages.” 

Page Experience is definitely something that will need to be improved over time and will eventually play a large role in SEO & user experience for website visitors. Although the update will not change overnight, looking to improve your sites loading speed is something to begin developing to get ahead of the curve & maintain a healthy SEO. 

 

Fresh Pies are here to help! 

Here at Fresh Pies we believe that great design shouldn’t affect the way in which your website loads. This is why we have developed a site speed package, designed to increase page speed without compromising on great design features. We understand that the world of SEO can be confusing but we are here to help! 

Some of the services that we offer include: 

• Installing & setup of caching plugins 
• Website speed audits & improvements
• CDN additions 
• Analysis of page content, rankings & SEO factors 

Want to find out more? Contact our friendly team today!