Optimize your website speed – we also use the expression website performance – has not only an interest for user experience. The website speed also affects indirectly the Search Engine Optimization (SEO). That’s why it is so important.
The website speed is the necessary time for a visitor to see your page. Visitors are Internet users, but also robots crawling your website to define its position on search engines.
Unfortunately, website speed is often neglected by agencies which develop websites but also by digital marketing manager who manage the SEO. At Esokia, we attach a special importance to its optimization since the website creation and then in the SEO projects of our clients.
Why website speed is so important for SEO?
The importance in user experience (UX) has already been proved. A good website speed will avoid that Internet user decides to leave immediately the website because the page where he want to go does not charge quickly. So, you will increase your chances to convert.
We do not think at first that it influences the SEO of a website. But, it does. Google has already announced that the website speed is a criteria to calculate the rank of a website. The giant has even created its own analysis tool that we will present you after.
The behaviour of visitors is also taken into account by Google. A website too long to load will obtain a high bound rate and a low session time which will have a bad impact on Search Engine Optimization.
Then, Google has recently announced that mobile will have more importance in SEO. Internet users use more than ever mobile to surf on Internet. So, website speed has to be optimized not only on desktop, but also on mobile. At Esokia, we offer responsive websites – adapted to mobile – where website speed has been optimized specially for this device.
How do I analyze my website and know what to do?
Our webmarketing team and our developers use two principal tools.
Dareboost: Dareboost is a complete solution of testing, analysis and monitoring of websites performances. With this tool, it is easy to analyze its website on desktop and mobile. One click is enough. Dareboost gives you the most important data (loading time, a global mark, etc.). It organizes by categorie the optimisations from the most urgent to the ones that are less important. It has the advantage to offer the possibility to export data, but most importantly, to export it in a personalized report. Usefull for clients!
PageSpeed Insights: the famous Google tool. PageSpeed Insights looks like Dareboost. It gives a general mark to website speed on desktop and mobile, and also offers a list of recommendations to improve the situation. What do we like? It is a Google tool.
There are several other tools to help you with your website speed. Our article just presents those that we use. But you have to test them and make your own opinion!
Some examples of optimizations
Website speed optimizations can concern different elements as:
- The reduction of images and other elements weight
- The sparingly use of Javascript
- The redirections to avoid
- The reduction of dependences
- Etc.
This list is not complete but it gives you an idea of what it needs to optimize website speed. If you are not a developer, you can export the report and give it to someone who is experienced and who will implement the recommendations.
Work on the website speed is really beneficial, not only for the SEO, but also for user experience. And after all, this is for Internet user first that we create a website. So, do not hesitate to use important mediums to satisfy your potential clients!
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