Page Speed – New Google Ranking Factor for your Website

Google ranking has been a closely-guarded secret where search engine spiders scan a website keeping in mind some features of the site. Based on these readings, the data is placed in the algorithm and the website is ranked. Most webmasters involved in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) have conducted extensive research to find out this little secret to success. Page speed is an important factor that apparently seems to affect the ranking. Let’s find out what the hullabaloo is all about it – the page speed of a website.

Loading Time of a Website

Having a page that can refresh at the quickest possible time is one of the most sought-after features one would look for. The traffic makes a beeline in the website that has the fastest uptime rate. This aspect has been picked up by Google. It has thus made this feature, as one of its parameters for measuring the search engine ranking.

So, even if you create exquisite graphics or website designing that lacks in the uptime rate, you are not entertained by Google. Google has sufficient reason for this. JavaScript coding, flash files, heavy graphic files take ages to load. A user would often get impatient with the loading time. The result: he would simply leave the site. You lose a customer.

Need for Page Speed

There are many factors other than heavy graphics or video files which affect the page speed. For instance, if you have an issue with the correct coding of the webpage, or increase browser flow, the load time can increase. You also need to use scripts that are search engine friendly and Cascading Stylesheet (CSS) scripting language.

If the load time is less, the user would likely to have a hassle-free surfing. This follows that the bounce rate would also be less for you. To ensure that the website has the optimum amount of load time, Google has come up with software, known as Page Speed.

Page Speed would also allow you to find out where you can tweak a little to shorten the load time. This tool can also be applicable to video files – an area where the load time is pretty high. 

How it Works

Page Speed is software that that helps to find out the areas where the load time suffers. It analyzes the web page and forwards advices on the page to the webmaster. When these advices are integrated into the page and necessary changes are done, the web page refreshes at a faster pace.

This tool from Google can be downloaded for free. It also supports a page with FAQs, articles, how-to-use steps on the tool to enable webmasters to download and use the tool.

So, next time to submit your website for ranking, make sure you have checked your site’s load time with Page Speed. Refresh rate has now become a major factor in search engine ranking – for Google at least.