Google officially announced that they’d be using page speed as a ranking factor for mobile searches. The search engine has already been paying attention to the loading time of a website as a ranking signal for queries by desktop users. With the update, the company strengthened its emphasis on delivering the most relevant and useful results to all searchers, especially those on their smartphones or tablets.
The developers decided to include page speed as a ranking signal with the assumption that mobile users want information in the soonest possible time. Google not only wants to give searchers the best answers to their queries; they also desire for this knowledge to be passed on seamlessly from the website to the user.
That’s why the performance of your website is crucial, particularly when people click on your link in the SERP. A slow loading site can lead to higher bounce rates and harm your authority as a source of information.
However, Google did clarify in site speed isn’t quantifiable to a single number since different users can have varied experiences with your website. They recommend webmasters to assess the performance of their site with these tools:
After the update rolled out, webmasters waited with bated breath for the significant shuffle in the SERPs. However, Google clarified that the implementation of mobile page speed as a ranking signal only affected pages that delivered the slowest experience to searchers. Some websites that made the necessary adjustments to their site saw an improvement in their rankings after some time.
Site speed continues to be important for both desktop and mobile searches. Users have become more sophisticated and accustomed to getting the information they want in real-time. As a webmaster, you must always check your website to see what technologies you can use to improve its loading time.
Here are a few tips on how to boost page speed: