Nobody appreciates a website that has scripts slowing down their browsing experience, but this is true for any annoyances that prevent the website from loading in a speedy and efficient manner. Well, search engine optimization (SEO) world, be prepared to tweak your website for better performance because Google may considering this variable as a ranking factor. At PubCon Vegas, Google’s Matt Cutts said it himself: “speed is becoming a factor.”
Google is introducing a new tool to help website developers improve the speed and efficiency of their websites. The Google Site Performance tool now joins the ranks of other Webmaster Tools in Google Labs. It will analyze a website and provide the user with average load time for specific pages, graphs out over time how your site has improved (or not), and will also provide suggestions for improvement.
Some search engine optimization (SEO) industry leaders believe that Google’s objective behind this tool is for maximizing advertising revenue. A webpage that loads inefficiently can prevent a user from viewing or clicking on a Google ad, thus hindering the full potential Google can reap from revenues. But, this is to be expected from a company that has churned out several major changes for the sake of speed and efficiency.
If you’ve been keeping up with our blog, you’re well aware of the continual tweaks here and there to their site’s functionality. So, while it isn’t an official ranking factor yet, don’t be surprised if Google incorporates in the future after it figures out how to calculate it into a search algorithm and figures out how much weight they’re going to allocate to it.
Written by: Daisy K.