Why Does Speed Matter So Much?

 

Google and other search engines are committed to making the web faster in order to meet the needs of the searchers but why should you care about page load speed?

You may think, does it matter that it takes my website 5 seconds or 10 seconds to load? After all, what’s a few seconds?  

But you’d be surprised about what a few seconds could really do. A few seconds can have a negative impact on the user experience, lead generations, SEO and your brand reputation.

With 47% of consumers expecting a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, it’s no surprise that even a single second longer can result in as much as 40% of people abandoning a website.

Here’s why slow page loading speeds can have a negative impact on your business:

1) User Experience

It is vital that when your audience visits your website that they can use it easily. If your website is moderately slow to load, or navigate, it will reflect badly on your brand and services. Avoid losing customers by making your site as fast as possible.

2) Lead Generation

What do you want from your website? Do you want potential customers to request a valuation? Sign up for your newsletter or search for property? These actions will require at least two page loads, if your webpages take 5 seconds each to load, how many of your potential customers to you think will abandon the process before completing a form or search? If it takes more than 3 seconds to load the answer is up to 40%.

3) SEO

Google wants to make the web faster, to make the web better for their customers. Google won’t rank a webpage highly if it takes such a long time to load that users aren’t hanging around. Google’s algorithm has hundreds of factors and site speed is one of them, not only for desktop but for mobile search too.

If your website is slow, don’t expect it to show up in Google.

4) Brand Reputation

Your reputation online is very fragile and slow loading speed can tarnish it. The difference between 2 and 3 seconds can cost you 40% of your potential clients, which means speed is a critical part of your website.

First impressions matter, if a potential customer abandons your website once, they aren’t likely to visit it again.