Making Page Load Speed A Part Of Your SEO
Should page load speed be a component of your search engine optimization program? We have mentioned page load speed in a number of posts recently and whilst it doesn’t currently directly affect your search rankings, it can still have a downside when it comes to visitor satisfaction. The slower your page loads, the more likely a visitor is to leave.
Including page load speeds as a part of your SEO program is actually a smart move. It will mean that areas that affect page load times get more attention. Some of these areas can help your rankings, for example, by fully optimizing images, you are improving page load speeds whilst making those images more compliant with search engine requirements.
Google have released an interesting FireFox plugin that may help optimize pages for speed whilst also helping to tweak minor areas that could influence search rankings. Let’s face it, when Google designs something, it is either to make life easier for those searching, or to make life easier for Google itself. As the major search engine, it makes sense to tweak those areas that Google identifies as having weaknesses.
The plugin, simply titled ‘Page Speed‘ does show a lot of information. It details images that are not properly optimized, JavaScript and CSS files that are not properly optimized, and code activities such as parallel downloads, caching and cookies. It is interesting to note that Google’s own cookies and Adsense JavaScript come up as warnings.
It is an interesting tool that is best suited to those with a little skill when it comes to web page code, JavaScript and host issues. However, simple tasks like optimizing images can deliver sizeable increases in page load speed. Make page load speed a part of your regular SEO routine and the results may surprise you.
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