While attending Blog World Expo last week, I went to a lecture on “SEO For Blogs”.  One of the important topics covered in that lecture had to do with the loading speed of a website.

I was already planning on writing a post about reducing load speed for the sake of your users (and preventing them from bouncing), but I was curious about what it had to do with SEO.

It turns out that Google announced last spring that a site’s load speed would be factored into their rankings.

So now you have 2 big reasons why you need to start looking at your sites loading speed:

• Load speed affects the quality of user experience
• It can also affect your page rankings for Google

Still not convinced?

Load speed can have a huge impact on the bounce rate of your readers.  If a page takes too long to load, then your readers will leave, without ever getting a chance to see your great layout or your fabulous content.

And if you need any more information, check out this page about why it is important  your page loads quickly.

How slow is too slow?

That same article also explains how specific load speeds relate to user experience.

In a nutshell, if your page loads in…

…0.1 second: the reader feels like they are in control (in other words, fantastic)

…1 second: the reader doesn’t feel interrupted (they expect a little bit of pause)

…1 to 10 seconds: that’s fine, they will wait (could depend on the reader though)

…more than 10 seconds: goodbye!  Your reader is gone.

What causes a page to load slowly?

The main problems are:

• Server Speed
• Plug Ins and Widgets

Having large images or too many images used to be an issue a few years ago, but no longer is.  However, they can cause problems for some people using mobile devices to access your site.

How can you decrease your loading speed?

Address the above mentioned issues.

• Choose a hosting service in the area that your target readers are in
• Or, if you already have a hosting service, you can test the speed of the service:
  • Read this link about how to measure server speed (scroll down)
• Don’t litter your site with videos, Plug-Ins, and widgets

Post videos on separate pages of your site, and simply include descriptive links to them on your main page to lead your readers to them.

If you’re going to insist “but my widgets are important!”, my best advice to you is… carefully evaluate which ones are most important.  Limit yourself to only one or two.

Ask yourself, are they really doing anything?  Do their benefits outweigh the cons (such as losing readers because of load speed – you can check your analytics to see your bounce rate) … You can also ask your readers if they ever use any of them.

It also helps to put any javascript you’re using after all of the content (for example, in the footer or at the bottom of the code).  If you put it towards the top, the computer will concentrate on loading that before anything else, but if you put the code at the bottom, then the rest of the content can load, giving your reader something to look at while they wait.

It’s about more than load speed: How fast can your users find what they need?

You should not only consider the speed at which your site loads, but also the speed at which your users can find what they’re looking for.

This means you need to have a website that is easy to navigate and user friendly.

Make sure that they can get to the information they are looking for as fast as possible.  Maybe your site does load fast, but they have to go through a long string of links before they even get anywhere.  Instead, make a positive user experience by having a transparent structure to your site, your readers know where everything is and how to get there as quickly as possible.

Remember – a blog is about communicating your thoughts and/or sharing your product with the world.  If they leave before the page loads, you never have a chance to impress them.  Shorter loading speeds mean that you’ll have more readers using your site, and will thus help you maintain a higher level of traffic on your site.