Updated January 11, 2023
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As you may recall, last year Google announced that they would be splitting the index. This meant that if you used Google.com on a mobile device you would get different results than you would if you used it on a desktop computer. The idea is that not all websites perform equally on mobile as they do on the desktop, so, to give users the best possible experience, then why not take each website on its merits. As part of this drive to increase mobile performance, Google has now announced that they will be factoring in site speed as a ranking signal.
Faster, Faster
Site speed has long been suspected to be a ranking factor that Google considers when deciding if it should serve your page or another. So this recent “Speed update” isn’t a big change in ranking policy. But it does highlight the importance of site speed further.
Google has said that “intent of query” is the major factor they are using to decide where to send users. So, if your site is full of excellent, well-linked content, it isn’t going to drop off the face of the earth if it loads slowly. But, it might not rank as high as it used to.
Tools
Google suggests that you use a number of different tools to keep an eye on your site’s loading times. To check your site speed, Google suggests you use:
- Chrome User Experience Report – this report gives you an insight into how Chrome users really browse. No assumptions, or guesses, just data.
- Lighthouse this tool is a Chrome Developer Tool that helps you check page quality and performance
- PageSpeed Insights another tool that checks how a page performs on Google Chrome.
Site Speed Bumps
So, as before; site speed is important on mobile. Don’t forget about it. Google is going to be paying more and more attention to mobile sites over the next sure as the split indexes develop so make sure your mobile site is performing as well as your desktop site.
Have you got a great mobile site? We’d love to hear how you optimize your pages and content for mobile devices?
Photo credit – Top: Wikipedia
Photo credit – Bottom: Wikipedia
