Updated January 13, 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes
If you’re concentrating on building SEO rankings then you need to pay attention to website page speed. It matters more than you think… and will continue to increase in importance. Google just announced they transitioned mod_pagespeed out of beta. In Google’s quest to make the web faster, they’ve been working on improving this open-source Apache module.
How to Implement Website Page Speed Changes
What does this mean for you? If you control your own server, then you need to make sure mod_pagespeed is implemented. If you don’t control your own server, contact your web host (e.g., DreamHost, GoDaddy) to implement on your site. This is also a golden opportunity to look at who shares your server. Spammy neighbors (naughty sites that share your server IP) can drag down your SEO, regardless of how squeaky clean you are.
So why does website page speed affect SEO rankings? Search engines always reward sites that provide the best end-user experience. Translation? If your site is slow to load, it irritates the end-user (hence your SEO listings will suffer). Therefore, we recommend making sure that your web server provider or online marketing agency is on top of the webpage speed trend.
Site Level Changes
Beyond sever settings, there are some things you can do to improve website speed performance. For example, we use W3 Total Cache, a WordPress plugin that helps website page speed. If your content is image heavy (e.g., photo galleries), we also recommend choosing the right format and optimization. Google has a great tutorial on how to optimize images. These two changes can make a significant difference in your website’s speed performance.
One last thought. If you have a speedy site but no content, then it really won’t help your SEO. Search engines need content in order to rank you. The more content, the greater opportunity for your site to be served up to potential visitors. Sorry, there are no shortcuts in generating lasting SEO benefits. Want a quick fix? Then Google Adwords fits the bill.
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