Website Speed Affects Conversions

Updated January 13, 2023

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Website speed not only affects SEO rankings, it can dramatically impede online sales conversions. There is a correlation between how fast a site loads and visitor interaction with a company’s website. Not convinced? According to Gomez (the web performance division of Compuware), 32% of consumers will abandon sites between 1 and 5 seconds. We’ll share how you can test your website speed as well as a few metrics that provide insight on how you may be throttling back online sales.

Testing Website Speed

If your site is sluggish then Google knows you offer a less-than-optimal experience. Google has tools to test website speed, including add-ons for Chrome and Firefox. If you’re using the Asynchronous version of the Google Analytics code, under “Content” you will find “Site Speed.” Information about your site like “Page Load Time” and server stats like “Server Connection Time” are all in that section. Combine the suggestions from Google and the specific page timings on GA and you’ll get better insights.

Culprits that can be slowing your website could be too many ads, large graphics, incompatible apps, design theme or other heavy code lurking in the background. If you have poor website speed, you’ll probably find lackluster performance in these metrics:

Bounce Rate

If you’ve been reading this blog awhile, you know that I’m a big fan of Avinash Kaushnik, a verifiable Google Analytics God. He describes bounce rate as the “sexiest metric ever” as well as brilliantly dumb. He defines bounce rate as: “I came, I puked, I left.” If you’ve  got a high bounce rate… then a large percentage of your visitors aren’t sticking around to figure out what you do and how you are a better choice. We suggest tweaking the Bounce Rate settings. More importantly, you should consider why such a large percentage of your visitors bail so quickly. It could be a page load issue or an indication of poor content.

Page Views & Average Time on Page

If visitors are leaving in droves before the website finishes loading, most likely you’ve got low pageview numbers. Another important metric is average length of time spent on a page. Together these analytics provide insight on visitor engagement. If your site is lightening fast, that’s one potential frustration eliminated. Rather than focusing on technology and how your website renders on their computer, visitors can focus on your content — the stuff that encourages phone calls or completed contact forms.

How have you tinkered with your website speed?