If you have already invested in making your website mobile friendly, the next step to consider may be the optimisation of your pages to ensure they load as quickly as possible. In 2010, Google announced that site speed is an element they take into account when considering search rankings. It is not uncommon for businesses to assume that page load speed is not a particularly crucial factor, but if we consider it from the perspective of the user it becomes a valuable point of consideration.
When you run a professional website, it is important to make sure that your visitors can navigate your pages swiftly and easily. Studies have shown that a one-second delay in page-load time leads to an 11% drop in page views, a 7% drop in conversions and a decrease in customer satisfaction of 16%. Research highlights the fact that 47% of consumers expect to wait no longer than two seconds for a page to load. Furthermore, a staggering 88% of people who have their shopping experience hindered by dissatisfying page load times are less likely to return, and over a third are likely to tell others about their bad experience.
According to research by KISSmetrics 18% of mobile users will leave a mobile website that takes longer than five seconds to load and 30% of users are likely to abandon the site if the load time reaches 30 seconds. When it comes to SEO, the speed of your website plays a very important part. It may be that you have the number one ranking in search engine results for a particular keyword, but your search engine marketing efforts are entirely wasted if slow loading times are sending your visitors away to look for alternative sites.
Along with impressive visuals and written content, well-managed social media accounts and fully optimised product pages, it is wise to focus on the speed of your site to ensure it is offering you every advantage. We specialise in the design and management of eye-catching and engaging websites and we are proficient in every element of web design, SEO and social media marketing. Call us now for help and a free website review. We can improve and enhance your existing site or build you a new one from scratch.