Google is to incorporate website speed as a factor in how it ranks websites in search results. The search engine first revealed its plans to include speed as a ranking factor in its algorithm last December.Now website owners looking to improve their search engine optimisation strategies may need to look at how quickly their pages […]
Google is to incorporate website speed as a factor in how it ranks websites in search results. The search engine first revealed its plans to include speed as a ranking factor in its algorithm last December.Now website owners looking to improve their search engine optimisation strategies may need to look at how quickly their pages load as part of their digital marketing campaigns.
Despite this, Amit Singhal and Matt Cutts of Google said in a post on the Google Webmaster Central blog that the relevance of each website page is still more important in terms of ranking factors than site speed. They also emphasised the other benefits of ensuring a website runs as quickly as possible, such as better usability.
13/04/2010
“Faster sites don’t just improve user experience; recent data shows that improving site speed also reduces operating costs,” Singhal and Cutts commented.
Google currently uses more than 200 different ranking factors to determine where to place a site in search results for any given keyword.
Commeting on the move, Nick Bond, infrastructure specialist, Zeus Technology, said: “Google’s decision to start ranking web pages by the speed with which they load underscores the importance individuals attach to web pages that load quickly, even when there are peaks in demand.
“Google’s move should act as a wake-up call to organisations yet to address the issue of effective web traffic management as people will think twice before accessing a site that does not load speedily. Those that fail to implement technology to deliver uptime risk missing out on market share and alienating individuals at a time when delivering exceptional online service is crucial. “
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2010/04/using-site-speed-in-web-search-ranking.html
