Posted November 16, 20168 yr Site speed is an important factor for SEO and conversion, but do we really understand its impact? There is increased online competition and a decreased attention span that makes it hard for a site to convert visits into sales, or even to increase traffic. Site speed can significantly affect a user’s decision on whether a visit to a page should be prolonged (or repeated) and this cannot be overlooked by any site owner. In fact, a page’s load time affects several key areas: Sales It’s no surprise that 79% of customers are less likely to buy again from a site that lacks a speed optimised performance. As everything gets faster, you cannot afford to stay still. Mobile experience Mobile experience is highly linked with site speed as this is among the most important factors that affect the length of a visit. 64% of smartphone users expect a page to load in less than four seconds and if your page fails to do so, you might need to optimise it. User experience (UX) Customer experience and mobile experience are relevant to the user experience and what a visitor thinks of your site’s performance. A page that loads in 10 seconds has fewer chances to be visited again, comparing to a page that loads in just 2 seconds. Revenue If your site’s speed affects your page’s sales, then it also affects your revenue. It’s interesting to note that 40% of people will abandon your website if it loads in more than three seconds. SEO Page speed affects the traffic to your site and even a one-second delay in page load can result in 11% loss of page views. Moreover, the introduction of AMP is another proof of Google’s focus on site speed and although it’s still early to draw conclusions, users seem to enjoy the feature when it’s available in search results. Conversion Conversion is also affected by a site’s speed and even a one-second delay can reduce conversions by 7%. Quick tips to improve your site’s speed Test your current speed Measure mobile performance Monitor analytics for customer behaviour Reduce heavy images and scripts Remove unnecessary plugins Avoid CSS files Skilled.co created an infographic that provides an overview of 12 case studies which prove why site speed matters. Here are some examples that may convince you to optimise your page’s load time. View the full article
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