Does page loading speed actually affect Google rankings? I decided to find out.
And the results will probably surprise you.
First, a little bit of background. Google has stated several times on the record that site loading speed impacts SEO. The slower your site is, in general, the worse it will rank in the search results.
But they’ve never said how important speed actually is. Is it a Google ranking factor that’s a key part of the algorithm? Or a minor thing that won’t make much of a difference in practice.
Well, I decided to find out. Specifically, I ran a little SEO experiment. This experiment took one page that loaded SUPER slowly according to Google PageSpeed Insights… and sped it up significantly.
Then, I tracked the rankings and organic traffic to that page.
That way, we could control speed as variable (as much as you can control any variable in an SEO experiment!).
The results were… interesting to say the least.
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Have you seen PageSpeed make a difference in your rankings? Let me know in the comments!
The first 2 min on this video is a waste of time. Go to the main point faster next time !
How do you account for the change in design? In terms of ranking? Google tends to feature pages with more relevant images and videos, and if you stripped out all the media…. Also, I’m not convinced 2 weeks is long enough to wait and make a permanent decision. In my experience it can be a month or two before Google recrawls a site.
Actually, this test is not very convincing, people like images, we should test the pages without removing the images and comments features, while make this page load faster. Then the result is meaningful.
Great video, we are constantly working on speed and optimizations!
Page speed does make difference but what makes a big difference is how long the person stays on the website the longer the better, so what matters the most is content and backlinks that actually leads people to the website.
I have concluded after 7 tests and here are the results
1) Nope Speed Doesn't Matter in SEO, so what matters?
2) What matters is User Experience, if users find your site slow they may back off and may spend low amount of time on your site, this may affect the result, but I have not got any significant changes.
Great video
1st: it's not the same page without images nor is it necessary to pull them out. Lazy loading is the solution here. 2nd: you DO NOT optimize for Google (but you do obviously) but you make a site or page faster to serve your audience better and to avoid wasting their life time. But finanlly to roll back to the damn slow version makes clear that you care more about Google than your visitors. AND: Those Google SERPS are not static. They constantly improve. So good luck with that approach.
Hi Brian, great video!
Just shearing some thought.
4:36
When we compare does 2 pages, you've removed all the images, graphics, and links to other pages.
– why remove all images? Could leave the major ones.
Instead, 100% of pagespeed, could have 95%…
– more graphics, more images, more distractions, could make the readers to leave.
5:47
– more 6 views in two weeks (probably aren't enough)
– bounce rate was higher- all CTA links were removed, could be that cause?
– if before there were a less bounce rate, did you know to where did they go to? Why don't leave does links?
-page session and avg session are higher, less distraction, more focus on the content, more information, stayed longer.
Could be a beginning for the return of that readers, for other articles.
Does it make sense?
Thanks
You should run this test after May 2021.
3:30 I dont know what made those pot scientists to carryout studies on it when it's a matter of common sense .
I like your enthusiasm and appreciate the effort to make a precise analysis.
page speed is importance and key score is google page speed insights score for website and gtmetrix and … is only a tool
Briefly and to the point! Thanks!
Right now as of Sep 23 2020 that article of yours is on 3rd position for keyword "seo tips" even with the slow page speed. Making this comment so i can keep track of it lol!
Most of the ranking factors are sometimes nothing but a formality 😌
GREAT video! Thanks for making it! I have a dedicated server for speed since I’m hosting a video site for video creators, like a mini YT. Roxytube dot com. I thought going with a CDN would be the thing to do for SEO but maybe not. My site was always fast but the GTmetrix had bad scores. I’ll have to work with the code to increase it. Also, there are negatives to using a CDN.
Hello Sir I request you to make a full course on seo like on-page, off-page, and technical-seo full course. Make this course clear and easy to understand sir please 🙏😊. Tq Sir
Hello Brian, I am from Algeria and I thank you for all your tips. My question is, when you do operate a change on your website :
1- Do I need to renew sitemap
2- I thought that Google ranking wasn't instantaneous and needed at least a month before it shows any difference
Thank you for the great job sir
Sites that rank above my website all have a lower page speed than mine. Enough said.
yes it correct
Page speed will ultimate affect your website. If your web page takes long to load, it will hinder users from waiting. This in turn, hurts on page time. Before adding any pictures to your website, compress them.
The best thing I ever did to my website was to apply "Lazy Loading" to all images.
SEO is not a fast race but a marathon. I have a small question if you would like to thank you in advance: how long did you do the test with the faster web page? The duration in time of the use of a fast page will perhaps influence the positioning on google …What do you think? Thank you for your answer 🙂