Discover in this article why website speed matters for your SEO, UX, conversions, and revenues.
Table of Contents
Low speed keeps customers away from your website
Do you remember the time when a clepsydra used to flip upside down for at least 1 minute until a website page was loaded? Well…those times are gone. Forever.
For today’s customers, every second is priceless. They expect to instantly access a website and spend no more than 15 seconds on a page (if there is nothing valuable for them).
So, if your site loads slow, you risk losing the 15-seconds opportunity to impress them.
Google cares about your loading time
Low speed is terrible for SEO. Google loves the fast loaded websites and has a dedicated algorithm for this topic. From Google’s perspective, (and, let’s be fair, we agree!) high bounce rate means low interest for your site. Its benefit is to deliver the right info at the right time – so it will take into account your bounce rate and will place your site according to this rate.
[ctt template=”3″ link=”I7Fav” via=”no” ]Google judges your relevance (also) by the bounce rate value.[/ctt]
Fast loading gets your website in the pro league
A pro website is gotta do, what a pro website is gotta do.: load fast and deliver what the audience expects in a smart and functional way.
In other words, users are tempted to perceive websites that load fast as professional, trustable ones.
Website speed matters for…conversions
With a fast loading website, you have greater chances to generate qualified leads – that can become, sooner or later, your customers.
If 1000 visitors leave your landing page because it is loading too slow, how many potential customers you may lose? Let’s do some math: 12% from 1000 visitors means…120 potential customers. Yap, that’s the ugly truth – you risk to count 120 lost opportunities.
Website speed gives “returning visitors” reasons to have second thoughts
Website speed matters for returning visitors, too. Let’s say that they had a good first experience on your site. The low speed will discourage them to get back on your site and will determine them to choose something else.
On the other hand, if your website loads fast, they have the chance to evaluate again your offer, see instantly the benefits and become not only customers but also ambassadors for your business.
Website speed matters for advertising
Promoting your website is part of your growth plan. That’s for sure.
Let’s say you want to start an advertising campaign (on Facebook, Instagram, Google Adwords, or LinkedIn). Which objective would you set up for this campaign?
Traffic? While a fast loading site will encourage the audience to discover what you are offering, low speed will not only chase prospects away but, also, determine them to hide your ads.
Things look pretty much the same for the conversion objective: who wants to buy from a brand that can’t offer him proper access to its page?
Loading time matters for UX
How fast your site will load is the very first indicator of the UX level. A fast loading website promises from the first 3 seconds that the user will have a great experience on it. That will encourage the user to go further and to start with optimistic expectations about the content.
Website speed influences your revenues
More visitors = more conversions. More conversions = more sales.
That’s how things work. And it’s pretty obvious why website speed matters also for your revenues. The more visitors you attract on your site, the more chances you’ll have to sell more.
Moreover, word-of-mouth is, still, the most efficient and credible promotion channel. If your site visitors have a good experience on your website, they may be willing to share their opinions with others.
With a fast loading site, you get closer to mobile users
63% of internet traffic comes from mobile users. 53% of mobile users leave a website if it has a low-speed time (takes more than 3 seconds to load).
Mobile users, as you can see, are very important for online businesses. Moreover, mobile users’ expectations are very high when it comes to loading time.
Summary
Having a great website means also to have a fast loading one. Your website speed is very important for your visitors, prospects, and customers.