It’s a known fact – Slow loading webpage has a great impact on search engine ranking. Whether you’re an online user or an entrepreneur, would you prefer a slow website? No right. Even Google wants a fast loading webpage. Ultimately website owners are trying their best to impress Google by improving their page speed.
When you’re building a website, you spend a month designing and weeks on creating content and edits. Finally with lots of hard work you build a beautiful website. Everything is perfect but you’re not ranking top on search engines.
What could be the reason? Here is the answer for you. You’re not focusing on page speed of your website or blog. Improve your page speed and impress Google. As a result, you can boost traffic and conversions to your website.
As per recent marketing reports:
- Below one second = excellent
- 1 to 3 seconds = good
- 3 to 7 seconds = average
- more than 7 seconds = poor
An extra second can have a great impact on your traffic and leads. If your blog takes 3 seconds to load then you’re losing half of your user before they reach your blog.
Low blog speed kills conversions. Yes, it’s true. As per research, 57% of customers expect a blog or website to load in less than 2 seconds. On the other hand, 40% will leave a blog or website that takes 3 or more seconds.
This means you need to have a quick website loading – not just for improving rank on Google, but eventually having your conversion high.
Minimize HTTP request
HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol.
As per Yahoo analysis, 85% of the blog loading time is spent on downloading images, CSS and java scripts.
For each image or script an HTTP request will be generated to sever, the more components on a blog the longer it takes time to render.
If you’re aware of HTTP requests of your website, use Developer Tools and check several HTTP requests. By reducing the HTTP request to the server can speed-up your blog. Give a glance look at your files and remove unnecessary.
Minify & Combine your files
With the help of developer tools, you’re aware of the HTTP request. Reduce the number of request by “minifying”. Then simply combine your files. Therefore it can reduce the file size of every file, along with the total files.
Also, it’s most important if you’re choosing a templated website builder. These type of websites are mostly used by individuals and businesses. Because you can easily create a website with no coding knowledge. As a result with messy programming they’re will a high chance to have a slow loading.
Minifying refers to removing whitespace and unnecessary code. After a minifying focus on combining your files. Sounds great right. Yes, your blog runs on CSS and script files, combine all into a single file.
Optimize your database
Database – A collection of information that is effectively organized to be flexibly accessed, manipulated, managed and updated.
The database is the point where everything is stored. It’s different from themes, uploads, scripts that run on the server. If you’re using WordPress – a database is used to store images, comments, content, setting, pages and other plugin data. Whenever a webpage is loaded, every time it reads the database. For instance, if your database is bloated, the data can take a longer time to display. you can run on GPU optimised servers to speed up.
Optimize images
“A picture is worth a thousand words” is a well-known quote. Generally, everyone prefers an image rather than text. Do you optimize every file before uploading it to your website? If your answer is NO. Then you’re leaving a chance Google to hate your blog or website. Fortunately, by optimizing a file size you can improve your blog performance.
During optimization, your ultimate goals must be maintaining the right balance between the low file size and quality of the file. Though there are numerous ways to optimize, one of the popular approaches is to compress the file before uploading. Usually, this method can be done through online compressing tools like Photoshop, Affinity and more.
Use a content delivery network
Have you ever heard about CDN? Of course many times right. Hosting images, videos or audio files on CDN (content delivery network) is an effective approach to speed up your website. Ultimately it can save up to 63% bandwidth.
Content delivery network work by hosting every file around a wide network of connected server across the globe. When a person reaches your blog from the USA, they’re downloading a file from the nearest server. Since the bandwidth is widely spread around multiple servers, as a result, it reduces the burden on a single server. Also, CDN protects from unauthorized access and DDoS attacks.
Use caching plugin
Are you using WordPress? It is the simplest way to handle your website. Have you installed a caching plugin? If no, then it’s time to install plugins and improve your blog performance. WordPress offers powerful WordPress plugin such as WP Total Cache and Super Cache. Install your favourite one right way. If you’re using WordPress Engine, then you can neglect to install plugins. Because default caching plugin is been installed in WP engine.
WordPress total cache and WordPress super cache are free. Instal and improve your blog speed in no time.
Use a quality theme
There is a great saying “Prevention is better than cure”. Will you agree? Of course yes. Apply the quote to your blog speed. To prevent from page loading time issue at initial stages, you require a quality hosting, CDN and theme or design.
As an SEO specialist, it’s could be frustrating when your web designing team create a blog that looks attractive but performs low according to speed perspective. Therefore by using a quality theme can reduce your loading time. Opt or responsive theme that is designed by a specialist that has considered blog speed.
Fix broken links
What is a broken link?
Simply put, a broken link is a link that doesn’t work. There might be several reasons why the link doesn’t work such as
- A blog is no longer exists
- The website was moved without adding redirect
- The structure of USL is changed
Sometimes when you click on a link, you can see “404-page error”.
Links play a major role in SEO. Search engines such as Google, Bing understand links as a ticket for a blog’s quality. Links from your blogs and to your blog can impact your blog ranking in search results. Therefore it’s a great way to keep an eye on broken links.
By removing broken links from your blog can add context to your blog. Also, enhances user experience and make your everything on your blog easier for users and Google to discover. A blog that contains a lot of broken links can be a sign of low quality to all the search engines.
