I’ve been diving into website performance and I keep coming across claims that reducing a website’s loading speed by even 0.1 seconds can significantly boost conversion rates—up to 7%, according to sources like Think with Google, Amazon, and McKinsey.
However, I’ve also noticed that many large corporations, which often have bloated websites with poor Core Web Vitals scores, still manage to rank high on Google. This makes me wonder: just how crucial is website loading speed and Core Web Vitals for a site’s overall success and search engine ranking?
Does the data on speed improvements and conversion rates hold up in real-world scenarios, or are there other factors at play? And why do we see high-ranking sites with suboptimal performance metrics?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and any experiences you’ve had with website performance and SEO.
Thanks
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Hey Jabriel!
Great question! Website performance, especially loading speed, is indeed a hot topic. The claim that reducing loading speed by even 0.1 seconds can boost conversion rates by up to 7% is backed by several studies.
Faster-loading sites tend to have higher conversion rates because users are more likely to stay and engage with a site that loads quickly.
However, it’s true that many large corporations with bloated websites still rank high on Google. This can be due to several factors:
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Authority and Backlinks: Large corporations often have a high domain authority and a vast number of quality backlinks, which significantly boost their rankings.
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Content Quality: They usually have a wealth of high-quality, relevant content that keeps users engaged.
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User Engagement: High user engagement metrics, such as time on site and low bounce rates, can also help maintain their rankings despite slower loading speeds.
While Core Web Vitals and loading speed are important, they are just part of the overall SEO puzzle.
Google considers hundreds of ranking factors, and a strong performance in other areas can sometimes compensate for suboptimal speed metrics.
In real-world scenarios, improving website speed does lead to better conversion rates and user experience.
However, it’s essential to balance speed optimization with other SEO best practices to achieve the best results.
Hope this helps!
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On a website, you have six to ten seconds to establish a solid first impression. Additionally, load time is included. It does matter, yes.
If someone is accessing your website from a shabby cell phone while stuck in a dead zone, it matters much more. Not everybody always has access to broadband internet.