You may or may not have heard of Google’s speed update for mobile devices that is slated to go live in July of this year. The last thing you want is to get left in the dust so if you’re not up to speed, this is for you.
A Brief History of Google’s Speed Update for Mobile
Since 2010, Google has used speed as a SEO ranking factor for desktop pages. However, as mobile usage exploded into popularity in the past few years, Google wants to streamline and optimise mobile page speed as well. In July of this year, Google is going to debut their new SEO ranking factor; page speed. For anyone that’s been paying attention, Google has been building up to this since it started rolling out its Mobile First Index late last year.
Defining Google’s Mobile Speed Update
Google officially announced the next stage of making websites more mobile-friendly. In short, Google’s Speed Update is the new ranking algorithm that is designed to test websites’ mobile search capabilities. The websites that have the slowest user experience will find themselves hit the hardest by this update.
Why You Should Be Concerned About Staying Ahead of the Speed Update
The quicker your page loads, the less bounce rate it’ll experience with people clicking on your site and leaving out of frustration. Google monitors pages for higher bounce back rates, especially where mobile users are concerned. If it comes back that your site has a high bounce rate, this can negatively impact your page’s conversion rates because your users don’t want to wait for your page to load.
As we mentioned before, this can cause your page to drop in Google’s rankings. It can also result in profit loss for your site. This can be a scary thought for many people who make money from their sites but you still have time to improve it.
Jump-Start Your Site’s Mobile SEO Ranking and Leave Your Competition in the Dust
Before Google introduces their new ranking algorithm, you want to optimise your site. An easy way to do this is through testing it by using Google Lighthouse. This free tool will run an audit against your website and give you a detailed report outlining how well your site performed. The better your page does, the more prepared you’ll be for the Speed Update.
It’s not too late to whip your site into shape and prepare it for Google’s Mobile Speed Update. You have a few months to optimise your website and capitalise on all of the knowledge that’s flying around relating to this big shift. Streamline your site and come in first when Google rolls out this exciting update.
