Updated: It’s official, the NZ Google ‘Speed Update’ that industry experts have been expecting for a while has been released today, July 4th 2018. From today, Google will be using mobile page speed as a New Zealand SEO ranking factor when working out mobile search results for many New Zealand websites.
You may have received the following message from Google:
“Mobile-first indexing enabled for http://www.ABC.co.nz/
To owner of http://www.ABC.co.nz/,
This means that you may see more traffic in your logs from Googlebot Smartphone. You may also see that snippets in Google Search results are now generated from the mobile version of your content.
Background: Mobile-first indexing means that Googlebot will now use the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking, to better help our (primarily mobile) users find what they’re looking for. Google’s crawling, indexing, and ranking systems have historically used the desktop version of your site’s content, which can cause issues for mobile searchers when the desktop version differs from the mobile version. Our analysis indicates that the mobile and desktop versions of your site are comparable.”
Studies show that when we go online the load speed of a page matters. We all want answers to our questions quickly. And any modern day marketer understands how critical it is to have fast web interactions no matter what industry sector you are in. We want information, answers to our queries, to buy or to pay our bills online quickly, and if load speeds are too slow we shut the page down and move on.
Google ‘Speed Update’, July 4th 2018
Web page load speed has been used by Google as a ranking factor for a while, but up until now that has been concentrated on desktop searches. July 2018 will now see Google using page load speed as a ranking factor for mobile searches as well. This aptly named “Speed Update” will mostly have an effect on those pages that are very slow, and will be rolled out across the NZ SEO industry regardless of the technology used to build the page.
Although mobile page speeds are increasing, the average time taken to fully load a mobile landing page is hovering at around fifteen seconds, which industry experts reckon is still too long considering that over half of those visiting mobile sites will leave that page of it takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
Better Results, Lower Cost
A faster mobile site doesn’t only lead to happier users, the latest research indicates that quicker site speeds also lower operating costs. For example, a fast site enables customers to self serve online rather than call your business for an answer, which can save you time and money.
This “Speed Update” is part of Google SEO trends pushing web owners to think about how performance shapes a user’s experience. Remember, a quality performance equals a quality experience which creates better results.
Get your free mobile speed test
Contact one of our friendly SEO NZ consultants on 021 344 050, email [email protected] or click here to submit an online enquiry form.
Our team of NZ SEO experts would be delighted to test the mobile speed of your website and provide you with tips and tricks to help you achieve more clickthroughs from mobile search, while saving your business money.
FAQs
What does mobile-first indexing mean?
Mobile-first indexing means that Google’s search engine will primarily use the mobile version of a website’s content for indexing and ranking purposes instead of relying on the desktop version.
What is the impact of page load speed on user experience?
The impact of the page load speed on user experience is significant as it directly affects user satisfaction and engagement, with slower load times often leading to higher bounce rates and decreased user retention.
