Did you know that how fast your website loads can have a direct impact on your digital marketing? Not only can it hinder your online rankings, but it also can affect your paid marketing performance.
Here are some things you or your developer can do to increase your speed according to Google’s PageSpeed Insights test.
1. Optimize Your Images
One of the easiest things you can do to help your website speed is to check the images on your website. From their size to their format, there could be several areas to improve.
- Image size – This blog post by Victor Zhou is a great example of how oversized images can impact your website.
- Image format – Ultimately, Google suggests that your images should be in “next-gen” format, which means they shouldn’t be in a .gif, .jpg, or .png file format.
You can fix this by either making manual changes in image editing software such as Photoshop, or you can check if your content management system, such as WordPress, has plugins or add-ons that you can install that will make these changes for you!
2. Explore Your Caching Options
Caching is the process of storing data and files that can help servers load websites faster. This way, the server doesn’t have to reload all the same materials time after time. Reach out to your hosting provider or see if your content management system offers the ability to implement a cache to help speed your site up.
Just note that once you have a cache in place, you may need to clear it if you are making edits and updates to your website for them to show up!
3. Remove Unused Code
In simple terms, the less code you have on a page, the less a server has to load to present your website. We recently wrote an article on how various third-party codes can notably impact you page speed, hurting your performance. You should also evaluate if you have any unused CSS that you can get rid of.
4. Consider Switching Hosts
What many website owners may not realize is that where you host your website could be a major factor in your website speed. Moving your website to companies such as SiteGround can not only add the security you need for your site, but the optimized servers these businesses provide can also can help speed up your load time.
5. Check Your Redirects
Google’s PageSpeed Insights test also suggests avoiding multiple page redirects. And if you have had a website for decades with a lot of products and pages, it is likely you have built up a long list of redirects! It might be good to reassess the redirects you have in place to ensure each one is sent to an existing page.
Read More on Technical Marketing
Site speed is one of many technical aspects of digital marketing to take into account when looking to invest in agency services or shoring up your own in-house efforts. Here are some similar topics you may be inclined to explore:
- What You Need to Know About 404s
- 8 Things to Check After a Website Redesign
- What Are Meta Tags?
- How to Condense Your Website with SEO in Mind
And, as always, if you are looking to team up with a top-rated agency that can help you take your digital marketing to the next level, be sure to reach out to our team!
