For years now, Google has focused on getting website owners to improve their mobile site experience, and in just the last couple of weeks, they have released two new mobile tools to illustrate the vital importance of mobile page speed: Mobile Scorecard and Impact Calculator.  Both tools are designed to give marketers the upper hand, as they provide clear visuals to help them attract stakeholders for investments in mobile site speed.

Mobile viewing audiences are massive these days and are continuing to grow at unprecedented rates.  And what do these users want? They want information at their fingertips in lightning fast speed. Website speed is absolutely critical to today’s user experience.  

It’s a simple concept really.  Faster sites will convert better, sell better, have a better user experience and will see greater numbers of return customers.  A slower site, on the other hand, will not only cost you money but cost you in your SEO as well. Well, with Google’s new benchmarks for mobile page speed, this fact has never been more clear.  

Every Second Counts

Mobile users expect your website to load in less than five seconds.  However, most mobile sites are still loading at slower speeds of up to 22 seconds (on average).  Of course, many users will click away from a page altogether if it takes longer than just three seconds.  So, for websites that aren’t optimized for mobile speed, this is a huge problem!

As we already mentioned, users expect that lightning fast experience, especially on their mobile devices.  And if they don’t get it, they’re not likely to stick around. So, how can you ensure that this doesn’t happen to you?  

To start, this is where Google’s new apps can help you determine where you’re missing out.  From the Mobile Scorecard data, the new Impact Calculator can show you just how much conversion revenue your site is missing out on due to its slow loading speed.  The calculator shows you how a change in load speed can drive revenue up or down. To get this data, marketers just have to input their average monthly visitors, average order value and conversion rate.

Essentially, for every additional second that it takes for a page to load, your mobile bounce rate goes up.  For example, say your page load speed increases from one second to three seconds. If a user tries to load your page, the probability of that visitor bouncing (clicking away) goes up by 32%.  Imagine how significantly that percentage would increase if your load time continued to increase! You would continue to lose conversions and business. Clearly, speed matters.

  The Rules of Speed

Mobile marketing has been a major game changer.  It’s all about speed, and this concept has the industry trying desperately to play catch-up.  But, while speed matters, it can be quite difficult to achieve. Companies are having a hard time hitting their numbers trying to improve mobile websites.  Much of this is due to Google’s speed compliance best practices. There are certain rules that must be followed in order to achieve optimal mobile page speed, including:  

  • Improve server response time
  • Avoid landing page redirects
  • Enable compression
  • Optimize images
  • Leverage browser caching
  • Minify resources
  • Optimize CSS Delivery
  • Prioritize visible content
  • Remove render-blocking JavaScript
  • Use asynchronous scripts

All in all, mobile optimization can come at a very real price.  But, if you want to continue to gain business and convert modern users, you must play by the rules.  Fortunately, Google’s new apps can help all website owners more easily determine their mobile shortcomings quickly and at their fingertips.   

For businesses of all shapes and sizes, optimizing page speed really is the next big thing.  As Google data has made clear, faster sites mean more page views, longer sessions, lower bounce rates and higher conversions.  Basically, faster page speeds mean more money in your pocket. Mobile optimization is a game changer. So, what are you waiting for?