3 Improvements You Can Make Now to Increase Your Page for Mobile

Why the Speed Update Matters

Ranking websites by speed isn't a new thing for Google, but it is a new development for mobile pages. Previously, only the speed of desktop sites mattered. Consumers are fickle though, and they'll abandon a site and move onto the next one if it doesn't load fast enough. If you don't think speed matters, remember that half of all search traffic now occurs on mobile devices. The faster your site is, the happier users are on it. Happy users equal higher conversion rates. Now, if your site is lagging, don't worry. There are easy steps you can take to improve your mobile page speed.

1. Choose Mobile-friendly Image Files

Yes, images are important in creating a more dynamic experience for viewers. However, that doesn't mean all images are created equal. You should take a look at whether or not the images on your site are compressed and scaled for ideal interaction with mobile users. Posting images on your site that have file sizes and formats better suited for desktops will slow down page loads, and in light of Google's update, will lower your appearance in search results. While there's not necessarily an ideal size, consider that an image with dimensions of 480x279 has a file size of 126KB compared to a photo with dimensions of 1600x930 that has a file size of 533KB.

The average iPhone or Android device will have to compress either photo to fit the dimensions of the screen, but given the smaller file size of the more compressed photo, you can guess which one is going to load faster and result in better mobile page speed.

2. Defer JavaScript

This one is a big offender when it comes to loading speeds. Google tracks a particular metric in its page load speeds known as First Content Paint, which is the time it takes for a page to start loading content. If you defer JavaScript you can push some of the content on your page lower down "below the fold" and prioritize the most important information to load first. This will increase the load speed for that First Content Paint while still loading the remainder of the content, it just prioritizes things a little better and boosts mobile page speed in the process.

3. Defer Videos Too

Yes, yes, video content is very important in modern digital marketing. You shouldn't read "defer video" as "delete video" though. In this case, much like deferring JavaScript, you are reprioritizing the order in which certain things appear on your site. By allowing your site to load the most important content first, you keep it light, trim, and fast. One way to ensure you keep video but don't force visitors to wait for an entire page while a video file loads is to use rendered images.

You can render an image from a video onto your site from an API, such as YouTube. This way, only the image loads and when the user is ready and scrolls to the video, they can simply click on the image to load the video. This delays the timing of the video's loading to maintain a better mobile page speed.

Thanks to RingPartner for that article.

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