Google Speed Update 2018
Page speed has always been an important part of the user experience on websites; slow websites cause users to become frustrated and leave.
Page speed has also been used as a ranking signal for desktop search since 2010. However, a recent announcement by Google states that starting July 2018 page speed will become a ranking factor in mobile search as well.
What does this mean for your dental practice’s website? Well, Google has said that it will only target the slowest loading pages – but they haven’t given a definitive answer on what they deem to be slow.
Now, most website owners will panic at this point if their website isn’t super fast – but don’t fret yet! Whilst page speed will be an important factor in Google’s mobile search algorithm, it can be superseded by the query intent i.e. even if your page is slow it may still rank well if its content is highly relevant to the user’s search query.
I’m not saying you should abolish any effort to make your website as fast as possible, your SEO and user experience can still be improved by page speed improvements.
What can you do to help improve your page speed?
- Hosting – one of the main culprits causing slow page speeds is your hosting provider. It might seem like a good idea choosing a cheap hosting provider to keep costs down, but this might be having an effect on the number of enquiries your website generates for you. If you feel that where you are hosting your website is affecting its page speed consider moving hosting providers. We at Dental Design can host your website for you.
- Website Performance Issues – sometimes the website is the issue. If you have an old website it might be time for an upgrade. Coding languages and standards can change leaving your website outdated and not performing as well as it could in web browsers. Redesigning your website will provide it with fresh coding that is not only optimised for performance but also SEO as well. Whilst many design agencies will create a new site and launch it for you, Dental Design goes one step further. Our extensive experience with WordPress has allowed us to find the right combination of performance-based addons that will help unlock the full potential of your website.
Dental Design has over 18 years experience in marketing dental practices online. If you are interested in us managing your online presence, please give us a call on 01202 677277 and one of the team will be happy to create a marketing strategy for you.
Inspiration from – Search Engine Journal
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