Page speed is in the news again

Exactly one month ago, we told you that two internet juggernauts were joining forces in the name of page speed. Google and WordPress had established a partnership that aimed to grow the development of both platforms. Google had selected a team of engineers that will oversee the way the two companies interact. We figured that their first attempt to satisfy their need for page speed, adding page speed as ranking factor on mobile search, was only the tip of the iceberg. Now, we can see that ice is forming under the water’s surface.

This time, Google is working more exclusively with another of their teams: AMP. The AMP, or Accelerated Mobile Pages, team has released an update to their offering. The update is a feature known as Render on Idle. Currently, when a user searches on mobile, three ads are shown that could be clicked. Now, two new qualities of AMP, thanks to Render on Idle, will change that. First, the number of potential ads that could be shown will increase to 12. Additionally, the pages associated with the ads will render automatically if a user takes no action.

The aim of the feature is also twofold. The first is that it will increase impressions: get more people looking at AMP ads. Secondly, AMP hopes it will improve the user experience by increasing page speed.

Render on Idle comes off the heels of pair of new Google page speed tools. The first of which is known as the Impact Calculator. First, plug in your domain, current page speed, average monthly users, average order value and conversion rate. The Impact Calculator will then total these values and monetize the reward you would receive for decreasing the load time of your webpages. A second tool, the Speed Scorecard, allows a user to see how their domain stacks up in terms of page speed against competitors in their industry.

Google also has some data and takeaways to put a bow on their new tools. A 2016 study of theirs found that 53% of users will bail if a mobile webpage takes longer than 3 seconds to load. They also concede, however, that the strength of internet connection and quality of smartphone can impact page speed. Google recommends that a site become usable within five seconds on an average mobile device with a 3G connection. That number decreases to three seconds with a 4G connection.

“When you’re ready to speed up your mobile site,” they expand, “here are a few tips to get started:”

• “Meet with your organization’s web development team to diagnose mobile latency issues”
• “Review this basic checklist of ways to optimize your mobile site”
• “If you want more advanced recommendations, work with your web development team to implement these user experience guidelines”

This need for page speed is not lost on us. We’re constantly testing and tweaking our client’s page speed. We use Google’s PageSpeed insights to stay on top of this. We have also been implementing AMP pages on behalf of our clients for over a year now. We’ve been happy with what AMP pages brought to the table for our clients and are excited to see it evolve in the future. We’d love to work with you on your mobile web presence. Drop us a line at hello@roimediaworks.com