Now that digitization has taken over, people understand that creating a website is a necessity. But, the very next questions they raise are, “Is mobile optimization important?” “Do I need to improve website loading speed for mobile phones, too?”
Well, yes!
Almost 83% of consumers want websites to load in less than 3 seconds. From a marketer’s point of view, 3 seconds may not seem like a lot. But, for users, 3-seconds are, sometimes, equivalent to a lifetime. Hence, it is crucial to start questioning, “How to improve website loading speed?”
And to be precise, your focus must be on enhancing your website’s capability to load quickly on mobile devices. This is because, in the last quarter of 2023, mobile devices garnered 58.67% of global website traffic. However, mobile landing pages take an average of 7 seconds to load. If your site is in a similar situation, it is time to focus on mobile SEO.
Are you wondering how to do it? Keep reading!
1- The importance of mobile page speed
Did you know 79% of mobile users don’t go back to a slow-loading website? This means having a fast mobile site is crucial for businesses because people expect it.
Let’s explore the top three ways mobile page speed matters:
1. Page loading speed is crucial for search rankings. Since December 2017, Google has ranked search results based on mobile page speed. Even experts believe that faster loading speeds lead to higher rankings in Google’s top 10 results.
All sites in the top ten are typically optimized for speed, emphasizing the importance of fast loading times for better ranking. So, if you want your site to rank well, ensure your SEO consulting experts prioritize fast loading times.
2. Faster website loading leads to lower bounce rates.
Research showcases that as page load time increases from 1s to 3s, the likelihood of a bounce rises by 23%. If the load time increases from 1s to 5s, the probability of a bounce jumps to 90%. This highlights the strong connection between fast-loading sites and reduced bounce rates.
3. Slower mobile load times can significantly hurt conversion rates. A mere one-second delay can reduce conversion rates by up to 20%. If a sites takes over three seconds to load, 40% of visitors may leave before reaching the site, dealing a heavy blow to conversions.
Additionally, 52% of online shoppers emphasize the importance of fast page loading for their loyalty to a site.
2- Tips to run a mobile site speed test and diagnose issues
A slow mobile experience can repel potential customers. A fast mobile experience, on the other hand, can draw them in and keep them engaged.
But, diagnosing and resolving site loading issues can be challenging. Hence, you must consider “how to outsource SEO.” Given that experts have tools and resources to assist with the same.
Also, experts can understand the cause. And that is how these site administrators and developers become able to pinpoint the root of the issue. It enables them to devise effective strategies to enhance site speed.
You can request your hired experts to use the following tools to analyse your website’s loading performance. They offer detailed reports, optimization suggestions, and general advice to make your site faster. Besides, these tools will come in handy in finding the answer to your query, “How to improve organic traffic?”
Page Speed Insights is a tool that aids in optimizing the speed of your mobile website.
Using Page Speed Insights is straightforward:
- Open Page Speed Insights and input your URL.
- Click “Analyze,” and Google will conduct a speed test on your site.
- It will produce a report highlighting elements that might be slowing down your site.
As you address issues from the report, the “Possible Optimizations” list will decrease, indicating the impact of the remaining unoptimized elements.
It’s recommended to prioritize working on the top priority items first before tackling the rest.
GTmetrix enables users to conduct analyses directly from their website’s dashboard using a plugin. But it also functions as a standalone website tool.
With this page speed measuring tool, you can:
- Schedule site speed reports daily, weekly, or monthly.
- Receive alerts regarding your site’s status.
- Determine the potential size reduction for each element.
- Preview optimized versions of images and other website elements.
GTmetrix’s report identifies the specific areas of your site that need optimization. It offers information on the total page size and load time.
It categorizes alerts into priority tabs, making it clear which areas need immediate attention.
3- Improve your mobile site’s speed in 8 steps
After identifying your site’s weaknesses, you can begin addressing them to build advanced link-building opportunities.
The following eight steps cover the most common issues encountered in optimizing mobile page speed.
3.1- Create a lightweight mobile design
Focus on improving mobile page speed directly rather than solely optimizing the loading speed of your desktop website and expecting it to affect the mobile version.
To create a lightweight mobile design, strive to follow all of these steps:
- Embrace minimalism: Keep your website engaging without cluttering or over complicating the design.
- Simplify navigation: Strip down navigation to its essentials to improve website user experience and faster loading times.
- Reuse assets: Use the same designed assets across all devices to reduce server calls and improve loading speed.
- Use white space and single-column layout: Opt for a clean layout to enhance readability and speed up website loading.
3.2- Optimise every website element
Wondering “How to do mobile SEO to increase site speed?” It’s essential to optimize every element of your site pages. This includes optimizing:
To improve mobile site speed, optimize every element, including:
Images:
- Compress photos and pictures
- Use videos instead of GIFs
- Serve responsive images with the right dimensions
- Use WebP images
- Utilize image CDNs
Fonts:
- Avoid invisible text during font loading
- Limit to one or two simple fonts
CSS:
- Extract critical CSS
- Minify CSS
- Optimize background images using media queries
- Defer non-critical CSS
JavaScript:
- Implement instant loading
- Get rid of unused code
- Compress network payloads
- Use up-to-date code for modern browsers
Additionally, consider:
- Minimizing HTTPS requests
- Employing CDN for static resources
- Implementing lazy loading for images and elements to load only when needed as users scroll.
3.3- Use browsing caching
Browser caching is a mobile site speed optimization method that can have a significant impact.
When your site loads, it fetches resources such as every page element and HTML5 code structure.
This process requires considerable time and effort, and it occurs every time someone visits your website.
Browser caching stores previously loaded resources, so they don’t need to reload when a visitor returns to your website. This means elements such as images, videos, and logos won’t have to load again for returning visitors.
Some essential plugins that can assist in achieving this with little to no coding include –
- Hummingbird
- HyperCache
- W3 Total Cache
- LiteSpeed Cache
3.4- Minimise your site’s HTML
A significant factor in improving mobile site speed and earning positive assessments from Google is reducing the space occupied by your site’s HTML code.
Minifying your website’s code script can significantly increase the speed of your mobile site.
HTML minification involves removing or fixing unnecessary or duplicate data without affecting the browser’s processing of HTML.
Minifying HTML involves:
- Correcting code errors
- Formatting the code
- Eliminating unused code fragments
- Shortening code where feasible
To do this, use plugins like –
- Fast Velocity Minify
- HTML Minify
- Merge+Minify+Refresh
- Autoptimize
3.5- Generate a website performance culture
There is no point in focusing on “how to improve website loading speed,” for a certain period of time. It should be ingrained in your business culture.
Ensuring website performance is not only a goal but also a strategy to enhance discoverability, acquisition, and conversion rates. It should also be integrated into your brand reputation and link-building strategies.
Developing a site performance budget and cultivating a performance-driven culture where all employees share the same understanding of site speed should be integral to your broader optimization strategy.
Every individual involved should acknowledge mobile speed as a fundamental aspect of the website.
3.6- Thoroughly measure round-trip times
Wikipedia defines ’round-trip time’ (RTT) as the duration required for a data request to travel from a desktop computer or mobile device to a designated destination. It encompasses the complete return of the requested data.
RTT is gauged by pinging an address. The specific duration of an RTT varies based on factors such as connection source, medium, physical distance, number of nodes, traffic volume, and server load.
Each RTT contributes to the overall mobile load time. Therefore, it’s advisable to reduce the number of sequential round trips by transmitting resources in parallel and eliminating unnecessary weight.
In addition to avoiding redirects mentioned earlier, consolidate scripts to minimize repeated time-consuming RTT. Aim to combine them into as few files as possible.
- External JavaScripts
- External CSS
- Images using CSS sprites
3.7- Place JavaScript at the bottom and CSS at the top of HTML files
JavaScript adds interactivity to web pages. It enables features like button responses, form data handling, styling, and animations. However, JS scripts can hinder parallel downloads. When JS code is loading, the browser delays other downloads. To enhance page loading speed, consider moving JS scripts to the base of the page when feasible.
This approach allows HTML content to display before JavaScript is loaded, enabling you to show a “page is loading” spinner or message to mobile visitors.
CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, dictate the appearance of HTML elements on your webpage. Placing stylesheets at the beginning of your document makes pages seem to load faster. Placing CSS upfront allows the browser to display content as soon as possible.
3.8- Utilize gzip compression to shrink file sizes
Unlike minification, compressing data involves an additional decompression step before it can be displayed. While compressed code transmits faster to the browser due to its reduced size, the extra decompression step can increase mobile load time.
Gzip stands as the preferred compression method among web developers. Gzipping effectively decreases page weight and enhances mobile page speed. Typically, gzip can reduce pages significantly and is widely supported by the majority of browsers.
4- AMP’s impact on improving mobile page speed
In your journey to finding answers for “how to improve website visibility?” and “how to enhance site speed?” you are bound to come across something known as AMP.
Well, AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. It is a Google-supported project, announced in 2015. In December of 2015, Google suggested that AMP could potentially influence rankings. In 2017, AMP was adopted by 1 million websites, a number that surged to 50 million by 2019.
This open-source technology is specifically designed for enhancing mobile web browsing, with the primary goal of accelerating webpage loading times. AMP web pages can be cached by Google’s CDN servers, allowing for quicker delivery of pages to users.
Consequently, the website loads instantly due to its utilization of Google server cache.
AMP code speeds up page loading when clicked from Google search results. Pages using AMP rank higher, load faster and boost lead retention and conversion rates.
Using AMP on your mobile site yields several benefits, primarily improved speed. This results in:
- Boosted organic traffic
- Increased impressions in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages)
- Elevated click-through rates (CTRs) in SERPs
Since Google spearheads this initiative, any pertinent technological advancements they develop can seamlessly integrate into AMP, providing additional support to websites utilizing it.
However, it’s important to acknowledge certain drawbacks of AMP:
- Stringent CSS and JavaScript limitations are imposed on websites.
- AMP implementation is restricted to a limited variety of modules, which may not be suitable for all websites.
- Due to these constraints, websites using AMP may have reduced individuality.
- The user experience on a traditional desktop website can differ markedly from that on an AMP website.
5- Ending note
Well, it is quite evident from the blog that more than half of digital traffic now comes from mobile. Your choice to optimise mobile websites for speed can result in successful lead generation and conversion.
Hence, it is critical to focus on developing fast mobile site experiences, irrespective of your niche. Embrace the tips listed above or choose to hire SEO consultants like SEO Resellers Canada. Experts at aid can prevent the need to create an in-house team, prevent additional expenses, and improve your site’s user experience for good. They will give you a clear picture of “Why is mobile SEO important?”
