How​ ​to​ ​Avoid​ ​Google's​ ​Page​ ​Speed​ ​Penalty Last​ ​week,​ ​Google​ ​made​ ​an​ ​announcement​ ​that​ ​could​ ​once​ ​again​ ​shake​ ​up​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​small business​ ​websites. According​ ​to​ ​an​ ​article​ ​from​ ​WebProNews,​ ​there​ ​is​ ​an​ ​internal​ ​organization​ ​within​ ​Google called​ ​the​ ​"Make​ ​the​ ​Web​ ​Faster"​ ​initiative,​ ​and​ ​this​ ​group's​ ​quest​ ​is​ ​to​ ​reduce​ ​the​ ​time​ ​it​ ​takes a​ ​web​ ​page​ ​to​ ​load.​ ​Last​ ​week​ ​Google​ ​announced​ ​that​ ​it​ ​now​ ​has​ ​a​ ​brand​ ​new​ ​feature​ ​called "mod_pagespeed",​ ​which​ ​apparently​ ​makes​ ​it​ ​quick​ ​and​ ​easy​ ​to​ ​optimize​ ​the​ ​pages​ ​on​ ​a website​ ​for​ ​speed. But​ ​Wait​ ​-​ ​who​ ​cares​ ​how​ ​fast​ ​a​ ​web​ ​page​ ​loads?

Consider​ ​the​ ​following: Website​ ​visitors​ ​routinely​ ​abandon​ ​websites​ ​that​ ​take​ ​too​ ​long​ ​to​ ​load.​ ​Study​ ​after​ ​study confirms​ ​this​ ​behavior.​ ​Most​ ​users​ ​would​ ​rather​ ​click​ ​the​ ​"Back"​ ​button​ ​than​ ​wait​ ​for​ ​an animated​ ​movie​ ​or​ ​graphic-intensive​ ​page​ ​to​ ​load.​ ​Users​ ​want​ ​information​ ​as​ ​fast​ ​as​ ​they​ ​can get​ ​it,​ ​and​ ​they​ ​are​ ​not​ ​willing​ ​to​ ​wait. Experiments​ ​from​ ​Google​ ​found​ ​that​ ​users​ ​spend​ ​more​ ​time​ ​on​ ​websites​ ​that​ ​have​ ​fast​ ​page load​ ​times.​ ​Other​ ​studies​ ​confirm​ ​this​ ​behavior​ ​as​ ​well. Google​ ​cares​ ​so​ ​much​ ​about​ ​speed​ ​that​ ​it​ ​recently​ ​added​ ​page​ ​load​ ​times​ ​as​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​regular criteria​ ​a​ ​site​ ​must​ ​meet​ ​in​ ​order​ ​to​ ​rank​ ​well​ ​in​ ​Google's​ ​search​ ​results. Although​ ​Google​ ​says​ ​page​ ​load​ ​speed​ ​is​ ​not​ ​a​ ​major​ ​criteria​ ​-​ ​relevance​ ​and​ ​authority​ ​still count​ ​more​ ​-​ ​your​ ​website​ ​will​ ​receive​ ​a​ ​Google​ ​speed​ ​penalty​ ​if​ ​the​ ​pages​ ​load​ ​too​ ​slowly​ ​(e.g., longer​ ​than​ ​a​ ​second​ ​or​ ​two). Google's​ ​own​ ​representatives​ ​have​ ​been​ ​quoted​ ​(by​ ​WebProNews)​ ​as​ ​saying​ ​"At​ ​Google,​ ​we're obsessed​ ​with​ ​speed​ ​-​ ​we​ ​measure​ ​it,​ ​pick​ ​it​ ​apart,​ ​think​ ​about​ ​it​ ​constantly." Mod_Pagespeed So​ ​what​ ​is​ ​mod_pagespeed,​ ​anyway?​ ​Apparently,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​an​ ​open-source​ ​Apache​ ​module​ ​(Apache is​ ​software​ ​that​ ​runs​ ​on​ ​your​ ​web​ ​server),​ ​and​ ​any​ ​webmaster​ ​can​ ​use​ ​it​ ​to​ ​automatically optimize​ ​a​ ​website​ ​for​ ​speed.​ ​The​ ​module​ ​works​ ​by​ ​automatically​ ​optimizing​ ​web​ ​pages​ ​and the​ ​resources​ ​on​ ​them​ ​with​ ​filters​ ​that​ ​apply​ ​best​ ​practices​ ​for​ ​web​ ​performance.​ ​Used correctly,​ ​Google​ ​says​ ​mod_pagespeed​ ​can​ ​reduce​ ​the​ ​time​ ​it​ ​takes​ ​a​ ​web​ ​page​ ​to​ ​load​ ​by​ ​up​ ​to 50%,​ ​making​ ​most​ ​websites​ ​load​ ​about​ ​twice​ ​as​ ​fast. What​ ​Should​ ​You​ ​Do​ ​About​ ​Page​ ​Speed? The​ ​first​ ​thing​ ​you​ ​should​ ​do​ ​is​ ​test​ ​the​ ​current​ ​page​ ​load​ ​times​ ​of​ ​your​ ​web​ ​pages,​ ​specifically the​ ​home​ ​page.​ ​Then,​ ​test​ ​the​ ​page​ ​load​ ​times​ ​of​ ​your​ ​top​ ​competitors'​ ​websites.​ ​If​ ​your page(s)​ ​are​ ​slower​ ​than​ ​your​ ​competition,​ ​you​ ​are​ ​probably​ ​losing​ ​ground​ ​in​ ​the​ ​search​ ​engine rankings​ ​(and​ ​if​ ​you​ ​haven't​ ​yet,​ ​you​ ​will).​ ​Then,​ ​use​ ​the​ ​new​ ​mod_pagespeed​ ​module​ ​(or​ ​have your​ ​web​ ​firm​ ​do​ ​this​ ​for​ ​you)​ ​to​ ​get​ ​the​ ​best​ ​performance​ ​and​ ​fastest​ ​download​ ​speeds possible​ ​for​ ​your​ ​website. Faster​ ​is​ ​Better​ ​on​ ​the​ ​Web When​ ​it​ ​comes​ ​to​ ​websites,​ ​faster​ ​page​ ​download​ ​times​ ​are​ ​definitely​ ​an​ ​advantage,​ ​especially if​ ​your​ ​competitors​ ​don't​ ​know​ ​about​ ​(or​ ​aren't​ ​paying​ ​attention)​ ​to​ ​this​ ​new​ ​development from​ ​Google. Other​ ​advantages​ ​to​ ​having​ ​web​ ​pages​ ​that​ ​download​ ​quickly​ ​include:

Better​ ​User​ ​Experience:​ ​Faster​ ​websites​ ​provide​ ​a​ ​better​ ​web​ ​experience​ ​for​ ​visitors​ ​since pages​ ​load​ ​fast​ ​and​ ​users​ ​can​ ​find​ ​information​ ​quickly. Better​ ​for​ ​Mobile​ ​Devices:​ ​Mobile​ ​phones​ ​and​ ​devices​ ​don't​ ​have​ ​the​ ​same​ ​level​ ​of​ ​processing memory​ ​as​ ​your​ ​PC,​ ​so​ ​websites​ ​optimized​ ​for​ ​page​ ​speed​ ​tend​ ​to​ ​work​ ​better​ ​on​ ​mobile devices. Don't​ ​stand​ ​by​ ​and​ ​wait​ ​for​ ​your​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​positions​ ​to​ ​fall​ ​-​ ​check​ ​your​ ​page​ ​load​ ​speed against​ ​the​ ​speed​ ​of​ ​your​ ​competitors'​ ​websites,​ ​and​ ​if​ ​your​ ​site​ ​is​ ​too​ ​slow,​ ​Google​ ​just​ ​might have​ ​an​ ​answer​ ​for​ ​you​ ​with​ ​mod_pagespeed. Recommended​ ​Links https://goo.gl/Qx99EN https://goo.gl/AmuQmV https://goo.gl/hjS5FE https://goo.gl/WqvWKg https://goo.gl/r46SgS https://goo.gl/1bTQUP https://goo.gl/66Qgns https://goo.gl/Ae33S8 https://goo.gl/F3QbL5 https://goo.gl/rX9itU https://goo.gl/hm6SXH https://goo.gl/iKLQPL https://goo.gl/Y8EakM https://goo.gl/tTq7vt https://goo.gl/XYo21U https://goo.gl/op3UDd https://goo.gl/1oZ66Y https://goo.gl/EvHPQJ https://goo.gl/UMrDB1 https://goo.gl/6oeum2 https://goo.gl/wixSni https://goo.gl/AmK1dp https://goo.gl/H4jJsS https://goo.gl/tsyrjX https://goo.gl/BMAaYx https://goo.gl/xcKQDg https://goo.gl/FnfKtj https://goo.gl/zMwuDw https://goo.gl/QndbKS https://goo.gl/qTG9cy

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