Whether you’re operating an eCommerce enterprise, or a monetized blogging platform, reputation is the leading force behind present and future success. Even if you have one of the most well-rounded sites in your niche, if your reputation is negative, your income and viewership will most definitely remain stagnant.
While there’s literally hundreds of elements that work together to cultivate a solid reputation, perhaps one of the most important fundamental components is website speed. If you aren’t focused on creating a stable, swift and responsive environment, you’re surely loosing out on viewers, and potential income.
If you’re interested in boosting and sustaining your website reputation, you must solely concentrate on lowering page loading speed. Although this may sound like common knowledge, do you know exactly why loading speed plays such a vital role in creating and maintaining a positive user experience?
Regardless of your website purpose, let’s take a moment and dive into the harsh reality of how page loading time directly influences reputation.
End-User Expectations – Satisfy or Sacrifice
In case you’re wondering why page load speed so heavily influences website reputation, all you must do to understand is look at the average internet user. It should go without saying that all users demand stability. An unstable website has obvious negative effects on website reputation, but that’s not the only component users look to when assigning reputation.
Page loading time plays a direct role in determining whether or not visitors even experience your website. It should come as no surprise the majority of internet users demand fast response times. But, do you know exactly how fast? Let’s take a moment and review the average page load demands your audience expects:
- Desktop Website – When an end-user accesses your website via their desktop or laptop, they expect the page to completely load within 5 seconds.
- Mobile Website – It’s no secret our demand for digital access to content is has moved into the fast lane. This is especially true when it comes to mobile access. End-users expect your website to load within a maximum of 3 seconds.
Of course, these expectations vary based upon the type of website you offer. For example, eCommerce enterprises are held to an exceptionally high bar. On average, an end-user may feel unsafe shopping at your online store if it takes longer than 2 seconds to load.
Slow Speeds = Lower Visibility = Unsavory Reputation
In the past, Google prioritized websites based upon keyword density. However, those days are long gone. With ever algorithm update, the focus simultaneously narrows on not only content quality, but also website stability.
One of the most essential elements that go into identifying website stability is page load time. It’s no secret that if your page takes longer than acceptable to completely load, you’ll experience negative SEO impacts.
This influences your website reputation for several reasons. Perhaps the most detrimental is its lowered rank in your topic and/or niche. If you allow this to continue, not only will your site become harder to find via organic traffic, but the absence of “main stage” visibility can tarnish your reputation.
