Site Speed
Site speed relates to how fast a site is able to load the content and resources contained on it. Speed affects a user’s experience of the website while also impacting how efficiently search engines are able to identify, crawl, and index content. Our Hangout Notes will help you understand the importance of having a fast site, along with advice to improve site speed. To learn more about the most important considerations around this topic, make sure you read our Ultimate Guide to Site Speed & Performance.
Very Slow Performance Affects Rankings
Google only differentiates sites which are very slow and take ‘forever’ to load. However small differences in speed can impact user engagement, which can have an indirect impact on rankings.
Fetch Time Impacts Crawl Rate
Google recommends a page fetch time of less than 1 second, as sites which respond more quickly will get a higher crawl rate. This won’t directly help you rank better but might help get you ranked more quickly.