As of today, page speed has become a ranking factor for mobile searches.
Google refers to this change as the “Speed Update” and has announced that it is now being implemented globally.
The Speed Update, which incorporates page speed into mobile search rankings, is being introduced for all users.
Ample warning was given about the Speed Update prior to its launch today, with Google announcing back in January that it would go live in July.
Now the Speed Update has arrived — right on schedule.
Previously, page speed was only a ranking factor in desktop searches.
While fast, mobile-optimized sites were always advised, speed was never a complete ranking factor in mobile search results.
Now, the load time of content is a factor when ranking mobile pages. Naturally, faster is better.
This is the key takeaway for SEOs and site owners regarding this update.
It’s also important to note that Google has stated this update will only impact the slowest mobile sites.
In essence, if a site is already very fast, but a competitor’s site is slightly faster, it’s unlikely to make a significant difference.
Reducing a few milliseconds on an already fast site will not result in a ranking boost.
The Speed Update will affect sites that are significantly slow, meaning users have to wait several seconds or more for content to load on a mobile device.
Finally, this update will not entirely prevent slow-loading mobile sites from achieving rankings.
Relevance remains crucial, as Google frequently emphasizes. Therefore, if a slow-loading page contains the most relevant content in response to a user’s query, it might still rank well in search results.
