Why page speed matters for SEO
Google has confirmed page speed as a ranking factor since 2010 for desktop, and 2018 for mobile (the "Speed Update"). Beyond rankings, slower pages directly hurt conversion rates and bounce rate.
1. Compress and resize images
Most pages waste 30-60% of their weight on unoptimized images. Convert to WebP or AVIF, and never serve an image larger than its display size.
2. Enable lazy loading
Use loading="lazy" on below-the-fold images so the browser doesn't fetch them until needed.
3. Minify CSS and JavaScript
Removing whitespace and comments from production CSS/JS can cut file size by 20-40% with zero functional change.
4. Use a CDN
Serving static assets from edge locations close to the user cuts latency significantly, especially for global audiences.
5. Reduce server response time (TTFB)
Anything over 200ms TTFB is worth investigating — check your database queries, caching layer, and hosting region.
6. Eliminate render-blocking resources
Defer non-critical JS and inline critical CSS so the browser can paint content before downloading everything.
7. Audit third-party scripts
Analytics, chat widgets, and ad scripts are frequently the biggest speed offenders. Audit and remove anything not earning its keep.
Wrapping up
Run your site through a free full audit to see exactly which of these issues are affecting you, with a prioritized fix list.