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If you know Google, you know the search giant has an obsession with speed. This was all apparent when it launched the Instant feature that presents results as the user types in their query, and even more so when it announced Instant Pages, which hence the name, is designed to pull up web pages from the search results in an instant. Once again, Google is showcasing its need for speed with the recent introduction of a new service called Page Speed.
What is Page Speed?
Google’s new Page Speed service is essentially a tool designed to make web pages load faster for the user. According to tests conducted by the company itself, the tool is capable of boosting the speed of a page by anywhere from 25% to 60%. If this is true, then it is nothing short of impressive. The company says that some sites it tested have loaded twice as fast with the service without performing the tactics traditionally employed to boost quickness.
How it Works
So how does Page Speed work? It is actually a simple process driven by the power of Google’s automated technology. The tool calls for you to point your DNS CNAME at Google’s servers (ghs.google.com), and from there, its technology handles the rest. Once that is taken care of, Page Speed fetches the content from your site via the server it resides on, rewrites your pages, optimizes them based on its set of established best practices, and finally serves them up to your visitors, supposedly notably faster than before. The company said the actual load time your visitors enjoy is dependent on various factors such as your content, the user’s browser, bandwidth, and other variables that impact speed on the web.
Speed Matters
As a webmaster, optimizing your web pages to load faster is not only something you should aim for to please Google, but to enhance your online presence. Having a slow loading website comes with numerous repercussions, including higher bounce rates, fewer visitors returning to your site, and even loss of revenue if your website is designed to sell products or services. Furthermore, some pundits have suggested that speed is now among the factors Google utilizes to determine rankings in the search engine results pages. If you are a webmaster who depends on traffic from this search engine, which happens to be the cream of the crop by far, then you understand just how important having a website that performs as fast as possible has become.
Revving up Your Site
For now, Google Page Speed is only available to a limited number of webmasters at no cost. The service is free to use at the time, but there is speculation that fees could be tacked on once it is rolled up to the public. In the meantime, you can get one step closer to optimizing the speed of your website put signing up for the service, and waiting for the search company to send you an invite.