Google Page Rank - Page Load Time - Page Speed Algorithms
Why optimizing your website for speed and using file compression can boost your Google page rank.
What will LA Wolfe be doing to make my site run faster?
One of the most important changes we will be making to help your website run faster is to reduce the number of HTTP requests for your web pages. When someone visits a web page, different information about the page is called from multiple files and images. These are called HTTP requests. Reducing the number of HTTP requests will make your website run faster.
To improve page load time we are optimizing old Java Scripts, PHP files, and CSS files, “suturing” CSS and Java scripts when applicable, and creating CSS sprites as appropriate. We are also reviewing your source code for unnecessary instructions (if we SEOd your site we already corrected code errors for you) and addressing other things that may not have been an issue when your website developer created your site. (If we developed your website it was optimized for speed and accessibility when we completed work on your site - long before Google changed their practices.)
We will be contacting each client individually to let you know specifically, the work we are doing, but can assure you it will not change how your website looks, and we will not perform and work not within the scope of our contract without your permission.
Will I have to pay for these performance upgrades?
Although the changes needed to make client sites run as fast as possible are significant, we consider them critical. Our brilliant SEO work that has gotten all our clients on to page one of Google may no longer be enough. For this reason, if you are on a monthly service agreement with us, you will not be charged for this work.
Unfortunately, if you are not on a monthly services agreement for our SEO services, we will need to charge for these services. Re-optimizing a site for speed (that we did not design) could take 40-120 hours per website depending upon what needs to be done. If you are interested in speed optimization services, please contact us for recommendations about work, a price quote, a list of things you can do for yourself, and list of other companies where you can also get quotes from.)
For do-it-yourselfers
To remain competitive, you will need to work with your web host company to ensure your pages load as fast as possible by facilitating file compression at the server level. If your pages are done in PHP there are other options, and if you use WordPress, compressing files is relatively simple.
Here are links to articles that provide instructions on setting up file compression and other things you can do to make your website run faster:
Google Articles
PHP and WordPress
Apache Servers
- Turn On Compression
- Add Future Expires Header
- Add Cache-Control Headers
- Turn Off ETags
- Remove Last-Modified Header
- Use Multiple SubDomains
Miscellaneous
Information and Announcements for Our Clients
FAQS About Changes in Google Algorithms
In April 2010, Google announced that it will now be using page load time as a factor in calculating page rank. Websites that are not optimized for speed could be penalized.
How will these changes affect my website?
That depends. If your website was designed by our company it was designed with speed in mind and already meets or exceeds Google recommendations for page performance. However, one thing we cannot do is change your server side settings to make it run even faster.
To have the fastest possible site, we strongly recommend you have your IT guru or web hosting company change your server settings to allow for file compression whenever possible. If your website was not designed specifically for optimal page performance, your site may lose its competitive edge in search engines as Google forges ahead in its campaign to speed up the web.
How can I tell if my website is loading too slowly for Google's new guidelines?
We will tell you. Since speed is relative to other competing sites, there is no one formula for determining "too slow." But across the board, faster websites will now be favored by Google.
We are now monitoring websites on a daily basis (instead of on a weekly basis for established sites) to study changes in search engine positions. If your website is still appearing in top positions, your site has probably made the "first cut" with Google (they are still testing out new algorithms and the weight page speed will carry.)
We are seeing new sites that never showed up before in the top 20 taking more dominant positions. We will study these new competitors to find strategic ways to beat them, but given Google's recent changes coinciding with new search engine results, it is probably because these sites run faster than others..
However, all websites we designed (or rebuilt for clients) are maintaining their strong positions, and in fact, are even appearing in a few more number one spots because they were already designed for speed long before Google made this change.
FindLaw and flash sites take heed
If you are a FindLaw client or have Flash features on your website your site is not running as fast as it could. Flash sites take more time to load and FindLaw sites are typically heavy on Flash and they add a large number of external files that can slow down page load time.
What YOU need to do to now to remain competitive
Because LA Wolfe Web Marketing is not authorized to make changes in how your server handles requests, you will need to make certain server changes, or have your web hosting company make them for you.
Google recommends websites (and blogs) use file compression, they recommend gzip.
Gzip compresses files in a similar fashion to how document files are zipped: information is compressed and only when it is needed is it extracted. Implementing gzip on your server can decrease page load time by 33% to 75%.
Even as we complete all other speed optimization for your website, you can count on at least some of your competitors doing the same thing. And bear in mind that sites using compressed files will run faster, and therefore, may achieve higher standing with Google no matter what else you do behind the scenes.
If you are not willing or able to enable file compression please let us know immediately!
Specific web hosting companies that do and do not compress files
FindLaw Clients: All FindLaw websites that we tested did not use compress files. FindLaw clients are not permitted access to server files so you will need to contact your account executive and ask about having the right server instructions.
CyberVerse Clients: Servers are not automatically set to compress files. CyberVerse allows clients to access to their server files but are great on customer service and will help site owners make the needed changes..
Dreamhost Clients: Dreamhost servers (if your website is hosted with us or directly with Dreamhost) are good to go – Dreamhost clients do not need to take any action.
Network Solutions: All sites we tested were not being compressed; however, your IT person should have access to the file necessary to instruct your server to compress files. If your IT person cannot implement the change, have him/her contact Network Solutions.
Where can I get more information about gzip?
How can I test my website to see if my site already compresses files or is set up properly?
Visit the following URL and enter your home page URL to test your website to see if your server settings allow gzip compression: http://www.gidnetwork.com/tools/gzip-test.php. If it is not, you will need to contact your web hosting company or have your IT person make the necessary changes at the server level. This test will also tell you any added value (how much faster that page will run) for using file compression.
It is also important that you use this URL to test your site AFTER your web company says it has made the changes to make sure it was done properly.
File compression is especially critical for websites with a file extension XHTML, as these sites tend to have slower load time.