A guest post by Sarah Pfledderer. 

Knowing how to write strong SEO content is imperative for bloggers.

A well-optimised post is valued by search engines and therefore is more visible to online users. But what happens next?

When online users click the blog post link, whether they found it on social media, a search engine results page, or even an e-newsletter, how it responds can dramatically affect user experience and initial impression of your content.

We’re talking about page load speed or, in other words, your website speed and the time your website visitors spend waiting for your content to Load.

Think of it like hosting a dinner party. You wouldn’t want your hungry guests twiddling their thumbs while you fumble around in the kitchen making their meal. This would not give a good impression of being organised; after all, they expected a meal when they walked inside.

The same goes for your blog’s page load speed. Your website visitors expect to be served your content immediately they land on your site, not many moments later.

This is why all bloggers – hobbyist or business content creators — should keep their page load speed top of mind. Consider these ways when page load speed affect user experience, according to these page load time statistics.

1. Page load speed influences conversion rates

Some blogs sell products with eCommerce, inviting their website visitors to make a purchase or buy into their service. Your page load speed directly impact this.

Consider this: a 100-millisecond delay in a website’s load time can decrease conversion rates by 7%. And 77% of consumers who use mobile devices are more likely to purchase from websites which enable them to make purchases quickly.

This means it is important to consider your mobile versus desktop website regarding page load speed.

2. Website speed affects mobile and desktop users differently

It is worth noting website speeds vary across website types. Generally the average time a webpage on a desktop computer takes to load fully is 10.3 seconds. While it takes more than twice that time on a mobile site at 27.3 seconds.

It is also interesting to note over 50% of mobile website visitors will leave a webpage if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. This also means website speed also affect Bounce Rates.

3. Page load speed impacts bounce rates

Bounce rates are number of website visitors who failed to stay on your website or click through to other pages once they’re there. Instead they visit one page and leave, either because the user experience was poor, or because the page simply didn’t load fast enough.

Going back to the dinner party example: think of bounce rates as one of your guests getting up from the dinner table because they simply can’t wait any longer for their meal.

The good news is, decreasing webpage load speeds also decreases bounce rates. Even a 0.1-second improvement in website speeds improved bounce rates of lead generation pages by 8.3%.

The bottom line

Page load speed affects every aspect of user engagement and improving this means adapting your website so users spend more time on it. Thankfully there are some uncomplicated ways to ensure your site is well optimised for your website visitors. This includes compressing pictures, getting rid of unnecessary plugins, even changing your web host.

Finally, while common SEO mistakes should be avoided, fixing your page load speed is not something to avoid.

For more statistics on how website speeds affect user experience, plus pointers to correct your website’s page load speed, review the infographic below, courtesy of WebsiteSetup.

About the author

Sarah Pfledderer has over a decade of writing and editing experience in magazine journalism and blogging. She specialises in lifestyle topics and occasionally dabbles in tech, including for sites such as WebsiteSetup.

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