This episode provides a clear breakdown of why website speed is crucial for ecommerce success, covering its impact on conversion rates, SEO, and return on ad spend. Shawn O'Neil from Speed Sense explains how to diagnose site speed issues using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and introduces Core Web Vitals, offering actionable strategies to optimize your online store for better user experience and higher performance.
Key takeaways
Utilize Google PageSpeed Insights and competitor analysis to benchmark and identify specific site speed problems, focusing on both Real User Metrics (RUM) and Synthetic tests.
Prioritize Core Web Vitals (page loading, responsiveness, visual stability) as they are direct Google ranking factors and proxies for user experience, impacting conversion and bounce rates.
Be mindful of how your technology stack (e.g., Shopify) and third-party applications or tracking scripts can negatively affect site speed, and choose themes optimized for performance.
Recognize that optimizing site speed is not just a technical task but a critical business strategy that directly enhances conversion rates, improves SEO, and boosts return on ad spend.
Regularly monitor and optimize your website for speed, as it directly impacts customer experience, search engine rankings, and the overall profitability of your ecommerce business.
Shawn O'Neil from Speed Sense is an expert on website speed. In this podcast, we discuss how you know if you have a website speed issue and how to build an engaging website experience
Why is site speed important?
Website speed is important for three reasons: Conversion rate. Faster sites give a better user experience leading to lower bounce rates and higher conversion rates SEO. Site speed is a ranking factor for Google natural search and is measured by their core web vitals metrics Return on ad spend. Sites which convert better will give a higher return on ad spend. How do you know if you have a site speed problem?
You can identify if you have a site speed issue by scanning your site using the popular site speed using a tool such as Google page speed. This will give two categories of metrics Real user metrics (RUM). How users are experiencing your site Synthetic. An estimated speed metric The metrics given on the Google page speed tool will give benchmark for the site speed. If the major pages on the site pass core web vitals then that is the minimum benchmark for judging your site speed is acceptable.
Another good measure is to compare your site to your competitors.
What are Core Web Vitals
Google has chosen the metrics in the core website vitals as they are a good proxy for user experience. They fall into three groups: Is the page loading Is the page responding quickly Is the visual presentation stable Whether you will pass core web vitals will depend on (amongst other things) our technology stack (e.g. Shopify, Magento) and the number of applications which are loaded with the page. A common problem is below the page functionality e.g. tracking is slowing down the site.
Choosing a fast theme</
What does this episode say about conversion & cro?
Utilize Google PageSpeed Insights and competitor analysis to benchmark and identify specific site speed problems, focusing on both Real User Metrics (RUM) and Synthetic tests.
What does this episode say about organic & seo?
Prioritize Core Web Vitals (page loading, responsiveness, visual stability) as they are direct Google ranking factors and proxies for user experience, impacting conversion and bounce rates.
What does this episode say about shopify & ecommerce platforms?
Be mindful of how your technology stack (e.g., Shopify) and third-party applications or tracking scripts can negatively affect site speed, and choose themes optimized for performance.
What does this episode say about analytics & attribution?
Recognize that optimizing site speed is not just a technical task but a critical business strategy that directly enhances conversion rates, improves SEO, and boosts return on ad spend.
What does this episode say about conversion & cro?
Regularly monitor and optimize your website for speed, as it directly impacts customer experience, search engine rankings, and the overall profitability of your ecommerce business.
