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Introduction

Google’s Mobile Speed Update is an algorithm update that was announced in 2018. It is designed to give a boost in rankings to mobile-friendly pages that load quickly. The update went into effect on July 9, 2018, and it uses page speed as a ranking factor for mobile search results. This means that if a page takes too long to load on a mobile device, it may be ranked lower in search results. This update was made to ensure that users have a better experience when searching on mobile devices. It is important for website owners to make sure their pages are mobile-friendly and load quickly to avoid being negatively affected by this update.

What Is the Mobile Speed Update?

The Mobile Speed Update is an algorithm update by Google that uses page speed as a ranking factor for mobile search results. It was announced in 2018 and went into effect on July 9th of the same year. The update’s main objective is to give a boost in rankings to mobile-friendly pages that load quickly, ensuring that users have a better experience when searching on mobile devices. This means that pages that are slow to load on mobile devices may be ranked lower in search results, so it’s important for website owners to make sure their pages are mobile-friendly and load quickly to avoid being negatively affected by this update.

What Are the Main Changes?

The main change with the Mobile Speed Update is that page speed is now being used as a ranking factor for mobile search results. This means that pages that load quickly on mobile devices may receive a boost in rankings, while pages that are slow to load may be ranked lower. The update is specifically targeted towards mobile search results, so it will only affect the ranking of pages on mobile devices, not desktop.

In addition to that, Google also introduced a new tool “Google PageSpeed Insights” which helps website owners to analyze the performance of their pages and identify areas for improvement. It provides suggestions and best practices to optimize the page speed of their website.

Overall, the main change is that Google is now taking into account the page speed of websites for mobile search results and is encouraging website owners to create fast-loading mobile-friendly pages to improve their search engine rankings.

How Will This Update Affect My Website?

The Mobile Speed Update will affect your website if it is slow to load on mobile devices. If your pages are slow to load, they may be ranked lower in mobile search results, which can lead to less traffic and fewer conversions.

To determine how this update may affect your website, you can use the Google PageSpeed Insights tool to analyze the performance of your pages. This tool will give you a score for both the desktop and mobile versions of your page, and provide suggestions for how to improve page speed.

Additionally, you can check your website on Google Search Console to see if there are any issues with mobile usability. You can check if Google is reporting any mobile usability issues on your website and fix them to ensure that your site is mobile-friendly.

If your website is already mobile-friendly and loads quickly on mobile devices, then this update should not have a significant impact on your search engine rankings. However, it’s still a good idea to regularly monitor your website’s performance and make any necessary optimizations to ensure that it continues to meet Google’s guidelines.

How To Test Your Website Speed On Mobile Devices

There are several things you can do to ensure your website is speedy on mobile:

1. Optimize Images: Large images can slow down your page load times. You can optimize images by compressing them, using the appropriate file format (such as JPEG for photographs and PNG for graphics) and reducing the size of images displayed on your website.
2. Minimize HTTP Requests: Each time a page loads, it makes multiple HTTP requests to the server to load different elements of the page, such as images, scripts, and stylesheets. Minimizing the number of requests can help speed up your page load times.
3. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN can help speed up your website by distributing your content across multiple servers in different geographic locations. This allows users to access your website from a server that is closer to them, reducing page load times.
4. Minify Code: Minifying your code removes unnecessary spaces, comments, and line breaks, reducing the size of your files and speeding up page load times.
5. Use Browser Caching: Browser caching allows a browser to store a copy of your website’s files on the user’s computer, so that they don’t have to be downloaded again the next time the user visits your website.
6. Use Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP): AMP is an open-source framework that is designed to speed up the loading of web pages on mobile devices. By using AMP, your website’s pages will load faster on mobile devices and may be eligible to appear in the Google AMP carousel in mobile search results.
7. Use a Mobile-First Design: Mobile-first design puts mobile users’ needs at the forefront of your website design and development. This way, you can ensure that your website is optimized for mobile devices and loads quickly on those devices.

It’s also important to regularly monitor your website’s performance and make any necessary optimizations to ensure that it continues to meet Google’s guidelines.

How Can I Test My Website’s Speed on Mobile/Desktop?

There are several tools you can use to test your website’s speed on mobile:

1. Google PageSpeed Insights: This tool provides a score for the speed of your website on both desktop and mobile devices, and also provides suggestions for how to improve page speed.
2. Google Lighthouse: This tool is available in the Chrome browser and can be used to audit your website’s performance, accessibility, and SEO. It also provides a score for the speed of your website on mobile devices.
3. WebPageTest: This tool allows you to test your website’s speed on different devices and network connections. You can select different mobile devices and network conditions to see how your website performs.
4. GTmetrix: This tool is similar to WebPageTest, it allows you to test your website’s speed on different devices and network connections and also provide suggestions for how to improve page speed.
5. Think with Google: This tool allows you to test your website’s speed on different devices and provides a report on the website’s performance and user experience.
6. SpeedCurve: SpeedCurve is a tool that allows you to test your website’s speed and performance on mobile and desktop devices. It also allows you to monitor your website’s performance over time, and compare it with your competitors.

It’s important to test your website’s speed on mobile devices regularly to ensure that it’s performing well and to identify any issues that need to be fixed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Google’s Mobile Speed Update is an algorithm update that was announced in 2018 and uses page speed as a ranking factor for mobile search results. The update’s main objective is to give a boost in rankings to mobile-friendly pages that load quickly, ensuring that users have a better experience when searching on mobile devices. To ensure that your website is not negatively affected by this update, it is important to make sure your pages are mobile-friendly and load quickly on mobile devices. There are several tools available to test your website’s speed and performance on mobile, and make any necessary optimizations to improve page speed. By monitoring your website’s performance and making regular optimizations, you can ensure that your website meets Google’s guidelines and continues to perform well in mobile search results.