Measurefest 2014 - Need for (page load) speed

Neil Barnes - Head of Insight & Traffic

Need for (Page Load) Speed

Page load speed is your website’s mechanism for forming a first

impression

40% of users abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load

Sources: Missouri University of Science, Akamai.com

3 is the magic number!

It takes nearly 3 seconds for a user to form their

first impression

But it also goes beyond that vital first impression…

Speedy Sites = Better UX

Better UX = Happy Users

Happy Users = Higher traffic quality & quantity

…because website users love fast sites!

Speedy Sites = A healthier business!

It’s not only users that love fast websites…

Since 2010, page load speed has formed a factor in Google’s search ranking

algorithm

1 second improvement in page load

=

7% improvement in conversions / online

revenue

Small improvements lead to big gains

Sources: Akamai.com, gomez.com

Lasting First Impression

Happy Users

Better User Experience

Reduced CostsIncreased

Conversions

More Sales

Improved SEO

Conversion Rate

Optimisation

Fast loading sites provide…

Page load influences many factors

Quality traffic

Sounds great, but where do I begin?

1. Measure 2. Analyse

3. Implement Test4. Test & Monitor

Similarities to a CRO framework

1. Make page load speed a KPI

2. Google Analytics to analyse

3. Setup tests based off analysis

4. Test & Monitor

Similarities to a CRO framework

1. Ensure page load speed is a KPI

Page load speed is an important, but often

forgotten, metric

Page load complements key visits and conversions

KPIs

2. Use Google Analytics to analyse

Gain lots of insight on page loads quickly and easily

One of the most under utilised suite of reports in

Google Analytics

Results may be surprising…

This is worse than I thought!

Poor usability impacting SEO

lost revenue and conversions!

I need more data and insight!

… panic may ensue, but help is at hand

Analyse data by:

site pagebrowser

desktop vs. mobilelocation

Complete the usual checks

Speed Suggestions report in Analytics

Metrics from Google’s page speed insights toolhttps://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/

insights/

But wait, there’s more!

Mobile vs. desktop

Traffic light scoring

Identifies high and medium priority fixes

Shows how to fix

Help shape testing

Page load calculated from 1% of audience by default

_setSiteSpeedSampleRate(x)

Will increase sample (x=10 means 10% sample)

UA: ga(‘create’, {‘UA-XXXXXX-Y’, ‘domainname’, ‘siteSpeedSampleRate’: x});

Classic: _setSiteSpeedSampleRate(x) – called prior to _trackPageview()

Note: sample limited to a max of 10,000 daily visitors

Top tip – Get even more from your data

Case Study: Equine Superstore

High abandonment before server has even responded!

1. KPIs and Benchmarking

https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/

Technical insights shared with development team

2. Use Google Page Speed Insights

Jan’14:

Mobile Speed Score – 66/100

Desktop Speed Score – 68/100

1.Server improvements

• Enhance server configs to reduce response time• Increased focus on this area to continually optimise

2. Magento Varnish

• Server extension that allows site use less resources• Speed up websites content delivery, reducing page load

3. Tests agreed

Aim: Reduce overall page load time to 3-5 secsAim: Reduce server response to <1 sec

4. Server response time has improved

Improvement in server response time = 2.65 seconds

4. Further benefit from Magento Varnish

Improvement in page load time = 6.12 seconds

How are the stats looking now?

Jan’14 May’14

Mobile Score 66 75 +14%

Desktop Score 68 78 +15%

Reduce overall page load to 3-5 secs: Currently 4.4 secsReduce server resp. time to <1 sec: Currently 1.01 secs

Weekly Non-CPC revenues up £3,500 vs. year agoAnnual revenue gain of £182,000

Page load forms first impression of your online business

3 seconds is the magic number

Page load impacts UX, Conversions, Traffic and Profits

Make page load a KPI alongside visits and conversions

There’s lots of great insight at your fingertips

Page speed insights tool great for identifying solutions

In summary…

Neil Barnes - Head of Insight & Traffic

Thank You