Why A Fast Website is a Must-Have for SEO Companies
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, search engine optimisation (SEO) is a vital part of a successful online presence. Businesses seek the help of SEO consultants and agencies to boost their online visibility and increase organic traffic to their websites. But here's a question: If you were to choose an SEO agency or consultant to work with, ceteris paribus, wouldn't it be logical to choose the one with the fastest website?
Understanding Page Speed
Before we delve into the main point, let's first clarify what page speed is. Page speed refers to how quickly the content on a website’s page loads. It's a minor aspect of SEO. Most importantly, it influences the user experience, fast websites convert better. For Google, its tiny though, more of a tie breaker but in competitive industries, you have to do every little thing.
The Need for Speed: SEO Companies and Fast Websites
An SEO company's or consultant's website can be a reflection of its competence and approach to its services. If an SEO agency or consultant has a fast-loading website, it indicates a clear understanding and effective implementation of this essential aspect of SEO. Here's why a fast website should be a key consideration when selecting an SEO agency or consultant:
1. Proof of Technical Proficiency
A fast website signifies that the agency or consultant comprehends the technical nuances of speed optimization. It’s practical evidence that they can effectively apply this expertise to your website, thus enhancing its performance.
2. Improved Site Performance
Page speed impacts several key performance indicators such as bounce rates, time on page, and conversion rates. An SEO agency or consultant that maintains a fast website is likely conscious of these metrics and has the knowledge to improve them on your website as well.
3. Higher Search Rankings
As previously mentioned, page speed is a ranking factor in Google's search algorithm. A swift website can help your online presence climb higher in organic search rankings, leading to better visibility and more organic traffic. Got 1000 sites about online casino? Speed might be the tie-breaker.
4. Superior User Experience
Faster websites provide a superior user experience. Visitors are more likely to stay and explore a website that loads quickly, leading to higher user engagement and potentially more conversions.
5. Enhanced Mobile Performance
In an era where mobile browsing is on the rise and Google doing mobile first indexing, page speed becomes even more vital. A speedy website typically equates to a fast mobile site, displaying the agency's or consultant's capability to optimise for mobile users.
Page Speed Insights: SEO Companies Rankings
Now, let's have a look at the loading speed of some SEO companies' and consultants' websites (as measured by Google's PageSpeed Insights API). This is a Google sheet I made where you list domains and run the script to query the API. (speed change depending on the time so who is fastest when I ran the test might change from time to time).
According to this, the SEO with the fastest website is Leslie at Befound. I know him from the SEOBook forum days, so he's been around the block.
Sophie does talks on page speed so you would expect here to have a fast site and she has.
Nat Miletic from Clio Websites has a fast and nice looking site.
Alek has a fast site. I hired him to review an old affiliate site for me. Some brutally honest feedback I got.
Webwhim are the ones that advised me on how to get a fast site. You can read their comprehensive hosting guide here. Its a monster guide and well worth reading if you are interested in webspeed.
The TLDR to a fast website
Use WordPress with a lightweight theme and host with a Litespeed server, Litespeed cache and a Ryzen 9 5900X or better processor.
That's what I do. For simple static sites like this one, any lightspeed host will do. You just set up the cache and the request is just served from there, so even a slow processor or database will serve up a fast page. The backend admin might be slow but the front end will be fast.
If you are SEO or Web designer with a fast website, let me know who and I will add you to the spreadsheet and give you a shoutout. Few of us do. Its only in the last few months I've been looking in to speeding up websites. You can rank perfectly well with a slow website. My affiliate sites with all the external banners and tracking aren't fast but ranked well enough.
Different to rankings
A similar sounding question but totally different answer is why not hire the company that ranks number 1 for SEO related terms? That's probably not a good idea. There is only one number 1 spot and so many good seos won't be able to rank. Its a zero sum game. However, with page speed, me having a perfect score, does not stop you having a perfect score.
Conclusion
Remember, while a fast website is an excellent indication of an SEO company's or consultant's capabilities, it should not be the sole criterion when choosing an agency or consultant. Most SEOs and Web Design Agencies don't have fast websites. Factors like their experience, expertise, track record of results, and the quality of their work should all come into play… but, ceteris paribus, choose the one with the fastest site.
Ben has a BEng (Hons) in Computer Science and 20 years of experience in online marketing, specialising in SEO, lead generation and affiliate marketing. After spending over a decade as an igaming affiliate, he has decided to concentrate on GA4 training and SEO Audits.
