Google has announced that, from July 2018, page speed will be a ranking factor in the mobile search results. Page speed has been a ranking factor for desktop searches for some time, but this is the first time that Google has confirmed that it will be used as a ranking factor for mobile results and given a particular date. Google says that the so-called “Speed Update” will only affect the slowest webpages, which is a small percentage of websites. However, it has stressed that searcher intent is still a strong signal, so a slow webpage might still rank highly if it has very high quality, relevant content. Webmasters are advised to optimise their mobile websites for speed nonetheless, and to concentrate on creating websites that deliver a fast, positive user experience. Google recommends that webmasters use performance-checking tools such as Chrome User Experience Report, Lighthouse, and PageSpeed Insights.
