Key Points

  • The Critical Role of Page Speed: Page speed is crucial for both SEO and a positive user experience, affecting search engine rankings and user engagement.
  • Understanding Core Web Vitals: Using tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights, it's essential to monitor various page load speed metrics such as Time to First Byte and Largest Contentful Paint for SEO optimization.
  • On-Page SEO and Page Speed: Proper on-page SEO enhances content visibility and user experience, while fast page load time ensures content accessibility and improved search result rankings.
  • Ads, SEO, and Revenue: Strategic ad layout, placement, and format selection are key to effective monetization and revenue generation without disrupting the user experience.

What do SEO, ad revenue, and page speed have in common? Well, quite a lot.

To master the monetization mambo, you need to understand each player’s role. Page speed? That’s the rhythm of the music. SEO? Your choreography. And ad layout, well, they’re those special moves that make a real revenue impact.

Let’s dive into the intricate ballet of digital advertising and discover some actionable strategies every publisher and content creator can use to find that perfect harmony on their site or blog.

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Why Page Speed is Important for SEO

First, let’s talk about page speed. 

It’s not only important for SEO purposes but also for the user experience. And yes, these two are intimately intertwined. The purpose of search engine optimization (SEO) is not only to make Google’s algorithms happy but also to make your audience happy; in fact, the two are directly correlated.

Now, back to page speed. Here, seconds make all the difference. Users don’t want to wait for a blank web page to load. As technology advances, our attention spans shorten. We’re used to being served content fast and fresh. Any amount of loading time that seems “irregularly slow” will not go unnoticed.

From an SEO strategy standpoint, fast page load speed is critical.

Many factors affect page loading speed. This could be the chosen web hosting provider, page size, and, of course, ads.

We know that page speed is a confirmed search result ranking factor for Google for both desktop and mobile. Oh, and mobile? It’s perhaps even more important, meaning it can have a massive impact on speed metrics if neglected. The average page takes 87% longer to load on mobile than on desktop.

With around 60% of organic search volume coming from mobile, this isn't something you want or can afford to overlook.

Higher page load time means increased bounce rates; it’s as simple as that. To get a handle on page speed, you must first learn about loading speed metrics, Core Web Vitals, and why they’re so important to SEO. 

Don’t worry, we’ll get you started.

LOAD SPEED METRICS AND GOOGLE’S CORE WEB VITALS

Page speed is not a single metric. There’s more than one way to measure it.

Here are a few common metrics to understand:

  • Time to First Byte (TTFB): This is how long it takes for a page to start loading.
  • First Contentful Paint (FCP): This is how long it takes for a user to see the first element load.
  • Onload Time: This is how long it takes for the page to completely load.

Now, Google uses their own set of metrics, known as Core Web Vitals, to get a picture of what page load speed looks like:

  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This measures how long it takes the main content to load.
  • First Input Delay (FID): This measures how long a user takes to interact with the page.
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): This measures how often users experience a layout shift (when content abruptly moves when loading).

To get a handle on page speed, you need to watch these metrics. You can check them using various tools, like Google Search Console, Page Speed Insight, and Lighthouse — all of which are unsurprisingly Google products.

Don’t Forget About On-Page SEO

Page speed sets the rhythm for pieces of each web page to take the stage.

When the curtains go up, all the right elements need to be there, ready to wow. Think of on-page SEO as the choreographer carefully directing each move. How do these page elements look on the page? How are they organized? Can Google understand this dance or is it presenting as an unsynchronized mess?

This is why an on-page SEO strategy is so important. 

If you’re carefully following best practices for SEO and crafting quality content, your site won’t only be hitting the right moves to catch your audience's attention but also play pretty for Google’s crawlers. 

Essentially, Google makes it their top priority to ensure users are getting to the right performance when they come to your show (page). Things like keywords, site content, title tags, meta descriptions, and the like help them direct traffic strategically. Skimp here, and while you might have high-quality content, you won't have organic users.

Page load speed? As we touched on earlier, it’s an essential factor in ranking higher on search engines. Remember: no one will see all that carefully crafted and optimized content if the page takes too long to load.

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Ads and Best Practices for SEO

With page speed setting the rhythm and our on-page SEO-optimized choreographer making sure each content performer is right where they need to be, the only thing left to add is the final revenue razzle-dazzle: ads.

Now, ads aren’t always the audience’s favorite, but they don’t have to be the bad guy. Think of them like the special moves in our digital dance. The right ads won’t detract from the overall story. Rather, they support it while driving up revenue. A little spin here, a little flourish there, and your audience is engaged without feeling disrupted from the main show (your content).

Pack in too many fancy moves? Well, it won’t only seem a little self-indulgent from the perspective of your audience, but it will also slow down the production (i.e. page load speed) — making your SEO choreographer a bit angry. That’s the result of ad clutter and poor ad density strategies.

Cut out too many ad-centric scenes in your performance, and while you might get a standing ovation from the crowd, your pockets will be empty — and the show must go on, right?

The trick is striking the perfect balance between ad layout, ad density, and page load speed, all while you craft fantastic content that gets right to your audience’s needs. 

Oh, and don’t skimp on SEO. 

Master this dance, and you're on your way to happy users and revenue that grows with your business.

Tips for Increasing Page Speed

Just checked your page load speed and had a bit of a panic attack? Don’t worry; here are some actionable tips to help you add a little fuel to your content optimization engine:

  • Compress Your Images: Use resizers to make sure your images are as small as possible.
  • Minify CSS files, JavaScript, and HTML: Especially for mobile users, these features slow pages down. When you can, minify!
  • Enable Browser Caching: This is when the browser stores temporary webpage data. When users return to a page, they access content much faster.
  • Watch Your Ads: Ads slow a page down. However, using the right tools can minimize this decrease in speed substantially. 

Want more tips? Be sure to explore our mini-series all about understanding and improving page load speed for all the answers.

Get Revenue Ready with Playwire

There it is. The ins and outs of page speed, search engine optimization, and ad revenue. By leveraging some SEO best practices and effective ad strategies, increasing page load is that much easier. Ultimately, you want to balance your desire to please your audience with your monetization dreams. 

Ads don’t have to be the villain in this story. 

Create quality content, master on-page SEO, and place ads strategically, and you’re on your way to revenue nirvana. 

Of course, choosing the right partner to help optimize your SEO, page speed, and ultimately your monetization can most definitely help catapult your site into the stratosphere. Here at Playwire, our mission is to give publishers and creators of all shapes and sizes the tools you need to not only monetize effectively but also do so without detracting from your user’s page experience.

Get in touch today with Playwire to explore your monetization options.

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