A slow website isn’t just frustrating for both the user and business owner, but it can directly impact your rankings, engagement, and conversions. Customers today expect fast, seamless experiences, and if your site can’t keep up, they won’t stick around.
But how do you know if your website speed is holding you back? Here are five clear signs your site is too slow, and what you can do about it.
1. Poor or declining rankings
Search engines like Google take page speed into account when ranking websites. If you’ve noticed that your keyword positions are slipping despite creating high-quality content and building links, slow loading times could be part of the problem. A site that takes too long to load may be deemed less user-friendly, which can push you further down the results page.
What can you do about it? Run a speed audit using PageSpeed Insights. Look at areas like server response time, render-blocking scripts, and image compression to identify what specifically is slowing your site down.
2. Poor engagement in GA4
Google Analytics 4 provides invaluable insight into how users behave on your site. If your engagement is unusually low or if average engagement per session is poor, that could mean visitors are leaving before your site even finishes loading. Today’s users won’t wait more than a few seconds for a page – they’ll simply click back and find another option.
What can you do about it? Compare speed metrics with low engagement rate. If the numbers align, start by optimising images, reducing redirects, and implementing caching. Caching involves storing copies of web content in temporary locations (caches) to help websites load faster because it doesn’t need to fetch data from the origin server on every visit.
Faster load times will encourage users to stick around and explore more pages.
If you’re noticing people are leaving your website sooner than you’d like, consider creating high-quality content that is both informative and easy to read. It’s also worth ensuring your site is optimised for mobile users, while including internal linking throughout as well as engaging call-to-actions (CTAs). All of this, plus maximising interactive content on your website, will keep visitors on your website for longer.
3. Poor Core Web Vitals in Google Search Console
Google’s Core Web Vitals are a set of performance metrics that measure user experience in real-world conditions. If your Search Console reports poor scores, then that’s a red flag. These metrics reflect how quickly content loads, how responsive it feels, and how stable the layout is as it loads.
What can you do about it? Prioritise fixes that directly improve these metrics, such as upgrading hosting, deferring non-critical JavaScript, and compressing media. Addressing Core Web Vitals will not only improve speed but also help boost visibility in search results.
4. Too many heavy videos or images
Visual content is a fantastic way to engage users and keep them on your site. But if you’ve gone overboard with high-resolution images or long videos, they may be weighing your pages down. While Google encourages multimedia use, remember it’s all about balance. Overloaded pages will load slowly, especially on mobile or slower connections.
What can you do about it? Use image compression tools or link to longer videos via platforms like YouTube or Vimeo instead of embedding full files directly into your site. Aim for a mix of engaging visuals without overwhelming your load times.
5. You notice it too
Sometimes, the simplest test can be carried out by you. If you find yourself impatiently waiting for your site to load – or worse, avoiding it because it feels slow – chances are your visitors feel the same way.
What can you do about it? Proactively test your site on different devices and connections. If it feels slow to you, make it a priority to spend time optimising it.
Boost your website with Oxygen Elements
If you’ve noticed any of these red flags on your own site, don’t wait until it costs you rankings and customers.
The creative website design team at Oxygen Elements can help you identify what’s slowing your site down and work with you to ensure your site is working at its best. Let’s talk, get in touch.
