Search engines trust "fast pages"

Once upon a time, website loading speed was considered acceptable, with the logic being, "A little slow is fine as long as the content is good." However, in today's search environment, this logic no longer holds true. Search engines have been interpreting page loading speed as a clear quality signal for years, and users don't wait. If a page feels slow to load, users will return to the search results page.

Market Needs: From Content Competition to Technology Competition

Companies often still view SEO as a content- and keyword-centric issue. While the following qualities are similar, the crucial difference in PageRank ranking is page loading speed. Page loading speed is no longer solely a technical issue; it has become a metric directly linked to marketing performance.

• Similar content quality
• Similar keyword strategies
• Almost identical information structure

How Page Loading Speed Affects SEO

Search engines don't simply consider page loading speed as a performance metric. Page loading speed is a crucial element of the user experience and is linked to the following:

1. Crawling efficiency and indexing speed: Slow page loading reduces the number of pages search engine crawlers can crawl in a given amount of time. This is especially critical for large sites.
2. Core Web Vitals and Ranking Signals: Metrics like LCP, INP, and CLS measure how quickly a page reaches "available" status. These aren't just reference metrics; they're actually reflected in search quality assessments.
3. Structural changes in bounce rates and dwell times: When loading delays occur, users abandon the site before even reading the content. Search engines interpret this as "mismatched intent" or "low satisfaction."

Major bottlenecks from a technical perspective

The typical cases cited as causes of page speed degradation are as follows.

• Excessive reliance on JavaScript: Initial rendering delays
• Unoptimized Images: The Main Cause of LCP Deterioration
• Server response delay: Increase TTFB
• External Script Abuse: Performance degradation due to indiscriminately inserted tracking code in ads.

Pitfalls in design and operations

When discussing speed improvements, an often overlooked aspect is "operational convenience." Continuously linking and integrating CMS, plugins, and external solutions can slow down page loading speeds, and the following factors collectively impact page loading speed. While increasing CDN server capacity is often used to improve speed, this often stems from website implementation issues rather than infrastructure issues.

• Regional server locations
• CDN settings
• How to load multilingual resources

Iropke's approach

Improving page loading speed is essential for search engine optimization. Fast pages signal to search engines that the site is well-maintained. This leads to increased credibility, citations, and exposure. In an environment where SEO, AEO, and AI understand and cite content, slow pages are not ranked as top-performing content.