A graph showing that slow page load times increase bounce rate
Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 8:55 am
Faster loading web pages not only provide a better user experience, they can also contribute to improved search engine rankings, as page speed is a confirmed ranking factor by Google.
But even if people do find your content, a slow-loading website can also significantly increase the likelihood that a visitor will leave your site without interacting with it (known as bouncing).
Google has found that the likelihood of bouncing increases almost threefold when site load times increase from 1-3 seconds to 1-5 seconds.
Follow these best practices to optimize the loading times of your web pages:
Compress your images : Large file sizes can slow down your website and cause it to take longer for users to load, which can cause them to bounce.
Take advantage of minification : Remove unnecessary characters, whitespace, and other unnecessary elements from your code (if you use WordPress, there are plugins that can do this for you).
Enable browser caching : This can allow returning visitors to bangladesh phone number database load your site more quickly, as their browser can store some of your site's data.
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN ): CDNs can distribute your content across multiple servers around the world, reducing the distance between the server and the user for faster loading times.
5. Develop a solid internal linking strategy
Creating a network of internal links between your pages helps you guide visitors to other relevant content on your website. This can improve the overall average engagement time on your website, as users explore more pages and stay engaged for longer.
Internal links are hyperlinks that direct visitors to different pages on your website (like the one at the beginning of this sentence).
For example, if you have an article on basic SEO techniques, linking to a post on advanced SEO tactics could encourage them to explore your site further. While also allowing them to build on what they just learned in the first article.
Use Semrush’s Site Audit tool to understand your website’s current internal linking structure. And see where you can improve.
Simply enter your domain name and press the green " Start Audit " button. (If you've used the tool before, you'll need to click " + Create Project " instead.)
Site Audit Tool Search Bar
Next, you'll need to configure several crawler settings, before clicking " Start Site Audit " when you're ready to get started.
"Site Audit Settings" window
When the process is complete, you will see "Internal Link" under "Thematic Reports".
Click " View Details " to open the full report on your internal link structure.
"Site Performance Widget" featured in the "Overview" site audit dashboard
You will then see a page with information about your website's internal link structure.
Internal Links Report in Site Audit
You will see the following insights:
Page Crawl Depth : Measures the number of clicks required to reach pages on your website. Keeping this value as low as possible for your pages makes them easier to find, both for users and search engines.
Internal Links – Shows the distribution of internal links on your website. You can click on each part of the bar chart to see which pages have the corresponding number of internal links pointing to them.
Internal Link Distribution : Provides more details about the distribution of your internal links. Use this to find out which pages you should add more internal links to and which ones you should link out from.
Internal Linking Issues – Lists issues with your website’s internal linking structure. You can also click on “Why and how to fix it” to learn what you can do to resolve each issue.
Pages with the highest internal LinkRank : Displays your most important pages based on internal link authority. You can place relevant internal links on these pages to better distribute link authority throughout your site.
Click " Why and how to fix it " next to an issue to see suggestions on how to fix it.
But even if people do find your content, a slow-loading website can also significantly increase the likelihood that a visitor will leave your site without interacting with it (known as bouncing).
Google has found that the likelihood of bouncing increases almost threefold when site load times increase from 1-3 seconds to 1-5 seconds.
Follow these best practices to optimize the loading times of your web pages:
Compress your images : Large file sizes can slow down your website and cause it to take longer for users to load, which can cause them to bounce.
Take advantage of minification : Remove unnecessary characters, whitespace, and other unnecessary elements from your code (if you use WordPress, there are plugins that can do this for you).
Enable browser caching : This can allow returning visitors to bangladesh phone number database load your site more quickly, as their browser can store some of your site's data.
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN ): CDNs can distribute your content across multiple servers around the world, reducing the distance between the server and the user for faster loading times.
5. Develop a solid internal linking strategy
Creating a network of internal links between your pages helps you guide visitors to other relevant content on your website. This can improve the overall average engagement time on your website, as users explore more pages and stay engaged for longer.
Internal links are hyperlinks that direct visitors to different pages on your website (like the one at the beginning of this sentence).
For example, if you have an article on basic SEO techniques, linking to a post on advanced SEO tactics could encourage them to explore your site further. While also allowing them to build on what they just learned in the first article.
Use Semrush’s Site Audit tool to understand your website’s current internal linking structure. And see where you can improve.
Simply enter your domain name and press the green " Start Audit " button. (If you've used the tool before, you'll need to click " + Create Project " instead.)
Site Audit Tool Search Bar
Next, you'll need to configure several crawler settings, before clicking " Start Site Audit " when you're ready to get started.
"Site Audit Settings" window
When the process is complete, you will see "Internal Link" under "Thematic Reports".
Click " View Details " to open the full report on your internal link structure.
"Site Performance Widget" featured in the "Overview" site audit dashboard
You will then see a page with information about your website's internal link structure.
Internal Links Report in Site Audit
You will see the following insights:
Page Crawl Depth : Measures the number of clicks required to reach pages on your website. Keeping this value as low as possible for your pages makes them easier to find, both for users and search engines.
Internal Links – Shows the distribution of internal links on your website. You can click on each part of the bar chart to see which pages have the corresponding number of internal links pointing to them.
Internal Link Distribution : Provides more details about the distribution of your internal links. Use this to find out which pages you should add more internal links to and which ones you should link out from.
Internal Linking Issues – Lists issues with your website’s internal linking structure. You can also click on “Why and how to fix it” to learn what you can do to resolve each issue.
Pages with the highest internal LinkRank : Displays your most important pages based on internal link authority. You can place relevant internal links on these pages to better distribute link authority throughout your site.
Click " Why and how to fix it " next to an issue to see suggestions on how to fix it.