the need for speed

Here’s a pop quiz question: name a conversion rate killer that tanks results AND is often very tricky to spot.

You’ve guessed it! 

It’s high page load times!

Even the best landing page copy with the best design can’t stop high page load times from tanking your conversion rates.

And the bad news is that it can be tricky to spot them.

Right now, your landing page might load within 1.3 seconds.

A few minutes from now, it might take over 8 seconds!

An 8-second page load time = 0 conversions!

Here’s the thing: unless you frequently monitor page load times of your top landing pages, you are wasting $$$ on clicks that don’t convert for the wrong reason.

Here’s a short list of my favorite tools to help you spot and fix the issue:

1. Chrome extension: Page Load Time
This extension shows the page load times for every page you load in your browser. Quick and simple!
URL: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/page-load-time/fploionmjgeclbkemipmkogoaohcdbig?pli=1

2. Chrome Lighthouse 
This tool allows for automated page performance audits. The report lists improvements by priority and can easily be sent to webdev.
URL: https://developer.chrome.com/docs/lighthouse/overview/

3. Webpage Test
A reliable webpage performance test for free, from almost any location on earth.
URL: https://www.webpagetest.org/

4. GA4 page load times report
Track actual page load times from your users using GA4.
URL: https://measureschool.com/track-ga4-page-load-time/

5. GT Metrix
Reports how fast your website loads, PageSpeed, YSlow scores, and other page details. It also allows you to compare your site to other websites’ performance, set up alerts, and even monitor your load time. 
URL: https://gtmetrix.com/

– Nils

Author: Nils Rooijmans

Google Ads Performance Architect with a passion for PPC Automation & AI, in particular via Google Ads Scripts.