If you’re running Google Ads, you need to optimize your page load time. The Google recommended page load time is under 3 seconds. The reason for this is clear: a faster page equals a better user experience. Thus, Google is going to reward you with better (cheaper) bids on your advertisements.
Why does Google do this? Because if users have a great experience using their products, they’re more likely to stick around. That means more ad revenue for Google. Thus, they have a vested interest in encouraging advertisers to make users happy. On the flip side, they’ll punish you for having a slow landing page.
In this article, we’ll explore Google recommended page load time, so you know how to keep search engines and prospective customers happy with your page speed.
Your Quality Score will help determine how much you pay for your ads. It is on a 1 to 10 scale. The better your Quality Score, the less you pay, making it a cost-effective endeavor to improve this metric. Quality Score takes your keywords, ads, and landing page into account. The more relevant and user-friendly your landing page, the more it boosts your score. Page load speed is a factor in this calculation, among other vital aspects such as relevant content, links, and easy navigation.
Google has algorithms to check your Google Ads landing pages on a regular basis. If you have recently made improvements, they will adjust your Quality Score eventually. However, it’s best to expect this on a timeline of several months or weeks, instead of days.
Your website layout and the content will affect conversions in various ways. Here are a couple of examples:
Specific development frameworks and tools can help boost your speed to meet the Google recommended page load time.
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is one of the more popular options today. It is incredibly fast. However, it does have some constraints. Namely, you cannot add your own custom JavaScript (JS). If by any mean you add custom JavaScript it will not be validated as AMP page.. Thus, Angular is your best bet for a fast, responsive, and modern landing page.
Sure, there are other options out there. But since Angular tends to be the best for meeting the Google recommended page load time, let’s start there.
Based on typescript, Angular is a leading front end framework for web applications. Google Engineers Misko Hevery and Adam Abrons created AngularJS (“Angular 1”) back in 2010, with a revised Angular 2 version launching in 2016.
About 350,000 (0.3 million) websites currently use AngularJS. This includes major companies like Amazon, Lyft, and Google.
React is used for creating an interactive User Interface (UI). Jordan Walke, a Facebook engineer, authored the software in 2013. React has grown to surpass Angular in terms of the user base. React has the advantage of rendering data and updating information without reloading a page. It excels at both web apps and mobile apps. It can be a useful tool in meeting the Google recommended page load time.
React is used on around 400,00 websites, including at companies like ESPN and Microsoft.
Vue is another JS framework that is intended to streamline UI design. It is an open-source framework that was created in 2014 by Evan You. It has increased in popularity recently, even replacing AngularJS according to a 2018 Google “State of JS” survey. Its primary draw is that the development team maintaining it constantly provides updates and innovations. It borrows heavily from its cousins Angular and React to provide a lightweight yet robust option.
Around 400,000 websites implement Vue. This includes gitlab, Upwork, and Zoom.
This open-source front end framework is built off of JS. It was previously known as Sprout Core until 2011 when Yehuda Katz pivoted its name and took it in a new direction. It is derived from an MVM (Model-View-Model) pattern. Thanks to the Glimmer engine it uses, Ember offers fast rendering speeds. Its inspection tool is renowned for its ease of use in error debugging. Furthermore, its ability to bind data across linked properties sets it apart from many of its competitors.
Ember is in use on around 40,000 websites worldwide, including LinkedIn.
Meteor JS is an open-source backend, developed by the Meteor Development Group. It is a JS framework written in Node JS, and it is intended for use in cross-platform web and mobile apps. It works on iOS and Android alike. Meteor comes with the Blaze engine. One major pain point it solves is the need to have multiple libraries up to date. Meteor simply uses Vanilla (standard) JavaScript.
Meteor is in use on about 13,000 websites around the world, including MTV.
Polymer is another open-source JS library that can create cross-platform and cross-browser applications. It leverages web components that are reusable and versatile. Most of Google’s main web services use Polymer. This includes Google Play Music, YouTube, Allo, and Google Earth. As a developer, you can use HTML and CSS to create your own components.
Polymer is in use on an estimated 65,000 websites.
Backbone provides an underlying structure for web applications. It offers models binding to custom events. There is a robust API of various functions and views. Its event handling allows you to connect to your current API via a Restful JSON interface.
About 1 million websites use it, including Reddit.com.
This UI software development kit is open source. Google created it in order to streamline the development of apps for Linux, Mac, Android, Windows, and iOS.
There is no precise estimate of the number of websites using this framework at this time but developers are trying this frameworks too with interest.
Completely open-source, Ionic is a Software Development Kit (SDK) meant for mobile app development. Max Lynch, Adam Bradley, and Ben Sperry are behind the software, initially releasing it in 2013. It is an offshoot of the popular AngularJS framework.
While the exact number is not known, it is believed there are 10’s of thousands of developers utilizing the software to create native applications on mobile devices.
AMP is an open-source framework built on HTML. It is maintained by the AMP Open Source Project. Google created it to compete with Facebook Instant Articles as well as Apple News. It is built primarily to deliver mobile pages in the fastest way possible. It’s almost as if it was designed just to meet the Google recommended page load time.
Around half a million sites are using AMP.
Since the Google recommended page load time is a significant factor in your campaign performance and user engagement rate, you will have greater success when you use a lighter, faster framework. Doing this allows you to achieve faster times that benefit the visitor, your ad costs, and your conversions.
The frameworks in this article each have advantages and disadvantages. If you’re developing primarily for a mobile experience and driving ads accordingly, then AMP seems to be the clear frontrunner. However, you should choose the framework that aligns with your team’s skillset, your current setup, and your specific advertising goals.
If you need help regarding landing page you must read about: How to Make a Good Landing Page: The PPC Advertiser’s Guide
We will help your ad reach the right person, at the right time
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