Google Analytics Addition: Tracking Site Speed

With the newest Google Analytics update (November 2011), Google added site speed into the already advanced set of analytics tools. Site speed is very important to users. Sometimes, if your site takes longer than a few second to load, the user will leave. You don’t want to risk losing potential customers.

In Website Magazine‘s article “Google: Site Speed a Ranking Factor”, they mentioned site speed is definitely a ranking factor for search engines. It doesn’t carry as much weight as keywords or page relevance, but it does affect ratings. Our world is starting to get used to having information right here and right now. If a page takes too long to load, they don’t want to waste their time on it. They will try to find another site with relevant information and less load time.

I found the graphics below on Google Analytics’ Blog. It is very helpful to see site speed laid out in graphs. If your site speed has a very high average, it may not be the user’s Internet connection, but your website. Large graphics and high quality videos are a few things that increase load time. Google also stated that site redirects are factored in page load time.

A Google Analytics graph displaying the page load times in seconds.

Another Google Analytics graph of page load time by percentage.

The map feature in Google Analytics can come in handy if you are trying to reach a specific country or continent. 
Google has several references if you are curious about what Google Analytics has to offer. The Google Analytics Blog, Google Code, and Analytics Help are all helpful resources. Google Analytics is a great supplement to any website.

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About the author | TBH Creative

TBH Creative is an award-winning marketing company specializing in web design/development, digital strategy, inbound marketing, and reporting. Since 2004, we’ve built multi-dimensional digital marketing campaigns and complex, enterprise-level websites for clients in a wide range of industries.

We believe in communicating clearly, delivering excellence, and beating deadlines. But beyond those ideals, what really drives the heart of our business is your business—helping our clients achieve more with comprehensive digital marketing and web design.

Our Indianapolis web design company is WBE-certified in the state of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis, and we’re also a Hubspot-certified inbound marketing agency.

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