As page load speed becomes a search engine ranking factor, it will impact all auto dealer websites that are media rich and heavy with automatic feature loads. While these types of websites are pushed by some design companies, they truly do not enrich the user experience, and that’s exactly what Google is trying to improve. Google’s recent thoughts on page load speed suggest that Google will indeed begin taking page load speed into consideration as a ranking factor. You might focus some of your SEO efforts and resources on making your site faster.  Ultimately this will lead to additional benefits for your web visitors and may possibly improve your sales. This also covers your bases if Google really does start using page load speed as a ranking factor, and gives you a head start on boosting your organic page rankings.

Google has repeatedly stated that it is trying to deliver the best experience in search to it’s users, and fast loading pages is very important to that experience. Take your design ego out of the equation of how your website looks; since page load speed is probably going to happen at some point, it’s much better to deal with it earlier than later when it may negatively impact your website page rank and traffic.

What do you need to improve your page load speed

• Stop using automatic loading videos on the home page of your dealer website. Let your customers choose if and when they want to see your video.
• Do you really need that pop up? How many auto dealer websites use a “talking head” that loads automatically? Once again, let your customers choose the play option for this feature.
• Is it really necessary for “Live Chat” to start when your home page loads? This is no different than having the salesperson standing “on point” waiting for the customer to open their door when they drive into your lot. Give then a second to catch their breath. If you have a well designed website, your customer can find what they need without being shuffled along.
• No Flash. Flash is not search engine friendly, and is way too graphics heavy. Flash will do nothing but slow your page load speed down and make it difficult for the search engines to crawl your auto dealer website.

If you start thinking like a search engine and your customers, you begin to understand the importance of speeding up the web. In addition to page load speed becoming a ranking factor in organic ranking results, also consider Google’s recently introduced real-time results and the importance of including social media in your online marketing strategy.