Līve Ambitions

According to a recent WebProNews interview with Matt Cutts, a Google software engineer, page load speeds may become a factor of Google search rankings. 

In Matt Cutts’ own words:

Historically, we haven’t had to use it in our search rankings, but a lot of people within Google think that the web should be fast.  It should be a good experience, and so it’s sort of fair to say that if you’re a fast site, maybe you should get a little bit of a bonus.  If you really have an awfully slow site, then maybe users don’t want that as much.

While it hasn’t been confirmed that Google will implement this new factor into their algorithm, it does seem plausible.  Afterall, Google currently uses speed as a factor in the Adwords algorithm.

There are 2 primary arguments against this proposed SEO factor.

Certain web pages run scripts which may slow down load times. 

It’s true, but there are ways to optimize the speed of your website even with certain codes running.  Google offers tools and tips to help you speed up your website: Let’s make the web faster

Users are concerned with content, not speed.

Not always true.  Loading times often affect user behavior, such as leaving websites before they finish loading.  Also, slow load times can be a frustrating experience for the user.  SEO is not just about content anymore.  Experience is also a big factor.