Speed update (2018): page speed in mobile ranking, then and now

What Google changed#

Speed had been a ranking signal for desktop searches. On 17 January 2018, Google announced that “starting in July 2018, page speed will be a ranking factor for mobile searches.” Google named it itself: “The ‘Speed Update’, as we’re calling it, will only affect pages that deliver the slowest experience to users and will only affect a small percentage of queries.”

Google said the update applied the same standard to all pages, regardless of the technology used to build them. It also set a limit on the signal: “a slow page may still rank highly if it has great, relevant content,” because query intent remained a very strong signal.

When it rolled out#

Google added a note to its announcement dated 9 July 2018: “The Speed Update is now rolling out for all users.” Google stated no completion date or rollout length.

What is known about its impact#

Google’s only statement of scale was the one in the announcement: the slowest pages and a small percentage of queries. It published no figures after launch. Any estimate of how many sites lost traffic to the Speed Update is a third-party number.

What site owners should do#

The Speed Update’s role is now held by Core Web Vitals. Google’s page experience documentation says “Core Web Vitals are used by our ranking systems,” and recommends site owners achieve good Core Web Vitals. It also cautions that good scores don’t guarantee top rankings:

• Measure field performance, not only lab scores. Google’s 2018 post pointed to the Chrome User Experience Report, which records real-world Chrome users’ experience.
• Use Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights to find specific performance fixes.
• Fix the slowest templates first. The 2018 update targeted only the slowest pages, and Google says chasing a perfect score for SEO alone may not be the best use of time.
• Keep content quality first. Google still says it seeks to show the most relevant content, even if the page experience is sub-par.

How to check whether it affected you#

This is historical. Search Console keeps 16 months of performance data, so it cannot show July 2018. In archived analytics, compare mobile organic Google traffic for your slowest pages in the weeks before and after 9 July 2018. For today, Search Console’s Core Web Vitals report shows which URLs are slow for real users. The Google Algorithm Updates timeline lists the updates around it.

Related updates#

• The intrusive interstitials update was the previous mobile page experience signal.
• The page experience update brought in Core Web Vitals as ranking signals.