A commonly ignored factor for search engine optimisation is page file size. However, those that do pay attention to it seem to be living in the past – though possibly for good reason.

Some web designers/masters/administrators show complete disregard for any thought about page file size – the result being bloated monstrosities that freeze your browser until you delete your cookies. Their consideration for such details was cast aside when the majority of their target audience started using broadband internet – making download times minute even for goliath 500k + pages.

However, there still exists a camp of hardliners that believe that 50k should be the limit for page file size. Surely these people are throwbacks to the age of dinosaurs and dialup modems? Well there might be more method to their madness than you think. The first reason a decrease in page file size will help your online efforts – a decrease in bounce rate. Yes, there are still some users out there with poor internet connections. They won’t wait around for your Frankenstein of a website to come to life.

Secondly, like this group of nifty 50k throwbacks, Googlebot also appears to be nostalgic. It likes plain static HTML pages the best with lots of writing and the less flash the better. It likes crawling pages that don’t take years to surmount. A petite page size will mean both quicker and more regular crawls.

Still, 50k might be a bit small in the reality of broadband internet and a channel where a user’s attention is hard to catch (or keep). 150k then and we’ll call it quits.

Posted In:

Content, Google, Search Engine Optimisation