Google’s search ranking algorithm considers a number of factors when it comes to SERPs. These factors are also subject to change over time to catch up with the changing perceptions of users on what their search results should be.
Last week, Matt Cutts, spokesperson for Google revealed that the search engine is going to use a new ranking factor: page load time. This new development is going to have potentially significant implications for hosting and web development.

For web hosts, those who are using subpar hosting are bound to suffer once load time gets considered for SERPs. The load time of a website depends on the quality of the host’s connectivity and services vary on that regard. A slower server can affect load time particularly for shared hosting environments.

If load time becomes one of the factors for determining search ranks, spending more on managed hosting services could be justified particularly if a company is going to invest on quality connectivity or probably a dedicated or Virtual private server. Where the host is located could also be a factor to consider when looking for hosting solutions.

In terms of web development, high performance websites will be in demand. Even when a site has the best hosting combined with a server that has more than enough resources, poor development can still cause it to load slowly. Scripting languages such as PHP allow developers to build more dynamic websites but not everyone who can do so actually has ample knowledge and skill for creating high-performance sites. Poor coding practices as well as inefficient SQL are still commonplace these days.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 4:13 am and is filed under Better Technology, Software Hall, World Of Hardware. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.