Facebook Often Ranks Slow-Loading Pages Lower in News Feeds

Website load speed is an important factor in Search Engine Optimization, and it’s now a factor in social media exposure too.

In August, Facebook announced that their news feed algorithm will estimate how long a page takes to load from its mobile app and will consider that information when ranking people’s feeds. If a site loads quickly, the post containing that link has the opportunity to appear higher in your feed. If a site takes longer to load—you guessed it—it will likely show lower in your feed.

According to Facebook, “as many as 40 percent of website visitors abandon a site after three seconds of delay.” Accounts whose sites are slower may see a decrease in referral traffic, so make sure you check the load time for your pages to ensure you are not impacted by this update. If you are concerned about your site’s load times, Facebook put together a handy-dandy best practices guide to follow for improving mobile site load times.

This algorithm also encourages Facebook accounts to use the Instant Articles format, especially since this format is likely to gain 20 percent more articles read on average. Both the guide and formatting options should help combat any possible exposure penalties in the viewer feed.

Facebook continuously looks for opportunities to enhance its user experience. For example, you may be familiar with the informative link update announced in June of this year, designed to serve up better quality content. With better quality content and faster loading site links, Facebook is likely to keep users on their platform longer. We look forward to seeing what updates Facebook decides to make next!

Want more insights into Facebook updates or best practices? Contact The frank Agency today!