Full Transcript
Lauren: So my friend has a website, right? She's had it for like two years. And she's complaining that nobody ever finds her on Google. She's like, I might as well not exist. And I'm wondering... is her website actually making things worse?
Honor: Welcome to the 805 Web Minute with Lauren and Honor... We make interwebs and website stuff make sense... Let's get into it.
Honor: Okay, so yes. That's actually a real thing. Your website can actively hurt your Google rankings. And most people have no idea it's happening.
Lauren: Wait, so it's not just that you're not showing up... your website is actually pushing you down?
Honor: Exactly. Google is watching how people interact with your site. And if visitors have a bad experience, Google notices. Let me give you some numbers that might surprise you.
Lauren: Okay, hit me.
Honor: The number one result on Google gets almost 40 percent of all clicks. Number two? About 19 percent. By the time you're at the bottom of page one, you're down to two and a half percent.
Lauren: Oh wow. So if you're not near the top, you're basically invisible.
Honor: And here's the kicker... 96 percent of all web pages get zero traffic from Google. Zero.
Lauren: 96 percent! So almost every website out there is just... sitting there doing nothing?
Honor: Pretty much. And a lot of those sites are actually hurting themselves without knowing it. The biggest one I see? Speed. Pull out your phone and open your website. Count to three.
Lauren: Okay...
Honor: Is it fully loaded? If not, you have a problem. 53 percent of mobile users will leave a page that takes more than three seconds to load.
Lauren: They just... leave?
Honor: Gone. Before they even see what you offer. And Google's own research shows when load time goes from one second to three seconds, the chance someone leaves goes up by 32 percent. At five seconds? 90 percent will bounce.
Lauren: That's like... having a store where the door takes five seconds to open. People just walk away and go to the shop next door.
Honor: Exactly! And when Google sees everyone immediately leaving your site, it's like... okay, this page isn't giving people what they want. Over time, you just sink in the rankings.
Lauren: So slow website means people leave, which tells Google your site is bad, which pushes you down, which means even fewer people find you... it's a death spiral.
Honor: That's exactly what it is. And speed isn't the only thing. There's also whether your site works on phones... over 60 percent of web traffic is mobile now. Whether you have that little padlock, the security certificate... 84 percent of users avoid sites that say 'Not Secure.'
Lauren: Oh! So you're the sketchy website if you don't have the padlock.
Honor: Right. And here's one that surprises people... 75 percent of mobile websites fail Google's official speed and usability tests. Most sites are actually underperforming, and the owners have no clue.
Lauren: Okay so... what can my friend actually do? Like right now, today?
Honor: The easiest test... pull out your phone, open your website, count to three. If it's not fully loaded, that's your problem. Google even has a free tool called PageSpeed Insights where you can type in your website and it'll tell you exactly what's wrong.
Lauren: So the moral of the story is... your website might be working against you and you'd never know. Do the three-second phone test. And if it fails... maybe it's time to fix that.
Honor: Exactly. And that's kind of why we built YouGrow the way we did.
Lauren: Okay, so what's different about how you guys do it?
Honor: Our sites load in under two seconds. We don't use those bloated website builders that slow everything down. Mobile-first by default... every site works great on phones. Security is built in, not bolted on. And we manage it forever... so when something needs updating, you just call. 79 dollars a month, month-to-month, cancel anytime. I'm local, in Arroyo Grande.
Lauren: So instead of wondering if your website is hurting you... you just know it's taken care of.
Honor: That's the idea.
Lauren: Love it. Alright, this has been 805 Web Minute. Thanks for listening.