Google Wants a < 200 ms Page Load time?!

We hear a lot of confusion from SEOs regarding how important Time to First Byte (TTFB) is for Google and Page speed, especially on Mobile. Our recommendation has been that you MUST get as close to 200ms as possible to garner the most value from Google. Well, Google has now solidified that in official documentation and that you can read here.

Here's the important section:

"Server response time is the time it takes for a server to return the initial HTML, factoring out the network transport time. Because we only have so little time, this time should be kept at a minimum - ideally within 200 milliseconds, and preferably even less!"

Simply put, Google wants ALL pages to load in less than one second on Mobile devices. The ONLY way to hit that barrier is to spend the time to optimize your Time to First Byte. If this concept is "new" to you, make it a point to review Google's documentation. More importantly, review it with your clients.

Remember that Fast Loading, Responsive Websites are a must if you want to be successful in 2015. If you haven't made the jump to responsive design then our Mobile Responsive Web Design Certification Course could be just the answer you've been waiting for. Nothing is going to make it easier.