Google has reported that 53% of mobile visits are abandoned when a page takes longer than three seconds to load. That’s why speed is one of the first things we check on every client website.
When a business tells us its search traffic has stalled, the first guess is usually content or backlinks. Page speed rarely gets the blame, but it affects how quickly visitors see your page, whether they stay, and how well the site performs in Google’s Core Web Vitals.
This page explains the speed problems we usually find, the fixes we apply, and the real PageSpeed Insights scores from client websites we’ve worked on.
The Problems We Usually Find
Slow websites tend to share the same handful of problems:
- Images that haven’t been compressed or resized.
- Bloated, unminified JavaScript and CSS.
- No CDN in place.
- No lazy loading, so every image loads at once.
- A hosting setup with slow server response (Time to First Byte).
If your site has similar issues, it’s worth speaking with a professional SEO agency in Dubai and running a full performance check.
Audit and Diagnosis
We run every audit with the same three tools:
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- GTmetrix
- Lighthouse
We look closely at the Core Web Vitals: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Interaction to Next Paint (INP) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). We also check Time to First Byte (TTFB), which tells us whether the server itself is slowing things down.
If your business site loads slowly or is hard to use, it may be time to review your web design setup with a web design agency. Outdated layouts, slow sliders and bulky page builders often hold sites back.
Implementing the Fixes
These are the fixes we apply most often:
1. Image Optimization
We convert images to WebP, reduce their file size and serve them at the right size for each screen.
2. Lazy Loading
The page loads what the visitor sees first. Everything below the fold waits until it’s needed.
3. CDN Setup
We set up a CDN (for example Cloudflare) so files load from servers close to the visitor, which reduces latency.
4. Minifying JS and CSS
We compress scripts and stylesheets, and defer them where possible.
5. Improved Hosting
Where the server is the bottleneck, we recommend faster hosting with HTTP/2 support and server-side caching.
If you’re unsure how to fix these yourself, our Abu Dhabi SEO company can handle it for you.
The Results: What the Tests Show
Real estate website (desktop): PageSpeed Insights scored Performance 95, Accessibility 96, Best Practices 100 and SEO 100. First Contentful Paint was 0.7 s, Largest Contentful Paint 1.2 s, Total Blocking Time 110 ms and Cumulative Layout Shift 0.038 (tested 11 January 2023).
Content website (mobile): PageSpeed Insights scored Performance 100. First Contentful Paint was 1.1 s, Largest Contentful Paint 1.2 s, Total Blocking Time 0 ms and Cumulative Layout Shift 0.
GTmetrix: another optimised client site scored grade A, with 90% performance and a Largest Contentful Paint of 806 ms.
These are lab scores measured after optimisation, and lab scores vary from test to test. Over time, the real-user data in Google Search Console’s Core Web Vitals report is the measure that matters.
Want a faster website for your business in the Kingdom? Talk to our SEO Company in Saudi Arabia about speeding up your site.
What Makes the Biggest Difference
- Prioritising mobile performance first.
- Using fewer plugins and keeping the backend lean.
- Compressing everything: HTML, images and scripts.
- Testing changes on a staging copy first, because lazy loading and script deferral can break sliders and galleries.
Tools that give the best insights:
- PageSpeed Insights (clear suggestions and Core Web Vitals)
- GTmetrix (performance waterfalls)
- Google Search Console (real-user Core Web Vitals)
Final Takeaway
Website speed is no longer “nice to have”. It’s a basic requirement for SEO.
Think of your site as a shop window. If it takes too long to open, people walk away. Fix that, and more of them stick around.
If your SEO isn’t working, test your speed first. If you’re not sure where to start, our SEO specialists can guide you.
Contact us for a free SEO audit. We’ll show you how fast your site really is and where you’re losing traffic.