I reported this later last night at Search Engine Land but this is very important news for Google AdWords advertisers. Google will be introducing into the quality score component of your ad rank, the speed at which your landing pages load. If you have a slow page load time, your AdWords ads will cost your more.
Last night Google AdWords began showing your landing page load time, on each keyword level, in your Google AdWords keyword diagnostic section. Here is a screen capture from one of my test campaigns:
Right now, Google is showing you this data so that if your page load time is poor, you have time to make changes to speed things up and improve your quality score. Because starting sometime in mid-June, the landing page load time score will impact your overall quality score and may cost you a lot of money. So be prepared. How do you look up your landing page load time scores?
(1) Sign in to your account at https://adwords.google.com. (2) Click a campaign. (3) Click an ad group. (4) Click the 'Keywords' tab above the Ad Group Details table. (5) Click the magnifying glass icon beside any keyword and then the 'Details and recommendations' link to launch the Keyword Analysis page. You can also see an overview of your Quality Score and ad visibility by pointing your cursor over the icon.
Here are our past articles on the Google AdWords landing page load time factor:
- Landing Page Load Time Will Impact Google AdWords Quality Score
- Google Confirms Page Load Time As Future Factor in AdWords Quality Score
- Test Your Page Load Time Before Google Tests it For You
Overall, most Google AdWords advertisers are excited about this change. The true winner are the searchers. But there is some backlash about the change.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld and Search Engine Watch Forums.
