Does website speed affect SEO?

Yes, website speed directly affects SEO rankings.

Google has confirmed page speed as a ranking factor, and it uses Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS) to measure user experience. Slow sites also hurt indirectly: visitors bounce faster, spend less time on your pages, and convert at lower rates - all signals Google uses to evaluate quality. A 1-second delay in load time can reduce conversions by 7%. Aim for pages that load in under 3 seconds. Common speed killers include unoptimized images, too many plugins, cheap hosting, render-blocking scripts, and bloated code. Test your speed at PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix.