Columnists

The Smart Lab: The Importance of Page Speed Optimization

ColumnistsJun 14, 2022

The Smart Lab: The Importance of Page Speed Optimization

A fast website helps land sales, writes Smart Age Solutions founder and CEO Emmanuel Raheb.

2021_Emmanuel-Raheb.jpg
Emmanuel Raheb is the CEO of Smart Age Solutions, a digital ad agency and coveted Premier Google Partner. With nearly 18 years’ digital marketing and e-commerce experience, Raheb is passionate about helping and strategically growing national jewelry brands and local retailers alike. Contact him at eraheb@smartagesolutions.com.
There are many factors that go into a successful jewelry website, such as site design, styles featured, and special offers. But there’s also a hidden factor that greatly impacts your website’s success: page speed. 

How fast your website loads and how quickly your customer can access the page they’re looking for severely affects your income. Speed (or lack thereof) is one of the fastest ways to lose an engagement ring or jewelry sale. 

What Is Page Speed?
Page speed is how long it takes for your full website page to load on the user’s browser. This includes what you see on the front end, such as text, images, and video, as well as what you can’t see, like JavaScript files, tracking scripts, CSS (which controls your site design), and other HTML code.

Every element that creates your website affects your page speed.

Why Is Page Speed Important For SEO?
Page speed is one ranking factor (out of many) determining how Google chooses which jewelry websites to display in their search results. Page speed is measured separately on desktop and mobile, so both must be considered. 

It does no good to have a fast website on desktop if most people are shopping your site on mobile. To rank for SEO, you have to succeed on both platforms. 

Google views each user experience separately, but also considers them as a whole when ranking sites.

Page Speed Affects Your Customer’s Experience
Customers are impatient; they don’t want to wait. Every second a person waits makes it more likely they’re going to leave without making a purchase.  

Here’s what happens when you have a slow website. 

 Related stories will be right here … 

1. You Create a Poor First Impression
Image is everything. How you present yourself and your jewelry store online is all that your customers know. Your website is often the first encounter someone has with your jewelry business, so it’s critical that you take page speed seriously.

2. You Have Poor Audience Statistics
Page speed affects how Google views the health of your website audience.

Having a high bounce rate (percentage of users who quickly leave), spending a small amount of time on the site, and having a low number of page views are all signs of a website that’s failing. How fast your website loads and the quality of the user experience is what controls these numbers. 

It’s well-known that a site load time of three seconds or more will cause you to lose more than half your audience immediately. Studies have shown that even a one-second delay in loading a website page can lead to a 11 percent loss in page views. 

This means that with a slow site, you lose much of your money spent on digital marketing because it’s going to waste. Even before you’ve had a chance to introduce yourself, your customers have already made the decision to leave.

3. You Have Poor Conversion Rates
If users are forced to deal with website delays, your sales will suffer. You’ll see this within your site conversion rates. Recent studies have shown that one out of five shoppers will abandon their cart if a website’s pages load too slow.  

As a total, this costs companies upwards of $3 billion a year in lost revenue. Just a one-second delay in loading a page can reduce your sales conversion rates by 7 percent or more.  

Even Amazon isn’t immune to page speed issues—it’s been reported that any delay in page load speed can cost Amazon over $1.6 billion dollars in potential sales for the year. So, imagine how much a slow site could cost you. 

Google Has Confirmed Page Speed Is a Ranking Factor
Google recognizes the effect of page speed on the user experience. Core Web Vitals, which are one of Google’s new methodologies to improve search results, assesses a website’s performance, responsiveness, and visual stability—all pillars of an optimized site.

How To Optimize Your Website Speed
Here are three quick and easy ways to immediately increase your website’s speed.

1. Start with Your Host
Choosing a good host is not something to take lightly. This is one area where you shouldn’t skimp on server resources. When you contract with your hosting provider, you should always purchase enough resources (computing power and memory) to not only serve your current audience but also to anticipate any traffic increases from your marketing campaigns.  


You’ll also want to consider where your host is physically located. The closer the servers are to where your audience lives, the faster your site will be. You don’t want to choose a host thousands of miles away to serve a local audience.

2. Reduce Your CSS, Scripts, Images, and File Sizes
Images are the biggest culprit in slowing down web pages. Before you upload anything to your site, be sure to check the file size and use an image optimization tool such an Tinify to reduce the size of your images without losing quality. 

You’ll also want to reduce the CSS on your site and limit the number of scripts and plugins running when the site loads. The more you can reduce your dependency on outside resources, the faster your website will be.

3. Convert Your Images to WebP Format
Another way to reduce the impact of images on your site speed is to use the new WebP image format instead of the traditional .jpg, .gif, or .png files. 

WebP images are much faster at loading and do not lose image quality as other types do when being reduced. Keep in mind that WebP is still new but is quickly becoming the best practice in having a fully optimized site.

As you can see, there are many reasons why you should increase your website speed. If your site seems sluggish, it’s a sign that you need a new website.  Over time, your jewelry website will only continue to become slower and you’ll lose sales.  

Every dollar you invest to improve your website speed will yield many times more in income gained. When done correctly, a website tune-up quickly pays for itself. It’s just smart business.

Smart Age Solutions provides SEO and page speed services to optimize your website for you. Don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help you succeed!

Emmanuel Rahebis the CEO of Smart Age Solutions, a digital ad agency and coveted Premier Google Partner.

The Latest

Gold bracelets and bangles
SurveysJul 16, 2025
Signet Jewelers Falls Lower on NRF’s ‘Top 100’ Retailers List

The middle class is changing its approach to buying jewelry and affordable luxury goods, the NRF said.

Buccellati Opera high jewelry bracelet
FinancialsJul 16, 2025
Richemont’s Jewelry Sales Up 7% in Q1

It marks the third consecutive quarter of growth for Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Buccellati, and Vhernier.

Rolex Datejust ref. 16233
WatchesJul 16, 2025
The Top-Selling Rolex Models of the Last 15 Years, According to Bob’s Watches

The reseller’s market trends report, based on its sales data, also shows exactly how much Rolex prices have jumped since 2010.

an instructor and a student in a bench jewelry classroom
Brought to you by
Investing in the Next Generation of Bench Jewelers

The Seymour & Evelyn Holtzman Bench Scholarship from Jewelers of America returns for a second year.

Jean Dinh Van Orgue Ring
AuctionsJul 16, 2025
Christie’s To Honor Dinh Van With Exhibition

The auction house will be hosting a retrospective paying tribute to jeweler Jean Dinh Van and his company’s 60th anniversary.

Weekly QuizJul 10, 2025
This Week’s Quiz
Test your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
Take the Quiz
Jake Duneier and Danielle Duneier
IndependentsJul 16, 2025
Clyde Duneier Ushers In Fourth Generation

Jake Duneier and Danielle Duneier-Goldberg have stepped into the roles of CEO and president, respectively.

Boucheron Impermanence Boucheron Dragonfly Earrings and Wisteria Hair Piece
CollectionsJul 15, 2025
Boucheron’s New High Jewelry Calls Attention to Nature’s Impermanence

The “Impermanence” collection contemplates nature through the Japanese art of Ikebana (flower arranging) and philosophy of wabi-sabi.

Jewelers of America logo with meetup, State of the Majors, giveaway and massages
Brought to you by
Jewelers of America is Headed to Las Vegas for JCK 2025

The countdown is on for the JCK Las Vegas Show and JA is pulling out all the stops.

James Avery Cedar Park
MajorsJul 15, 2025
James Avery Expands to 2 More States

The Texas-based jewelry retailer has set up shop in Tennessee and Arizona.

Eric Ford, Couture’s new brand director and former fine jewelry buyer at Neiman Marcus
Events & AwardsJul 15, 2025
Neiman Marcus Vet Joins Couture as Brand Director

Eric Ford will step into the role, bringing with him decades of experience.

Bench jeweler holding a ring and a tool
IndependentsJul 15, 2025
Ben Bridge Jeweler Acquires Olympic Manufacturing

In addition to improved capabilities, the acquisition will allow the jeweler to offer support to other independent jewelers.

Guzema Celestial Blue
CollectionsJul 15, 2025
Guzema Debuts First Colored Gemstone Jewelry

The “Celestial Blue” capsule collection campaign features Olympian Kateryna Sadurska.

Nanis Mykonos Store Exterior and Interior
MajorsJul 14, 2025
Nanis Opens First Store

The seasonal store, located in Mykonos, Greece, offers exclusive events, personal styling, and curated experiences.

Long’s Jewelers Summer of Love promo
IndependentsJul 14, 2025
It’s the Summer of Love at Long’s Jewelers

The New England jeweler is hosting a bridal event for the month of August.

Ethical Gem Fair
SourcingJul 14, 2025
Ethical Gem Fair Heads to Seattle

The trade-only event will host its debut fair in the Emerald City later this month.

The Edge and The Edge Retail Academy Logos
Events & AwardsJul 11, 2025
The Edge’s Annual Conference Returns in September

Its sessions will focus on inventory strategies, staff performance, retention and acquisition, emerging market trends, and more.

Miseno Arco Earrings
CollectionsJul 11, 2025
Piece of the Week: Miseno’s ‘Arco’ Earrings

For its 10th anniversary, Miseno designed the “Arco” earrings based on the Arco Felice, an arch conceptualized in A.D. 95 in Miseno, Italy.

James Avery Texas charm
Policies & IssuesJul 11, 2025
James Avery to Donate $1M to Texas Hill Country Relief Efforts

The jewelry company is one of several contributing to relief efforts in the region after the recent floods.

Kelly Osbourne Engagement Ring
TrendsJul 11, 2025
Kelly Osbourne’s Engagement Ring Is Sweet as Honey

Inspired by fiancé Sid Wilson’s nickname for her, the white and yellow diamond ring features a unique honeycomb design.

Penny Preville Anniversary Bangles and Penny Preville
CollectionsJul 10, 2025
Penny Preville Celebrates 5 Decades of Jewelry Design

The brand is marking its 50th anniversary with a limited-edition bangle, high jewelry suites, new collections, and more.

Exterior shot of Alvin Goldfarb Jeweler in Bellevue, Washington
IndependentsJul 10, 2025
Steven Goldfarb to Retire, Close Alvin Goldfarb Jeweler

Goldfarb said changes in the industry, coupled with his age and the updates needed to modernize his business, drove his decision.

LVMH chairman and CEO of the Americas Michael Burke
MajorsJul 10, 2025
LVMH Names New Chairman, CEO of the Americas

Longtime LVMH executive Michael Burke has stepped into the role.

A calligraphy sculptural ring made in 18-karat Fairtrade gold (Photo by: Jamie Trounce)
Events & AwardsJul 10, 2025
IAC Gold and Diamond Conference Returns to NYC

Central topics of next week’s event include climate action, labor rights, artisan preservation, and value retention in producing countries.

Vickie Rokkos
MajorsJul 10, 2025
Hearts On Fire Appoints New Sales Director

Vickie Rokkos has joined the jewelry company as its new national sales director of North America.

Mikimoto The Bows high jewelry necklace
SurveysJul 09, 2025
Jewelry Stays Strong as Luxury Market Slows, Bain & Co. Says

Turbulence will be the new baseline for luxury as it faces its biggest potential setbacks in 15 years, a recent report said.

1 NJ-Supplier-Bulletin-Snake-One.jpg
Supplier BulletinJul 09, 2025
JCK Unwrapped: Trends, Insights & Post-Show Tips

Sponsored by Rio Grande Jewelry Supply

Cece Jewellery For the Love of Fruits Pendants
CollectionsJul 09, 2025
Cece Jewellery’s New Fruit Jewels Celebrate Life’s Sweetness

The “For the Love of Fruits” collection features five fruit pendants, each holding a different meaning.

×

This site uses cookies to give you the best online experience. By continuing to use & browse this site, we assume you agree to our Privacy Policy