Why Does Google Care So Much About "Speed?"

The primary reason Google has such a fundamental interest in promoting faster deployment of higher-speed access services of all types, such as the 1-Gbps symmetrical fixed network access Google Fiber is getting ready to deploy in Kansas Ctiy, Mo. and Kansas City, Kan., is that Google has a vested business interest in the speed with which Web pages get loaded.

Simply, speed means more ad inventory gets viewed. Google’s research shows that if search results are slowed by even a fraction of a second, people search less (A 400 millisecond delay leads to a 0.44 percent drop in search volume).

And this impatience isn’t just limited to search: Four out of five internet users will click away if a video stalls while loading. The average web page takes 4.9 seconds to load, and in a world where fractions of a second count, that’s an eternity, Google has argued.

So speed makes a difference for use of some applications, perhaps most. Speed makes a difference for ad-driven and commerce-driven revenue models, as well.

When Edmunds, a leading car review destination, re-engineered its insideline.com site to reduce load times from nine seconds to 1.4 seconds, ad revenue increased three percent, and page views-per-session went up 17 percent.

When Shopzilla dropped latency from seven seconds to two, revenue went up seven-12 percent and page views jumped 25 percent. Shopzilla also reduced its hardware costs by 50 percent.)

With faster access, people become more engaged, and when people become more engaged, they click and buy more, Google argues.