Time for an impromptu rant. This morning, I heard that Google had begun factoring site speed into its search algorithm. This means that slower loading websites will suffer slightly in Google’s rankings compared to faster loading websites, although it is said to be only a very minor factor in Google’s algorithm. Nontheless, are Google right to do this? My opinion is that they are not.

The speed at which a website loads has no bearing whatsoever on the content of the website. So it seems Google are making a statement that, in general, websites should load faster. Of course, nobody wants a website to take a long time to load - it’s frustrating. But should Google’s ranking algorithm not focus purely on the actual content of websites?

What if I want to search Google for some kind of entertainment website - online games, for example. Such websites contain large amounts of Flash, which tends to increase a page’s file size substantially. Will this inclusion of site speed in Google’s algorithm not therefore mean that the search results become less relevant in this example? Slower loading pages will, after all, not rank as well as quicker loading websites.

In addition to entertainment websites, there is an issue with Flash and JavaScript in general. These are probably the two biggest offenders in terms of causing websites to load slowly. I would imagine that Google’s argument - and certainly the argument of many comment posters on articles I have read so far this morning - is that site speed is a usability issue. Essentially, this is not something that I would disagree with. However, the use of Flash and JavaScript is not always gratuitous. As all good interaction designers will know, JavaScript and, to a greater extent, Flash are two of the most powerful tools for enhancing usability on a website. So, although it is not always the case, in some cases a slower loading website will actually be just as usable - if not more so - than a faster loading website. Yet, with site speed now a factor in Google’s algorithm, such sites will presumably suffer in Google’s search rankings in comparison.

All that aside, it is now 2010 - almost everybody has broadband and connections are getting faster and faster. As web and media technologies progress, the total file size of websites is probably getting smaller, if anything. So, is site speed really a big issue? Big enough to make it worthwhile penalising slower loading websites in Google’s search results?

If site speed really is a big enough issue, then my suggestion would be for Google to make it an option for users to prioritise faster loading websites in the results of their search. A simple tick box would do the job. Users on mobile devices, or on slower connections, could then make use of this option, while other users would continue to receive accurate search results not influenced by factors irrelevant to websites’ content.

Everybody knows what a domain is. This dot that, that dot this. There are many different domain extensions in use and most fall under one of two categories – TLDs and ccTLDs. TLDs are Top Level Domains – the big boys, such as .COM and .NET. ccTLDs, on the other hand, are Country Code Top-Level Domains. These types of domain are generally used for country-specific websites, for example .CO.UK for UK websites.

By default, Google treats all ccTLDs with preference in search results when someone searches Google in the ccTLD’s country of origin. For example, if you searched Google in the UK, websites using .CO.UK domains would be treated preferably in the search results compared to sites using other ccTLDs, such as .US or .COM.AU, and sites using TLDs such as .COM or .NET (unless, of course, they have been Geo Targeted towards the UK). On the flipside, .CO.UK websites would perform less favourably in searches performed in other countries. Of course, I am not suggesting that this factor alone would place a ccTLD ahead of TLDs and other ccTLDs in search results by default - there are many, many factors that determine a website’s search engine rank - but this is very much one of them.

Using Google Webmaster Tools, you can set the country of a TLD with what is known as Geo Targetting; a method of determining the geographical location of a website. This helps to enhance search engine performance in the country in which the website is located. For example, you might run a .NET website in the UK, in which case it would boost your UK search engine results to Geo Target your domain towards the UK. However, it is not generally possible to use this method to change a ccTLD’s geographical location. Google treats such domains as being located in their country of origin by default. For example, a .CO.UK website would be seen by Google as being located in the UK by default and this cannot be changed.

Nontheless, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, the .TV extension was created as the ccTLD for Tuvalu and, while it remains a ccTLD, it has since been made available worldwide and has been heavily marketed as such by domain registrars. Google has reflected this by making it possible to Geo Target a .TV domain in the same way as a TLD.

The .ME extension was created as the ccTLD for Montenegro. Similarly to the .TV extension, it was later made available worldwide and I was one of many who flocked to snap .ME domains up when this happened. However, despite being made available worldwide, Google refused to allow this ccTLD to be Geo Targeted – all .ME websites were treated by Google as being located in Montenegro, meaning they would perform strongly in Montenegran search results but not in other countries.

It is understandable that Google prevent Geo Targeting for certain ccTLDs. Take .US as an example – the registry for .US domains restricts the registration and usage of .US domains to those either residing in, or operating a business in, the USA. In this case, it is quite right that Google do not allow people to Geo Target this ccTLD for any country other than the USA. However, there have been no such restrictions in place for .ME domains since they were released to the world. In spite of this, over a year passed before Google finally allowed .ME domains to be Geo Targeted. During this time, huge numbers of people outside of Montenegro who invested in .ME domains suffered – the search engine performance of their .ME websites was suppressed because, while they will have been performing well in search results in Montenegro, they will not have fared so well in their own countries. A knock on effect of this is that the value of .ME domains as saleable assets has been restrained.

Google do not own the Internet. They do not govern domain registration or usage – they are not a domain registry of any sort. If a ccTLD is made globally available, who are Google to prevent people from using these domains as such? Domain registries make and enforce the rules for domain registration and usage – Google should follow these rules. When a new ccTLD is released, or the rules are changed significantly for the registration or use of any ccTLD, Google should adapt to these rules immediately. I cannot see any logical or justifiable reason for them not to do so. So why did it take Google over a year before they allowed the .ME ccTLD to be Geo Targeted, like its .TV counterpart? Google’s actions – or lack of – may well have cost a lot of people money. But heaven forbid Google should ever have to explain themselves.