If you've been dragging your feet on improving the page load times on your website, this might prompt you to get moving. This week, Google has outlined its plans to add new warning indicators in Chrome for both search results and on load screens whenever slow page load speeds are detected.

As per Google:

"In the future, Chrome may identify sites that typically load fast or slow for users with clear badging. This may take a number of forms and we plan to experiment with different options, to determine which provides the most value to our users."

Page load times have been a key focus for Google in recent times as it seeks to improve the mobile user experience. Google added page speed as a ranking factor for mobile search results last year, and has also added various warnings and pointers within its ad tools to help businesses understand the impact of load speed on both their SEO and advertising performance. 

This new step should provide even more impetus for site owners to get on top of any page speed issue - if you want to check your site/s and ensure that you're in the clear, you can use Google's PageSpeed Insights tool to get a better understanding of where you're at, or Google's Test My Site speed indicator to check on our performance.

Basically, Google's giving you all the tools to make sure your page speed is up to scratch, and fair warning on coming changes which could impact performance. Page load time is obviously a bigger issue on mobile devices, but even so, improving performance overall will help you maximize your content delivery on all platforms. 

You can read more about Google's planned updates here.