Shopify Site Speed Improvement Strategies

Yesterday, an e-commerce client asked how to increase site speed without losing their marketing tracking. Here's our approach. This client is a $100M+ online retailer with a complex channel mix. Thus, they have lots of marketing pixels onsite. Our recommended approach: 1.) Remove libraries and pixels no longer needed. Audit your existing pixels and events. Disable any pixels/events that are no longer needed. Check for errors and fix any broken pixels. 2.) Tag Managers Move all 3rd party javascript (libraries/pixels) into a tag manager. Tools like GTM, Tealium, Adobe Launch benefit primarily help with data governance and standardization. However, tag managers can also minify and cache 3rd party libraries, reducing page load times. Additionally, they often have OOTB capability to set the priority (sequence) of the tags, more on this below. 3.) Server-side tagging Many ad platforms can receive events server-side vs. clientside (through javasript in the browser). Examples include Meta, Google, TikTok. This can take some of the load off the browser. There are good 3rd party tools for this, including Blotout and Elevar. Server-side tracking has the added benefit of restoring signal to the ad platforms. More conversions to the ad platform will result in better optimization and reduced ad spend. 4.) Sequencing Less-important libraries This is a biggie. If pixels aren't required for the page render, have your web-dev team defer them later in the page. This can also be done in the tag manager. Most tag managers load tags asynchronously by default. That means they load in parallel and won't block other resources from loading. Full-service performance optimization tools like Yottaa can automatically sequence the libraries and calls (very good but not cheap). In summary, I'd tackle in this order: - Remove any pixels/libraries you no longer use/need - Move all 3rd party pixels to a tag manager (GTM) - Fix broken pixels - Optimize the load order of the libraries (sequencing) - Setup server-side tracking for ad platforms if available What else would you add? #measure #digitalanalytics #marketinganalytics #ecommerce

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 100/100 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 ₹1000𝗖𝗥+ 𝗔𝗥𝗥 𝗲𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 The secret sauce? 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Here’s the exact breakdown of how we did it - 1️⃣ 𝗟𝗮𝘇𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘀: We delayed non-essential scripts like chat tools and behavioral tracking until after the page loaded or user interaction, ensuring faster access to key elements, drastically improving user experience. 2️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲: By removing unnecessary third-party scripts, we lightened the page, significantly improving overall speed and making the site more responsive. E.g. Remove the scripts of tools that we don't need anymore 3️⃣ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: We collaborated with marketing, sales, and product teams to schedule tools like user behavior tracking once the page load is complete. 4️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘀: Working with our tech team, we inlined long-term critical scripts. This helped in speeding up the First Contentful Paint to just a few seconds, giving users immediate access to key visuals. 5️⃣ 𝗧𝗮𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: The game-changer! Only the most critical tags, like conversion tracking, fired on page load. Marketing tags such as retargeting were delayed, significantly improving both speed and user engagement. 6️⃣ 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗨𝗻𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗮𝗴𝘀: We paused tags that no longer contributed to key decision-making, reducing time-to-interactive and directly improving conversion rates by speeding up the user journey. 7️⃣ 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀: We set triggers to fire tags only based on specific user actions, which not only saved load time but also increased session duration, as users interacted more fluidly with the site. 8️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: Every new script was rigorously tested before launch, ensuring peak performance and zero downtime, even during high-traffic periods. 9️⃣ 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘀: Regular audits every few months allowed us to remove obsolete tags, keeping performance sharp and maintaining the high page speed we achieved. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 - Effective management of Google Tag Manager can boost conversions by up to 30% and improve page speed score by up to 20 points, boosting both user experience and bottom-line revenue. I'd love to hear your experiences and insights on leveraging GTM for page speed optimization. How has GTM transformed your marketing operations and contributed to better user experiences? . . Also a big shoutout to Gunjan Agrawal and Mandar Zope for their awesome contributions in making this happen!. . . #GrowthInsights #GoogleTagManager #PageSpeedOptimization #UserExperience #ConversionOptimization

Page speed still gets ignored by brands chasing creative or messaging updates… 𝗜𝗳 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱, 𝟱𝟬%+ 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲 That’s over HALF your mobile traffic gone before they even see the hero image Many researchers report that the 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 is often more important than actual speed, so even if your page is heavy, you can trick people around how it is loading..people want to feel momentum. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 = 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 The faster your site feels, the more put together you seem And that 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 leads to purchases Audit your:  • Hero images…are they optimized?  • Video embeds…do they have to autoplay?  • 3rd party scripts…when was the last time you audited them  • Uncompressed files…everything should be compressed, no excuses   • Shopify apps…most are great, but dump the ones slowing you down Want a target? Google says hit 𝗟𝗖𝗣 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝟮.𝟱𝘀 and 𝗧𝗧𝗙𝗕 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝟬.𝟴𝘀 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥 is a conversion feature And your friction tax is hiding in every second past 3

People pay with time, if your site is slow, they will leave and spend their time somewhere else. Optimize the loading speed of your landing or site for better conversion. Analyze Current Load Times: Begin by assessing your website's current loading speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights. Optimize Images: Reduce the size of images without compromising quality to speed up loading times. Leverage Browser Caching: Utilize browser caching to store elements of your site on visitors' devices for faster access on return visits. Minimize HTTP Requests: Reduce the number of HTTP requests for different page elements, like scripts and CSS, to decrease load times. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): Implement a CDN to distribute the load, speeding up access for users regardless of their geographic location. Test your site with: https://pagespeed.web.dev/ https://tools.pingdom.com/ https://gtmetrix.com/ Every second counts!