A slow website often frustrate readers and publishers alike, as neither gets to do what they have to on time.
When opening a site and it doesn’t load, the longer one has to wait, the more annoyed he/she becomes. If a person then waits too long, they’re likely to give up and move on.
Worst case scenario, a substantial amount of time may get wasted while waiting for content you didn’t even get to enjoy. Meanwhile, the content owner (i.e publishers) will also lose out by your inability to see their content or on the accompanying advertisements that help pay for the free content they tried to serve. It’s a no-win situation for everyone involved.
One of Google’s upgrades this year has sought to address this.
Faster web results
When you’re on a 2G-like connection or using a low storage device, pages can take a long time to load. Google previously launched a feature that streamlines search results so they load with less data and at high speed. Now, the feature has been extended to streamline websites you reach from search results, so that they load with 90 percent less data and five times faster, even on low storage devices.
More local information in Search
Several updates have also been made to Google Search to bring more useful, relevant answers and information to people in Nigeria:
•Knowledge Panels: Google has announced that it is connecting people with easy access to the answers to things they care about, displaying knowledge cards for everything from local football teams to Nigerian musicians and actors.
•Health Cards: Later this year the company intends to launch more than 800 knowledge cards detailing common symptoms and treatments for the most prevalent health conditions in Nigeria. For this, the internet giant has partnered with the University of Ibadan to ensure that answers have been reviewed by Nigerian doctors for local relevance and accuracy. Nigeria is one of the first countries to have provision for these locally tailored health answers on Search.
•Posts on Google: Posts makes it possible for musicians, entertainers and other public figures to share updates, images and videos directly on Google, for people to see while they explore on the web. Nigeria is the third country where this feature has been made available and some of the country’s popular musicians are already using it.
Some of the announcements, like others made during Sundar Pichai, Google CEO’s visit to Nigeria, are according to a statement by the company, what drives it — building platforms and products that are relevant and useful for billions, not just the few, and helping people to succeed in the digital economy.
CALEB OJEWALE
