vector research partners

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Site Speed: The Overlooked Secret to Boosting EBITDA

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Let’s face it—navigating the digital world isn’t always second nature for private equity professionals. But here’s the thing: there’s a clear link between digital optimization and enhanced EBITDA. We’ve even written about how small tweaks to digital assets—like webpages, landing pages, ads, and blog posts—can drive big results for your portfolio companies.

Today’s focus? Site speed.

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Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like: how quickly your website loads for visitors. But here’s what might surprise you—site speed has a direct impact on your portfolio companies’ bottom line, including EBITDA.

Consider this:

• 1 in 4 visitors will abandon a site that takes more than 4 seconds to load.
• User satisfaction drops by 16% for every extra second they wait.
• 70% of consumers say site speed influences whether they’ll purchase from an online retailer.

Translation: A slow site isn’t just annoying—it’s a deal-breaker for customers and a missed opportunity for revenue.

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How Site Speed Affects EBITDA

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Let’s look at a concrete example of how site speed can affect the EBITDA of your portfolio companies. Imagine your firm has invested in a company with traditional performance that looks like this:

• $100,000 media spend
• 200,000 site visitors
• 4% purchase conversion rate (8,000 purchases)
• $100 average order value ($800,000 site revenue)
• 70% gross profit margin ($560,000)
• $100,000 fixed costs
• $460,000 EBITDA

Focus on the 4% purchase conversion rate, which site speed influences. If the speed of your site slows, the purchase conversion rate falls. If the speed of your site accelerates, the purchase conversion rate climbs.

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For example, a site-speed-related increase to a purchase conversion rate of 4.1% also increases EBITDA by $14,000 to $474,000. A jump to 5% increases EBITDA by $140,000 to $600,000. A site-speed-related decrease to just 3.9% lowers EBITDA by $14,000 to $446,000. A decrease to 3% lowers EBITDA by $140,000 to $320,000.

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What’s Slowing Down Your Site Speed?

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Several culprits could be dragging your site’s speed down. Here are the usual suspects:

• Unoptimized themes: The theme your site is built on might not be streamlined for performance.
• Large or excessive images: Too many images—or files that are too big—can slow things to a crawl.
• Plug-in overload: Relying on too many plug-ins for site functionality can bog things down.
• High traffic: A surge in visitors can sometimes overwhelm your site’s capacity.
• Server issues: The location or performance of your servers might not be up to par.

Identifying the root cause of slow site speed is crucial. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Pingdom can help your portfolio companies’ marketing teams pinpoint problem areas and develop effective solutions quickly.

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5 Ways to Speed Things Up

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Using the tools above, you can address site speed issues efficiently. Here are five of the most common fixes:

1. Compress Images
   Large image files are often the biggest offenders. Use compression tools to shrink file sizes without sacrificing quality, and watch your load times improve dramatically.
2. Audit Software
   Review and eliminate unnecessary apps, plug-ins, and scripts running on your sites. A leaner setup means faster performance.
3. Optimize Your Theme
   Websites built on suboptimal themes can benefit hugely from switching to a lightweight, performance-optimized design.
4. Streamline Redirects
   Excessive redirects or broken links can create bottlenecks. Regular audits can keep your site running smoothly.
5. Use Hero Images Instead of Sliders
   Slider images look flashy but can weigh down your site. Static hero images load faster and deliver a clean, cohesive user experience.

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For bigger issues, it’s worth partnering with a skilled developer who can fine-tune your site’s code and make it as fast and efficient as possible. As we’ve discussed, faster sites contribute to better user experiences—and directly impact EBITDA for your portfolio companies.

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The Bottom Line

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In today’s digital-first world, even minor website improvements can lead to major gains in revenue and EBITDA. As private equity professionals, embracing these optimizations isn’t just about improving digital assets—it’s about driving tangible results on the balance sheet.

A faster website today could mean a stronger bottom line tomorrow. It’s that simple.

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by vector research partners.

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