Speed key for start-up

Wellington software start-up Aptimize says a move by Google to include website speeds in determining search rankings could be a bonanza for the firm.

The company - which counts Google and Microsoft among its 100-plus customers - expects to announce deals with some major internet brands in the next few months.

Aptimize's software reduces the time it takes to load web pages by merging images and files - decreasing the number of requests that occur between the servers hosting websites and the computers loading them.

Google announced this month that it would factor in website speed when calculating search results, meaning faster websites will move up its rankings.

Chief executive Ed Robinson says awareness about website speeds has been increasing and Google's "significant" announcement will add fuel to the fire.

"It draws more attention to the website performance industry. People are noticing when they put Aptimize on their website their search ranking improves.

"If you look at the market for stuff that speeds up websites there are pretty clear benefits for businesses . . . There's a lot of research that shows the faster a website is the more people do on it and the more business it creates. If the pages are slow, you don't click around that much."

Businesses' data costs also drop because of the reduced traffic between computers and servers, he says.

"We have seen demand pick up from the beginning of this year. And for the first three months of the year we have been profitable. It's a good feeling."

The company plans to cash in on the growing popularity of internet- capable smartphones such as the iPhone and develop a version of its software for mobile phones.

The likes of Telecom, Vodafone and AT&T in the US could install the software in their data centres to increase mobile website speeds for their customers, Mr Robinson says.

Other customers include consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser, Trade Me and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.

Microsoft uses Aptimize software for its SharePoint websites and has noticed load times have reduced by about 50 per cent, he says.

Aptimize expects to have all the major internet brands as customers within the next year.

Its software costs between US$3000 (NZ$4200) and US$18,000, depending on the number of servers involved and the size of the website.

The firm has 10 staff in Wellington.

- © Fairfax NZ News