Yes, we now have yet another metrix that we have to keep tabs on in order to make the most out of our Adwords campaign while trying to keep the costs low. While I understand some of the reasoning behind the move I think it will have a negative impact on legitimate campaigns that may be using video, flash, an online spokesperson and other very effective methods of marketing to the buyer once they have landed on the landing page.

How is your load time graded? From Google Adwords support:

Each of your keywords will receive a load time ‘grade’ depending on the destination URL associated with that keyword:

• If you assigned a keyword-level destination URL to a particular keyword, then the keyword’s load time grade will be based on that URL.
• If you didn’t assign a keyword-level destination URL, then the keyword’s load time grade will reflect the slowest load time among the ads in the ad group.

Note that we evaluate your load time relative to the average in your geographical region.

How can you determine your grade?

You can see a keyword’s load time grade on the Keyword Analysis page. The following information will be available:

• The load time will receive one of two grades. If it’s graded This page loads slowly, your landing page quality and Quality Score will be negatively affected. If it’s graded No problems found, your landing page quality and Quality Score will not be affected.
• You’ll see the number of redirects the user is taken through after clicking your ad. Typically, the more redirects there are, the slower the load time.
• We’ll report the site’s average load time.
• We’ll provide a comparison of the load time for your site versus other sites in the geographic area. Note that your load time grade is determined relative to the average in your geographical area.

How can you improve it?

The AdWords system re-evaluates landing pages on a regular basis (approximately once a month). If you make significant improvements to your website’s load time, you should see an improved Quality Score and lower minimum cost-per-click (CPC) bids. Note that your Quality Score may update incrementally over two to three months after you improve your load time.

Here are some tips for improving load time.

• Use fewer redirects.
• Reduce the page size by using fewer, smaller, and more highly-compressed images.
• Do not use interstitial pages.
• Minimize the use of iframes on your landing page.
• Contact your webmaster or webhosting provider to discuss other ways of improving your website’s load time.

You can also use Google’s Webmaster Tools (not available in all languages) to graph the average download time for your site. To do so:

1. Sign in to Webmaster Tools with your Google Account login at https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/siteoverview .
2. Click your site if you see it on the page. If not, type in the URL of your website in the Sites field and click Add Site.
3. Select Tools in the sidebar.
4. Click Set crawl rate. Note that you’ll need to have verified your site before you can do so.
5. The third graph will show your site’s average load time.

How big of a problem will this be for those using video and flash on the landing page? Only time will tell.