Google had hinted before this year that they would use speed. This article is from December, but perhaps there's something earlier: http://www.webpronews.com/to

Google had hinted before this year that they would use speed. This article is from December, but perhaps there's something earlier: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/11/13/google-page-speed-may-be-a-ranking-factor-in-2010 http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/11/13/google-page-spe... Still, Google said it will only affect 1% of searches.