What is a CDN?

A content delivery network (CDN) is a network of distributed servers designed to deliver content to end users quickly and efficiently. The content of a website, such as images, videos, style sheets or JavaScript files, is stored redundantly on several servers worldwide and delivered to the end user from the nearest server.

How does a CDN work?

A CDN consists of so-called edge servers that are distributed across the globe. When a user visits a website that uses a CDN, the request is forwarded to the nearest edge server to keep latency (delay) as low as possible. The edge server then checks whether the requested content is already stored in the local cache. If this is the case, the content is delivered directly to the user. Otherwise, the edge server fetches the content from the origin server and stores a copy in the local cache before serving it to the user.

Advantages of a CDN

• Faster Load Times: Delivering content over a globally distributed network can significantly reduce load times as content is served from the nearest server instead of the central origin server.
• Scalability: CDNs are able to handle peak loads and dynamically increase bandwidth to meet high user volume demands. In many cases, this protects against overload and failure of the origin server.
• Reduced server load: Since a majority of requests are answered by the CDN’s edge servers, the load on the origin server is reduced, resulting in better performance and stability.
• Increased Security: CDNs provide additional security features such as DDoS protection and SSL offloading to protect the website from a variety of threats.

Relevance of CDN in online marketing

CDNs are relevant to online marketing for a variety of reasons. One of them is that fast loading times ensure a positive user experience, which improves both conversion rates and search rankings. In addition, search engines like Google use loading time as a ranking factor, so a quickly loading website ensures better visibility in search results.