SEO Term Definition
CDN – Content Delivery Network
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a distributed network of servers that delivers web content from locations closest to each user, reducing load times and improving page speed.
Reviewed by Alexander Yarovenko · Updated: 2026-07-03
What is a CDN?
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a geographically distributed group of servers that cache and deliver web content — images, CSS, JavaScript, and even full HTML pages — from a location physically close to each visitor. Instead of every request travelling to one central server, CDN edge nodes around the world serve cached copies.
How a CDN Works
- User in Kyiv requests
example.com/logo.png - DNS routes the request to the nearest CDN edge node (e.g. Frankfurt)
- If the node has a cached copy — it serves it immediately (cache hit)
- If not — it fetches from the origin server, caches it, and serves the user (cache miss)
SEO Benefits of a CDN
- Faster LCP and TTFB — assets load from nearby servers
- Better Core Web Vitals — directly improves Google's Page Experience signals
- Uptime and availability — traffic is distributed, reducing origin server load
- Automatic compression — most CDNs apply Brotli/Gzip compression
- HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 support — faster multiplexed connections
Popular CDN Providers
| Provider | Notes |
|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Free tier available; includes DDoS protection |
| AWS CloudFront | Deep AWS integration |
| Fastly | Real-time cache purging, popular with publishers |
| BunnyCDN | Cost-effective; good European coverage |