Ask a group of people what they look for when choosing a broadband connection, and speed is guaranteed to be one of the most common responses. The speed of your broadband connection can compromise the type of activities you are able to enjoy, with slower connections often proving unsuitable for streaming online videos, playing online games or downloading and uploading large files.

Many people are familiar with having to wait a long time for web pages to load or for downloads to complete, especially on home broadband networks that host a number of users. If these symptoms of a slow broadband connection sound familiar and you're looking for solutions to the problem, there are various ways you can improve your broadband connection at home without changing your provider.

If you're a casual internet surfer and you only use the internet to check emails, social networks and other websites, you could avoid slow loading times by getting your internet time out of the way earlier in the day. Evening is the peak time of day for home broadband users, and it's common for users to experience slower connections during these hours, as more people are downloading large files, watching videos and performing other high-bandwidth activities.

Sometimes though, the best way to benefit from faster broadband is to get in touch with your provider and find out where there's a better option for you. Many home broadband users are now switching to business broadband to benefit from faster and more reliable connections, and with fibre optic broadband being introduced in more areas all the time, you should check whether this superfast broadband option is available where you live, to benefit from the fastest speeds currently available.

You don't have to stay with the same provider though, and using price comparison websites or doing your own research could reveal better opportunities, especially if a certain provider is located in your area and your broadband connection will consequently have less distance to travel. Don't rely too heavily on promotional material when comparing advertised speeds though, as there are many factors that can influence the actual speed of your connection.

To find out precisely how fast your broadband is operating at present, you can use specialised speed tests on your provider's website and other sites that will send and receive data through your cable or wireless router and inform you how fast your broadband is operating at present. You can then implement some of the changes detailed above and carry out another speed test to see if there's a real difference.

Fiona Roy writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.