Website speed is crucial for both user experience and search engine optimisation (SEO). Google has long recognised the importance of fast-loading websites with PageSpeed Insights and considers page speed as a ranking factor. A slow website not only frustrates visitors but can also cause your search rankings to drop, making it harder for potential customers to find you.
A quick website enhances user experience, keeping visitors engaged and reducing the likelihood of them leaving before the page fully loads. Research shows that users expect a webpage to load within a few seconds; anything slower can lead to higher bounce rates, which in turn signals to Google that your website may not be providing a satisfactory experience.
Moreover, Google’s Core Web Vitals – key performance metrics introduced to measure user interaction – further emphasise the need for fast-loading websites. These metrics focus on the overall usability of a site, including load times, layout stability and interactivity. Meeting these standards is essential not just for user satisfaction but for securing a better position in search results.
By improving your website’s speed, you’re creating a smoother experience for users while also boosting your SEO efforts, helping your site rise in Google rankings and attract more visitors.
Understanding PageSpeed Insights
What is PageSpeed Insights?
PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is a free tool provided by Google that evaluates the performance of your website, specifically focusing on page load speed and overall user experience. It offers insights into both mobile and desktop performance, providing suggestions on how to optimise your site for better speed and usability. The goal is to help webmasters and developers identify areas where they can improve load times and enhance the overall experience for users, which in turn can positively affect SEO rankings.
Key metrics tracked by PSI
PageSpeed Insights measures several key performance metrics that are crucial for understanding how efficiently your website loads and operates. These metrics are designed to reflect real-world user experiences and give you actionable feedback on areas for improvement. Two primary types of data are provided:
- Lab data: Generated through simulated conditions, offering an overall performance score and suggestions for improvement.
- Field data: Collected from actual users through the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX), which reflects real-world performance over a 28-day period.
The Core Web Vitals
Central to PSI’s evaluation are Google’s Core Web Vitals, a set of specific factors that measure user experience and page performance. These vitals focus on loading speed, interactivity and visual stability, providing a more detailed understanding of how well your site is performing.
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
LCP measures how long it takes for the main content of a webpage to load. Ideally, this should happen within 2.5 seconds of the page first starting to load. A slow LCP can indicate poor server response time or large elements like images or videos are taking too long to render. Optimising LCP is crucial, as it directly impacts user satisfaction and SEO rankings. - Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
CLS tracks the visual stability of a webpage, measuring how often elements unexpectedly move while loading. For example, if an image shifts down the page and causes text to jump, this would negatively affect your CLS score. A good user experience requires a CLS score of less than 0.1 to ensure that content is stable and doesn’t create a frustrating experience for visitors. - First Input Delay (FID)
FID measures the time it takes for a page to become interactive – essentially, how quickly the site responds to a user’s first action, such as clicking a link or button. A good FID should be less than 100 milliseconds, ensuring that users can interact with your site almost immediately after it loads. A slow FID can result from heavy JavaScript processing, which delays the browser’s ability to respond to user inputs.
By tracking these metrics, PageSpeed Insights helps ensure that your website meets both user expectations and Google’s ranking requirements, giving you a clearer path to optimisation and SEO success.
How to use PageSpeed Insights
Running a PSI test
Testing your website’s speed using PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is a straightforward process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:
- Visit the PageSpeed insights tool
Go to Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. This tool is free and accessible to everyone. - Enter your website URL
Once on the PSI page, enter the URL of the webpage you want to test. You can test both mobile and desktop versions of your site. After entering the URL, click the “Analyse” button. - Wait for the analysis
PSI will take a few seconds to gather the necessary data. During this time, it simulates the loading of your webpage in controlled conditions and collects field data from real user experiences, if available. - Review the performance score
Once the analysis is complete, you’ll see a performance score out of 100. This score is calculated based on various factors like page load time and interactivity. A score of 90-100 is considered fast, 50-89 is moderate and below 50 is deemed slow. - Explore recommendations
Below the performance score, PSI provides detailed suggestions on how to improve your page speed. These recommendations include areas such as image optimisation, server response times or unused CSS and JavaScript.
Interpreting results: CrUX data vs. lighthouse diagnostics
When PSI completes its analysis, it presents two sets of data: CrUX (Chrome User Experience Report) data and Lighthouse diagnostics. Understanding the difference between these two is key to accurately interpreting your website’s performance.
CrUX data (field data)
CrUX data is collected from real users who have visited your website using the Chrome browser. It reflects the actual performance experienced by users over the past 28 days, offering insights into how your site behaves in real-world conditions. CrUX data is especially useful as it shows performance under various network and device conditions.
Lighthouse diagnostics (lab data)
Lighthouse diagnostics simulate the loading of your webpage in a controlled environment. It provides detailed insights into how your page performs under specific conditions, like a standard 4G network and mid-range device. While this lab data offers an accurate snapshot of your website’s technical health, it doesn’t account for all the variables that real users may experience, such as different network speeds or devices. Lighthouse also includes a set of actionable recommendations for improving performance, such as reducing JavaScript execution time or enabling text compression.
Together, CrUX and Lighthouse data give you a comprehensive view of your website’s speed and performance. CrUX offers real-world insights, while Lighthouse provides a controlled environment for diagnosing and fixing specific issues. By addressing the suggestions provided by both datasets, you can significantly improve your site’s speed, enhancing both user experience and SEO outcomes.
Factors impacting page load time and SEO
Server response time (Time to First Byte)
One of the critical factors influencing page load time and SEO is server response time, measured as Time to First Byte (TTFB). TTFB is the amount of time a browser waits to receive the first byte of data from your server after making a request. A slow server response can delay the entire loading process, frustrating users and negatively affecting your SEO rankings.
A fast TTFB ensures that your content is quickly delivered to users, which is vital for SEO because Google’s algorithms favour websites that offer a swift and smooth experience. If your server takes too long to respond, search engines may rank your website lower, as slow performance is often associated with poor user experience. Improving server performance, such as using a reliable hosting service or a content delivery network (CDN), can drastically reduce TTFB and improve page speed.
Image optimisation
Images are essential to most websites, but if they aren’t properly optimised, they can be one of the main contributors to slow page load times. Image optimisation involves using the correct file format, reducing image size and applying compression to minimise the impact on speed.
- File format: Choose the most efficient format for your images. For photos, use JPEG, while PNG is better for images requiring transparency. The more modern WebP format often provides smaller file sizes with minimal quality loss.
- Image size: Resizing images to the correct dimensions ensures they aren’t unnecessarily large, which can dramatically reduce page load times.
- Compression: Compressing images reduces their file size without a noticeable decrease in quality.
Fast-loading images are not only crucial for user experience but also for SEO. Google’s algorithms consider the time it takes for a page to load fully, including images. Optimised images reduce the time it takes for a page to become interactive, improving both page speed and your search engine rankings.
Render-blocking resources
Render-blocking resources like JavaScript and CSS can prevent your page from being displayed quickly, as the browser must fully load and process these files before showing any content. This delay directly impacts page load time, frustrating users and reducing your SEO performance.
To minimise this effect, you should:
- Defer non-essential JavaScript: By deferring JavaScript, you allow the browser to load content first, improving the user’s visual experience while deferring scripts that aren’t immediately required.
- Minify CSS and JavaScript: Reducing file size by eliminating unnecessary characters such as white spaces and comments speeds up load times.
- Inline critical CSS: This practice allows browsers to load the most important CSS files first, enabling faster rendering of above-the-fold content.
Reducing the number of render-blocking resources is a key part of improving site speed and user experience, which is recognised by Google’s search algorithms. The quicker your website becomes interactive, the better your chances of ranking higher in search results.
Browser caching
Browser caching enables frequently visited websites to store data, such as images, stylesheets and JavaScript files, in a user’s browser. This means that when someone revisits your site, the browser doesn’t need to download all the resources again, resulting in faster load times.
Implementing browser caching can significantly improve the experience for repeat visitors, as cached resources are quickly retrieved, reducing the time it takes for the page to load. This improved speed has a positive impact on SEO, as faster websites offer a better user experience, which is a key ranking factor.
Setting appropriate cache headers, using a content delivery network (CDN) and enabling HTTP caching can all improve performance, helping your site load faster for returning users. Ultimately, this boost in speed enhances SEO rankings by improving user experience and reducing server load.
Optimising your website for speed
Reduce server response time
Improving server response time is one of the most effective ways to speed up your website. A quick server ensures that users can access your content without delays, which is crucial for both user experience and SEO. Here are two key methods to reduce server response time:
- Use CDNs: A CDN distributes your website’s content across multiple servers located in different geographical regions. When a user requests a page, the CDN serves it from the closest server, reducing latency and speeding up delivery. This can significantly reduce load times, especially for users located far from your primary server.
- Minimise server-side processing: Every time a user accesses your website, the server processes requests such as database queries and dynamic content generation. Reducing the amount of server-side processing by optimising your code, reducing database calls and caching static content can improve response times. You can also streamline your database queries and scripts to prevent unnecessary delays in server response.
Optimise images and videos
Large images and videos can be some of the biggest culprits when it comes to slow loading times. However, by optimising your media, you can speed up your website without sacrificing visual quality. Here’s how:
- Compress media without losing quality: Use compression techniques to reduce the size of images and videos without compromising quality. Tools like TinyPNG and JPEG-Optimiser can help reduce file sizes while maintaining a sharp display. Additionally, choosing modern formats like WebP for images and MP4 for videos can further reduce file size and loading time.
- Use the right dimensions: Upload images and videos at the exact dimensions needed for your website. Uploading unnecessarily large files forces the browser to resize them, increasing the load time. By ensuring your media files are appropriately sized, you can improve both speed and performance.
By optimising your server performance and media files, you can significantly reduce page load times, leading to better user experiences and stronger SEO rankings.
Monitoring page speed over time
Monitoring your website’s page speed consistently is essential to ensure ongoing optimisation and maintaining good SEO performance. By automating the process and regularly reviewing key metrics, you can identify potential issues before they impact your rankings.
Using the PSI API for automated monitoring
One of the best ways to keep an eye on your website’s performance is by setting up automated testing with the PSI API. The API allows you to regularly run speed tests on your website without having to manually check each time.
Here’s how to set up automated monitoring with the PSI API:
- Get an API key: Start by obtaining a Google API key, which you can generate through the Google Cloud Console.
- Set up a request: You can then use the API key to run automated speed tests. By sending a request to the PSI API, you can retrieve performance reports that include metrics like Core Web Vitals, page speed and overall performance scores.
- Schedule regular tests: Use tools like Google Cloud Functions or third-party services to automate requests on a regular schedule. This will allow you to monitor speed changes and track performance over time.
- Store and analyse data: Collect and store the results from the API for ongoing analysis. This helps you spot trends and fix issues before they become problematic.
Automating the monitoring process ensures that you’re always up to date with your website’s performance, allowing you to take quick action when necessary.
Analysing data in Google Search Console
Google Search Console provides valuable insights into how your website is performing, particularly when it comes to Core Web Vitals. These metrics help you gauge the user experience and identify areas that may require optimisation.
Here’s how to access and analyse Core Web Vitals data in Google Search Console:
- Open Google Search Console: Log into your Console account and select the property (website) you wish to monitor.
- Navigate to the Core Web Vitals report: In the left-hand menu, click on “Core Web Vitals” under the “Experience” section. This report highlights pages that perform well and those that need improvement.
- Review LCP, FID and CLS data: Google provides data on how each of your website’s pages is performing in terms of LCP, FOD and CLS. These metrics give you a clear picture of your site’s load times, interactivity and visual stability.
- Prioritise fixes: Based on the performance of individual pages, prioritise fixes. Google Search Console will highlight “Poor,” “Needs Improvement,” or “Good” for each page, so you can quickly see where attention is required.
Regularly reviewing Core Web Vitals in Search Console is crucial for maintaining a fast-loading website and it ensures that your site continues to perform well in search results. By automating tests with the PSI API and analysing your Core Web Vitals in Google Search Console, you can stay proactive in maintaining optimal page speed and user experience.
Improving and maintaining your website’s page speed is crucial for enhancing both user experience and SEO performance. While tools like PageSpeed Insights and Google Search Console provide valuable data, interpreting the results and implementing effective solutions can be challenging. This is where working with an SEO consultant can make a real difference.
We specialise in optimising websites for speed and performance. From diagnosing slow load times to implementing advanced optimisation techniques, we help you achieve faster load speeds and higher search rankings.
Get in touch with us today to discuss how we can boost your website’s speed and drive more traffic to your business.