A Technical Guide to Google’s Page Speed Insights Reports

Google’s Page Speed Insights is the best tool for speeding up your webpages for a better user experience and SEO.

Nobody enjoys a sluggish website. When a webpage takes too long to load, not only does Google notice, but users are more likely to leave and go to another page that will answer their questions more quickly.

Users will leave your website if the page load time is too slow, regardless of how they found you – through organic search, paid advertising, or a referral link.

Google’s PageSpeed Insights (PSI) tool can assist you in improving your page speed for the sake of both users and keyword rankings (and believe me, you do).

What is the definition of Page Speed?

Page speed is defined in two ways by Google:

• The time it takes for material to appear above the fold.

• The amount of time it takes for a browser to fully render a page.

But there’s a lot that goes into making our websites load quickly. Load times can be affected by a user’s internet connection, a domain’s web hosting service, and even cache clearing.

When it comes to page speed, several factors are beyond the site owner’s control. However, the webmaster can optimise a variety of elements, including photos, videos, JavaScript, and more.

Because page speed is so important to the user experience, Google takes into account a page’s overall performance when deciding whether or not to promote it in the SERPs.

What is PageSpeed Insights (PSI) from Google?

PageSpeed Insights is a free performance tool that examines a webpage’s content and calculates page speed scores for both mobile and desktop versions.

The tool also identifies areas where improvements might be made and gives precise recommendations.

PSI optimization and suggestion possibilities

PageSpeed Insights is one of numerous page speed assessment tools accessible to website owners, but it is by far the best for those looking to improve performance for SEO.

The User Experience and Page Speed

Page speed is important for the whole user experience in addition to SEO.

Page load speed is considered the most critical feature for mobile users, even more so than rapidly locating what they’re seeking for or the page’s aesthetic appeal.

A one-to-five-second delay raises the risk of a visitor bouncing by 90%. Worse, with each additional second of load time, conversion rates drop by an average of 4.42 percent.

Improving site performance is a must-have for any SEO or conversion optimization plan.

The PSI tool from Google is the best place to start if you want to learn more about your site’s speed and how to enhance it.

Using the PageSpeed Insights Tool

The PageSpeed Insights Tool is a tool that allows you to see how fast your website is loading.

To use Google’s PSI tool, simply type any URL into the toolbar, hit Analyze, and PSI will do the rest.

The tool is doing two things while you wait for your report to generate.

The first step is to collect the page’s “Field Statistics,” which is the performance data from the Chrome User Experience report (CrUX).

Second, it uses the Lighthouse API to assess the performance of your page. This is known as “Lab Data” since it tests the speed of a webpage in a simulated, controlled environment, such as mobile networks and a mid-tier device.

This helps to reduce some of the factors that can affect the speed and functionality of a website.

Data Field

PSI’s Field data divides the speed and performance of a webpage into four major parameters. Each one focuses on a different aspect of loading time and speed.

The following fields are included in Google’s PageSpeed Insights Field Data:

• The time it takes for the first text or picture asset to load in Contentful Paint (FCP).

• The time it takes for the largest text or picture asset to load is referred to as the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP).

• The time it takes for the browser to reply to the user’s first interaction is known as the first input delay (FID).

• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): This metric tracks any page movement in the viewport.

CLS is determined using a unique formula. A CLS score of less than 0.1 is regarded good, whereas a score of more than.25 is deemed poor.

The field data shown in the report is from the last 28 days, and it will always be accompanied by distribution bars.

Field Data is made up of aggregated data from the CrUX report, and no single webpage performs the same for all users.

In the preceding report, for example, the page met FCP guidelines 69 percent of the time but failed to satisfy them 31% of the time.

Lab DATA

Synthetic data from the Lighthouse API is included in Google’s PageSpeed Insights Lab Data. FCP, LCP, CLS, and three other variables are all measured by Lighthouse.

Speed Index: The time it takes for the material to appear visibly on the page once it has been loaded.

Time to Interactive:The amount of time it takes for the page to fully interact.

Total Blocking Time: Between FCP and full interaction, the total amount of time.

Passed Audits

This component of the report essentially informs site owners about the page’s strengths and weaknesses.

A long number of cleared audits is a good sign that your page follows best practises for page performance.

Conclusion:

Investing in page speed has numerous advantages for both your SEO success and your site users’ digital experience.

As a result, learning how to use Google’s PSI tool is valuable for any website owner or digital marketer, even those with limited technical or backend experience.

If you take the time to implement the report’s recommendations, your webpages are likely to receive more keyword rankings and higher positions from Google.