Understanding A Website’s Page Speed with Google
Aaron Levenstadt CEO & Founder
November 13, 2019 | 5 Min Read
Article updated on February 24, 2023
Site speed has an impact on your site’s search engine rankings, as well as user performance. Google has confirmed how important site speed is to their algorithm and Google’s PageSpeed Insights continues to be a powerful tool for businesses to see just how fast their website looks in Google’s eyes.
While it was already clear just how important page speed is to a website’s search ranking performance, Google’s latest roll-out added site speed reporting right into Search Console, setting a new expectation for businesses.
Implementing website and page speed into Search Console means webmasters are expected more than ever to optimize for speed. But what actually goes into Google’s page speed review when crawling your website?
Look into how your website caches data and whether or not you’re creating a website that utilizes static caching in its code. It could make a difference in the speed users experience, especially with repeat visits, as well as the way Google crawls your website.
But don’t think you have to diminish how the image looks to make it smaller. Unlike using a program to compress CSS and HTML, photo-editing software like Photoshop or a number of free websites will be the best option to ensure the image retains its visual quality, while also being small enough to load the page quickly.
At Pedestal, we assess more than what the user can see in order to truly understand what opportunities you’re not capitalizing on. Pedestal offers comprehensive SEO audit services to reveal a myriad of hidden website issues that may be the reason why your target market isn’t even seeing where you stand among your competitors.
To learn more about the power of having Pedestal on your side, contact us today.
While it was already clear just how important page speed is to a website’s search ranking performance, Google’s latest roll-out added site speed reporting right into Search Console, setting a new expectation for businesses.
Implementing website and page speed into Search Console means webmasters are expected more than ever to optimize for speed. But what actually goes into Google’s page speed review when crawling your website?
What is a good website speed score?
If you’re on a fast connection, and your website takes more than a couple of seconds to load, that’s a problem. Something that’s visible to the user experience, is certainly something Google will penalize your website for, which will affect your search rankings. Here’s what we know about Google’s algorithm for site speed:Javascript
Despite its name alluding to the speed that a strong cup of coffee may provide, your website’s Javascript could be creating a problem with your site speed. Optimizing your code to minify CSS, HTML, as well as Javascript, will be necessary to ensure a faster site. The right tools will also remove unused code, formatting, and website pixels that can be problematic to a user’s experience as they load your home page, and website sub-sections. Run a website SEO audit for more helpful information.Cache it in
When a user returns to your page, their browser can cache or retain a lot of the data from when they visited the first time. This can be extremely helpful to their experience when they return, as they don’t have to reload everything, providing faster load times. While this may seem like an easy solution, many websites aren’t built to leverage caching, which can negatively impact site speed.Look into how your website caches data and whether or not you’re creating a website that utilizes static caching in its code. It could make a difference in the speed users experience, especially with repeat visits, as well as the way Google crawls your website.
Bigger isn’t always better
Certain images on your page could be a big cause of your slow loading time. While a high-quality image is important to the user experience, the large file size isn’t.But don’t think you have to diminish how the image looks to make it smaller. Unlike using a program to compress CSS and HTML, photo-editing software like Photoshop or a number of free websites will be the best option to ensure the image retains its visual quality, while also being small enough to load the page quickly.
Redirects
Each time you send a user to a page where they are redirected, those couple of extra seconds go into your performance score. While a redirect is sometimes unavoidable, this can be a big problem for certain pages. This is something the right strategist would be able to pinpoint using an SEO site audit and correlate to certain search rankings, meaning the opportunity for a quick win could be just a click away.The next step to optimizing site speed
While site speed continues to grow as an important aspect of Google’s ranking algorithm, it’s not the only factor. A strategic audit of your website could unveil more beneath the surface than you realize. An innovative product, a strong website UX, and even great customer support won’t be enough if your audience can’t see you.At Pedestal, we assess more than what the user can see in order to truly understand what opportunities you’re not capitalizing on. Pedestal offers comprehensive SEO audit services to reveal a myriad of hidden website issues that may be the reason why your target market isn’t even seeing where you stand among your competitors.
To learn more about the power of having Pedestal on your side, contact us today.
Google’s site speed FAQs
What is a good website speed score?
A site speed that takes longer than a couple of seconds to load can easily turn a potential customer away. On the internet, users have short attention spans. We expect search results and resources to appear right away and look elsewhere when they don’t. It’s essential that site speed is optimized enough that users don’t have to wait more than two seconds for a page to load to remain competitive in the market.
Aaron Levenstadt CEO & Founder
| 5 Min Read
Article updated on February 24, 2023
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Aaron Levenstadt
CEO & Founder
Aaron Levenstadt completed his degree in Statistical & Data Science at Stanford University. That focus has given him an unparalleled data-driven approach to search engine digital marketing. Prior to founding Pedestal Search, Aaron worked at Google at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View California. At Google he worked on the Organic Search, Paid Search and Google Analytics products, which equipped him with extensive knowledge of the mechanisms driving Google’s algorithm and other internet search engines.