PageSpeed and How It Affects SEO Rankings

As an average person browsing the internet, what are some of the issues that annoy you when visiting a website? The unappealing appearance? The unfriendly user experience? Or the time it takes to download content on a webpage?

PageSpeed is undeniably an important factor in determining your SEO performance as Google uses it as a criteria to measure the quality of your website. In this article, we are going to discuss PageSpeed, how to measure it, and the practices that can improve your SEO rankings. 

what is page speed

 

What is PageSpeed?

Literally speaking, PageSpeed is the amount of time it takes for a webpage to load its content, this may include text, images, videos, etc. A good website should be able to load each of its pages relatively quickly (in milliseconds). In order to achieve that, the backend of a website, from sitemap layout and coding, to the size of content, must be intricately designed. Furthermore, the UX & UI (User Experience and User Interface) of a website should be convenient for users, whether on mobile or desktop. Hosting and your server are also important factors that can affect PageSpeed. 

 

Why Does Google Use PageSpeed to Determine SEO Performance?

In order to improve a website’s ranking, enabling it to appear on the first page of Google’s search results, page speed is incredibly important as it is considered a part of a user’s experience when surfing the internet. Just imagine you’re in a hurry and need to look up something on Google, but the website you click takes minutes to load. Would you stay on that website and wait when there are many others providing similar information with better PageSpeed? That’s why PageSpeed optimisation can benefit your SEO ranking. 

Once you understand the importance of PageSpeed, the next step would naturally be to measure the speed of your website. However, we would like to tell you about PageSpeed Insights first. 

 

page speed insight

 

What is PageSpeed Insights? 

PageSpeed Insights is a tool used by Google to determine the PageSpeed of a webpage, with a maximum score of 100. However, it doesn’t mean that your website would be at its maximum speed if it scores 100. It is simply an analytical tool Google uses. If your PageSpeed Insights score is good, there is a higher chance that your website will show up on the first results page. 

*PageSpeed is one of the factors affecting SEO. It is not guaranteed that a website with good PageSpeed will appear on the first page of Google’s search results. There are many other factors involved, including optimisation, onsite, outreach, and link building. 

PageSpeed Measurement

If you’d like to test the speed of your website, Google has a free online tool you can use: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights 

There are also other options available, such as:

1. https://www.webpagetest.org/

2. https://tools.pingdom.com/

3. https://gtmetrix.com/

By simply filling in the URL of your website, you can test your PageSpeed. 

However, it must be emphasised that in order to improve your PageSpeed score, consistency is the key, which may take some time. If you want to elevate your SEO ranking on Google, a comprehensive SEO strategy is necessary.