What is Google PageSpeed Insights, and why is it important?

Google PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is a free tool that analyzes the performance of a webpage and provides recommendations for improvement. It evaluates both mobile and desktop versions of a site, giving a performance score based on various speed and usability factors. The tool is important because website speed directly affects user experience, engagement, and search engine rankings. A fast-loading site ensures that visitors stay longer and interact more with the content, while a slow site can lead to high bounce rates and lost conversions. Additionally, Google considers page speed as a ranking factor, meaning that optimizing performance can improve a site’s visibility in search results.

How does Google PageSpeed Insights generate its performance score?

Google PageSpeed Insights generates a performance score by analyzing a webpage using Lighthouse, an open-source tool developed by Google. The score ranges from 0 to 100, where a higher score indicates better performance. The evaluation is based on key performance metrics such as First Contentful Paint (FCP), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Total Blocking Time (TBT), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). These metrics measure how quickly a page loads, how long it takes for the main content to appear, and whether elements shift unexpectedly as the page loads. The score is color-coded, with green (90-100) indicating good performance, orange (50-89) meaning there is room for improvement, and red (0-49) signaling poor performance that needs immediate attention.

What are Core Web Vitals, and how do they impact the PageSpeed Insights report?

Core Web Vitals are a set of three key performance metrics that measure user experience related to loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability. These metrics include Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), which measures how quickly the largest visible element loads, First Input Delay (FID), which assesses how fast a page responds to user interactions, and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), which tracks unexpected shifts in content while the page loads. Google considers Core Web Vitals as critical ranking factors, meaning that websites that perform well in these areas are more likely to rank higher in search results. A poor Core Web Vitals score can negatively impact both user experience and SEO rankings, making it essential for website owners to optimize their sites accordingly.

How can I improve my PageSpeed Insights score?

Improving your PageSpeed Insights score requires optimizing various aspects of your website’s performance. One of the most effective strategies is to optimize images by compressing them without losing quality, which reduces page load times. Minimizing JavaScript and CSS files, as well as removing unused code, can also enhance site speed. Another important factor is enabling browser caching, which allows frequently accessed resources to be stored locally, reducing the need to reload them every time a user visits the site. Using a content delivery network (CDN) can further improve loading speeds by distributing website content across multiple servers worldwide. Additionally, upgrading to a faster web hosting provider and implementing lazy loading for images and videos can significantly improve performance.

Why does my PageSpeed Insights score differ between mobile and desktop?

The PageSpeed Insights score often differs between mobile and desktop due to variations in network conditions, processing power, and screen sizes. Mobile devices typically have slower network connections and less processing power than desktop computers, making web pages load more slowly. Additionally, mobile users experience different layouts, as responsive designs adjust content to fit smaller screens, which can sometimes increase loading times. Google also applies stricter performance benchmarks for mobile evaluations since mobile-friendliness is a critical ranking factor. To improve mobile performance, website owners should focus on optimizing images, reducing JavaScript execution time, and implementing mobile-first design principles.

Google PageSpeed Insights Report: What This Tells You About Your Site

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When you run a Google PageSpeed Insights report, you’re not just getting a speed score – you’re unlocking valuable data that can directly impact your website’s performance and user experience. From diagnosing slow-loading elements to identifying opportunities for code optimisation, this report provides actionable insights that help you improve both your search engine ranking and customer satisfaction.

But what exactly do these metrics mean, and how can you leverage them to enhance your digital strategy? Let’s break it down.

Key Takeaways

Mobile performance is a priority for SEO and Google’s mobile-first indexing emphasises speed and user experience on mobile devices.
Optimisation strategies, such as image compression, lazy loading, and minimising CSS and JavaScript, are essential for improving mobile and desktop scores.
Third-party integrations and server response times significantly impact your score, and managing these effectively can prevent performance bottlenecks.
Accessibility and user experience factors, such as Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), are now core metrics influencing overall page performance.
Regular performance audits using Google PageSpeed Insights help identify bottlenecks and ensure your site remains competitive in search rankings.

What is Google PageSpeed Insights?

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As a business owner or marketer in Singapore, understanding how your website performs is crucial. With 95.8% of Singapore’s 5.92 million population actively using the internet and 179% high mobile connection rates, ensuring a fast and efficient website is essential. Google PageSpeed Insights is a free tool that analyses your webpage’s performance on both mobile and desktop platforms, offering valuable metrics to assess user experience.

You will receive a comprehensive report detailing load times, responsiveness, and visual stability by entering your website’s URL. The report will also include actionable recommendations to enhance your site’s speed and user engagement. In Singapore’s competitive digital landscape, leveraging such insights can significantly impact your online presence and customer satisfaction.

What Your Google PageSpeed Insights Report Can Tell You

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You gain more than a performance score when you analyse your website using the Google Pagespeed Insights report. The report breaks down your web page’s speed, interactivity, and visual stability, helping you understand how users experience your site.

Key metrics such as First Contentful Paint (FCP), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) reveal how quickly your content loads and whether your page layout shifts unexpectedly.

Think With Google emphasises the importance of fast website loading times and recommends a target of under three seconds for optimal user experience. Understanding the metrics of Google PSI can help you improve your website speed. The report also highlights opportunities for optimisation, such as image compression, server response time, and efficient coding practices, allowing you to enhance both user experience and search engine ranking. Here are the core metrics you need to pay attention to:

First Contentful Paint (FCP)

Measures the time it takes for the first piece of content (text or image) to appear. A fast FCP improves perceived loading speed and user engagement.

How to improve FCP:

Minimise server response time
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Optimise CSS and JavaScript loading

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

Tracks the loading time of the most significant element on the page, such as a hero image or headline. An ideal LCP is under 2.5 seconds.

How to improve LCP:

Optimise large images
Enable lazy loading
Upgrade server hosting

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Measures how much the page layout shifts unexpectedly during loading. A score below 0.1 is considered good.

How to improve CLS:

Set size attributes for images and videos
Use font-display: optional for web fonts
Avoid dynamic content injection

First Input Delay (FID)

Captures the time it takes for your site to respond to a user’s first interaction, such as clicking a button. A good FID is under 100 milliseconds.

How to improve FID:

Minimise JavaScript execution time
Reduce third-party code
Use browser caching

Interaction to Next Paint (INP)

A newer metric that assesses the responsiveness of your site to user interactions.

How to improve INP:

Optimise event handlers
Remove unnecessary scripts
Implement efficient web workers

Time to First Byte (TTFB)

Measures how quickly your server responds to a request. An ideal TTFB is below 800 milliseconds.

How to improve TTFB:

Use faster hosting
Implement caching strategies
Reduce server-side processing time

How to Run a Google PageSpeed Insights Test

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Running a Google PageSpeed Insights test is a straightforward process that allows you to assess your website’s performance across mobile and desktop platforms. Here’s how you can do it:

Access the Tool: Visit the official Google PageSpeed Insights platform at pagespeed.web.dev.
Enter Your URL: In the search bar, input the full webpage URL you want to analyse, such as your homepage or a specific landing page.
Run the Analysis: Click on the “Analyse” button. The tool will scan your website’s performance and generate a report within seconds.
Review the Results: The report will display key performance metrics, such as Core Web Vitals, First Contentful Paint (FCP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), along with recommendations for improvement.
Implement Recommendations: To enhance your score, focus on areas like image optimisation, reducing server response time, and minimising render-blocking resources.

Understanding Your Google PageSpeed Insights Report

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Understanding the Google PageSpeed Insights report is key to identifying performance gaps and enhancing your website’s user experience. The report evaluates your site’s performance on both mobile and desktop platforms and is divided into several key sections:

Performance Score: This rating, which ranges from 0 to 100, reflects your webpage’s overall speed and responsiveness. A score above 90 is considered excellent, while anything below 50 indicates poor performance.
Core Web Vitals Assessment: Metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) are assessed to measure loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability. These factors directly affect user experience and SEO ranking.
Opportunities and Diagnostics: This section highlights areas for improvement, such as reducing server response time, optimising images, and eliminating render-blocking resources. It also provides suggestions to improve accessibility and best practices for SEO.
Passed Audits: This part shows elements your website is already optimised for, such as efficient caching or minimal redirects.

Understanding these components allows you to make data-driven decisions to boost your site’s speed and enhance customer satisfaction in Singapore’s fast-paced digital market.

Mobile vs. Desktop Results

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When analysing your Google PageSpeed Insights report, you’ll notice significant differences between the mobile and desktop results. This is because Google evaluates performance based on different conditions for each device type.

Mobile Results

The report simulates a slower 4G network on mobile and tests performance on a mid-range device to reflect real-world user experiences. Factors like limited processing power, network latency, and smaller screen sizes affect First Contentful Paint (FCP) metrics and Time to Interactive (TTI). This often leads to lower scores compared to desktop performance.

Desktop Performance

In contrast, desktop performance is assessed under more favourable conditions, including faster internet speeds and more powerful hardware. As a result, desktop scores tend to be higher, with fewer issues related to resource loading and rendering delays.Understanding these differences is crucial for optimising your website across both platforms.

While desktop performance may seem satisfactory, poor mobile performance can negatively impact user experience and SEO rankings, especially since Google’s mobile-first indexing prioritises mobile performance for ranking purposes.

Accessibility Considerations in PageSpeed Optimisation

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Accessibility is a critical yet often overlooked factor when optimising your Google PageSpeed Insights report. While the primary goal is to improve loading speed and user experience, ensuring your website is accessible to users with disabilities directly impacts performance scores and user engagement.

Google PageSpeed Insights evaluates accessibility through proper HTML structure, alt text for images, and keyboard navigation support. For instance, missing alternative text for images can negatively affect your accessibility score and impact search engine indexing. Well-structured headings and clear navigation also improve user experience, reducing bounce rates and overall performance.

How Accessibility Impacts PageSpeed Score

Alt Text for Images: Helps both screen readers and search engines understand visual content.
Proper HTML Structure: Reduces unnecessary code bloat and improves loading time.
Keyboard Navigation Support: Enhances user experience and lowers bounce rates.
ARIA Landmarks and Labels: Provides additional context for assistive technologies.

Focusing on practices like semantic HTML, colour contrast adjustments, and ARIA labels can enhance your site’s usability for all users without compromising speed.

Influence of Third-Party Integrations on Performance

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Third-party integrations, such as analytics tools, ad networks, chatbots, and social media widgets, enhance website functionality. However, they can also significantly slow down your site, negatively impacting your Google PageSpeed Insights report. Each additional script from a third-party service requires extra HTTP requests and additional processing time, which can lead to longer load times and lower performance scores.

For example, embedding multiple tracking scripts from Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or marketing automation tools can increase page weight and delay rendering. Similarly, ad networks often introduce render-blocking JavaScript, which affects Core Web Vitals like First Contentful Paint (FCP) and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP).

To mitigate these adverse effects, you should:

Use Asynchronous Loading: Ensures scripts don’t block page rendering.
Limit Unnecessary Third-Party Scripts: Only keep essential services.
Defer Non-Critical Scripts: Load analytics and tracking scripts after page content has been fully rendered.
Use a Tag Management System: Tools like Google Tag Manager help streamline script execution.
Implement Lazy Loading for Widgets: Chatbots and social media plugins should load only when needed.

Optimising third-party integrations is crucial, especially in Singapore’s competitive digital landscape, where faster-loading websites improve engagement and conversion rates.

4 Common Performance Warnings and Solutions

When you run a Google PageSpeed Insights test, you’ll often encounter performance warnings highlighting issues affecting your website’s speed. Understanding and resolving these warnings is essential for improving your site’s loading time and user experience. Here are the four standard warnings and solutions you may come across with:

Render-Blocking Resources: These CSS and JavaScript files prevent your page from loading quickly. When browsers encounter these resources, they pause rendering until the files are fully loaded.
- Solution: Minimise critical CSS, defer JavaScript loading and implement asynchronous loading for non-essential scripts.
Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML: Unnecessary spaces, comments, and code formatting can increase file size and slow loading times.
- Solution: Use tools like UglifyJS for JavaScript, CSSNano for CSS, and HTMLMinifier for HTML to compress and minify these resources.
Reduce Server Response Time (TTFB): A slow server response time affects the speed at which your content is delivered to users.
- Solution: Optimise server performance, enable caching, and use Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to distribute content faster.
Optimise Images: Large, uncompressed images majorly contribute to slow page speeds.
- Solution: Use image compression tools like TinyPNG or Squoosh and implement next-gen formats like WebP for faster loading.

Other Improvement Suggestions and Best Practices

Improving your Google PageSpeed Insights report requires a strategic approach to enhancing loading speed and user experience. Implementing the right techniques can significantly boost your website’s performance and help you achieve higher scores.

Optimise Image Files: Large, uncompressed images are the biggest culprit behind slow loading times. Compression tools like TinyPNG or Squoosh can be used to speed up loading and switch to next-generation formats like WebP.
Enable Browser Caching: By instructing browsers to store static files locally, you can reduce the need for repeated downloads and improve the load time for returning visitors.
Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML: Removing unnecessary code spaces, comments, and formatting reduces file size and speeds delivery. Tools like UglifyJS (JavaScript), CSSNano (CSS), and HTMLMinifier can help.
Reduce Server Response Time (TTFB): A slow server affects how quickly content is delivered. Optimise server performance, enable caching and use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for faster content distribution.
Implement Lazy Loading for Images and Videos. This will reduce the initial page Load time by loading media content only when users scroll to it.
Reduce Third-Party Script Impact: Asynchronous loading of analytics tools and ad networks prevents them from blocking critical page elements. Google Tag Manager can help manage script execution.
Optimise CSS Delivery: Remove unused CSS and defer non-critical CSS loading to prioritise above-the-fold content.
Leverage Browser Preloading and Prefetching: Use <link rel=”preload”> for essential resources and <link rel=”dns-prefetch”> to establish faster connections to external resources.
Ensure Mobile Responsiveness: Google prioritises mobile performance. Use responsive design techniques and flexible images to improve mobile device performance.
To fix Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) Issues, Set explicit dimensions for images and ads to prevent content from shifting during loading.

Making Changes According to Your Google PageSpeed Insights Report

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Improving your website’s performance starts with understanding the insights provided in your Google PageSpeed Insights report. By addressing key areas such as image optimisation, server response time, and mobile responsiveness, you can enhance user experience and boost your search rankings. However, implementing these changes effectively requires expertise and ongoing monitoring.

If you want to maximise your PageSpeed score and drive better results for your business, working with MediaOne’s professional digital marketing team can help you achieve that. Our experts specialise in performance optimisation and can help you unlock the full potential of your Google PageSpeed Insights report. Give us a call today!

Frequently Asked Questions

How to export Google PageSpeed Insights?

You can export your Google PageSpeed Insights report by clicking the “Download Report” button at the bottom of the results page. Alternatively, developers can use the PageSpeed Insights API to extract data for more in-depth performance analysis.

Is PageSpeed Insights API free?

Yes, the PageSpeed Insights API is free to use. However, usage limits depend on your Google Cloud account, and higher request volumes may require billing for additional quota.

How accurate is Google PageSpeed Insights?

PageSpeed Insights provides reliable performance data based on real-world user experience (field data) and lab simulations. However, results can vary depending on server response times, third-party scripts, and network conditions during testing.

How do I check my website for SEO Google?

While the Google PageSpeed Insights report focuses on performance metrics, you can check your site’s SEO health using Google Search Console. This tool helps you monitor keyword rankings, indexing issues, and mobile usability to improve your site’s visibility in search results.

What is the limit of Google PageSpeed Insights?

There’s no limit to how many times you can manually check a URL with PageSpeed Insights. However, if you’re using the API, Google imposes a daily quota of 25,000 requests per project.

About the Author

Tom Koh

Tom is the CEO and Principal Consultant of MediaOne, a leading digital marketing agency. He has consulted for MNCs like Canon, Maybank, Capitaland, SingTel, ST Engineering, WWF, Cambridge University, as well as Government organisations like Enterprise Singapore, Ministry of Law, National Galleries, NTUC, e2i, SingHealth. His articles are published and referenced in CNA, Straits Times, MoneyFM, Financial Times, Yahoo! Finance, Hubspot, Zendesk, CIO Advisor.

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