Frequently Asked Questions
Answering is the Lifeline of a Business Success
Many people believe that Googlebot measures page load speed, but that’s not the case. Googlebot itself doesn’t assess website speed.
There’s a common misconception that Google uses tools like PageSpeed Insights to determine site performance scores. However, this isn’t true. Google relies on real end-user monitoring (RUM) to evaluate site speed. This approach is more accurate, as it measures performance directly from users’ web browsers and real-world bandwidth conditions, rather than relying on simulations.
“Onload time” refers to the time it takes for all page resources—visible elements like text and images, as well as invisible ones like third-party analytics—to fully render in the browser. (In technical terms, it’s also called “document complete time” or “load time.”)
While onload time is a key performance metric, it’s not without limitations. It doesn’t indicate when a page becomes interactive for users. For example, a page with a 10-second onload time might already be highly interactive within 3 to 5 seconds. This discrepancy often occurs due to factors like third-party content, such as analytics scripts, which can inflate load times despite not affecting user experience.
The takeaway: Even if your site feels fast to you and your users, long onload times can signal poor performance to Google. To achieve both user satisfaction and favorable metrics, optimizing onload time remains crucial.
Google measure every page visited by users on your site.
Last year, Google introduced a new feature in Google Analytics called Site Speed. This feature allows Analytics users who enable it to measure and report real-world page speed. It provides insights into which pages are the fastest and slowest, how load times differ across regions, and how various browsers affect page performance.
While this data seems incredibly useful for optimizing site performance, it’s important to note that Google does not use any of the data collected in Google Analytics to influence search rankings. Their silence on this topic confirms that Site Speed is solely a tool for site owners to analyze and improve their website’s performance, not a direct factor in SEO rankings.
“Deferral” is a powerful optimization technique that delays the loading of non-essential resources, like third-party scripts, until after the onload event. This approach prioritizes critical content, ensuring faster page rendering for users. Google considers deferral a legitimate and effective optimization method. By improving onload time, deferral can directly enhance a page’s performance score in Google’s metrics.
“Start render time” differs from “onload time” as it measures when content first begins to appear in the user’s browser. While this can be tracked, it doesn’t necessarily indicate whether the initial content is valuable or simply ads and widgets.
That said, start render time remains a useful metric, offering insights into a page’s performance trends over time. However, Google doesn’t currently include it in its ranking factors, focusing solely on onload time. In my view, enhancing Google’s search algorithm to reward pages that begin loading content faster could be a valuable improvement.
When it comes to page speed, it’s relatively straightforward to explain how Google evaluates it, but answering how much it matters is trickier. Opinions vary—some argue that improving page speed has minimal impact on search rankings, while others cite case studies showing organic traffic growth of 20% to 40% after making their pages faster.
From my perspective, if SEO is a priority for you, page speed should be too. While it may not be the most critical ranking factor, it’s still a factor. With Google’s search algorithm shrouded in mystery, you can never be certain which optimization will propel your site from page 3 to page 1. For many websites, improving speed might just be the tipping point they need.
