Google PageSpeed Insights for SEO Audits

Learn what Google PageSpeed Insights is and how website owners can use this free tool to audit their SEO performance and improve site speed.

Google PageSpeed Insights is a free tool by Google that analyzes the content of a web page, then generates suggestions to make that page faster. It's crucial for SEO because page speed is a significant ranking factor. Faster websites offer a better user experience, leading to lower bounce rates and higher conversions, all of which Google favors.

Understanding PageSpeed Insights

PageSpeed Insights provides a score for both mobile and desktop versions of your site, ranging from 0 to 100. It also gives you two key metrics: Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS) and other performance diagnostics. These metrics are vital as they reflect real-world user experience and directly influence your search engine rankings.

How to Perform a Free SEO Audit

Auditing your website's SEO using Google PageSpeed Insights is straightforward and completely free. Follow these simple steps:

  1. Access the Tool: Open your web browser and navigate to the Google PageSpeed Insights website.
  2. Enter Your URL: In the provided input field, type or paste the URL of the web page you want to analyze. It's best to check individual key pages (homepage, service pages, blog posts) rather than just your root domain.
  3. Analyze: Click the "Analyze" button. In a few seconds, Google will process your page and present a detailed report.
  4. Review the Scores: Look at the scores for both mobile and desktop. A score of 90-100 is generally considered good. If your scores are low, there's room for improvement.
  5. Examine Core Web Vitals: Pay close attention to the Core Web Vitals section. These are critical for your site's health and SEO. They include Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
  6. Read the Opportunities and Diagnostics: Scroll down to the "Opportunities" and "Diagnostics" sections. This is where PageSpeed Insights gives you actionable recommendations. For instance, it might suggest optimizing images, eliminating render-blocking resources, or enabling text compression.
  7. Implement Recommendations: Work through the suggestions provided. Even small improvements can significantly impact your page speed and, consequently, your SEO.
  8. Re-test: After implementing changes, re-run the analysis to see the improvement in your scores and metrics.

Regularly auditing your website with Google PageSpeed Insights helps you maintain a fast, user-friendly, and SEO-optimized online presence. It's an indispensable tool for any website owner looking to improve their search engine visibility without spending a dime.