The internet is a continually changing environment, and it’s vital that business owners continuously improve online offerings if they want their business to remain relevant. What people expect from a website changes over time, and web developers will need to update and upgrade their sites to meet the expectations of consumers. This trend can easily be seen with website speed. To help business owners ensure their sites are meeting expectations, Google is testing a new website speed report.
Ensuring your website is running at adequate speeds is essential for generating revenue from your website. If a site loads too slowly, many consumers will close the site and try the next listing in the search engine results. The copy on your website has less than 10 seconds to capture the attention of your audience. If your pages are loading slowly, you may lose the potential customer before they even get a chance to see your messaging.
The new speed reports are powered by CrUX data. The document will give website owners an aggregated view of various metrics. Users will be able to take an in-depth look at the sections of the report to find specific issues affecting speed, plus some see particular examples of those issues on the site.
This kind of data reporting is more useful for marketer owners than traditional speed reports that simply say if a site is running too slowly, without providing actionable information on ways to resolve the issue.
Though the reports aren’t available to everyone, users with access have shared screenshots of the system in action. The report shows the users which pages are classified as slow, average or fast. By clicking on the various section, users will see further details.
The data itself was available in other forms in different parts of Google, but the new reports will make it better for webmasters and SEO marketers. With the data in Google Search Console, SEOs and webmasters can access this information in a single place and without using PageSpeed tools.
These new reports aren’t the first time Google has tried to improve the online ecosystem by encouraging faster-loading websites. Their most significant effort, which was mostly successful, came when the search giant turned website speed into a ranking factor. The new speed report will help the website boost their rankings in Google Search by showing specific actions and areas that need to be improved to increase a site’s speed.
The new speed reports are currently in beta testing, and there’s no time frame for when they will become available for all users. It’s theoretically possible that Google won’t release this tool to the public, but that seems unlikely. It’s a tool with limitless potential to help website owners and SEO experts. Business owners who wish to have their sites added to the beta trial can apply online through Google.
For more recent news about updates and changes from Google, read this article on the beta test for reCAPTCHA Enterprise. This feature should make it easier for website owners to prevent attacks from spam, bots, and other scripted processes.
