Web page load velocity, amongst different Core Internet Vitals, is a recognized Google natural rating issue. Whereas we have now the PageSpeed Insights software, it sadly solely works on one web page at a time.
The Web page Timings report in Common Analytics surfaced particular pages in your website that had been slowest, permitting you to prioritize which pages to judge and optimize.
The software was notably useful you probably have a big website with hundreds of pages to research. Armed with the checklist of downside URLs, you may then prioritize pages for assessment utilizing the PageSpeed Insights software.
However Google didn’t embody the Web page Timings report in GA4, so the place can you discover related info now?
Under are a number of free and paid instruments that may allow you to pinpoint your downside pages and prioritize their optimization.
1. Google Search Console
- Professionals: Free.
- Cons: Extremely guide, no API connections.
Google Search Console (GSC) gives a Core Internet Vitals report and even separates the info by cellular versus desktop.
Nevertheless, whereas GSC gives some examples of URLs affected, it doesn’t present a full checklist. As an alternative, it teams pages collectively and exhibits examples from the group. The info can be not simply downloadable to a CSV for monitoring.
In case your purpose is common monitoring, you’ll must log in to GSC and assessment the info inside the software. The GSC API doesn’t help exporting core internet vitals report knowledge, so you possibly can’t pull GSC knowledge into Looker Studio or different visualization instruments.
2. Screaming Frog
- Professionals: Completely indexes websites, connects to PageSpeed Insights API (with a key you present), scheduling obtainable.
- Cons: Paid software, desktop-based.
A protracted-time favourite of website positioning professionals, Screaming Frog software program has many beneficial website positioning purposes, however crucial factor for this text is that it gives web page load occasions.
It will probably additional be linked to the PageSpeed Insights software utilizing a key from the PageSpeed Insights API to import Core Internet Vitals knowledge instantly into the PageSpeed report:
The one actual disadvantage to Screaming Frog is that as a result of it’s a desktop-based utility, the pc you host it on needs to be turned on and linked to the online when the report runs. This makes the software much less optimum for dashboarding and extremely common knowledge monitoring.
One workaround is to have a desktop laptop that’s all the time turned on. I did this in my company for a few years with a devoted, outdated desktop laptop operating Screaming Frog.
As a result of the software permits for scheduling, the scheduled report can run on the appointed time so long as the pc is on and linked to the web. Moreover, you possibly can join Screaming Frog to a Google Drive account and export the report tabs to Google Sheets:
If you wish to use the add for dashboarding, select the Overwrite recordsdata in output, which can will let you simply replace the identical Google Sheet.
As soon as the info is in a Google Sheet, you possibly can import it into different platforms, equivalent to Looker Studio, to create dashboards and visualizations or create thresholds to ship e mail alerts utilizing Apps Script.
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3. Ahrefs
- Professionals: Completely indexes websites, scheduling obtainable, cloud-based utility, connects to the PageSpeed Insights API (with a key you present).
- Cons: Paid software, guide knowledge export.
Ahrefs has lengthy been an website positioning favourite for monitoring backlinks, however the software additionally has a strong website audit software that tracks web page load velocity because it indexes an internet site.
Like Screaming Frog, you possibly can join PageSpeed Insights on to the positioning audit to see particular core internet vitals optimizations that must be made:
When you can export stories to Google Sheets, it’s a guide course of. Website audits will be scheduled for normal intervals.
Sadly, the Ahrefs API doesn’t seem to have a technique to robotically export the outcomes, leaving it a little bit of a guide course of and fewer than best for dashboarding and close to real-time stories.
4. Semrush
- Professionals: Completely indexes websites, scheduling obtainable, cloud-based utility, connects to the PageSpeed Insights API (no key wanted).
- Cons: Paid software, guide knowledge export.
One other fashionable website positioning software is Semrush, and it additionally has a website audit characteristic that critiques web page load velocity and lists the pages with the longest load occasions:
Not like Ahrefs and Screaming Frog, you aren’t required to enter a private PageSpeed Insights API key to attach core internet vitals optimization info on to the audit.
Once more, with this software, nevertheless, the info export for this report is guide. Semrush has an API, although, and it’ll report on web page load velocity points. Nevertheless, the API is just obtainable for enterprise plans and better, which begin at $499/month.
5. Add web page velocity into GA4 utilizing customized dimensions
- Professionals: Free, measures precise person knowledge for web page load velocity by web page, scheduling not required, cloud-based utility.
- Cons: Solely begins monitoring knowledge as soon as applied (no historic knowledge), doesn’t robotically join with PageSpeed Insights API.
Another choice to revive web page load velocity in Google Analytics is to create a customized dimension. You should use that customized dimension to create an Explorations report, import knowledge into Looker Studio or export knowledge utilizing the GA4 API or numerous instruments that incorporate the API.
Measure Faculty has an wonderful tutorial on find out how to observe web page load velocity utilizing Google Tag Supervisor and customized dimensions in GA4.
A number of free and paid instruments can export your checklist of gradual pages utilizing the customized dimension to Google Sheets, together with the free Google Sheets extension GA4 Experiences Builder for Google Sheets.
Not like its predecessor in Common Analytics, this extension doesn’t have scheduling functionality. I personally use Supermetrics, which is a paid software however gives me entry to a number of APIs, together with GA4, and permits me to schedule stories.
Connecting with the PageSpeed Insights API
After getting your checklist of the positioning’s slowest pages, although, you’re not utterly completed! Screaming Frog, Ahrefs and Semrush pull Core Internet Vitals optimizations into their platforms utilizing the PageSpeed Insights API.
Should you’re not utilizing a type of instruments, you’ll both must interrogate every URL within the PageSpeed Insights software manually, one after the other, or you too can use the PageSpeed Insights API to make these queries for you.
Should you’re not an internet developer or expert with coding, there are happily instruments that you should utilize to faucet into APIs, together with the PageSpeed Insights API, to get the particular core internet vitals particulars you want for optimization.
My private favourite is Zapier, which has a webhook zap permitting even non-developers a simplified technique to join your checklist of gradual URLs to the PageSpeed Insights and pull in whichever knowledge factors are most necessary:
Optimizing photographs can typically be a fast means to enhance web page load velocity. Within the zap instance above, I solely pull in picture particulars for every URL for a website with over 10,000 pages. This permits me a quick technique to discover:
- Which pages are slowest.
- Of these pages, which of them are gradual as a result of photographs that must be resized.
- Make an inventory of the pictures that must be resized and prioritize them by biggest load time saved per picture.
The advantage of this strategy is that it really can present near-real-time reporting and dashboarding, whereas the opposite options nonetheless have drawbacks that make them lower than best for dashboard stories.
Nevertheless, you proceed to measure web page load velocity for natural search optimization, every resolution requires some set-up and work. So, in case you haven’t already began on an answer, get began instantly so that you could shortly mine fast wins for website positioning and enhance your downside pages.
Opinions expressed on this article are these of the visitor creator and never essentially Search Engine Land. Employees authors are listed right here.
