Google PageSpeed Insights
How to connect PageSpeed Insights, what Core Web Vitals data is added to your analysis, how the rating thresholds work, and what the opportunities section tells you.
PageSpeed integration requires Pro, Business, or Agency. On the Free plan, PageSpeed data is not fetched and Core Web Vitals are not included in the analysis result.
Pro, Business & AgencyWhat it adds to your analysis
When PageSpeed is enabled, each analysis automatically fetches performance data for the analyzed page’s live URL from Google’s PageSpeed Insights API. This data is appended to the analysis result as a dedicated performance section — giving you SEO, AEO, E-E-A-T, and performance signals in one place.
The integration uses Google’s mobile strategy — scores and timings reflect how the page performs on a mobile device, which is the primary scoring basis Google uses for ranking decisions.
PageSpeed data is cached for 24 hours per URL. If you run analysis on the same page twice within 24 hours, the second run uses the cached result. This keeps PageSpeed API usage low and analysis faster. If you have made performance improvements and want fresh data, wait 24 hours or clear the cache via WordPress transients.
The six metrics explained
The PageSpeed section in your analysis result shows six performance metrics. Here is what each one measures and why it matters for SEO.
Time until the largest visible element loads. Google’s primary Core Web Vital. Good: under 2.5s. Poor: over 4s.
Visual stability — how much page elements shift unexpectedly after loading. Good: under 0.1. Poor: over 0.25.
Time until any content first appears. Good: under 1.8s. Poor: over 3s.
Time the main thread is blocked from responding to input. Good: under 200ms. Poor: over 600ms.
Time until the page is fully interactive. Used as supporting context — not a Core Web Vital.
A composite 0–100 score across all Lighthouse performance audits. 90+ is good, 50–89 needs improvement, under 50 is poor.
Rating thresholds
Each metric is rated Good, Needs improvement, or Poor based on the following thresholds — the same thresholds Google uses in its own PageSpeed Insights interface.
| Metric | Good | Needs improvement | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | Under 2.5s | 2.5s – 4.0s | Over 4.0s |
| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | Under 0.1 | 0.1 – 0.25 | Over 0.25 |
| FCP (First Contentful Paint) | Under 1.8s | 1.8s – 3.0s | Over 3.0s |
| TBT (Total Blocking Time) | Under 200ms | 200ms – 600ms | Over 600ms |
| Performance score | 90 – 100 | 50 – 89 | 0 – 49 |
In the plugin, a metric with a score of 0.9 or above maps to Good, 0.5–0.89 maps to Needs improvement, and below 0.5 maps to Poor. These ratings appear as colour-coded labels next to each metric value in the analysis result.
The opportunities section
Alongside the metric values, the PageSpeed section includes a list of improvement opportunities — specific technical issues that are contributing to a lower performance score. The plugin surfaces opportunities where the audit score is below 0.9, and shows the estimated savings for each one.
The full set of opportunities the plugin checks includes: render-blocking resources, unused CSS, unused JavaScript, unoptimized images, non-responsive images, images not in WebP format, inefficient animated content, and missing text compression. These are the eight audits most commonly actionable for WordPress sites.
The plugin reports these opportunities but does not fix them. Resolving performance issues requires changes to your theme, plugins, server configuration, or image delivery setup. Use a caching plugin, image optimization tool, or your hosting provider’s performance features to act on the opportunities listed.
How to set up the integration
Confirm your plan includes PageSpeed
PageSpeed requires Pro, Business, or Agency. Go to Dashboard and check your plan badge. If you are on Free, upgrade first.
Optionally get a PageSpeed API key
An API key is not required but increases your rate limits. Without one, requests use shared anonymous quota — which works fine for most sites but can be slower on busy days. To get a key: open Google Cloud Console, create or select a project, enable the PageSpeed Insights API, go to Credentials, and create an API key.
The API key is free — Google does not charge for PageSpeed Insights API usageAdd the key in Settings
Go to SEO Copilot AI → Settings → Google PageSpeed Insights and paste the key into the PageSpeed API key field. Click Save. The key is stored locally and only used when making PageSpeed API requests.
Run an analysis on a published page
PageSpeed data is fetched using the live public URL of the page. The page must be published and publicly accessible — draft pages have no public URL and cannot be tested. Go to Analyze, select a published page, and run the analysis. The PageSpeed section will appear in the result.
What to keep in mind
- Results use mobile strategy — scores reflect mobile performance, not desktop. A page may score differently if you test it in the Google PageSpeed web interface using desktop mode
- Data is cached for 24 hours — running analysis multiple times in one day returns the same PageSpeed numbers unless the cache has expired
- PageSpeed scores fluctuate naturally — server load, CDN routing, and third-party script availability all affect results. A single data point is less meaningful than a trend over multiple runs
- Performance improvements only appear in results after the cache expires — make your changes, wait 24 hours, then re-analyze to see updated data
- Draft and password-protected pages cannot be tested — the PageSpeed API requires a publicly accessible URL
Common questions
The PageSpeed section is not appearing in my analysis result
The most common causes are: the page is a draft (not publicly accessible), the plan is Free, or the API returned an error. Check that the page is published, confirm your plan includes PageSpeed, and re-run the analysis. If it still does not appear, the API may be temporarily unavailable — try again later.
My score looks much lower than what I see in Google Search Console
The plugin uses Lighthouse lab data (a simulated mobile test), while Search Console shows field data (real-user measurements). Lab data is typically more conservative and can differ significantly from field data. Both are useful — lab data identifies specific issues to fix, while field data reflects actual user experience.
How do I get fresh PageSpeed data before the 24-hour cache expires?
The cache is stored as a WordPress transient. You can clear it by going to Tools → Delete Transients (requires a transient-management plugin) or by clearing your site’s object cache if you use one. Alternatively, the cache key is based on the URL MD5 hash — clearing all scai_psi_* transients will force a fresh fetch on the next analysis run.
Does PageSpeed data affect my SEO, AEO, or E-E-A-T scores?
No. The PageSpeed section is informational — it is appended to the analysis result but does not feed into the SEO, AEO, or E-E-A-T scores. The scores reflect content and structure signals, not performance timing. Performance is surfaced separately so you can act on it without it distorting the content-focused scores.
Is there a cost for using the PageSpeed API?
No. Google does not charge for PageSpeed Insights API usage. The API key is free and has no associated billing. The rate limits are the only practical constraint — anonymous quota is shared across all WordPress sites making unauthenticated requests, while an API key gives you a dedicated, higher limit.
Where to go next
- Google Search Console — connect real ranking data to complement the PageSpeed performance view
- Analyze — how the full analysis result looks with PageSpeed included
- Settings — where to add the PageSpeed API key