How to Improve Your Google PageSpeed Score
Ben Foord3 min readA low PageSpeed score usually comes down to a handful of fixable causes. Here's what actually moves the number, in order of impact.
Running your site through PageSpeed Insights and getting back a low score is a common (and slightly demoralising) moment. The good news is that most low scores come down to a small set of recurring causes - and fixing the biggest ones first moves the number a lot faster than chasing every minor suggestion on the report.
What the PageSpeed Score Actually Measures
PageSpeed Insights is Google's free tool that scores a page from 0-100 based on Lighthouse performance data, combined (where available) with real-world Core Web Vitals data from Chrome users who've visited the page. The score is a weighted combination of several metrics measured during a simulated page load - it isn't just "how fast the page loads" in one simple sense.
The Fixes That Move the Score Most
1. Compress and Resize Images
Oversized images are the single most common cause of a poor score. A 4MB photo displayed at 400px wide is being downloaded at full size and shrunk by the browser - wasted bandwidth and wasted load time. Compress images, serve them in modern formats (WebP or AVIF), and size them appropriately for where they're displayed.
2. Eliminate Render-Blocking Resources
CSS and JavaScript that load before your visible content delays everything else. Defer non-critical scripts, inline critical CSS, and load third-party scripts (chat widgets, tracking pixels, ad code) asynchronously wherever possible so they don't hold up the page.
3. Reduce Server Response Time
If your server takes a long time to respond to the very first request, everything downstream is delayed before optimisation even starts. Fast, reliable hosting and server-side caching make a measurable difference here.
4. Minimise Layout Shift
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) - one of the three Core Web Vitals - measures how much content unexpectedly jumps around as a page loads. Reserve space for images and ads with explicit width/height attributes, and avoid injecting content above existing content after the page has started rendering.
5. Trim Third-Party Scripts
Chat widgets, analytics tools, ad networks, and embedded content (like YouTube videos or social media widgets) each add their own load time on top of your own site. Audit what's actually necessary, and remove or defer anything that isn't earning its place.
What Not to Obsess Over
A perfect 100 score isn't the goal, and chasing it can cost more developer time than it's worth. Google itself has said a "good" Core Web Vitals result matters more for rankings than the specific PageSpeed number. Aim for the "good" threshold on Core Web Vitals and a comfortably high score - not diminishing-returns perfectionism on the last few points.
Where to Start
Rather than guessing which fix applies to your site, run a scan and work from the specific issues it flags, in order of impact. AuditCrow's scan checks page speed alongside your broader technical fundamentals - covered in our technical SEO checklist - and prioritises what to fix first. For the bigger picture on why this matters beyond the score itself, read why website speed matters.