Testing Google Test My Site: How good is the new performance tool?

With PageSpeed Insights and Webpagetest, Google has been providing webmasters with two powerful tools to improve the performance of their websites for some time now. At the end of 2016, the Test My Site was added as a third tool. Now Google is giving it an update - time to take a closer look.

For some time now, webmasters have been able to use PageSpeed Insights to test the performance potential of their site and discover which adjustments lead to an improvement in page load time. Webpagetest.org also highlights potential for improvement, but is also a real measurement tool for your page load time. Webpagetest can also show you directly what effects your optimization measures have.

Test My Site is mobile only

There are good reasons not to neglect the topic of page speed. After all, the loading speed of a page has been confirmed as a ranking factor for Google since 2014 albeit only a minor one, but a relevant one nonetheless. Its relevance can be seen from the fact that Google only very rarely explicitly reveals which factors influence the ranking.

So what does Test My Site do? The tool has existed since the end of last year and works in a similar way to PageSpeed Insights, albeit with one important addition: in addition to the degree of optimization of your site, it also tests the page speed and user-friendliness of your site. But - and this is very important - only for mobile access to your site.

By default, the page view is simulated via a 3G connection. Google assumes that around 70 percent of all mobile data worldwide will be transmitted via 3G or even slower by 2020. The results of the test are not only nicely presented, but - unlike Google PageSpeed Insights - also show the absolute loading time of your page. And Google also puts your page load time directly in relation to the respective industry average.

For the first time, webmasters now have a tool at their disposal that provides an exclusive insight into the mobile performance of the site and presents the relevant data in an attractive and easy-to-understand format. Until now, webmasters who wanted to explicitly test the mobile performance of their sites had to dig through the mountains of data provided by Webpagetest.

This is what the new version of Test My Site can do: Loading speed, estimation of lost users, industry benchmarks

Compared to the previous version, Google has added some data in the evaluation of the test:

The loading speed of the page: The magic limit is three seconds - if the page takes longer to load, more than half of the visitors will be lost , according to Google.
An estimate of how many visitors you are losing due to slow loading times: Google assumes that conversions can drop by up to 20 percent for every additional second of loading time.
How your site compares compared to competitors in the industry. The values of these benchmarks are calculated from Google's own data on "more than five million websites". The best 30 percent of your region are included in the specific benchmark for your offer. This is therefore not an absolute value.
And last but not least, you have the option of receiving additional information and instructions on how to improve the site in an e-mail.

Test My Site results based on webpage test

Neither the previous nor the new version provide completely new data. In fact, the results are based on Webpagetest. In addition, the recommendations for action are the same as for PageSpeed Insights. Hence the tip: If you know how to use Webpagetest, it makes sense to obtain the data directly from the original tool. This is because Webpagetest simply offers the better measurement options, especially in terms of the test settings, test location and much more.

Mobile is becoming increasingly important according to Google

So why a new test? Mobile is becoming more and more important in the eyes of Google. The search engine giant seems to be really promoting the topic at the moment. Last but not least, numerous current case studies from Google describe how local companies can increase their success with mobile optimization measures and campaigns. For example:

The official Google Webmaster Central blog also announced back in November 2016 that initial internal tests were underway to rank websites primarily based on their mobile version - keyword mobile first indexing.

Test My Site should therefore not be seen as a revolutionary innovation, but rather as an initiative by Google to further emphasize the importance of well-functioning mobile websites. Webmasters should probably be educated to pay more attention to their mobile sites.

And of course it must be mentioned that Google has a perfect lead collection machine at its disposal via the test results sent by email.

Especially if you earn money with your site, mobile optimization is a must

For whom is mobile optimization essential?

The short answer: for webmasters who earn money with their website, because the importance of mobile access is constantly increasing.

The long answer: actually for everyone whose users come via mobile devices. Even if you don't monetize your site directly, you probably still have an interest in ranking as well as possible. That's why you should at least take a look at your mobile loading speed. As I said, mobile first is coming - not tomorrow and probably not the day after tomorrow eitherbut you can use the time to prepare for it.

Statistics show: Mobile is on the rise

Statistics on user behavior show just how relevant the topic is right now and will become in the coming years. According to the Global Digital Report 2017 by the US agency We Are Social, 82% of all Germans use a cell phone - putting us in first place out of the 31 countries surveyed.

But not all cell phones are the same. According to Statista, the proportion of users who mainly use the Internet via a smartphone in Germany is is 30 percent, far below the global average of around 50 percent.

This graphic illustrates the surfing behavior with smartphones of Germans aged 14 and over. — 49% of Germans over the age of 14 already use their smartphone on a daily basis.

That doesn't look like much at first: The majority of Germans do not yet use their cell phones primarily for surfing. The emphasis here is on "mainly". Of course, other devices are also used, but this does not mean that optimization for smartphones can be neglected. Even today, the average time spent on the Internet via mobile devices in Germany is around 87 minutesand, according to the ARD/ZDF online study 2016, almost 50 percent of Germans aged 14 and over surfed the internet on their smartphone every day. If you also include those who at least rarely use their smartphone to access the internet, it even overtakes laptops as the most common internet device.

The pie chart shows that the smartphone overtakes the laptop as the most frequently used Internet device with 66% at least infrequent use. — With 66% at least infrequent use, the smartphone even overtakes the laptop as the most frequently used Internet device.

And you can assume that the number of users who are increasingly surfing on their mobile phones will continue to rise in the future: Because sooner or later, all cell phone users will probably be smartphone users at the same time.

Mobile optimization: Relevance depends heavily on the behavior of your visitors

Does this mean that you should also update the mobile version of your website?

Yes, mobile optimization should be taken seriously because it can open up sales potential. But Google Analytics, for example, provides information on how directly relevant the topic is for you. Here you can see what percentage of your visitors are already coming from mobile devices.

You can also use Google Analytics to determine whether a detailed analysis and mobile optimization of your site with Google Test My Site is worthwhile. — Google Analytics can show you exactly how many sessions, users etc. have accessed your website via the various devices and operating systems. If the percentage of mobile visits is too low, it may make sense to classify mobile optimization as less relevant than if a significant percentage of your visitors access your site via mobile devices. You can find the necessary data on mobile access in Google Analytics under "Target group" -> "Mobile"

You should check this to assess the importance of mobile optimization for your website. The more users come via mobile devices, the better your mobile site should perform to ensure the best possible user experience. However, if hardly any users come to you via a mobile device, optimization tends to be prioritized even lower here.

Test My Site - step by step

But back to the Google tool. Let's take a look at what Test My Site has to offer using the example of raidboxes.de.

This image shows the start of the test for mobile websites using Google's Test My Site tool. — The Google Test My Site homepage already gives you a good taste of what to expect. We personally liked the tool very much. Although the design is a matter of taste, the presentation of the data is definitely clear and easy to read and understand.

The handling of Test My Site is very simple: On the start page you enter the URL you want to test (probably your own) and the tool starts the test.

Now Test My Site analyzes the data of your website: the HTML and CSS files are checked as well as the JavaScript files and the compression.

The image shows how the mobile site data is analyzed with Google's Test My Site tool. — A test run of Test My Site takes about one minute. During this time, Google-style animations wipe across the screen. Nice, but has no further information value for the later evaluation.

Less than a minute later, the results are ready: You find out how quickly your site loads on mobile and how much visitor loss you have to fear due to the loading time.

Here you can see how the results of the test are provided after a short time. — The results of Google Test My Site are divided into three sections. The first gives you an overview of the "performance" of your site. In addition to the concrete (rounded) numbers, the Google tool also uses a color code to help you interpret the results.

In the second section of the results overview, you will find the industry comparison. Especially if you work in an industry whose customers tend to be tech-savvy, you can gain an edge over the competition with a particularly fast mobile site. You also have the option of comparing your loading speed with the average of another industry.

This screenshot shows what the industry comparison in Test My Site looks like. — In this area too, Test My Site uses a color code in addition to the specific figures to help you read and interpret the results. The selected diagram also makes it much easier to understand the results: not only are the specific values and value ranges shown, but - thanks to the scaling with zero point - you can also see how much potential there is for mobile optimization.

And last but not least, Google lets you know how much optimization potential your site has. In our case, this is around three seconds. This means that our loading speed would only be one second - sounds tempting.

This image shows how much acceleration is still possible on the respective page according to Test My Site. — In the last point, the potential analysis, Test My Site unfortunately remains somewhat vague. In addition, you will only receive the complete information if you have it sent to you by e-mail.

So how could we manage to reduce our loading speed by around three seconds? Additional information about the optimization potential can be viewed with just one click. However, this information is rather brief at first.

Here you can see the most important optimizations that Google's Test My Site suggests at a glance. — Anyone who uses Google PageSpeed Insights will immediately recognize the optimization tips from Test My Site. This is because they are simply identical.

The fly in the ointment: the mail barrier

I've already mentioned it: with Test My Site, Google has also developed a tool for lead generation. You can also have all the information from the test sent to you by email. You will then receive a neat overview with further links.

This screenshot shows how you can have the detailed test results from Test My Site sent to you by e-mail. — The overview that Test My Site sends you by e-mail looks good, contains a few additional links, but overall does not offer any more information than the online test. The benefit therefore lies more in archiving the test results.

The recommendations for action are structured thematically and prioritized using a traffic light system. The links in the email lead to the developer section of the PageSpeed Insights tool, which explains, for example, how to properly compress CSS and JavaScript resources. However, technical understanding is required to implement the advice. For webmasters who are not concerned with what happens behind the scenes, these pages offer little concrete help. In this case, some further training and education is required.

Google Test My Site inherits the weaknesses of Google PageSpeed Insights

It must also be said at this point that Google PageSpeed Insights does not always make sensible suggestions for improvement. The best example is browser caching: PageSpeed Insights actually advises making better use of caching in almost every test we have carried out in the past. However, you need to know that the non-cached resources mentioned by Google are external resources that cannot be cached at all. And, of course, think about this when optimizing your site. Otherwise, you get caught up in shadow boxing with pseudo-errors instead of tackling the important optimization measures. Google Test My Site has definitely inherited this weakness from Google PageSpeed Insights.

Conclusion: Google Test My Site is old wine in new bottles

The bottom line is that Test My Site offers few advantages over the older Google tools. The data is identical to that provided by Webpagetest and PageSpeed Insights. The suggestions for action also come from PageSpeed Insights and have their weaknesses and pitfalls. Only those who know these can anticipate them sensibly during optimization. All others must first familiarize themselves more deeply with the subject matter. Test My Site does not make mobile optimization any easier.

Nevertheless, Test My Site is not a tool for the garbage can. The design is top, the handling is fun. And this is probably the biggest advantage of the test. Thanks to its all-round good usability and the clearly presented results, it encourages site owners to address the issue of mobile loading speed in the first place. And mobile will become increasingly important in the coming years. Even if less tech-savvy webmasters cannot implement the advice from Test My Site directly: They are an initial impetus as to which knowledge gaps need to be closed in order not to miss the boat.

However, you can only achieve a really good and in-depth analysis of your site with other tools. We personally are big fans of Webpagetest. Although the tool also requires some training, it offers excellent setting options and delivers data en masse.