Discover the meaning of fast page label by Google; why it is important to you as a website owner or just a visitor to a website.
Since the pandemic began, digital companies have worked tirelessly to introduce new and improved features on their platforms. A unique feature introduced by Google is the ability to identify websites with fast page loading times. It is for this reason that it is known as the Fast Page Label.
The Fast Page Label is useful for helping users identify the websites with the fastest loading times. If a user runs out of data, it will help them decide which search result to open, provided that the tag (or an icon we think you will get in the future) hits Google Search. Like what AMP is doing today. Fast Page Day is part of the flagship Web Vitals initiative announced in May. What is the Fast Page Label on Google? Let’s take a quick look.
What is the ‘Fast Page’ label?
As a search engine, Google measures the page load times of every indexed website. It helps Google deliver better websites and better results to its users. To use this data, Google started to mark sites with fast loading times as “Fast Page”. That way, you can see which websites open immediately with no waiting. This can help you save bandwidth and time, which can significantly improve your workflow if you use Google to search daily.
How do I find the Fast Page Label for a page or website?
Required: As of August 20, 2020, the Fast Pages Label will only be available in the Chrome Beta app for Android. Therefore, iPhone, iPad, and desktop users can currently use this feature.
Finding the Fast Pages Label is a fairly straightforward process. This function is still in its infancy and is only available to certain users as an experimental function. In Chrome’s beta app on an Android device, all you have to do is long-press a link to open the context menu and see if the link is titled Fast Page or not. As soon as the submenu is displayed, the name “Fast Page” is displayed next to the corresponding link.
Note: This is currently an experimental feature and will cause some features of your browser to crash or function incorrectly. If you have problems surfing, please disable the Fast Pages Label tag to improve the performance of your browser.
Requirement:
Chrome Beta (v85) for Android
Step by step instructions
Open the Chrome Beta app on your Android device and enter the URL below into your address bar.
chrome: // flags
Now scroll down and look for “Remote Track Performance Information and Context Menu”. By the way, you can just search for it.
Press the drop-down menu next to the indicator and select “enabled”.
At the bottom of the screen, tap Relaunch.
Chrome will now restart with settings enabled. Now go to the link that you want to test.
Visit any website. You can use Wikipedia, for example. Now press and hold any link to open the content menu as shown below. If available, a Fast Pages Label will appear at the top just below the link address.
You should now be able to use this feature easily while browsing the Internet.
Is there a Fast Page icon?
There is currently no fast page icon (as of August 20, 2020). However, as the feature continues to be tested and improved, Google is expected to add a special icon.
Google uses a lightning bolt in search results to bookmark AMP-enabled web pages. This feature was also introduced after Google supported stable versions of AMP. We, therefore, expect that a specific icon for the Fast Pages will appear later.
For now, you must manually enable this experimental feature at your own risk and use the touch-and-hold method to identify Fast Page Label by Google on various links.
Is Fast Page Tag Essential for a Website? Do you need a quick label?
Not really, just like AMP, the Fast Page Label by Google is an optional feature that your website can use to rank higher, but it’s by no means a necessity. A Fast Page Label also increases your chances of increasing your click-through rate and decreasing your bounce rate, as most users will get content faster than your competition.
By the day, Google Search also gets an incentive to rank your website above your competitors, resulting in better income. So if you want better results from your website, then you should try getting the Fast Page Label, but it is not required. If your content is better than your competition, you should be able to master the topic without the Fast Page Label By Google.
What if my website doesn’t have the Fast Page label?
If your website isn’t marked “Fast Page” by Google, your website will take a long time to load for most users compared to your competition and other websites. Your page loading times can be slow for various reasons, it could be your hosting server, your website could be misconfigured, or your images could be too heavy. You need to contact your IT professional to resolve this issue.
How do I get the Fast Page Label by Google on the pages of your website?
There is no specific way to get this tag. All you need to do is optimize your website to get better performance on most devices. You can use Google’s analytics tools to better identify the causes of slow loading times.
With “Page Insights” from Google, you can determine average loading times for pages and test your performance. You should first look at your website code and remove any remaining themes or old widgets. You should also consider eliminating high-resolution images and possibly using a compression service. A great way to improve the loading times of your pages is to use dynamic resolution scaling for your website, which will choose the best image size based on the user’s device. This can significantly reduce loading times, potentially giving your website the Fast Page Label from Google.
What if Google is flagged your website as slow?
If your website is rated as slow by Google, there could be several reasons for your website’s slow loading times. Pages with non-optimized content are the main reason for slow loading times. This can also be caused by loading full resolution images on each page that are bandwidth consuming and take a long time to display. Most users have recovered by now, which results in Google ranking your website lower than others.
Another reason for slow loading times could be your host. If you are using a cheap hosting server, there is a high chance it is using a sub-par configuration with lower bandwidths. This can disrupt your website visitors, which can result in very slow page loading times.
Finally, you need to check the javascript running and your website will load. Most likely, some leftover code will cause your website to load unused JavaScript and CSS code onto your website, which can lead to long load times with no visible results. You should contact your IT pro to remove unused code from your website.
How can you improve your page loading times?
The best way to improve your page load times is to see what is slowing down your website. If you’re an ecommerce user, it can take forever to load uncompressed images of your products, even over a broadband connection.
This can also be caused by unused code in the HTML layout of your website, which can cause errors and thereby increase the loading times of your websites.
Here are some steps you can take to improve your website page load times.
Use Google Page Insights
Google offers you many tools that you can use to maintain your website. Page Insights from Google are a boon for slow websites. You can test individual URLs for specific loading times and even determine the leading causes of slower loading times. This will allow you to identify the underlying problem with your website and fix it as soon as possible.
Compress images
If you haven’t already, then you should seriously consider compressing the images. While high-resolution images have great visual appeal, you should also be aware that most of the traffic on websites in this era comes from mobile devices. And most mobile devices used by the public cannot display full resolution images to their full extent on small screens. By compressing your images, you can maintain fast loading times without sacrificing the visual appeal of your website. This also helps reduce website bounce rates as users get faster results instead of waiting for the page to load.
Remove unwanted scripts
Most websites use Java and CSS scripts to introduce new interactive features. While great, some of the code can stay on your website even if you remove these plugins. This could be one of the reasons for slow loading times, even on AMP-enabled websites. Google’s Page Insights tool can identify such code, which you can then remove to improve load times.