In summary, Google has consistently clarified that while page speed and related metrics are considered, they are not major or decisive ranking factors, and focusing solely on them is not an effective SEO strategy
Here’s what Google and credible sources have consistently said:
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Impact is limited: Google has repeatedly clarified that while page speed is a factor, it affects only a small percentage of queries and is much less important than content relevance and quality
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PageSpeed Insights score is not a direct ranking factor: Google has said that the score itself does not directly impact rankings—actual load time and user experience do
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2015: Google hints that PageSpeed doesn’t impact ranking
- 2023: Google confirms PageSpeed is retired: as a ranking factor
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Relevance and quality outweigh speed: Google emphasizes that fast pages are good, but not at the expense of helpful, relevant content
Conclusion:
Google has never explicitly stated that page speed does not affect SEO. Instead, they have consistently maintained that page speed is a (minor) ranking factor, but not as important as content quality or relevance. The misconception may arise from Google clarifying that an excellent PageSpeed Insights score is not required to rank well, and that speed alone will not compensate for poor content
Google Video: PageSpeed is not as important as People think
The full list of articles debunking PageSpeed/CWV ie
- Google Clarifies Page Experience & Core Web Vitals Related To Search Rankings
- Here Is What Changed With The Google Helpful Content Guidance – Page Experience & More
- Google: The Page Experience Update Won’t Be A Massive Change To Start
- Google: Page Experience Is A Ranking Signal, Not A Ranking System
- Google: We Don’t Say Core Web Vitals Are A Ranking Factor
- Google: Fix Your INP Issues? Don’t Expect Visibility Changes Search Rankings.
- Google: Core Web Vitals Shouldn’t Be Top Of The List For Most Small & Local Businesses
- Google Says Now The Page Experience Update Is More Than A Tie Breaker Ranking Factor
- Google: No Sudden Ranking Drop When The Page Experience Update Goes Live
- Poll On Impact Of Google Page Experience Update & Core Web Vitals On Rankings
- Gary Illyes From Google Mocks Core Web Vitals SEO Work
- Google: Pages With Core Web Vitals May Have Tiny Ranking Advantage
- Google: It’s Unlikely Core Web Vitals Will Become The Primary Ranking Factor
- Google: Page Speed Issues Wouldn’t Lead To Your Site Being Removed From Google Search
- Google: Don’t Worry Too Much About Page Speed
- Google: A Good Page Experience Doesn’t Fix Other SEO Problems
- Confirmed: Google Site Speed Is A Teeny-Tiny Ranking Factor
