AEO NIUEXA

Performance

10% Weight Check reference Priorities vary by result

Performance measures how fast the page loads for real users, from Google PageSpeed lab data. Speed matters for visitors and for reliable fetching; it is not an AI citation threshold.

How Performance is scored. The score is the importance-weighted average of the six checks below: Time to First Byte (weight 1.5), First Contentful Paint (1.0), Total Blocking Time (1.5), Speed Index (1.0), Critical Resource Count (0.75) and JavaScript Execution Time (1.0). Time to First Byte counts at half its listed weight because its evidence is practitioner advice that the engines have not confirmed. Scores from other dimensions are not mixed in.
No PageSpeed data, no Performance score. When PageSpeed returns no data for a page, its speed checks are marked "Not measured" and the whole dimension is left out: the report shows "Performance: not measured" and the other five dimensions are re-weighted to fill its 10%. It is never scored as 0 or as a default 50. Critical Resource Count is read from the HTML, so on its own it never produces a Performance score; without PageSpeed data it is shown for information only.

Speed Metrics

PageSpeed lab metrics. Each is "Not measured" when PageSpeed has no value for it.

Time to First Byte (TTFB)

High
What It Checks
Measures server response time from request initiation to receiving the first byte of data.
Why It's Important
Fast TTFB indicates reliable infrastructure. Slow servers may timeout during AI crawling, leading to incomplete indexing.
Scoring Method
100 for <200ms, 85 for <500ms, 70 for <800ms, 50 for <1500ms, 0 for >1500ms.
Excellent: <200ms Good: <500ms Pass: <800ms Fail: >1500ms
How To Improve
Use a CDN, upgrade hosting, enable server-side caching, reduce database query times, optimize backend code.

First Contentful Paint (FCP)

Medium
What It Checks
Measures time until first content (text, image) is painted on screen. Core Web Vital metric.
Why It's Important
FCP indicates perceived performance. Fast FCP means content is available quickly for crawlers to begin processing.
Scoring Method
100 for <1.8s, 75 for <3s, 50 for <4.5s, 0 for >4.5s.
Good: <1.8s Needs Improvement: <3s Poor: >3s
How To Improve
Reduce render-blocking resources, optimize CSS delivery, defer non-critical JavaScript, inline critical CSS.

Total Blocking Time (TBT)

Medium
What It Checks
Measures total time the main thread is blocked by long JavaScript tasks, preventing input response.
Why It's Important
High TBT indicates JavaScript performance issues. Blocking scripts can delay content availability for AI crawlers.
Scoring Method
100 for <200ms, 75 for <600ms, 50 for <1000ms, 0 for >1000ms.
Good: <200ms Needs Improvement: <600ms Poor: >600ms
How To Improve
Break up long JavaScript tasks, defer non-essential scripts, reduce third-party code, use web workers for heavy computations.

Speed Index

Medium
What It Checks
Measures how quickly page contents are visually populated. Reflects overall visual loading experience.
Why It's Important
Speed Index reflects visual completeness. Pages that load progressively provide better experience for users and crawlers.
Scoring Method
100 for <3.4s, 75 for <5.8s, 50 for <8s, 0 for >8s.
Good: <3.4s Needs Improvement: <5.8s Poor: >5.8s
How To Improve
Prioritize above-fold content, lazy load below-fold, optimize critical rendering path, reduce content jumps.

Resource Metrics

Code and resource optimization affecting load performance

Critical Resource Count

Medium
What It Checks
Counts render-blocking resources (CSS and JS files in <head>) that delay initial page render.
Why It's Important
Fewer critical resources mean faster initial render and better crawler experience. Each blocking resource adds delay.
Scoring Method
100 for 0-2 critical resources, 75 for 3-5, 50 for 6-10, 0 for >10.
Excellent: 0-2 Good: 3-5 Pass: 6-10 Fail: >10
How To Improve
Inline critical CSS, defer non-critical JavaScript with async/defer attributes, combine small CSS files.

JavaScript Execution Time

Medium
What It Checks
Measures total time spent parsing, compiling, and executing JavaScript code on the page.
Why It's Important
Excessive JavaScript execution delays interactivity and can timeout crawlers. Heavy JS frameworks can significantly impact this.
Scoring Method
100 for <2s, 75 for <3.5s, 50 for <5s, 0 for >5s.
Good: <2s Needs Improvement: <3.5s Poor: >3.5s
How To Improve
Remove unused code, code-split bundles, minimize polyfills, tree-shake dependencies, use lighter alternatives to heavy libraries.