PageSpeed Insights - Core Web Vitals & Real User Metrics

Get real-world performance data from Chrome users by John Rippy | johnrippy.link

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What This Actor Does

The PageSpeed Insights actor provides access to Google's PageSpeed Insights API to get:

• Real-World Field Data from Chrome UX Report (CrUX) - actual user experience metrics
• Lab Data from Lighthouse - synthetic performance audits
• Core Web Vitals - LCP, FID/INP, CLS, FCP, TTFB, TBT
• Performance Scores - 0-100 scores for Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, SEO
• Mobile & Desktop analysis in a single run

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Why Use This Actor?

Real User Data vs Lab Data

Most performance tools only give you lab data - synthetic tests run in controlled conditions. This actor gives you field data from the Chrome UX Report (CrUX), which represents actual user experiences from millions of Chrome users over a 28-day rolling window.

Data Type	Source	What It Tells You
Field Data	CrUX (real Chrome users)	How real visitors experience your site
Lab Data	Lighthouse	Controlled, reproducible benchmarks

Core Web Vitals Explained

Metric	Good	Needs Improvement	Poor
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)	≤2.5s	2.5s - 4s	>4s
FID (First Input Delay)	≤100ms	100ms - 300ms	>300ms
INP (Interaction to Next Paint)	≤200ms	200ms - 500ms	>500ms
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)	≤0.1	0.1 - 0.25	>0.25

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Use Cases

• SEO Audits - Core Web Vitals are a Google ranking factor
• Performance Monitoring - Track real-user experience over time
• Competitor Analysis - Compare your site's performance vs competitors
• Client Reporting - Include CrUX data in SEO reports
• Before/After Analysis - Measure impact of performance optimizations

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Quick Start Examples

Example 1: Single URL Analysis

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "strategy": "both"
}

Example 2: Batch URL Analysis

{
  "urls": [
    "https://example.com",
    "https://competitor1.com",
    "https://competitor2.com"
  ],
  "strategy": "mobile"
}

Example 3: With Webhook (Zapier/Make/n8n)

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "strategy": "both",
  "webhookUrl": "https://hooks.zapier.com/hooks/catch/12345/abcdef/"
}

Example 4: Demo Mode (Free Testing)

{
  "demoMode": true
}

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Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
demoMode	boolean	No	false	Run with sample data (free, no API calls)
url	string	No*	-	Single URL to analyze
urls	array	No*	-	Array of URLs to analyze
strategy	string	No	"both"	Device strategy: "mobile", "desktop", or "both"
apiKey	string	No	-	Your Google PageSpeed API key for higher rate limits
webhookUrl	string	No	-	Webhook URL for Zapier/Make/n8n integration

*Either url or urls is required (unless using demoMode)

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Output Format

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "strategy": "mobile",
  "timestamp": "2024-12-25T12:00:00.000Z",
  "hasFieldData": true,
  "performanceScore": 85,
  "accessibilityScore": 92,
  "bestPracticesScore": 100,
  "seoScore": 98,
  "coreWebVitals": {
    "lcp": {
      "value": 2.1,
      "unit": "seconds",
      "rating": "good",
      "source": "field"
    },
    "fid": {
      "value": 45,
      "unit": "milliseconds",
      "rating": "good",
      "source": "field"
    },
    "cls": {
      "value": 0.05,
      "unit": "score",
      "rating": "good",
      "source": "field"
    },
    "fcp": {
      "value": 1.2,
      "unit": "seconds",
      "rating": "good",
      "source": "field"
    },
    "ttfb": {
      "value": 0.4,
      "unit": "seconds",
      "rating": "good",
      "source": "field"
    },
    "inp": {
      "value": 120,
      "unit": "milliseconds",
      "rating": "good",
      "source": "field"
    }
  },
  "labData": {
    "lcp": 2.3,
    "tbt": 150,
    "cls": 0.02,
    "fcp": 1.4,
    "speedIndex": 2.8
  },
  "audits": {
    "passed": 42,
    "failed": 3,
    "opportunities": [
      {
        "id": "render-blocking-resources",
        "title": "Eliminate render-blocking resources",
        "potentialSavings": "1.2s"
      }
    ]
  }
}

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Webhook Integration

Webhook Payload Format

When the analysis completes, results are POSTed to your webhook:

{
  "event": "pagespeed_analysis_complete",
  "timestamp": "2024-12-25T12:00:00.000Z",
  "actor": "pagespeed-insights",
  "runId": "abc123",
  "urlsAnalyzed": 3,
  "status": "success",
  "results": [...]
}

Zapier Setup

1. Create a new Zap with "Webhooks by Zapier" as trigger
2. Select "Catch Hook"
3. Copy the webhook URL
4. Add to webhookUrl input parameter
5. Add actions: Send to Google Sheets, Slack, email, etc.

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API Usage

Using the Apify API

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('localhowl/pagespeed-insights').call({
  urls: ['https://example.com', 'https://competitor.com'],
  strategy: 'both'
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Using cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/localhowl~pagespeed-insights/runs?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "strategy": "mobile"
  }'

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Pricing

This actor uses the Google PageSpeed Insights API which is free for most usage. Apify platform usage is billed separately based on compute units used.

• Demo Mode: Free (no API calls, uses sample data)
• With API Key: Higher rate limits from Google
• Without API Key: Standard rate limits apply

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Limitations

• Rate Limiting: Without an API key, Google limits requests. Add your own API key for higher limits.
• CrUX Data Availability: Field data requires sufficient traffic to your site. New or low-traffic sites may only have lab data.
• Historical Data: CrUX represents a 28-day rolling window, not point-in-time snapshots.

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Related Actors

• PageSpeed Intelligence - Combines PSI with Lighthouse, Tech Stack detection, and AI recommendations
• Google Lighthouse Checker - Detailed Lighthouse audits with custom configurations

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Built by John Rippy | johnrippy.link

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Keywords

pagespeed insights, core web vitals, crux data, chrome ux report, lcp, fid, cls, inp, lighthouse, web performance, seo audit, page speed, google pagespeed api, website performance monitoring, real user metrics, field data