Response Time Tracking
Monitor page load performance and get alerted when response times exceed your thresholds
What is Response Time Tracking?
Response time tracking monitors how quickly your web pages respond to requests. This includes the initial server response time (TTFB - Time to First Byte) and total page load time. Fast response times are critical for user experience, search engine rankings, and conversion rates.
Search Sentinel measures response times during every check and alerts you when performance degrades beyond your defined thresholds, helping you catch performance issues before they impact users.
What We Measure
Time to First Byte (TTFB)
The time from request initiation until the first byte of response is received. Measures pure server processing speed.
Good: Under 600ms | Poor: Over 1800ms
Full Page Load Time
Total time for the entire page (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images) to fully load and render.
Good: Under 2s | Poor: Over 5s
Resource Load Times
Individual timing breakdowns for DNS lookup, TCP connection, TLS handshake, and content download.
Page Size
Total bytes transferred. Large pages load slower, especially on mobile connections.
Why Response Time Matters
User Experience & Conversions
Slow pages drive users away. Studies show:
- 53% of mobile users abandon sites that take over 3 seconds to load
- Every 100ms delay can reduce conversions by 1%
- Page speed directly impacts bounce rate and engagement
SEO Rankings
Google uses page speed as a ranking factor:
- Core Web Vitals include server response time (TTFB)
- Slow pages may rank lower in search results
- Fast sites get crawled more frequently
Revenue Impact
Performance directly affects your bottom line:
- E-commerce: 1 second delay can reduce sales by 7%
- B2B: Slow pages reduce lead generation effectiveness
- Ad revenue: Faster pages mean more page views and ad impressions
How It Works
Set Performance Thresholds
Define acceptable response time limits for your URLs. For example: TTFB under 800ms, full load under 3s.
Automated Measurements
Every check measures response times from our monitoring locations. Full resource timing data is captured.
Threshold Alerts
When response times exceed your thresholds, you receive an alert with full timing breakdown and performance recommendations.
Historical Tracking
View performance trends over time with charts showing TTFB, load time, and page size evolution.
Alert Configuration
Custom Thresholds
Set different thresholds for different URLs:
- Homepage: TTFB under 500ms (higher priority)
- Product pages: TTFB under 800ms
- Blog posts: TTFB under 1000ms
- Admin pages: TTFB under 2000ms (lower priority)
Smart Alerting
Reduce noise with intelligent alert logic:
- Alert only if threshold exceeded for multiple consecutive checks
- Ignore transient spikes (single slow response)
- Track percentage change from baseline (e.g., 50% slower than usual)
- Different thresholds for different times of day
Performance Insights
Alerts include actionable insights:
- Which timing phase is the bottleneck (DNS, SSL, download, etc.)
- Comparison to previous measurements
- Suggested optimizations based on timing breakdown
Common Use Cases
Detect Server Issues
Sudden TTFB increases often indicate database slowdowns, API issues, or server resource exhaustion. Catch these before users are impacted.
Monitor Deployments
Track response times before and after code deployments. Verify that new code doesn't introduce performance regressions.
Track Performance Trends
Monitor performance over weeks and months. Identify gradual degradation as traffic grows or code accumulates.
Third-Party Service Monitoring
If your page depends on external APIs or CDNs, response time tracking helps identify when third-party services are slow.
Response Time vs Core Web Vitals
Response time tracking and Core Web Vitals monitoring are complementary:
| Feature | Response Time | Core Web Vitals |
|---|---|---|
| Data Source | Synthetic (our checks) | Real users (CrUX) |
| Frequency | As often as you want | Updated daily |
| Best For | Immediate issue detection | SEO/user experience trends |
| Use Both | Response times catch issues fast; CrUX shows real user impact | |
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you measure response times from?
We measure from our monitoring infrastructure. For most accurate results, we recommend monitoring from locations close to your primary user base.
Does response time tracking use credits?
No additional credits. Response time is measured during regular URL checks and is included in your plan.
Why are my response times different from other tools?
Response times vary by location, network conditions, and measurement methodology. Use Search Sentinel for trend monitoring and threshold alerts.
Can I see which resources are slow?
We capture full resource timing waterfall data showing DNS, connection, SSL, and download times for detailed debugging.
What if my page is slow only sometimes?
Historical charts show all measurements over time. You can identify intermittent slowdowns and correlate them with deployments or traffic patterns.