Page Byte Size is the UTF-8 byte length of a page’s rendered HTML. It returns a raw byte count, not a score — and it measures only the rendered markup, not the full weight of the page as transferred to a browser.
| Factor ID | RG-SIZ-020 |
|---|---|
| Family | Page Size |
| Measurement | UTF-8 bytes |
| Measured zone | Rendered HTML stored on the result web page |
What it measures
This factor reports the UTF-8 byte length of the rendered HTML for the result page. It is a size measurement of the markup itself — the document RankGear captures after the page has rendered — expressed as a count of bytes.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear reads result.webPage.pageByteSize, which is computed as the UTF-8 byte count of the rendered HTML string:
pageByteSize = renderedHtml.utf8.countBecause it counts UTF-8 bytes, non-ASCII characters (accents, symbols, non-Latin scripts) contribute more than one byte each, so the figure reflects encoded size rather than a simple character count.
How to optimize it
Treat this value as an observation of markup efficiency rather than a target to minimize. Keep rendered markup efficient by removing unnecessary duplication and unused payload while preserving useful content, accessibility, structured data, and required functionality. A smaller byte count is not inherently better if it comes at the cost of content or markup that serves users and crawlers.
Important considerations
- This measures rendered HTML bytes only — not the full transferred page weight.
- External scripts, stylesheets, fonts, images, and other linked resources are excluded from this field.
- It counts UTF-8 bytes, so it differs from UTF-16-based size factors, especially for non-ASCII content.
- Validate real performance with network and runtime measurements before optimizing against this number.
- Byte size correlates with position within a measured result set; it is a prioritization signal, not a cause of ranking. A larger or smaller page does not by itself make a page rank.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.