Latency in plain English
Latency is delay. In a speed test, ping normally represents the round-trip time for a small request to reach the test server and return. It is measured in milliseconds (ms). Lower latency generally makes interactive applications feel more immediate.
What affects ping
Physical distance is important, but routing, congestion, Wi-Fi interference, overloaded equipment and mobile-network conditions also add delay. A nearby test server usually produces a lower latency result than a server in another country.
The first browser request can also include connection setup overhead. Speedly warms the connection before taking the samples used for the displayed latency result.
What counts as good ping
There is no universal threshold because applications differ. Values below roughly 20 ms are excellent for many uses, 20–50 ms generally feel responsive, and larger delays become more noticeable in competitive games, voice calls and remote-control applications.
Reducing latency
Use Ethernet where possible, improve Wi-Fi signal quality, avoid saturating the connection and choose services or game servers geographically close to you. If latency remains high on a wired connection, routing or provider congestion may be involved.