What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals is a set of specific metrics introduced by Google to measure and quantify the user experience of a website. It focuses on three crucial aspects of user interaction: page load, interactivity, and visual stability.
What are the 3 most important Core Web Vitals
1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
The time it takes for the largest content element on a web page to become visible to the viewer. This metric focuses on the load speed of the content users are most interested in seeing.
LCP provides insights into the perceived loading performance and helps determine if a web page loads quickly enough to provide a smooth user experience.
Google recommends that you aim to have LCP occur within the first 2.5 seconds of the page starting to load.
2. First Input Delay (FID)
FID is used to gauge the interactivity and responsiveness of your website and how quickly users can start engaging with the page.
A low FID indicates that a website is highly responsive, while a high FID suggests a delay in user interactions, which can lead to frustration and a poor user experience.
Google recommends that you have an FID of less than 100 milliseconds.
Pro Tip: Starting March 2024, Interaction to Next Paint (INP) will replace FID as a Core Web Vital, so while, for one, you need to focus on FID, towards the end of the year, you should start instigating a strategy for INP.
3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
CLS is the visual stability of a web page during the loading process. It evaluates the number of unexpected layout shifts that occur, such as elements moving or shifting position while the user is trying to interact with the page.
CLS aims to gauge how irritated your website user may become by unexpected changes in what is displayed on your website. CLS helps to ensure that your web pages maintain a stable layout and give users a smooth and consistent experience.
Google recommends that you aim for a CLS score of less than 0.1.
When you understand and optimize your web pages for these key performance indicators (KPIs), you can have a powerful impact on your website’s overall user experience and bump your way up the search engine rankings – knocking your pesky competitors off the top spots.
What is Page Speed?
Web page speed is exactly what it sounds like – how fast (or slow) your web page content loads, becomes visible, and becomes functional to begin using.
Pro Tip: Google doesn’t rank websites, it ranks web pages. While focusing on the website as a whole is important, it is also important to test individual pages.
Page speed directly relates to LCP and is one of the most important parts of your core web vitals to keep an eye on.
A fast-loading website isn’t about simply ticking off another objective on the SEO checklist—it’s your ticket to ultimate user experience, engagement that lasts longer than a Netflix binge, and a skyrocketing rise in your conversion rates.
On the flip side, if you have slow-loading pages, your users aren’t going to come back. Watching your website load will feel like watching paint dry in slow motion. It sounds like an exaggeration, but with the fast-paced digital world, we live in these days, even a second added to your page load speed can push your users’ patience.
The Problems With Slow Loading Websites
The consequences of a slow website or eCommerce site should not be underestimated. This is especially true if most of your leads or sales come from online channels. Whatever marketing strategy you are using (PPC, Social Media, Email, etc.), if your links send potential new customers to a slow loading web page or landing page, they will get frustrated and leave before you can convert them.
But that’s not the only problem—page speed expands beyond keeping your website visitors happy. Search engines like Google love to give their users a great experience, so they only want to send them to the best sites (and in Google’s eyes, those are the ones that load fast). Google holds a lot of power and can essentially make or break any business’s online presence, so it’s best to keep them happy.
Google has confirmed that it uses page speed as an SEO ranking factor, so if you want your site in those ever-sought-after top spots on the SERPs, you must ensure your website loads fast.
Why You Should Care About Both Core Vitals & Web Page Speed
As a business owner, marketing director, or SEO agency you cannot afford to overlook the importance of Google’s Core Web Vitals update and fast-loading websites. You might think that this is just another drain on your budget. But in reality, it will deliver a massive return on investment, and changes can be quick to implement.
Consider this: a one-second decrease in page load time can result in a 27% increase in conversions. You are probably feeling the heat from your competition these days (everyone is). Online competition intensifies in almost every industry, so every second counts in capturing and retaining the attention of those vital new customers that generate revenue.
If you prioritize Core Web Vitals and page speed, you will gain a competitive edge in SEO against your competitors. At the same time, you’re improving the experience (UX) for your potential and repeat customers, so it’s a win-win.
Important Stats About Core Web Vitals & PAGESPEED
Let’s take a closer look at some other compelling statistics that highlight the significance of Core Web Vitals and page speed. These statistics serve as a wake-up call, underscoring the criticality of prioritizing Core Web Vitals and page speed as a part of your SEO strategy for your website’s and business’s overall success.
Google has indicated that Core Web Vitals will be a significant ranking factor for search results, emphasizing the importance of optimizing these metrics.
When the search engine giant speaks, it’s time to pay attention. Optimizing your Core Web Vitals is a key factor and strategy in SEO that can help you gain online visibility.
Conversion rates are 3x higher for websites that load in 1 second. (Portent)
Speed is the name of the game when it comes to converting customers. Improve your website’s load time, and watch your conversion rates go through the roof.
How To Check Your Core Web Vital Score & Which Website Loading Speed Tools Are Best
You may be asking yourself if your website is really that slow. Slow can be a relative term. Luckily, some handy and free tools out there that provide an actual score from 0-100 (100% being the best) or grade from F-A (A being the best).
To determine your website’s current performance and identify areas for improvement, you can check with Google’s Pagespeed Insights. This FREE tool measures and scores crucial metrics like page load time, LCP, FID, CLS, and provides detailed insights into your website’s performance.
There are also other popular tools out there, such as GTmetrix, Pingdom, and WebPageTest that will grade your website and provide details on how to improve each weak point. By leveraging these tools, you can gain valuable data-driven insights into your website’s speed and identify optimization opportunities.
Core Web Vitals and Page Speed Case Studies
Recently, our financial client Provident Commercial Capital came to us about improving their search engine optimization to get more traffic to their WordPress website.
When we first assessed Provident’s website, their desktop performance stood at a modest 72%, while their mobile performance was a sluggish 43%. Clearly, there was room for improvement, and speeding up their website was priority one to help build a solid website and SEO foundation.
Move the slider arrows to see the before and after results. On smartphones, click, then slide.
Move the slider arrows to see the before and after results. On smartphones, click, then slide.
With our expertise in optimizing Core Web Vitals and focusing on delivering exceptional results, we got to work quickly. By implementing targeted optimizations and leveraging our technical knowledge, we were able to achieve a remarkable transformation in their page speed performance in less than 2 weeks.
Their desktop performance skyrocketed to a perfect score of 100 (C to A+, 39% improvement) and their mobile score significantly improved to a near perfect 98 (F to A, 128% improvement)!
Our Insurance client Compass Insurance Agency saw a 115% improvement in their desktop speed (46% to 99%) and 193% in their mobile speed (28% to 82%) when we fixed their branch website’s Core Vitals in WordPress.
Move the slider arrows to see the before and after results. On smartphones, click, then slide.
Our eCommerce client SMT Machining saw a 77% improvement in desktop speeds (56% to 99%) and 444% in mobile speeds (16% to 87%) when we fixed their WooCommerce website’s Core Vitals.
Move the slider arrows to see the before and after results. On smartphones, click, then slide.
Move the slider arrows to see the before and after results. On smartphones, click, then slide.
How Much Does It Cost To Fix My Core Web Vitals & Speed Up My Website?
For a limited time, we are offering a special discounted rate of $249 (normally $300) to fix your web page loading issues and improve your Google rankings.
Our turnaround time is within 7 business days, so you can start reaping the benefits of a fast-loading website without delay.
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Don’t let slow page speeds stop your online success
At Tag Marketing, we understand the significance of Core Web Vitals and website speed and how they can have a huge impact on your SEO, marketing, and overall business.
We specialize in optimizing WordPress, including WooCommerce, websites to deliver lightning-fast loading speeds and excellent user experiences.
Don’t let slow page speeds stop your online success and leave potential customers with a bad impression of your brand. Take advantage of our exclusive offer today and optimize your website for exceptional performance.