Google has long used loading speed and stability as an official ranking factor for sites in search results. This group of metrics is called Core Web Vitals, and it's a measurable, concrete target — not an abstract sense of a site being "slow" or "fast."
What Core Web Vitals are
Three metrics form the foundation of Core Web Vitals:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) — how quickly the largest visible element on the page appears (usually a main image or heading). Target: under 2.5 seconds.
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) — how much the page's elements "jump around" while loading. Target: under 0.1 — a stable layout without surprise shifts when you click.
- INP (Interaction to Next Paint) — how quickly the page responds to a click or tap. Target: under 200 milliseconds.
Why these metrics matter beyond SEO
Beyond the effect on rankings, slow loading directly reduces sales and inquiries — studies consistently show that every additional second of loading time reduces the conversion rate. In other words, improving speed pays off the investment twice over: a better position in Google, and fewer customers lost along the way.
The most common causes of poor results
- Unoptimized images with a file size that's too large for the screen they're shown on.
- Too many external scripts — chat widgets, ads, trackers — each of which slows down the initial load.
- Hosting with insufficient resources, or a server physically far from your main audience.
- Lack of caching for static files (CSS, JS, images).
- Fonts loaded in a way that makes text "jump" after it appears.
Practical steps for improvement
- Compress and properly size all images before uploading them.
- Remove scripts and embedded elements that don't provide real value to the user.
- Choose hosting with good proximity to your main audience and sufficient capacity.
- Test results with Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool, and track the specific metrics rather than just the overall score.
The bottom line
Core Web Vitals aren't a one-time task — they're metrics affected by every future change to the site: a new image, a new plugin, a new section. Regular technical maintenance is how you keep good results over the long term, not just on the day the site launches.
If you'd like a technical audit of your current site's speed, get in touch with us — we also offer maintenance and hosting tailored exactly for this purpose.