Story Based Question
A fitness website recently noticed a dip in traffic despite having great content and a solid social media presence. When the marketing team checked the site’s performance in Google Search Console, they saw a significant decrease in Core Web Vitals scores. They asked their SEO specialist, “Could page speed be affecting our Core Web Vitals?” The SEO specialist nodded, explaining that mobile page speed plays a crucial role in these scores and, ultimately, search rankings.
Exact Answer
Mobile page speed is essential for Core Web Vitals because it directly affects key performance metrics, like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). These metrics measure user experience and influence SEO rankings, with faster mobile page speeds leading to better Core Web Vitals scores.
Explanation
Core Web Vitals are a set of performance metrics introduced by Google to measure user experience. These metrics focus on loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability, all of which are directly impacted by page speed—especially on mobile devices. Here’s how mobile page speed affects each Core Web Vital:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): LCP measures how quickly the largest element on the page (usually an image or text) loads. On mobile devices, slow loading times can cause a poor LCP score, which directly affects the user experience. If your mobile page takes too long to load, users will see a delay before the page content is visible, leading to a poor LCP score.
- First Input Delay (FID): FID measures how quickly a page responds to a user’s first interaction, like clicking a button or tapping a link. Mobile pages with slow load times may experience longer delays in user interactions, negatively affecting FID. A delay in responsiveness can frustrate users and lower your Core Web Vitals score.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): CLS tracks how much the page layout shifts during loading. A slow-loading mobile page can cause content to shift unexpectedly, leading to a poor CLS score. For example, if images or text load late and push other elements around, it creates a bad user experience.
Core Web Vitals are important ranking factors for Google, meaning if your mobile page speed is slow, it can hurt your chances of ranking higher in mobile search results. Improving your mobile page speed helps optimize these metrics, providing a smoother experience for users and improving your SEO performance.
Example
The fitness website noticed that their LCP score was high because large images of workout routines were taking too long to load. They also saw that the FID score was affected by slow response times when users clicked on buttons to sign up for classes. Lastly, there were layout shifts when content loaded in late, impacting the CLS score.
After optimizing image sizes, improving server response times, and implementing lazy loading to prioritize visible content, the website’s mobile page speed improved. As a result, their LCP, FID, and CLS scores also improved, and the website began to rank higher in mobile search results. Users stayed longer, interacted more, and the website’s bounce rates dropped.
Mobile page speed is a vital factor in Core Web Vitals. By improving it, you enhance user experience and increase your chances of ranking well in Google’s mobile search results.