How Web Vitals are hurting your SEO efforts

Web Vitals can have a negative impact on your SEO efforts because they directly affect the user experience. The user experience is an important factor in the algorithm that Google uses to rank websites. Poor Web Vitals, therefore, have a negative influence on your SEO. But how exactly does this happen, and what can you do to improve your Web Vitals? We are happy to explain more.

What exactly are Web Vitals?

Web Vitals are performance metrics introduced by Google to help website owners improve the user experience. They are important for SEO because they influence how Google ranks websites. For example, Web Vitals measure the load time of the largest content on a page, known as the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP). They also measure how quickly a page responds to the first user interaction, called the First Input Delay (FID), and whether the layout of a page shifts during loading, known as the Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Websites that perform poorly on these metrics offer a less optimal user experience and may therefore rank lower in search engine results.

What is Critical CSS and how does it improve your Web Vitals?

Critical CSS is a technique where only the CSS needed to display the visible content of a page is loaded immediately. The rest of the CSS is loaded only when necessary. This ensures that the most important elements of a page are displayed to the user as quickly as possible, positively affecting the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP). By implementing Critical CSS, render-blocking resources are minimized, reducing the time it takes for the most important content to load. When you apply Critical CSS in combination with Edge Caching, the CSS is efficiently cached on servers close to the user. This significantly reduces page load times, leading to a better user experience and higher scores on Web Vitals.

Why is page speed so important these days?

Google has made it clear that page speed has a direct influence on a website’s ranking. Visitors expect a website to load instantly. When a website loads slowly, visitors are likely to leave due to the poor user experience. This increases the bounce rate, which Google interprets as a negative signal. The faster your website loads, the more likely visitors are to spend more time on your site and visit more of your web pages. This reduces the bounce rate, which Google sees as a positive signal. By improving your Web Vitals, you not only increase the speed of your website but also enhance its overall SEO performance. Websites with better Web Vitals have a higher chance of ranking well in search results. Good search rankings lead to more traffic and better conversions.

How can you improve Web Vitals?

As poor Web Vitals negatively impact your SEO, it’s important to improve your Web Vitals score. You can implement several key adjustments to optimize your website's performance. Below, we’ll discuss seven important ways to improve Web Vitals.

Optimizing your images

Large images can significantly slow down page load times. It’s important to compress and optimize images for the web. Using modern formats like WebP can reduce file size without compromising quality.

Using lazy loading

Lazy loading is a technique where images and other media are loaded only when they appear on the screen. This can greatly reduce the initial load time of a page and improve the LCP.

Minimizing JavaScript

JavaScript files can delay page loading, especially when they are large and complex. By removing unnecessary JavaScript and optimizing it, you can improve the FID.

Improving the server response time

You need a fast server for good performance. By using fast hosting solutions and optimizing backend processes, you can reduce the TTFB (Time to First Byte), which directly affects your website’s speed.

Implementing a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A CDN ensures that your content is distributed across servers worldwide. By implementing a CDN, you can ensure that users always have access to a fast version of your website, no matter where in the world they are located.

Eliminating render-blocking resources

CSS and JavaScript can delay page rendering if not loaded correctly. By using Critical CSS and async or defer for JavaScript files, you ensure that only essential files are loaded first.

How can you check your Web Vitals performance?

To determine if you need to improve your Web Vitals, you first need to check your scores. Several tools are available for analyzing website performance and checking your Web Vitals scores. Here are some useful tools:

Google PageSpeed Insights

This tool analyzes your website’s performance and provides specific recommendations for improvements.

Lighthouse

Lighthouse is a Google tool integrated into Chrome DevTools. It helps you not only improve your website’s performance but also enhances its SEO and accessibility.

Web Vitals Chrome Extension

This extension allows you to measure your website’s performance in real-time while browsing.

GTmetrix

This tool provides detailed insights into your website’s speed and offers helpful optimization tips.

Pingdom

This tool allows you to test your website’s speed from different locations worldwide and provides detailed performance analyses.

Why is Critical CSS important for improving your Web Vitals?

Critical CSS is very important for improving your website’s load times, especially for LCP. You want the most important content to be visible as soon as a visitor loads the page. Load times can be delayed if the browser has to wait for full stylesheets to load first. By loading only the most important CSS, content is displayed faster, providing a better user experience and improving your Web Vitals scores.

How can we help you optimize your Web Vitals?

Our team of experts has extensive experience in improving website performance through Web Vitals optimization. We start by conducting a thorough audit of your website to identify performance bottlenecks. Then, we offer tailored advice to address the issues and improve your Web Vitals scores. Our services include:

Conducting comprehensive website audits

We perform extensive audits to measure and analyze your website’s performance based on Web Vitals, identifying problem areas.

Implementing Critical CSS

We can implement Critical CSS, ensuring that all essential CSS loads immediately, which directly improves your LCP.

Optimizing images

We ensure that all images and media on your website are properly compressed and optimized to reduce their impact on load times.

Optimizing JavaScript and CSS

We minimize unnecessary JavaScript to optimize your website. Additionally, we ensure that your CSS is not render-blocking.

Setting up proper cache and CDN configurations

By using caching and a CDN, we ensure that your website loads quickly for users, regardless of their location.

Improve your SEO by optimizing your Web Vitals

Web Vitals and SEO are closely related. Web Vitals directly impact your website’s performance, which is very important for your search engine ranking. You can optimize your website’s performance and the user experience by ensuring fast load times, good interactivity, and visual stability. We are here to help you analyze your website and optimize it with tailored solutions, such as Edge Caching and Critical CSS. Are you ready to optimize your Web Vitals? Contact us today. We’re happy to assist you.