- How fast the page loads
- How quickly the user can interact with your website
- How stable the page remains (or do some elements jump around, causing you to click on a wrong button?)
Why Are Core Web Vitals Important?
Core Web Vitals are important for two primary reasons:
- It improves user experience
- Google is using it to determine if your website gets found
User Experience
Page load speed is the number one driver of user experience. According to Google, longer load times severely affect bounce rate. Bounce rate measures the number of times users find your website and then “bounce” after looking at just one page. High bounce rate coupled with a low time on the page suggests that users had a bad experience. Here are Google’s stats:
- If page load time increases from 1 second to 3 seconds, bounce rate increases 32%
- If page load time increases from 1 second to 6 seconds, bounce rate increases by 106%
On the more optimistic side, websites with higher speed (and user experience) attract and retain more visitors, which in turn increases leads, contract wins, and revenues.
CWV and Search Engine Optimization
Core Web Vitals were introduced by Google in May 2020. They are supplemental metrics to four existing metrics used by Google to determine how a website performs.
Why are CWV Important for Government Contractors?
82% of Federal decision-makers rated search engine results and corporate websites as their top-rated sources for research, according to studies by Market Connections.
Government buyers, contracting officers, and other decision-makers are looking for information long before discussing their contracts with business development. If your website is underperforming—doesn’t load or is difficult to use—they will move along. An underperforming website means you lose the opportunity to impart valuable information on your website and, moreover, will leave a poor taste concerning your brand.
Learn how your website design is unlocking (or blocking) your growth
Core Web Vitals Descriptions
Diving deeper into the specifics, here is a summary of the three Core Web Vitals and how they are used:
| CWV | Description | Is A Measure Of |
|---|---|---|
| LCP - Largest Contentful Paint | Measures the time to load the largest element of content (typically an image video or large block of text) | Page Loading Time |
| FID - First Input Delay | Time from first interaction (i.e., click on a link) to the time when the browser can respond | Interactivity |
| CLS - Cumulative Layout Shift | The sum of all unexpected element shifts as you view the page (potentially causing your to click on the wrong link—which is very annoying) | Visual Stability |
And here are the recommended benchmarks from Google:
| Good | Needs Improvement | Poor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LCP | <=2.5s | <=4s | >4s |
| FID | <=100ms | <=300ms | >300ms |
| CLS | <=0.1 | <=0.25 | >0.25 |
How To Fix Your Website
Fixes can range from reducing image file sizes to optimizing code. It depends on the current status of your website. In some cases, it may be quicker and less expensive to renew your website altogether. Unlike other search engine optimization methodologies, Core Web Vitals speaks to the fundamental design and build of the website itself. The starting point is to run a diagnostic check-up using Google’s PageSpeed Insights (PSI): https://pagespeed.web.dev/. Add your website URL to the tool and see your results in a minute or two. If this all seems overwhelming, let us help. We can run a free website review for you and interpret the results.
Summary
- Website speed matters—it improves user experience and reduces bounce rates
- Google is using Core Web Vitals as an input to their search engine results
- Fixing the Core Web Vitals for your site can be simple or complex, depending on your current performance
- You can check your website performance at https://pagespeed.web.dev/
- Or we can run a free website review for you
Ocean 5 Builds Outstanding Websites for Business
Ocean 5 Strategies creates websites that are fully customized, technically advanced, responsive (mobile-friendly), professionally designed, and provide an outstanding user experience. We use Growth Driven Design to build a digital platform for accelerated lead generation, including great CWV scores throughout the continuous improvement phase.
