Core web vitals are a set of performance measurements Google uses to evaluate the user experience on your website. They look at things like how fast your page loads, how quickly it responds to a click, and how stable the layout is while the page is loading.
Improving core web vitals can support your overall SEO performance, but the work involved goes beyond standard SEO tasks. It typically requires changes at the technical and server level of your website. What that means for you depends on your situation.
Quick Summary
If Digital Shift manages your website: We can provide page speed and performance services for an additional fee. Reach out and we will put together a proposal.
If you work with an independent developer: Your developer is your best starting point. We can offer SEO guidance and support alongside their technical work.
If you are part of a franchise or franchisor brand: Your corporate or in-house team manages the website infrastructure. You will need to contact them directly.
Core web vitals work is not included in your standard SEO program.
Scenario 1: Digital Shift Manages Your Website
If Digital Shift has access to and is actively managing your website (for example, a WordPress site), we have options available to help improve your page speed and core web vitals performance.
These services are not included in your standard SEO plan, but they are something we can put together a custom proposal for. Services may include:
Server upgrades: Moving your site to a faster hosting environment to reduce load times.
Content delivery network (CDN): Distributing your site's files across multiple locations so pages load faster for visitors regardless of where they are located.
On-site optimization: Going through your site to reduce file sizes, clean up code, and improve how assets are loaded.
If you are interested in exploring this, reach out to our support team and we will be happy to put a proposal together for you.
Scenario 2: You Work with an Independent Developer
If your website is managed by an independent developer, they are going to be your best resource for core web vitals improvements. They have direct access to your site and the technical knowledge to implement the right fixes.
That said, we are happy to be a resource alongside them. Our team can offer SEO-specific guidance and support to help make sure any changes align with your broader search performance goals.
To get started, we recommend:
Contacting your developer first and sharing your core web vitals report with them.
Reaching out to our team if you would like SEO input or have questions about how technical changes might affect your rankings.
We are glad to work alongside your developer where it makes sense.
Scenario 3: You Are Part of a Franchise or Franchisor Brand
If your website is part of a larger franchise or corporate brand, the website infrastructure is managed centrally by your franchisor's in-house team. That means the server, hosting environment, and technical configuration are outside of our control or influence.
In these cases, core web vitals improvements need to be handled by your corporate or in-house technical team. We are not able to make changes to the server or site infrastructure directly.
If you are unsure who to contact, start with your franchise support team or whoever manages the brand's digital platforms. If you have questions about how this affects your SEO program, feel free to reach out to us and we can help clarify.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Not Passing Core Web Vitals?
Most sites that struggle with core web vitals are dealing with one or more of the following:
Large, unoptimized images: Images that have not been compressed or resized properly are one of the most common culprits for slow load times. This is especially common on sites where photos are uploaded directly from a phone or camera without any optimization.
Slow server or hosting environment: If your website is on a shared or entry-level hosting plan, the server itself may simply not be fast enough to deliver your pages quickly, particularly during busy periods.
No content delivery network (CDN): Without a CDN, every visitor loads your site from a single server location. A CDN distributes that load and speeds up delivery for visitors who are farther away from the server.
Too many plugins or scripts: Websites with a large number of plugins, tracking scripts, chat widgets, or third-party tools often take longer to load because the browser has to process all of those before the page is fully usable.
Render-blocking resources: CSS and JavaScript files that load before the main content can delay how quickly a visitor sees your page, even if the page itself is not that large.
Unstable page layouts: Elements like images, ads, or embeds that load without defined dimensions can cause the page to shift around as it loads, which directly affects your layout stability score.
Outdated website platform or theme: Older website templates and platforms are often not built with modern performance standards in mind and can be difficult to optimize without more significant work.
Most of these are fixable, but the right solution depends on your specific setup. If you are not sure what is causing your site to underperform, reach out to our team and we can help point you in the right direction.
What Should I Send to My Web Developer or Corporate Team?
If you are reaching out to a developer or your corporate team about core web vitals, coming prepared will help move things along faster. Here is what to gather before you contact them:
Your PageSpeed Insights report: Run your website URL through https://pagespeed.web.dev and share the full results. This gives your developer or technical team a clear starting point.
A screenshot or note of your failing metrics: Identify which of the three core web vitals are showing as Needs Improvement or Poor and include that in your message. This helps them prioritize the right areas.
Your CrUX Vis report if available: The report at https://cruxvis.withgoogle.com shows real-world data from actual visitors rather than a simulated test. If your site has enough traffic to generate a report, this is worth including alongside your PageSpeed results.
A plain-language summary of your request: You do not need to be technical to communicate the issue. Something as simple as noting that your website is not meeting Google's performance standards and you would like them to review and address it is enough to get the conversation started.
A list of your most important pages: If you are working with a developer, let them know which pages matter most to your business, such as your homepage and your main service pages. This helps them focus their work where it will have the greatest impact.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly are core web vitals and why does Google care about them?
Core web vitals are three specific measurements Google uses to evaluate how a page performs for the person visiting it. They look at how fast the main content loads, how quickly the page responds when someone taps or clicks something, and how much the layout shifts around while the page is still loading. Google introduced these as part of its broader effort to reward pages that offer a good user experience, not just pages that are technically optimized for search. A page that loads slowly or jumps around while it loads creates a frustrating experience, and Google factors that into how it evaluates your site.
How do core web vitals affect my Google rankings?
Core web vitals are one of many signals Google uses when deciding how to rank pages. They are a confirmed ranking factor, but they are not the most heavily weighted one. Content relevance, your Google Business Profile, local authority, and backlinks all carry more weight for local search performance. Think of core web vitals as a tiebreaker. If two pages are closely matched on everything else, the one with better performance scores has an edge. Failing core web vitals is unlikely to tank your rankings on its own, but it is one more thing working against you if your site is already competitive.
What is a passing score versus a failing score?
Google grades each core web vital with one of three labels: Good, Needs Improvement, or Poor. To be considered passing, your site needs to hit the Good threshold across all three measurements. The specific targets are a Largest Contentful Paint (main content load time) of 2.5 seconds or less, an Interaction to Next Paint of 200 milliseconds or less, and a Cumulative Layout Shift score of 0.1 or less. If one or more of your measurements falls into the Needs Improvement or Poor range, that is where the work is focused. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and CrUX Vis will show you exactly where you stand.
Why does my score look different on mobile versus desktop?
Mobile and desktop are tested separately because they represent very different experiences. Mobile devices typically have slower processors, less memory, and rely on cellular connections rather than wired or Wi-Fi internet. That means a page that loads quickly on a desktop computer can still struggle on a phone. Google primarily uses your mobile score when evaluating your site, which is why mobile performance tends to get the most attention. If your desktop score looks fine but your mobile score is low, the mobile score is the one to focus on.
Will fixing my core web vitals help me get more leads?
It can, though the impact varies depending on how your site is currently performing. A faster, more stable site creates a better experience for visitors, and a better experience means people are more likely to stay on the page, read your content, and contact you. If your site is slow enough that visitors are leaving before it even finishes loading, improving that will likely have a noticeable effect. If your scores are only slightly below the passing threshold, the lead impact may be less dramatic. Core web vitals improvements are one piece of a larger picture alongside your content, your offer, and how clearly your site communicates what you do.
My competitor has a faster site. Is that why they rank higher than me?
It is possible, but page speed alone is rarely the full explanation. Rankings are influenced by a wide range of factors including the strength of your Google Business Profile, the number and quality of your reviews, your website content, local links pointing to your site, and how well your overall online presence matches what someone is searching for. A competitor with a faster site but weaker content and fewer reviews may still rank below you. That said, if everything else is relatively even between you and a competitor, their performance advantage could be contributing. It is worth looking at the full picture before attributing the gap to any single factor.
How much of a difference does page speed actually make for a local business?
For most local home service businesses, page speed is a supporting factor rather than a primary one. The biggest drivers of local search visibility are your Google Business Profile, your reviews, your service area relevance, and the quality of your website content. That said, page speed still matters for two reasons. First, it affects user experience. A slow site can cause potential customers to leave before they ever read about your services or find your phone number. Second, it is a ranking signal, even if a secondary one. The businesses that tend to see the most meaningful impact from speed improvements are those with sites that are significantly underperforming, not those that are just slightly below the ideal threshold.
How long does it take to see improvement after fixes are made?
It depends on the type of fix and how Google processes the changes. Technical improvements like server upgrades or enabling a CDN can produce measurable speed changes almost immediately. However, those improvements need to be picked up by Google's data collection before they show up in tools like Search Console or PageSpeed Insights field data, which can take anywhere from four to eight weeks. Rankings changes, if any, may take additional time on top of that. The lab data in tools like PageSpeed Insights will update right away and give you an early read on whether the changes are working.
Other franchisees in my system seem to have the same issue. Is this a brand-wide problem?
It very likely is. When multiple locations within the same franchise system are experiencing similar core web vitals issues, it usually points to something at the infrastructure level, such as the shared hosting environment, the website platform, or the way the brand template is built. Because Digital Shift does not have access to or control over the franchisor's website infrastructure, this is something that needs to be escalated to your corporate or in-house technical team. If you are aware of other franchisees experiencing the same issue, raising it collectively through your franchise support channels tends to be more effective than individual requests. We are happy to help you understand the issue clearly so you can communicate it to the right people internally.
Is core web vitals optimization included in my SEO program?
It is not included in your standard SEO program. Core web vitals improvements require technical and server-level work that goes beyond the scope of what is covered in your plan. Depending on your situation, our dashboard may include a feature to run and view a core web vitals report for your site. However, the actual work involved in diagnosing, planning, and implementing fixes is considered a separate service. If you would like to explore options, reach out to our team and we can walk you through what is available.
What tools can I use to test my core web vitals?
There are a few reliable tools available to check your site's performance:
Google PageSpeed Insights (https://pagespeed.web.dev): Provides a score and detailed breakdown of your core web vitals for both mobile and desktop.
CrUX Vis (https://cruxvis.withgoogle.com): A Google tool that lets you visualize real-world Chrome User Experience Report data for any URL or origin. This is based on actual user data rather than a simulated test.
Google Search Console: If you have access to your Search Console account, the Core Web Vitals report under the Experience section shows field data for your site over time.
GTmetrix (https://gtmetrix.com): A third-party tool that provides page speed analysis with actionable recommendations.
If you run a test and are not sure what the results mean, feel free to share them with our team and we can help you make sense of them.