Google began rolling out the Page Experience update in mid-June. Core Web Vitals are now officially part of Google Search's ranking signals.

The first thing many people noticed: the dramatic ranking drops many had feared did not materialise.

That does not mean nothing changed. It means Google (as usual) rolled out cautiously, and that the signal is one of many factors in a complex algorithm. But the direction is clear, and over time pages with poor Core Web Vitals scores will feel it.

What should be prioritised now?

If you have not yet looked at your Core Web Vitals scores, now is the time.

Step 1: Measure Open Google Search Console and find the Core Web Vitals report under "Experience." It shows which pages are classified as "Poor," "Needs Improvement" or "Good" based on real user data.

Step 2: Prioritise the most important pages Your homepage, service pages and landing pages you are paying for traffic to are the most important to fix first.

Step 3: The most common fixes

For CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift):

  • Add width and height attributes to all images in HTML
  • Avoid injecting content above existing content while loading
  • Use font-display: optional to reduce layout shift from font swapping

For LCP (Largest Contentful Paint):

  • Compress and reformat images to WebP
  • Preload the most important image on the page with <link rel="preload">
  • Switch to faster hosting if server response time is over 600ms

For FID (First Input Delay):

  • Defer or remove JavaScript that is not needed for the initial page render
  • Break up long JavaScript tasks

Where most sites are struggling

CLS is the signal where most websites have issues. Pages with images that have no specified dimensions, content that appears during loading, and fonts that swap: all contribute to a poor CLS score.

LCP is the challenge for websites with large uncompressed images and slow server response times.

FID is rarely a significant problem for simple content pages, but can be challenging for pages with heavy JavaScript.

The long-term picture

Core Web Vitals is not a one-time fix. Google updates the thresholds and adds new signals over time. From 2022, Interaction to Next Paint (INP) will be added as an experimental signal.

Businesses that build websites with performance as an integrated part of the design (not something bolted on afterwards) will have a lasting competitive advantage.

Want to know what your Core Web Vitals scores are and what should be prioritised? Get in touch: we will run a review and give you a concrete action list.