Has Google Core Web Vitals replaced old page speed algorithms?

Have you wondered if the page speed algorithm updates of 2010 and 2018 are still relevant now? Well, Google has just confirmed everything you need to know!

It’s well known that having a website that loads quickly has benefits for your search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts. However, there have been three different announcements about the page speed algorithm over the years. Should you be listing to all three of these to get the best results from your website’s SEO?

Recently, a tweet was published asking John Mueller from Google if the old page speed signals from 2010 and 2018 were still used as a ranking factor for Google. Mueller replied to this tweet saying that Google’s ranking factor is now only Core Web Vitals, which was released in 2021.

This means that if you are analysing your website’s page speed to look for improvements and achieve the best performance in search results, you only need to focus on Google’s Core Web Vitals.

There are three main Core Web Vitals metrics you need to make sure you are analysing, which are:

– Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
– First Input Delay (FID)
– Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

What tools can I use to analyse my Core Web Vitals?

There are many page speed tools in the market, but the best one to use is Google’s own Page Speed Insights tool, which will clearly give you the Core Web Vitals from Google’s algorithms. If your website gets lots of users, you will also be able to see field data – the metrics used for Google rankings.

If you don’t have enough users, you can still use the Page Speed Insights tool, but you will only see “lab data”, meaning it only shows how your website is currently performing.

Making sure your website is search engine friendly is an effective way to increase traffic and boost your businesses revenue. If you are looking to grow your business, get in touch and have a chat with our friendly team to work out the best strategy for you.

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Jonathon Roberts

Jonathon lives and breathes marketing, boasting a degree in Business Management and Marketing Management and a diverse list of experiences both professional and voluntary. Having grown up in the thick of the digital and social media age, he has been quick to dive into online marketing and search engine optimisation in his career and spare time, spanning such fields as academics, local business and sport.

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