Website Speed - Core Web Vitals & UX: Why Technical SEO Is Essential for Rankings and Conversions
You can have the best content in the world, but if your website is slow, confusing to use, or performs poorly on mobile, you're going to lose traffic and potential customers. Website speed, usability and technical performance are non-negotiable for search visibility and user experience.
In this article, we cover what technical SEO really means, why it matters, and how we help you get it right from the ground up.
What Are Core Web Vitals & UX Issues to Watch
Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics introduced by Google to measure how users experience the performance of your website. They focus on real-world factors like loading time, responsiveness and visual stability.
Here’s what you need to keep an eye on:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
This metric tracks how quickly the main content of a page loads. Ideally, it should load in under 2.5 seconds. A slow LCP can cause users to leave before they engage.
More on LCP: Google Web Vitals Documentation
First Input Delay (FID)
FID measures how quickly a site responds when someone first tries to click, tap or interact. A delay here creates frustration and can impact conversions.
Learn more: First Input Delay in Practice
Note: FID is being replaced by Interaction to Next Paint (INP) as a new Core Web Vital from March 2024 - more details available here.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
CLS tracks how stable a page is as it loads. If things keep jumping around (like buttons moving just as someone tries to click), your site may score poorly.
Explore CLS standards: Understanding Layout Shift
Usability and Technical Issues That Hold You Back
Beyond Core Web Vitals, technical SEO includes a range of structural elements that can directly affect your rankings and user experience:
Mobile usability: A site that’s hard to navigate on mobile drives visitors away. Check if your site passes Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
Site structure and navigation: Clean menus, sensible page hierarchy and working internal links help both search engines and users move through your site easily.
Broken links and crawl errors: These affect how Google indexes your site and can damage user trust.
Image optimisation: Large, uncompressed images slow your site down. Using modern formats like WebP and proper compression boosts performance.
Secure connections (HTTPS): A secure site is not only a trust signal to users, it’s a confirmed ranking factor.
Accessibility: Ensuring your site is readable and navigable for all users, including those using screen readers, adds functionality and legal protection.
The Consequences of Ignoring Technical SEO
Technical foundations are just as important as content and design. Here's how we support our clients to stay ahead:
Speed and performance audits: We test your site using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and provide simple, practical fixes you can implement quickly.
Core Web Vitals checks: We assess your LCP, FID/INP and CLS scores, then work with your developer or ours to tighten performance.
Mobile usability improvements: We look at layout, tap targets, and structure across devices so your site is easy to use and Google-friendly.
Mobile usability improvements: We look at layout, tap targets, and structure across devices so your site is easy to use and Google-friendly.
Solid technical SEO: From fixing broken links to improving internal linking strategies, we help your site stay reliable and crawler-friendly.
Good SEO starts with strong technical foundations. Without them, even the smartest content strategy or slickest design will underperform. Whether you're launching a new site or want to improve your current one, technical performance is the place to start.
If you're unsure how your website is performing behind the scenes, we can help. Get in touch for a clear, jargon-free audit and a plan that actually moves the needle.
Ready to get technical SEO sorted? Contact us at help@onlineadvantage.co.nz or call 07 807 3050.
