Although in this article and video tutorial, we’re looking at the key things you need to consider when speeding up your website, primarily this post is about giving Google what it wants.

And in this content-heavy online world, where lots of website owners and bloggers are pumping out great articles and posts, Google has to find more than one way to rank a website than just looking at content quality.

For example, when the Google algorithm finds itself with 5 sites to rank in search results, ALL with high quality, well-organised content, it’s going to turn to speed as a ranking factor and it’s going to happen soon (May 2021).

If you’ve been burying your head under a rock and telling yourself that your website speed is ok, then now is the time to pay a little more attention.

I invited website speed expert, Paul Tansley, to be a guest in our free Facebook group recently and in just under an hour, he broke down the sometimes intimidating subject of website speed into bite-sized and actionable chunks.

Here’s what you’re going to learn.

Google’s Core Web Vitals

In May 2021, Google *have said* that they are going to start considering three different speed measures as a ranking factor. This is what they call their Core Web Vitals and to rank well, you are going to have to meet a minimum threshold of Core Web Vitals.

The Core Web Vitals measure how effectively real-world website experience work for your visitors. Seems fair enough, right? Here are the three measures you’ll want to focus on.

• How fast does the page load?
• How long before someone can interact with it?
• How fast is it stable?

I think Google’s own page graphic, from the Google blog that I’ve linked to above, explains it best.

What’s covered in the video below?

• How Google’s Core Web Vitals will affect your ranking
• How to Test for Core Web Vitals
• Why GTMetrix scores do not matter
• How to use Chrome Incognito Inspect Tools
• The best way to make photos small enough to load fast
• Which testing and speed tools you can use (links below video)

Tools mentioned in the video

• Google Page Speed Insights
• GMetrix Speed Testing
• WP Rocket
• Nitro Pack

Thanks again to Paul, for his excellent session.

If you’d like some 1-2-1 training with Paul, he offers a website speed training course which takes a couple of hours. Excellent value, informative and really well planned.

PS. There are no affiliate links in this post – just links to great resources that we both recommend.