Why Core Web Vitals is bad for influencers…and maybe everyone

In theory, Core Web Vitals seems to be good news for influencers, especially those who want to run efficient, high-quality sites. Unfortunately the reality is a lot trickier.

If you have a site that you want people to see on Google, then these days you must get familiar with Core Web Vitals. The protocol gathers metrics about the experience that visitors have on your site and can have a stark effect on your traffic.

What is Core Web Vitals?

Core Web Vitals is the latest way that Google measures site speed, user experience and page loading times across mobile and desktop. It then employs those results in deciding where the site appears in search results. Advocates state that Core Web Vitals help us look to the future and improve on the mobile-friendliness of sites across the Internet.

Now, there is talk across some quarters that we mustn’t get too obsessed with the site speed element of Core Web Vitals. In its guide to CWV, UK hosting company Lyrical (used by many influencers including BritMums) writes, “Speed is a very popular focus in the blogging and SEO worlds at the moment, which means it’s in danger of being overhyped.” Other factors such as quality content, good keyword research, depth of content are important too, it says.

The problem with Core Web Vitals for influencers

We absolutely agree that these latter things make a great site. But anecdotal research within the BritMums community shows that in the month that Google instituted Core Web Vitals, many influencers saw their site traffic fall off a cliff and their rankings in search engine results plunge. Obviously their quality content didn’t disappear. Indeed, for many the only difference they could figure out was the implementation of CWV.

At BritMums we know from our own experience the challenges of dealing with Core Web Vitals, as we worked to correct issues detailed by the Page Speed Insights, Search Console and third-party tools.

To be sure, Core Web Vitals has prompted some people to smarten up their sites and pay attention to the user experience more. A faster, more efficient internet would seem to benefit everyone. And yet…

What Core Web Vitals is like for influencers

Over the years my cofounder Susanna and I have met and spoken with hundreds of successful influencers. Everyone one of them was animated by their creativity and their own vision for their message and site. For a long time the idea has persisted that ‘the cream rises’: the good sites, the most creative work and the most helpful content will naturally rise to the top and gain an audience.

We now know that this idea is not only misguided — manipulated by large sites, algorithms, and paid placement — but rising to the top of SERP (search engine results pages) can be less to do with masterful content and more to do with careful writing around keywords, hewing to specific formatting and — now — spending time in the backend of your site sorting out a fruit salad of tech issues.

What’s blocking your Core Web Vitals?

I don’t know anyone who launched their blog because they wanted to dig into issues like Largest Contentful Paint and Cumulative Layout Shift. Even for individuals or small businesses willing to roll up their sleeves and educate themselves can easily find themselves stymied on how to fix issues like these:

• Eliminate render-blocking resources – Consider delivering critical JS/CSS inline and deferring all non-critical JS/styles. 
• Avoid chaining critical requests 
• Keep request counts low and transfer sizes small

Why this all matters

Search is the largest online source of traffic. Google drives 8 times more traffic than all social media networks combined, according to the site Growth Badger. (A site I found at the top of a Google search and whose URL includes the word ‘paid’.)

What this basically amounts to is a single company implementing requirements for being visible to others online. It determines not only the type of content produced but also the amount of time and/or expertise we must expend to take part in this marketplace. (It also affect the design and look of sites we see, something we’ll address in a future post.) Ultimately with Core Web Vitals, we are all working for Google, implementing its vision of how the internet should operate and what ‘good’ content looks like.

Ultimately with Core Web Vitals, we are all working for Google, implementing its vision of how the internet should operate and what content should look.

Core Web Vitals is the reason that influencers spend time installing plugins, buying services, hiring experts and redesigning their sites. This isn’t merely keeping with the times. It requires time, mind share and money. This is redirecting time and labour to simply be a part of the largest marketplace and information source in the world right now.

News about the impact of Facebook and social media has finally become big news because of the things we see, watch and read. But for anyone participating in the online world, it’s just as important we pay attention to the less visible demands that big digital companies make of us. Especially since they are determining how we have to spend our time to simply be heard.

More influencer advice

Star blogger Julie Falconer reveals steps to becoming a great influencer

4 steps to drive traffic using old blog posts

3 tips for creating better Pinterest pins