Fixing a Slow Store: A Page Speed & Core Web Vitals Overhaul
Client: A mid-sized e-commerce store in the “fashion & apparel” niche.
Challenges We Faced
The client’s site had high mobile traffic but a terrible mobile conversion rate, caused by critical SEO user experience failures:
Failing Page Speed & Core Web Vitals
Google PageSpeed Insights showed a mobile score of 25. LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) was over 6 seconds due to large images and slow-loading apps.
High CLS (Layout Shift)
Pop-ups and ads would load late, shifting the “Add to Cart” button and frustrating users.
High Mobile Bounce Rate
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) showed an 80%+ bounce rate on mobile category and product pages.
Low Mobile Conversion Rate
Their mobile conversion rate was 0.7%, a fraction of their desktop rate.
Unoptimized Images & Apps
Large images and too many apps slowed mobile pages, frustrating users and reducing conversions.
Pass Your Core Web Vitals
“Is your slow site killing your rankings? Our Page Speed & Core Web Vitals service will get you in the ‘Good’ score and boost your conversions.”
Our Approach – How We Solved These Challenges
Comprehensive UX/SEO Audit
We used Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights to get a baseline and identify all URLs failing Core Web Vitals.
Page Speed & Core Web Vitals Optimization
We deferred non-critical JavaScript (like chat widgets and 3rd-party tracking pixels) to fix INP (Interaction to Next Paint).
We compressed all product images and converted them to WebP to fix LCP.
We reserved space in the CSS for all ads and images, which immediately fixed the high CLS score.
UI/UX Analysis (Mobile-First)
We used Microsoft Clarity to watch session recordings, which confirmed users were “rage-clicking” as the layout shifted.
Technical SEO (Mobile)
We ensured all images were lazy-loaded (except “above the fold” hero images) to improve the initial load time.
Results
| Metric | Before | After | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google PageSpeed Score (Mobile) | 25 | 90 | +260% |
| Core Web Vitals (Mobile URLs) | “Failing” (90% URLs) | “Good” (95% URLs) | Passed |
| Mobile Conversion Rate | 0.7% | 1.5% | +114% |
Free PageSpeed Audit
“Failing your CWV test? Claim a Free PageSpeed Audit and let our user experience optimization agency find your slow-loading scripts!”
Advice for Marketers & Brand Owners
- Page Speed & Core Web Vitals are a direct ranking factor and a conversion factor. It’s the most important SEO user experience metric.
- Fix your CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift). If your ads or images are “jumping” on the page, you are frustrating users and getting penalized by Google.
- Use Google PageSpeed Insights to get your technical “to-fix” list.
- Defer non-critical JavaScript. Your chat widget or Facebook pixel should not load before your “Add to Cart” button.
Extra Factors That Made It Work
- A deep Technical SEO dive to defer 5 non-essential JavaScript apps was the biggest win for page speed.
- Image & Media Optimization (compressing and converting to WebP) was the key to passing LCP.
- Using the GSC Core Web Vitals report gave us a clear list of URLs to prioritize.
