How to Improve Core Web Vitals

TL;DR: Boost your Kenyan website’s ranking by improving Core Web Vitals: test performance, compress images, enable caching, remove unused code, and implement lazy loading.

Last Updated: March 2026

Core Web Vitals directly impact whether your website ranks on Google’s first page and whether visitors stay or leave frustrated.

For Kenyan businesses competing in Nairobi’s digital marketplace, faster loading speeds and better mobile performance mean more conversions, especially when most customers browse on slower mobile networks.

Imagine you run an online electronics store selling laptops and smartphones in Nairobi.

A customer on Safaricom 4G searches “buy MacBook Nairobi” and clicks your site.

If your product images take 8 seconds to load, they’ll bounce to a competitor before seeing your prices.

But optimise your Core Web Vitals and your pages load in under 3 seconds—that customer now browses your catalogue, compares models, and completes their M-Pesa checkout. That’s the difference between a lost visitor and a KSh 150,000 sale.

Steps to Optimise Core Web Vitals for Your Kenyan Business

Step 1: Test your current scores using Google PageSpeed Insights

Enter your URL to get specific scores for mobile and desktop performance in Kenya. Understanding what Core Web Vitals really measure helps you see why Google prioritises loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.

Step 2: Compress all images to under 200KB using TinyPNG or Squoosh

Large product photos are the biggest culprit for slow Kenyan mobile speeds. This is a critical part of optimising your page speed properly since images often account for 60-80% of page weight.

Step 3: Enable browser caching so repeat visitors load pages instantly

Add caching rules through your hosting provider or WordPress plugin like WP Rocket. Implementing technical SEO correctly includes server-side optimisations that reduce load on every page view.

Step 4: Remove unused JavaScript and CSS that bloat your mobile pages

Use Chrome DevTools Coverage tab to identify and eliminate unnecessary code. Understanding what technical SEO involves shows you how code bloat affects both speed and crawl efficiency.

Step 5: Implement lazy loading so images load only when users scroll to them

This drastically improves initial page load for visitors on slower Safaricom or Airtel connections. This connects to optimising for mobile-first indexing since Google evaluates mobile performance first.

Step 6: Switch to a Kenya-based CDN or hosting provider

Servers physically closer to Nairobi reduce latency for local customers browsing your site. Understanding what page speed means includes geographic factors like server location, which affect load times. If you need more technical definitions, check out my SEO FAQs page for comprehensive explanations.

✅ Your Core Web Vitals Checklist:

• ☐ Test scores in PageSpeed Insights
• ☐ Compress all images under 200KB
• ☐ Enable browser caching
• ☐ Remove unused code
• ☐ Add lazy loading to images
• ☐ Use Kenya-based hosting/CDN
• ☐ Retest after changes

Focus on image compression first—it delivers the biggest improvement for Kenyan mobile users. You’ll see better Google rankings and higher conversion rates within 2-3 weeks as Google re-evaluates your site’s performance. Small technical tweaks, major business impact.

Download this complete SEO checklist to track all technical optimisation tasks, including Core Web Vitals improvements.

Let’s run a free SEO analysis to identify exactly which Core Web Vitals metrics need attention on your site.

Related Content

Curious to learn more about page speed and performance? Check out the posts below:

• What is Page Speed — Page speed measures how quickly your site loads and directly affects both rankings and customer satisfaction.
• How to Optimise Page Speed — Page speed optimisation covers image compression, caching, and code minimisation for faster Kenyan mobile performance.
• What is Technical SEO — Technical SEO includes Core Web Vitals alongside crawlability, indexing, and mobile-first optimisation fundamentals.
• What is Mobile-First Indexing — Mobile-first indexing explains why Google evaluates your mobile Core Web Vitals scores before ranking your site.

These articles will walk you through the basics of building a technically fast website.

Have more SEO questions? Our SEO FAQs Kenya page answers the most common ones.

Frequently Asked Questions