Why Speed Matters More in India
India has 750+ million mobile internet users on variable 4G connections. Google's Core Web Vitals — LCP, INP, and CLS — directly affect rankings and conversions.
The Three Core Web Vitals
LCP: How fast the largest visible element loads. Target: under 2.5 seconds.
INP: How quickly the page responds to user interactions. Target: under 200ms.
CLS: How much the layout shifts unexpectedly. Target: under 0.1.
Highest-Impact Speed Fixes
Image optimisation accounts for 40–60% of page weight. Compress, convert to WebP/AVIF, implement lazy loading.
JavaScript reduction — audit and remove unused scripts from analytics tools and chat widgets.
TTFB improvement — if over 800ms, hosting is the bottleneck. Move to a CDN-backed provider.
Font loading — use font-display: swap to prevent render blocking.
For website development built with speed as a first priority, or a technical SEO audit identifying your Core Web Vitals gaps, book a free strategy call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does website speed affect Google rankings in India?
Yes. Google uses Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS) as ranking signals. In India, where mobile network speeds vary, page load time has an outsized effect on both rankings and conversions. A 1-second delay can reduce conversions by 7–10%.
What is a good page load time for Indian websites?
Target LCP under 2.5 seconds on mobile. Time to First Byte (TTFB) under 800ms is a good server benchmark. Pages loading over 4 seconds see significant drop-off on 4G connections.
How do I improve Core Web Vitals on my website?
Most impactful: compress images and serve in WebP/AVIF format, implement lazy loading, reduce unused JavaScript, use a CDN, and move to faster hosting. For Next.js sites, the Image and Script components handle much of this automatically.