Google Analytics complaining about "LCP issue: longer than 2.5s (mobile)"

[solemate]

Hi 

I’ve got a feeling that something isn’t right with our site as orders seem to have dropped off a little. According to Shopify, the speed score looks great, at 99.

However when looking in Google Analytics, we seem to have started getting an LCP issue on the 16th July, which now affects every page on our site, when accessed via Mobile.

I cant see any changes I made on this day, and I can’t see what the issue with. Any ideas where I can look to try and find the problem and how to resolve it?

[oscprofessional]

Hello @solemate 

Below are some factors that might impact the speed of your online store, and how you can address them For LCP Purposes.

• Eliminate Render-Blocking Resources
• Ensure Text Remains Visible During Webfont Load
• Preload For Webfont
• Optimize Images
• Largest contentful Elements
• Reduce initial server response time
• Remove unused apps

You can improve your website speed score by fixing these issues.

If there is anything that needs to be clarified or included, please let us know.  We will surely help you.

[flareAI]

Hello @solemate,

Good day! Gina from flareAI app helping Shopify merchants get $7Million+ in sales from Google Search, on autopilot.

Here are some steps you can take to identify and resolve the LCP issue.

* Sometimes, third-party scripts or resources might be causing delays in page loading. Review and optimize third-party scripts or consider loading them asynchronously to prevent them from blocking the page's main content.

* Check Google Search Console for any reported issues or suggestions related to mobile performance. It might provide insights into the specific pages and issues causing the LCP problem.

* Server performance and hosting quality can also affect LCP. Ensure that your server response times are optimal, and if needed, consider upgrading your hosting plan to handle increased traffic.

* Implement browser caching and consider using a CDN to distribute content across multiple servers, reducing the distance between the user and the server.

* Use Google's PageSpeed Insights tool to analyze the affected pages. This tool will give you more detailed insights into the issues causing slow loading times, including recommendations for improvements.

* Conduct a Lighthouse audit through the Chrome DevTools on the pages with LCP issues. Lighthouse provides comprehensive performance reports, including specific suggestions for improving LCP and other performance metrics.

* Use the Performance tab in Chrome DevTools to record and analyze a page load. This can help you identify bottlenecks, such as slow-loading resources or scripts that might be affecting the LCP.

* Large images can significantly impact LCP. Make sure images are properly compressed and served in appropriate formats. Consider using lazy loading for images to ensure they only load when they come into the viewport.

* As the problem pertains to mobile devices, take into account mobile-specific elements like responsive design, specialized CSS for mobile, and optimized JavaScript for mobile devices; assess your website's performance across diverse mobile devices and networks to confirm that the LCP concern isn't restricted to particular devices or network conditions.

* Sometimes changes in content, such as new images, videos, or other media, can affect LCP. Check if any new content was added around the time the LCP issue started.

Don't hesitate to ask if you need any further clarification. If you find the answer helpful give it a Like and ✓ Mark it as an Accepted Solution.

Gina

[SEOKart]

Hello Solemate,

Thanks for reaching out!

LCP or Largest Contentful Paint is one of the vital web analytics metrics that measures the page speed or measures how long the server takes to load the important elements of the web page. LCP below 2.5 seconds is considered good, while there is a need for improvement if the web page has an LCP between 2.5 to 4 seconds.

So, here are some ways in which you can optimize or improve the LCP of the web page:

1. Optimize CSS: CSS is helpful in styling the appearance and layout of the webpage or in other words, it assists the server in rendering the webpage. It is important to optimize the CSS files to help them load faster and contribute to enhancing page speed. Thus, compressing the CSS files, and removing the unused and bloated CSS files can help to reduce the LCP.
2. Optimize Javascript: If the JavaScript of your webpage has been sitting around for a while and no changes have been made to it, then it can cost the website its page speed. To optimize the page speed, you shall ensure to remove the unused and unnecessary JavaScript, check the code and keep it up to date to maintain its compatibility with modern browsers, and finally install modern JavaScript to reduce its loading time.
3. Implement AMP: AMP or Accelerated Mobile Pages is an open-source HTML framework, whose implementation allows Google to store the cached versions of these pages on the mobile server, which reduces the loading time of the website on mobile devices.
4. Compress Images: The images can be compressed by reducing their file size without hampering their visual qualities, which reduces the loading time of the images as well as the website.
5. Use GZIP: GZIP is the compression technique used for textual compression. You can use it for compressing the scripting on the website and large fonts, which have large file sizes. 
6. Implement Lazy Loading: Lazy loading is a technique that allows the website owner to identify certain parts of the website, especially the images, which are programmed to load only when required, which reduces the overall loading time of the web page and enhances its page speed.

Hope this helps!

Leesha

SEOKart

[donnamac]

We are plagued with these errors also.  Not sure what to do with them, and the responses you have received on your thread are very technical.  A small business owner doesn't have time to do and resources to afford to pay someone to.

this is what I see on Search Console

I have run the list of products it shows through the Page Screen Insights and it 'passes'.  Not really sure what to do at this point.  Anyone have any suggestions?  

[ssb42]

did you ever get this figured out? we are having the same problems as well and it is affecting us terribly. 

[donnamac]

@ssb42 

Sorry for the delayed response and the answer is 'no'.

We still get many of these errors.

I do adjust images sizes when I add products and try to keep them above 800px and under 2500px. I have no idea if this helps or not though.

As of Feb this year, Google recommends:

minimum image size is 300x300, we recommend to provide content that's at least 1024 x 683 px with best case to be 2048 x 1366 px.

Sorry.  This one I have wasted way too much time on and have too many other things to focus on lately.