Google just rolled out an important update that gives website owners deeper insights into why pages load slowly and how to fix them.

If your website relies on SEO, paid ads, or online sales, these new tools can help you diagnose what’s actually slowing down your site and improve user engagement, rankings, and conversions.

This update comes from the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) and its CrUX API, a tool that lets you access real-world performance data from actual visitors, not just lab tests.

But don’t worry, we’re breaking down the technical stuff into simple, actionable steps so you can take full advantage of this update and optimize your site without needing to be a developer.

How to Use CrUX to improve your website today

What is CrUX?

The Chrome User Experience Report gives you real-world insights into how visitors experience your site, straight from actual Chrome users. It reveals how fast your pages load, where users hit roadblocks, and what’s slowing them down.

No more guessing why your site feels slow! With CrUX data, you can see exactly where visitors struggle, whether it’s server delays, slow-loading images, or heavy scripts. and take action to fix it.

✨Fun fact: The Core Web Vitals data you see in Google’s PageSpeed Insights also comes from CrUX, meaning it’s based on real users, not just lab simulations!

How to Access CrUX Data

You can analyze CrUX data in two ways:

• CrUX Vis (best for non-devs): A free, visual tool that makes it easy to check site performance without coding.

• CrUX API (for developers): Provides raw performance data for custom reports and in-depth analysis.

Google’s PageSpeed Insights presents a simplified version of this data, but it does not include the latest CrUX updates.

📌 Best Option for marketers & business owners

If you're not a developer, CrUX Vis is the easiest way to check and improve site speed, no coding required. Just enter your website URL, and it will generate a visual performance report with insights on what’s slowing down your site.

Change #1: LCP subparts 

Google now shows exactly what’s slowing down your site’s main content. 

Previously, LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) was just one number that measured how fast your most important content (like your hero image or main headline) loads. Now, Google breaks it down into four key areas, so you can see what’s causing delays:

• Server response time (Time to First Byte, TTFB): How fast your hosting/server responds to a visitor’s request.

• Resource load delay :How long it takes for the browser to find the image on your page.

• Resource load duration: How long it takes to download the image.

• Element render delay: The time between when the image is available and when it actually appears on the page.

💡 What this means for your business:

Instead of just shrinking images, you can now fix the exact issue that’s slowing down your page whether that’s a slow server, JavaScript delays, or inefficient content loading.

📌 How to check this for your site:

1. Open the CrUX Vis tool and enter your website URL

If your site meets CrUX’s eligibility criteria (enough real-user data), it will generate a report.

2. Navigate to LCP image subparts

• Select the All Metrics report from the left handside 

• Navigate to LCP image subparts, then hover over the graph lines for detail breakdown

• Here, you’ll see the LCP subparts (server response time, resource discovery, load duration, and render delay).

• These insights show which part of LCP is causing the biggest delay.

Analyze what’s slowing down your LCP

Here’s how to interpret the graph showing your LCP delays:

✅ If TTFB is high → Your server is slow. Consider faster hosting, caching, or reducing redirects.

✅ If Resource load delay is high → Your main image isn't discovered early enough. Use preload hints (<link rel="preload">) to help browsers find it faster.

✅ If Resource load duration is high → Your image is too large. Optimize it using WebP, AVIF, or a CDN.

✅ If Element render delay is high → JavaScript might be blocking rendering. Move render-blocking scripts below the fold or defer non-essential ones.

🔍 Bonus: CrUX Vis also lets you track trends over weeks and months, so you can see if your optimizations are working.

💡 Pro Tip: If your business runs paid ads or relies on SEO, checking CrUX Vis regularly can help you catch slowdowns before they impact conversions and rankings.

Change #2: LCP resource type

Google now categorizes LCP by resource type so you can see whether images or text elements are slowing down your site.

📌 How to check this for your site:

Enter your website URL into CrUX Vis and select All Metrics from the left handside menu.
1️⃣ Navigate to LCP resource type report.
2️⃣ See the percentage of image vs. text-based LCP elements.

Analyze what’s slowing down your LCP:

Here’s how to interpret the graph showing whether images or text are causing delays:

✅ If most LCP elements are text → Focus on server-side improvements like reducing server response time (TTFB), optimizing render-blocking CSS, and enabling efficient caching.

✅ If most LCP elements are images → Optimize media assets by using WebP or AVIF formats, enabling lazy loading, and serving images through a CDN for faster delivery.

Change #3: Round Trip Time

Google now tracks internet speeds more accurately with RTT.

Previously, Google estimated a user’s internet speed based on broad categories like “3G” or “4G.” That wasn’t always helpful, as some users on “4G” still experienced slow loading times due to network congestion or poor connections.

Now, Google uses RTT (Round Trip Time) which is a more precise way to measure how long it actually takes for data to travel between your visitor and your website.

💡 What this means for your business:
If your site is slow in certain regions, it might not be your fault, it could be due to your audience’s network conditions. With this data, you can:

• Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) to serve content faster in specific areas.

• Optimize your hosting and server response time if your TTFB is high.

• Better understand performance dips that might not be related to your site but to visitor connectivity.

📌 How to check this for your site:

Head to CrUX Vis once again and enter your site URL. To navigate to the RTT Report: 

• Select All Metrics reports from the left-hand side.

• Scroll down to find the RTT tri-bin breakdown (low, medium, high) and hover over the graph lines for a detailed view.

Analyze what’s slowing down your visitors' experience

Here’s how to interpret the RTT data:

✅ If most users fall into the High RTT category → Your audience is on slow networks, which may affect loading times. Consider optimizing for lighter page assets and ensuring critical content loads first.

✅ If Medium RTT is dominant → Some users experience moderate delays. A better CDN or edge caching can help serve content faster.

✅ If Low RTT is dominant → Most visitors have fast connections, so any performance issues are likely due to your site’s setup rather than network speed.

What this means for SEO, ads, and conversions

🚀 SEO boost: Google prioritizes fast-loading sites in search rankings, and LCP is a critical ranking factor. If your page loads slowly, you risk losing organic traffic to faster competitors. With these new insights, you can optimize the exact areas causing slowdowns and improve your Core Web Vitals score, giving you a better chance to rank higher.

📉 Lower bounce rates & higher engagement: Every extra second of load time increases the chance of visitors abandoning your site. By fixing server delays, slow-loading images, and inefficient scripts, you ensure users stay longer, interact more, and move through your sales funnel smoothly, whether that’s reading content, signing up, or making a purchase.

💰 Better ad performance & ROI: If you're running Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or any paid campaigns, slow pages can waste your ad budget by driving up cost-per-click (CPC) while reducing conversions. A faster-loading landing page means:
✅ Lower ad costs (Google rewards fast sites with better ad quality scores).
✅ More users completing your CTA (purchases, sign-ups, form submissions).
✅ Higher return on investment (ROI) from your ad spend.

Bottom line: Whether you’re optimizing for SEO, engagement, or conversions, Google’s new CrUX updates help you focus on the right fixes to make your site faster, keep visitors engaged, and turn more clicks into customers.

Final thoughts

With this update, Google is providing you with more opportunities to deliver an excellent user experience that also improves SEO, conversions, and engagement.

Instead of relying on guesswork, you now have real-world data from actual visitors to understand what’s slowing your site down and how to fix it.

CrUX Vis makes it easy to identify performance issues and make meaningful improvements without needing technical skills. For deeper analysis, the CrUX API offers developers detailed insights to track trends and optimize performance over time.

By using these tools, you can create a faster, smoother experience for your users while improving key business metrics.

FAQ:

What is the CrUX update, and why does it matter?

The CrUX update enhances website speed measurement with three key changes. It breaks down LCP into four subparts to pinpoint slowdowns, categorizes LCP resource types (text vs. images), and adds RTT (Round Trip Time) analysis to show how network conditions affect performance.

What is CrUX, and how does it help with website speed?

CrUX (Chrome User Experience Report) shows how real Chrome visitors experience your site, revealing how fast pages load and where slowdowns happen. Unlike lab tests, CrUX captures actual user data, making it a powerful tool for improving site speed and engagement.

How does the CrUX update impact SEO?

The latest CrUX update gives businesses deeper insights into LCP performance, helping them identify slowdowns and improve Core Web Vitals. Since LCP impacts SEO rankings, these insights make it easier to optimize site speed and boost visibility.

How can I check my website’s speed using CrUX?

You can check your site’s real-world performance using CrUX Vis, a free tool that provides a visual breakdown of the CrUX data. Simply enter your website URL.

What new insights are included in the latest CrUX update?

The latest CrUX update introduces new ways to analyze what’s slowing down your site, including:

✅ LCP Subparts: Breaks down LCP into server response time, resource load delay, resource load duration, and element render delay.

✅ LCP Resource Type: Shows whether text or images are responsible for slow LCP times.

✅ RTT (Round Trip Time) Analysis: Measures network speed and latency, helping businesses understand why performance varies for different users.

How can I use the CrUX update to improve my site’s conversions?

The CrUX update helps businesses find what’s slowing down LCP, whether it’s server delays, late resource discovery, slow downloads, or rendering issues. It also shows whether text or images are causing delays and includes RTT analysis to measure the impact of network speed. Fixing these issues leads to faster pages, better engagement, and higher conversions on landing pages and checkout flows.

Do I need coding skills to use CrUX data?

No! The CrUX Vis tool provides an easy, no-code way for marketers and business owners to check website speed and find performance issues. However, if you want more detailed analytics, the CrUX API update allows developers to pull custom reports for deeper insights.

How often should I monitor my site with CrUX?

For the best results, check your site’s CrUX data monthly using CrUX Vis or the CrUX API. This helps track performance trends and identify new slowdowns before they impact SEO, ads, and user experience.