Best Digital Marketing Podcasts to Follow as an Agency Owner (2023 Update)

February 27, 2023
0 minute read

Podcasts involve real-time information sharing between industry professionals, making them excellent resources for staying up-to-date with the latest digital marketing trends.

When you listen to a podcast, you usually hear information, data, and insights you wouldn't find anywhere else. And as a digital marketing agency owner, keeping a pulse on the latest marketing trends and tactics is critical for delivering the best results for your clients.

Across dozens of platforms, millions of podcasts are available. Around 33% of podcast viewers turn to YouTube to tune into their favorite shows, but Apple, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, SoundCloud, and numerous other platforms are popular choices, too.

Whether you're looking for a new boredom cure or a way to get new insights to apply to a client’s marketing strategy, the digital marketing podcasts below will keep you informed.

1. Marketing School





Hosted by world-renowned marketing experts Neil Patel and Eric Siu, this show is perfect for marketing beginners and veterans alike. They provide actionable advice in a “short and sweet” format – the length of each episode usually lasts about 10 minutes.

Aside from their website, Patel and Siu syndicate the podcast to a variety of platforms, including Apple, YouTube, and Spotify. As an agency owner, you'll appreciate their straightforward advice as they discuss topics ranging from SEO optimization and viral marketing campaigns to habits of successful marketers and growth hacking techniques.

Length and Frequency: 10 minutes, 7 days a week (Monday-Friday).

Listen here: https://www.marketingschool.io/

2. Online Marketing Made Easy







Ex-corporate-turned-online-marketer Amy Porterfield hosts this show. Through in-depth interviews and solo episodes, she covers topics like leveraging webinars and video content for sales funnels, maximizing email marketing campaigns, and getting the most out of social media.

She dives into real strategies for each episode to help agency owners grow their businesses using her own personal accounts and those of her guests. She also looks at recent news and relates it to business owners in the marketing space.

As a listener, you’ll learn expert tips for creating a successful online marketing strategy and mini execution plans that you can implement immediately.

On her website, you can find links to several places to watch each podcast episode.

Length and Frequency: 20-60 minutes, 2-3 times per week

Listen here: https://www.amyporterfield.com/amy-porterfield-podcast/



3. The Search Engine Journal Show



The Search Engine Journal Show is a must for marketing agency owners. Host Loren Baker and guests share the latest trends in SEO, PPC, social media, and content marketing while talking with some of the biggest names in the space.

They offer strategies and insights that are both practical and applicable to implementing successful campaigns for clients.

Recent episode discussions include:

  • Scaling your PPC strategy beyond Google Ads
  • ChatGPT and AI-powered search
  • Custom user experience and content
  • Creative intelligence and its role in digital advertising

Search Engine Journal syndicates its podcast to Apple and Spotify, but users can listen to it directly on their website or YouTube channel as well.

Length and Frequency: 30-60 minutes, 2-3 times per month

Listen here: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/category/search-engine-journal-show/

4. Everyone Hates Marketers




Everyone Hates Marketers is a clever title for a podcast with an even better purpose. Host Louis Grenier takes a blunt, straightforward approach to marketing content while taking jabs at "influencers" who claim the importance of marketing without actually showing it.

He focuses on actionable advice, sharing insights into topics like customer journey mapping, content creation tools, and strategies for building customer relationships.

Weekly, he interviews industry experts from various backgrounds to get the best advice for marketing agency owners.

Length and Frequency: 20-60 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.everyonehatesmarketers.com/podcast/

5. Social Media Marketing Podcast




Published weekly since 2012, Michael Stelzner's Social Media Marketing Podcast provides valuable insights for digital marketers to stay ahead of the game.

Every week, Michael welcomes industry experts from various fields and specialties to present their go-to marketing strategies. On the show, you can learn how successful marketers employ social media, discover new tactics and approaches, as well as gain practical advice to enhance your own social media marketing efforts.

Length and Frequency: 45 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-marketing-podcast/


6. Social Pros Podcast





Social Pros is a one-of-a-kind podcast for social media marketers, having already left its indelible mark for ten years and counting. This award-winning podcast is perfect for agencies that specialize in or offer social media marketing services.

Through its 500+ episodes, hosts Anna Hrach, Daniel Lemin, and Erika Lovegreen unravel the mysteries of how giants like Google, Reddit, Glossier, Zillow, and Lyft form their social media strategies.

Agency owners can get a glimpse into behind-the-scenes secrets from these companies to understand how they staff their teams and measure success. Plus, they can learn key marketing tactics they can put in place right away.

Length and Frequency: 30-60 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.convinceandconvert.com/podcasts/shows/social-pros-podcast/




7. The DigitalMarketer Podcast



DigitalMarketer is a popular destination for agency owners, and its podcast is no exception.

Twice per week, this show—hosted by Mark de Grasse—offers a wealth of content to help marketing agency owners stay up-to-date on the latest trends, marketing tips, and strategies.

On the marketing side, de Grasse and his elite list of guests cover everything from ad frameworks and TIkTok growth to email marketing and copywriting. But for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, the DigitalMarketer podcast discusses topics like client and customer retention, growing a business from scratch, and marketing agency management tips.

Length and Frequency: 20 minutes, two episodes per week

Listen here: https://digitalmarketer.com/podcast/



8. The Digital Marketing Podcast





Hosted by Ciaran Rogers—an expert in digital marketing and ecommerce—alongside award-winning author and speaker Daniel Rowles, The Digital Marketing Podcast promises to be entertaining and informative, providing listeners from over 180 countries with an essential resource for digital marketing news around the world.

Weekly episodes feature conversations with marketing experts around the world and strategies for digital marketing success.

Length and Frequency: 30 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.targetinternet.com/digital-marketing-podcasts/





9. Agents of Change



Agents of Change is a digital marketing podcast that focuses on SEO, search engine marketing, social media marketing, automation, and more. Hosted on iTunes, Stitcher, and the podcast's website, Rich Brooks and his panel of experts discuss the cutting-edge topics that digital marketers need to know more about.

Whether you want to understand how AI can impact your business or how to create a new Facebook ad funnel, Agents of Change is the place to be.

Length and Frequency: 30 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/podcasts/


10. Goal Digger Podcast



The Goal Digger Podcast, hosted by Jenna Kutcher, is a live workshop-style business podcast to teach marketing agency owners how to reach their goals and succeed in the digital age.

Each episode features Jenna's unique take on something business-related, and her unique guests are featured as case studies and success anecdotes. Common topics include budgeting, finding a niche to capitalize on, and online business and entrepreneurship tactics for small businesses.

Length and Frequency: 30-45 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://jennakutcherblog.com/goal-digger-podcast/



11. Today in Digital Marketing



Today in Digital Marketing with Tod Maffin is a fast-paced, ten-minute podcast that covers the latest news, technologies, strategies, and issues in digital marketing.

If you're looking for a quick show to keep up with the world of digital marketing as an agency owner, this is the podcast for you. With Tod's insights, listeners will gain valuable knowledge about where digital marketing, where it isn't, and how to remain agile in the modern business landscape.

Length and Frequency: 10 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://todayindigital.com/

12. This Old Marketing





Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose, thought leaders of the Content Marketing Institute, host This Old Marketing podcast.

Each week, the two co-founders discuss the news in media, marketing, content marketing, and digital content. Listening to this podcast won't take up more than an hour of your time, and it's worth the listen for any agency owner or marketer.

Recent topics include AI content generation and how it impacts search engine optimization, business models of the future, and using content to build relationships.

Length and Frequency: 1 hour, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.thisoldmarketing.site/

13. Akimbo


Seth Godin has long been an influential leader in the digital marketing industry, and his podcast is no different.

In 2015, Godin founded Akimbo to be a community-based learning and growth platform for aspiring marketers and entrepreneurs to learn new skills. Through workshops and seminars, over 25,000 people have succeeded thanks to the Akimbo community.

In his podcast, Godin brings in experts to discuss their business journeys, particular topics related to digital marketing, and how to take your business to the next level. It's a must-listen for any agency owner who wants to stay ahead of the curve.

Length and Frequency: 30 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.akimbo.link/

14. Marketing Over Coffee


John Wall and Christopher Penn host Marketing Over Coffee, a weekly podcast that covers the latest trends in digital marketing.

The two friends chat about relevant topics including Google algorithm updates, how to use social media successfully as an agency owner, and the best marketing tools for today's digital marketers. For business owners, they also have actionable tips for product demos, LinkedIn promotion, and all sorts of other creative ideas.

They also bring on guests from across the marketing industry to discuss their particular area of expertise.

Length and Frequency: 20-30 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.marketingovercoffee.com/category/podcast/

15. Exposure Ninja Podcast

Exposure Ninja is an award-winning digital marketing agency based in the UK. Each week, CEO Tim Cameron-Kitchen bring in guests to discuss their particular area of expertise.

Whether it's social media marketing, SEO, copywriting and content creation, Google Ads/PPC, or website design, Exposure Ninja covers it all. They share advice from industry professionals who have insights that could help agency owners grow their businesses.

Length and Frequency: 30 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.exposureninja.com/podcast/

16. Marketing O'Clock


Greg Finn, Jessica Budde, and Christine "Shep" Zirnheld host Marketing O'Clock, a weekly podcast that focuses on digital marketing news and current events. Produced by Cypress North, a full-service agency based in Buffalo, NY, candid conversations on the Marketing O'Clock podcast are great for staying up-to-date on the latest news.

The trio provide their unique perspective on all sorts of topics related to digital marketing, from influencer marketing and website design updates, to Google Analytics tips and tricks. It's definitely worth listening in if you're an agency owner looking for expert advice on your digital marketing strategy.

Length and Frequency: 30 minutes, 1 episode per week (plus bonus talk panels with industry pros)

Listen here: https://marketingoclock.com/

17. The CMO Podcast


Jim Stengel, former Procter & Gamble CMO and now founder of The Jim Stengel Company, interviews top executives from across the globe about their respective companies and what it takes to run successful marketing campaigns.

Jim's conversations are candid and insightful as he asks each executive about their strategies for leveraging digital media, building relationships with customers, and how they measure success in one of the most demanding positions in business.

Many agency owners double as the CMO of their company, making The CMO Podcast a great way to learn from some of the best in the field while seeing how other marketing executives communicate, think, and act.

Length and Frequency: 60 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.jimstengel.com/the-cmo-podcast/ (available on Apple Podcasts only)

18. Branded Search (and Beyond)



The podcast first premiered in 2019 as #SEOisAEO, but host Jason Barnard decided to broaden the conversation topics for it and changed its name in 2020.

For the initial eighteen months of existence, episodes were produced during major digital marketing conferences such as SMX London, YoastCon, CopyCon, and Digital Olympus.

Due to the success of Kalicube Tuesdays livestream series, recordings were moved online starting in June 2020.

In January 2023, the podcast was rebranded again as Branded Search (and Beyond).

From technical SEO to copywriting, UX design to database management, and knowledge panels to influencer marketing, the topics covered are almost limitless. Barnard and his guests explore everything under the sun, meaning the content of this podcast is useful for just about any agency owner out there.

Length and Frequency: 30-60 minutes, 1 episode per week (on Tuesdays)

Listen here: https://brandedsearchandbeyond.com/ or https://www.youtube.com/@Kalicube/streams (for live streams)

19. The Smart Passive Income Podcast



From Gary Vee to Tim Ferriss (author of The 4-Hour Work Week), Pat Flynn interviews some of the biggest names in digital marketing on his podcast, The Smart Passive Income Podcast.

He covers a variety of topics related to running an online business and going beyond just “making money” by creating something bigger than yourself.

His guests explore the deeper side of entrepreneurship, marketing, motivation, and more, making this podcast great for anyone who is looking to make a real impact in today’s digital world.

It's perfect for any agency owner that wants to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and tips from top digital marketers.

Length and Frequency: 60 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/shows/spi/

20. Edge of the Web

If you’re an agency owner, Edge of the Web is a must-listen.

Host Erin Sparks discusses all aspects of digital marketing, including SEO, PPC, social media, content marketing, lead generation, analytics, and more.

The weekly podcast also features interviews with industry experts to provide insight into the latest strategies and tactics being used in digital marketing.

Each week, the site publishes a news recap (News from the EDGE) giving agency owners a quick overview of what's going on in the world of digital marketing.

Length and Frequency: 60 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://edgeofthewebradio.com/

21. Duct Tape Marketing

Since 2005, John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing has interviewed top marketers and entrepreneurs on his podcast, which covers topics ranging from how to effectively grow your business to optimizing workflows within your agency, selling your business, and more.

Each episode is designed to help business owners make their businesses more profitable by showing them what others are doing.

Through case studies and personal anecdotes, agency owners can become better at what they do—owning an agency.

Length and Frequency: 20 minutes, 2 episodes per week

Listen here: https://ducttapemarketing.com/about/duct-tape-marketing-podcast/

22. The Influencer Podcast

Julie Solomon is a personal brand building coach (and a personal brand builder herself).

In weekly podcasts, she sometimes interviews influencers, digital marketers, and entrepreneurs to discuss the challenges that come with creating a personal brand in an ever-evolving digital marketing landscape.

Other times, she recounts her own experiences as an influencer and how she overcame the challenges associated with her own personal brand.

Agency owners often have trouble with their own brand building—a unique paradox for marketers who work to build other brands all day.

This podcast covers the issues in an entertaining way and provides actionable advice on how to tackle these problems.

Length and Frequency: 30 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://juliesolomon.net/podcast/

23. Marketing Speak Podcast

Hosted by Stephan Spencer, Marketing Speak aims to teach the topics that school just won't. Branded as "an MBA in your pocket," the podcast features interviews with other digital marketers who share their stories, advice, and strategies for success.

With live Q&As and office hours, Spencer's unique approach makes it easy for agency owners to ask any question they want and get a straightforward answer.

Length and Frequency: 45 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.marketingspeak.com/podcasts/

24. Marketing Companion


Mark Schaefer is an acclaimed international marketing author, futurist, educator, consultant, and keynote speaker. Every two weeks Mark joins forces with one of his "marketing partners" to analyze the present trends that will shape tomorrow's innovative marketing strategies.

The Marketing Companion—among the most downloaded podcasts on iTunes—has something for everyone. With episodes delivered straight to your inbox every other week and topics from all corners of the marketing world, agency owners from all disciplines can find something valuable in each episode of this podcast.

Length and Frequency: 30 minutes, 1 episode every two weeks

Listen here: https://businessesgrow.com/podcast-the-marketing-companion-2/

25. Unthinkable


Creativity at work can be challenging, but agency owners often find it to be a requirement. Jay Acunzo, host of Unthinkable, interviews creatives, entrepreneurs, and prominent business executives to discuss the stories behind their success—and failure.

Listeners can hear from some of the most influential figures in the business world, like Disney and Adobe's executives, Zoom and Patreon's CEOs, Death Wish Coffee’s founders, and popular creators like writer Tim Urban, photographer Chase Jarvis, and comedian Sarah Cooper.

Agency owners can find inspiration in each episode and learn unconventional methods for managing their own marketing agency.

Length and Frequency: 45-60 minutes, 3 episodes per week

Listen here: https://jayacunzo.com/unthinkable-podcast

26. Copyblogger


Tim Stoddart, million-dollar agency founder, LinkedIn micro influencer, and copywriting guru hosts Copyblogger's podcast. Each episode features Stoddart and a special guest, who together delve into the nuts-and-bolts of running a successful marketing firm—from managing clients to staying up to date on the latest digital trends.

For agency owners, this podcast provides insight from experienced professionals as well as useful advice for efficient scaling to seven figures and beyond.

Length and Frequency: 30 minutes, 1 episode per week

Listen here: https://www.copybloggerpod.com/

Final Thoughts


For digital marketing agency owners looking to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and strategies, these podcasts provide invaluable advice.

Knowing what’s happening in the industry can help you make informed decisions for your business, allowing you to focus your efforts in areas that will have the most impact.

And learning how to scale your agency the right way can save you time, money, and effort in the long run.

So, tune into one (or more) of these podcasts to make sure that your marketing agency isn’t falling behind!

RElated Posts

By Shawn Davis April 1, 2026
Core Web Vitals aren't new, Google introduced them in 2020 and made them a ranking factor in 2021. But the questions keep coming, because the metrics keep changing and the stakes keep rising. Reddit's SEO communities were still debating their impact as recently as January 2026, and for good reason: most agencies still don't have a clear, repeatable way to measure, diagnose, and fix them for clients. This guide cuts through the noise. Here's what Core Web Vitals actually measure, what good scores look like today, and how to improve them—without needing a dedicated performance engineer on every project. What Core Web Vitals measure Google evaluates three user experience signals to determine whether a page feels fast, stable, and responsive: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures how long it takes for the biggest visible element on a page — usually a hero image or headline — to load. Google considers anything under 2.5 seconds good. Above 4 seconds is poor. Interaction to Next Paint (INP) replaced First Input Delay (FID) in March 2024. Where FID measures the delay before a user's first click is registered, INP tracks the full responsiveness of every interaction across the page session. A good INP score is under 200 milliseconds. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures visual stability — how much page elements unexpectedly move while content loads. A score below 0.1 is good. Higher scores signal that images, ads, or embeds are pushing content around after load, which frustrates users and tanks conversions. These three metrics are a subset of Google's broader Page Experience signals, which also include HTTPS, safe browsing, and mobile usability. Core Web Vitals are the ones you can most directly control and improve. Why your clients' scores may still be poor Core Web Vitals scores vary dramatically by platform, hosting, and how a site was built. Some of the most common culprits agencies encounter: Heavy above-the-fold content . A homepage with an autoplay video, a full-width image slider, and a chat widget loading simultaneously will fail LCP every time. The browser has to resolve all of those resources before it can paint the largest element. Unstable image dimensions . When an image loads without defined width and height attributes, the browser doesn't reserve space for it. It renders the surrounding text, then jumps it down when the image appears. That jump is CLS. Third-party scripts blocking the main thread . Analytics pixels, ad tags, and live chat tools run on the browser's main thread. When they stack up, every click and tap has to wait in line — driving INP scores up. A single slow third-party script can push an otherwise clean site into "needs improvement" territory. Too many web fonts . Each font family and weight is a separate network request. A page loading four font files before rendering any text will fail LCP, especially on mobile connections. Unoptimized images . JPEGs and PNGs served at full resolution, without compression or modern formats like WebP or AVIF, add unnecessary weight to every page load. How to measure them accurately There are two types of Core Web Vitals data you should be looking at for every client: Lab data comes from tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, and WebPageTest. It simulates page loads in controlled conditions. Lab data is useful for diagnosing specific issues and testing fixes before you deploy them. Field data (also called Real User Monitoring, or RUM) comes from actual users visiting the site. Google collects this through the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) and surfaces it in Search Console and PageSpeed Insights. Field data is what Google actually uses as a ranking signal — and it often looks worse than lab data because it reflects real-world device and connection variability. If your client's site has enough traffic, you'll see field data in Search Console under Core Web Vitals. This is your baseline. Lab data helps you understand why the scores are what they are. For clients with low traffic who don't have enough field data to appear in CrUX, you'll be working primarily with lab scores. Set that expectation early so clients understand that improvements may not immediately show up in Search Console. Practical fixes that move the needle Fix LCP: get the hero image loading first The single most effective LCP improvement is adding fetchpriority="high" to the hero image tag. This tells the browser to prioritize that resource over everything else. If you're using a background CSS image for the hero, switch it to anelement — background images aren't discoverable by the browser's preload scanner. Also check whether your hosting serves images through a CDN with caching. Edge delivery dramatically reduces the time-to-first-byte, which feeds directly into LCP. Fix CLS: define dimensions for every media element Every image, video, and ad slot on the page needs explicit width and height attributes in the HTML. If you're using responsive CSS, you can still define the aspect ratio with aspect-ratio in CSS while leaving the actual size fluid. The key is giving the browser enough information to reserve space before the asset loads. Avoid inserting content above existing content after page load. This is common with cookie banners, sticky headers that change height, and dynamically loaded ad units. If you need to show these, anchor them to fixed positions so they don't push content around. Fix INP: reduce what's competing for the main thread Audit third-party scripts and defer or remove anything that isn't essential. Tools like WebPageTest's waterfall view or Chrome DevTools Performance panel show you exactly which scripts are blocking the main thread and for how long. Load chat widgets, analytics, and ad tags asynchronously and after the page's critical path has resolved. For most clients, moving non-essential scripts to load after the DOMContentLoaded event is a meaningful INP improvement with no visible impact on the user experience. For websites with heavy JavaScript — particularly those built on frameworks with large client-side bundles — consider breaking up long tasks into smaller chunks using the browser's Scheduler API or simply splitting components so the main thread isn't locked for more than 50 milliseconds at a stretch. What platforms handle automatically One of the practical advantages of building on a platform optimized for performance is that many of these fixes are applied by default. Duda, for example, automatically serves WebP images, lazy loads below-the-fold content, minifies CSS, and uses efficient cache policies for static assets. As of May 2025, 82% of sites built on Duda pass all three Core Web Vitals metrics — the highest recorded pass rate among major website platforms. That baseline matters when you're managing dozens or hundreds of client sites. It means you're starting each project close to or at a passing score, rather than diagnosing and patching a broken foundation. How much do Core Web Vitals actually affect rankings? Honestly, they're a tiebreaker — not a primary signal. Google has been clear that content quality and relevance still dominate ranking decisions. A well-optimized site with thin, irrelevant content won't outrank a content-rich competitor just because its CLS is 0.05. What Core Web Vitals do affect is the user experience that supports those rankings. Pages with poor LCP scores have measurably higher bounce rates. Sites with high CLS lose users mid-session. Those behavioral signals — time on page, return visits, conversions — are things search engines can observe and incorporate. The practical argument for fixing Core Web Vitals isn't just "because Google said so." It's that faster, more stable pages convert better. Every second of LCP improvement can reduce bounce rates by 15–20% depending on the industry and device mix. For client sites that monetize through leads or eCommerce, that's a revenue argument, not just an SEO argument. A repeatable process for agencies Audit every new site before launch. Run PageSpeed Insights and record LCP, INP, and CLS scores for both mobile and desktop. Flag anything in the "needs improvement" or "poor" range before the client sees the live site. Check Search Console monthly for existing clients. The Core Web Vitals report surfaces issues as they appear in field data. Catching a regression early — before it compounds — is significantly easier than explaining a traffic drop after the fact. Document what you've improved. Clients rarely see Core Web Vitals scores on their own. A monthly one-page performance summary showing before/after scores builds credibility and makes your technical work visible. Prioritize mobile. Google uses mobile-first indexing, and field data shows that mobile CWV scores are almost always worse than desktop. If you only have time to optimize one version, do mobile first. Core Web Vitals aren't a one-time fix. Platforms change, new scripts get added, campaigns bring in new widgets. Build the audit into your workflow and treat it like any other ongoing deliverable, and you'll stay ahead of the issues before they affect your clients' rankings. Duda's platform is built with Core Web Vitals performance in mind. Explore how it handles image optimization, script management, and site speed automatically — so your team spends less time debugging and more time building.
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By Shawn Davis April 1, 2026
Core Web Vitals aren't new, Google introduced them in 2020 and made them a ranking factor in 2021. But the questions keep coming, because the metrics keep changing and the stakes keep rising. Reddit's SEO communities were still debating their impact as recently as January 2026, and for good reason: most agencies still don't have a clear, repeatable way to measure, diagnose, and fix them for clients. This guide cuts through the noise. Here's what Core Web Vitals actually measure, what good scores look like today, and how to improve them—without needing a dedicated performance engineer on every project. What Core Web Vitals measure Google evaluates three user experience signals to determine whether a page feels fast, stable, and responsive: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures how long it takes for the biggest visible element on a page — usually a hero image or headline — to load. Google considers anything under 2.5 seconds good. Above 4 seconds is poor. Interaction to Next Paint (INP) replaced First Input Delay (FID) in March 2024. Where FID measures the delay before a user's first click is registered, INP tracks the full responsiveness of every interaction across the page session. A good INP score is under 200 milliseconds. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures visual stability — how much page elements unexpectedly move while content loads. A score below 0.1 is good. Higher scores signal that images, ads, or embeds are pushing content around after load, which frustrates users and tanks conversions. These three metrics are a subset of Google's broader Page Experience signals, which also include HTTPS, safe browsing, and mobile usability. Core Web Vitals are the ones you can most directly control and improve. Why your clients' scores may still be poor Core Web Vitals scores vary dramatically by platform, hosting, and how a site was built. Some of the most common culprits agencies encounter: Heavy above-the-fold content . A homepage with an autoplay video, a full-width image slider, and a chat widget loading simultaneously will fail LCP every time. The browser has to resolve all of those resources before it can paint the largest element. Unstable image dimensions . When an image loads without defined width and height attributes, the browser doesn't reserve space for it. It renders the surrounding text, then jumps it down when the image appears. That jump is CLS. Third-party scripts blocking the main thread . Analytics pixels, ad tags, and live chat tools run on the browser's main thread. When they stack up, every click and tap has to wait in line — driving INP scores up. A single slow third-party script can push an otherwise clean site into "needs improvement" territory. Too many web fonts . Each font family and weight is a separate network request. A page loading four font files before rendering any text will fail LCP, especially on mobile connections. Unoptimized images . JPEGs and PNGs served at full resolution, without compression or modern formats like WebP or AVIF, add unnecessary weight to every page load. How to measure them accurately There are two types of Core Web Vitals data you should be looking at for every client: Lab data comes from tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, and WebPageTest. It simulates page loads in controlled conditions. Lab data is useful for diagnosing specific issues and testing fixes before you deploy them. Field data (also called Real User Monitoring, or RUM) comes from actual users visiting the site. Google collects this through the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) and surfaces it in Search Console and PageSpeed Insights. Field data is what Google actually uses as a ranking signal — and it often looks worse than lab data because it reflects real-world device and connection variability. If your client's site has enough traffic, you'll see field data in Search Console under Core Web Vitals. This is your baseline. Lab data helps you understand why the scores are what they are. For clients with low traffic who don't have enough field data to appear in CrUX, you'll be working primarily with lab scores. Set that expectation early so clients understand that improvements may not immediately show up in Search Console. Practical fixes that move the needle Fix LCP: get the hero image loading first The single most effective LCP improvement is adding fetchpriority="high" to the hero image tag. This tells the browser to prioritize that resource over everything else. If you're using a background CSS image for the hero, switch it to anelement — background images aren't discoverable by the browser's preload scanner. Also check whether your hosting serves images through a CDN with caching. Edge delivery dramatically reduces the time-to-first-byte, which feeds directly into LCP. Fix CLS: define dimensions for every media element Every image, video, and ad slot on the page needs explicit width and height attributes in the HTML. If you're using responsive CSS, you can still define the aspect ratio with aspect-ratio in CSS while leaving the actual size fluid. The key is giving the browser enough information to reserve space before the asset loads. Avoid inserting content above existing content after page load. This is common with cookie banners, sticky headers that change height, and dynamically loaded ad units. If you need to show these, anchor them to fixed positions so they don't push content around. Fix INP: reduce what's competing for the main thread Audit third-party scripts and defer or remove anything that isn't essential. Tools like WebPageTest's waterfall view or Chrome DevTools Performance panel show you exactly which scripts are blocking the main thread and for how long. Load chat widgets, analytics, and ad tags asynchronously and after the page's critical path has resolved. For most clients, moving non-essential scripts to load after the DOMContentLoaded event is a meaningful INP improvement with no visible impact on the user experience. For websites with heavy JavaScript — particularly those built on frameworks with large client-side bundles — consider breaking up long tasks into smaller chunks using the browser's Scheduler API or simply splitting components so the main thread isn't locked for more than 50 milliseconds at a stretch. What platforms handle automatically One of the practical advantages of building on a platform optimized for performance is that many of these fixes are applied by default. Duda, for example, automatically serves WebP images, lazy loads below-the-fold content, minifies CSS, and uses efficient cache policies for static assets. As of May 2025, 82% of sites built on Duda pass all three Core Web Vitals metrics — the highest recorded pass rate among major website platforms. That baseline matters when you're managing dozens or hundreds of client sites. It means you're starting each project close to or at a passing score, rather than diagnosing and patching a broken foundation. How much do Core Web Vitals actually affect rankings? Honestly, they're a tiebreaker — not a primary signal. Google has been clear that content quality and relevance still dominate ranking decisions. A well-optimized site with thin, irrelevant content won't outrank a content-rich competitor just because its CLS is 0.05. What Core Web Vitals do affect is the user experience that supports those rankings. Pages with poor LCP scores have measurably higher bounce rates. Sites with high CLS lose users mid-session. Those behavioral signals — time on page, return visits, conversions — are things search engines can observe and incorporate. The practical argument for fixing Core Web Vitals isn't just "because Google said so." It's that faster, more stable pages convert better. Every second of LCP improvement can reduce bounce rates by 15–20% depending on the industry and device mix. For client sites that monetize through leads or eCommerce, that's a revenue argument, not just an SEO argument. A repeatable process for agencies Audit every new site before launch. Run PageSpeed Insights and record LCP, INP, and CLS scores for both mobile and desktop. Flag anything in the "needs improvement" or "poor" range before the client sees the live site. Check Search Console monthly for existing clients. The Core Web Vitals report surfaces issues as they appear in field data. Catching a regression early — before it compounds — is significantly easier than explaining a traffic drop after the fact. Document what you've improved. Clients rarely see Core Web Vitals scores on their own. A monthly one-page performance summary showing before/after scores builds credibility and makes your technical work visible. Prioritize mobile. Google uses mobile-first indexing, and field data shows that mobile CWV scores are almost always worse than desktop. If you only have time to optimize one version, do mobile first. Core Web Vitals aren't a one-time fix. Platforms change, new scripts get added, campaigns bring in new widgets. Build the audit into your workflow and treat it like any other ongoing deliverable, and you'll stay ahead of the issues before they affect your clients' rankings. Duda's platform is built with Core Web Vitals performance in mind. Explore how it handles image optimization, script management, and site speed automatically — so your team spends less time debugging and more time building.
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