In a sector defined by razor-thin margins, escalating customer acquisition costs and intensifying international competition, technical web performance has evolved into a strategic priority for igaming brands focused on global growth. The giddy hype connected with ‘new’ markets like the US and Brazil has cooled and, while major opportunities exist, there is a realisation that to create an edge, brands need to really focus on the detail to squeeze out every bit of value from their marketing operations.
For igaming brands operating globally – from enterprise-level sportsbook operators to agile affiliate networks – Google’s Core Web Vitals (CWV) framework is becoming a differentiator that impacts everything from user engagement and SEO performance to ROI from ad campaigns, even if it isn’t the game-changer that will deliver a knockout blow to competitors.
CWV is Google’s standardised set of metrics for measuring real-world user experience. These indicators focus on three critical performance areas: loading speed, interactivity and visual stability. As of 2025, the key metrics include:
• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): measures loading performance by tracking the time taken to render the largest visible content on the page – ideally under 2.5 seconds.
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): replacing First Input Delay (FID), INP measures overall responsiveness. Google recommends a score under 200 milliseconds.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): evaluates how much page content unexpectedly moves during load, with a score under 0.1 being ideal.
These metrics are not theoretical. They are derived from real-user data gathered through Chrome User Experience Reports (CrUX), offering an authentic representation of how sites perform in real-world conditions across devices and geographies. For igaming brands that often suffer due to the drag factor of unwieldy, locked-down legacy platforms, improving performance in these areas can be a strong differentiating factor in a way that isn’t often the case in, for example, ecommerce. While agencies and SEO pros often look at CWV from a SEO perspective, it’s vital to consider the UX side of things and the benefits of incremental FTD growth in new markets.
Research from digital marketing agency Portent shows that a website which loads in one second has a conversion rate 5x higher than a site that loads in 10 seconds. In igaming, where high- intent users are often ready to deposit or claim an offer within minutes – if the onsite experience matches their expectations – every fraction of a second can impact the bottom line.
In international markets, the stakes are even higher. Page speed is not a constant across regions, and bettor expectations differ based on local norms, device and the path to deposit. In Southeast Asia, Africa and parts of Latam, mobile connections may still rely on older 3G or 4G networks. What loads seamlessly in London or Stockholm may time out in Lagos or Bogotá. In these environments, poor CWV not only degrade experience, they erase even the possibility of onboarding a new player.
What does Google want?
Google’s emphasis on CWV as part of its broader Page Experience updates has reinforced the connections between UX, content and link-building in contemporary igaming-focused SEO strategies. While links and content still, pound for pound, provide the most ranking influence – particularly ‘Helpful Content’ as per Google’s view of the world – CWV can be a tiebreaker, especially on high-competition commercial pages.
The challenge is that many operators are hamstrung by legacy CMS systems, over-engineered frontend code and complex sign-off processes, even once the will to make improvements is established. Even simple changes can be delayed by red tape or cross-department dependencies. For those able to move more quickly, there are competitive advantages to be had and, in this regard, affiliates, newer market entrants and ‘disruptors’ have the agility to make performance-focused changes quickly and test their impact in real-time, even if operating at much lower budget levels.
That agility is a significant, often overlooked, competitive advantage. For example, a brand operating on a lean tech stack can reduce INP by deferring non-critical JavaScript, resulting in measurable improvements to engagement metrics and revenue per visitor. At scale, these micro wins can become macro gains but it all takes discipline.
To start, it is worth looking at where igaming brands seem to have the most to gain, most easily across the key components of CWV.
1. Diagnose before optimising
Prioritisation is key and, while a focus on CWV isn’t going to help an otherwise weak brand become a top contender, opportunities do differ in potential impact. Usefully, Google’s Search Console provides CWV data broken down by device type and URL group, while tools like PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse offer actionable recommendations that can then be put in priority order based on business rationale. Using this data, it is important to focus first on high-traffic or high-value pages such as sportsbook odds pages, transactional pages, game demo pages, review hubs and (in the case of affiliates) bonus comparison tables.
For LCP improvements, most brands can benefit from the implementation of server-side caching, compression of large assets using modern formats like WebP or AVIF and prioritise above-the-fold content loading.
A final point on ‘low-hanging fruit’ is don’t overlook the backend infrastructure. Slow TTFB (time to first byte) due to poor hosting or unoptimised servers can drag down the entire CWV profile. A global content delivery network can make a measurable difference for users accessing the site from outside your core market, so factoring this into considerations around hosting, licensing, security and so on is key.
2. Streamline without stripping UX
While dragging down UX with images, videos, animations and other demands on load time is not good, we do need to remember customers expect a certain amount of dynamism from the igaming experience. The goal is not to reduce functionality, brand or visual appeal or otherwise kill conversion-driving features, it’s to deliver them more efficiently. UX-enhancing components like live odds feeds, product tiles, game previews or interactive filters can remain as long as they’re intelligently coded.
For INP, devs should aim to reduce reliance on large JavaScript libraries and avoid excessive document object model manipulation. Defer non-critical scripts until after user interaction. Frameworks like Next.js or Astro can offer modern, performance-first development options for affiliates and mid-tier brands. When integrated correctly, those can reduce page latency and boost user trust.
3. Provide a consistent experience
Visual instability isn’t just an annoyance, it’s a trust killer for those new to your brand. We’ve all experienced the frustration of landing on a site which takes forever to ‘settle’, leading to accidental clicks and delayed gratification. This is as much of an issue for over-ambitious affiliates as it is for operators. CLS issues are especially common on affiliate pages packed with dynamic ads or content blocks, but operators loading up today’s odds/matches can be just as guilty.
The answer is to set fixed dimensions for all embedded/dynamic elements, images, iframes and video embeds, where possible. Further gains can come from preloading any custom fonts and avoiding late-loading CSS.
CWV: from ‘nice to have’ to competitive edge
It is important not to overstate the potential benefits of a focus on CWV. The bread and butter of compelling products/offers combined with the fundamentals of organic SEO/content are critical but, in mature and ‘new’ markets, it feels like brands should leave no stone unturned. While few operators and affiliates actively boast about their web performance, in an industry that spends millions on traffic acquisition and paid media, failing to optimise for performance seems especially wasteful.
For challenger brands without the advantages of tier-one operators, CWV is one area where competition is level, and it is one of the few SEO signals entirely under your control – directly improving user experience. As regulators begin to put more emphasis on digital accessibility, performance optimisation could soon become a compliance issue as well as a commercial one.
A focus on CWV is not a silver bullet. But in an industry where user expectations are rising and digital competition is fierce, performance is more than a technical metric – it’s a proxy for professionalism, reliability and customer-centric thinking.
The post Core Web Vitals in 2025 and gaining a competitive advantage first appeared on EGR Intel.
Martin Calvert, marketing director at ICS-digital, on how Google’s set of metrics can be a differentiator for igaming brands looking to gain an edge in a customer-centric industry
The post Core Web Vitals in 2025 and gaining a competitive advantage first appeared on EGR Intel.