Plumbers—don’t panic over Google’s Core Web Vitals test! If you’ve ever received an “urgent audit” claiming your plumbing website is failing Google’s Core Web Vitals, you’re not alone—and you don’t need to stress. In this episode, Paul Benton of PipeWrench Marketing explains the truth behind Core Web Vitals, why salespeople use it to scare small business owners, and why even tech giants like fail the test. What you’ll learn in this video: – What Google’s Core Web Vitals really measure (and why plumbers are being targeted with scary audits) – Why a slightly slow website doesn’t mean you’re losing customers or rankings overnight – Examples of billion-dollar brands that fail Google’s test—and why it doesn’t stop them from succeeding – How to talk to your web developer about Core Web Vitals without getting upsold on unnecessary fixes – The smarter way plumbing companies should think about website speed, SEO, and digital marketing At PipeWrench Marketing, we cut through the noise and help plumbing companies focus on what actually grows revenue—like SEO, Local Services Ads, Yelp, Thumbtack, and retention marketing. If you’re tired of scare tactics and want real, practical marketing advice for your plumbing business, this video is for you. Learn more at PipeWrenchMarketing.com and book a strategy session today.
Paul Benton: Hey there, plumber friends. Have you ever had anybody reach out to you on your website that you’re not passing an important Google test called the Core Web Vitals test? And that because you haven’t passed your website is slow, that you’re losing revenue and users and that it’s an urgent matter you have to take steps to cure right away. Well, I’ve got good news for you. You don’t have to worry about that. And I wanted to put this in perspective for you because there are a lot of salespeople out there running around with audits that they’re sending to plumbing companies and other businesses that their website is running slow.
So there is a kernel of truth, but from that kernel is spun a big yarn that’s much ado about nothing, and here it is. So Google is asking plumbers to have their website load in about two and a half seconds. And the truth is, many, many websites don’t meet that two and a half second standard.
And then Google will, indicate that you’ve failed the test. But before we, jump out the window over this or rush to call up our web developer or get somebody to explain an Audit like that, it’s worth considering who else has failed this test. Because if you failed, you are in great company.
So first off, you have, if you’ve received an Audit like this, you’ve probably first gone online and asked whether it’s important. And as you can see right here, Google says it’s extremely important, but. Who else has failed this test? Well, let’s have a look. We can see that Roto-Rooter, a national brand, fails this test because it’s 2.6 seconds instead of 2.5 seconds, so it’s failed.
We also see that lo and behold, Apple computer. One of the biggest technology companies in the world. It has also failed this test and is slower than Google’s two and a half second test. Going on, Nvidia, the world’s highest valued company worth over $4 trillion. It fails this test as well.
Disney, the Mouse, fails this test. And, you know, who else fails this test? Google. Google fails its own test, even though it’s loading at 1.7 seconds. There are other things in its own test that it put out, puts out there, and which salespeople have grabbed onto to scare us into thinking there’s something wrong with our website.
Google itself fails this test. So the moral of the story is if you have somebody send you an audit saying that you failed an important Google test and that you’re not meeting Google’s core Web Vitals Assessment, don’t leap outta your chair and don’t pay it any attention. Just mention a casually to your web developer because if they’re reputable, they’ll have all this taken care of.
And even if you do fail to test slightly, just remember that you’re in good company. Because there are companies out there worth literally trillions of dollars that also failed this test. For insights like this and on other areas of digital marketing for plumbing companies, reach out to us at PipeWrenchMarketing.com
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