Core Web Vitals and Your Website: Getting Ready for Google’s Latest Update

Google’s number one priority is search user experience. Every year for more than a decade, Google has made new changes to how pages are ranked in search results. First the focus was on keywords and links, then they devalued sites that used keyword stuffing and link-buying tactics. Then long-tail keywords and keyword clusters developed, followed by the more recent promotion of websites with excellent mobile performance. In this time, core web vitals have been increasing in importance – with websites that perform better reaching higher page ranking results.

The most recent Google update, as of July 2021, focuses primarily on Core Web Vitals, is a set of 3 analytics that measure a site’s performance when a user lands on each page. Total performance will be used to weigh your SERP (Search Engine Results Page) ranking. Despite the fact that page performance has long been part of SERP ranking, Searchmetrics finds that only 4% of websites rank as high as “good” according to the top 3 Core Web Vitals ratings. Google has set a very high bar and most websites aren’t competitive yet.

This is good news and bad news. The bad news is that your website is likely in the 96% majority. The good news is that those websites who jump ahead to prioritize improving their Core Web Vitals performance have a chance to jump far ahead of the curve and competition and reach top page results for this algorithm update.

Google chose three essential metrics to focus on with the latest update; loading, interactivity, and visual stability. These define a user’s experience when they first navigate to a web page.

Taking these three metrics into account, we can see why Google decided their importance. These web vitals indicate key elements of a user’s page experience – especially from the perspective of the search engine. To look at it another way, Google is basically asking:

To be frank, we as search engine users can appreciate the value of the update. After all, we want our search engine clicks to be fast, responsive, and not to rearrange while we’re trying to read or click. Now let’s look into the target range for each vital and how you can get your website ready to compete with this update in action.

Also known as the loading vital, LCP measures how quickly users can reach the core content of the page. This means the product description and images, blog article, or service page that the user initially clicked to see. A “good” LCP rating needs to be less than 2.5 seconds from click to content completion.

All too often, the ads load faster than the page or the core content loads so slowly that users “bounce” right off the page. Search engines see this high bounce rate and lower the SERP ranking of any slow-loading pages.

To get your website ready for a high LCP rating, you’ll need to reprioritize how each page loads content. Loading the layout and core content first and then filling in the details will give your website a boost in LCP and deliver the desired content faster to each of your website visitors.

Known as the interactive web vital, FID represents how quickly users can interact with your page. While you may have over 2 seconds to fully load the content, the inactive mode of your website needs to go much faster. Google wants to see less than 100 milliseconds for a “good” rating in the First Input Delay vital.

To improve your website, lighten the back-end weight of each page. Offload more into local resources or upgrade to faster methods that reduce the early interactivity delay. Ensure that your users can scroll and click on the page even if all your content is not yet loaded.

Finally, lock down that layout. Known as the visual stability vital, CLS is an important factor not just for Google, but for conscious user experience. We don’t count the milliseconds before a click, but we do all hate that jump-around effect when trying to click through a purchase or read through a blog article.

The solution to CLS shift is to set your layout in stone at the beginning of page load. Use placeholder frames for images not yet loaded and lock your button positions down as the page loads to minimize the mis-click risk. Watch out for mobile responsive layout changes and prepare for them, allowing the layout to adapt, then stabilizing it before content starts to load.

To check your core web vitals, add your website to google search console. Once you’ve verified your site click the ‘core web vitals’ tab to view your results.

Is your website ready to compete for Core Web Vital performance in the new Google page ranking race? Contact us today to build your Core Web Vitals strategy and streamline your page landing user experience.

The post Core Web Vitals and Your Website: Getting Ready for Google’s Latest Update appeared first on 406 Marketing & Design.