They are called Core Web Vitals and are a new ranking factor in organic positioning on search engines, namely the well-known SEO , which according to Google will make a difference in the coming months . It is therefore advisable to clearly understand what they are exactly and how they will affect the performance of a web page or an entire site.
In this practical article, we will try to explore these new positioning metrics a little more in detail , starting from their definition , without forgetting that they are only one of the different discriminants that we will have to take into account to implement search engine optimization in the 2021 .
What are Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are a set of three webpage experience metrics that Google considers crucial for 2022 SEO . They place the UI at the center of the organic positioning potential of a site or web page , i.e. the user experience who is browsing the page and interacting with the different elements that compose it.
These three ranking factors are as follows:
- LCP, or Largest Contentful Paint : defined as the rendering time of the largest element of the web page according to the size of the browser’s viewport, whether on a computer screen or on a mobile device. The lower this value, the faster the page will load and therefore its performance in terms of user experience.
- FID, or First Input Delay : this metric identifies the time that passes between the user’s first interaction with the web page and the browser’s response to that interaction. In practice, it can be defined as the time taken by the browser to react to user inputs, whether it is a click on a link, a touch on action buttons, or a player’s responsiveness. The measurement scope in this case will be the speed of interaction, and therefore the lower the value, the higher the page performance.
- CLS, or Cumulative Layout Shift : definable as the visual stability metric of the web page that the user is exploring. In summary, it measures the layout changes that occur during the user’s visit and that can negatively affect the browsing experience, for example by changing the position of a button. Again, the lower this value, the better the performance and user experience.
For Google, the user experience is increasingly accompanied by the quality of the content
The Core Web Vitals , i.e. the user experience metrics , are now considered by Google as coherent and complementary to the search metrics that digital marketers are used to refer to when studying the SEO of a website (see image at the end of the paragraph) .
This does not mean (at least for the moment) that websites that still present a “poor” user experience will no longer be positioned among the top search results, but rather that the UI factor will gradually play an increasingly central role. in SEO.
In fact, Google states : “We will in any case prioritize web pages that include the most informative content, even if some aspects of the user experience are insufficient.”
But be careful : ignoring the increasingly prevalent centrality of Core Web Vitals would be a mistake . On the contrary, the current moment must be considered ideal for reworking the aspect of the user experience of any website, so as to optimize it in full compliance with the new positioning logic that Google considers fundamental.
How to improve your website’s Core Web Vitals?
How do you work to significantly improve your website’s Core Web Vitals so that Google notices the difference and increases your SEO?
The approach to the user experience of any website should always be studied with the support of trained marketers and web designers , not only competent from a technical point of view but also up to date in terms of web marketing trend. In this way, it will be possible to differentiate the type of intervention according to the specific characteristics of the digital tool on which it will be necessary to work: it goes without saying that a site that operates on Shopify will have very different logics than a site based on WordPress , just to make a example.
However, you can undoubtedly start familiarizing yourself with these new ranking metrics by going to Google Search Console and right clicking on the “ Core Web Vitals ” option.
Take a look at the graphs presented on the page , paying particular attention to those dedicated to Mobile , which is increasingly crucial in user navigation (and therefore also in your strategy). What you will see is the result of the new JavaScript library and APIs that Google has come up with for tracking and measuring these parameters.
In particular, remember that you can use Google Tag Manager to track the users of your site using the APIs at your disposal.
Your goal after completion of the work on the Core Web Vitals will be to obtain a value of “poor URLs” equal to 0 , ie no page of your site with a poor or even insufficient UI performance .
You will then have to evaluate which of the three metrics among those we have explored together in this article is particularly problematic for your website and intervene accordingly, with the ultimate aim of obtaining a fluid, homogeneous and functional digital tool for your users.Do you want to improve not only the quality of your website content but also its Core Web Vitals ? Come and talk about it with us in Naxa !
Read More: How to attract more customers with search engines?
