If you are dedicated to optimizing the performance of websites or know a little about the subject, you should already know that user experience is one of the most important factors for ranking on Google. And the implementation of the Core Web Vital has given this criterion an even more relevant role.
In previous updates to your algorithm, such as the the search giant was already showing signs that it would increasingly value the browsing experience as a scoring factor.
VIDEO | SEO Positioning: 5 Tips to be at the top of Google results | Tips
Requirements such as download speed, reactive content and safe browsing were already known. Now other metrics come into play!
If you are concerned with the positioning of your website in search results and the reach of your brand on the Internet, you must know the Core Web Vitals and know how to improve your score.
So, continue reading this post and discover everything about Google SEO indicators.
What is Core Web Vitals?
The Core Web Vitals is a set of factors that Google considers important for the user experience when browsing a web page. Those factors include metrics related to page speed and user interaction.
The main objective of this initiative is to unify the quality indicators of a website, which are necessary for a good browsing experience, both on mobile devices and desktops.
For years, Google developed a series of tools to monitor the performance of web pages and generate reports. However, many of them were, and still are, difficult to use, with complex and inaccessible data.
Due to this, the search engine decided to simplify the process and help professionals to focus on the metrics that really matter for the company. . And so the Core Web Vitals was born.
What are the Core Web Vitals metrics?
The Core Web Vitals is made up of three main metrics, which reflect a unique aspect of the user experience:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
that metric indicates the download speed perceived by the user in the first segment displayed (without rolling the screen). That is, the time it takes for the main element of the page to appear.
That element can be the text of the page or an image and allows the person to navigate or interact with the content while downloading the other elements of the website.
First Input Delay (FID)
The second indicator of the Core Web Vitals measures the waiting time until receiving a response when the user executes some action within your website. It can be pressing a button, scrolling the screen, clicking on a selection box or typing in a text box.
The smaller that delay (delayedin English), the greater the user’s perception that the download of the page is fast and, therefore, the better their experience.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
The last indicator of the Core Web Vitals is ElO CLS, which measures the stability of the pagethat is, how often the user experiences unexpected changes to the layout.
For example, imagine your website has a signup button for a , which invites users to click on it. Meanwhile, the page continues to load other elements in the background, such as images and text.
The result is that when the content finally finishes downloading, the signup button is pushed down a bit, just as the visitor decides to click.
So the fewer layout changes, the better the browsing experience.
Other scoring factors
In addition to the three indicators we listed, it is worth noting that the score is also affected by other factors that influence, albeit indirectly, the quality of the user experience.
They are:
- Mobile Friendly: analyzes if the page is optimized for navigation on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets;
- Secure browsing: indicator that examines if the page does not have deceptive or malicious content;
- Security with HTTPS: check if the page is using the HTTPS protocol;
- No interference: checks if the page contains problems that affect the main content.
Why is the Core Web Vitals so important?
In each update of its algorithms and performance analysis criteria, Google makes clear its intention to improve the user’s browsing experience.
And so it has been with the Core Web Vitals.
With an increasing number of people accessing the Internet using smartphones, it is important that the content of the pages is adapted to these devices.
Thus, these metrics serve as a parameter so that webmasters and website owners in general, achieve improve the performance of the pages to offer them a more fluid and comfortable navigation to users.
And you know: when the website offers quality navigation, without obstacles, with an accelerated download and with well-structured content, user satisfaction with the experience is greater, increasing the chances that they will return to your page.
So, if you want to keep your page in the first positions of Google, either for attract more or increase the reach of your brandclosely follow the Core Web Vitals and improve the indicators on your website.
How to measure and improve the performance of your website?
To help you in that transition, Google offers some tools that allow you to analyze in detail the performance of a page for each of the metrics that make up the Core Web Vitals.
To have access to these data, just enter the and insert the URL you want to parse. The tool then displays the score achieved by the page for each of the main Core Web Vitals metrics, such as LCP, FID, and CLS.
The tool also allows you to identify the percentage of downloadable elements of your website (texts, images, buttons, etc.) that are taking time to download and, consequently, harming the browsing experience.
As follows, PageSpeed Insights also lists some optimization opportunities that can help the page load faster.
Optimizations reduce the size of page images—using images in optimized formats, such as JPEG 2000, JPEG XR, and WebP—avoid redirects, remove JavaScript resources, and remove some plugins that slow down downloads.
Ready to start using Core Web Vitals?
With the Core Web Vitals, Google goes one step further to value the user’s experience when browsing the Internet. The focus on speed, stability and responsiveness are indicators that the search giant values quality content.
As of the second half of 2021, all Internet pages have been reclassified with the Core Web Vitals. For this reason, those who have a website or a blog and want to increase the reach of their brand on the web, need to pay attention to the metrics that are part of the Core Web Vitals and make the necessary optimizations. In addition, of course, to offer useful and valuable content for the public.
But in addition to focusing on those metrics, it is important to know the other factors that influence the positioning of a website in search engines. If you want to know more about this topic, take advantage and read the strategy that can help your website get to the top of Google.
Facebook Comments
Disqus