SEO and Google Core Web Vitals
What are Google Core Web Vitals?
Google Core Web Vitals is a set of website experience metrics that Google considers crucial for User Experience or user satisfaction. They measure various aspects of a webpage’s speed load times, interactivity and visual stability.
Google introduced Core Web Vitals as part of their effort to prioritise user-centric factors that affect website rankings. Google has emphasised the importance of optimising websites for these metrics to improve user satisfaction and potentially enhance search visibility. It is remiss of any business owner (or their website developer / digital marketing specialist) to overlook these important metrics if search engine ranking is important for the success of your business.
The 3 factors that form Google’s Core Web Vitals metrics?
1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
The LCP metric measures the loading performance of a webpage. It specifically looks at the time it takes for the largest content element, for example an image or text block, to become visible to the user.
2. First Input Delay (FID)
First Input Delay measures the responsiveness of a webpage by gauging the time between a user’s first interaction (e.g., clicking a button) and the browser’s ability to respond to that interaction.
It is a crucial metric for assessing how quickly users can engage with a page.
3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
CLS measures the visual stability of a webpage. It quantifies the extent to which page elements shift around during the loading process, which can be annoying for users.
A low CLS score indicates a more stable and user-friendly experience.
What is website User Experience?
In the context of websites, User Experience (UX) is the perception of the website’s usability, accessibility and the pleasure (or frustration) that people have when visiting a website.
While a positive user experience is necessary to influence engagement and conversation rates, and should always top of a website developer’s mind when building a new website, Google now has strict User Experience (UX) standards that must be adhered to. If not, then a top Google ranking is impossible to achieve.
User Experience essentials now include speed optimisation, functionality, accessibility, readability, consistency, security, and responsiveness – to name but a few.
If your website is older, these factors may not have been considered as they weren’t necessary or the functionality hadn’t been ‘invented’.
Importantly, websites that prioritise user experience are more likely to succeed in retaining visitors, encouraging engagement, and achieving their intended goals. It’s a win / win for everyone!
Questions?
If you’ve still got questions about Google Core Web Vitals and how it may be affecting the search engine ranking of your website, contact me for advice. I am an SEO specialist and have been building websites for 25 years. I have worked with hundreds of small businesses, not-for-profits and community groups around Australia. I offer cost effective website solutions that fit with your budget and requirements.
Contact Rebecca Mitchell
No ongoing fees | No lock-in contracts | I do not outsource to overseas contractors