With Core Web Vitals becoming a major ranking factor on Google, it could be time to make sure your website is compliant.
What do Google’s new metrics mean?
Core Web Vitals are page speed metrics based on user data that you can use to improve your website visitors’ experience.
Google is trying to help shape the web by making the most of its market power, so Webmasters and SEO experts set up your web content with the interests of the search engine in mind. But not all ranking factors have been officially shared by Google. With their new Core Web Vitals Web Vitals, Google has delivered concrete values that you can use to show off your website in the best possible way.
What are the Core Web Vitals?
Google is providing key data points on the quality of your Internet web presence. Instead of focusing on the content on of your website, Web Vitals measure the user experience. Specifically the metrics value the experience visitors have in the first few seconds of their visit to your website. There are three main values:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): How fast does the largest element load?
- First Input Delay (FID): When can users interact with the website?
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): To what extent does the layout move while the page is loading?
How can you respond to the new Google metrics?
To find out more about the Web Vitals of your own website, you can use the Google Search Console and get an independent analysis of your website for both mobile and desktop. The key data are also displayed in other Google tools like Google Lighthouse, Page Speed Insights, and the Chrome User Experience Report.
If you find your website is ranking low, it could be time to give it a little spruce up. Bringing your website into better compliance with Core Web Vitals will be well worth it, as Google could reward your efforts with a better ranking in the search results.