Check-In With Google’s Core Web Vitals

Google is the most popular search engine on the web. With over 70% of the search market share, it is important to understand how Google can drive traffic to your business website.

Over the years, Google has developed a variety of tools to report website performance to website owners. The average business owner is not an expert website developer, so some tools have been confusing for the average person to understand. In 2020, Google introduced a simplified metrics platform called Core Web Vitals to help users understand the quality of experience their website is delivering to users.

Which Metrics Does Core Web Vitals Measure?

Google has said metrics for Core Web Vitals will evolve over time. Currently, Core Web Vitals measures three aspects of user experience:

• Loading (Largest Contentful Paint): The largest text block or image on a webpage should load within 2.5 seconds for a positive user experience. Users want to see web pages load quickly. Elements that take several seconds to load may never be seen if the user scrolls past them before they load. Slow load time could cause potential clients to leave your page altogether if they assume your website has no content due to extremely long load times.
• Interactivity (First Input Delay): This metric measures how quickly a web page responds after a user interacts with something on the page, such as tapping a button or clicking a link. Websites should strive to have a First Input Delay of 100 milliseconds or less. Users are used to immediate feedback on well-run websites. A delay between clicking a link and the page responding could cause frustration for readers and cause them to leave your site.
• Visual Stability (Cumulative Layout Shift): This measures the stability of your website as it relates to sudden changes or unexpected movements that occur on a web page. You might have experienced being in the middle of reading text when suddenly the web page shifts, and you have lost your place. This is off-putting to website visitors and can result in readers leaving your site.

Shift to User Experience

Google’s Core Web Vitals allow businesses to quantify the functionality and user-friendliness of their webpages to understand how design impacts SEO. The measurement of user experience metrics reported in Core Web Vitals shows that content and keywords are not the only important factors when it comes to effective SEO. Google wants website owners to be able to evaluate the overall experience their website provides and know how to adjust for a better user experience. This means well-designed websites will rank higher in search results.

A focus on user experience when it comes to SEO can be positive for customers and businesses. Previously, when SEO was more heavily weighted on keywords and other factors, legitimate businesses were fighting with websites filled with spam to climb the rankings. While these issues still exist, Core Web Vitals consider the user-friendliness of a website which many illegitimate websites lack. This allows consumers to more easily find websites they can trust.

How to Improve Core Metrics

Once you have a basic understanding of Core Web Vitals and have reviewed the metrics of your website, you might be wondering how you can improve them. Website optimization is highly technical and often involves making many adjustments rather than just fixing one issue.

Google provides insights into what may be causing slow load times or poor user experience. A web developer can interpret these insights and make changes to optimize your website. Some common adjustments to improve scores include optimizing images, specifying room for elements on your page, speeding up the server, loading content above the fold first, and improving the loading of third-party scripts.

Hiring an expert is a great way to eliminate the burden of attempting to optimize a website on your own, so you can focus on your business. Expert web developers understand the metrics Google provides and have solutions and tactics for how to improve metrics and, in turn, increase SEO. An improved user experience will drive more traffic to your website when combined with engaging and helpful content.

Benefits of Improving Core Web Vitals

There are a variety of benefits to improving your website’s design and user experience. In addition to ranking higher in search results, there are other benefits to consider:

• Reduced user frustration: You have likely experienced a website that loads slowly or glitches as you are navigating it. This often causes readers to leave the website out of frustration. Core Web Vitals measure user experience by assessing a website’s speed, stability, and interactivity, so improving these factors can lead to reduced user frustration.
• SEO ranking: Google factors their Core Web Vitals when determining your page ranking. Optimization of the Core Web Vitals, whether big or small, will improve your website’s ranking on Google. Unfortunately, website optimization is rarely a quick fix. Improving Core Web Vitals often requires many small changes to the back end of your website, which leads to improved metrics.
• Increased client conversions: With a wide market available for most goods and services, a faulty website can lead potential customers to leave your website and head to a competitor’s more user-friendly page. Just as you wouldn’t want your potential clients to step into your office to see a disorganized mess as their first impression, you don’t want them to visit your website to find glitches and difficulty loading. This leaves a bad impression on your business and will not help with client conversion.

Expert Help Is Available

If you attempt to learn how to optimize your website design and specifications to improve Core Web Vitals, be prepared for significant time spent researching and a lot of trial and error. However, if you’re looking for professional help to improve your SEO through a better user experience and engaging content, consider contacting RizeUp Media. We are experienced in website optimization as well as custom content creation. Our team is ready to assist your business in improving SEO and increasing traffic to your website. Contact us online today.