How Google’s Core Web Vitals Are Changing the Game for Law Firm SEO

The standards and metrics used by today’s major search engines to assess and assign search engine rankings are constantly changing. As these changes occur, businesses of all types have the unique challenge of ensuring their websites maintain a quality position near the top of the search engine results page (SERP). While SEO and keyword research remain the name of the game, Google’s ever-changing user experience metrics have become incredibly important to web ranking.

These updated metrics, Google’s Core Web Vitals, rolled out early this year and can significantly affect your ability to reach new customers. As a law firm, it is important to understand the purpose of Core Web Vitals, what they assess, and what you need to do in order to keep your website viable in online markets.

What Are Core Web Vitals?

These metrics can seem a bit complicated at first glance, but they become easier to comprehend when you remember that their overall goal is to provide internet users with a better experience. User experience, or UX, has become a primary focus of website ranking, and Core Web Vitals metrics act as a way to measure the usability of your site.

Core Web Vitals identify potential UX issues by working to build metrics data for three major UX components of your site. Problems with any one component can negatively affect how users engage with and use your website and can indicate site health issues. In turn, these issues can influence Google to drop your search engine ranking.

Loading

The loading component of Core Web Vitals assesses how quickly your website appears completely for the user. Though parts of the website will likely load immediately, the loading score is indicated by the site’s LCP or “largest contentful paint.” This means that your score depends upon how long it takes for your largest photo, video, widget, or text box to load within the user’s view.

2 seconds or less is considered a good LCP, with the average landing at about 2.5 seconds. Once your page’s LCP reaches 3 seconds and above, Google will begin to penalize your search engine ranking.

Visual Stability

We’ve all experienced a website that reloads after we’ve begun scrolling or shifts suddenly, making it impossible to read or interact with critical page elements until the entire page is properly loaded. While page element shifts and mis-clicks are certainly an annoyance, Google believes they affect the overall usability of your site. As such, the company has implemented a Core Web Vitals metric to indicate stability issues.

This metric assesses page elements that shift after the page is finished rendering, and is meant to help you discover how difficult it is for your users to read or interact with your page as it loads. Google refers to this as Cumulative Layout Shift, or CLS. 0.1 is considered a good CLS score, while anything above that may be detrimental to your page’s rank. Improving your CLS score can help you enhance user access to your law firm’s most important pages, boosting click through rates and driving business.

Interactivity

This last vital judges how quickly your website becomes usable. While your users may be able to begin reading as soon as the site ceases shifting, there is usually a bit of time between when the page loads and when the user can fully interact. In this case, interaction refers to when the user can begin to click on page elements, type in the search bar, or use chat and scrolling functions and respect a page response. Ideally, your page will respond in a minimal amount of time, allowing speedy, seamless interactions.

Google uses the FID or “first input delay” metric to measure interactivity, and it can indicate which of your content widgets and other page elements are slow to respond. This component is a crucial part of good UX, so Google holds sites to very high standards. A site usable within 100 milliseconds or less will net you a “good” indicator. Lengthier FID values can cause user frustration, increase bounce rates, and reduce interaction with your most valuable pages.

Why Is This Happening?

In the shifting landscape of online search, these metrics address a critical area that has an enormous effect on whether or not users will stay on your page. There are thousands and even millions of websites that provide the same (or similar) information, and UX issues can lead users to leave your page before they receive the information they need—and long before they make the decision to hire your services.

With Core Web Vitals metrics, Google not only indicates potential UX issues to allow you to troubleshoot, but it also favors sites that provide great UX and penalizes those that do not. This ensures that users are served with the most relevant content and the best UX at the top of the SERP.

Core Web Vitals and Law Firms

Optimizing your law firm’s website performance according to these new core web vitals is essential if you want to continue to achieve success online. These technical SEO endeavors can help you stand out above the competition. For example, there are likely several law firms in your city that provide similar services in your practice area. When a new client is looking for a law firm to handle their case, they often search for useful information or may even enter local queries like “family lawyers in [your city].” Google’s research indicates that users are most likely to click on the first or second result, making your search engine ranking vital to generating new business online.

As a business, it is important to ensure that your law firm’s site appears near the top of search engine results, so users select your site when they are searching for an attorney. Once they are there, it is critical to provide great UX to ensure they are able to interact, learn new information, and convert into clients by scheduling a consultation or booking your services. If you are already appearing at the top of the SERP, attention to Core Web Vitals will help you to retain your standing. If not, addressing potential UX issues highlighted by Core Web Vitals can help you get there. Improved SERP ranking and UX can translate to new leads and boost organic traffic, which further helps your ranking.

You Are Not Alone

It is important to remember that the internet at large is contending with Core Web Vitals, and there is a learning curve. While the technical adjustments necessary to address LCP, CLS, and FID can seem intimidating to many law firms, you do not have to go about your website changes alone. Hiring a digital marketing and SEO agency can ensure that you are taking the correct steps to improve UX and optimize these new ranking standards. SEO experts have a deep understanding of Core Web Vitals, and can help you to implement and monitor website changes that have positive effects on your business.

Contact RizeUp Media

No one knows digital marketing for law firms like the team at RizeUp Media. We specialize in law firm marketing and SEO, and can help you optimize your website to reflect shifting Google standards. We can help elevate your website with new opportunities for lead generation, cutting edge website design, and legendary social media management. We understand that the technical world of SEO and digital marketing can be complicated and time consuming, and we are proud to provide these services to your firm. With RizeUp Media on your side, you can focus on your clients while your website works for you.

Don’t wait, Google’s Core Web Vitals have already taken effect. Contact us to optimize your law firm’s website.