Insights

Core Web Vitals and page experience ranking signals combine powers in the new Google algorithm updates coming this month.

2020 came with a lot of big changes. At the end of last year, Google announced that page experience ranking signals would become part of the criteria for ranking a website in Google Search. Now in May 2021, these changes are being implemented as we speak, with the addition of another criteria: Core Web Vitals. Ultimately, these changes will lead to a better overall experience for website users, and provide the most relevant results when utilizing Google as a search engine.

Read on for more information about these signals and how they work. And to help you understand the impact of these changes on your own website, reach out to our knowledgeable Webfitters team.

What are Core Web Vitals?

You may be wondering: What, exactly, are “Core Web Vitals”? Core Web Vitals help show the performance of your website and where improvements can be made in order to boost its ranking within Google Search. Simply put, they measure:

• page load time, or Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – how long it takes for a page’s main content to load.
• page interaction time, or First Input Delay (FID) –  the time it takes for a page to become interactive.
• visual stability, or Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – “the amount of unexpected layout shift of visual page content.”

Together, these vital measurements make up the search signals for page experience. Google takes into consideration these signals and the overall page experience in order to rank the website on Google Search.

What if these Core Web Vitals aren’t being met?

If certain factors of these Core Web Vitals aren’t being met to a user’s standards, it can lead to:

• decreased engagement rate
• shorter user sessions
• possibly even an overall decrease in user sessions

… all outcomes you strive to avoid! To keep traffic flowing to your website, it’s important to understand the data and utilize those insights to optimize your site.

Analyzing your Core Web Vitals

Ok; we’re about to get technical. Core Web Vitals will be added to the already existing user-experience signals of mobile friendliness, safe browsing, HTTPS, and no intrusive interstitials. They were introduced to “measure how users experience the speed, responsiveness, and visual stability of a page.”

Previously, page experience signals were not a consideration in Google Search ranking. However, the change was influenced by users’ desires for quality webpages after conducting a search.

Source

Core Web Vitals can be measured using six tools:

1. AMP Project
2. Search Console
3. PageSpeed Insights
4. Lighthouse
5. Chrome DevTools
6. Chrome UX Report
7. Web Vitals Extension

Since the algorithm changes were revealed, Google has reported “a median 70% increase in the number of users engaging with Lighthouse and Page Speed Insights to evaluate page experience metrics.” Optimizing your website for page experience signals will provide a seamless transition to the new ranking system – and allow your website to stay on top!

We can help

At Webfitters, we know that, as these Core Web Vitals go into effect, you might have questions: The new criteria may be difficult to understand, or the reports hard to navigate. Our team is prepared for these changes, and fully understands the implications of these new page experience signals.

Don’t wait until you notice a drop in your website’s Google Search rankings or traffic! We can help fully optimize your website and identify opportunities to improve your own Core Web Vitals. Contact us today to learn more.