Google has been talking about the importance of page experience for a while now. But what exactly are the Core Web Vitals, and why are they so important?
The Core Web Vitals are a set of technical SEO factors that affect your page experience. They include things like load time, interactivity, and visual stability. Google has said that they will use these factors to determine whether or not your site is eligible to rank upwards.
In a nutshell, any and all web pages with a higher core web vital score will rank higher. Landing pages that score well with core web vitals will enjoy the same benefits they did with AMP landing pages previously.
Page Experience Update & Core Web Vitals:
Google has announced that page experience will now be counted as a major ranking factor. This means that the company will take into account several factors that will play their roles in getting the website ranked on search engines.
To help webmasters improve their page experience, Google introduced Core Web Vitals, giving SEO people the necessary tools to drive results. These tools measure the three key aspects of page experience: loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.
Core Web Vitals are an important part of Google’s efforts to improve the quality of its search results. By making these tools available to webmasters, Google hopes to encourage more websites to improve their page experience.
As a digital marketer, it’s important to understand how these factors affect your website’s ranking. Here’s a quick overview of each metric and how you can improve your page experience for each one.
1. Loading Speed.
This is the most important factor in the Core Web Vitals and is a key starting point for improving your site’s performance. Google has said that pages should load in under two seconds.
There are a few ways to improve your page’s loading speed. First, you can optimize your images by reducing their file size. You can also minify your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to reduce their size. Finally, you can use a content delivery network (CDN) to deliver your content from servers located around the world.
Moreover, Google is now using mobile-first indexing, so your pages need to be legible and easy to use on a mobile device. Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to see how your pages stack up.
A high bounce rate indicates that people are leaving your site after only viewing one page. This could be because your content isn’t relevant to what they’re looking for, or your site is difficult to navigate.
2. Interactivity.
It’s not just a buzzword.
The term “interactivity” gets thrown around a lot in the digital marketing world, but what does it really mean? And more importantly, why does it matter for your website?
Interactivity is all about creating a more engaging experience for your website visitors. It’s about making your site more responsive and easy to use so that people will stick around longer.
And why does that matter? Because the longer someone stays on your site, the more likely they are to convert into a customer or lead.
There are a few different ways you can create a more interactive experience on your website:
–Make sure your pages are fast and responsive. No one wants to wait around for a page to load. Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to test your page speed and get tips on how to improve it.
-Use engaging visuals. People are visual creatures, so make sure your
website is pleasing to the eye. Use high-quality images, videos, and infographics to break up text and keep people engaged.
-Make use of calls to action. Tell your visitors what you want them to do next. If you want them to buy something, make it easy for them to find the purchase button. If you want them to sign up for your newsletter, make sure the sign-up form is prominently displayed.
-Include social media buttons. Make it easy for visitors to share your content on their favorite social media platforms.
-Pay attention to your typography. Use fonts that are easy to read and make sure the text is properly formatted (e.g., use headline tags, short paragraphs, etc.).
–Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. With more and more people accessing the internet from their mobile devices, it’s essential that your website is optimized for smaller screens.
3. Visual Stability
Visual stability is another important factor in creating a positive page experience. Visitors should be able to easily scan your page and find the information they’re looking for. Here are a few tips for achieving visual stability:
-Use a consistent layout throughout your website.
-Make sure your content is well organized. Use headings and subheadings to break up your text and help visitors find what they’re looking for.
-Use visuals to break up your text and add interest. Include photos, infographics, and videos to keep visitors engaged.
-Keep your pages free of clutter. Remove any unnecessary elements that could distract visitors from your content.
following these tips, you can create a website that provides a great page experience for your visitors. By paying attention to the technical SEO factors that affect your page experience, you can ensure that your website is easy to use and provides the information visitors are looking for.
How To Improve Core Web Vitals
So what can you do to improve your Core Web Vitals? Let’s look at the three main factors and some tips on how to improve each one.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP):
This measures how long it takes for the largest element on your page to load. You can improve your LCP score by optimizing your images and reducing your JavaScript.
A good LCP score is important for two reasons. First, it directly affects the user experience. If a page takes too long to load, users are likely to get frustrated and leave. Second, Google has announced that LCP will be a ranking factor in its search algorithm from May 2021. This means that if your pages have a good LCP score, they are more likely to rank higher in search results.
So how can you improve your LCP score? There are a few things you can do:
-Make sure your server response time is as low as possible. This is the time it takes for your server to receive and process a request from a user.
-Minimize the size of your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. These files need to be downloaded before a page can be rendered, so the smaller they are, the better.
-Optimize your images. Images are often the largest files on a page, so reducing their file size can have a big impact on LCP.
-Defer non-essential JavaScript. If there is JavaScript that is not needed to display the above-the-fold content of your page, it can be loaded after the initial render. This will improve LCP without negatively affecting the user experience.
First Input Delay (FID):
FID measures the time from when a user first interacts with your page (i.e. when they click a link, tap on a button, etc.) to when the browser is actually able to respond to that interaction. A good FID should be less than 100 milliseconds.
FID is important because it directly impacts the user experience on your website or app. A poor FID can result in a frustrating user experience, as the user may have to wait several seconds for the page to respond to their input. This can cause them to abandon your page altogether.
Digital marketers should be aware of FID and how it can impact the user experience on their website or app. By ensuring that your website or app has a good FID, you can improve the overall page experience for your users, which can lead to better engagement and conversions.
So what can you do to improve your FID? Here are a few tips:
– Optimize your code so that it runs more efficiently
– Use a content delivery network (CDN) to deliver content more quickly
– Reduce the number of HTTP requests by using methods like CSS sprites and inline images
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS):
CLF measures how often users experience unexpected layout shifts while they are interacting with your page. This can be caused by things like images or ads loading in unexpectedly, or by text moving around as new content loads.
Layout shifts can be annoying for users and can cause them to lose confidence in your site. That’s why it’s important to make sure your page has a good CLF score. There are a few things you can do to improve your CLF score:
– Use responsive design so that your page elements resize gracefully on different screen sizes.
– Optimize your images so that they load quickly and don’t cause layout shifts when they load.
– Minimize the number of ads on your page, and make sure they are placed in strategic locations so that they don’t cause layout shifts.
Conclusion:
By improving your Core Web Vitals, you can ensure that your site is eligible for rich results and that your pages provide a great user experience.
This will help you rank higher in search results and drive more traffic to your site.
If you want to improve your Core Web Vitals score, contact Seohub today and we’ll help you get started.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you improve your Core Web Vitals score. We’re experts in technical SEO and can help you make the changes needed to improve your page experience. Call us now or fill out our online form.