If you’ve spent enough time on the Inkwell blog, you know we often talk about the most important ranking factors of SEO.
And as of May 2020, there are some new and slightly more complicated factors that Google let us know they are using to evaluate a site’s quality (and therefore how worthy it is of getting organic traffic from search).
These new signals, known as core web vitals, measure how well visitors can interact with your content using different devices and browsers.
In this article, we talk about the three core web vitals metrics, why they matter, and how you can improve your core web vitals to take your SEO strategy to the next level.
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What are core web vitals?
Core web vitals are a set of metrics that measure the health and performance of your website. They’re designed to make websites more user-friendly and help you understand how well your site is performing, so you can make informed decisions about what changes need to be made.
Core web vitals are all centered around how long it takes different parts of your site take to load. Google knows users are impatient, and will sometimes wait only milliseconds before moving on from a slow website.
Google once again has come right out and told us exactly what they are measuring and what they want websites to do to speed things up. They introduced three major metrics that factor into core web vitals:
1. Largest contentful paint
The largest contentful paint refers to the amount of time it takes for the largest content elements of your website to fully load and be ready for viewing. Google has let us know that this metric only involves the content you have above the fold—aka the stuff users can without scrolling.
It’s easy to see why this is a ranking factor. Most users don’t want to sit around and wait for a website to load—in the modern internet age, we’re used to websites loading quickly.
I’ve got tips on how to fix this issue in the next part of the article, but let’s keep moving through the most important core web vital metrics.
2. First input delay
When users visit your website, it likely won’t take them long to find something they want to click on. First input delay measures the amount of time from when a user clicks (or does something else on your website) and when that action is carried out.
As an example, you may have once visited a website and seen an article you wanted to read. So you click the article, and nothing happens… so you click again, and again until finally, it takes you there. That’s annoying, right? And since core web vitals is all about improving user experience, your website may be punished if the time between clicking and action is too long.
3. Cumulative layout shift
You’ve probably experienced this annoying scenario:
You visit a website, and it starts loading pretty quickly. So you start to scroll, and maybe you find a button you want to click on. But as you click on it, it jumps away, and you end up clicking something else or nothing at all. As you continue to scroll, you start to feel seasick, because the pages are jumping up and down as different elements load.
If this is happening, you’ve got a problem with what Google calls cumulative layout shift. This metric measures your page’s visual stability. It looks at things like scroll position, scrolling speed, and other factors to determine if the page keeps its place while users are scrolling through.
A large cumulative layout shift value indicates poor performance, because it means that the elements don’t stay put during navigation.
Why you should care about core web vitals
If your website takes more than 3 seconds to load, then 40% of people who visit it will navigate away from it (and likely never return).
The bottom line is this: If your site doesn’t perform properly, then no amount of marketing efforts will keep new visitors on your site, even if your SEO efforts are raking in traffic hand over fist. And because user experience and SEO are inextricably linked, core web vitals play a significant role in improving your SEO as well. By improving your core web vitals, you’re making your website a healthier, happier place for your users. In turn, your audience will stay longer, visit more pages on your website, and have an easier time converting.
Google loves ALL of that, which is why it’s rewarding websites that take care of their core web vitals (and punishing those that don’t).
So that leaves the big question: How do you actually measure and improve your site’s core web vitals?
How to improve your site’s core web vitals core web vitals
Now that you know more about core web vitals and how they improve your site’s performance, let’s take a look at some tips on how to improve these metrics.
1. Try these free tools
There are a variety of tools that help you measure the quality of your pages.
The best one to use, by far, is Google’s own PageSpeed Insights.
It provides detailed information regarding page speed as well as recommendations for improving it. You can use this free tool to check out your current page load time and see what improvements need to be made.
You can also download the Web Vitals Google Chrome extension. This handy tool allows you to see the Core Web Vital performance of any website with just a simple click.
2. Optimize all of your images
Big, beautiful images are a great way to improve engagement and trust in your website, but if those images are enormous (in terms of file size), then you’re putting your core web vitals at risk.
Optimizing images is one of the best ways to improve your page load times. There are many free services that allow you to resize and compress images before uploading them to your server, like TinyPNG or Image Compressor. WordPress plugins such as WP Smush and EWWW Image Optimizer can optimize images you’ve already uploaded to reduce their size while maintaining their quality.
3. Reduce JavaScript Usage
JavaScript is an essential part of many modern websites, but too much of it can slow down your site. It’s a programming language that allows websites to interact with users through things such as animations or pop-ups. However, there are certain types of scripts that run automatically when someone visits your site, slowing down your page’s load times. To reduce their impact, make sure that only essential scripts are loaded. Hiring a java developer can also help you identify which scripts should stay and which ones should go.
If you want to increase conversions or sales, then you must ensure that your site performs efficiently. Core web vitals are an important part of any website optimization plan. They also determine whether or not users enjoy visiting your business’ website. By taking advantage of these metrics, you’ll be able to create better user experiences and ultimately boost your company’s success.
Sophia Young recently quit a non-writing job to finally be able to tell stories and paint the world through her words. She loves talking about fashion and weddings and travel, but she can also easily kick ass with a thousand-word article about the latest marketing and business trends, finance-related topics, and can probably even whip up a nice heart-warming article about family life. She can totally go from fashion guru to your friendly neighborhood cat lady with mean budgeting skills and home tips real quick.
