Website owners, developers, and marketers alike want to improve the performance of their pages, and to do this they need to monitor their Core Web Vitals metrics.
Web Vitals is an initiative by Google to empower business owners and site managers to take control of their web performance. Core Web Vitals (CWV) are at the center of this initiative and they represent an actionable set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that help boost your search engine optimization (SEO) results.
In this article, we’ll go over the definition of CWV and the role that this set of KPIs plays when ranking web pages in search engine results pages (SERPs). We’ll also explain how this concept affects your page performance, provide tips for site owners to measure web vitals, and discuss why these KPIs are a huge user experience ranking factor.
What Are Core Web Vitals?
So, what are core web vitals?
In short, Google core web vitals refers to a collection of metrics that helps site owners assess the performance of their pages. Also known as a core metric, these KPIs are a distinct facet of SEO because they are largely technical, unlike concepts like semantic search.
In short, search engines use CWVs to help determine the real-world experience that a website provides. These metrics focus on general variables that most users look for. For example, most real users avoid lazy loading, and site speed is one of the major components of core web vital metrics.
The Different Components of Core Web Vitals
Before going any further, let’s go over the three different parts of core web vitals.
Google has clarified that CWVs include a wide range of metrics, but the most important are Largest Contentful Paint, Cumulative Layout Shift, and First Input Delay. These measure loading, interactivity, and visual stability.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
LCP is an essential metric you need to track during your core web vitals testing. In short, this user-centric KPI measures the timeline during which the page loads. When running a Google Core Web Vitals test, a good LCP score indicates to the user that the page is functional, which automatically improves the page experience.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
CLS measures the change in layouts that take place from the moment the page starts loading until it finishes. CLS core web vitals are user-centric statistics because it measures how pleasant a page is to its visitors.
Large layout shifts can disrupt the page experience, so make sure that your core web vitals CLS are sound and that users interact only with elements that won’t shift much after they appear. This metric helps measure the fluidity of each user interaction in the context of the page layout, which is the reason why it’s among the main core metrics.
First Input Delay (FID)
FID is a core web vitals ranking factor that focuses on interactivity. In summary, a low FID determines how well users can interact with a page’s elements. For your FID score to be viable, your dev team needs to create code that reacts as soon as it presents elements on the screen.
The Importance of Core Web Vitals
CWV metrics are extremely important because they provide a wholesome view of a page’s technical SEO performance. In short, site owners can use this data, along with supplemental metrics, to deliver the best possible page experience.
Core web vitals SEO is a digital marketing technique that focuses on improving CWVs and having a positive impact on actual users.
The end goal is the same as with regular SEO: drive relevant organic traffic from mobile and desktop devices while improving the user experience across the entire site. If done properly this will help qualify each user and transform visitors into leads.
Tools to Measure and Report Core Web Vitals
There are many tools that help you measure the CWV data of your existing content. Additionally, you can also analyze other pages in order to compare your performance with leading competitors.
Some of the free Google tools you can use to measure CWV metrics include:
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- LightHouse
- PageSpeed Insights
- Google Chrome User Experience Report
How to Fix Core Web Vitals
Each website is different. So, you need to perform a comprehensive Core Web Vitals check to identify your areas of improvement.
Fixing poor URLs and improving the main three Core Web Vitals is a good start. But, you need to adapt your strategy based on the lab data that comes back from your test.
The good news is that you don’t have to take on these improvements by yourself. Get in touch with Fannit today and our team will be glad to help.
Recommendations for Improving Your Scores
Google Web Core Vitals play a crucial role in the user experience. Therefore, it’s essential for you to improve the page experience scores throughout your site.
Here are some actionable steps you can implement to improve your page performance.
- Create good URLs that feature the keyword and a solid structure
- Improve mobile friendliness elements or add a responsive design
- Run a PageSpeed Insights test and follow suggestions to improve your speed metrics
- Follow technical best practices, like removing unused JavaScript
- Gain a good understanding of how your site appears on the user’s browser
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Core Web Vitals
Here are the answers to FAQs about CWVs.
What are the 3 pillars of Core Web Vitals?
The three pillars of CWV are LCP, CLS, and FID.
Why do Core Web Vitals matter?
The Core Web Vitals report shows areas of improvement that can boost your website’s performance and significantly enhance your results.
Is Core Web Vitals important for SEO?
CWVs are a known ranking factor, so having good scores across the board improves your chances of getting on the first page.
Conclusion
CWVs are essential for success, but you also need to adjust to any new Core Web Vitals update that’s rolled out. If you need help improving your core web vitals metric or understanding the Google tools that help you measure these KPIs, contact Fannit today.
