Page experience has become an increasingly important aspect of how Google ranks websites in the SERPs. Page experience constitutes several factors but there are a set of core web vitals that must be accounted for or else your site’s rank will suffer.
Understanding core web vitals will help you improve your site’s rank and its overall user experience. Today, we’ll be define what they are and propose ways to improve them on your website.
Defining Core Web Vitals
Everything we’ll be discussing here today relates directly to page speed and user interaction. That is, Google highly values page speed and user interaction in how it determines search engine ranking as it pertains to page experience. There are three key aspects that makeup the core web vitals. Let’s define each aspect now:
1. Largest Contentful Paint
First up is the largest contentful paint. It can be best described as the amount of time it takes for a page to load from the perspective of a real-life person browsing the Internet. So, the LCP is the time it takes from when a user clicks on a link to when the majority of the viewable page has loaded.
2. First Input Delay
The second core web vital is the First Input Delay. It outlines the amount of time it takes for a user to interact with an element of your website. So, the FID measures the time after a page has loaded when a user first clicks a link, selects a menu option, fills out a form, or similar.
3. Cumulative Layout Shift
The last marker is called the Cumulative Layout Shift. It essentially refers to how stable a web page appears as it’s loading. Sometimes a page looks like it’s rearranging and fluctuating all over the place when processed in the browser. This means it has a bad CLS, which can spell bad news for the site’s SERPs.
A Note About Other Web Vitals
Now, the above three core web vitals are currently deemed the most important for determining a positive page experience. However, they aren’t the only factors you need to be mindful of. These aren’t “core” vitals but still important to keep in mind when developing or updating your websites:
- Mobile-friendliness — Pretty self-explanatory. In this day and age when over half of all web browsing is done on mobile devices, a responsive and mobile-friendly site is a must.
- HTTPS — People expect you to provide a secure experience when landing on your site. It will not do well in search if it doesn’t have HTTPS.
- Interstitials — Everyone hates popups and Google does, too. That’s why it’s important to avoid using intrusive pop ups and overlays on your site. Otherwise, your site’s ranking will be punished for it.
- Safe-browsing — Lastly, your website also needs to provide a safe browsing experience for visitors. That means no malicious content or malware on your site.
Now that we have a clearer idea of what the core web vitals are, we can discuss how to improve them on your website.
Eastlink Cloud Pvt. Ltd.
Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone:166001-95985
Mail:info@eastlinkcloud.com
